victory_road | Event: The Reveal Glass

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Event: The Reveal Glass

Across the Pokémon world, characters may have spotted a falling star last night. Or at least, one would think that's what it was: a naturally occurring phenomenon, rather than a legendary artifact. Specifically, the Reveal Glass fell to earth during a fight among a group of legendaries started by the return of a long-lost family member. But it's probably best to leave them to handle all that themselves, while your characters deal with other consequences.

The Reveal Glass shattered upon impact, and the shards scattered throughout Kanto, Johto, and the Sevii Islands… And made their way into the hearts of your characters. But bleeding isn't the concern here. Instead, the impact will hit when a character first looks into any reflective service. An eerie feeling hits them as they're transported to the Mirror Dimension.

While this realm can be many different things for different characters, one thing is always true: It is a place of honesty, where true selves are revealed. Those struck by a shard will find themselves facing truths they are no longer able to hide, and now must accept. Fortunately enough, even those who haven't been struck will be able to enter the Mirror Dimension during this event via a reflective surface to offer help. By the end of the 29th, things will return to normal. Characters will be back in the usual Pokémon world and their hearts will be rid of the shards, but time is strange in the Mirror Dimension, and the experience may feel like it goes on far longer than a day. Or, maybe that's just the emotional exhaustion.

The Reveal Glass plot is here. You can swing by the event info post for additional details and FAQ, and play out your characters’ enforced therapy on this post. As with most VR events, this plot is entirely optional and your characters don't need to take part at all.

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Quality? Refined essence of people? It's hard to tell what quintessence means in respect to people and Romelle makes it clear doesn't know either. Jotaro frowns too.

"I think it's crazier no one else wants to question it. Sheep mentality gets people nowhere." The fact they screen for it yearly makes Jotaro curious, even if he knows it's none of his concern. Is it a disease? Some sort of trait they're looking for?

"Is there some sort of correlation between those who have been taken?"

"Lotor saved our people from a life running through the universe and hiding," Romelle explained. "I don't think anyone wants to go against him because of that. It's possibly some form of gratitude to let him do this."

She took a breath and then shook her head.

"Quintessence is a life force, something that resides in everyone," she explained. "But, it has different qualities between different people. Lotor said that he scans us to see if we're suited for this other colony, as a way of preventing inbreeding and helping Alteans stay more diverse." She frowned a little. "I do wonder sometimes if there's something bad about separating us... that we'll end up being two completely separate races." She looked down, lowering her tone, like she'd been scolded for questioning things before. "You see, anyone who leaves... we'll we've never seen anyone come back. Or, for that matter, anyone from the other colony come here."

"Hmph. Still sounds suspicious. Maybe it's because I watched too much Columbo as a kid but when small details bother me like this." It made sense though, even if Jotaro didn't like it. Jotaro carefully listened, taking in and measuring all the information Romelle shared.

"Good grief. Prevent inbreeding by inducing speciation? My population genetics lecturer would have had a field day with this guy." Jotaro shook his head and then looked at Romelle. "That's a worry. You'd think that even if this was done because of inbreeding, you'd be allowed contact with your loved ones. Must be rough for you guys left behind..."

"Columbo?" Excuse the non-Earth girl here. She had no idea what Columbo was.

"Ah, yes... it is rough," she said. "But it's for the best not to risk being discovered. My people were being hunted down after our homeworld was destroyed, so we've been kept here in hiding." The old 'safety vs freedom' dilemma...

"Don't worry about it. Old show," Jotaro says quickly. Right, people were from different worlds. At least he was used to people not knowing what Columbo is (kids these days).

"Ah... I see. A real issue." Not much they can really do then. "... You have to wait long?"

"Show what?" Romelle still looked confused.

She sighed slightly at the question, though.

"Probably not. They've gotten very efficient at scanning people quickly, so even with a long line like this, I'll likely be done soon."

"Just a form of entertainment we have where I'm from. Don't worry about it." Because the line waiting for a weird cenuses isn't really place to talk about television and that sort of thing.

