Dark shapes coalesced around the perimeter of their impromptu meeting place, but Nomi kept her gaze solely focused on PENELOPE LIVY. When the magma came streaking towards her, she did not flinch - this time, she was ready. Blue crystal glittered into existence, forming a semi-opaque shield around the Visionary. The magma had not been aimed to kill, but the crystals blocked the spray, protecting Nomi from what would surely have been several third-degree burns.[break][break]
"Last I checked, a significant amount of land burning has come from your side," she replied, waving a hand at the smoking earth where the magma had fallen, as if to emphasize her point. "Your very own Groudon Avatar is as volatile as his title promises. The sort of man who would do unspeakable things if it served him."[break][break]
She had no idea how much intel the League had on MATIAS SILPH and Elisabeth Fiorelli, and though she did not intend to speak of it in detail, her patience was thinning.[break][break]
"There has been violence on both sides of our ongoing conflict, Councilwoman. You cannot deny that. What I want, is for all of us to stand down - for the time being - and focus our efforts on protecting Hoenn, first and foremost, from its largest threat."[break][break]
The Unown hovered on either side of her: glowing sentinels of infinite potential.[break][break]
"The DRK Triad won't care if League or Rocket controls this region - they will destroy it all the same. In fact, they are banking on us doing their work for them by continuing to clash. I'm asking you to set aside your hate for Rocket, or at the very least, redirect it."[break][break]
She spoke with all the steadfast confidence of a prophet, but deep within, doubt had begun to fester. Her skin prickled, anticipating another attack.[break][break]
"We are running out of time."

TAGS – PENELOPE LIVY[break]
NOTES - Outfit vibes[break]
"Never can true reconcilement grow where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep..."[break]
― John Milton, Paradise Lost

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It was at that moment, as Nenet pressed forward with question after question, that Nomi realized that she had divulged far too much information, all at once - remembering, with a sudden pang of guilt, that Nenet was neither a member of Team Rocket nor someone who's life she wished to complicate more than it already had been.[break][break]
She married Zev, Nomi reminded herself. Her life is already far more complicated than the average person's, Rocket aside.[break][break]
"I've worked with Zev for a few years now, actually," Nomi answered. "Before he became...what he is now." A creature of void and crystal. She had to assume that Nenet was aware of his transformation. His merging with Necrozma. "He was already a member of Hoenn Rocket when I joined."[break][break]
How distant that felt now, her first meeting in the back room of Howling at the Moon.[break][break]
"The RKS Machine is a Rocket creation, yes. It was built using a Seal Stone, recovered from deep within the Ultra Deep Sea. It was the thing we were...hunting, when you were attacked."[break][break]
Her expression turned sincerely apologetic; the echoes of Nenet's injuries were still visible, after all.[break][break]
"I helped create the machine. It's a vast network of simulated realities, highly realistic scenarios, that, we hope, will lead us to Arceus." She waved a hand. "But that's not how the Unown found me. I started befriending them long before that...it wasn't until Holo - a member of the DRK Triad - attacked me in the RKS Machine, that I was chosen as their Avatar."[break][break]
She smiled up at them, expression full of adoration and gratitude.[break][break]
"They saved my life."[break][break]
After a moment, her eyes met Nenet's once more.[break][break]
"You know...I think you'd find the RKS Machine quite fascinating. I also have a Deoxys core in my possession, that I could really use an astrobiologist's opinion of. Have you..." she hesitated, not wanting to appear overly eager. "Have you considered joining us? Joining Rocket, I mean."

TAGS – Neffatari Nzingha[break]
NOTES – Mission

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Nomi had seen her fair share of strange trees. The gruesome Jubokko tree in the Border. The strange barren tree, white as bone, in the RKS Simulation. Now there was a new tree - one teeming with plump, colorful fruit. It looked relatively harmless, but she knew better than to assume it could not hurt her.[break][break]
"They don't," she admitted, flipping through the copies of her field notes from when she was in the dream of Galar. "Only power spots."[break][break]
She frowned up at the massive plant and its whimsical fruit, as if scowling at it might encourage it to reveal its secrets.[break][break]
"I'd like to run some tests on that fruit," she said to Priam, without breaking eye contact with the tree. "You said you wanted to show off, right?"[break][break]
She turned to him then and grinned, pleasant demeanor returning despite her lack of knowledge regarding this new inexplicable oddity.[break][break]
"Go and get me one."

