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TAG WITH @aurelie

POSTED ON Jun 7, 2024 19:57:22 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Victory loves preparation.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]When she'd stepped through the portal created by Palkia on the Megalopolan spaceship—a series of words that Aurelie never thought she'd ever say or think—her only thought had been of her apartment in Lilycove. To her, right now, that felt like home. She emerged from the portal, headed straight to the bed, and fell asleep almost before she hit the covers.

It wasn't until Aurelie woke up a day and a half later that she noticed the scattering of dust over most of the furniture and the slightly stale, stuffy smell of the air. Through the fog of drowsiness, hazy memories emerged. Right. I've been in Sootopolis for a month, she thought groggily. Working on Calyrex's saddle and shield.

Regretfully and unhurriedly, she packed up some more clothes and other belongings she'd missed while in Sootopolis and then caught a Corviknight taxi back. To her astonishment, when the red-haired smith entered the familiar warehouse where she'd been working, she saw Calyrex waiting for her.

But that wasn't even the strangest part. The strangest part was that, this time, it was accompanied by a Rocket grunt she didn't recognize.

For only the second time that she could remember, Calyrex spoke to her. And in conclusion, Aurelie walked away stunned but satisfied. Apparently, Calyrex was pleased enough with her work on the shield and saddle that it wanted something else next.

A sword.

Yesssssssssss, Aurelie exulted.

After she recovered from her shock, the red-haired smith wasted little time disseminating the news to the rest of Rocket. The higher-ups would want to know, after all, and it didn't make sense to hide the information from fellow grunts.

Then, despite the fact that she hadn't entirely finished the shield yet, Aurelie impulsively leaped into thinking about how to address the sword. Settling back into the immense, industrial-sized warehouse space that she'd filled with anvils, forges, power hammers, drills, saws, crucibles, a foundry, and other equipment, she sat down at a worktable and began sketching rapidly.

"Hmmm, hmmm," she muttered aloud to herself in the quiet of the vast warehouse. "What type of sword should it be? A classic longsword? An iconic katana? A historically appropriate claymore? A...size-appropriate dagger?"

As ever, Aurelie had included a minor note in the Rocket news bulletin that anyone was welcome to stop by and help out or observe the process, if they wanted. If anyone chose to arrive and offer their opinion on the best sword to give Calyrex, this would be an opportune moment.

[attr="class","aurelie_tag"]

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vermillion city, kanto

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errand boy

grunt

843 height

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TAG WITH @priam

POSTED ON Jun 14, 2024 19:12:52 GMT

"how about a rapier?" a voice suggests, interrupting the musing of an artist in work. "that's the pointy stick sword that posh, rich people use, right?"

priam waves when his presence gets acknowledged by aurelie. he wastes no time moving from the entrance to where she situated herself, not wanting to make communication between them devolve to a shouting rally for being far away.

"if it's for the lil guy, it has to be that! they look so fancy too, and it fits his vibes, ya feel me?"

if it wasn't, then he'd have a different suggestion.

his voice fills the workshop with his own energy, making himself comfortable in the presence of someone he hasn't been made familiar yet. he knew her though, since her name has been in the talks of people of influence.

that alone wouldn't be enough to reel priam in, however. it was the open invitation she had posted that got him curious.

"oh, yeah, i'm priam, by the way. nice to meetcha! hope you don't mind me observin' and stuff. sword stuff are pretty cool, so i just had to pop in."

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dreamflower

she/her

December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

Bisexual

Blacksmith, bladesmith

Associate

5'7"/170 cm height

A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.

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TAG WITH @aurelie

POSTED ON Jun 20, 2024 1:03:51 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Victory loves preparation.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie couldn't help laughing at the sudden interjection from the door, amused by the tongue-in-cheek yet somewhat accurate description of a rapier. "Not a bad idea!" she replied, turning her head to look toward the newcomer.