"Are you scared of having whatever they're looking for?"

Edited 2024-07-06 06:53 (UTC)

Romelle blinked, still curious, but then nodded a bit about moving on.

Still... the whole point of this line...

"No," she said, but then shook her head a bit. "I mean, maybe a bit. I don't know what's on the other colony if I qualify to go. What would I be going to?" She sighed. "But, my parents are there, and my brother went just recently, and I would be reunited with them, right? So, perhaps it would be a good thing."

Perhaps it's not so bad if she actually gets to be with her family again. Jotaro's not sure but since it's not like he can interfere, so he'll leave it for now.

"Hm? Your family is there? Are you alone here?"

"I am... my brother left during the last search," she explained. "He gave me this, but..." and she very secretly showed Jotaro a small device, hiding from the others around her. "...I haven't heard anything from him, yet. He said it was a communicator and should hopefully work between colonies. We're not supposed to have contact with them, though. It's prohibited because the activity could potentially reveal us to our enemies."

Jotaro looks at the strange device but doesn't move his head as he does so, understanding the importance of discretion. It looks almost like a large pendant or a very small computer mouse.

"Did he promise to contact you at a given time? Like if it was safe to do so? If he was in danger, would he let you know?" Because that's the real problem. Is the silence from her brother a good thing or a bad thing? Has her brother been found out or not seen a need to contact her?

"... Some enemies you have. Sound like troublesome folk."

"If it was safe, yes, but we weren't really sure when that would be," Romelle said. "I don't know if they're using the same times as us, even. What might be a private time at night for him could be in the middle of the day for me." She sounded mildly distressed. The not knowing was the worst.

"Yes, well... it's mostly the Galra who've been doing it. After they destroyed our home planet, they started chasing down any Alteans who were off-world."

Not knowing was the worst. And the fact she hasn't heard any news for so long implies it's not safe at all. Jotaro gives a low sigh and looks at the line, trying to see how far Romelle was from the front.

"Galra... Can't say I've heard of them but they sound like a rotten bunch. What's their damage?" Sorry about grilling you, Romelle. Jotaro's not sure what he can do here and he's severely lacking in info.

She was getting close now... only a few more people. When she noticed where he was looking, she quickly slipped the small device into her pocket again.

"Well, you're about to meet some," she said softly. "All of those we've met are very loyal to Lotor, so they won't harm us here."

It was the upcoming scan that had her nervous. Quite nervous, actually...

Jotaro gives a sigh. He pats Romelle on the shoulder.

"... Okay. But if they do... well... I'm the sort of person to respond to trouble if they start it." Which could be translated roughly to 'don't worry, I have your back' in emotionally constipated man-speak.

She gave him a soft smile in response.

Sure enough, she was once again rejected when it came time for the scan. It was a harmless process, as the very tall Galra sentry with purple skin and pointed ears in heavy silver-tone armor held up a large tablet, about 14-inches, with a graphic on it. It was a see-through style tablet, and an outline of a person was on it. It ran some graphics, and things moved and shifted through the process as a pale bar of light moved up and down the person-like shape on the one side. And then the shape turned bright red. The sentry shook his head and shooed her away for the next person in line.

"Just as I thought..." She sighed, a heavy sadness in her tone. "At this rate, I'm never going to see my family again."

It's simple, clinical, procedural and wrong.Throughout the whole affair, Jotaro can't help but frown.

It's almost worse that nothing happens. Jotaro steps aside, taking the poor girl aside.

"...No way to sneak on to the ships with that specific quality? Or request for a transfer? Or anything like that?"

She shook her head.

"Some have tried, especially early on when they started doing this. They've always been stopped." Her words indicated that this wasn't always the way for them. The separations and scanning started happening sometime after the colony had been established.

"What happens when they're stopped? Do they get punished?" Is it worth trying anyway?

