pokespe | *propane nightmares synth in the BG because I don't want to think of a title*

Who: Akira and YOU
Where: Places around Mango City
When: After October 16, but before the event
What: Various prompts, mostly involving bodyswaps or the return of Raoul! Literally this is just a post-regain pre-Halloween toplevel, that I put on a new entry because the Part 2 log is all spooky and the Part 1 log is fucking huge.

I. EARTH WITHOUT ART…

[On display now, says the poster. Regionally renowned artist Ken Sugimori’s latest exhibit, CHALLENGER!! Celebrating the trials and tribulations of Cassava’s Gym Challenge! Prominently featured on the advertising plastered all over the Mango City Art Museum is Sugimori’s lovingly rendered painting of Gym Leader Mari, standing alone on a mountain peak with her arms spread wide, Skarmory feathers falling all around her.]

[Akira frowns at the poster, and shakes his head. ‘There’s no point,’ he thinks.]

[’Think for a moment,’ someone else thinks. ’How many of the relics in this building were stolen from the desert, I wonder?’]

[‘You’re just bored.’]

[’And so are you.’]

[‘I’d rather just go beat Mari myself.’]

[’Which you haven’t done yet. I would have thought you’d have taken her down by now!’]

[Akira scoffs out loud, well aware of why he hasn’t tried to face Mari yet.]

It’s not happening.

[To any normal observer, he’s having an unusually strong negative reaction to this poster. To anyone with an ability to read minds or see souls, something much stranger is happening — he’s having an internal conversation with another entity, a peculiar and not-quite-human thing named Raoul.]

II. …IS JUST AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[There is literally no reason for anyone to be at the graveyard this late at night. In a world where ghosts are not only a real thing but also a common phenomenon, basic sense tells you to maybe stay away from anywhere the veil between life and death is weakest.]

[Unless you’re looking for Pokémon. Which Akira is. This time though, he’s not alone! A strange… man? is sitting cross-legged on top of a mausoleum, kicking his spiked stiletto heel uncomfortably widely. This man looks like he’s ten feet tall, because he is, and looks like he has mechanical wings and no face, because he does. He’s also smoking a cigar, in a graveyard, like an asshole.]

’I should like to see what these Pokémon of yours can do. The ones you have right now, they’re… how do I put this? They’re young.’

[Akira pops his head up out of the grass.]

There are more Pokémon here than just mine, obviously. You haven’t met Gyarados.

[They go on like this for a while, Akira abruptly shutting up whenever he hears a noise. Maybe that noise is a Pokémon, maybe it's not.]

III. BAD BODY DOUBLE/WILDCARD

[One of Akira’s bonuses this month is to swap bodies with another person for a week! If you’d like that person to be your character for shenanigans, or you want to do something specific with Akira and/or Raoul and/or the Pokémon, let me know on Plurk at skysplitter or via Discord!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hoh? What's this?]

[Raoul turns to look at the girl approaching him. In the darkness of the night, the only things that can clearly be seen under his hat are glowing red eyes and the tip of a burning cigar. He seems to think this is all very funny.]

'Pokémon? Am I a Pokémon? Joker!'

[Akira slinks out of the shadows too, and even in the dim light, he looks fed up with Raoul's bullshit. But instead of addressing that question they both know the answer to, he instead looks at Naminé and ~~Rookidee~~ Rikudee.]

I am so sorry. Please forgive him.

[In all honesty, her expression looks like she thinks she should be the one asking for forgiveness, glancing one more time at Raoul (who is apparently not a Pokemon? but then what is he?) before offering a wry smile.]

Um...sure. We didn't mean to walk in on your conversation, so we're sorry too. We were looking for Pokemon, but I'm not sure why Rikudee lead me this way.

[Or why it had to be so late at night, but she's pretty sure her Pokemon knows more about catching Pokemon than she does, so she won't argue.]

Did you see any before we came?

[Akira shakes his head.]

I came here looking for Pokémon, too. I assumed there would be Ghost-types around, but... maybe we're making too much noise.

[Last time, he just walked onto a beach at night and the Pokémon came to him, so he's a little disappointed that it isn't that simple again.]