Though the blue-haired man looked oddly familiar, the red-haired smith couldn't put a name to him. But she remembered meeting him—and recently, too. She frowned, falling silent and staring at him.

Then, she had it. A mask falling off, a purplish Toxic Chain disappearing, and a tattoo glowing as if with its own eldritch light. He was in the Megalopolan prison! Aurelie realized. Not in my ward, but... He was there.

I wonder what he wants with me.

"Nice to meet you, Priam," she hastened to say aloud, before her pause of recognition grew too long and awkward. The red-haired smith extended her hand for him to shake, if he chose.

"As you might have guessed, I'm Aurelie," she went on, with what she hoped was a disarming smile. "And yes, this is for Calyrex. I do agree that, given how small it is, a rapier would make a lot of sense! But..."

Tapping the pencil she'd been using to sketch with pensively against her cheek, she pursed her lips in thought. "It's not a great weapon to be using from horseback, and given that it also requested a saddle, I imagine Calyrex will usually be fighting on horseback.

"So, I was thinking maybe a saber, like what cavalrymen would use," she concluded, looking down at the half-drawn sketch on the table before her. "It's light, quick, and able to do a lot of damage, either on horseback or on foot. But...I'm open to other ideas!"

Aurelie cleared her throat, as if catching herself before she started rambling, and looked back at Priam. "Right! Well. Anyway, I certainly don't mind an observer, if you're curious about the process of smithing and if you want to learn more. Or if you want to learn more about swords in general. Because you're right, they totally are extremely cool.

"And if you should ever want a handcrafted. custom sword or another weapon of your own, I'd be happy to make you something," she added. "Assuming Calyrex doesn't decide to claim all my time forever, of course!"

[attr="class","aurelie_tag"]

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Aero

conrad

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december 18

vermillion city, kanto

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errand boy

grunt

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TAG WITH @priam

POSTED ON Jun 26, 2024 6:06:52 GMT

"i didn't know you can only use certain swords on horseback!"

a mixture of surprise, wonder and genuine interest lace the exclamation. he finds himself the nearest stool and takes a seat, giving his full attention to the blacksmith.

the invitation is taken, and he makes it known that he doesn't take the opportunity for granted.

"i'm less of a sword guy though, and more of a knife kinda guy."

from his pocket, he produces a blade too thin to be used as an actual melee weapon, but surprisingly sharp and durable enough to be used for it. one look by the master of her field suggests it was meant for throwing.

priam unsheathes it from its casing to show it off, glimmering with a dark sheen that seemingly absorbs light with how black it was.

"we can give calyrex somethin' like this but it looks like it'll be too short to use while on horseback. do you think he has the dexterity to throw stuff?"

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dreamflower

she/her

December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

Bisexual

Blacksmith, bladesmith

Associate

5'7"/170 cm height

A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.

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TAG WITH @aurelie

POSTED ON Jun 27, 2024 21:59:46 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Victory loves preparation.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]When Priam expressed surprise about the types of swords that could or couldn't be used on horseback, Aurelie beamed back at him enthusiastically. The fact that he seemed interested in the subject only made her warm to it further. As he sat down, she leaned forward eagerly.

"Actually, it's not so much that you can only use certain swords on horseback and others just don't work," she explained, her tone taking on a distinctly pedantic tinge. "You can probably use anything on horseback, but! Some swords will work far better than others in that situation.

"For instance, of course, a longer blade would be more effective than a shorter one, because it'd offer greater reach. Something that requires as much precision as a rapier would also be really hard to use when you're galloping across a battlefield. There usually won't be enough time to aim much, let alone direct a pinpoint strike."

Nodding intently, looking confident in her own argument, the red-haired smith continued, "Which I think is why a saber was historically a favorite cavalry weapon. Straight swords are fine on horseback, but the saber's curve makes it amazing for slashing and chopping. You don't need to use a lot of force or accuracy for a devastating attack."

