DECEMBER LOG PT1

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DECEMBER LOG PT1

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→ OH THANK GOD

(click to expand - the boba shop survived!!)

Sandstorms quietly continue to blow across Melona's desert, tinged black with ash carried over from the west where the volcano still intermittently sputters and spits, its hiccups and coughs darkening the sky to the west. Occasionally, a clap of thunder can be heard even as far as Melona's dome, and a shadow can be seen within the ash clouds looming above the mountains. Whispered rumors travel throughout the region, carrying warnings that "The storm is alive," remembering the destruction wrought upon Toran and the volcanic eruption two months ago that had devastated Hami, the town to the northwest. For two months, the heat and the ash had choked the skies over the mountains of Hami, but eventually, the lava stops flowing. Eventually, the skies begin to clear. Eventually, the people of Melona become curious enough— concerned enough— aware enough that their life inside their bubble that blinded them to the plights of the world at large— to start sending small groups out to Hami to see what aid, if any, they might require. The gym leader himself wanted to head the expedition, worried about his friend and fellow gym leader in the neighboring town, but he got yelled at enough for leaving his post during the last month that he reluctantly agrees to remain at the gym. Because, apparently, challenging gyms is very very important to some people, never mind the world being in a crisis and the safety of both people and Pokemon being at stake.

Instead, the desert guides are the ones who lead the way to Hami, knowing the desert and the mountains and are able to carve the most direct path towards the town. Self-sufficient as the townspeople of Melona tend to be, they do not ask for volunteers to join them, but they do not turn down help either, whether from bleeding hearts who want to do everything they can to assist people in need, or those who just want to get to the next town for their badges and ribbons. Like the trek from Mango to Melona, travel to Hami also takes several days of camping, of riding upon Numel through the sand, of climbing mountains and scaling unstable cliffs because there is no well-worn path from the ground to the peak. And nestled in the middle of the mountains, where Hami is supposed to be...

Ash and cinders. A field of rubble. Skeletons of buildings jutting up out of the ground where they are half collapsed and half buried in the ground, flames licking what little wood and scraps of cloth remain and hungering to devoid the new souls that have stepped within their domain. Aside from the rescue team from Melona, there is not another soul in sight, no sound of everyday chatter in the distance nor husks of bodies left charred on the ground. In this town laid to ruin, a single building has been left relatively untouched by the flow of lava that had run through its streets and washed away all its people. The sign hanging above the front door, blackened at the edges, reads: "Hami Boba." Inside, a single worker in uniform can be seen slumped over the counter, who is startled so badly when the door opens that she falls off her stool and blanches as if she'd seen a ghost— which is exactly what she thought, because who else would be here in Hami after everything that had happened? The volcano had erupted two months ago, she explains, all of the sudden without warning and most of the townspeople were forced to leave. Others stayed behind, those with rock and ground Pokemon who weren't bothered by the heat, or those with water and ice Pokemon who were willing to tough it out to battle the lava and the flames in an effort to save their town. This war against nature lasted over a month, and nobody ever came to their aid... But eventually, it became clear that their greatest threat came from the sky, from the ash that fell upon the land like a woolen blanket and smothered all the air, driving the last of the resistance fighters out.

In the end, the only person left in the entire town was her. The boba shop was constructed with the nearby volcano in mind, and there is no lack of things to eat inside the shop when there was only herself to ration for, but the funny thing is... even though she was stuck indoors and was horrifyingly lonely, she could feel a cool breeze pass through the shop every once in a while, and the air remained fresh. It felt as if there were something watching over her, she explains shyly, and there must have been, because she held onto that hope all this time and her patience finally paid off. Her first customers in two months!! Would they like some boba? The store's specialty is Shuckle berry juice boba! The stamps are a little dried out, but you get a cute red Slugma stamp for visiting this shop.

