[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Spiritmon]

(Spiritmon, I don't like the fact you have effectively butted in on a semi private scene and prevented me from getting Forrestress learning Rock Smash soon. Thanks. I'd appreciate if you could retcon it out of existence....but if you don't want too...…*Sighs* So be it.)

(Sorry... erasing my post now.)

[Spiritmon]

Heart during the time Ventus and Nathan was doing their bussiness was taking his time along with Typhon. "So Typhon? How are you feeling after evolving my friend?

[Iron]

Floating in this form seems to be a much different experience for Typhon. As a little Tynamo, he was drifting and swimming through air, but as a nearly-full-grown eel he writhes and glides through it with a lot more dexterity. He's wondering what he should try his new teeth on.

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Floating in this form seems to be a much different experience for Typhon. As a little Tynamo, he was drifting and swimming through air, but as a nearly-full-grown eel he writhes and glides through it with a lot more dexterity. He's wondering what he should try his new teeth on.

Heart makes a though face. "Hmm, you right. I think we should try to find with someone to test your news abilities..." Heart then search for someone for training. "Now to find someone shall be difficult...Valder/ @Nylon have evolved his pokemon too, so that would be a interesting test to make."

@PhantomUnderYourDesk, @Lord Windos, @Dragonstrike, @Nylon
(Is someone who want to help Heart test his new evolved Eelektrik?)

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Heart makes a though face. "Hmm, you right. I think we should try to find with someone to test your news abilities..." Heart then search for someone for training. "Now to find someone shall be difficult...Valder/ Nylon have evolved his pokemon too, so that would be a interesting test to make."
(Is someone who want to help Heart test his new evolved Eelektrik?)

(I'm typing in the background on a reply for Windos, but afterwards I'd be down if he'd be fine as well. I'd assume it'd happen after Ven and Shiva share their time and they are busy with RockSmash-thing. I need - wanted - to train Mightyena anyway, or choose a Pokemon of mine you'd like to test Eelektrik against.)

[Nylon]

Spoiler

Floating in this form seems to be a much different experience for Typhon. As a little Tynamo, he was drifting and swimming through air, but as a nearly-full-grown eel he writhes and glides through it with a lot more dexterity. He's wondering what he should try his new teeth on.

Heart makes a though face. "Hmm, you right. I think we should try to find with someone to test your news abilities..." Heart then search for someone for training. "Now to find someone shall be difficult...Valder/ @Nylon have evolved his pokemon too, so that would be a interesting test to make."

@PhantomUnderYourDesk, @Lord Windos, @Dragonstrike, @Nylon
(Is someone who want to help Heart test his new evolved Eelektrik?)

 Valder's very interested! (Although I'll be offline for over half a day after I've written this, so you might just want to fight Shiva instead )

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Valder's very interested! (Although I'll be offline for over half a day after I've written this, so you might just want to fight Shiva instead )

(I'm having no problem if you'd fight instead; choose on your own, @Spiritmon~)

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Big Original Post

(...) At first, Shiva's indeed leaving the pace and any 'starting' of things to her dear, but from...the look of it this won't progress things, causing her to eventually sigh and slightly turn to face Ven from the side. Staying like that for a little, she eventually accumulates her courage and speaks up to him a careful and soft voice. "Ven.... From the look of it, something is aling you. You....know how I'm there for you. That hasn't changed. So, are you...fine with...I mean, would like to share what it is? If it's something about me that causes you headache, then please don't be shy to enlighten me, be honest. Only this way we may...find to each other again."

She turned silent after this, a bit tense even. But she'll listen to this oddball of researcher if he decides to open up, and will not pry if he doesn't.... Not until it'll cause direct problems, at least.

Those words of his most blessed girlfriend caused the often erratic researcher to tense up badly , causing him to turn away from her soft, inquisitive stare as he ruefully grimenced to himself as he tried to hide the full extent of how much a innocent and caring questions made him uncomfortable. Yeap, something was definitely eating him up, like a Snorlax at an all you can eat buffet. Ventus stayed like this for several minutes in silence, avoiding eye contact and schooling his own emotions, seemingly looking poised to just get up and walked away and avoid Shiva's questions altogether. He didn't once budge from his fae fancy's side though, showing either a remarkable resolve hidden beneath all that anxiety and reserved wariness....or he feels like he's trapped, and their is no escape now. Maybe even a little of both.

"...……………"
"...……………"
'.....I'm sorry, Shiva. I'm so, so sorry.....For being so.....fearful......so guarded, wary, and distrustful. For...…..for being terrified of you, and ready to have Apsis lash out at you out of....out of a felt need to defend myself from you .  For treating you.....everyone.....like they are some pariahs, or like they were retrobates not worthy of my time. Most of all......I'm sorry for ignoring you, for pushing away and shutting you out  like I have, when all you've done to me is being understanding, patience, and FORGIVING …."

