[attr="class","barnaby-words"]
[break]
[break]


He walked a familiar route into the wood.[break][break]

It was mechanical by now. How many times had sleep evaded him, only for Barnaby to find himself seeking the companionship of a friend? Too many to count. And the friend he sought tonight held a special spot in his menagerie of distractions. The location, too.[break][break]

Elisabeth Fiorelli’s woodland cottage: a bastion of solitude and peace amidst the tide of neverending responsibilities and regional strife. He knew he could come here whenever he needed to get away.[break][break]

Tonight, however, the air felt heavier. A peculiar unease pricked at Barnaby’s senses – especially when he saw Elisa in the distance, gliding ephemerally from the cottage’s quaint porch and into the nearby forest’s edge. He thought to call out, but she was still too far off for her to hear him.[break][break]

Instead, BARNABY FINCH followed after her into the gloom.

[attr="class","barnaby-notes"]

[attr="class","omgentop"]WE WHO CURSE THE EARTH

[attr="class","omgenmid"]

SPECIAL EVENT THREAD

PETALBURG WOODS

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1035423510278979624/1103923437807865928/ppetlaltlal.mp3[/player][break]

Petalburg Woods - Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire

SOMETIME BEFORE GOODBYE GALAR (?)

CAIT ALFRIC WAS ONCE AVATAR OF CELEBI, but the mythical Pokemon understood that its time with her had to come to an end. After all, she wanted to protect her family, maintain a peaceful life. Such lofty desires would be impossible with inaction. And so, the Celebi parted ways with her as it sensed that the region was to face a larger threat—one that was exponentially worse than the meteoroid it had diverted months ago.[break][break]

As Elisabeth Fiorelli and BARNABY FINCH enter the gloom, they would come across the dried husks of leaves. Withering shrubs and flowers. However, upon Celebi's appearance, they would find the decaying foliage to flourish under its influence... after all, when a Celebi is seen, it is a sign that a prosperous and bright future still remains....[break][break]

PROMPTS

LIST OF PROMPTS

BELOW are a list of prompts you must incorporate into this thread.[break][break]

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• 🍃 encounter hoenn's celebi which will attempt to bond with elisabeth by use of its temporal powers (e.g. displaying timelines).
• 🍃 encounter the wo-chien that has beckoned for elisabeth in petalburg woods; she will recognize that she was summoned by this creature.
• 🍃 celebi and wo-chien must engage in conflict (e.g. attempting to persuade elisabeth, a battle, etc.).
• 🍃 involve a thematic element of grudges in some way.
• 🍃 involve an area of petalburg woods becoming barren and blighted by wo-chien's influence &/or elisabeth's doing.
• 🍃 elisabeth must make a choice between bonding with celebi or wo-chien.

should elisabeth make a pact with wo-chien, she must do so by writing a name in a tablet of ruin provided by wo-chien (can be flexible with this). celebi will flee afterward.

should elisabeth make a pact with celebi, she must do so by helping the celebi restore the vegetation around her, while fending off the wo-chien before it departs.

there is no right or wrong choice.

RULES

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES. A more comprehensive list of rules will be published in each event thread. These rules are also subject to change.[break][break][break]

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• After completing your prompts, please MOD REQUEST when Elisabeth Fiorelli has chosen which Pokemon to ally with.
• Afterward, shiv will reveal the outcome of Elisabeth Fiorelli's choice.

Elisabeth Fiorelli BARNABY FINCH

[attr="class","elisatestbody"]
Neither an audible voice nor a visible figure summoned her into the Petalburg Woods; no, nothing so tangible revealed itself to Elisabeth in its bid to lure her further into the forest.[break][break]

Hers was a silent beckoning.[break][break]

A dry wind rustled through flowerless branches, only to still at her approach. The wingbeats of Vivillon and Butterfree quieted and vanished to the skies; the Vileplume and Sunflora fled to their grassy knolls; the Rowlets and Decidueye peered down at her from their treetops, like wary sentinels of the wood.[break][break]

They act like something being hunted, she thought, and it was only then that she felt it: a hot, unbearable pressure that bore down on her at all sides, like heavy and monstrous breathing.[break][break]

The weight of this alien presence froze her in place, a Deerling caught unawares and alone. Every second she remained shackled, the unseen being loomed closer, only sensed by the heightened dread and paranoia that built up inside of her. Everything in her mind screamed to run, but her limbs wouldn't obey her.[break][break]

Until somewhere, in the distance, a twig snapped.[break][break]

This sound was enough to startle life back into her lungs, and she turned about wildly. The world spun with the motion, the black of night blurring like paint into the greenery of the endless maze of trees that encircled her here.[break][break]

She'd known them, once, each tree as familiar to her as the back of her own hand.[break][break]

Tonight, she was a stranger in her own home.[break][break]

Painful unbelonging took hold of her with the realization, and with no alternative, she ran blindly.[break][break]

Leaves crunched beneath her feet, yellowed and browned underfoot -- how strange, that, to find autumn leaves in the height of summer -- as she flung her way through the undergrowth. Branches raked into her skin, drawing blood as she recklessly pushed herself onwards.[break][break]

Whatever it was that pursued her meant to kill her.[break][break]

Elisabeth believed this truth with every fiber of her being.[break][break]

Which was what made the pinprick of light blossoming in the distance all the more alluring, promising her relief from the shadows that chased her.

