kicking rocks [m]

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

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Magnetic

Admin Fox

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May 9th

Rustboro City

Bisexual

Archaeologist

Rocket Admin

An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

Single

5'9 (with hat) height

The future will tempt you, the present will indulge you, but the past will shackle you.

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howard slayte

kicking rocks [m]

POSTED ON Sept 20, 2024 7:37:35 GMT

Eris Halla likes this

If Howard Slayte died, he would be replaced. Team Rocket's upper echelons of command were meant to be replaced when they fell. Admins ran the organization, but Howard offered little that another person couldn't take. He was expendable. He only offered one thing to Team Rocket, and that was his ██████████████████.

He would not die here. He was not fated to die. Even if he laughed in the face of prophecy, even if Nikola could not calculate or anticipate divine providence, he would not die here.

That didn't stop him from screaming for his life as he fell towards Regirock. Mechanical legs cracked and sparked as he slid down Regirock's massive head. Dynergy swirled around him, and he saw flickers of other lives in the storm.

"Regirock...! Compose yourself!" The admin dangled from a piece of its body, near where its heart once was. "After everything I've done for you, you're refusing to listen to me now? After I fixed your heart? After I shouldered your fear?"

The admin grit his teeth.

"I'M ASHAMED TO BE YOUR TRAINER!" Somewhere within the mechanism, a Mystical Power once released by Eris Halla sparked something. A smidge of emotion. A smidge of shame. "SHAME ON YOU!"

Regirock stopped. Its pattern flashed. ⠊⠍ ⠎⠕⠗⠗⠽ It slumped its head in apology.

Then Howard fell.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"

NIKOLA SAMSA

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samsa, kafka, nika

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august 26

slateport city

bisexual

researcher

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how do i look now? am i unsightly?

5'7 height

by the time i awoke, i had become a poisonous insect

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NIKOLA SAMSA

kicking rocks [m]

POSTED ON Sept 20, 2024 18:18:39 GMT

howard slayte likes this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","nikola"]

[attr="class","top"]

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they can hear howard's screams get further and further away. nikola watches helplessly as he falls, somehow managing to catch himself on regirock. they strain their ears to hear what he says... hang on, is he shaming regirock like i shame fluffy when she eats rocks!? miraculously, somehow, it seems to work, but it only makes howard's position more precarious. they can already see him slipping...[break][break]

they thrust their hand, ball enclosed and pointing down, out into the open. with a flash of light their togekiss appears, catches sight of the falling figure, and immediately drops into a nose dive. nikola's fingernails dig into their hands as they grit their teeth. it's going to be close, but... there! just before he hits the ground, their togekiss manages to scoop him up, allowing him to land upon its soft, feathery back instead. it might still knock the wind out of him, but at least he's not hurt. probably.[break][break]

pluma lifts him back up to where nikola's is still seated on their arcanine. without thinking, they bonk him on the head. "somebody needs to keep you on a leash!" they scold.

[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]the ghost that i am behaves like a human.[break]
howard slayte [break]

[break]

[attr="class","credit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cloud-moon"]

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[newclass=".nikola .credit a"]font-size:12px; position:absolute; z-index:99; right:130px; bottom:10px; opacity:0.3;[/newclass]

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played by

Magnetic

Admin Fox

He/Him

May 9th

Rustboro City

Bisexual

Archaeologist

Rocket Admin

An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

Single

5'9 (with hat) height

The future will tempt you, the present will indulge you, but the past will shackle you.

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howard slayte

kicking rocks [m]

POSTED ON Sept 21, 2024 6:52:34 GMT

Instead of crashing into hard stone, he crashes into a soft, fluffy Togekiss. There are worse ways to go. It's better to sink into a Togekiss's feathers rather than be crushed into paste on contact with the uncaring earth. Thus, when the Togekiss flies towards the heavens and their trainer, Howard doesn't complain.

For the most part, Howard was just happy to be alive. Death doesn't suit him. He had climbed Regirock, and falling to his death now would've been the cosmic middle finger that historians would laugh at for another millennia.

"Guh..." He took several, rattling breaths as he waited for his lungs to refill with precious oxygen. Falling hundreds of meters had its downsides, he had to admit. "Good work... Togekiss."

As the duo rose to Nikola, the admin gave them a groggy thumbs up.

"And you too, Nikola." He shuddered and took deep breath. His lungs rattled and his face was pale as he looked up at the scientist scolding him. "Oh, please. It worked, didn't it? I'm your boss! You can't bonk me!"