Then, Aurelie cleared her throat awkwardly, realizing that not only had she begun rambling, she'd in fact rambled her way possibly off a cliff. She smiled self-consciously.

"Anyway, right, sorry." The red-haired smith fell silent as Priam pulled out a blade of his own to show as an example. For a moment, she thought its dark color must be due to bluing or oxidation, but the luster of it was distinctive.

"Is that... Wait, who made... How... When..." Aurelie stammered, her mind filling with questions faster than her mouth could shape the words.

Rapidly, she shook her head and tried to compose herself despite her shock. One hand reached forward as if to take hold of the knife, before she pulled it back with a visible effort. Drawing a sharp breath, she began to fire off the questions queued up in her brain.

"Is that Necrozma metal?! Like the armor on Zev Harcourt or the pieces that came off Zamazenta's shield? Who made that knife for you? It's very nice, by the way," she added hastily, eyeing it judiciously. "Very well-balanced.

"How did you get such a knife? And how do you work that metal, considering that it's supposed to be impenetrable? Do you know?" Aurelie persisted, resuming the questions. "And when? Do you have more of that metal? Or just this one knife?"

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Aero

conrad

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december 18

vermillion city, kanto

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errand boy

grunt

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TAG WITH @priam

POSTED ON Jul 9, 2024 2:49:38 GMT

"i... i had it when we woke up from that cave? you know, the one with the sword and shield dogs?"

priam is confused by the sudden excitement of the blacksmith.

"didn't everyone get some sort of souvenir?" he asked. "this was mine."

he heard other people got theirs, most of which seemed sentimental in nature compared to what he got. considering he had a weapon, he can only surmise whatever life he led in that dream world wasn't important enough.

"y-you can use it if you want, if that's where you're leading to," he adds, stammering as he attempts to recover from the surprise. "i don't have more, but adding it to make alloys should still account for something, right?"

the creation of genesect was the only thing that gave him an idea of how metalworking works.

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dreamflower

she/her

December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

Bisexual

Blacksmith, bladesmith

Associate

5'7"/170 cm height

A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.

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1,249 posts

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part of

TAG WITH @aurelie

POSTED ON Jul 20, 2024 4:30:19 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Victory loves preparation.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]"Oh, were you there too?" Aurelie exclaimed, surprised and delighted. "In the dream-Galar world with Calyrex and the Hero Dogs, I mean. No wonder!

"Were you in the one with the Calyrex that allied with Rocket or..." She smiled wryly. "Or the one that allied with the League?"

Shaking her head in bemusement, the red-haired smith studied the night-black dagger intently. "I wish I brought back something as useful as that from my life there! Mine was a chess set I made, with faces of friends and allies on different pieces. Not nearly as cool as your knife."

Which was what made her hesitate with accepting his offer. "But...if you're sure you're okay with me taking your knife and melting down the blade so it can be folded into tempered steel for the sword..." Her hand hovered toward the knife, openly covetous of it but unsure if she should.

Aurelie hastened to explain that she had possessed a handful of Necrozma fragments that'd fallen off Zamazenta's shield when struck by Chien-Pao. She had studied and experimented with that handful, so she was familiar with the metal's properties. But it hadn't been nearly enough to make anything like a blade.

"It should make a very strong blade, especially if melded into an alloy with high-carbon steel," she mused. "But...I don't think a throwing knife would be a good fit for Calyrex.

"With any throwing weapon, you throw it and then you have to chase after it and pick it up again before you can use it another time," the red-haired smith reasoned. "And I can't see Calyrex wanting to retrieve its weapon constantly in the middle of a battle."

She shrugged. "Besides, it asked for a sword. And there really isn't such a thing as a throwing sword, not in real life. Like they say, the customer is always right, right?"