"...……………"
"...……………"
"......I will not lie…...I'm am still scared of you. Of Everyone that has come into contact with That Gauntlet , of you becoming.....becoming something beyond human , and making such a.......transformation so willing.  Its....its all so horrible for me to see and know their was NOTHING I could do and stop it, to convince you otherwise , and just had to....had to let it happen. I'm....I'm afraid you....Nathan....Heart.....I'm afraid that by so willingly.....transform into such a THING, you'll become twisted by that POWER, that you'll all end go the same way of my, my, m-my...…"

".....my mother. Or rather, what little is left of her in THAT.....THING. "

"...……………"
"...……………"
"...…...It doesn't fully excuse how badly I've treated you. You are a Fae Woman, interest in all sorts of occult and arcane things that I consider taboo and dangerous, and yet somehow still learned to accept that fact and still become your friend, let alone your BOYfriend. Yet I still treat you like less than an lowly Bug type, unworthy of my attention. ……I'm....I'm so scared, so apprenhensive, so wary of EVERYONE, but I have to keep that bottled up, keep everyone away and deal with it myself, as NOBODY else seemed to CARE about my FEARS, but-but I could have come to YOU earlier, told you about it, save you a day of worry and silent concern and...and DESPAIR...…

"......But I refused. I shunned you too, like everyone else...…
"......I am still shunning you now, aren't I."

"...……………."
"...……………."
"...…I'm so sorry"

The researcher hangs low, so low that it looks like he'll tip over and out of the hammock and bruise his head, after say all of.....THAT.

…Coping with everything alone...
……simply because you are too afraid to share your woes with everyone else...
………yet knowing someone cares and could helped you, and you could have helped them too, if you only reached out earlier.....

……..Its not a nice feeling.

…It seems like her intuition was not misplaced at all, as from SUCH a negative and 'caught' reaction from him Shiva could definitely be sure that things were unbalanced again. That something was just not right with her usually warm and open love, and she could already guess what. How could she ever not think that it'd give him reason for concern... But maybe she just has undersetimated things a little, given how strong Ven reacted to being 'seen through'.

The whole time while he didn't face her and kept silent, Shiva just kept on looking at him from the side, a little less tense now. Cottonee used that moment to cuddle up to her beloved Master, receiving a few dear strokes through her fluff - Nightshade ended up receiving these as well as she hid in the fluffball's fluff, soaking up the self-casted beams of Morning Sun with her leaves. When Ventus eventually rather hestantly spoke up, she brought all her attention to him and what he had to say, not speaking up until he had finished. She showed barely any reaction during that, apart from her soft smile decreasing when he said he was so sorry, frowning only a bit as he said that he's still scared of her, and looking a bit sad upon him saying that nobody would have cared about his fears.

A few minutes of silence followed then where nothing was heard except the normal things within Atheneum, but these felt distant now. It was almost tangible how much Shiva considered carefully what to say or do, but eventually she did nothing more than very softly stroke over the shoulder of this heap of misery aka Ventus Z., her touch almost angelic. By doing so, she must've been trying to show that she's...she actually didn't know.

"....First of all, you should be proud. You've spoken yourself out. Solely by doing so you're showing that you still care for me, lots. Thank you...."

"Second, I....I am actually sorry myself as I didn't definitely noticed that you've been shunning me or the others. I've been so busy with exploring and making good use of our success in finding this place that I must have put other things aside... You, for example. All I noticed was that you seemingly accepted only Valder's company and wanted to be left alone apart from that, and it's making so much sense now.... But I've been granting you alone time, as much as needed. My, if you wouldn't have asked me, I'd likely still browse the library for random things simply to be busy until we'd all leave. There wouldn't be much time for us to speak like we're doing now. Now though, I'm very glad that you've asked to spend time together, as I now know why you've did that almost out of the blue, especially after.... you know."

She briefly pauses here, takes a deep breath that she releases as an impercible sigh. "'More than human'. Being turned into that by the Gauntlet - so that's the reason? No, don't be incredibly sorry for it triggering your fears. If I'd be in your shoes, would have experienced what you've did when you were...so young, then I'd surely react the same way. The important thing is how you're handling it: Withdrawal feels like a natural reaction. Yet you've made this leap of faith and came to me - ME, who is practically magical even without the Gauntlet. You could have ignored it, shunned me further and even leave on the quiet, refusing to deal with me. Would that be constructive, Ven?"

*short break for him to mull over things* "..... No, it would not. By doing so things will barely even get better, they'd only get worse."

With a bit of sadness in her eyes, she continues. "Ven, dear, listen. I can definitely assure you that the Gauntlet has nothing done that I'm considering negative or a direct 'change of my personality'. I wouldn't even directly call it 'magical', now that I've had a day after touching it. 'Twisted by that power'... If me that has never lied to you assure you that this won't happen at least to me (not sure about the others, she can only speak for herself here), that I'll do everything to NOT let something happen and will take direct measures shall I realize even a small hint of things entering dark territory, can you at least TRY to give it a chance? I'm not saying that you should not make a connection to what happened to your...dear mother, but I'm instead asking you to give it a CHANCE. If you want, keep me under observation. If you want, become an overly careful and protective boyfriend. If you want, I can report it to you in an instant shall I feel something weird or something I'd connect to me touching the Gauntlet, so that we can deal with it in an appropriate way. Ven - this time, you can do more than sit and watch things happening. You can have an amount of control on things. You just have to....allow it and accept what I've done. You can try to make a difference and PREVENT that something like...Delilah repeats, if that is your worry."