→ WELCOME TO THE NEW HAMA

(click to expand - it's free to live out here)

So, there's that. There is no town, not really. No gym, no contest hall. But the Melona guides aren't satisfied with leaving it at that, so they stock up on all the Shuckle berry juice boba they can carry and continue their search for the town's residents. They offer up Abras to teleport anybody who doesn't want to continue back to Melona, and then split into small groups to spread out across the mountainside, winding around smoldering lava lakes and trudging through paths knee high in ash. Here and there, all across the mountain range, small campsites can be seen. Up on a ledge on the cliffside, a group of people can be seen foraging berries alongside some wild Mankey. Out in the open in a valley, another group of people are seen roasting meat and nuts over several wild Torkoals' backs. At the base of one of the mountains, another group of people and Machop are hard at work breaking large boulders into smaller pieces to build shelter. Rather than having relocated to a single area, the people of Hami seem to have scattered to live in the mountains, welcome enough to the Melona guides and those who accompany them but denying that they need any help or expressing any real desire to reform a central town. There is no need, after all. Everything they need to live on is provided by the land and the wild Pokemon who share not only their habitat, but where to find food and water, and keep them warm and safe through the night. The volcano still grumbles from time to time, the seas around them continue to churn with relentless whirlpools, and sandstorms rage in the east towards Melona. But right now, they're just trying to live day by day.

While there is no main town any longer, the people do come together from time to time in the valley to share resources and spread news, and once a week, they sit together under the stars and hold Pokemon Contests on a stage that is nothing more than a large, wide slab of rock. The gym leader, Tsubomi, specializes in both fire and fighting type Pokemon and honors battles wherever she is challenged. Because of the lack of a gym building, she might need to be tracked down, though she is easier to find than Konoha, often making set rounds from group to group, checking up on the townspeople spread across the mountains. Central to all the campsites are natural hot springs, and both people and wild Pokemon come here to submerge themselves in the steaming waters and rejuvenate after a long, hard day. When the first of the rescue team arrives at the hot springs, two familiar faces are seen: a girl with pink hair and a boy with blue hair. Nanami opens her eyes blearily and pats Minato on the face. He looks up at the group and goes, "Hey. What's up?"

→ AW NUTS...

(click to expand - you really should have done something about that volcano)

A couple nights into the month, a shooting star is spotted streaming across the sky and disappearing into the waters to the southwest.

The ground shakes.

In the dead of night, the sky is lit up with a spew of fire that bursts out of the volcano hundreds of meters in the air, black smoke billowing up into the air in thick clouds, the mountains hacking up ash and molten rock. Screams can be heard throughout the mountain range as lava rushes down the slopes, people trying to grab what little they have left for a second time— though many already have nothing left but their lives. Wild Pokemon flee from the mountains in herds, heading for the desert to face the sandstorms rather than being consumed by flame.

The ground shakes. It cracks.

Desert becomes beach as the sand spills into the water, the cusp between mountain and desert becoming a chasm driven deep into the water as the Hami mountains break away and start sinking into the sea.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ For the sake of timelines, the Melona guides first head for Hami on December 3, the volcano erupts on December 5, and Hami subsequently becomes its own island on December 6. Destruction and evacuation can be played out however you want, but the boba shop remains standing in the end. The building is in impeccable condition. Not even the ash sticks to it.
⬥ Please make note of the new investigation form in the toplevel below, involving investigation style.
⬥ The second event log will go up on December 15.

Comments

[weenwoon]

Too bad! I am not ticklish~

[JUST ADMIT DEFEAT, HIEN.]

[selfconcept]

[ Correction: He jabs Hythlo's side with four fingers. ]

[weenwoon]

[He makes an oof sound, bending in half and trying to grab Hien's wrist in response. This means war!!!]

[selfconcept]

[ He jabbed with his left hand, so Hythlo ends up grabbing that before Hien can fully withdraw. He pokes his head fully out the water. ]

You should have just pretended you were ticklish.

[weenwoon]

But I don't want to let you win.

[He does have a competitive side.]

[selfconcept]

You already bent over. That's my win.

[ Now let go his wrist, you fiend!! ]

[weenwoon]

'Twas just a natural reaction! I am no less ready to fight for it.

