ANTITHESIS [S]

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

close tab

played by

gunsmile

The Devourer
he / him
36
January 8
Lavender Town, Kanto
heterosexual
general of war
god general
nenet nzingha
starstruck ✨
6'3" / 190 cm height
6'3" / 190 cm height
Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.
awards
3,064 posts
Zev Harcourt DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @zev
Zev Harcourt
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON Apr 19, 2024 18:43:34 GMT
Zev Harcourt Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","zev3"]
[attr="class","body"]


Zev hovered in the air amidst a raging conflagration, the ground beneath him caving in and crumbling from his Golurk's EARTHQUAKE. The Ghost-type waited nearby, waiting to whisk his master away from the wildfire at a single command. [break][break]

But despite the smoke stinging his eyes and filling his lungs, despite the intense heat, Zev remained. The fire was a symbol of his triumph and power. With a single thought, he could consume it all, revealing a jungle reduced to charcoal and ash. Beneath his soot-covered clothing, his crystalline carapace protected him from burns. [break][break]

Why not exult in the destruction for a little longer? [break][break]

A sudden spike in the nearby Infinity Energy drew Zev's attention away from the inferno. Still hovering in empty space, he turned toward its direction. Something was coming straight for him, and fast.



TAGS[break]
NOTES – social | takes place after this thread


[attr="class","pkmn"]







[attr="class","credit"]




[newclass=".zev3"]--accent:#975fb2;font:13px Roboto;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 b"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 i"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 u"]text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 a"]font:13px Roboto;color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h1"]font:18px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h2"]font:16px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .body"]background-image:url("https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png");background-position:bottom;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .pkmn img"]margin:-10px -7px 0px -7px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .credit"]font-size:13px;[/newclass]
close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator
he/him/his
24
April 10
Lavaridge Town
Figuring it Out
Penitent
Renegade
I've got a, I've got a
Pocket fulla sunshine
Short King height
Short King height
Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!
awards
4,402 posts
Isaac Merlo DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @isaacmerlo
Isaac Merlo
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON May 14, 2024 1:27:46 GMT
Isaac Merlo Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","isaac2"]

[attr="class","topimage"]


[attr="class","textbox"]Smoke, casting an all-consuming and suffocating blanket across the land.[break][break]

Cinders, searing the eyes and throat of anyone who dared struggle against its spread.[break][break]

The feeling of being trapped, the light snuffed out and the walls closing in as timber falls around you like the thuds of a monster's footprints.[break][break]

A familiar feeling, an urgency, twisted knots in Isaac's guts.[break][break]

For once, Isaac hadn't run alone. As the winds took him, a second gust rushed to reinforce him. Suicune, spurred on by that same sickening feeling, now raced by his side. It was as unnerving of a presence as it was a comforting one. Suicune was a free spirit, one who rarely opted to remain shackled to their charge. For them to be so in sync was a baleful omen.[break][break]

So, too, was the sheer power emanating from the heart of the Giant's Chasm. To be an Avatar was to be more in tune with Infinity Energy than your average denizen of Hoenn, for it always pulsed through your veins. That meant being sensitive to deviations from the norm, and what an incredible deviation this was. Whatever had laid waste to this land was power overflowing.[break][break]

Yet it wasn't just a question of power. To be Isaac was to be more in tune with Zev than your average denizen of Hoenn.[break][break]

Isaac didn't want to believe it. Surely, this mindless devastation was more like ? No, no. Xerneas had been firm on where they stood. Perhaps one of the Ruinous ones? Couldn't be. Neither of the ones that stood against Hoenn dealt in flame. Maybe even Silph? From what said about him, Isaac would've believed it, and yet Groudon did not tower over this blighted land.[break][break]

This was nothing like the Zev he knew. There was no fucked-up, sadistic artistry, painstakingly arranged by the deft hands of a professional. There was no greater goal, nothing lost for the League or gained for Rocket. There was only devastation, a raging inferno spotlighting a single point of pure darkness.[break][break]

In some ways, it was tragic. In some ways, it was a new opportunity. But for all Zev had changed, for all he'd degenerated, Isaac knew it would be a mistake to underestimate him. To act like he had the advantage would be presenting his throat to a man who would rip it out without a second thought.[break][break]

Zev would know he was here. There was no use hiding. As he approached the event horizon, the winds released his form.