"I can also....tell you that I've touched that Gauntlet on my own will. Nothing forced me to do, even if it may has looked to you like it has. Let your empathy confirm to you that I'm not lying to you when I'm saying this: I touched the Gauntlet because I wanted to. I could withdraw my hand and pivot at any point, choosing not to place my hand onto it. It may have...'called' if you want, but not in a way that it can't be resisted. It's just that I....seem to be susceptible to 'calls' and I can guess why by now, do you remember when our Pokemon disappeared one morning and we opened our mind to pick up any hints? It seems like it'd do me well to learn how to close my mind and prevent negative feelings from outside penetrating my developing own empathy, something that I'm feeling is possible and you said you'd aid me in."

She ends her speech with touching his shoulder once more, a sad but also soft and dear smile on her face. "Ven... Ventus... The magic and the arcane may be your nightmare-fuel. But still you've let me into your life, and I guess I've never told you before how thankful I am for that choice of yours. You're on a good way - Try giving things a tiny chance first before you damn them." To emphasize, she sprinkles a tad bit of the White Apricorn Dust over Ventus' scared-beneath-the-sweater chest. "If you damn them the moment they're feeling even a tad bit malicious or make you feel uneasy, none will blame you for it. If something I'd do or plan to do worries you - be not shy to tell me."

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

"For the love of the duality of Aotius and Mutios, please stop with the puns...*sigh*...let's just get this over with already...I'll meet you outside in a moment..."

Nathan has to go to the Time Capsule to grab Charmeleon first.  And then he'll be outside with Swiftfire, ready to teach the move to D-Foretress (Hanael and Azrael learned it earlier).

...or rather, he hands the HM to Ventus to teach it.  Nathan honestly would rather not take this risk himself.

As for the Fire types, there's definitely more...respect from Charmeleon towards Nathan.  And Swiftfire...well...definitely a lot more camraderie.  Kirlia is present as well (as always.  He's feeling a little nervous, but the strong fire types being present helps a lot), but 'Kirlia' is not.

The researcher had zero clue to what Nathan was referring to with his exasperated prayer, but automatically assumed it was two species of important Tandorian Pokémon given the context, and quickly brushed over the boy's reaction with another chuckle.

"My wonderfully balanced array of puns must be too wild and untammed for your tastes, so let's canter off offside and we can forget all about it while teaching the HM Move. A Solid Rock Smashing idea, if I Chatter so myself, so let that plan be so!"

After one last round of ugut achingly terrible FANTASTIC puns, Ventus cut out with the joking and lead the way outside, first patiently waiting for the young scholar to switch out the appropriate Pokémon from the Time Capscle of course. Being keen eye and having highly refined sense of empathy, he was easily able to detect the changes in the moods of both of the Fire types when they were summoned, and in just as short of a time frame deduced that Swiftfire must have been one of the Pokémon involved in The Bonding Ritual. He didn't know exactly WHAT the deal was with Charmeleon's newfound respect towards Nathan, but it was not F'arfetch to assume the boy managed to earn its respect SOMEHOW, sometime while exploring Antheneum. 

In the end, he it was proper to give both the flaming hot Pokémon a friendly smile and a bow of his head in deference to their strengthened bond with their master, and nothing else. Simple respectful acknowledge , and nothing else.

When he Nathan handed over the HM, the researcher's attitude did a complete 180 as he grew serious as a heart attack, nodding his head at them before he summoned Delta Forrestress out in the mindst of all the Fire types (Haniel was sent out to, FYI!), crouched in front of it and quietly told it thus:

"Forrestress, I am about to teach you an increadilbly powerful move, which you are not to use under any circumstance unless I dictate it. If you lash out at either me or anyone else during the teaching of the move or use said Move without permission...…*Motions towards all the wary and trigger happy Fire types surrounding it* ....you'll soon have nothing but burning regrets about your transgressions. The Rapidash in particular knows Inferno, and she isn't afraid to use it against what she deems a sufficient threat. After you are taught the Move, you will be returned to your Pokémon, and that should be the very last time you see me before I give you to another person whom you will find.....more suited to your needs and desires. Understand all that, Forrestress?"

If the agree, they're taught the move and returned with little hassle, return the HM to Nathan's care, before wandering off into Antheneum to 'relax' and await the time its time to leave the WIERD place. If not and/or they fight back, they're getting awashed in white hot flames. 


Their choice?

[Iron]

Forretress is so interested to learn the powerful move it doesn't resist and readily agrees.