victory_road | Castle Prom 2020

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Castle Prom 2020

After arriving in Cerulean City and riding in one of a fleet of Cerulean Cape Shuckle Shuttle buses for an hour or so, the trees break and the road snakes along sea cliffs. In the distance, all can see a grand building rising up into sight, and excitement bubbles up within each and every heart as this year's mysterious, grandiose Prom location draws ever closer...

Welcome to the castle!

Their duo of hosts stand ready to welcome the characters when they arrive, assuring them that their luggage will be taken care of, and inviting them for a special tour of the castle, or would they rather first see their rooms, or perhaps even have a bite to eat? The choice is up to them.

THE CASTLE SIGHTS
The Outer Courtyard

For those wishing to get a breath of fresh air or looking for a place to perhaps engage in a little battling, look no further than the courtyard. Nestled safely within castle walls, the courtyard has been given a thorough renovation. The stones gleam like they have never gleamed before; a large fountain (certainly too new to have belonged to the original castle) stands at the center of the courtyard, the water gently cascading down over the marble figures of two nondescript and crowned humans, one holding a sword, the other a shield; wide-open doors welcome characters further into the castle.

The Stables

To the west lie the stables. Anyone interested in taking a ride along the cliff trails (or guests who just wants to see the horse Pokemon) is welcome to enter. The comforting smell of hay and wood hangs in the air, though any persons expecting to find familiar faces like Rapidash, Mudbray or Zebstrika is going to come off rather surprised.

Instead what they will find are snow-white, proud-looking equines. Their long, pastel-colored manes and tails have been brushed to perfection, occasionally adorned with braids and white flowers. Long, violet colored horns jut out from their foreheads, a spiralling pure white groove running along their length. Long fetlocks drift along the ground, rather like delicate pink clouds, almost giving the Pokemon the appearance of being stabled on air rather than something so common as hay.

Yes, anyone who has not yet had the pleasure of being able to admire the beauty and grace of the Galar Rapidash can look and ride their fill here. While the stable hands cannot allow anyone to actually keep one of the magnificent horses themselves no matter how much a guest is willing to pay, whenever their bosses aren’t looking, they certainly prove willing to provide characters with a Galarian Ponyta egg for a small price. (Limited to one per character)

The Kitchens

To the east lie the kitchens, and what kitchens they are! At all hours, characters will be able to smell the delicious aroma of a variety of sumptuous meals being prepared. In the mornings, the scent of fresh bread and breakfast fills the air, changing to the scent of pastries and later on more filling dishes as the day continues on, and fresh pots of tea are always on hand. Officially, the guests are asked not to enter the kitchen, as to not to disturb the many cooks working there. Unofficially, there are not exactly any guards, so if you really wanted to sneak in, you probably won’t get stopped.

The Dining Room

Adjacent to the kitchens awaits a large dining room. Tables have been set up in long rows with plenty of room for all with some to spare, and once someone sits down, almost as if by magic, they will soon find one of the waitstaff at their side, presenting them with an extensive menu. Order as much (or as little) as you like! The chefs will have it ready for you in a flash.

The Ball Room

The old castle ballroom has been done up to the nines, reflecting nothing but glory and splendor. Some delicate little tables and chairs stand at the sides of the room, for anyone who needs a quick break for their feet, but most of the polished marble floor is intended for dancing. There is a small chamber orchestra playing in a corner to provide everybody with only the classiest of tunes (though they do take requests for more modern music) and neatly dressed waitstaff with an uncanny ability to tell who is and isn't underaged flit through the crowd like black butterflies, making sure no glass goes unfilled.

The Inner Courtyard

The doors of the ballroom open wide onto a second, smaller courtyard at the back of the castle. Unlike the Outer courtyard, which was all stone, this smaller, Inner Courtyard is dominated by plants. The gardeners have done their very best to dress up the inner courtyard with plants and flowers of any kind - so many plants, in fact, that there is no room for battling out here. But if you wanted to take a breath of fresh air, wander around and look at the plants, or perhaps even try and find some of the small, secluded nooks created by the plant cover, you are more than welcome.

In between the lovely smelling blooms, characters will also be able to find bushes and small trees laden with unfamiliar berries! Small cards in the soil will explain exactly what kinds of berries they are and what effect they have, and characters are invited to pluck a few berries if they want. Just don’t get too greedy!

