OCTOBER EVENT PT1

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→ EVACUATION STUFF

(click to expand- aka getting people out of here)

The water level keeps rising, the storm refusing to abate even after two months of non-stop rain and circulating whispers of an even greater danger: an erupting volcano, threats of subsequent tsunamis, and Toran right there in the blast zone. There has already been one casualty. Jiro, after going missing for a week and a half, was found washed up on the beach. Probably drowned, they say in regards to his cause of death and never investigated further, not realizing that the band of tattooed fire around his neck has disappeared. While there is a very real possibility the island will become inhabitable very quickly and very soon, many townspeople are worried about leaving, with the storm swelling in response to anybody leaving the island in the past and if evacuation tips the situation over the edge... well... at this point, though, there's little other choice. Homes and other buildings get boarded up over the days counting down to the end of the month, berry trees get chopped down to construct as many boats as possible, all the Pokemon in the Daycare get returned to their balls and loaded into crates. The Pokemon Center becomes a shelter for those unable or unwilling to leave while the rest head out, the first of the boats pushing off the north shore at dawn.

With boats carrying six people each, families towards the center of the group and trainers with strong water Pokemon flanking them on all sides for protection, the evacuees steer northeast, veering out of the projected path of the volcanic activity in the northwest, with towering waves, jagged reefs, and whirlpools every several dozen feet dictating travel. Even with their own Mudkip, trainers who try to leave on their own will find it too difficult to cross the sea, with too many whirlpools for one little Mudkip to handle on their own and the storm forcing them to turn back around. It takes a group effort to carve a safe path away from the island, especially when thunder starts to rumble overhead, storm clouds so thick the sky becomes black as night.

The roar is almost deafening, encompassing and full of rage. Boats lurch to the side, caught in whirlpools that threaten to suck them under until the Mudkips in the group are able to reverse the whirlpool and calm the water, other water Pokemon pressing up against the boats to keep them upright as ten-foot waves crash down over people's heads, torrential rain unrelenting and there is no escape from the lightning that flashes across the sky. Trainers with electric Pokemon use them as lightning rods to redirect the lightning away from the others, and other Trainers direct their Pokemon as best they can to block the lightning as the ships cross the sea. Nanami's Marshtomp leads the group, clearing the path and searching desperately for any sign of land on the other side, while Minato's Yamask zips from boat to boat, using Protect to shield them from the lightning, but there is no end in sight.

In that moment, the sky turns white. There is light, there is silence, and the rain snuffs out all at once. Those who think to turn around might see Minato on his feet at the very rear of the group, two shimmering figures fading away into the sunlight behind him just as he topples backwards into the water. For everybody else, their attention is drawn by the deafening screeching that pierces the air, black clouds parting to reveal blue sky and a shining sun for the first time in two months. With the parting of the clouds and the subsequent silence, they hear a muffled boom out in the far distance, a spew of fire, and a plume of black smoke. There's your volcano, and here is the swell of the ocean that pitches the boats forward, driving them east.

→ FOR THOSE WHO ARE STAYING

(click to expand - have fun drowning)

The flash of white is noticeable even from the island, the first warning before the clouds part of their heads and the rain comes to a stop. Without the veil of rain constantly blurring their vision, the people who remain can clearly see the tsunami heading their way, waves upon waves dipping and rearing their heads as they slam into the coast and out across the island. A foot- two, ten- the water level rises too quickly for anybody to run, even the lake rising and spilling out as those in multi-story buildings try to make it to the highest floor possible. Drifloons float out and try to grab onto stragglers and drag them to safety, but they're too light and weak and all they can do is inflate themselves as much as they can and be buoys for those stranded to cling to for dear life. From the lake, the Gyarados takes advantage of the overflow and urges its Magikarp towards the north side of the island along with it— and stops in surprise when it spots Akira. Why did this human not ditch the first chance he got? This is not his home, there is nothing important for him to protect here...