He swatted their hand away as Regirock and Regice nodded in the distance.

NIKOLA SAMSA

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played by

newt

samsa, kafka, nika

they/them

august 26

slateport city

bisexual

researcher

associate

how do i look now? am i unsightly?

5'7 height

by the time i awoke, i had become a poisonous insect

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NIKOLA SAMSA

kicking rocks [m]

POSTED ON Sept 23, 2024 4:15:36 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","nikola"]

[attr="class","top"]

[attr="class","charicon"]
nikola resists the urge to give pluma the order to dump howard off his back. "i just saved your life! i think i earned at least one bonk," they retort. if they were a little less naturally wound up and tense, they might have taken a moment to let the relief just wash over them. the two regis seem to have both stopped warring, and they'd come out of it pretty much completely unscathed. less than ten minutes ago, they'd thought the worst would come to occur.[break][break]

they rub their temple. think i feel a migraine coming on... sighing, they offer another hand to howard, this time a hand up and off his soft, comfy ride. "can you walk? we should... probably take this opportunity to get out of here before the wild pokemon come out of hiding." there ought to be a brief period of time where anything with survival instincts is still remaining cautious of the area. perfect for if they want to slip out without being challenged by anything else, since they're not sure they can take any more excitement here.[break][break]

they cast a glance at the two legendary pokemon. well. i guess that makes three encounters. all within the last month... i really hope there isn't a fourth coming.

[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]the ghost that i am behaves like a human.[break]
howard slayte [break]

[break]

[attr="class","credit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cloud-moon"]

close tab

played by

Magnetic

Admin Fox

He/Him

May 9th

Rustboro City

Bisexual

Archaeologist

Rocket Admin

An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

Single

5'9 (with hat) height

The future will tempt you, the present will indulge you, but the past will shackle you.

awards

3,137 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @magnetic

howard slayte

kicking rocks [m]

POSTED ON Sept 23, 2024 6:24:50 GMT

There would be a fourth encounter. There was always another encounter with the divine around the corner in this region.

Though, if Nikola were to ask Howard on his opinion, he would not call Regirock or Regice gods. They were just machines built with the purpose of felling an evil dragon. They were saviors of humanity, built from statues and desperately prayed to. One might call them gods, but what sort of god was built?

No. There was a far more apt term to describe the duo: heroes.

"One bonk. Don't tell anyone that you did, though. Chain of command and all that." He accepted their hand and left Togekiss's fluffy embrace. "Thank you."

Regice disappeared into a red glow as it disappeared within its Pokeball. Regirock simply punched a hole in the cliff and lumbered into the tunnels that spanned Area Zero. Somehow, someway, it would return back to Petalburg to defend the town and return to its sentence of labor.

"Yeah, let's go." He brushed himself off and gave Nikola a look. "Don't mention this to anyone, by the way. Ever. Can't let people think they're out of control."

NIKOLA SAMSA

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played by

newt

samsa, kafka, nika

they/them

august 26

slateport city

bisexual

researcher

associate

how do i look now? am i unsightly?

5'7 height

by the time i awoke, i had become a poisonous insect

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NIKOLA SAMSA

kicking rocks [m]

POSTED ON Sept 25, 2024 1:43:04 GMT

howard slayte likes this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","nikola"]

[attr="class","top"]

[attr="class","charicon"]
nikola calls pluma back into its ball as well, seeing no reason to keep the fairy type out. canem should be enough to get them back to the top before anyone decides to look into the... well, the damage done to the chasm just now. if anyone asks, nikola and howard were never here at this time. that suspiciously regirock-shaped hole in the cliff face? don't even worry about it.[break][break]

"...right." the answer comes in the affirmative, though they can't deny they're uneasy. "i'm just going to assume you have some sort of plan for... preventing something like this from happening again." the tone in their voice suggests doubt, but for their own peace of mind they're going to leave that responsibility to howard. even he wouldn't be so foolish as to try and command a legendary of such strength without some sort of method in mind, right? despite appearances, they think there must be something more to him than the man who almost lost his lunch on their arcanine earlier.[break][break]

is that, perhaps, uncharacteristically optimistic? perhaps there's something of catellus left in them after all.

[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]the ghost that i am behaves like a human.[break]
howard slayte [break]

[break]

[attr="class","credit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cloud-moon"]