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[attr="class","barnaby-words"]
[break]
[break]


"Elisa!"[break][break]

Surely he'd covered enough ground by now. Her pace had been languid, after all. And yet she didn't seem to notice his beckoning call. [break][break]

The peculiarities began as soon as they'd entered the wood. Stale air hung dead and heavy here. Life fled in the wake of Elisabeth's path. Even stranger still, no matter how quickly he walked, Barnaby didn't seem to be able to gain any ground toward his friend.[break][break]

His brows knitted in confusion — and concern.[break][break]

GALLADE was released from it's Luxury Ball with the intention of TELEPORTING closer, but as soon as its summoning light dimmed, the Pokémon crumpled into the dried leaves on the forest floor. [break][break]

It looked pained, as if some phantom force bore down on it, pressing it to the earth. [break][break]

He felt it too.[break][break]

"Elisabe—!" Barnaby whirled around, finding her frozen with a frightful expression contorting her face.[break][break]

He cut himself off then, forced by the sudden appearance of some supernatural anomaly. Two glowing ochre orbs glared from the abysmal darkness — like guiding beacons in the night. Or the welcoming torches to the gates of hell.[break][break]

Greedy, malevolent eyes fixated on one thing: Elisabeth Fiorelli.[break][break]

They were not completely unaware, however. Engrossed, yes, but palpably possessive. For a brief moment, floating pupils slowly slid across the gloom and stared at BARNABY FINCH, the obvious intruder. Their burning depths warned of torturous consequences for the grievance of interfering. [break][break]

The sight shook Barnaby to his core.[break][break]

He'd never felt such an oppressive power as the one that currently clutched at his entire being. It was all he could do not to fall to his knees.[break][break]

He couldn't. Because now Elisabeth Fiorelli was running for her life.[break][break]

"ELISABETH!" Barnaby shouted, chasing after her on legs that felt as if they were trudging through tar.

[attr="class","barnaby-notes"]

[attr="class","elisatestbody"]
BARNABY FINCH's cries died behind her as if drowned through water. Unheard. Unacknowledged.[break][break]

Deities did not enjoy sharing their audience, and two were already warring for this mortal's attention.[break][break]

One sought to claim her before the other might.[break][break]

[break]

The honeyed light swelled in its radiance as a small winged figure at its centre demanded Elisabeth's gaze. Reached out to her, lovingly, as verdant rays cradled her close in this clandestine clearing. Quelled her fears. Soothed her aches and pains.[break][break]

Large blue eyes promised safety and understanding, with a soulful look so piercing it seemed to pull back the layers of her very soul.[break][break]

And though this deity did not speak, she sensed it was the reason her mother's voice whispered back to her, now, soft and tender with concern. A flood of emotion choked her silent, unable to process hearing the sound of someone she'd long resigned to never hearing again.[break][break]

[break]

Behind her, summer quickly faded into autumn, leaves withering as grass shriveled into dust.[break][break]

Before her, time wound backwards, sweetly furling back into spring.[break][break]

[break]

Flowers burst into bloom out of season, drawing a blossoming curtain of leaves and petals that banished the beast who pursued her. A familiar scent swept through the vicinity, redolent with notes of lily-of-the-valley and honeysuckle, as the gentle pull of the breeze urged her forward.[break][break]

[break]

Motes of light danced around her, dizzying in their languid rhythm, before coalescing into a portal that pulsed with temporal energy.[break][break]

She hesitated despite herself. Allowed herself a furtive glance at what she'd left behind.[break][break]

The moment she did so, the trees overhead rattled and shook with the fury of denied hunger, creatures fleeing as a blight overtook the wildlife trapped outside this sacred clearing of eternal spring.[break][break]

All hesitation fled her. She surrendered herself to this strange creature's care, and shimmered into a different world.

