"Oh."[break][break]
Of course. How could Andrea understand something she had never seen?[break][break]
"Apologies, I brought it up without giving you the proper context."[break][break]
She gently touched Andrea's arm, and her crimson eyes sparkled with a sudden mischievous glint. Kallistatus glowed a soft, muted blue-white beside her.[break][break]
"I'll show you. Pon can come too."[break][break]
Blue crystalline energy coalesced around the four of them - Nomi, Andrea, Pon and Kallistatus - and then the fabric of reality tore open, parting for them, and they reappeared inside of the familiar (to Nomi) swirling infinite expanse of galaxies. Blue-purple stars winked at them from all directions. All around them, a myriad of Unown - the entire alphabet, and then some - pulsed and danced, rhythmic in their movements.[break][break]
[break]
"Welcome to the Unown Dimension."

TAGS – Andrea Vaneau[break]
NOTES – SOCIAL

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And what kind of person was she?[break][break]
Before the prison, she might have called herself a prophet. Maybe even a savior. Now? She isn't entirely sure if she can protect Hoenn from its inevitable demise. Not when she had failed so thoroughly to save Velmos. To stop League and Rocket from continuing to fight.[break][break]
She'd fancied herself a diplomat, but all she had done was muddy the waters. And make herself a target for the likes of PENELOPE LIVY and her loyalists.[break][break]
"Well, what sort of person do you think I am?" She turned the question back on Elaine. Not to be facetious, but because she was genuinely curious what sort of first-impression she gave off. "I was granted the power to see the weakest point in any organic being or inorganic object. I could do little myself to affect it, but I could relay the information to my allies. Help them fight more efficiently."

TAGS – Elaine Highland[break]
NOTES – Canon Connections - July

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"Oh?"[break][break]
Nomi looked up, blinking tired eyes beneath the bright fluorescent lights of her office. Her desk was cluttered with research notes, unread reports, and many miscellaneous documents - maps, ledgers, and supply lists - as well as the usual, enigmatic presence of the Meteno Deoxys core. Above her, a shiny Unown-K floated, ever vigilant.[break][break]
It still felt strange to be sitting inside of the Rocket submarine after Kyogre's rampage. Its demise had been all but certain.[break][break]
"No, no, come in."[break][break]
She waved at the man peering around her door, indicating he should enter.

TAGS – Adrian Malcolm[break]
NOTES – Mission

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That voice. It's - [break][break]
"Professor Graves?"[break][break]
It's him. Standing before her with an unreadable expression, dressed in his usual academic attire. He looks as tired and weathered as ever, which elicits a sharp pang of guilt - certainly she has contributed to his stress, as of late. His favorite student: mysteriously dropping out of her PhD program despite her promising future; a bright and gifted young woman accused of being a terrorist. She has no doubt his brother would have told him to be wary of her, too.[break][break]
This can't be real, she thinks, automatically. She's inside of a simulation, after all. Perhaps the machine's programming has advanced enough to be able to personalize the scenarios for each individual who traverses its virtual landscape. Maybe it now has the capacity to recreate real people and places from her life, specifically. It's a fascinating - and terrifying - prospect.[break][break]
But - but even so - [break][break]
Time seems to stand still. Nomi's heart beats furiously, like a drum, her chest constricting with a sudden influx of emotions. Before she can stop herself, before her better judgement can settle in, she's moving. Running. Closing the gap between them as quickly as she can.[break][break]
She crashes into him and wraps her arms tightly around his abdomen, burying her face in his chest. The tears flow freely, body shuddering as she sobs. He feels real. The wool of his vest scratches against her wet cheek. She hugs him and she cries, feeling like a child again. A scared little girl, lost to the cosmos, who thought she'd never see this man again.[break][break]

TAGS – GIDEON GRAVES[break]
NOTES – RKS

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It would be easy to blame this on Kyogre. Easy to blame the League. Easy to blame Kanto.[break][break]
But to do so would be disingenuous, and she knows it. Parker would see right through the deflection, pick at it like a scab. She doesn't look at Nomi the same way anymore, and she's not even trying to hide it. She's wounded. The kind that leaves a scar.[break][break]
There's something extra-terribly-sad about that. They'd been so blissfully happy, but now there's a stain on their record. On her record. Nomi had wanted Parker so badly, maybe her greed had moved them along too fast.[break][break]
She can't help but feel a pang of frustration; whatever that vague dream of Galar had been, it had convinced their minds (hearts, souls) that they could make this work. It was the first real prophecy she'd ever been told, and its ghost haunted their every decision: to sleep together, to move in together, to buy a house together. The scent of strawberries follows her wherever she goes.[break][break]
She had never doubted. She had been steadfast in her belief in their rightness for one another. But now? Now, she's a known terrorist, hunted by interdimensional assassins, who's existence will only ever bring Parker at least some measure of pain. What could possibly be right about that?[break][break]
"They were okay," Nomi murmurs. "But I suppose, in hindsight, I'm glad we didn't splurge on nicer ones."[break][break]