Oh--! And Rikudee and I probably scared away any others that were in the area, too.

[Aaaa. She looks even more apologetic.]

Would it be alright if we waited here with you? We'll be quiet now, I promise.

Sure, if you want.

[Akira looks up at the filling moon, high above them. It's the only light this graveyard provides now that the tower has gone dark. It's all they can use to see the Pokémon they're looking for.]

I was moving around, but maybe waiting in place is smarter.

Let's try it! I brought some berries too, for bait.

[She surveys the area for a moment, pondering where to put them, before deciding on the middle of the main pathway, where they'll be able to clearly see any Pokemon walk out to get it.

And now to be very quiet! She brings Rikudee over to a spot of tall grass near Akira, and settles in to wait. Just waiting is boring though, so in a very quiet whisper:]

What Pokemon are you hoping will show up?

...I'm hoping for something that will help with Mari.

[All of his Poképals at the moment are at a very tenuous situation with what he's heard of her team, which is Steel and Ground-types that may or may not have Rock moves.]

What about you?

[Oh! Right. The gym leader. Naminé personally has no intentions of doing much with that aspect of raising Pokemon, so she completely forgot that was a thing.]

It's only me and Rikudee right now, so I was hoping to find a new friend.

[Any Pokemon found in a graveyard seems to be outside her aesthetic but hey, she's here now, might as well give it a shot.]

Maybe another Pokemon that flies, so Rikudee can have a racing partner.

A lot of Ghosts do seem to fly.

[Akira came here because frankly most of them are precisely within his aesthetic.]

We could wait out here... or we could go further up the tower and try our luck inside.

'Mayhaps the ones up there will be stronger!'

Ah...if they're stronger there I might not be able to help with catching them. I haven't trained Rikudee that much.

[Rikudee chirrups in agreement.]

But we should try it. We'll do what we can to help!

We'll try it, and if it's too much for Rikudee then we can come back down.

[Let's see what other spooky scary Pokémon are in that tower! Raoul gets off the mausoleum and to his feet, fully ready to walk in there despite the fact that the tower's entrance is not as tall as he is.]

[She nods in complete agreement, and then pauses to watch Raoul elegantly (and intimidatingly) make his way over.]

Um. If it isn't too impolite to ask, if he's not a Pokemon, then what is he...?

[Raoul takes this question, as he is extremely qualified to talk about himself. Some might say he talks about himself far too much, and others might say that he doesn't talk about himself nearly enough.]

'Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner, madamoiselle. My name is Raoul d'Apignac; it is a pleasure to meet you.'

[And Raoul bows to her and Rikudee. This does not answer Naminé's question at all.]

[It really doesn't...but Naminé is charmed anyways, going a little pink in the face and dipping into a curtsy as well as she can in her short dress.]

And you as well! I'm Naminé.

[She shoots a glance to the other stranger to her, smiling curiously.]

And your name is?

'Naminé! What a lovely name.'

[She's rather too young for Raoul's tastes, but that doesn't stop him from being a gentleman anyhow. The other stranger is watching this interaction with his hands in his pockets and an unreadable expression on his face.]

Akira Kurusu. Good to meet you.

[He's attentive, but not expressive in the slightest.]

[Naminé's dealt with her fair share of stone-faced people, so she isn't bothered at all. She only gives him a smile and a "nice to meet you, too", dipping her head in greeting.]

Shall we, then?

[Rikudee, for one, is ready to go, fluttering and chirping impatiently at Raoul and Akira. As for Naminé, she strolls into the dreary looking tower, her white dress making her look a little bit like a ghost herself.]

I used to live in an abandoned house. This isn't so far off from that place.

[Maybe this is an interesting conversation topic for someone she's just met? Who knows.]

Not so abandoned if you lived in it.

[Akira is looking up at the tower's peak, following along with Naminé's lead, but he seems intrigued in her conversational topic.]

I used to live in the attic above a coffee shop. Felt like home after awhile.

propane nightmares synth in the BG because I don't want to think of a title

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i just realized that i misspelled mademoiselle and my shame is IMMENSE. oops.

ajfdks i honestly didn't even notice

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