The new available berries are: Apicot, Salac, Ganlon, Petaya, Liechi, Lansat, Custap

The Library

Situated on the second floor is the castle's splendid library, a welcome respite for those less inclined to dance and frolic. Whatever books originally filled these weighty shelves are long gone, but their hosts have spared no effort in making reading material available to their guests. Among the shelves, guests will be able to find many books on the Galar region's history and myths. Some of these tales are already known over in this region (Who doesn't know the tale of the wise King Arthur and his oval table?) but there are also many more obscure and unknown fables and tales; the truly inquisitive may even be able to find some material on the two crowned fellows depicted in the main courtyard's fountain. It's almost as if Prom's esteemed hosts shipped over their whole personal library.

They may, in fact, have shipped over their whole personal library.

Pull up one of the plush armchairs, grab a book, and make yourself comfortable by the roaring fire! There's more to read here than you can finish in a lifetime!

The Bedrooms

Upstairs, guests will find all manner of bedrooms to choose from, from smaller rooms meant for a single person, to large ones for couples, to even larger ones for characters that would like to spend the night with a few friends. One thing holds true for them all: these rooms are seriously extravagant. Decked out in the finest of antique furniture like large canopy beds, solid wooden chairs, tapestries, and rugs, the decor brings to mind bygone centuries. There are even hearths in every room that can be used to light a small fire; while the rooms are all wired for electricity, unfortunately, central heating was a bit outside of the realm of possibility.

The Tower

Not all of the towers have undergone restoration, but the grandest, largest of them has. It will take some real stamina to climb all these stairs, but if they do, characters will be rewarded with two things:

First of all, their two hosts have seen fit to create a small miniature museum inside the Tower’s chambers. Paintings, tapestries, and artefacts have been brought over from the Galar region to be put on display. All the artefacts brought over depict moments from Galar’s rich history, including paintings of ancient kings and queens, an actual knight’s armour, chalices, swords tucked in velvet under lock and key, and richly woven tapestries that for some reason seem to depict knights battling giant Slugma.

If you still have energy after the climb to get here, you can continue on to the very top of the tower. From the tower’s high vantage point, it seems the entire Kanto region is on display in the incredible view. The ocean stretches out along the horizon, but closer to home, characters will be able to behold wild forests and cliffs, the green lush routes of Cerulean Cape itself and at night, millions and millions of stars twinkling up overhead.

And all the rest...

Beyond those sparkling rooms and done up corridors lies... the rest of the castle. The parts of the castle not quite done with their renovations are roped off, but nothing is stopping guests from exploring if they so wish - especially if they are interested in finding those rumored lost treasures or traps.

While the rest of the castle shines, these parts of the castle feel almost haunted. Dust and derelict dominates the rooms, old broken furniture covered in dingy white sheets and creaking doors adding to the atmosphere. Did the eyes of that painting just move? Why is there a weird draft coming from that wall? What was that strange ominous creak coming from behind you? Are there any dungeons? Wait, did you just hear someone crying in a far off room?

Jeez, no wonder they say this place is haunted.

The Rocky Beach

The main attraction outside of the castle, besides the hiking and riding paths, is a small stretch of rocky shoreline accessible just outside the main courtyard and down a surprisingly sturdy set of stone stairs. While it's a crummy place to lay out and get some sun, it is littered with bits of detritus from the sea. Shells, whole or broken, peek out between smooth pebbles and the rare piece of sea glass, and at low tide clumps of seaweed lay draped over the craggier outcroppings. Nothing is stopping you from fishing or poking around in the shallows for Pokemon, but you're more likely to find an interesting souvenir than a new friend...

AVAILABLE POKEMON
Naturally, this wouldn't be a Pokemon Prom without some Pokemon to catch! All catchable Pokemon range between the levels of 10 to 30. The Pokemon in the castle mostly haunt the unfinished section, but feel free to have the occasional encounter in the renovated sections too!

Castle

Impidimp; Gastly; Haunter; Litwick; Lampent; Duskull; Shuppet; Sinistea; Misdreavus; Honedge; Doublade**; Dusclops**; Polteageist***; Gengar***;

Courtyard

Butterfree; Cutiefly; Ribombee; Beautiful; Vivillion;

Rocky Shore

Binacle; Staryu; Wimpod; Frillish; Krabby; Kingler**; Jellicent**; Slowking***;

During the characters' stay, they might suddenly find their room a mess, as if a small tornado went through their luggage. They might even find themselves missing some incidental items or articles of clothing, nothing necessarily valuable or significant, but it sure is weird. This is... probably the work of the castle's Pokemon, right?

TREASURE HUNTING
While your shuttle bus slowly trundles towards the castle, the driver will regale his riders with local stories and legends, chief among those the legend of the castle itself.