[attr="class","oocbox"]
TAG [break]
NOTES — notes go here




[newclass=".isaac2"] --color:#c4c067; [/newclass]
[newclass=".isaac2"] margin: 0px auto; background-color: #111; min-height: 500px; width: 450px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom:20px; } .isaac2 .textbox a, .isaac2 .textbox i { color:var(--color); } .isaac2 .textbox b { font:bold 13px/10px 'Poppins'; color:var(--color); } .topimage { background-image: url(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058305315642286080/1155427871351906335/image.png); height: 250px; width: 400px; background-size: cover; background-position:50% 20%; margin: 0px auto; } .isaac2 .textbox { line-height: 15px; letter-spacing: .5px; font-size: 12px; font-family: roboto; color: #d6d6d6; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 20px; background:#1E1E1E; padding:30px 50px; background-image: url(https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: bottom; } .isaac2 .oocbox { border-top: 3px solid #333; padding-top: 10px; width: 260px; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align:left; [/newclass]
close tab

played by

gunsmile

The Devourer
he / him
36
January 8
Lavender Town, Kanto
heterosexual
general of war
god general
nenet nzingha
starstruck ✨
6'3" / 190 cm height
6'3" / 190 cm height
Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.
awards
3,064 posts
Zev Harcourt DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @zev
Zev Harcourt
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON May 15, 2024 1:39:34 GMT
Zev Harcourt Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","zev3"]
[attr="class","body"]


A blustering wind approached at high speed, carrying the Infinity Energy shining like an irresistible beacon. It whipped at the conflagration, raising the flames higher. Any that reached for Zev vanished into his body, harmlessly absorbed. [break][break]

The winds coalesced before him, two bodies synchronized in movement and intent. Heart and soul. [break][break]

"Isaac," Zev said with familiar, detached apathy—not in greeting, but in mere acknowledgement. His unbothered gaze flickered to Suicune, even as he addressed its Avatar. "Come to put out the fire?" [break][break]

Months had passed since their last encounter on the resurfaced isle. Whatever anger Zev once felt at the memory of Isaac's foolish betrayal had cooled—not by time, but by alien transformation. [break][break]

Time and space meant little to him when he knew their unending vastness. The squabbles between Team Rocket and the League were trivial compared to the accumulated agony of thousands of years. [break][break]

What was Isaac now? The North Wind? No. A splatter of blood upon a barren speck of dust.



TAGS[break]
NOTES – social | takes place after this thread


[attr="class","pkmn"]







[attr="class","credit"]




[newclass=".zev3"]--accent:#975fb2;font:13px Roboto;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 b"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 i"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 u"]text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 a"]font:13px Roboto;color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h1"]font:18px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h2"]font:16px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .body"]background-image:url("https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png");background-position:bottom;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .pkmn img"]margin:-10px -7px 0px -7px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .credit"]font-size:13px;[/newclass]
close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator
he/him/his
24
April 10
Lavaridge Town
Figuring it Out
Penitent
Renegade
I've got a, I've got a
Pocket fulla sunshine
Short King height
Short King height
Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!
awards
4,402 posts
Isaac Merlo DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @isaacmerlo
Isaac Merlo
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON May 15, 2024 5:13:07 GMT
Isaac Merlo Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","isaac2"]

[attr="class","topimage"]


[attr="class","textbox"]There he was. The man who made a point of teaching Isaac to handle their work like a professional stood square in the middle of his own carnage. Of course he did. He had nothing to fear from the consequences. As they lapped at his heels, he simply supped from them like a king from his goblet.[break][break]

They were kings, once. To Isaac it had been his passion, twenty years of life given to enrich a world he was unworthy of leading yet entrusted to safeguard all the same. To Zev, it was a means to an end. Nowadays it was something lesser still. What need did he have of kingship now that he was a god?[break][break]

He was already in his new body, of course. Isaac wondered how long it had been since his real body had felt the sun. He'd thrown it away, just as easily as he'd thrown away every lesson he'd ever taught Isaac. In a strange sense, it offended Isaac. For all their differences, Zev's tutelage had done wonders for Isaac. Every time he tapped into those darker arts, he found himself bitterly thankful for the monster he owed everything to.[break][break]

All of that was worthless to Zev now. So, too, was Isaac, and he damn well knew it.[break][break]

"I am." There was no urgency in Zev's voice. There was no hatred, not even disdain. To Zev, Isaac was beneath even that. In one sense, it was calming. Unlike his inexorable pursuit in the Megalopolis, on the resurfaced isle, Isaac was in no danger. For once, he could breathe in Zev's presence.[break][break]

In another sense, it was terrifying. Zev, a man who decisively cut down any obstscle in his path, didn't even deem him a threat. It was as if they were on two different planes of existence. Yet Isaac knew he had to try, even if the end of this story had been written long before it began.[break][break]

"One I should've put out a long time ago."



[attr="class","oocbox"]
TAG [break]
NOTES — notes go here




[newclass=".isaac2"] --color:#c4c067; [/newclass]
[newclass=".isaac2"] margin: 0px auto; background-color: #111; min-height: 500px; width: 450px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom:20px; } .isaac2 .textbox a, .isaac2 .textbox i { color:var(--color); } .isaac2 .textbox b { font:bold 13px/10px 'Poppins'; color:var(--color); } .topimage { background-image: url(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058305315642286080/1155427871351906335/image.png); height: 250px; width: 400px; background-size: cover; background-position:50% 20%; margin: 0px auto; } .isaac2 .textbox { line-height: 15px; letter-spacing: .5px; font-size: 12px; font-family: roboto; color: #d6d6d6; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 20px; background:#1E1E1E; padding:30px 50px; background-image: url(https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: bottom; } .isaac2 .oocbox { border-top: 3px solid #333; padding-top: 10px; width: 260px; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align:left; [/newclass]
close tab

played by

gunsmile

The Devourer
he / him
36
January 8
Lavender Town, Kanto
heterosexual
general of war
god general
nenet nzingha
starstruck ✨
6'3" / 190 cm height
6'3" / 190 cm height
Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.
awards
3,064 posts
Zev Harcourt DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @zev
Zev Harcourt
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON May 16, 2024 13:08:13 GMT
Zev Harcourt Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","zev3"]
[attr="class","body"]