Leaning forward eagerly, she flashed an enthusiastic smile at him. "We can get started right now, if you've no objection to playing apprentice blacksmith for the day! Let me just grab some protective gear for you, and then, we can start melting down some metal!" Without even waiting for him to respond, she bustled off to fetch an apron, safety goggles, and gloves for Priam.

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played by

Aero

conrad

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december 18

vermillion city, kanto

anything goes

errand boy

grunt

843 height

Embrace the dark you call a home, Gaze upon an empty, white throne

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2,463 posts

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TAG WITH @priam

POSTED ON Jul 31, 2024 9:03:42 GMT

"w-what?"

among those that woke up in the terastal caverns, priam was those who had limited memories of what happened. everything from that dream came with hyper specific details of the stars and constellations, which was not what he expected.

personal mementos such as chess pieces of loved ones was more on brand, but he supposed whatever was beyond reality changes people.

"o-oh, yeah! sure! just use it. i'm sure it's for a better cause! i'll jus' get another knife, no big deal!"

it wasn't like he was going to use it. on the other hand, it gives him enough favor to be on aurelie's good side. the offer gets him excited, and puts his voice a pitch higher from enthusiasm.

"besides, i'm excited for the apprentice stuff! i'll have ya know i was part of the team that got those genesects developed, so you only have to teach the whole blacksmithy stuff! i already got the basics of metalworking right here."

priam taps his temple.

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played by

dreamflower

she/her

December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

Bisexual

Blacksmith, bladesmith

Associate

5'7"/170 cm height

A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.

awards

1,249 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @aurelie

POSTED ON Aug 5, 2024 22:57:38 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Victory loves preparation.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie's face flushed with uncertain, hesitant gratitude when Priam cheerfully agreed to let her use the knife made of Necrozma metal. "Heck, I'll make you a new knife! Two knives, even," she blurted out impulsively.

"Or even three or four. After all, the one you're letting me melt down is definitely a one-of-a-kind piece," she concluded almost regretfully, picking up the black blade and holding it to the light. "But then, the sword we're making will be one of a kind too, so I hope that evens out."

At Priam's acceptance of the impromptu apprenticeship, the red-haired smith brightened. After rushing off to get all the protective equipment he'd need, she managed to restrain herself from checking more than two or three times to make sure his safety goggles were securely fitted over his eyes.

Then, still holding the knife, she beckoned him to follow her toward not to the propane-powered forge, as he might have expected, or the anvil. Instead, Aurelie headed toward a machine that looked like it might be used on a farm for grinding grain into flour. On the way over, she idly picked up a steel billet.

"Well, since you're already familiar with the basics of blacksmithing, I doubt I need to lecture you too much on powder metallurgy," she declared. "So, first we start with crushing this carbon steel billet into powder using this high-powered hammer mill.

"After that, we'll crush the...the Necrozma metal blade into powder too." Even with Priam's agreement, the red-haired smith gulped, as if unsure if he'd snatch back the blade at the last second. "Then, we'll compress them together into a bar and heat the bar in the forge—very carefully—so the two metals bond together."

Indicating her own ears, Aurelie added helpfully, "You'll want to make sure your ear protectors are definitely tight for this! The hammer mill gets noisy."

Not that anything about smithing was ever particularly quiet, from the roaring of the active forge to the hammering of metal on the anvil or even the hiss of a blade being quenched in oil or water. Even when working on a design, Aurelie tended to mutter or even talk aloud to herself quite often.

"That'll create the alloy we need to begin the forging work. And..." She held up both hands and conspicuously crossed all her fingers. "We hope that it all bonds and works together, considering this is all the Necrozma metal we have. Otherwise, Calyrex will just have to be satisfied with an ordinary Damascus high-carbon steel sword."

With that said, she promptly dropped the metal billet into the spout of the hammer mill and started it. As promised, the clamor of crushing the metal into increasingly tiny pieces started quickly and just as quickly became thunderously loud. She winced and tightened her own ear protectors.

[attr="class","aurelie_tag"]