[attr="class","elisatestcredit"]

[attr="class","barnaby-words"]
[break]
[break]

She couldn't hear him. Couldn't see him. It was as if he wasn't there.[break][break]

Had they crossed into some hellish plane?[break][break]

As if in answer, the forest's darkness seemed to expand all around, blotting out any other sources of light save those horrible ochre eyes, gleaming gluttonously in the gloom. They grew and grew and grew, baring down oppressively, chasing after Barnaby as he tried to gain ground on Elisabeth Fiorelli, until —[break][break]

A voice, sinister and cruel, rang in his mind. It was terrible, crippling. Cacophonous and overbearing. [break][break]

Familiar.[break][break]

[break]

AGUSTIN L'OISEAU. His bastard of an older brother.[break][break]

[break]

BARNABY FINCH squeezed his eyes shut, willing the words away. The absence of visual input just seemed to heighten the effect, however. His voice was booming now, shaking the very fabric of Barnaby's
conscience.[break][break]

[break]

His eyes snapped open. And there, in the distance, a pinprick of radiant light beckoned him forward. Salvation at the end of the tunnel?[break][break]

Perhaps for one. Elisabeth hesitated at the edge, looked back — but not at him. She'll be gone if I don't hurry. And he'd be left alone with the devil in the dark.[break][break]

[break]

He ran, pushing his body past its physical limits. Shadowed power gripped at his being, dragged him down to the dirt, scrapped at his flesh and willed him to abandon so insignificant a woman.[break][break]

And still Barnaby clawed after her, a muddy hand passing over the threshold before the portal blinked closed.[break][break]

He barely made it through in time.

[attr="class","barnaby-notes"]

[attr="class","elisatestbody"]
The portal shrank in on itself after Barnaby L'oiseau plunged through, filaments of gold-and-green weaving into wisps of nothingness.[break][break]

Time no longer stood still.[break][break]

Released from the temporal hold that had held it back, the entirety of the glade shuddered before an onslaught of darkness and decay. Spring was snuffed out into barren landscape, as if its mythical Persephone had prematurely been abducted back into the hellish underworld.[break][break]

Petals wilted and withered, vines darkening to a purplish tincture as prickling thorns crawled out, stretching to turn the barrier that had shielded this holy place into a cage.[break][break]

The ruinous being waited, biding its time, its palpable animosity condensed into the glare of two ochre eyes. Awaiting the inevitable return of its prey.[break][break]

Aware that it was not facing a defeat, but an opportunity.[break][break]

[break]

[break]

Endless fields of green spilled out before her, bountiful with springtime flowers. Elisabeth recognized it, but in a way that you recognized a place you had never seen in person, only read about in books or seen in photographs.[break][break]

This was Floaroma Town, she realized suddenly. The place her mother had painted her most beautiful watercolours, promising to take her only daughter one day. That promise had never become reality.[break][break]

"...It's more beautiful than I thought it would be."[break][break]

This voice, too, was a familiar one. It was Elisabeth's own.[break][break]

Two figures walked hand-in-hand as they crossed the famed landscape, stopping to watch the Lepidoptera flit from flower to flower, a peace to the serenity of their quiet. Elisabeth froze as this other version of herself drew closer, but the woman saw right through her, as if she was nothing but empty air.[break][break]

"I'm surprised you didn't want to go to Kalos," a masculine voice replied. "You said you wanted to pay respects to your mother."[break][break]

It took a moment for her to place this recollection, until he fully came into focus: GIDEON GRAVES.[break][break]

Memories rushed through her like a gust of wind, blurring through a collage of small moments that had built to this one: years of studying at the University of Southern Kalos, unmarried and dedicated to her first love of botany and plant physiology. The man that had defined an entire decade of her life went unmet.[break][break]

She watched herself attend a funeral she had missed in her own timeline, placing Galarian roses on her mother's grave. She watched herself ascend to a position of professor at the university she had once attended, becoming known for her research of infinity energy -- so much so that, one day, she would transfer to Slateport University to study Hoenn's peculiar crystablooms. She watched the struggle of paying off her father's debt in his final years, a tedious and slow release that was witnessed in but a blink.[break][break]

She felt the condensed ache of loneliness that lingered with her long after his death.[break][break]

"I don't think I know how to half-love something," this other-her said at last, and Elisabeth's mind drifted back to the soft conversation that had continued between them during her reverie. "I think it's why I've been alone for so long. Part of me is afraid of losing myself -- or of loving someone too much, and then losing them. Strange, isn't it?"[break][break]

The Gideon of this world intertwined his fingers with hers, silent understanding passing between them both, and Elisabeth caught sight of an engagement ring glittering on a hand that perfectly mirrored her own.[break][break]

Watching them, Elisabeth swallowed back an inner tumult she couldn't describe. Not quite envy. Not quite disbelief.[break][break]

But not gratitude, either. Its heaviness felt like a sorrow.[break][break]

[break]

