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Pokespe Mods ([personal profile] teamboba) wrote in [community profile] pokespe2020-12-03 07:39 am

DECEMBER LOG PT1

(toplevel view)

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.
partymagician: (150)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-24 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ His wings look so cool... Fai wants to learn more about them, but he's not going to ask.

He frowns a little when Sagi crashes back down into the spring, shielding his face a little with the splash. Oh well. His hair was soaked anyway. ]


Would you like a towel? I imagine it's especially cold with your wet clothes.
scension: (* Anti-Scension)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-24 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Um, if there's a spare... Th-Thanks. I didn't bring one.

[It would have been a good idea to think about this before entering the spring, but his friends aren't around to shoot down his impulsive thoughts for him. He'll just... slowly stand up this time instead of yeeting himself clean out of the water. Yeah.]
partymagician: (120)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-24 02:02 pm (UTC)(link)
You're in luck, because I brought a second towel with me!

[ He also gets out of the water so he can grab said extra towel. Thankfully, he had them far enough away that they didn't get wet the multiple times Sagi splashed the water.

Fai hands it over to Sagi since he's now standing up. ]


Here you go!
scension: (* Icegleam Shield)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-24 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sagi accepts the towel with a grateful smile.] Thanks, Fai. You're so prepared.

[He promptly wraps it around himself like a makeshift cape. He'll towel off properly in a second, it's fine. He just needs to stops shivering first.]

Is that something else you learn from world-travelling, or are you just like that?
partymagician: (89)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-24 03:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He laughs a little, sinking back into the water. ]

A little bit of both. I've learned that it's always a good idea to have extra things just in case, but I tend to think ahead most of the time. You never want to be caught by surprise.
scension: (Cottoncap Gauze)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-24 05:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[He removes his hairclip in order to dry his hair off properly, sticking the clip in his mouth with the large feather dangling down. Since his hair is green, he now resembles some kind of rain-soaked shrub.]

I suppose... Maybe I'm still too used to thinking of that as equipment and potions, not bath stuff.
partymagician: (32)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-25 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ He sure does look like a shrub, and Fai actually briefly has that thought. ]

Equipment and potions are just as important! I only remember things like this because I have so many children.

[ Kind of...? Mokona feels like his child too. ]
scension: (Spark Shroom)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-25 02:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sagi comes within a hair's breadth of accidentally swallowing his hairclip.]

You have children??

[...Are they also noodles??]
partymagician: (83)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-25 06:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ They sure are noodles!! Fai gives him a cheeky smile. ]

I have three! Sakura, Syaoran, and Mokona.

[ So that weird magical creature that stores things is his child. ]
scension: (Yesterbean Variant)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-25 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)
So the rabbit thing is one...

[The feather in Sagi's mouth twitches a bit as he reflects on this. He decides it's fine. A family can be several noodles and a talking bunny. It's hardly weirder than a family consisting of a cyborg, a ghost, a runaway lab experiment and a man who wears top hats.]

No wonder you're good at all these different things.

[He means it, muffled though it is. He has a lot of a respect for non-sociopathic parents. He'd like to have kids someday.]
partymagician: (56)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-25 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Non-sociopathic parents...

Fai just laughs a little. ]


I don't know if I'm that good at it, but I'm there to help support all of them, so I do it in the ways I can. Like remembering the little things, cooking for them, or giving them pep talks. It's what I know I can do.

[ Not cleaning, though. That's Kurogane's job! ]
Edited 2020-12-25 19:15 (UTC)
scension: (* Icebloom)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-25 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey, don't downplay it. It's pretty cool.

[Unlike him, still vaguely resembling some sort of unpruned plant as he sticks his feather hairclip back in.]

Someday... maybe when Mom doesn't need so much help with the orphanage, I'd like to try looking after a family too.
partymagician: (64)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-25 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
I hope you get the chance.

[ He smiles. ]

I never thought I would enjoy having people I considered family, but it's nice.

[ And he misses him. While Fai would normally not say something like that to Sagi, he feels relaxed here so he decides it's fine to say that much. ]
scension: (* Icegleam Shield)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-26 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Nobody tell Sagi that he won't live long enough to see his daughter turn six years old.]

It is nice. I think I know the feeling.

[He, of course, would admit this much at any time. Never mind that it might seem like a strange thing to say when his mom and girlfriend are so evidently important to him.]
partymagician: (37)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-26 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ Sagi no...

Fai's a little surprised, but not especially so. After all, he felt similarly even when he had Ashura, and Ashura was incredibly important to him. ]


Ah, you do? I'm sorry you understand. It's not a great feeling to have, especially after you realize how nice it is to have family.
scension: (Yesterbean Variant)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-26 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
Nah, don't be sorry. What's important is we found people like that eventually.

[He has the same vaguely wistful smile on his face he did the last time Fai accidentally gave him an opportunity to think about his girlfriend - at least for a second or two, until he remembers he was supposed to be drying off.]
partymagician: (144)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-26 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
You're right!

[ He loves Sagi's optimism, honestly. All Fai can do is dwell on the fact he used to be that way...

But the look on Sagi's face distracts him from that train of thought and his smile softens. ]


Thinking about Milly again?
scension: (* Icegleam Shield)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-28 08:17 am (UTC)(link)
Mostly about how lucky I was to find someone. If things had gone any different, I wouldn't still be here.

[He says it pretty casually, but it doesn't sound like a joke. It's just a fact. (Nobody tell him she also dies before their daughter turns six years old.)]
partymagician: (35)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-28 12:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Despite the casualness, Fai takes what he says seriously. ]

I'm glad you're still here.

[ They may not know each other super well or be especially close, but Fai is still glad!! ]

It is pretty lucky to find someone. It's not easy.
scension: (Yesterbean Variant)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-29 12:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks, Fai. I'm glad you have someone to go back to, yourself.

[He means that earnestly. Fai is nice, therefore he deserves good things. Sagi doesn't have many points of comparison for ever being closer friends than that.

His shirt is still visibly damp, but he isn't dripping any more, so he judges it safe to step out of the water and dry his shins off too. He's probably about done here unless someone or something gets him all the way onto the topic of his girlfriend again.]


Oh, where do you want me to put this?

[Walking off with the towel would be stealing...]
partymagician: (117)

[personal profile] partymagician 2020-12-29 12:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Fai smiles softly to himself. He's glad that he has... a family? Sort of. Sakura feels like family, and the others will follow shortly, he thinks. There's also Itaru, who he plans on finding once he takes care of the things he needs to. ]

Set it down next to mine.

[ He gestures towards a towel neatly folded up nearby. ]

I'll take it where it needs to go for you.
scension: (Fresh Air)

[personal profile] scension 2020-12-29 01:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sagi folds the damp towel almost as neatly before going to gather up his own things; he'd feel bad otherwise. Wherever the towel goes from here, may it have a better life than he does.]

Thanks again. I'll see you later.

[Then he's off to scour the mountainside for clues on those missing kids again. A protagonist type never rests for long. Even a fake one.]