MEMENTO MORI [M]

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

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played by

Nagato

Baki

She/Her

December 21

Saffron City

administrative assistant

Officer

dead flowers

pressed against my lips

156 cm // 5'1" height

oceans of angels, oceans of stars, down by the sea is where you drown your scars

awards

990 posts

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Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

MEMENTO MORI [M]

POSTED ON May 15, 2023 2:23:39 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","petalbasetsu"]

[attr="class","star1tsu"]

[attr="class","circleoutline1tsu"]

[attr="class","starimgtsu"]

[attr="class","star2tsu"]There's a hollow pit in your stomach as you look at all those slate and granite stones laid out before you.[break][break]

Every one of them a life, every one of them cut short. All laid out in uniform rows, undistinguished among each other. There's nothing extraneous to them. Names are carved after the fact, a bunch of sterile and lifeless stones, hastily hewn and laid out here in rows to mark those who fell half a region away. [break][break]

"Better than a mass grave."[break][break]

You offer it that acknowledgement. But in the end, it's as much a mass grave as it can be while avoiding the connotation of one. Each of these lives were stolen by war, by a Rocket far away. Their remains dragged back here and buried so at least their surviving family knew where they were laid to rest.[break][break]

Probably a quarter of them don't even have remains in them. It's impossible to distinguish those who mark the missing among those confirmed dead. And near the end, there's unmarked graves yet. Graves in waiting for those yet to be stolen by this conflict that's gripped the region. [break][break]

It's enough to make you sick.[break][break]

She didn't have a grave. She was buried under a tree in a garden somewhere. You don't know whether that tree's still standing, or if it was cut down for land development. [break][break]

But you think, if she should have a grave, it's one of these unmarked ones. A monument to someone who lived so pure despite all the hatred she was surrounded by. If she was to have one, it would be unassuming. She'd like to lie alongside those who were stolen by the Rockets, one among many, so people can look on it and know just how vile their cause really is. [break][break]

You set a few small flower petals on the edge of that empty grave and wait for the wind to sweep them away.[break][break]

"... Sorry."[break][break]

It'll never be enough, but every day you've forced yourself to say it, to feel it. It's what she deserves. Even if she didn't deserve to die, she deserves to be remembered.[break][break]

+ Valerie Katraz

[attr="class","star3tsu"]

[attr="class","petalpoketsu"] sumire ♀ - intimidate - crunch / gunk shot / wrap / coil / glare / haze

sakura ♀ - corrosion - heat wave / venoshock / venom drench / knock off / endeavor / toxic

sagisou ♂ - cursed body - hex / dark pulse / dream eater / nightmare / curse / hypnosis

ayame ♀ - chlorophyll - solar beam / frenzy plant / sludge wave / growth / synthesis / sunny day

tsutsuji ♀ - infiltrator / telepathy - draco meteor / hurricane / boomburst / roost / defog / whirlwind

shion ♀ - poison touch - sludge wave / outrage / hydro cannon / toxic / smokescreen / camouflage

[attr="class","rouxcredittsu"]♠

[newclass=.petalbasetsu]font:11px roboto;--accent:#d5bed2;[/newclass]
[newclass=.petalbasetsu]max-width: 450px; height: auto;border: 1px solid #1a1a1a; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; background: #252525;
[/newclass]
[newclass=.star1tsu]border-radius: 10px 10px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 220px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/r3Sgi2E.png), rgb(160, 132, 155, 0.65); background-blend-mode: luminosity; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: contain; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.starimgtsu]width: 100px; height: 100px; position: relative; border-radius: 100%; object-fit: cover;[/newclass]
[newclass=.starimgtsu img]height:100px;width:100px;border-radius:100%;[/newclass]
[newclass=.star2tsu]width: 350px; padding: 20px; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; color: #eee; margin: 20px 0px 20px 0px; border-radius: 5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.petalpoketsu]text-align: center; margin: 0 auto; [/newclass]
[newclass=.petalpoketsu img]margin-top:0px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.circleoutline1tsu]border-radius: 100%; width: 120px; height: 120px; background: var(--accent); opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; [/newclass]
[newclass=.star2tsu b]font-weight: bold; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.star2tsu i]text-decoration:italic; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.star3tsu] border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 50px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/r3Sgi2E.png), rgb(160, 132, 155, 0.65); background-blend-mode: luminosity; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: contain; display: flex; text-align:center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rouxcredittsu]align:right; color:#AB4646; font-size:10px; text-align:right; padding:10px; [/newclass]

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played by

RaptorAttacks

Val

She/Her

October 12

Slateport City

Bisexual

Warden-in-Training

Cadet

0 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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17 posts

DOLLARS

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TAG WITH @valerie

Valerie Katraz

MEMENTO MORI [M]

POSTED ON May 17, 2023 1:12:15 GMT

She was not obligated to tend to these graves. It was not her job to burden herself with their care. Yet, if she did not do so, would anyone else think to bother? If it would not be her, then who would it be?