The return of her mother's voice startled her, though it sought to calm her. To hear it say such a thing -- the thing she had privately longed to believe of her own mother, but never dared to -- cut her to her bone.[break][break]

"You don't have to lie to me about who I've become," she whispered to the fae-like creature that lingered beside her. "I know my mother is dead. I know I have overstepped the conditions of her love. I am not the woman you parade before me."[break][break]

Round blue eyes stared at her, unblinking and unfazed.[break][break]

[break]

Unyielding as it was in its steadfast resolve, the being still acknowledged the discomfort stirring in its companion. It acquiesced to her wishes for relief, and the world shifted yet again.[break][break]

But not before a whisper, faint and distant, managed to crawl into her ear with a mocking tenor:[break][break]

[break]

That intrusive presence was abruptly pulled away as the flowers faded out of existence, plunging her into the promise of yet another universe.

[attr="class","elisatestcredit"]

[attr="class","barnaby-words"]
[break]
[break]

From darkness to light, Barnaby tumbled into the grass, the ring of radiant energy that had transported him here minimizing into nothing.[break][break]

The contrast was jarring. Chattering birds, the floral aroma, a soothing breeze rustling in the trees. Whatever new realm this was, he didn't imagine they were in Petalburg Woods anymore.[break][break]

A trail of blood slipped down from a cut along his hairline, obscuring Barnaby's field of vision in one eye. He had to wipe the blood away to get a clear view of the stunning scene before him: an endlessly fertile field, adorned in a kaleidoscope of spring flowers. Definitely not Petalburg Woods, not this time of year.[break][break]

Amongst it all was Elisabeth Fiorelli and... some sort of creature floating by her side. What the hell is that thing? Is it what's causing all of this?[break][break]

It soon became abundantly clear how much of a stranger Barnaby was in this world. None of it seemed familiar. Well, except for Elisa and one other person, walking hand-in-hand with an unknown man. Her mirror image, though appearing more vibrant and contented than the Elisabeth he knew.[break][break]

BARNABY FINCH took a step forward, earning him the attention of whatever supernatural beast hung on his friend's shoulder. It stared at him, blue pupils narrowing slightly.[break][break]

[break][break]

Suddenly, portals opened before him, each wreathed in flashes of cold, dark fire. They showed tantalizing glimpses of other timelines, all with BARNABY FINCH at the helm of power: boss of ROCKET's Kalos branch; his brother ousted as heir and he elevated to CEO of his father's company; possessor of superhuman abilities beyond mortal comprehension. [break][break]

[break]

Elisa's voice echoed in his mind, soothing and calm. It was like a siren call, beckoning him forward. Out of this reality and into the next.[break][break]

It was hard to look away. Here, before him, all of Barnaby's dreams and ambitions were made tangible. Temptation beat at him, urging him on. He took a second step forward.[break][break]

But then another voice cut in. His Elisabeth, speaking with the verdant creature hovering beside her. Uncomfortable. In danger.[break][break]

He turned to her, momentarily denying the allure of the other timelines, but she was gone.[break][break]

She'd blipped away from this reality, yet before Barnaby was dragged along too he bore witness to one final scene between this Elisabeth and GIDEON GRAVES:[break][break]

"No, not strange. It's a gamble to place all your hopes on one person."[break][break]

He took her hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles, passing over the gold band on her ring finger.[break][break]

"I'm so happy you decided to take the risk with me, my love." The man looked at her as if she were the only woman in the world. Cherishment personified. "We'll share the most wonderful life together, you and I."[break][break]

It left his chest feeling strangely tight. An ache lingered there, even as the image blurred and he was whisked away.

[attr="class","barnaby-notes"]

[attr="class","elisatestbody"]
Open fields melted away, replaced by the confinement of indoor walls. A place that Elisabeth had never been before opened up to her with the slide of heavy wooden doors, revealing another woman seated at her desk. The light from a tall window illuminated this individual, catching the highlights of her swept-up blonde hair.[break][break]

Looking up from her work, dahlia goode caught sight of her visitor and smiled. "Lisa. Always a pleasure to see you in my office. Isn't it, Wilfred?" she said, reaching down to pat the Stoutland at her feet.[break][break]

Being perceived here at all -- and so warmly, by the Commissioner of Hoenn, no less -- left Elisabeth briefly speechless. Before she could speak, another voice replied, and this one again proved to be her own.[break][break]

"I apologize for taking your time, Commissioner. I realize it is especially precious as of late."[break][break]

This version of herself felt more familiar as she stepped forward: characterized by a stiff-necked posture, worry lines creasing her severe expression as lips pressed themselves into a concerned frown. The weight of experience and responsibility sat heavy on her shoulders, and in this way, 'Lisa' mirrored the paragon of the League across from her.[break][break]