The Gyarados turns to stare out at sea. And with its eyes glowing red, the wind starts to pick up, a Hurricane building and whipping the air all around the Gyarados as it faces the tsunami and roars, parting the waves to either side of the island before they can reach the shore. Two little Magikarps splash next to the Gyarados in encouragement, and for the next hour, Gyarados weathers the tsunami until the sea calms down, and the world is quiet and still once more. It looks back at Akira, at the friends who stayed behind with him, and approaches him for the first time. If he wishes, the Gyarados will allow him on its back and it will carry him and company across the sea to join his friends in the northeast; if he does not, the Gyarados and its family slips into the water and disappears.

Either way, maybe we'll meet again someday.

→ FOR THOSE WHO ARE LEAVING

(click to expand - have fun camping)

Eventually, the boats bump against the soft sand of a sunny shore. It's warm, the air strangely dry, but welcome compared to the constantly rainy Toran. Not far from the coast is a grove of wild berry trees, overgrown with fruit that a herd of Girafarig and Stantler surround, pausing in their grazing as they watch the soggy mess of evacuees drag themselves onto shore, a little Yamask flitting around from person to person trying to find her blue-haired boy. A small group of water type trainers offer to take the boats back to Toran and make a second evacuation now that they know the path and the storm has quelled- for the time being, anyways, and ask around to borrow or trade for the Mudkips who are able to temporarily reverse the whirlpools. Everybody else is encouraged to find the closest town, and call for shelter and for help.

The forest before them is thick with trees, so dense that the sun everybody's sorely missed is barely visible past the canopy, forcing the group to stay packed together as they search for a path through the forest. Nothing stops the brave or the foolish from peeling off from the group and trying to find their own way, but the children are quick to warn anybody who will listen that following flickering lights in the forest is a bad idea. There is constant rustling in the forest, swift movement out of the corner of your eyes, the feeling that somebody is watching you. It is very dark, very crowded, and like the sea, it is vast and endless. For several nights, the group is forced to camp, taking turns keeping watch and heading out at the first sign of sunlight, but here and there they come across trainers in the woods, surprised to see so many people at once but always willing to spare what little food they have and to point them towards the closest route to town.

Five days after leaving Toran, the evacuees stumble out of the forest and stand before Mango city. While the forest borders half the city, the other sides are wide open plains, fields and pastures as far as the eye can see, all full of grazing Pokemon and flocks of flying types circling the skies. Continuing north, one would find themselves facing the sea; to the east, the forest and eventually the sea once more; and to the west past the endless plains, a severe sandstorm rages that makes further progress impossible.

The city itself is much larger than Toran, with steel and concrete buildings that feel almost out of place amongst all the wilderness surrounding it on all sides. But the people are welcoming, the Pokemon Center accommodating both Pokemon and trainers with plenty of space to rest after a harrowing journey. Many families offer their own homes for refugees to stay in, while others pool together money and volunteers to head to Toran for relief measures in the aftermath, and local children take any stranger's hand to show them around the city.

The pride and joy of the city is............. the boba shop!!!! The specialty flavor for this shop is Miltank milk tea, a classic. Make sure to stop by the shop and get your card stamped with the green Butterfree, unique to this city's shop. The city also features its own contest hall and Pokemon Gym, with its gym leader specializing in Steel Pokemon; a museum filled with skeletons and fossils of ancient Pokemon; an art gallery featuring both prominent and local artists, with a special event every Wednesday where artists offer to draw portraits of visitor's Pokemon; and a bug catching contest hosted every Sunday that awards trainers for catching the largest or heaviest bug Pokemon within a two-hour window. Everybody arrived just in time to see the Vivillon migration, where all twenty different types can be seen fluttering across the sky, meeting together over this city for several weeks before scattering all across the globe before winter. Two towers pierce the sky right in the middle of the city: one a cemetery and one a radio tower, positioned right next to each other and the buildings almost seem to be humming the closer you approach their doors. There are also multiple barbeque restaurants in the city, grilling up Miltank and Bouffalant and Tauros, you're welcome, Cliff. Still, the boba shop is where several of Toran's children still insist on going, latching onto Joonghyuk and Sagi who promised them a three-tiered cake with sprinkles and a magic show and a party!!! We escaped the island. A town might be wiped out because we veered away from the volcano, and Toran is half-drowned and will take several weeks to drain and return to normal, but never mind that. Party.