TAGS – priam conrad[break]
NOTES – Mission | Outfit

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My sister.[break][break]
Nomi turned, eyes widening. There were wet streaks along her cheeks - when had she started crying?[break][break]
They were so similar, Cillian Quinn and Lulu Flint. The quiet, almost casual way they praised the deserving: praise that did not come easily and was reserved for so few. It was an honor to be considered one of the brightest people Lulu knew, but more so than any of her specific scientific accomplishments, it was the verbal acknowledgement of their forged familial bond that caused Nomi's chest to swell with pride - and with love.[break][break]
Lulu's smile was beautiful, and Nomi knew she was looking at something truly rare: the sincere affection of a woman who had been through countless hardships that had hardened her heart. And somehow, against all odds, Nomi had wiggled her way inside that armored vessel. It meant more to her than Lulu could ever truly know.[break][break]
"I'm ready," she replied, voice hoarse. She sniffed, wiped her eyes, smiled broadly back. "Sister."[break][break]
The bed was comfortable enough, and truth be told, she was tired. Too many late nights had prepared her for this moment of impromptu sleep. She closed her eyes, waiting for the dream mist to fill the room. She did not feel afraid; the Unown would watch their backs while they slept.[break][break]
"Thank you for trusting me," was the last thing she murmured, before the dream began.

TAGS – Lulu Flint[break]
NOTES – Mission

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The simulated universe the League has.[break][break]
This was news to Nomi - important news. There was more than one RKS machine, then? Or rather, the League had somehow built a device capable of creating simulations of a similar nature. For she, too, had seen Regirock in Rocket's virtual world.[break][break]
Something else occurred to her then - a blinding flash of intuition, a lightning strike of inspiration.[break][break]
"Do you happen to know if there is a...book, powering the League's simulated universe? It would be a very archaic book, with symbols on the cover that don't make much sense. Inside, stories of Galar..."[break][break]
She trailed off, realizing she might be overwhelming him with a sudden outburst of seemingly unrelated information. She focused on the topic at hand once more, weighing his foreboding words.[break][break]
"Yes, I was at the Ancient Tomb."[break][break]
Twenty years. So, he'd been there to. They all had - everyone who had fought that day. She had not seen him in Circhester, so he must have been transported to a different city.[break][break]
"Your conclusion is logical," she nodded. Dyna energy is a volatile substance, a power we barely understand. What we do know, is that it is extremely dangerous. The devastation has the potential to be insurmountable."[break][break]
Her tone was clinical, detached, but if he were looking closely, he would see a mote of fear in her crimson eyes.[break][break]
"It would certainly align with their behavior thus far, for the DRK Triad to simply wait for us to destroy ourselves - allow us to enact their own plan for them. This only further emphasizes the point I have been trying to make for weeks now: the faction conflict needs to end. Or - at the very least - be put on pause."[break][break]
She sighed, and for a moment, the Visionary wasn't some all-seeing prophetess. She was just a woman, worried for her loved ones.[break][break]
"I am afraid we are running out of time."

TAGS – Navy[break]
NOTES – Social | Nomi is masked/dressed in winter clothing

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jayden cross[break]
NOTES – SOCIAL[break]
[break][break]

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Of course the Unown could translate for Regice - they were the living embodiment of all language, capable of understanding any that existed - past, present, and future. That didn't stop Nomi from feeling awed, however, and it also seemed to be driving Howard into some kind of academic frenzy.[break][break]
"Here," she offered, focusing her power. A pen made of fine blue crystal manifested in the palm of one hand; in the other, matching blue sheets of glittering paper. She held them out for Howard, should he wish to use them. Here, in the Unown Dimension, her powers were stronger - more potent. She could create anything she wished, so long as the Unown permitted it.[break][break]
And so long as she wasn't perceived.[break][break]
A tingling in the back of her mind, a scratch she would never be able to itch. Its interest had been piqued, but It wasn't paying attention just yet.[break][break]
"We can't stay here too much longer, but feel free to ask Regice whatever you'd like to know, and the Unown will translate. Don't worry, though - I can summon the full set once we're back home, should you wish to continue with your research."[break][break]
She paused.[break][break]
"I'd be happy to help you better understand Regice, Howard."

TAGS – howard slayte[break]
NOTES – Social[break][break]

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Shred[break]
NOTES – Mission[break][break]

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In another life, another timeline, another universe, freya morningstar's unspoken accusation would have been correct. Father Winter had showed Nomi exactly who she might have been had Holo found her first: before the mentorship of Lulu Flint, the brotherhood of Cillian Quinn, and the compassion of Isaac Merlo. It had been an eye-opening experience, and the Visionary - who's gift was to see - had not turned away from it.[break][break]
The machinations of Dionysos had hardened her resolve, however, crystallized it into sacrificial armor. Prophecy was a burden, and though peace had a part to play in her plan, she would take advantage of every violent stroke of the DRK Triad's brush if it meant convincing Hoenn's best to take the threat of total annihilation seriously.[break][break]
"I'm sorry," she murmured, to parker jones, who was not there to hear it.[break][break]
Then the small, pink-haired woman, who had no arrows, no battle tactics, no fighting experience, stepped forward to meet her enemy, unafraid. Seemingly harmless, easily ignored, she entered the fray with calm, deliberate steps. Positioning herself amidst the swirling leaves, crackling aura, and raging fire - a cut along her cheek, bruises forming, clothing singeing - she held up a delicate hand and motioned for Kallistatus.[break][break]
"Trap them," she breathed.[break]

The DRK Triad agents - all four of them - froze. A dome of possibility sprung up around them, glittering with a thousand galaxies: a miniature recreation of the Unown Dimension, of all its infinite glory, held them in place for Nomi's allies.[break][break]