"Hoenn's fate weighs heavy on us all, yes," the other blonde sighed, a tiredness thinning her smile. Its gentle gleam remained nonetheless. "Is this regarding your concern from before?"[break][break]

"Yes." Hesitation inserted a pause. "I... worry that Hoenn would be better served by a councilwoman with more experience for this crisis than myself. I feel ill-equipped to serve."[break][break]

Once more, new images swirled around her mind in scattered fragments of stained-glass memory, though these held less deviations than before. An ill-advised marriage, followed by almost a full decade of infinite indignities, haunted her for a second's brief reminder. Until it branched and changed from her own experience in one subtle, but significant way:[break][break]

She'd achieved a bloodless victory over her captor.[break][break]

"You inspire people, Lisa. The adversity you've overcome gives people hope," Dahlia said, looking up at her sincerely. "Trust me when I say hope is one of the rarest gifts that we can give in times of strife. Don't discount that."[break][break]

In this universe, Elisabeth's frantic prayers were answered -- not by a forked-tongue liar feigning compassion, but by a reporter with genuine concern for her plight. The element of surprise had proven essential to her success, the resulting infamous public trial dragged out over years as she battled her husband in a courtroom for half of his assets and the coveted prize of her own freedom.[break][break]

In this universe, her testimony had shown Kalos the truth of who he was.[break][break]

And the world had believed her.[break][break]

[break]

A tiny hand dared to touch her cheek as her mother's voice continued to console her. Elisabeth turned to see this Pokemon staring at her with wide, guileless blue eyes, waiting to see the impact of such a scene on her.[break][break]

She bit her lip, saying nothing as her eyes cast themselves to the floor. The scene confused and vexed her in equal measure.[break][break]

[break]

"What does it say, then," Elisabeth asked quietly, "when the evils of the world shape us so much more strongly? Are we to discount their impact, too?"[break][break]

[break]

What rippling Beautifly effect might then manifest, indeed? The thought overwhelmed her in its vastness.[break][break]

She was not Remiel Calcifet, with the weight of nations and gods to escape Rocket's vengeful bloodlust. She was not Rowan Wrynn, idealistic enough to believe such a thing to be possible. Her knowledge of her own insignificance and her own misdeeds rooted her in place, denying her an open door to step out of the cage she'd willingly closed around herself.[break][break]

"You make things sound simple, when they aren't."[break][break]

This time, the emotion churning inside of her tasted bitter. It was difficult to stamp out the desire to say more, to rebuke the scene before her for its offensive quaintness.[break][break]

[break]

[break]

This thought caught fire within her, kindling quiet embers of indignation.[break][break]

"The people of this world earned my compassion. But what of the people who scorned me in my own?" she asked the creature beside her pointedly. "Would you have me forget their sins?"[break][break]

Blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly in response, as if detecting something else in her words. A threat, perhaps.[break][break]

[break]

Dahlia Goode's office flickered out of existence, and she flickered out with it.

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[attr="class","barnaby-words"]
[break]
[break]



Where BARNABY FINCH phased in next was an oddly... familiar place. But distorted beyond immediate recognition — the puzzle pieces shifted and cut at the edges so that they fit back in a jagged juxtaposition of what was.[break][break]

It was the clearing in Petalburg Woods where they'd first entered the initial portal. Where the malevolent spirit with the ochre eyes had chased him into another realm entirely, following Elisabeth Fiorelli. But this space was faded into sepia hues, the life drained from the barren trees and brittle grasses. Curling all around was an unsettling familiar pink mist — in much greater quantities than what Barnaby even remembered from the Ultra Deep Sea.[break][break]

Tendrils hovered closer to him, curling around his ankles, up his calves, and from across the clearing Barnaby could see silhouettes materializing within the mist. Huge, monstrous things gnashing their teeth at their newly-found consciousness. Fuck.[break][break]

He looked around, wide-eyed, for his friend and the entity puppeteering all of this bullshit. To his surprise and utter devastation, however, they were no where to be found. Barnaby was...[break][break]

Alone.[break][break]

[break]

Elisabeth's voice pleaded with him. The strain and resolve and conviction burned into every syllable was heartbreaking to hear... but he knew it wasn't truly her. It had to be that conniving sprite.[break][break]

[break][break]

Wherever she was now, he hoped it wasn't in a similar place. The creatures here shrieked into the night air. Insidious eyes glowered from the other end of the clearing, threatening to do more than just howl within the mist. A thunderous footstep echoed out then, hinting at a titan waiting to strike.[break][break]

But before Barnaby could meet his fate, a shuttering energy appeared beside him, circling ever larger until another portal presented itself. He didn't even hesitate — there was no hope for him here, in this ruined place.[break][break]

He returned to the beginning. The same clearing, but enveloped in a swirling, chaotic darkness and weighed down by an unmitigated heaviness. The only difference now was that the eyes had a face, a body.[break][break]

And this being's entire focus was on a seam of light that just appeared at the clearing's center.