It's warm, it's dry, there is always a faint static in the air and there has been no phone or radio signal for the past two months. Enjoy your respite.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ Congrats on surviving September! October will be a no-plot month, so please take the chance to be good to your characters and build up that cr, but there will still be opportunities for investigation!
⬥ Minato will be presumed missing until after Ori's murdergame is over, and cannot be found at sea. The Gyarados and the Magikarp also cannot be found, but may return at a later date. Toran will dry out and return to normal towards the middle of the month, but characters can freely travel between Toran and Mango by catching a ride with one of the sailors whenever they like.
⬥ For those who wish to trade their Mudkips with one of the sailors, please comment to the questions toplevel for your rng options. Traded Pokemon tend to grow stronger quickly, but they might not always listen to their new trainer! Traded Pokemon are allowed to gain 15 levels per month rather than the usual 10.
⬥ Please comment to the appropriate toplevel on the Pokemon info page for challenging the gym or participating in the contest hall.
⬥ Please comment to the bug-catching contest toplevel by October 10 if your character would participate. We will rng three winners, one for each Sunday of the month, and reply with your prize. Characters may choose to either keep or release their bug Pokemon at the end of the contest.
⬥ As a reminder, the Halloween event log will be posted on October 15!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The static just outside the radio tower is audible enough for Sagi to find distracting, even though constant mechanical background noise is just one of those city things in his mind. This specific noise reminds him of some of the machinery aboard a certain continent-sized airship, actually. He doesn't like it. It digs into his head after a while.

His lack of resistance when Atsushi suddenly grabs his shirt is more out of surprise than distraction, though.]

Uh - I don't mind, but are you okay?

[Atsushi rarely seems to be okay, but it would help to at least know why he's flipping out now compared to earlier or later.]

[He is never okay. But the question makes him realize he's being weird, and he releases Sagi's shirt.]

Sorry. Um... I hear something else in the static. It's almost a pattern, sort of, beeping that's... squiggly?

[That... isn't a word to describe noise, but he can't think of another one.]

It's very annoying.

There's a pattern?

[Sagi questions none of this. Even "squiggly" seems like a perfectly legitimate description of a sound to him. But he wants to see if he can pick out what Atsushi means, so he strains to listen to the static again - cupping a hand to his ear, briefly closing his eyes with a small frown.

It doesn't help, of course. The hustle and bustle of the city around them drowns out any blips in the sound that his imagination could otherwise seize on.]

Your hearing must be something else. All I'm getting is the buzzing noise. ...Do you think anyone working in there would know what it is? Like, an engineer?

[No, there's no real shaking his "can't hurt to ask" attitude when it comes to mysteries like these. If they can't magically find an engineer willing to fall to them, however...]

It's... part of my ability. But it came back by itself, the hearing, and I can't shut it off.

[Which is not good, because he fears loss of control of the rest of it.]

The pattern fluctuates with the static, louder or softer when we're in different places, so it's probably from the same source. I don't think it's a... natural mechanical noise? So, you're right, we should maybe find someone who works at the radio station.

[Maybe it's a secret message.]

["Can't shut it off" is a curious way of phrasing it, but Sagi doesn't think prying is going to help them with Atsushi's current annoyance, whatever it is. Finding someone better informed than they are? Now that sounds more like a plan.] Alright, let's go look.

[It does not immediately go any better than most of Sagi's plans. While the doors do open to let them in, the lobby is deserted, and the lone receptionist at the front counter is not being paid nearly enough to field questions like theirs. Squiggly noise? What does that even mean?]

Umm... It's actually my friend here who heard it. A kind of... repetitive beeping, right? The repetition made us think it could be connected to a fault somewhere.

[He looks to Atsushi. Maybe he thought of some better description of the sound in the time it took to make their way here? ...Maybe he's about to freak out and run back outside. Sagi isn't sure which.]

[The noise gets steadily louder as they head towards the radio tower. In the interior of the lobby, the outside noise is lessened, but it doesn't really help Atsushi get a better hold on what it sounds like to perhaps make this easier for the poor receptionist.]

Um, it's... it's like-

[The squiggly noise elicits a twitch, and he will continue to repeat that throughout the conversation. He knows when the squiggly parts come in, but it still gets to him every time. It must be the frequency.]