TAGS – KING WAYLAND | freya morningstar | Eva Morales[break]
NOTES – GREAT CHASM EXCURSION B: RESEARCH STATION

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Andrea Vaneau[break]
NOTES – Mission[break][break]

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Nomi had almost forgotten what it was like to just...hang out with a friend, have a couple of drinks, laugh and pretend like the world wasn't ending. Not that Damien was as involved in all that as she was, but as a fellow Rocket, he wouldn't be able to fully escape it. All the same, she was glad that he could, more or less, live his life without needing to be overly involved in protecting the region from untimely disaster. Though at some point, she feared just about everyone would be forced into focusing on that larger threat...[break][break]
A crash rattled her out of her reverie, and she glanced over at the mischievous Marowak, giggling as she noticed the affronted look on the face of the server that had rushed over to deal with the glass.[break][break]
"Some Pokemon are more unruly than others," she commented, an entirely predictable sentiment coming from a scientist. "And even within a single species, there can be a vast range of personalities."[break][break]
She patted Dandelion's head just as Damien pinched his cheeks. The Clodsire yawned, seeming completely unbothered by the attention. Nomi smiled fondly at it.[break][break]
"Adorable, isn't he?"[break][break]
She took a sip of her beer, crimson eyes shining as she regarded her friend.[break][break]
"Sorry I've been working so late these days. How are you, anyway? Like, for real," she added, indicating she wasn't just looking for surface level small talk. She cared about him, even if she'd been somewhat preoccupied as of late.

TAGS – DAMIEN RUSSO[break]
NOTES – Mission | Outfit vibes

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Naked, a little chilly, hair a tangled mess, Nomi considered the money. The sight of it elicited several different emotions all at once: a resigned understanding that much of it had likely come from Parker's work with Rocket, a forlorn reminder that she still knew very little about Parker's past, and an adrenaline rush of excitement - because she was very good at math, and just by glancing at the visible bills, she knew instantly that it was definitely enough for a down payment.[break][break]
Nomi had been smart with her own money. She paid tuition every month for her graduate courses at Slateport University, and much of her Rocket stipend went towards research equipment and lab maintenance, but beyond that, she did not spend lavishly or treat herself to anything too fancy. The money her grandmother had left her had gone to the brewery, but now that she'd sold that, she did have a sizable chunk of change sitting around in a bank account - for an emergency.[break][break]
One day, she hoped to return to Johto - with Parker. That trip could wait, however; Hoenn was far too volatile to leave unprotected, and besides, she was now heart-set on a house. Their house.[break][break]
"I sold the brewery," she blurted out, eyes shining eagerly. "So with that money and this money, we have more than enough. We could start looking at houses right now if we wanted."[break][break]
Her smile was soft and bright all at once, like sunlight filtering through a verdant canopy teeming with life.[break][break]

TAGS – parker jones[break]
NOTES – Mission | Outfit vibes

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"The Unown?"[break][break]
Nomi blinked, glancing back over her shoulder at Yuina. They weren't rare Pokemon, but they weren't common, either. She often forgot that many people had never seen one before. She now knew the reason for that: Unown were the sort of Pokemon to prefer quiet observation over direct involvement. They had been watching over humanity for centuries, neutral and unbiased.[break][break]
Until now, of course. Now, their allegeince was split between the DRK Triad and Nomi.[break][break]
"They're Pokemon, yes," Nomi smiled, motioning for the Unown-? and Unown-! to come closer. They drifted over, circling around Yuina with obvious curiosity, their singular eyes memorizing the details of her face.[break][break]
"I have something of a...special relationship with the Unown," she explained carefully. "They trust me and I trust them. Any Unown you see with me are safe. Sometimes, however, Unown will show up that are working with an organization called the DRK Triad. Have you heard of them?"[break][break]
She highly doubted it, considering Yuina was just a regular civilian. All the same, it was better not to assume in absolutes. If Yuina had even a scrap of knowledge about Nomi's enemy, she would gladly take it.[break][break]
"Those Unown cannot be trusted...yet. I am working on winning them to my side."[break][break]
She waved a hand then, indicating that they should proceed with their expedition. The elevator system in the dilapidated tower did not look particularly functional, so Nomi opted for the stairs. It was a tiresome trek, but eventually, she pushed open the door to the 4th floor.[break][break]
It was pitch black.[break][break]
"I'm going to send the Unown in first, to make sure it's safe."[break][break]
In the darkness, she knew Yuina would not be able to see her eyes change - which was for the best, for now. She switched her vision to Kallistatus, looking through its eye as it entered the wide open space, the other Unown trailing after it. At first, it was only eerily silent. She could see nothing. But then -- [break][break]
Motion in the gloom. The dragging of feet. More undead.[break][break]
"Back the way we came!" She hissed.[break][break]
It was too late, however. Something was lunging directly at them - at Yuina.

TAGS – Yuina Higashi[break]
NOTES – Lesser Megalopolis #3[break]

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