You see, the castle was built by a relative of Bill (you know, the Pokemon storage system inventor?), but no one has lived in it for years and years because it is haunted. No, not haunted by Ghost types. That would be rather common and hardly worthy of note, wouldn't it? No, the castle is haunted by the ghost of Bill's great-great-great-uncle, and rumor has it that he is so possessive of the castle and its contents that he will kill all who enter.

You see, even when he was alive, this man's enormous hoard of wealth was only outmatched by his enormous amount of paranoia. He was so paranoid that others would come to steal his wealth that he built his castle high upon the cliffs where no one could approach it undetected. But that wasn't enough to settle his fears! He started to hide his multitude of treasures all around the castle, and he built many traps and secret passages to protect them. It's said he was so fiercely protective of his money that he refused to leave the property even after his death, and his spirit still haunts the castle to this day. Many who have tried to find his treasures have disappeared.

That is what the rumors say, at least.

In any case, feel free to explore those abandoned halls and ruins for these supposed long-lost treasures. Better check for hidden rooms and passages behind old bookcases, trap doors covered by thick dust-riddled carpets, and perhaps even a hidden vault or two in the castle basements. Players are free to go absolutely wild in coming up with secret passages and hidden secrets for their characters to find.

Now, as for the treasures characters can find during these explorations, they can broadly be divided up into two categories.

The first category of treasures are common treasures. These are small, fairly common items that can be sold after prom for a small amount of Pokedollars each (think 100-200p), or they can be kept as a memento. Generally, these are small items that could easily fit inside a character's pocket and won't necessarily be well hidden. Characters are allowed to find as many of these common treasures as they want.

Examples of common treasures would be items like pieces of antique silverware, broken mirrors, small figurines, old books damaged by the passage of time (but perhaps still readable in some places), or parts of worn and threadbare tapestry.

The second category of treasures are rare treasures. These are properly hidden items that can either sell for quite a bit of Pokedollars after prom (think 5000-6000p), or can be used in-game. In order to allow of an element of surprise, every character that wants to participate in finding some rare treasure is allowed to comment once to a special RNG comment to find out exactly what they will find. Each treasure will consist out of somewhere between two and four items, the exact number of which will be left up to chance.

For any questions, please refer back to the previous OOC post.

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My God.

[It's not that he didn't know it would be awful, whatever it was. Armin had hinted that it would be, when he'd asked if Steven would have let his sister trade places with him during those five years of darkness in Arcadia, when he said that Jack would have traded Angel to save his own skin. And Steven had known, then, that Armin was right. As much as Jack liked to play the hero, as much as Steven indulged him in it, Steven knew that they weren't heroes. Would never be heroes.

And this... he could see how Jack would justify it to himself. Sacrifice his beloved daughter for the greater good. Isn't that what heroes did? Make those sacrifices? He knows, now, after all these weeks, how Jack thinks, as well as anyone else in this world does. He can see all the ways Jack could love Angel and poison her and not see the contradiction in that.

Agamemnon and Iphigenia, he thinks, looking down at his hands. No wonder Jack hadn't wanted to tell him how Angel died.]

You're right, [he says finally.] I can't apologize for him for this. And given what he did to you, Angel, you have every right to suspect the worst of me.

[If Steven had any illusions left as to what kind of man Jack was, what kind of man he himself was... this would have shattered them. As it is, everything that Angel says fills him with a certain weariness. His boyfriend, the man he's going to marry someday, would sacrifice his own daughter for his goals. Would certainly sacrifice Steven himself if need be.

He'd known this on some level. Angel's words... are merely explicit confirmation.

He looks back up at her.]

But I won't apologize for trying to make him happy, either.

You're a good person, Angel. It's... very tempting for you to hope that people get what they deserve. That the people who hurt us will someday get hurt in return. They just... rarely do.

And I'm selfish enough not to give up what happiness I've built in this world in order to make Jack as miserable as he no-doubt deserves.

[It's the answer Angel had expected, yet she finds herself no less disappointed. She had hoped that for all of Steven's apologies, for as much as he insisted that he wouldn't hurt her, that some part of him would understand. She realizes now, as those words settle like a cold weight in her chest, why keeping her mouth shut had been so important. It keeps the disappointment at bay. As long as she keeps the truth to herself, she can pretend that someone will listen.]

He wouldn't do the same for you. [She can say that much with confidence. Jack could say he loved someone as much as he wanted, sing those praises to Arceus itself, but his actions would never back it up. If he could use his own flesh and blood as a weapon, then some stranger wouldn't matter to him.] But I get the feeling I don't need to say that to you.

