[ORP] Making History

[Suudonym]

The Jinko Regional Natural History Museum was, as one might expect, the largest museum in Kodo, and as such, it was teeming with knowledge about the island's past, from the geological to the anthropological. Recently, an archaeological team that surveyed a location in the Skypeak Mountains had donated their findings to the museum after thoroughly studying them. The resulting exhibit was rumored to be one that would change the entire world's impression of the unassuming little region, and on the day the exhibit was to open, all manner of historians and journalists gathered at the museum to learn what it had to offer. Even Team Rocket was interested in what would be revealed, and a memo was put out to all operatives who had the day off encouraging them to visit the museum, attend the lecture, and submit a brief report on what they learned.

The exhibit was advertised under the name "Unlike Blood" with the promotional materials explaining the meaning the phrase as a term used by native Kodoans in the distant past to refer to pokemon. Preliminary information teased that the exhibit and accompanying lecture would shed new light on the development of Kodo's culture and on how people and pokemon lived together centuries ago.

The exhibit was contained in a room of the museum that was used for special, temporary collections, and adjacent to it was a miniature theater-like room fitted with a projector and screen for the sake of giving presentations; presumably, it was where the lecture would take place, and the entrance was currently cordoned off. And, most importantly, scattered throughout the room were the various pieces comprising the collection, sitting atop pedestals, within display cases, and upon the walls, each accompanied by placards that offered additional information.

(Site Reconstruction)
One wall was occupied primarily by a photograph of the site juxtaposed with a rendering of what the site was theorized to have looked like back when its buildings still stood. A little stand fitted with an electronic screen stood below it, ready to offer different views of the site to anyone curious to look.

(Utensils)
The tools that had been retrieved were laid out in a case lined with soft fabric. The collection included things like rudimentary knives and mortars and pestles.

(Jars)
A few of the terra cotta pots that had been found were set upon pedestals, behind glass cases that would protect them from curious hands. To the untrained eye, they would look like simple, boring old pots, but to one who had a taste for the historical, the jars would have an immediately recognizable cultural value.

(Bottles)
Only a handful of the clay bottles the excavation had uncovered were intact enough to display, but those that were were placed on a long, fabric-lined case not unlike the display used for the utensils. The bottles were roughly uniform in size, and each bore a different stamp-like marking upon its surface.

(Jewelry)
A glass curio cabinet stood against a wall, its shelves filled with little pieces of jewelry, many of which were styled after pokemon native to the mountains and surrounding forests. Bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and loose beads made of stone, gems, glass, wood, and twine decorated the display.

(Sacred Artifacts)
Those well-acquainted with Kodo's history would recognize the displayed artifacts as items with spiritual connotations that had been found in the region in the past. There was a string of Pokemon teeth and claws that were tied together on a long cord that could be hung in entryways, and there was a small sculpture of a Wartortle, carved out of white quartz.

(Writing)
Under more glass cases were sheets of parchment mounted carefully so that they would not roll up unto themselves. The paper was thick, gritty, and discolored, both due to the material it had been made from and the ages it had withstood. Their surfaces were covered with glyphs that somewhat resembled the Unown-inspired writing found in ruins in other regions worldwide, but it was written differently enough that it couldn't be interpreted except by someone studied in the language. Rather than being written with ink, the words looked to be stained onto the paper with some sort of dye.

(Illustrations)
Some of the parchment sheets were decorated with drawings instead of text. Most, like the jewelry, depicted pokemon from the area, some showed scenes of people working together with pokemon, and one in particular showed what was unmistakably Arceus.


((Note: This ORP is open to everyone regardless of affiliation or rank. Characters are welcome to interact with the exhibit and with one another for the duration of the weekend, and on Monday, the ORP will move forward to the lecture. If 24 hours passes from the beginning of the ORP without a great deal of player interest, we'll go ahead with the lecture so as not to dawdle for no reason. Either way, characters will be able to stick around and ask questions of the lecturer or go back to look at the exhibit more, so don't worry about missing the opportunity to play in the initial part of the exhibit if you won't be available.