[attr="class","barnaby-notes"]

[attr="class","elisatestbody"]

Scent brought back the memory of her childhood before Elisabeth beheld it with her eyes.[break][break]

The Galarian roses her father had imported to surprise her mother still flourished, here, outside the countryside home that had once belonged to the Fiorellis of Camphrier Town.[break][break]

[break]

This chateau had been bulldozed and eroded to make way for her husband's ambitions in her timeline. To stand here at all humbled her, and she found herself unable to tell if she was grateful for the reminder or all the more petulant for it, knowing her time here wouldn't last.[break][break]

She'd never known how finite her time here would be, back then.[break][break]

Childish laughter sang out, joyful and jubilant, as a blonde girl dashed into this home that Elisabeth knew no longer existed. The child's hair fluttered behind her like a golden banner, taunting the woman into following her inside the chateau's open door.[break][break]

It felt strange, reentering her childhood home. Like defying her own reality.[break][break]

The deity on her shoulder said nothing as it floated beside her, watching with blue eyes that witnessed all but revealed no intent.[break][break]

It merely waited for the scene to unfold.[break][break]

Elisabeth halted mid-step, confused, as another sound filled this space. Boyish laughter, unfamiliar and sweet with youth, joined the girl's in the nearby room. Then another voice spoke, unmooring her with its sheer impossibility:[break][break]

"Won't you both be good for your father? He'll be home soon, after all."[break][break]

Morbid curiosity forced her to confirm this confounding misunderstanding, and Elisabeth heedlessly ran into the living room. Her lips moved, but no sound came out as she took in the bewildering sight before her.[break][break]

This was a dream, her mind decided. This could only make sense if it was a dream.[break][break]

[break]

A dark-haired boy and a golden-haired girl sat beside their mother on an ornate rug, nestled close as she perched an open book in her lap. The familiar woman's rosy complexion hinted at a genuine contentment, her emerald eyes soft with affection as she smiled.[break][break]

"Do you like it here, then?" this woman who could not be Elisabeth, that everything in her refused to believe was Elisabeth, asked them gently in Kalosian. "Would you prefer we live here, instead of Father's manor?"[break][break]

Enthusiastic cries pleaded to stay, and their mother's smile became a beaming, shining thing, radiating love as if she never imagined she'd run out of it.[break][break]

And then a dark and terrible figure loomed behind this woman who could not be her, and Elisabeth screamed so loud it seemed impossible that these specters of another universe couldn't see or feel her naked terror.[break][break]

But of course they couldn't. She didn't belong in this world. She never could.[break][break]

To her, this was a nightmare masquerading as a dream.[break][break]

A man that Elisabeth believed to be a monster leaned forward to press a kiss upon the crown of his wife's blonde hair, strong arms wrapping around her from behind to hold her close. An unforgivably adoring look shone in his coal-black eyes as he looked upon the woman he seemed to love, and Elisabeth felt nausea stir in the deepest pits of her stomach in response.[break][break]

"What is this," she demanded of the being beside her. "What lie is this you show me now?"[break][break]

[break]

"No." Shaky steps took her backwards, her breathing now ragged and shallow with fear as anxiety built inside her like so many dead leaves and branches. "No. I know the truth of him. You can't trick me with this lie. I know him!"[break][break]

The plea cut like a whimper through the pleasant stillness of her old living room, quivering with its own desperation to be heard.[break][break]

"You did not fall in love with the cruelty of the man you married. You loved him for the man he was beneath his pain."

[break]

"You lie to me!" Elisabeth shouted with her whole body, and this infuriating other-her had the audacity to laugh in front of her, tickled by the touch of a large masculine hand running itself through her long blonde hair. "He couldn't... He wasn't..."[break][break]

"That pain was inherited from his father, who inherited it from his father, and so on. He could not break the cycle."[break][break]
"You inherited his pain from him. You inflict that pain onto others even now."

[break]

Children who shouldn't exist, that Elisabeth couldn't allow herself to believe existed in any timeline, began to run around the room, chasing one another with giddy abandon as their parents watched with gentle eyes.[break][break]

"And that pain is what summons the shadow of that beast to you. Like the scent of blood from an open wound, he hunts for it. For you."

[break]

"A vessel to slake its thirst for resentment."