Sort of a staticky pulsing... and- then... squeaking that's...

[He wiggles his fingers for some kind of visual aide, but it's as useless as describing it as 'squiggly'.]

Wavering!

[Is that better?]

[Atsushi's repeated twitching is enough to make the receptionist's eyes widen with honest concern, but his description clearly isn't getting through to them. They're sorry he's under such stress at his young age. Has he considered going to ask for advice at the hospital? The fees are a little high sometimes, but they can personally vouch for the facilities, with a close family friend who had a similar problem...

Sagi looks similarly concerned, if with a little more of a crease around his forehead than the receptionist. They're probably about to get kicked out of this building too any minute now, which just feels unfair. It's incredibly obvious to him that Atsushi isn't making it up, and it's just as obvious that he's even jumpier right now than he was outside.]

Is the sound loudest in here? If we could just show them...

[He is starting to get not one, but two new ideas. He is also reaching into his pocket. Atsushi should probably stop him if he knows what's good for him.]

[Atsushi is preoccupied with both the noise, and trying to figure out what the receptionist is talking about. Has someone else heard it and gone to the hospital for ear-related injuries? Mental health facilities are unknown things to him and he does not understand this line of conversation. By the time he's registered that Sagi asked a question, whatever's in his pocket is probably out.]

Show them what? It doesn't have a visual component?

[The noise. Which is what Sagi's talking about, he thinks.]

It is louder in here, yes...

[What Sagi took out of his pocket is: a card! A card that, when he holds it up, emits a high-pitched whistle and a flash of greenish light. For a moment, the air in the lobby feels like it's being pulled towards it.

It's over very quickly for how dramatic the effect might have seemed. When Sagi lowers the card, there's a picture on its front that wasn't there a second before - if a rectangle full of dense, unsettlingly incomprehensible black scrawl can be called a picture.]

I knew it! [Briefly forgetting himself out of surprise that the magnus worked, Sagi holds it out to show the receptionist with absolutely no supporting explanation. The scribbles don't appear to faze him for now.] Look, there's something inside the noise! The parts that look like eyes.

[But the receptionist is significantly less sympathetic to some loiterer setting off a flashbang as a prank and then trying to pass it off as related to some creepy drawings, so they're forced to turn around and leave the building after all.]

[Atsushi did not need that whistling noise, and he's just cringing some more as the receptionist, not amused, firmly directs Sagi to the exit. They're not welcome in here anymore, and security will be called if they enter the building again. :|

Once they're outside, Atsushi needs clarification on something, because he didn't see the card too well, nor did he understand what Sagi's magic card thing actually accomplished.]

What did you... do? Are the eyes like the eyes on the tattoo marks?

[He is very confused; how can a noise have eyes?]

Oh, good thought. It could be. Which would put it outside a normal engineer's wheelhouse to deal with...

[Sagi was a little confused as to why just showing the receptionist proof of something strange in the biilding got them turfed out even faster than he'd expected, but he wasn't about to argue. Now that they're outside again, his mind is less on the contents of this card than on what their options are for locating a better version.

He realises he's getting ahead of himself, though. He'll just show Atsushi the picture on the card again, bizarre scribbles and tiny eyes and all.]

It's called a magna essence. I guess an analogy would be, I captured some of whatever was inside that building, the way you'd capture a Pokemon. So now it's in here. And it turns out it looks like this. With... weird eyes.

[They're so weird. It has to mean something. The creepiness barely registers with him compared to that.]

I was hoping it could pick out the pattern you were hearing, but I don't see much of anything in this one. But if there's somewhere in town where the pattern is even stronger, and we try to draw it from there... It could be worth a try.

[He looks hopefully at Atsushi, as if he's explained everything and his plan makes sense now.]

Oh, they're not really the same...

[The mark on his ankle looks different enough from those scribbled eyes on the card; but it doesn't make it any less disturbing.]

That could work, and compare eye patterns to see if something is more clear, or if the image would change at all.

[Sagi's plan makes sense.]

If it's broadcasting static, there has to be an antenna, right?

