Castle Prom 2020

[indigo_league]

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.

Comments

[schachmeister]

[Armin would feel absolutely terrible if something happened to these books on his watch. Which is why he has set his mug of tea at what he feels should be a safe distance.

Which also means he has completely forgotten about it and hasn't drank more than a sip of it, but that is neither here nor there.

Still, as engrossed as he is in his book, it's hard not to notice a bird starting a little feast in the breadbasket. Especially when he is using it as a bookstand. He starts a little, then shoots fully upright when he notices Tyler has stealed himself besides him.]

Oh! Sorry, sorry. I hope I didn't--

[No. Wait. This is the person he 'spoke' to on the network before, the one who can't hear. He drops his half-eaten scone to his plate, hands fluttering as he tries to find something, a piece of paper, a notebook, anything to write in.]

Wait, I should have some paper somewhere here.

[He's still talking, betraying his unfamiliarity in speaking with anyone deaf.]

[asmywitness]

[It was almost cute, how awkward he was about it; though it's only because Tyler knows that deaf people are a new experience for Armin that it's cute and not irritating.

Isis focuses her gaze on Armin, even as she keeps eating, and words will form inside Armin's head. Text words, not audible ones, as Tyler signs at him.]

[Don't stress too much. We've made a workaround.]

[schachmeister]

[Of course, Armin was familiar with the concept of deaf people; just not the idea of actually making things accessible to them and not just hiding them away as the family shame or turning them out onto the streets. That is not a concept familiar to a society run by a nepotistic few who care more about their own wealth than the general wellbeing of the people.

The sensation of having words more or less printed inside his head is a strange one. Armin is a bit familiar with his mind being access by psychic pokemon. His Lapras have developed that bond and ability with him. But when they speak, it's audible words, or before they got good at that, images. Not text.]

Incredible. [He genuinely looks awed and intrigued by what is happening.] Your Natu is translating your gestures? Or is it reading your thoughts?

[asmywitness]

[A bit of both.] he signs with cheerful energy. [She doesn't know enough sign to be able to translate me properly, but I don't know enough spoken English to hear properly when she sends me things. It's sort of a weird halfway.]

[schachmeister]

Spoken English is different from signed English? You don't just have a sign for every word I say?

[Please feed his curiosity. It's very genuine and non-judgemental.]

[asmywitness]

[Spoken English has a much broader vocabulary, as well as a different grammatical structure. Plus, I'm deaf - I can read written English, but I don't really know what sounds are associated with the words and letters.]

[schachmeister]

I hope it's not a weird question but... could you show me some signs? I mean, I know I can see you signing right now. I just meant... specific ones.

[He looks a little embarrassed. He wants to both know more but also be polite.]

[asmywitness]

[His smile has an edge of impatience to it for a moment.]

[You're not the first person to ask, don't worry. I'm starting to think I should just make a video dictionary for everyone who's interested.]

[But he sighs quietly, paused his hands so he can brush his hair back with both, and starts again more calmly.]

[I have to make up a lot of the attack calls I use, so a lot of those aren't formal signs, but I've got a few easy ones, like...]

[He has to think for a moment, before he goes through a few basic signs, sending the definitions in one word statements as he signs (with plenty of space between each new word for Armin to try them himself, and to correct him): "city"; "travelling "reading"; "training"; "question mark - you can use it as an entire response as well."]

[schachmeister]

[Armin's brows furrow with concentration as he tries his best to copy the signs Tyler shows him. His gestures are uncertain and clumsy, but he has the spirit, at least. And he certainly doesn't mind getting corrected, willing to repeat a sign as often as it takes until Tyler moves onto the next one.

And really, all new knowledge is great, though Armin is spotting an issue here. The signs Tyler is showing him are for nouns or verbs or, well, concepts in general. And it makes sense that there would be singular signs for that. Those would frequently have to be communicated, after all. But that leaves--]

How does it work for names? There are so many names, there can't be specific signs for each one, right?

[asmywitness]

Names are... [The thought trails off as Tyler hesitates, his hands stopping and starting a few times in different signs, before he picks up again with a bit more confidence.] Unless it's a common noun, a lot of the time we fingerspell names. For example, this is 'Armin'.

[And he lowers one hand, using just his right to sign out five letters in patient succession.]

But most of the time we'll use the first few letters, or even just make up nicknames for people because it's a bit faster. I'd think about what I found was their most distinctive trait, and make up a name based on that. My boyfriend grew up to be six foot six, so his sign was a mix of 'tall' and the letter N for his name. [And he demonstrates, with his thumb tucked in between his straight middle fingers.] And Isis is named after a goddess in my world, so I combined the signs for 'god' and 'eyeball'. [And he repeats the symbol, where his right hand bounces into the air and hooks two fingers and a thumb to hold an invisible shrunken sphere.] It depends on a lot of things.

[schachmeister]

[Tyler fingerspells his name too quickly for Armin to repeat any of it, but that's all right. The rest of what Tyler tells him is absolutely fascinating. It's all things he never had cause to think about before, which makes him want to learn about it all the more.]

Would you also be able to make up your own nickname, so to speak? I mean, if you are used to your friends referring to you with a certain sign combination, would you use that to introduce yourself to new people? Or is that not considered polite?

[asmywitness]

[It's a genuine question - all of them are, really - so Tyler gives it some proper thought.]

You don't really choose a nickname, as such. They tend to just happen to you, and you get stuck with them whether you like it or not. I got my first one when I was a kid because always had my nose in a book, and when I graduated high school my boyfriend gave me a new sign name to commemorate it, and I'd been introducing myself with that up until recently. I've given most of my friends names as they got to know me and started learning sign as well, so we could gossip about each other together.

[Despite himself, there's a fond smile on his face as he talks about his friends, tinged with melancholy.]

[schachmeister]

[always with his nose in books, huh? That sounds familiar. Armin could imagine himself getting a nickname like that.]

How do you sign your name? Or, well, the nickname you use?

[asmywitness]

[He has to actually think about it for a moment. He hasn't used a proper name sign since before his Durance. Mai hadn't needed to say his name, and no-one else knew it.]

When I was a kid, I used this:

[He holds his left palm up, and draws a capital T with his right hand like he's holding a pen.]

But now I've kind of gotten a new title, so... [He pauses again, and frowns slightly as he goes through his mental dictionary.] ...probably this.

[His right hand starts at his right temple, and crosses his face to form a fist.]

[schachmeister]

[Armin watches, then tries to copy. His signs are far more stuttery, missing any fluidity, and his thumb is held clumsily as if he is not sure this is quite right.]

Like... like that?