[break]

Tears stung Elisabeth's eyes, sharp and glistening as they slid down her cheeks with all the thin precision of knives. Her hands fisted themselves in the snarls of her blonde hair, mutely shaking her head back and forth as if to will her mother's voice into strangling itself silent.[break][break]

"Cycles can break, but only if you allow for your wound to close, Elisabeth. Only if you believe you can be healed. Otherwise it will only fester and rot."

[break]

"And when did I ever ask you to heal me?" she screamed back, and the world abruptly crystallized all around her in retaliation, defensively locked into a temporal stasis. "Tell me! Why do you come to me now, when I am this?" Hurt poured forth from her, as raw as the open wound which festered in her even now. "Where were you when I was young? Back when I was all the things you now demand that I become again?"[break][break]

[break]

"Answer me!" she shouted again, and the piercing decibel carved a fissure between them, splitting through the seams of this unbearable reality.[break][break]

[break]

In the storm of her grief and self-righteous fury, the small winged creature stared at Elisabeth with a glassy-eyed gaze, unflinching before the blistering emotion that sought to scald it with retribution.[break][break]

Her mother's voice was quieter, now. Hushed.[break][break]

"Manipulative," some part of her darkly thought.[break][break]

"I come to you now because it is not yet too late, Elisabeth. I come to you before this cycle curses all you know and love."

[break]

CELEBI extended a patient hand, awaiting hers. The world went still as a single message etched itself in Elisabeth's mind, telepathic in its urgent command:[break]
[break]
[break]

What did a healer truly know of the afflicted?[break][break]

A slimy sensation -- like worms crawling over every inch of her skin -- seized Elisabeth as she sneered at this winged devil's offering, repulsed beyond words at its audacity.[break][break]

The orchestrator of her own personal hell remained still as a statue behind this deity, his arms daring to hold Elisabeth's likeness as if he had ever truly cherished her.[break][break]

[break]

[break]

When Elisabeth met the fae's clear blue eyes once more, her own smoldered an unsettling shade of ochre in response. Echoing in a strange, otherwordly tenor, the woman's once-soft voice howled with the agony of countless timelines of misery that bore down on her:[break][break]

[break]

The resentment seethed from her, buzzing like a plague of locusts that ate at what little remained of her own humanity. Her hair had lost its golden sheen; her skin paled, as if whatever vitality it had known had been leeched from her, leaving her flesh bone-white.[break][break]

[break]

A step forward bridged the divide between them, cutting across the wooden floors. Suddenly this verdant creature was nothing more than a pathetic, sniveling thing of gossamer wings and soft flesh.[break][break]

Fragile. Disposable.[break][break]

Reeking of cowardice.[break][break]

[break]

A manic smile stretched across her red lips, splitting wider and wider as this Legendary creature seemed to shrink in response, suddenly struck dumb and silent.[break][break]

It had no voice to wield against this woman. Her mother's wishes had been sacrificed to the hunger of her vengeance a long time ago.[break][break]

[break]

The cracks in this false world caved beneath their own weight, shuddering and shattering like glass before this divine revelation.[break][break]

[break]

Tendrils of darkness hissed forth from the shadows of this place as RUINATION claimed it whole, collapsing this reality and its Celebi with a curl of Elisabeth's fingers. A flood of resentment flowed through her as she watched this obliteration unfold: heady, irresistible, and intoxicating in its surge of seemingly unending power.[break][break]

Banishing herself from this Eden returned her to the devil that sought to damn her.[break][break]

Ochre eyes glowed in the gloom of its thorny enclave, the pact between god and mortal implicitly made in the unspoken understanding between them.[break][break]

The most despised and resented name unearthed from her psyche had already seared itself into the Tablets of Ruin that burdened this creature's back, its owner loathed by her above all others:[break][break]

[attr="class","elisatestcredit"]

[attr="class","omgentop"]WE WHO CURSE THE EARTH

[attr="class","omgenmid"]

SPECIAL EVENT THREAD

PETALBURG WOODS

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1035423510278979624/1103923437807865928/ppetlaltlal.mp3[/player][break]

Petalburg Woods - Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire

[break]

BLIGHT BLOOMS FORTH FROM ELISABETH FIORELLI. The false world withers away in a devastating expanse of death and ruin. As she grants audience to her foliate hellion, she treads across bony grass. Withered stem and leaf.[break][break]

Nearby, the CELEBI that had attempted to save her now lies dead. Its elegant wings and faerie form have become a mere shriveled suggestion of life. No sound escapes its open mouth.[break][break]

Acknowledging Elisabeth Fiorelli's choice, the treasure of ruin calls upon her. Allows her to know its name: WO-CHIEN.[break][break]

[attr="class","chosen"]YOU ARE BECKONED

[attr="class","chosen2"]
wo-chien has chosen Elisabeth Fiorelli, the scorned, as their avatar.[break][break]

elisabeth receives the following perks:

[break]

• elisabeth receives 10 infamy.
[break]


• elisabeth and her Pokemon are IMMUNE to all poisons.
[break]


• elisabeth can add names of those she resents most onto wo-chien's tablets of ruin. her resentment of them serves as fuel that enhances her power. names may be added or removed over time as elisabeth's relationships shift and change in dynamic.[break][break]
  
  should she be facing a specific target of her resentment from those tablets, she may enact a GRUDGE that focuses her attacks wholly on the individual. during this time, her attacks will be greatly heightened, but she will be unable to divert her attention elsewhere.[break][break]
  
  this also considerably drains her physically and mentally, and can render her fairly defenseless afterwards.
[break]


• elisabeth's moods can now affect the natural world around her. notably, feelings of resentment and bitterness suck the life out of nearby flora and allow toxic and dangerous plants to grow in their stead; these can be manipulated and wielded by her to devastating effect.[break][break]
  
  she can also touch others to instill her own resentment in others, or to draw out deep-seated grudges to fuel her own spite. this effect, however, is temporary. (REQ: RPER PERMISSION)
[break]


• when wo-chien is on the field, elisabeth can summon a BARREN TERRAIN that clears any existing terrain, while preventing any other from taking form for a period of time. anyone within the terrain will be continually STRENGTH SAPPED, weakening them while also healing elisabeth and wo-chien.
[break]


• you may add wo-chien to your personal computer and choose its moves like a gachapon pokemon.

UPON CONFERRING ITS BOND TO ELISABETH, the Wo-chien seems pleased. BARNABY FINCH, if he is able, would witness as such. The Admin may very well wonder if this is ultimately a good thing. This wretched bond. He may wonder too, if anything looks out for him. Within these borders or out.[break][break]

Eventually, everyone leaves. Life continues even in the wake of sheer sepia death. However, some find ways to circumvent their fate. A CELEBI appears, bursting through the seams of time to witness its own dead body on the forest floor. No matter. It will fight, no matter how many times it takes.

EPILOGUE

UPON WO-CHIEN'S CONFERRANCE OF POWER, PENELOPE LIVY's CHI-YU would sense that its partner has succeeded. This is not communicated to its avatar. Instead, the fish and snail remain quiet, satisfied with the completion of their infernal errands.[break][break]

While MATIAS SILPH may feel scorned by the MOLTRES, the bird has other plans. Similarly, the League has other plans too. Though the man is the center of much controversy, publicly or privately, dahlia goode refuses to relinquish him. He's a powerful force. A mighty chess piece on Hoenn's board. He is GROUDON'S avatar after all, the primordial land titan that has helped forge this country by its own claws.[break][break]

The GROUDON however, like many other legendaries, senses that a looming disaster is coming ahead. Avatars are created for that purpose, of course. Though it may have good reason to believe that the CHI-YU and WO-CHIEN (should it encounter it), may be responsible for this supernatural sense of dread... these TREASURES OF RUIN are able to SUPPRESS THEIR MALEVOLENT AURA WHICH IS TIED TO CALAMITIES, being the deceptive creatures they are.[break][break]

FURTHERMORE, THE LEAGUE & TEAM ROCKET would rather these fiendish beings remain in supervised possession of their influential figures. They work well with their mortal trainers in willing partnership. Collaboration comes easily. If their avatars can curry favor with them, then the crisis portrayed in the ending of dahlia goode's RONDEZ-VIEW OF LUV CO-OP ROUTE game may be averted. Surely, the ending could have been a product of creative AI-generation instead of an instance of proper divination?[break][break]

HOWEVER, THESE RUINOUS POKEMON know how to play the long game. Slowly but surely, the puzzle pieces begin to fit into each other. Avatars. Weakened Legendaries. Primal rifts. Terastallization. Abominations. The Ruination. The more Hoenn becomes closer to evolving into the origin point—like a puzzle nearing completion—the more likely it is to be perceived.

INSTRUCTIONS

Scarlet should create a thread detailing Elisabeth Fiorelli's (and whoever she would like to invite; others should not ask to be invited) visit to Petalburg Woods. Once the thread has been made, please tag shiv in a MOD REQUEST.[break][break]

A mod post will be made in a similar fashion to an EXPEDITION including prompts that Elisabeth Fiorelli will need to fulfill.[break][break]

The timeline of this event will be deliberated upon over time with Scarlet.

INSTRUCTIONS

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES.[break][break]

[attr="class","ynospace"]

• Feel free to roleplay the aftermath of this outcome.
• Once you are done, feel free to MOD REQ for archival rewards.

Elisabeth Fiorelli BARNABY FINCH