TAGS – parker jones[break]
NOTES[break]
- Takes place immediately following the battle of Sootopolis

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Nomi bit her lip, troubled. Yuina was a smart young woman; unfamiliarity with specific legendary Pokemon aside, she would know if a divine being was trying to get her attention. Wouldn't she?[break][break]
All the same, Nomi quietly sent a message to the Unown: watch over her. See what she cannot see.[break][break]
Yuina's description of the mysterious new member of the DRK Triad stirred Nomi's memory, all of a sudden.[break][break]
"Hold on," she realized, voice growing excited. "I think I have seen that woman before, in the RKS Machine."[break][break]
Holo had infiltrated the simulated universe, as well. Nomi was fairly certain this woman's...scenario, the one she had encountered, wasn't the real her. But all the same, it provided critical information. She needed to get back in there and find her again, and record every tiny detail - ideally, as soon as possible.[break][break]
"Do you have access to the League's version of the RKS Machine?"[break][break]
She did not elaborate on how she knew of its existence. For now, Navy's willingness to ally with her cause would remain a secret - even from someone as understanding as Yuina. She simply could not put another person at risk.[break][break]
"If not...this may be tricky. I wish I could take you inside of ours. That way, maybe both of us can draw out this woman who's been hunting you."

TAGS – Yuina Higashi[break]
NOTES – SOCIAL

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The worst part, is that the rubble is familiar.[break][break]
She can see traces of its personality: the dappled light filtering in through rosy drapes (torn to bits), the potted herbs on the kitchen windowsill (shattered to pieces), and the bright and welcoming porcelain of the clawfoot bathtub (cracked in two). Everything is soaked in a thin layer of seawater, fuzzy mold coating the debris like a mockery of their cozy comforter (shredded). The wooded kitchen table (rotting) rests by what she thinks might be the lonely remains of a punching bag (pummeled to dust).[break][break]
She ought to give a eulogy; doesn't their home deserve a proper funeral?[break][break]
Valerian glares up at Kallistatus, expression full of blame. The floating letter gazes impassively at the damage, ignorant of the Sylveon's vehement stare. It is waiting for something, perhaps. Or simply too old to mourn a thing so inherently impermanent.

TAGS – parker jones[break]
NOTES[break]
- Takes place immediately following the battle of Sootopolis

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Inevitability looms above her like a storm cloud. She used to make herself small for them - unnoticed, unimportant, inconsequential - someone to be ignored in favor of larger threats. Once, she might have apologized profusely, reaffirming her loyalty with passionate intensity. They are her family, and she does love them.[break][break]
That's what makes this a tragedy.[break][break]
She glances at Lulu Flint, keenly aware of her connection to Tempest Quinn through Cillian Quinn. She knows all about her former mentor's vendetta against her would-be Elite Four killer. It seems she is willing to take Nomi down with him, if it wins soldiers to her side. Nomi ought to feel angry - betrayed, even - but all that bubbles up from within is a weary, pitying sadness. Lulu just doesn't get it. jayden cross, who jumps to defend her - [break][break]
( - my fellow beasts of ruin can be so secretive sometimes, even towards those around them - )[break][break]
- doesn't get it either. None of them do.[break][break]
Her alliance with Greyson Connors is a mutually beneficial one, and she cannot abide the loss of a valuable resource when Avatars are the only thing the DRK Triad seems to fear.[break][break]
"I - "[break][break]
Her defense dies on her lips as declan walsh manifests. And behind him?[break][break]
A familiar ghost.[break][break]
She recalls the visceral sense of rejection she'd felt upon learning the news of Elisabeth Fiorelli's death. Not out of affection - not exactly - but out of sheer disbelief. Something so deeply rooted in resentment corrupts the very landscape of a place; it makes logical sense that she had somehow escaped Regirock's cruel judgement.[break][break]
After all, weeds always grow back.[break][break]
"Clever," she observes. "A useful trick."[break][break]
She knows this was no orchestrated plan. howard slayte had meant to kill the Underboss - had done his best to do so - and one of her Gods had brought her back, perhaps simply to spite him.[break][break]
There is a lesson to be learned here, Nomi thinks. And perhaps also a cost.[break][break]
Death, in many ways, is a mercy.