If your character examines one of the exhibit pieces, please indicate which at the top of your post!))  

[TawnyAngel]

[KO. Inspecting Jewelry]

When the time came that he spent a day off working, he had told his old partner, it would be safe to commit him somewhere with padded walls.

And here he was more than ten years on, spending a day off working. KO smiled a melancholy little smile at his reflection in the jewellery case, imaging what his old friend would have muttered in his ear if he was standing beside him. They'd had some good times together, him and the big guy.

Still, that had been ten years ago; here and now he had some snooping to do. KO pulled a comb out of the inner pocket of his vest - light grey today over a white shirt, worn with fitted blue jeans - and fixed up an imagined fault in the arrangement of his hair. With this taken care of his slipped the comb away again and actually focused on what was inside the case.  

[TawnyAngel]

[Dith. Inspecting Utensils.]

Getting today off had involved trading shifts several times until a) everyone was happy and b) necessary cover was achieved. So far it seemed like his effort had been worth it, the atmosphere around him buzzed and the displays looked fascinating. The only problem so far was that, crowded as it was, he kept bumping into people on his blind side. At least he hadn't crushed any feet yet.

Having managed to negotiate another little knot of people without incident Dith approached a case lined with soft fabric and lent down to inspect the items spread across it. They were tools, simple looking things that he imagined people had used in their every day lives. When had human hands last touched the handle of that knife? Who had it belonged to? What had they done for a living? What had they done in their spare time? He supposed there was probably no answer anyone could give to those questions but that didn't keep him from wondering.  

[Suudonym]

[KO]

The items on the shelves varied between all kinds of jewelry and were made of a variety of materials. Some of the necklaces and bracelets, however, looked to be too large or small for human use, and many of these pieces seemed to be a matching set with the more person-sized ones. The accompanying placard offered some explanation:

Like in most societies, jewelry was an important part of early Kodoan culture. These decorative artifacts were created with a wide array of minerals, from twine made from the surrounding vegetation to precious stones found within the mountains. Even evolutionary stones were sometimes used, especially in pieces with a pokemon motif. Authorities theorize that Kodoan families each had a design or color that was unique to them, and when someone in the family created a bond with a wild pokemon, they gave it a piece of jewelry similar to their own as a way of inducting it into their household.


[Mau]

The artist's rendering of the site depicted enough buildings for a small community, each made of wood. The vegetation that overran the site in the condition it was in before the archaeological team's arrival was far more contained, groomed deliberately for what could be construed as agricultural purposes. The different angles depicted on the electronic screen included shots of what average daily life might have looked like in the community's prime.

The informational card read: Like most of other early Kodoan society, this community likely invested a great deal of time and effort into agricultural endeavors. Although it's only recently that modern people have become open to the idea of eating the berries that consist of the majority of most pokemon's diets, it seems that the region's ancestors did not have similar reservations.


[Dith]

The tools were all missing parts that would have been made of organic material, like wooden handles or fibrous strings, but their forms were identifiable nonetheless. In addition to cooking and dining utensils, there were also agricultural tools and devices that might have been used for leisure purposes, including a clay pipe and a collection of tokens that seemed they could be used in the same way as dice. Many of the items had a small glyph inscribed on the stone or clay surfaces.

The information read: Like many post-archaic people, these Kodoans made their tools from materials that they could naturally find, such as stone and wood. The words seen on the surface of these tools are the names of pokemon. Some pokemon became synonymous with certain things, such as Wartortle to rain, and their names were written as prayers. For example, the trowel used to tend to crops is inscribed with the word 'Leafeon' in hopes that the seeds sowed with the tool would grow heartily and healthily, and the wide stone bowl, used in serving meals, bears the mark for Munchlax on the bottom as a wish for an enjoyable meal.  