[Dimly, she wonders what sort of life one had to lead, if they were content to half-affections and knowing that they would ultimately end up a stepping stone. If the situation were any different, maybe she would have felt some amount of pity for Steven. In this situation, though, when her corpse was the evidence of Jack's malevolence, it just forms a bitter taste in her mouth.]

You are nothing more than a tool to him -- one for his pleasure perhaps, but a tool nonetheless. If that is the life you want to lead -- delivering happiness to someone who wouldn't offer the same courtesy -- then I won't argue against it.

[No matter how badly she wanted to do so.]

[Steven is quiet for a long moment.]

I'm not a good man. I never have been. People-- often want to think that I am, because I am very often a nice man... and people have a distressing tendency to conflate nice with good.

Jack is one of the few people in this world and any other--and certainly the only man who I've been with--who has never asked nor expected me to be anything than who and what I am.

For me, that's enough.

But I don't expect you to understand that.

[And that's the crux of it, isn't it? No matter what monstrous things Jack has done and will go on to do, his acceptance of Steven for Steven is enough to keep Steven at his side. To quote one of Steven's mother's favorite songs from his childhood, Jack would always be the only boy who wanted him the way that he was.

What he was, of course, was a monster too. It must be nice, Steven thinks with a tinge of bitterness, to not realize that monsters wanted to be happy as much as anyone else. Or to know and not care, because the awful people of this world deserved nothing less than to be miserable forever as punishment for their crimes.

But no. No, Jack had harmed Angel directly. She had every reason to hate him, to wish him misery. To resent Steven for his loyalty to the man who killed her. He knows that. He can't let himself forget that.

He sighs.]

Do you need me to distract him from you? I'm very good at being a distraction and I can't see how his well-meaning overtures can be anything but painful, all things considered.

[Steven is right. She doesn't understand. If she wanted to, she might have asked what he felt he'd done so bad to warrant being lumped in with someone as monstrous as Jack. If she wanted to, she could insist that there were plenty of options for love -- the love between friends for example, the same love she'd offered the self (and societal) proclaimed monster of a best friend.

But she can't. She's tired, Steven and every other body Jack fills his bed with -- they only serve to exhaust her. Already, she wants this conversation to be over.]

If that's how you feel, I won't argue it.

[Eventually, though, Angel shakes her head. Despite her resentment of Steven, the selfishness she feels lays behind his decision to choose to be loved by a monster than not be loved at all, she'd made a promise. Jack had at least made a good faith effort to follow the rules she laid out. Not not repay the debt that she'd incurred for that would lead only to trouble.

Besides, if Jack caught wind of this conversation having occurred...]

No. That won't be necessary. However -- [Now is where she has to steal herself. She wants to be empathetic, just as much as she doesn't want to hurt anyone. It's a line that's next to impossible to walk.] -- I think it would be best if you did not come around. I believe the phrase is -- better the devil you know?

[Her fingers find 'Dora's fur. She buries them there, grounding herself in the non-judgmental warmth of her Sylveon.] Our tabletop meetings are different -- I won't ask you to give up your friends because of me. [Something she feels sets her apart from Jack, though she doesn't say that much aloud.] And... Maybe we can use that to build a bridge to something more.

Maybe. I would like that.

If nothing else, I'm sure that you'll feel safer with the others around to protect you from the unknown devil.

I'll keep out of your way. And I won't try to be— a stepparent or anything. People like us [him and Jack, he means, but there's plausible deniability if he phrases it with 'us'] really shouldn't be the primary caretakers of anyone.

[He's quiet for a moment.]

Thank you, [he says.] For not arguing.

Edited 2020-04-20 05:45 (UTC)

I appreciate that. [That was one thing she'd appreciated about Jack's previous lovers, too. They'd never tried to meddle in her life. She might have tangentially known Nisha, but Jack's other partners had never really made an attempt. Maybe that was why it was so difficult dealing with Steven.

Nevertheless, she's comforted knowing that Steven wouldn't press. There was always the chance that it was for more sinister reasons, but given his honesty thus far... Angel hoped it was all entirely legitimate.]

For what it's worth, Steven. [She sits up just a little, trying to purge all of the negativity churning around in her mind. This was serious, and she needed the man to know that despite everything, she was genuine.] I hope he treats you well. And I do hope that I can at least come to trust that you will do me no harm.

I hope so too, [he says--and he really does mean it. Angel's important to people who are important to him. Not just Jack--Armin too.]

And-- he has. Been treating me well, I mean. I think, maybe, some of the limitations this world puts on him help with that? It's, ah, hard to properly go on a megalomaniacal power trip when instead of owning planets wholesale, you're just a very rich man. And not even the richest man in Goldenrod, much less Johto.