Zev's expression didn't budge at Isaac's words. What changed, however, was his skin. Darkness crept up his neck and jaw as shards of crystal spread from beneath soot-covered clothes. The pale skin of his face gave way to deepest black. [break][break]

Even his eyes transformed, bright starlight against a fathomless void. [break][break]

"Then come," Zev said, his voice underscored with alien reverb. The blazing conflagration around him seemed so distant and trivial, nothing more than a backdrop for a clash long in the making. [break][break]

Recalling his Golurk into a Pokéball, he added, "And don't hold back. We have seen it in your eyes before. We know what you are capable of, Isaac." [break][break]

The hate, Zev meant. The hate he'd seen in Isaac's face a lifetime ago, when he instructed the boy to stab him with killing intent.



TAGS[break]
NOTES – social | takes place after this thread


[attr="class","pkmn"]




[attr="class","credit"]




[newclass=".zev3"]--accent:#975fb2;font:13px Roboto;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 b"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 i"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 u"]text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 a"]font:13px Roboto;color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h1"]font:18px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h2"]font:16px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .body"]background-image:url("https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png");background-position:bottom;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .pkmn img"]margin:-10px -7px 0px -7px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .credit"]font-size:13px;[/newclass]
close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator
he/him/his
24
April 10
Lavaridge Town
Figuring it Out
Penitent
Renegade
I've got a, I've got a
Pocket fulla sunshine
Short King height
Short King height
Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!
awards
4,402 posts
Isaac Merlo DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @isaacmerlo
Isaac Merlo
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON May 28, 2024 1:57:16 GMT
Isaac Merlo Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","isaac2"]

[attr="class","topimage"]


[attr="class","textbox"]The Zev Isaac knew would have never sent an asset back into the shadows. At best, such a move would be a feint, leaving the Golurk free to careen into Isaac from the shadows when he least expected it. At worst, such a concession wouldn't even be teased, the Golurk surging forward to reduce Isaac to a pancake without a shred of pity or remorse.[break][break]

Instead, the Golurk disappeared, and with it any recognition Isaac had for Zev.[break][break]

This wasn't just a personal credo. This was a play from Rocket's handbook, one of the first techniques he'd been taught when learning the ropes from the organization. Yet now Zev flouted it. This wasn't born from rejection from the self. This wasn't born from rejection of his "superiors." This was born from a rejection of everything, all the things Zev was and all of the things he wasn't.[break][break]

How fitting. The man who yearned to carry everything, facing off against the man who held onto nothing.[break][break]

Couched within that rejection, that "we" nestled in "I" 's rightful place, came recognition. Just as Isaac thought Zev had forgotten everything, he mentioned the last connection they'd shared. A tense stare-off over the corpse of 's godhood. A sacrifice to the machine in the bowels of the RKS Simulator. A knife broken facets of dark crystal, a million words exchanged in a single action.[break][break]

Their hatred.[break][break]

"I won't disappoint you." And for once, he meant it, because for once, that was all that mattered. There was no win or lose here. The result was already written in the stars. He'd retreat from this encounter with Suicune's borrowed tail tucked beneath his legs, knowing how futile it was to stand against the world's strongest creature. There was only a show of force, their unfinished business spoken in the only language Zev understood.[break][break]

One step. Zev knew his only obvious weakpoint.[break][break]

Two steps. He knew Isaac knew it; he'd tried it in the Megalopolis.[break][break]

Three steps. Isaac knew Zev knew, that his attempt would be futile. Yet as part of their promises, spoken and unspoken, he had to try.[break][break]

The winds took Isaac. And when they released him, he stood right before Zev, a knife of ice thrust right towards his eye.

