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

[brokencode]

[It had been a long time since Angel had first broken down in Armin's proximity. She could remember the guilt, and how he had confessed to Krieg as if it might have been some treasonous act. From the very beginning, he'd cared about her emotional wellbeing -- something she couldn't even say of her closest friends, considering their roots.

Not that she held that against them at all.]

I think I'd like to. [It's an unpleasant bit of history, but perhaps if she could speak it aloud, she purge the thoughts from her head once and for all.] It was on top of a cliff, maybe even taller than this one. I've been told you could see for miles in any direction from the very top. Sometimes I tried but... cameras didn't quite compare.

[schachmeister]

[The princess imprisoned in the highest room of the tallest tower is something that comes to mind for Armin but he keeps it to himself. Not that it isn't an apt comparison, but he's sure one Angel has made herself already.]

Was there an ocean underneath the cliff like here or more land?

[Is it important? Not exactly, but he hopes it is an innocent enough question to prompt Angel to expand without prodding at anything too painful. Which is not easy when just about everything about her past is painful.]

[brokencode]

More land, for the most part. Directly underneath was barren, room for Jack's countless defenses. There was a death wall, a field that would vaporize anything that came into contact with it. [She laughs, finding that the sound is mostly devoid of humor.] Krieg, Maya and the rest of the vault hunters took it all apart readily.

[Humming to herself, she painted a picture of the area surrounding the bunker. Her steps wavered, toe colliding with a stair before finally settling properly.]

Outside of that were the rolling hills of the Highlands. And to the south, out along the sea there was Opportunity. Jack built a whole city to praise himself. He even had... pleasure facilities filled with people that looked like him.

[schachmeister]

[Scrunch goes Armin's nose when Angel mentions pleasure facilities filled with people that looked like Jack. Why do so many of his recent conversations have to involve Jack in a sexual capacity somehow?

(Mind you, Jack being enough of a narcissist to want to do those sort of things with a person that looks exactly like himself doesn't even come as a surprise. That just gets filed under the ever-growing file of 'Why Jack is terrible'.]

He told me about that once. Opportunity, I mean. He went on and on about it like he had single-handedly created some sort of paradise. He even bragged about his robots that shot anyone trying to leave.

[And that had been one of the things that had really shown Armin what type of person Jack was. Angel's story might be the thing that pushed him towards never wanting to speak to the man again, but even before that, Jack's willingness to imprison others in his own vision of perfection had never sat right with Armin. More so than the obnoxious bragging or uncaring comments, that showed the real measure of a man in Armin's eyes.]

It... it reminded me of my world. The way the government executed anyone who dared to learn about what the world was like outside of the world.

[You know. People like Armin's parents.]

[brokencode]

[Unfortunately as it is, this particular factoid about Jack's sex life has become normal for her. Unpleasant, yes, but years of being subjected to Opportunity propaganda had left her immune to the disgust that she'd once felt for it.]

You should ask Maya about it at some point. [The smile that crosses her lips has a little more mirth than her laugh had, but it isn't much.] The vault hunters wreaked havoc on the city while they were gathering pieces to come... find me. There were a lot fewer statues when they were done with it.

[Angel hesitates, foot hovering over a step. She turns her head slightly, studying his face for a quiet moment.]

It feels like we talk about where I'm from a lot, and never yours. That hardly seems fair. I'm not the only one with a poor upbringing.

[schachmeister]

I guess that's true... I'm not trying to hide anything from you, it's just--

[It's just--

Perhaps it is the nature of the things that transpired in Armin's world. For the most part, they happened to everybody. They weren't personal tragedies like Angel's treatment at Jack's hands was. They were undoubtedly horrible things to outsiders, but in an odd way, talking about them too much felt like he was trying to claim personal ownership; like he was trying to pretend only he was affected when many more people had been hit worse.

(He had never lost his family in the attack on Shiganshina. He hadn't even been injured.)

But Angel is right. It isn't fair.]

I don't mind telling you. I'm just not sure where to start. Uhm, is there anything you want to know about?

[brokencode]

[Angel is no stranger to worldwide cruelty. Her own story might have been prevalent in the conversations she'd had with Armin, but it was hardly surprising in a world like the one she inhabited. Krieg was just as much of a victim as she had been. There were whole towns that were experimented on, socially or scientifically. Having it come from her own blood was perhaps abnormal, but it wasn't outright rare.]

You had monsters too, didn't you? [She doesn't feel the need to expand. While neither Jean nor Armin had been particularly forthcoming about what exactly terrorized their world, it didn't matter. Monsters weren't always scales, teeth and bile. Monsters were just as commonly found on two legs and pretending to be in charge.]

How did you cope with that?

[schachmeister]

Do you mean the titans? We have to deal with those, yes, though I'm not sure how much we ever told you about them.

[Armin knows he has talked about titans some with various people, but at this point, it is not like he has a list of who he had and hadn't told. And there is always the possibility of people having talked to other people. In general, these days, the topic only comes up as a result of him explaining something else about his world. Armin doesn't spend much time talking about the titans if he can help it. They were not a pleasant topic, something best not remembered, and honestly, unless someone had stood before a titan with only a pair of swords and the gear to keep them alive, it is really hard to put into words just how terrifying they are.