TAGS – DISSEMINATE III[break]
NOTES[break]
- Nomi prepares to defend herself against accusations of fraternizing with the enemy (damn you Greyson Connors!)[break]
- BUT! She is saved by declan walsh's arrival and Elisabeth Fiorelli's "resurrection"[break]
- Knows Howard had really meant to kill Elisa, that this wasn't some kind of special Rocket plan, and thinks about the toll such a resurrection power must take on a person

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She wanders through the virtual landscape with no real purpose.[break][break]
She finds comfort in leaving Hoenn behind these days. She hides in the Unown Dimension like the coward she is. howard slayte says she's worth the trouble, calls her the best of them, lauds her vision of a safe and prosperous region. But she knows the truth of it, the soil beneath those flowers. The roots that extend into a dark, cold earth. There is only emptiness there: an unending void.[break][break]
She has the power to change reality at her fingertips, and still, she couldn't prevent the war.[break][break]
Pixels coalesce into shapes. Shapes resolve into bleachers. She is standing in the middle of a Pokemon stadium - but where there ought to be a roaring crowd, there's nothing. It's completely empty.[break][break]
Normally, her crimson eyes would widen with intense curiosity - she hasn't seen this scenario before - but she only gives the landscape a passing glance, before her gaze grows distant once more.[break][break]
A nearby shuffling catches her attention, however.[break][break]
"Hello? Is anyone there?"

TAGS – GIDEON GRAVES[break]
NOTES – RKS

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[attr="class","itemcolname"]significant figure event

[attr="class","lgdcol"]

[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]PARTNER 1

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]You enter the simulation alone. However, the setting loads in slowly to account for your experiences and... someone else's. Immediately, another figure joins you. Whether they are a friend or foe is yet to be determined. Regardless, the two of you are stuck in the simulation until it ends.[break][break]

The simulation affords you some time to become acquainted before the world shifts once more.[break][break]

NOTE: this scenario can be canonically experienced/written out in other "Stage One" scenarios.

She can feel the weight of their gaze settle ominously upon her, these ancient sentinels of a lost age. She turns to face them, keenly aware of their judgement. But it isn't fear she feels, or even apprehension: it is affection. In many ways, they are like the Unown - incapable of expressing themselves like the majority of living beings - their shape too foreign, their design too alien. The thought brings her a measure of comfort. The familiar in the unfamiliar.[break][break]
The Unown surge, spiraling around the golems, spelling out their messages with their divine lexicon.[break][break]
"Who has it?"[break][break]
Nomi's purpose over the past year has been diplomacy, and though that era has ended, she can still leverage many of her connections. Perhaps she knows of Regieleki's captor already. Perhaps she can help retrieve it.[break][break]
As for the other two...[break][break]
"If Registeel is underground, then we must dig it up." Harder said than done, she knows. "Regidrago...is a more complex problem to solve. But it is possible."[break][break]
She waves a hand at their surroundings.[break][break]
"The DRK Triad use the Unown to traverse dimensions. Why not me?"

TAGS – howard slayte[break]
NOTES – Set immediately following the events of The Battle of Petalburg[break][break]
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity..." - The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats

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He's impossible to read, the way his expression remains stoic, a block of ice amidst an already frigid sea.[break][break]
"Kanto has scientists," she answers, trying not to picture the mangled remains of her parents. "Combining forces could expedite our attempts at interdimensional travel. Then we can be the ones infiltrating the Triad, and not the other way around."[break][break]
They've been on the defensive for far too long. She can no longer stomach the unpredictability of her enemies, the ways they seem to pop up in every imaginable corner of Hoenn - including the virtual.[break][break]
"Kanto also has an army. The extra bodies alone will matter, should the Triad unleash some new horror onto our world."[break][break]
Something akin to Kyurem, perhaps. That had nearly been their collective doom.[break][break]
"If you recognize the threat, what would you have us do? Fighting with the League might further our goals, but it does not keep us safe from an impending apocalypse."

TAGS – declan walsh[break]
NOTES – SOCIAL | Takes place directly following EVE OF WAR[break]

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