[attr="class","oocbox"]
TAG [break]
NOTES — notes go here




[newclass=".isaac2"] --color:#c4c067; [/newclass]
[newclass=".isaac2"] margin: 0px auto; background-color: #111; min-height: 500px; width: 450px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom:20px; } .isaac2 .textbox a, .isaac2 .textbox i { color:var(--color); } .isaac2 .textbox b { font:bold 13px/10px 'Poppins'; color:var(--color); } .topimage { background-image: url(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058305315642286080/1155427871351906335/image.png); height: 250px; width: 400px; background-size: cover; background-position:50% 20%; margin: 0px auto; } .isaac2 .textbox { line-height: 15px; letter-spacing: .5px; font-size: 12px; font-family: roboto; color: #d6d6d6; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 20px; background:#1E1E1E; padding:30px 50px; background-image: url(https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: bottom; } .isaac2 .oocbox { border-top: 3px solid #333; padding-top: 10px; width: 260px; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align:left; [/newclass]
close tab

played by

gunsmile

The Devourer
he / him
36
January 8
Lavender Town, Kanto
heterosexual
general of war
god general
nenet nzingha
starstruck ✨
6'3" / 190 cm height
6'3" / 190 cm height
Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.
awards
3,064 posts
Zev Harcourt DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @zev
Zev Harcourt
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON May 28, 2024 14:45:50 GMT
Zev Harcourt Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","zev3"]
[attr="class","body"]


The last time Isaac had tried to attack Zev's eyes, Zev had not been complete. His bond with Necrozma had not been sealed with a full conference of power. [break][break]

Back then, his eyes had been two weak points, vulnerable to injury; the only way to avoid harm was to blind himself temporarily. Back then, Zev had still been human, held back by human frailties. [break][break]

Not anymore. [break][break]

The knife of ice in Isaac's hand slid past the starlight in the gap where fleshy organ would have been. Not long after, its tip smashed against impervious crystal. From Zev's perspective, the weapon slipped past his vision; he felt the impact between his eyes. [break][break]

But there was no pain. No injury. [break][break]

"Good start," said the monster as an unnatural darkness began to rise around them in a perfect dome. It smothered the forest fire and threatened to block out the sunlight. [break][break]

Reaching out a clawed hand, Zev attempted to grab Isaac by the throat. [break][break]

zev can summon unnatural darkness to cover an area within a limited radius. only he and his pokemon can see through the darkness; anyone else within it is blind. [break][break]

any lights within the area go out and can't be turned back on while the darkness is active, and outside lights cannot penetrate it. anyone observing from outside the area will see it as a dome-shaped, starless void.
[break]



TAGS[break]
NOTES – social | takes place after this thread


[attr="class","pkmn"]




[attr="class","credit"]




[newclass=".zev3"]--accent:#975fb2;font:13px Roboto;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 b"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 i"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 u"]text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 a"]font:13px Roboto;color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h1"]font:18px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h2"]font:16px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .body"]background-image:url("https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png");background-position:bottom;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .pkmn img"]margin:-10px -7px 0px -7px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .credit"]font-size:13px;[/newclass]
close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator
he/him/his
24
April 10
Lavaridge Town
Figuring it Out
Penitent
Renegade
I've got a, I've got a
Pocket fulla sunshine
Short King height
Short King height
Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!
awards
4,402 posts
Isaac Merlo DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @isaacmerlo
Isaac Merlo
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON Jun 2, 2024 1:44:16 GMT
Isaac Merlo Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","isaac2"]

[attr="class","topimage"]


[attr="class","textbox"]Zev Harcourt was no longer human, and he made damn sure that Isaac knew it.[break][break]

No longer was Zev a shell of a man in the metaphorical sense. Now, he had become the truest embodiment of the phrase. "Wha-" Isaac started, but his fear and confusion quickly bled into alarm. Zev had allowed the contact just long enough to put a point on his new existence. In the facets of fading firelight, it was his turn to make a move.[break][break]

One step. Two step. Three. Blood drifted along the wind as Isaac's body faded. It was the damndest thing. He no longer had a physical form, and yet he could still feel the essence of the pain that lingered behind. Had he not moved more quickly, Zev would have dug clean through Isaac's throat. Instead, all he'd managed was a graze, for even one as mighty as Zev Harcourt could not take hold of the wind.[break][break]

The man who could never be harmed faced off against the man who could never be caught. It was an impossible fight between impossible people. Despite this, Isaac had managed to make the first strike, and Zev had managed to take first blood. He could stay like this, shy away from further harm, dance around his opponent in an ineffectual farce. Yet to do so would accomplish nothing but saving his own hide.[break][break]

Worse still, with each second he delayed, the darkness feasted upon the forest. The fires shed no light, leaving only cold ash behind. The sun no longer peeked through branches, even those reduced to indistinguishable blobs of darkness. Isaac's vision tried to adapt to the darkness, but how could it? There wasn't even a glimpse of light to depend on.[break][break]

Something told him Zev would have no such issue.[break][break]

Isaac needed to gather his bearings. The winds released him and he hit the ground running. As he did, he pressed his hands together, reaching not for the waters but instead for his heart. As he slowly spread his hands, ripples began to form. Calming blue. Compassionate green. Courageous gold. In the face of Zev's unending darkness, all that was left of Isaac's aurora was what he could cup between his hands.[break][break]

These were his three lifelines. They shook like candlelight in a hurricane, the light they shed barely enough for Isaac to see his own feet. As an apex predator lurked in the shadows, ready to consume him, he knew it would have to be enough.