[On the roof, where he's now looking to see if there's a visible antenna. There doesn't appear to be, from this angle.]

[When Atsushi looks up, so does Sagi. It looks much like the other buildings in this city: a block of steel and brick and glass and concrete, oddly lacking in gold. He isn't totally sure what they're looking for, anyway.]

I was picturing some kind of central pipe. An antenna... Hmm. [A mechanical antenna is not a wholly alien idea, but his mental image right now is probably a lot more insectoid than what Atsushi meant. Sometimes people put them on hats for fashion.] You think it might be up top?

[He takes a couple steps back and cranes his neck to try and size up the building better. He thinks he can pick out a few footholds. A beam here, an inlaid window there... That's not going to cut it for someone who can't fly - a shame, because Atsushi sounds more familiar with this kind of tower than Sagi is - but if there is a stronger form of this essence up there, he can climb up and down as many times as they need.

(Trespassing laws don't get many opportunities to develop in societies where nearly everyone can fly.)]

It looks dangerous to climb without wings, but if it means we don't have to try and break in... [Out come his own wings, shimmering into solidity.] Do you mind waiting down here? I can go take a look.

[It looks like a perfectly normal building to Atsushi, who would be thrown off by any gold. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion at a "central pipe". What is that? He imagines something of a water pipe for plumbing or the like going through the middle of the building like a rod, and people having to walk around it on every floor. What an inconvenience.]

They're usually on top?

[It's a question, because while he has seen typical television and radio antennas and cell phone tower type things, he is certainly not knowledgeable on every possibility out there, and there could very well be an antenna in the basement. He won't dismiss that entirely.

At Sagi's question, Atsushi turns his attention away from the roof.]

I can climb it. Um... these came back...

[He looks somewhat concerned for a brief moment, but it's gone quickly. He holds up his hand; the tips of his fingernails turning black and elongating into slightly curved hardened claws. There's some white fur growing half-way down his hand. He's never told anyone here what his powers actually are, so apparently now is a good time.]

Um... Obviously, it's not completely working yet, my ability, but I... can turn into a tiger.

[And possibly have the urge to eat bird men, which he will not mention.]

[Sagi interprets Atsushi as just being nervous about correcting him about the pipe thing, but that goes straight out of his mind the moment the claws come out of Atsushi's hand. He almost jumps.] What the--!

[What the heck is a tiger? The only obvious association those claws have in Sagi's mind is some kind of beast-shaped monster. For them to suddenly sprout out of an otherwise human hand is... um...

You know what, it's fine. As fantastical magic powers go, it's probably even normal. Sagi breathes out, looks down at both of his own hands, sees that they are also completely normal, immediately feels kind of stupid about checking in the first place, and resolves not to make a big deal of it for Atsushi's sake. At least, he hopes he didn't already inadvertently make a big deal of it.]

Is that, uh, safe? For you?

[Hythlodaeus threw up in an alleyway when he got that other example of an unsettling magical power back. Sagi isn't worried for himself. He rarely is.]

[Atsushi says nothing about Sagi's reaction, because he had freaked out himself when he'd first found out he had that power.]

Safe?

[That question is odd, and Atsushi looks at his own hand like the claws are going to take on a life of their own.]

I-it's safe... for me.

[He won't attack himself, so... it's technically safe. It may not be safe for the building, because he'll make a few of his own handholds if necessary. Who will pay for the property damage? Assuming they're still intending to climb up said building, Atsushi takes off his boots before also producing toe claws. He can't afford new shoes if he pokes holes in them; or, more accurately, does not want to have to buy any.]

Even if there's not an antenna up there, maybe we could see something out of place from that viewpoint.

[That is a lot of claws. But since Atsushi actually seems somewhat gung-ho about this, Sagi relaxes, or at least convinces himself he should.]

Yeah. We'll just take a look. Be careful on your way up, OK? It's a long fall.

[He turns and looks up, shielding his eyes in order to double check the lower footholds he saw... Yeah, seems good.]

See you up there.

[Without further ado, wings spread wide, he takes off - lands with ease on a window ledge a couple storeys up, turns, launches himself upward again. Steady does it. One leap at a time.]

Yeah.