[No >:T It's a lot easier for him to hold Hien's hands down thanks to the size difference, at least.]

[selfconcept]

[ Look... his wounds might have recovered, but if he bends something the wrong way, he might as well be wounded again!! ]

I'm not going to fight you, Daeus.

[ He just sinks further inside the water, but keeping his head above the water and his arm dangling from Hythlo's hold. ]

[weenwoon]

[He's going to wiggle Hien's captured hand. It's funny.]

Afraid that you've no defenses against me, hmm?~

[selfconcept]

I have alcohol.

[ Since Hythlo mentioned it before. ]

Do you want some?

[weenwoon]

[He blinks. It's not what he would have called a weapon...]

You do want to try a game, then?

[selfconcept]

Sure. What's the game?

[ He tries wiggling his hand free. Please gib. ]

[weenwoon]

[Fine, have your tiny hand back.]

Hmmm... I wonder! I am unfamiliar with the games of this world, after all. A light-hearted entertainment back home was trying to hold a debate while slowly getting inebriated. A test of resolve, of sorts! But that may not be appropriate here, I gather.

[selfconcept]

[ Forget holding a debate in public, Hien doesn't even want to hold one in private... ]

How about a simple truth or dare? A picks whether to tell a truth with a question from B or a dare to do by B. A can refuse question or dare by drinking a shot.

[ Though Hien feels that he'll be at a complete disadvantage... ]

[weenwoon]

That sounds fun!

[He grins, but then looks around them.]

Hmmm... What manner of dares? The springs do not allow for much movement, after all. Aught more physical might prove hard to carry out...

[selfconcept]

Something reasonable.

[ He will absolutely draw the line here. ]

And it has to be something we can do at that moment. No future saving.

[weenwoon]

[He nods, a smug smile on his face.]

You're on, as I believe they say here. I would rather you start first, though - after all, I am unfamiliar with the game.

[selfconcept]

Alright. Truth or dare, Daeus?

[ He asks while getting alcohol of a sake equivalent and two shot glasses. ]

[weenwoon]

[Hmmm~]

Either is intriguing! But let us start with truth, mayhaps.

[selfconcept]

Alright. What was the most embarrassing thing you did with Hades? It has to be embarrassing on your side, not his.

[ He knows Hythlo is shameless, so there's no point in asking romance or sex questions... ]

[weenwoon]

[Oh. Oh that's a tough one. Hythlodaeus squints, trying to remember anything.]

Embarrassing on my side?.. Goodness, I do not even know what it could be. He has ever lost to me in our games...

Oh, mayhaps one of the first times I tried to confess to him? He... did not seem to notice the first time I ever did it, interpeting my words as a mere turn of phrase, so I tried to approach it differently next time. I tried to draw upon poetry and records of the debates held between scholars of eld who were considered to be, ah, particularly close... But he only got annoyed with me and scolded me for misattributing a quote in my nervousness and drawing illogical parallels! [Hythlo laughs as he pours himself a drink anyway, though he doesn't down it yet.] Needless to say, that was not what I had intended.

[selfconcept]

[ Ah... yeah, Hien can see how that could be embarrassing for Hythlo. Poor Hythlo though?? Damn. Mistaking a confession for something else. ]

You sure had it rough.

[ He laughs a little. ]

I'll pick truth, so go ahead and ask me something.

[weenwoon]

For how smart he is, Hades is so unbelievably dense at times. 'Tis not without charm, though.

[He smiles. And, well, the fact that the three of them got together in the end must mean that Hythlo did manage to make his feelings clear at one point.]

Truth, truth... Oh, I know. What is the strangest thing you've put in your cloak? Ah, and I'll go with dare next time.

[selfconcept]

Alright.

[ Hien tries to think. The weirdest thing he put in his cloak... He makes a face, but it's obscured by the towel. Maybe that's a good thing. ]

... Okay, I have the gross version and the not gross version. Which one do you want to hear?

[weenwoon]

Can I not dare you to go with both?

[This may not be how the game works. He may or may not be aware of it.]