[attr="class","oocbox"]
TAG [break]
NOTES — notes go here




[newclass=".isaac2"] --color:#c4c067; [/newclass]
[newclass=".isaac2"] margin: 0px auto; background-color: #111; min-height: 500px; width: 450px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom:20px; } .isaac2 .textbox a, .isaac2 .textbox i { color:var(--color); } .isaac2 .textbox b { font:bold 13px/10px 'Poppins'; color:var(--color); } .topimage { background-image: url(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058305315642286080/1155427871351906335/image.png); height: 250px; width: 400px; background-size: cover; background-position:50% 20%; margin: 0px auto; } .isaac2 .textbox { line-height: 15px; letter-spacing: .5px; font-size: 12px; font-family: roboto; color: #d6d6d6; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 20px; background:#1E1E1E; padding:30px 50px; background-image: url(https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: bottom; } .isaac2 .oocbox { border-top: 3px solid #333; padding-top: 10px; width: 260px; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align:left; [/newclass]
close tab

played by

gunsmile

The Devourer
he / him
36
January 8
Lavender Town, Kanto
heterosexual
general of war
god general
nenet nzingha
starstruck ✨
6'3" / 190 cm height
6'3" / 190 cm height
Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.
awards
3,064 posts
Zev Harcourt DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @zev
Zev Harcourt
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON Jun 2, 2024 19:17:30 GMT
Zev Harcourt Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","zev3"]
[attr="class","body"]


For the briefest moment, Zev felt his claws hook on solid flesh. Then Isaac was gone, eluding Zev's grasp on a gust of wind blowing past them. That moment had been enough, though; Isaac's blood splattered on the blackened ground at Zev's feet. [break][break]

"Is that all you've got?" Necrozma's chosen asked, his tone laden more with disdain and disappointment than with taunt. He could see Isaac in the darkness as if it were daylight, each line and shade produced in vivid detail. [break][break]

Crystalline tendrils burst from Zev's body and lanced toward the boy's retreating form. They reached for him, razor-sharp ends seeking to cut flesh and draw blood. [break][break]

But they could only extend so far. If Isaac was fast enough, he could outrun them, leaving the border of the darkness for the world beyond.



TAGS[break]
NOTES – social | takes place after this thread


[attr="class","pkmn"]




[attr="class","credit"]




[newclass=".zev3"]--accent:#975fb2;font:13px Roboto;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 b"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 i"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 u"]text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 a"]font:13px Roboto;color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h1"]font:18px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h2"]font:16px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .body"]background-image:url("https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png");background-position:bottom;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .pkmn img"]margin:-10px -7px 0px -7px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .credit"]font-size:13px;[/newclass]
close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator
he/him/his
24
April 10
Lavaridge Town
Figuring it Out
Penitent
Renegade
I've got a, I've got a
Pocket fulla sunshine
Short King height
Short King height
Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!
awards
4,402 posts
Isaac Merlo DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @isaacmerlo
Isaac Merlo
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON Jun 3, 2024 1:44:35 GMT
Isaac Merlo Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","isaac2"]

[attr="class","topimage"]


[attr="class","textbox"]The roar of the flame had been smothered out. Whatever animals hadn't fled from the inferno now fled from the unnatural darkness that suffocated their homes. Isaac couldn't see damn thing, but in the perfect silence that had settled over them he could hear a pin drop.[break][break]

Zev's voice slithered after him, and he knew he was all out of time.[break][break]

The rush of stale, soot-stained air was his cue to move. As he did, tendrils of crystal smashed into the space where he once stood. Each pierced through the flame-baked earth as if it were paper, the sound of the earth itself rending sending a shiver down Isaac's spine. Dust kicked at his ankles and heels. How soon would it take before it was blood that started to spray instead?[break][break]

He couldn't stop running. There was no navigating these conditions. Not against a foe that was always in his shadow, looming behind him like the specter of death itself. If he was to make his stand, he'd have to outrun the darkness itself. He deepened his runner's stance, glared defiantly into the void beyond, and made peace with the fact that the void would have to break before he would.[break][break]

A sudden warmth on his face let Isaac know that he was free. For the first time since he'd started running, he chanced a peek over his shoulder. There was nothing; not because Zev had given up the chase, but because there was literally nothing but vantablack behind him. It was as if Arceus had ran out of time to finish designing the world. Zev could have been inside. He could have taken a different direction to ambush Isaac. He could have simply lost interest and stalked away. From here, Isaac would never know.[break][break]

Two could play at that game.[break][break]

The flames at this point of the forest were less intense than the ones Zev had once stood within, but that didn't mean Isaac couldn't make use of them. He willed water from the space between his hands, then handed it over to the mercy of its ancestral enemy. As the flames consumed it, it spread out into a veil of Isaac's own creation.[break][break]

Just as darkness and light bent the knee to Zev, water in all of its forms heeded Isaac's call. Where Zev would need to trudge through the cloud of steam by his own senses, Isaac could part the veil whenever he damn well pleased. He may not have had the perfect predatory instincts of his once and former mentor, but that didn't mean he couldn't keep picking up his tricks of the trade.[break][break]

It was time for the hunter to become the hunted.