"I'm not sure how much I can help given... circumstances..." The guards didn't scan him, let alone acknowledge him. Jotaro's somewhat realised what he can do is limited here. "But I'm willing to follow your lead. You seem to know what's going on here. And this whole thing is important to you." Even if it's mostly to show how alone the poor girl is...

"Not really?" Romelle shrugged slightly. "Nothing serious. It's usually a period of confinement followed by a work detail." She looked thoughtful. "They don't truly punish any of us because they're trying to protect and save our race. So, there's no risk of being killed. And, since we're working hard to keep the colony going, putting someone in confinement indefinitely would be a detriment to the whole. We'd lose someone to help with needed tasks."

And not only did it seem like no one was acknowledging Jotaro, they were also definitely not noticing that Romelle was talking to him. Dream mechanics.

"I don't know if it's worth trying," she continued. "I did try once... with my mom. I didn't want her to go. But they keep a close watch on everyone on those ships. Stowaways are always found." She shook her head.

"No... it's not really worth trying again." She took him to the large monument. "These are all the people who've been taken to the other colony. They're honored here." A top the large base was a statue... a very large one... depicting a man with very long hair wearing armor and holding a sword. The sword was point down into the base, and his free hand was outstretched as if reaching to the future.

"That's Lotor," Romelle explained. "He found all the Alteans that were scattered after the destruction of our homeworld, and brought them here. He saved us..." She didn't sound overly convinced. "Sometimes, it feels like we're expected to worship him and blindly follow him like a god." She shook her head. "I can't bring myself to do it." A frown crossed her features.

"Don't get me wrong," she said softly. "I'm grateful to him for saving our people. For helping us. For protecting us. But, what are we giving up in return? We were a proud people, and, if it weren't for the Galra hunting us down and routinely exterminating any of us they find, we could have built something like this on our own." She took a breath. "I don't doubt that we could have found a way to survive without giving up ourselves in the process." As she spoke, her voice became firmer, more set in her beliefs. Romelle wasn't like the others on the colony.

Edited 2024-11-01 20:33 (UTC)

"... That's... surprisingly sensible." Look, Jotaro's American, he's not used to the government making good decisions.

Jotaro follows the woman to the two landmarks, quiet as she explains what each one is. He pays quiet respects to the monument but he glares at the statue.

"Lotor..." He... look like an asshole but maybe that's Jotaro's aversion to authority speaking. "You are right. People are stronger than they think they are, and blindly following anyone never leads to good things. You're not wrong to question, even in spite of everything."

She nodded.

"It's one of the reasons it's so hard to go against him," Romelle said. "He hasn't really done anything wrong. But I also don't feel like he's really done anything right, either. It feels almost like he's made us dependent on him."

"... Well... I hope that isn't a sign of things to come then. Human history has a couple of instances where periods of great ruin are prefaced with stagnation and complacency. Hopefully, it's not the same here..."

He looks at her. "... So what happens now?"

She listened, and then hesitated before her answer. But, once she did, it was like she'd come to a realization.

"I did the right thing," she said. "I left the colony... when we were found, two people had come in. I didn't turn them in to anyone. Instead, I told them our story. I told them what had happened. And they offered to bring me with them, to let me tell the story to Princess Allura. And I went. We snuck away." She gave Jojo a small smile.

"Knowing that doing nothing would have just let things continue and possibly get worse," she said, "that helps. And, no... things didn't immediately improve when I left, but we were able to bring about change... change for the better. And that means it was worth it."

It was as if that realization was what was needed to move the dream along. The world around them began to fade into a more dreamlike state.

"Thank you," she said.

Jotaro pauses, listening quietly as the girl goes down her story. One that speaks of hope and something better. He gives a small smile to the girl and nods.

"For what? I just listened and refrained from punching someone in the face. This was all you. Both here and home where you did the right thing." He admittedly wished he could have done more but that's something he's been learning he can't do all the time slowly. And that's okay.

"Next time we have a conversation, let's have it over coffee and not standing in line." It's a joke but he does hope he'll see her around. It'd be nice.

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