And yet. Far from the most terrifying thing in their world. Especially after Jean returned and he told him about everything else they learned about.]

I'm not sure how to answer that. I guess it is how you cope with earthquakes or tornadoes. You try to learn as much about them as you can and try to be as prepared as you can to face them. It's terrifying, but it's also a mindless force of nature for the most part.

[And sometimes you have nightmares about them and sleep a little less. It's just the way it goes.]

[brokencode]

[Over the course of the last few years, Angel has only heard bits and pieces of the story of Armin's world. She recognizes the names of the monsters, but knows that she doesn't have the full breadth of understanding. She'd made a point not to ask -- she would have expected the same courtesy, if her demons weren't so out in the open.]

I suppose that makes sense. [It's hard to comprehend being prepared for any disaster. She was too young when her mother died to comprehend what it was like to come face to face with a bandit. By the time she had a full grasp on what Pandora was like, Jack had sealed her away. She'd been protected from everything but him.

But then, there's one thing she can recall with certainty -- the one thing she'd ever been able to take into her own hands.]

Were you ever ready to die?

[schachmeister]

[Armin's steps have slowed, and maybe a castle stairway is not the best place to have this sort of conversation, but that is where they are having it.]

Yes, you have to be.

It's not just because it is dangerous. I joined the Survey Corps, knowing that most new recruits don't survive their first mission, let alone their first year. It's the only branch of the army that directly deal with titans, but it is also the only branch that actively goes outside the walls. And that was my selfish reason for joining.

More than that though, I believe a soldier should always be ready to die. We protect those that cannot fight themselves. And in order to do that, sometimes sacrifices have to made, including the lives of soldiers. Obviously, people shouldn't die a meaningless death, but if your death can help improve the lives of those that depend on you, then isn't that a choice you should take?

[brokencode]

[Angel knows that the conversation is hardly appropriate for their current surroundings. Yet for all the similarities the tower has to the Bunker, she also can't help the conversation. It's made all the worse by the fact that, with her recent revival, death (namely her own) has weighed on her mind more than usual.

In time, it would fade. Better to have it now, to let it out, before she pushed it down once more.]

I agree. It's why I did what I did. [What had followed after that, Angel couldn't say for sure. She'd made a point of not asking, worried that her worst fears might have been realized. With Lilith's presence in the moments before her death, Angel had her doubts that she'd been completely successful.]

I had a choice. Not between living and dying, but between going quietly or going out swinging. I owed it to the world to choose the later, I think.

[But she's getting away from the point. She'd asked Armin about himself, after all.]

I think it's a brave thing, fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. [She pauses for a moment.] Are you ever afraid?

[schachmeister]

[Armin nods, and after a moment, reaches for her hand to give it a squeeze.]

Dying isn't the worst thing, I think. Living knowing you could've made a difference is.

[So, if nothing else, he understands Angel's choice and why she did what she had done. Jack had deprived her of many choices, but not her final one. Not even he could have that control. It was a great big final 'fuck you' to him.

At her question, his fingers tighten for a moment before he nods. There are some people who don't feel fear and many more who wouldn't admit to feeling it. And maybe if this was any other person than Angel Armin would've given them an answer along the lines of 'that's rather personal, don't you think', but because it is Angel, he can be honest.]

All the time. Especially before a battle. My hands shake so bad I sometimes worry I'll drop my blades. [It is different once adrenaline takes over, but even then, he is afraid.] But I can't run away. I did once. I froze up so badly that Eren had to save me. He nearly died -- rather, he would've died if it wasn't for what he is. I can't let that happen again. So no matter how scared I am of the titans, I'm more scared of that, so I can keep moving.

[brokencode]

I think you're right. [Few people have ever questioned her sacrifice. Even if they had, it wouldn't have weakened her conviction. That didn't make it any less gratifying to know that others agreed with her. Angel had made a great many bad decisions in her life, and even though Jack held a large amount of responsibility for them, she still held herself personally responsible for them. That she'd made one good choice of her own was a point of pride for her, and she was grateful for anyone else that felt the same.]

I also think it takes a lot of strength to keep fighting, even when you're so afraid. [At any minute, they could have both stopped -- Armin could have let down her blades, and Angel could have forced the Vault Hunters out of her chambers.

If anything, though, she's a little jealous that one such moment had driven Armin to his resolution. How many people had she watched die, had she lured to their deaths, before she finally said 'no more.']

I admire that about you, Armin. That you can be so strong when it matters, yet just as gentle all the same. [It's hard to imagine the Armin who had carefully taught her to swim with his pod of seafaring pokemon as a child soldier.] I think you could teach some vault hunters a thing or two.

[schachmeister]

[Armin can't help but fluster a bit. Who wouldn't under such a barrage of compliments.]

I'm not the only strong one here. You dealt with more than most people ever do, and you made it out. Maybe... maybe not alive, but you made it out on your own terms. That's strength too.

[And here she is still trying to keep going, trying to experience what she couldn't before.]

[brokencode]

Certainly. I don't mean to downplay my own strength, by any means. [There are times when she doubts it, needs affirmation that she'd done the right thing. Though she has her doubts about many of the aspects of her decision -- namely how long it took -- she hasn't doubted the herculean effort it took for a long time.

Right now, though, she's all about hoisting Armin up.]

Strength comes in different forms. We both know that.