TEAL DEER;[break]
Shit shit shit run run run.[break]
As suggested in your post, Isaac outruns the darkness. He then counteracts with a veil of his own, using flames that had spread deeper into the forest to turn water into a cloud of steam.

[attr="class","oocbox"]
TAG [break]
NOTES — notes go here




[newclass=".isaac2"] --color:#c4c067; [/newclass]
[newclass=".isaac2"] margin: 0px auto; background-color: #111; min-height: 500px; width: 450px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom:20px; } .isaac2 .textbox a, .isaac2 .textbox i { color:var(--color); } .isaac2 .textbox b { font:bold 13px/10px 'Poppins'; color:var(--color); } .topimage { background-image: url(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058305315642286080/1155427871351906335/image.png); height: 250px; width: 400px; background-size: cover; background-position:50% 20%; margin: 0px auto; } .isaac2 .textbox { line-height: 15px; letter-spacing: .5px; font-size: 12px; font-family: roboto; color: #d6d6d6; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 20px; background:#1E1E1E; padding:30px 50px; background-image: url(https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: bottom; } .isaac2 .oocbox { border-top: 3px solid #333; padding-top: 10px; width: 260px; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align:left; [/newclass]
close tab

played by

gunsmile

The Devourer
he / him
36
January 8
Lavender Town, Kanto
heterosexual
general of war
god general
nenet nzingha
starstruck ✨
6'3" / 190 cm height
6'3" / 190 cm height
Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.
awards
3,064 posts
Zev Harcourt DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @zev
Zev Harcourt
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON Jun 3, 2024 16:25:23 GMT
Zev Harcourt Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","zev3"]
[attr="class","body"]


Somehow, Isaac managed to escape the cage of unnatural darkness. Zev recognized, even begrudgingly, the boy's courage. Terror had not gripped Isaac's heart in the way it did with so many others. That had saved his life—or at least delayed his end. [break][break]

With the powers Necrozma granted him, Zev saw through the preternatural gloom into the world beyond. The ashen trees, the ruined ground, and even the flames that lingered. [break][break]

But then, in the blink of an eye, everything vanished from sight. [break][break]

Suspicion unfurled within the Rocket Beast like creeping vines. Isaac had always been a trickster, performing ridiculous stunts to achieve his ends. What deception had he chosen now to save his hide? [break][break]

Slowly, Zev allowed the surrounding blackness to dissipate, though his crystalline tendrils continued to snake to and fro in a defensive pattern. He expected to see sunlight and a fire-eaten forest, but instead, a thick cloud of steam smothered the landscape, obscuring it from his sight. [break][break]

Clever, he thought, begrudgingly. [break][break]

Still, he was the hunter, never prey. Growing still and silent, Zev watched and listened for any sign of Isaac's presence. Assuming the boy had not run away, of course.



TAGS[break]
NOTES – social | takes place after this thread


[attr="class","pkmn"]




[attr="class","credit"]




[newclass=".zev3"]--accent:#975fb2;font:13px Roboto;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 b"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 i"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 u"]text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 a"]font:13px Roboto;color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h1"]font:18px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h2"]font:16px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .body"]background-image:url("https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png");background-position:bottom;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .pkmn img"]margin:-10px -7px 0px -7px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .credit"]font-size:13px;[/newclass]
close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator
he/him/his
24
April 10
Lavaridge Town
Figuring it Out
Penitent
Renegade
I've got a, I've got a
Pocket fulla sunshine
Short King height
Short King height
Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!
awards
4,402 posts
Isaac Merlo DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @isaacmerlo
Isaac Merlo
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON Jun 5, 2024 0:54:30 GMT
Isaac Merlo Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","isaac2"]

[attr="class","topimage"]


[attr="class","textbox"]For a few precious moments, steam displaced with each writhe of Zev's tendrils. Then, stillness. Silence. He'd figured out Isaac's game, and he'd thrown down the gauntlet for an endurance match. Who could be the more patient and canny hunter?[break][break]

Only his control over the waters stopped his own shelter from lifting. This, in its own right, would eventually prove suspicious. It didn't take a rocket scientist (or a Rocket Beast, for that matter) to know steam was supposed to rise. Once Zev narrowed his location down, a tendril to the jugular would surely come next. Why'd steam have to be so hot?[break][break]

Hot. Of course. That was it![break][break]

Making his way over to a nearby flame, Isaac held the steam closer, closer, closer still. They tried to rise. He denied them. He cupped them between his hands to stifle their whistles of protest. They grew warmer, then hotter, then downright scalding. Isaac bit his tongue, holding in the urge to scream. He could cure himself later. He couldn't "later" his one chance at ambushing Zev Harcourt.[break][break]

He stalked towards Zev's last-known position, steam clutched close. Then, once he was just close enough to trust in his powers, he sent them roiling forward. If he couldn't put a dent in the crystals surrounding Zev, he could at least see what a little thermal shock to the system was capable of.[break][break]

TEAL DEER;[break]
Isaac decides to renounce his icy ways and try a new trick: heat![break]
After using up the remaining fire to heat some of the steam to downright scalding levels, he tries to sneak over to Zev and unleash it.[break]
Will treating him like a lobster in its shell do the trick? Probably not!