I would have thought that might have made things worse. [Jack has always been... unstable. And that ugly side of himself showed more frequently when he wasn't getting his way. As far as Angel was concerned, this whole existence was him not getting his way.

But it had been long enough that maybe it had tempered his malevolence. She could hope as much, even if she didn't believe it.]

I only wish this place would do the same amount of good for him that it did for me.

I don't doubt it did for whoever he was with when he first arrived here, [Steven says bluntly.] But Jack's been here for years. Something like, hm, five years, I think? Long enough to resign himself to his limitations and to refocus on what he can do.

Which, honestly, is do his best to get very, very rich. Because this world... it's not built to be taken over, you know? But money... money has its own power, Angel. The kind he likes. So he's concentrating on growing his business, branching out to other industries now, and it's distracting him, at least.

[His expression turns thoughtful.] And, honestly, I think part of him realizes that if I leave, he's going to be alone again. And the truth is, Angel, Jack was a very lonely man before I showed up. All of his other lovers were long gone from this world—and, as far as I remember, given that I had only been half paying attention to the conversation—his old body double had been an ass in public about how he had a date on Valentine's and Jack had to spend the night alone. I'd known Jack very casually at that point—we'd had all of one conversation over the pokegear, mostly about having my Pokemon model for some of the goods his company produces—but I asked if he wanted to go for drinks later, because... well. I thought, maybe, he needed a friend.

[He smiles a little at the memory.] He did. Which didn't stop him from propositioning me as soon as he could. And one thing led to another and a few weeks later I moved in, because honestly, my old lodgings were awful and by that point we were actually dating. And— I'm not saying he's been a perfect boyfriend. Far from it. He has his moods. There are just some things you can't talk to him about. And— well, he's done terrible things.

But so have I. Not on the scale he has, but bad enough. I... hurt people I should have protected and it doesn't matter I was forced to. I still did it.

[It had felt good to do it.]

Your father isn't a stupid man, Angel. He knows that for all I like the life he gives me, I would leave him if he abused me. And he's not so powerful here he can force me to stay. So he treats me well and he gets companionship and regular sex from it. [He shrugs.] Like I said, the limitations help.

[This... is entirely what she wanted to avoid with Steven. She doesn't care about his loneliness, or how much he seemed to had struggle over the course of his time in this world. If anything, she thought he deserved Timothy rubbing happiness in his face. Jack had earned the misery.

To her credit, her expression remains polite as Steven drones on and on. It cracks only at the mere mention of Jack having sex -- but that's a normal reaction to that sort of information, or so she hoped Steven would think.

Once he's done talking, though, her expression shifts into something hard. She draws a breath, convincing herself to maintain at least some measure of amicability as she spoke, though her ability to do so had been worn away the longer Steven spoke.]

To be quite honest, Steven. I can't say I really care about all of that. [She forces herself to smile. It comes out just a touch gnarled at the edges.] I am glad you are happy. I'm glad you feel that you can trust him. But I don't care to hear about the details. I'm sure you understand.

Edited 2020-04-25 20:05 (UTC)

[He winces.] Yes. I do. That was... well. Very insensitive of me.

[She doesn't like him and what care she has about his safety with her father is only that any decent person would have for a fellow human being. She hadn't needed or wanted lengthy reassurances of his safety and her father's current lack of danger. She'd been expressing common courtesy and in his arrogance he'd mistaken it for real concern.]

I'm sorry. I think my being here is just... going to continue to be painful to you. Let me gather up my books and I'll leave you be.

[Angel mirrors his expression. She hadn't meant to shut the conversation down entirely. It was good to know that he'd put such thought into his situation. But it doesn't change the fact that hearing about Jack's happiness, his normal life after every awful thing he's done, still makes her stomach twist.

Maybe it's for the best, though. The conversation had left her feeling raw, and she was bound to be oversensitive as a result. Bristling so readily wasn't in her character, but Jack often brought out the worst in her.

At least, she'd keep using that as an excuse for as long as she could.]

Right. [She turns her attention back to the book, back to pages long forgotten thanks to her nap.] I am sure I'll see you around this weekend. And, if not, I look forward to our next session.

I'll try to make it that you don't. But yes—I'm looking forward to playing again too.

[At least at the gaming table they could pretend they were actually all friends—when really it was only Armin who connected them.

He picks up his book, then stands to scan the shelves, as if he's searching for something, then retrieves a few more volumes and leaves.]

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Castle Prom 2020

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