[Magician Arcana]

(Adam | Writing)

A big exhibit, huh? Of course the buzz was worth the trip and Adam was curious about what they could have found. With a name like "Unlike Blood", it was bound to be good. Stretching, he walked around the crowds until he appraoched the case with the writings.

Taking out his cellphone, he snapped a few pictures and quickly attached them to a text to Izaya

Quote:

Figured my favorite informant might like some pics of this. I'll try to get as much info as I can bout this stuff and take photos for you. xoxo Adam

Sending it, he slid the phone into his pocket and wondered if he could decipher it. Yeah.... Prolly not.

Kitomyx

I totally cannot for the life of my spell iza's acc name haha

 

[Suudonym]

[Adam]

The language on the paper was largely geometric in style, though the letterforms did occasionally curve. The accompanying placard gave some insight as to the parchments' indecipherable words: These papers, protected from the elements within terra cotta jars, can be assumed from the place where they were found to be of great cultural significance to the community that created them. The writing tells of a Kodoan belief that Arceus descended to them in a time of need and received care and hospitality. Because of this encounter, people and pokemon were able to become much closer. How much of this story is mythology and how much is reality is still under debate.

As Adam's phone hovered over the display, one of the exhibit's attendants approached him, her hand raised in dissuasion and her voice low but firm, "Excuse me, sir. No photography in the exhibit, please."  

[Blood_Goddess]

[Rosie- Dith]

Rosie probably wouldn’t have heard of the event if it hadn’t been all over the news, emphasizing how excited archeologists were about this find, and how incredible it was for the understanding of Kodo’s history.
Now the blond wasn’t an archeologist, nor did she even begin to understand just how significant the finds actually were or what they meant to the people finding them. But all the same, the idea that something new had been found on the island she was born on that gave a new look as to the kind of people who used to live on the island well before her. Rodney seemed to have a better grasp of just what this meant, and was all for going to the museum as soon as was possible, the older man couldn’t get enough of learning, and of course, Rosie was looking forward to joining her cousin as well as see what early Kodoan’s used to be like.

“So all of this is really old stuff?” The small legendary asked, glistening from the lights on the displays as they passed through the Jinko museum to where the ‘Unlike Blood’ Exhibit was set up.
She drifted alongside the blond trainer who she had been spending most of her time with.
She could feel a kind of quiet subtle awe from the moment they entered the building. The people they passed who were busy browsing, some of them she could pick up a clear exasperated boredom or a wandering sort of feeling, more prominent in the group of youths that were standing by a glass display of stones and minerals. And then there was some who seemed interested in what they were looking at, curious, confused or even amazed with wonder.
Northern tilted her large head, at one lady who was reading over a panel for more information about mountain formations, It was much like Rodney would get whenever she would be by him and he was reading.

“Yeah, things that people made and used a long time ago, people that used to live on the island.” Rosie explained, her fingers lacing together behind her back, blue eyes drifting up to Northern as she spoke with the pokemon.
Northern frowned at Rosie’s explanation, wrapping her head around the concept of what happened a long time ago… was there things a long time ago? She supposed she had never given much thought, nor had a real concept of such a thing.
Rosie smiled back at the Jirachi’s expression, hoping this would be enlightening for Northern, who besides having an ability that make her incredible, still had a hard time with every day concepts and ideas that didn’t protein to emotions.

In her white and pink trainers outfit, Rosie stepped into the beautifully set up exhibit for ‘Unlike Blood’ next to her Rodney gave a soft gasp, and the taller man was moving forward to fill his head with as much information as he could. Rosie however, was quick to catch sight of something other than the displays. Perking up the trainer made her way over to a familiar friendly face.
“Hi Dith~” She greeted with a warm smile at him, “What are you learning about?”  

[BelaLucina]

[Eden - Illustrations]

Eden hesitated at the door to the museum, her hand hovering above the door a second, before pushing it open and entering.