[attr="class","oocbox"]
TAG [break]
NOTES — notes go here




[newclass=".isaac2"] --color:#c4c067; [/newclass]
[newclass=".isaac2"] margin: 0px auto; background-color: #111; min-height: 500px; width: 450px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom:20px; } .isaac2 .textbox a, .isaac2 .textbox i { color:var(--color); } .isaac2 .textbox b { font:bold 13px/10px 'Poppins'; color:var(--color); } .topimage { background-image: url(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058305315642286080/1155427871351906335/image.png); height: 250px; width: 400px; background-size: cover; background-position:50% 20%; margin: 0px auto; } .isaac2 .textbox { line-height: 15px; letter-spacing: .5px; font-size: 12px; font-family: roboto; color: #d6d6d6; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 20px; background:#1E1E1E; padding:30px 50px; background-image: url(https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: bottom; } .isaac2 .oocbox { border-top: 3px solid #333; padding-top: 10px; width: 260px; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align:left; [/newclass]
close tab

played by

gunsmile

The Devourer
he / him
36
January 8
Lavender Town, Kanto
heterosexual
general of war
god general
nenet nzingha
starstruck ✨
6'3" / 190 cm height
6'3" / 190 cm height
Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.
awards
3,064 posts
Zev Harcourt DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @zev
Zev Harcourt
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON Jun 5, 2024 15:12:09 GMT
Zev Harcourt Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","zev3"]
[attr="class","body"]


Soft footsteps against the ground, rhythmic and purposeful. Zev swerved to face their direction without taking a step himself. The sound stopped for a long moment, long enough for him to question if he'd really heard Isaac or not. [break][break]

Then a burst of steam shot at him from the front. Instinctively, he raised an arm to shield his face, but the scalding hot gas brushed harmlessly over his carapace. In an ordinary body, the sudden heat would have shocked his system. [break][break]

But in his crystalline state, Zev had no organs to shock, no blood to boil. [break][break]

In retaliation, tendrils lashed out in the direction the steam originated, seeking vulnerable flesh and fragile bone. [break][break]

And in case Isaac tried to flee, the air above the battlefield ripped open; Zev's Necrozma shard emerged from it, prism-like eyes seeking the Liberator and his patron.



TAGS[break]
NOTES – social | takes place after this thread


[attr="class","pkmn"]







[attr="class","credit"]




[newclass=".zev3"]--accent:#975fb2;font:13px Roboto;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 b"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 i"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 u"]text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 a"]font:13px Roboto;color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h1"]font:18px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h2"]font:16px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .body"]background-image:url("https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png");background-position:bottom;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .pkmn img"]margin:-10px -7px 0px -7px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .credit"]font-size:13px;[/newclass]
close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator
he/him/his
24
April 10
Lavaridge Town
Figuring it Out
Penitent
Renegade
I've got a, I've got a
Pocket fulla sunshine
Short King height
Short King height
Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!
awards
4,402 posts
Isaac Merlo DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @isaacmerlo
Isaac Merlo
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON Jun 9, 2024 17:05:34 GMT
Isaac Merlo Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","isaac2"]

[attr="class","topimage"]


[attr="class","textbox"]For the first time tonight, Isaac actually got a reaction out of Zev.[break][break]

The man raised a hand to his face, sensing danger. Actual danger! Isaac could already hear the hiss of steam, see the crystals glow a bright red, imagine the biggest threat to the Hoenn region being scalded from the inside. If it had been anyone else, he'd pity them. If it had been Zev, he was ready to savor it.[break][break]

And yet, bar that instinctual cover, nothing happened. Not so much as a grunt of pain.[break][break]

Isaac took a step back, eyes wide with disbelief. Had he tried that on anyone else, they would have needed a trip to the infirmary. Zev didn't so much as waver. Just like with a stab directly to the eyeball, he seemed unharmed. No, unphased. It wasn't that his body had pushed through the pain. It was almost as if . . .[break][break]

No. No, that was impossible. Despite everything, Avatars were mortal. Zev was mortal. He had to be![break][break]

The implications if he wasn't made Isaac nauseous.[break][break]

There was no time to process. There was never any time to process. Not when Zev's tendrils bore down on him. Isaac threw his body from side to side, knowing any hesitation would spell his end. It was a deadly dance mirrored on the fringes of the battlefield, Suicune slicing across the treeline at galeforce speeds. In its wake, great waves seemed to form, Surfs crashing down toward Necrozma with each hit and run pass.[break][break]