Such was the thought that burdened Valerie with the thankless task of preserving the ever-growing monument. Every week, she would find the time to break away from her busy schedule, to come to this place far away from the hustle and bustle of the life she wished for. Washing headstones and picking up cigarette butts was taxing work, and it was neither respected nor glamorous, but it had to be done. Even the thought of the alternative, a field of crumbling granite and faded memories, was enough to make her feel nauseous.

No, that couldn't be allowed, and she was the only one who would prevent it.

Thus, for Valerie, today was utterly ordinary. There was nothing exceptional about wiping off the ectoplasm left by wandering ghosts, or brushing away the loose feathers left behind by Murkrow. It was little more than a glorified chore, like vacuuming the floors or sorting the laundry, though she would never dare describe it as such. She also wouldn't dare describe it as boring, though she might admit that it was an extremely time-consuming process. That was why she had brought on her Pokemon to assist with her endeavour, at least in part. Of course, not all of them could rightly help, but some could help speed things along, if only slightly.

Pokemon like her Bronzor, for instance. Typically, she would have them using their psychic powers to assist in clean-up. Having them help with picking up litter was a decent timesaver. They were such a good worker, too. An obedient, coordinated, and effective Pokemon. The sort that wouldn't cause any problems on purpose.

Yet, it was not a tactful Pokemon. Given the duty of cleaning, Bronzor drifted along the rows of graves, and seeing flower petals offered in memory of a lost loved one, all they saw was trash to be cleaned.

"Bro-on-on."

And without a second thought, it picked them up with its psychic powers, crushed them into a compact ball, and hovered off to dispose of the perceived garbage.

Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

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played by

Nagato

Baki

She/Her

December 21

Saffron City

administrative assistant

Officer

dead flowers

pressed against my lips

156 cm // 5'1" height

oceans of angels, oceans of stars, down by the sea is where you drown your scars

awards

990 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @2baki

Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

MEMENTO MORI [M]

POSTED ON May 17, 2023 3:46:44 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","petalbasetsu"]

[attr="class","star1tsu"]

[attr="class","circleoutline1tsu"]

[attr="class","starimgtsu"]

[attr="class","star2tsu"]You stand and watch the petals scatter.

Frankly, dumbfounded.

It isn't like you expected much more, however. Eventually the winds would scatter them away. Like all things, even life, a tribute comes to its end, transience and entropy intertwined. [break][break]

You simply didn't expect the cleaning crew to pick up your trash so fast. [break][break]

That realization comes with a smile. There are others who care. Even if they are the ones who clean up the decaying flowers, the monuments to the departed, picking up items the good cannot possibly use, they're doing a service in their own way. And that alone is a recognition that someone else cares for the dead.[break][break]

You look out at the field of graves, watching the metallic pokemon float away. [break][break]

"In the end it's just trash, huh."[break][break]

A sigh escapes you. Pent up sorrow released under pressure. [break][break]

Your heart feels lighter already.[break][break]

"... Yeah."[break][break]

Now that you notice it, there's plenty of monuments to the sorrows of others. Blinded by your own feelings, they were hard to notice on your way in. Now that you've been broken of that, the sheer number of flowers are pretty staggering when you take it all in. Even in such a manufactured, mass-produced graveyard like this, every bouquet of flowers is personalized. [break][break]

You slowly begin to walk down the row of graves, absentmindedly following the bronzor. For a lack of knowing where else to go, you wander at a slow pace behind it and admire the sights of the flowers before they're torn down. [break][break]

Wilting, some even decaying, others already lost their petals to the wind, they're what's left of a Hoenn consumed by war. [break][break]

+ Valerie Katraz

[attr="class","star3tsu"]

[attr="class","petalpoketsu"] sumire ♀ - intimidate - crunch / gunk shot / wrap / coil / glare / haze

[attr="class","rouxcredittsu"]♠

close tab

played by

RaptorAttacks

Val

She/Her

October 12

Slateport City

Bisexual

Warden-in-Training

Cadet

0 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

17 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @valerie

Valerie Katraz

MEMENTO MORI [M]

POSTED ON May 18, 2023 16:04:38 GMT

The Bronzor continues to float along the way, seemingly unaware of the follower it had gained, or perhaps simply uncaring. It simply carries on with its duty, picking up anything that it deems to be "trash", be that rotting flowers, burnt out candles, or anything else. All of them, regardless of the significance they might've once held, end up compacted into a ball.

And before long, it arrives at it's destination - Just another grave, like any other. The only difference between this one and the hundreds of others is that there's someone else here. A woman, crouched over one of many identitical tombstones, scrubbing away at a particularly resilient patch of grime with a wet rag. Her choice of outfit hardly seems fitting for the job, but given the bucket of water beside her and the trash bag behind her, she's still plenty prepared for the task.

That woman, of course, is Valerie Katraz, though whether or not that is significant is yet to be determined.

As soon as it arrives, Bronzor dutifully deposits its orb of refuse into the nearby garbage bag, and makes its success known with a brief, blunt, emotionless call of "Bronzor."

"Thank you, Bronzor. I appreciate your help."

"Bronzor."

"I know, I know... We'll be finished soon, don't worry."

"Bron."

"Yeah... Me too."