She'd never been to a museum before; it wasn't the sort of thing her family ever did back in Kalos. Now that she was on her own she could do what she wanted, within Team Rocket's regulations, and the freedom was both exhilarating and a little overwhelming. She still wasn't used to interacting with other people though, and that made her a bit nervous.

She stood in awe at the entrance as she took everything in: lots of displays and people quietly studying them, some taking notes, and journeying to the distant past within their imaginations. She enjoyed the muffled quiet, and took soft steps as she approached a case with pieces of parchment in it. The pages were obviously old, and the drawings on them drew her attention instantly; she'd always wished she could draw. She looked at all the pieces carefully. She enjoyed the way the ancient artist had depicted people and pokémon living and working together. It was a kind of bond she tried to share with her pokémon. The last picture took her by surprise though. It was unmistakably the legendary pokémon Arceus. She stopped and stared at it for awhile, wondering. Was Arceus here, in the Kodo region?  

[Suudonym]

[Eden]

The accompanying placard shed some light on Eden's curiosity: Until now, there has never been any evidence that Arceus ever inhabited the Kodo region. However, it would be impossible for the illustration of what the Kodoan people called the 'white Rapidash' to be such an accurate depiction of Arceus if the legendary pokemon had never visited the island. Some theorize that Arceus remains slumbering in Kodo, hidden away in some heretofore undiscovered place, but most authorities agree that it must have departed the region after expressing its gratitude to the people who gave it aid.  

[TawnyAngel]

[Dith: Rosie]

"Rosie! Hey there!" Dith turned to grin at his friend and lent down to greet her with a hug. "I wasn't sure if you were coming, my phone has been on the fritz since yesterday. I'm going to have to get somebody to look at it I think.

"But yes!" he gestured to the display. "I was looking at these tools here. Isn't it strange to think of people living so long ago using them? And ah, it says here," he indicated the information card, "that pokemon's names were carved onto tools like prayers. On that trowel there the inscription says 'Leafeon' to ask that the seeds sown with it grew well." It made sense if you thought about it, back then the abilities of pokemon must have seemed even more incredible than they did today.  

[equielfmage]

[Sakura - helping at the museum]

"Hello and welcome to Unlike Blood. Please enjoy the exibit." Sakura smiled as guests entered the hall. A friend had sent her a text that morning asking if she could volunteer at the museum today. She hadn't expected to be a door greeter at the special exibit but with all the people going in and out they obviously needed the man power.  

[Kadota-banchou]

[Kadota: saying hi to Sakura, then Site Reconstruction]

"Oh, hey Sakura. Didn't know you'd be here." Kadota took one of the programs she was handing out, and got out of the way of other incoming patrons before flipping it open to check the exhibit layout. "You volunteer here regularly?"

He didn't want to keep her too long, since there were plenty more guests arriving. "I'll catch ya soon, okay?" If she wanted to find him when she was off-shift, he'd probably still be lingering around.

He wandered over to the Site Reconstruction layout to take a look and see what he thought. Perhaps it told him more than it told most, given his profession, and he was fascinated with the way the old buildings had been recovered and then interpreted, and how the old village took advantage of its site.  

[BelaLucina]

[Eden - Mau and Illustrations]

Eden's reaction to the placard under the Arceus drawing was about the same as the gentleman who had just appeared beside her. He was the same one she had noticed taking notes when she first came in. She thought briefly that she should be taking notes, but she had never really been the note taking type. She could commit a lot to memory to write about later.

"It is quite remarkable," she murmured back. She wondered which theory was the correct one. Had Arceus left the region, or was it slumbering somewhere in the mountains. She guessed that Team Rocket would no doubt want to investigate if the latter was true. She'd love to go and investigate the mountains herself sometime.

She glanced sideways at the older gentleman, thinking he looked slightly familiar. She continued to examine the drawings, thinking that Zuberi would like this part of the exhibit. She wondered if she would see him here. There were probably other Team Rocket members here now, but of course she couldn't ask in case she was overheard.