What Isaac wouldn't give to have such power. He was still but a pupil formed in the shadow of divinity. Yet the Pressure he felt from that glimpse of Suicune, that warmth and firmness settling over him like a weighted blanket, stoked a different reminder in his heart. No matter how it felt, he wasn't alone here. He never was.[break][break]

It was his greatest strength.[break][break]

The second there was an opening in Zev's offense, Isaac took his chance. With one step, two steps, three, he'd once more rocketed towards his former mentor along the winds. However, this time, it wouldn't be an icicle heading for Zev's eye. Instead, it would be a Pokeball unhooked from Isaac's belt, pushed right towards Zev's chest. He may have been invincible, but Isaac had no idea how heavy he was.[break][break]

Perhaps, with any luck, he would prove light enough to be knocked down by the weight of an Aggron atop his chest. Yet whether he was bowled over or remained standing, Isaac's plan remained the same. Neo would throw her full weight into center mass strikes, seeking to crush whatever dwelled within Zev's crystals with the force of an Earthquake.[break][break]

If even this failed to harm him, perhaps Isaac would finally understand the reality of this situation.

[attr="class","oocbox"]
TAG [break]
NOTES — notes go here




[newclass=".isaac2"] --color:#c4c067; [/newclass]
[newclass=".isaac2"] margin: 0px auto; background-color: #111; min-height: 500px; width: 450px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom:20px; } .isaac2 .textbox a, .isaac2 .textbox i { color:var(--color); } .isaac2 .textbox b { font:bold 13px/10px 'Poppins'; color:var(--color); } .topimage { background-image: url(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058305315642286080/1155427871351906335/image.png); height: 250px; width: 400px; background-size: cover; background-position:50% 20%; margin: 0px auto; } .isaac2 .textbox { line-height: 15px; letter-spacing: .5px; font-size: 12px; font-family: roboto; color: #d6d6d6; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align: justify; padding-bottom: 20px; background:#1E1E1E; padding:30px 50px; background-image: url(https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: bottom; } .isaac2 .oocbox { border-top: 3px solid #333; padding-top: 10px; width: 260px; margin: 20px auto 0px; text-align:left; [/newclass]
close tab

played by

gunsmile

The Devourer
he / him
36
January 8
Lavender Town, Kanto
heterosexual
general of war
god general
nenet nzingha
starstruck ✨
6'3" / 190 cm height
6'3" / 190 cm height
Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.
awards
3,064 posts
Zev Harcourt DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @zev
Zev Harcourt
ANTITHESIS [S]
POSTED ON Jun 10, 2024 0:06:17 GMT
Zev Harcourt Avatar
[nospaces]
[attr="class","zev3"]
[attr="class","body"]


Necrozma's alien scream echoed through the forest as wave after wave of SURF crashed down upon it. It retaliated with BRUTAL SWINGS of its razor-edged claws, cruel obsidian seeking to spill the warmth of blood and flesh. [break][break]

Isaac was a blur as he danced around Zev's attacks, his speed a boon granted by the winds themselves. Though Zev would never admit it, it was taking all of his concentration to keep up with the boy. Over and over, he sent his tendrils into the space Isaac occupied, only to miss by fractions of seconds. [break][break]

Frustration built up inside Zev, enough for him to decide to switch tactics. But before he could act, Isaac had disappeared again, only to reappear directly in front of him. A flash of light and a sudden tremendous weight followed. [break][break]

Zev landed hard on his back, protected by his crystals, with an Aggron on his chest. The Iron Armor Pokémon drew back a steely fist, aimed at the man's center. He had only a split-second to react. [break][break]

His tendrils retracted rapidly as crystals shot forward from his torso to strike the Aggron like a hammer. At the same time, he warped her gravity, making her light as a feather. As soon as his crystals connected with the Pokémon, she shot backward into the air like a bullet from a sling. [break][break]

Black shards of alien metal rippled as they returned to Zev's body, restoring his original form. He stood from the indentation in the ground. By then, the steam had risen above his head. With a thought, he siphoned the last embers of the fire into his body, replenishing his energy a small amount. [break][break]

Then he turned pale starlight eyes upon Isaac. "Is that all?"



TAGS[break]
NOTES – social | takes place after this thread


[attr="class","pkmn"]







[attr="class","credit"]




[newclass=".zev3"]--accent:#975fb2;font:13px Roboto;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 b"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 i"]color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 u"]text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 a"]font:13px Roboto;color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h1"]font:18px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 h2"]font:16px Roboto;color:var(--accent);font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .body"]background-image:url("https://image.ibb.co/cpf8Wc/flower_patt.png");background-position:bottom;background-repeat:no-repeat;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .pkmn img"]margin:-10px -7px 0px -7px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".zev3 .credit"]font-size:13px;[/newclass]
img
The Shula Region
Hogwarts AU
RPG Unlimited
MR
The Enroi Region
N:FB
Vyrehaven
Celestial Guardians, AU Sailor Moon RP
EO GENESIS
Code and Crown: An advanced literate warriors cats RP, set in medieval times
Swords Clashing