[While Sagi goes for steady and more cautious increments, Atsushi has no plan or thought process to the best way to do it. He just clings to the wall, makes use of any already present hand holds and digs his claws into the side of the building when necessary in between. Despite being almost useless in conversation and every day interaction, physical things come easy to him and he's much better suited for tasks like this. He never looks down.]

[Unbeknownst to the two would-be investigators, they are not the only ones who felt like doing a bout of tower-climbing that day.

There was Joss, too, a few minutes earlier, propelling himself from foothold to foothold much like Sagi now is. Who needs wings, when you can go up several stories in one leap? Joss isn't sure why, or how that ability of his suddenly decided to work again, but he's grateful for it. To a dragoon, jumping is nearly as natural as breathing; to Joss, in particular, it's also a much needed reprieve from the bustle of the city down below.

If only there wasn't that strange thrumming in the air...

When Sagi and Atsushi finally reach the top they'll find Joss on a ledge, seemingly deep in thought as he overlooks the city.]

[While Sagi can't quite propel himself straight up the side of a ten-storey building in one go, he's similarly in his element when making climbs like these. He's always liked high places; they make any problems you might have on the ground look smaller. With his final jump, he catches the ledge surrounding the top of the building, vaults his legs over the side, comes within inches of kicking Joss in the shin, and lands with ease on the dusty tiles beyond.

Wait, what?

Sagi turns around so quickly that the feather clipped to his hair has trouble catching up.]

Mr. Joscelaint...!

[Okay, this guy can't be the source of the buzzing sound, no matter how much louder it is up here. Not even Sagi would jump to that conclusion. He eats leaves and has a face like a kicked fluffpup, it's hard to imagine a connection to any kind of magical ominous presence. So how and why is he up here?]

[Atsushi takes longer to get up there, climbing over the edge and onto the roof as Sagi makes his exclamation. He stays on all fours and just sort of awkwardly stares at Joss.]

Are you making the squiggly noise?

[Probably not, but you never know.]

[Sagi is lucky Joss is in a relatively calm mood. Had his nerves been frayed, he may or may not have elusive jumped away in surprise, and now that would have been embarrassing. As well as potentially deadly.

Instead, his face goes completely blank as he tries to process what just happened. Sagi he knows. The other young man he does not, but they seem to be together. Probably friendly. He gets down from the ledge... only to be visibly taken aback by Atsushi's question, even if just for a second before his expression slides into "neutral" again.]

Squiggly.

[As flat as the statement is, there's definitely a hint of interrogation in it.]

[The awkwardness is palpable. One or the other of these two is going to need an interpreter. Sagi is aware he probably isn't ideal for the job - he still isn't sure what makes Atsushi so jittery sometimes, nor... anything meaningful about Joss, come to think, other than the fact that he eats leaves. He is, however, the only other person on this roof. There doesn't seem to be much up here except the large, frame-like mechanical thing sitting in front of them.

He'll try his best. He always does.]

Um, the noise coming from this tower. From that... antenna machine.

[He glances down at Atsushi on the floor just to check he didn't misunderstand, but he thinks it fits the bill. The static is louder now, that much he's certain of. Joss's stony silence gave him ample time to hear it.]

Were you looking into it too? If you came up here from the inside.

[That has to be it, right? They didn't see him mid-climb or anything.]

Yes, that's... that's the antenna...

[Atsushi stands up and attempts to retract his claws, but they won't go back in. He will deal with that later.]

Do you hear it, um... Joscelaint?

[That's what Sagi called the man, anyway.]

[He shakes his head at Sagi's question.]

Jumped. Wasn't aware there was something to be investigated.

[Sagi's friend, now... Joss's eyes linger on the furred hands and the vicious claws that protrude from it, and for a second his features are darkened with the shadow of body horrors past. Men who turn into monsters... but this is a different land now, isn't it? Besides, if a kind young man like Sagi is on friendly terms with him, Joss sees no reasons to be particularly wary.]

I do hear it, however. Is it strange?

[He just figured this is what non-illusory cities of the sort sound like...]

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→ FOR THOSE WHO ARE STAYING

→ FOR THOSE WHO ARE LEAVING

→ MOD NOTES

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