STATUS:
To those I RP with, I haven't dropped off of the face of the earth, just had a mental health crash but am recovering. Now to catch up on posting.
1 yr ago
Current
To those I RP with, I haven't dropped off of the face of the earth, just had a mental health crash but am recovering. Now to catch up on posting.
7
likes
1 yr ago
The worst thing about mental illness is you have to look after yourself a disgusting amount. I know it's the only way to actually be in a fit state to look out for others, but it still feels wrong.
4
likes
1 yr ago
Emeth: Then I'll be that friend who's the opposite kind of annoying, whispering "Do it, you know you want to..."
5
likes
1 yr ago
Judging by the Internet's definitions of introversion and extraversion, you'd think everyone's either an extreme hermit or a party animal with no in between.
6
likes
1 yr ago
Krystal: All part and parcel of the job.
4
likes
Bio
A frazzled British thirtysomething cat mum with something of a tea addiction.
I like a wide range of RP genres, but have two absolute favourites: Pokemon and magical girls. (If someone manages to combine the two, I'll be VERY happy!) I post fairly regularly, but sometimes shit mental health days crop up - if that causes any delays, I'll try to resume posting ASAP.
Hey, welcome! Yeah, so far there have been two run-ins with Team Noble. The latest one being someone got kidnapped and saved, but he's currently unconscious. The grass type gym leader intervened, so we're on our way to the gym.
Story wise, we're only in the third town so it's still early enough for new people to join. Your character(s) can have up to 6 Pokemon each, and yeah average level right now is 14 or so. Since there are a few lv16 Pokemon, if you want an Ivysaur or other early second stage evo then go for it, just don't overdo it (although I trust you won't).
Looking forward to your cinnamon roll application!
As remarkable as some essences were, Mara didn't want to appear too impressed. She wasn't going to give anyone that satisfaction. However, when Dolly spoke up and showed everyone the flower growing from her head, Mara's eyes widened. Not just from fascination, but wariness. Great, so people would be walking around Cabin 2 with large, flammable flowers rooted to their skin. Even more incentive to get these electrical problems under control.
"Gonna have to pass," she replied to Dolly's offer. For all her love of plants and gardening, she'd had to get rid of her houseplants after a few close calls. Having one attached to her skin wouldn't be the smartest idea. "It'd be a shame to fry it." Shuffling back and pulling up her rubber gloves, she watched Dolly demonstrate her essence on Destiny. Petals unfurled behind the child's ear, spreading into a huge purple flower. Apparently the colour wasn't random, as Dolly explained it stood for wisdom.
"Huh... Not bad, I've gotta say," Mara admitted. Sure, it may not be a superhero power, but if the colour thing was accurate, it would be useful for figuring out people's traits and skills. Dolly would make a good teacher or therapist, if she wasn't one already.
It was certainly better than her own essence.
And thankfully, Dolly wasn't the type to go on and on about it, wrapping up her introduction quickly. Considering her and Dani, maybe the people in Cabin 2 wouldn't be so bad after all.
Which still left the issue of the flowers. Arms folded, Mara inched further away from Dolly and Destiny. If it came across as rude, so be it.
Jess blushed. Not because of embarrassment, but because of Roxy's surprisingly gentle touch on her hand. A sign that the distance between them may finally be starting to close, or so she hoped. As instructed, she clenched her fist tight, tilting her knuckles forward. "Is this better?"
She studied Roxy's stance as she watched her throw a punch, once again awed by the sheer force and finesse of the move. Once it was her turn, she donned a pair of padded gloves and spread her feet wide, positioning her fist as the anchor had explained. She braced herself, not just physically but mentally - even if it hurt, it was better than being defenseless. "Here goes..." Drawing her arm back, she slammed her fist into the bag. Even with the warning, the sting of the impact made her yelp.
"Ok, I see what you mean. But still." Massaging her fingers, Jess gave a faint smile. "No pain, no gain, huh?"
As Mara stepped into the vast hall, the air conditioning provided some relief. Hot weather didn't do much for an already irritable mood. Just as she'd expected, though, a volunteer explained that the test for refund eligibility wasn't possible just yet. Mara resisted the urge to huff. Of course. There'd probably be some excuse later on too.
Taking one of the few empty seats at the back, she read over the itinerary and frowned. Either it was full of misprints, or someone had gone and put different activities in the same timeslots. Activities that looked rather less than helpful, to boot. Water balloon fight? She gave a hollow laugh. While Conner would undoubtedly love it, it was safe to say that was out of the question for her. Which left the panel discussion. She could only hope it wouldn't be as condescending as she suspected.
It wasn't long before the conference started. A generic pseudo-inspirational speech, a rundown of self-evident rules... Well, so far it was meeting her expectations. Good thing she kept those expectations low. What she hadn't been prepared for, however, was the group activity.
Stifling a groan, she traipsed towards the "2" sign, beside which a small group gathered. Public speaking was not her forte. Putting up with people who jumped at the chance to talk about themselves, even less so. Her gaze drifted to her scuffed boots, and she shuffled back from the group for their own safety as her heart began to thud. Right now she felt like that awkward kid in school again, with nothing interesting to say.
Someone else piped up - Dani, even less at ease by the look of it. The nervousness, and the longing for an essence, were things Mara could relate to all too well. As people scoffed at Dani's words, Mara found herself glaring at them. Yeah it was none of her business, and she knew she was likely asking for trouble, but for some reason she couldn't help it.
One by one, Dani's family went next, Abby having the right idea. Once her 'speech' was over, Mara breathed deeply and looked up. The longer she waited, the tauter her nerves stretched, and that wouldn't be good for anyone. Best to get this over with. Plus, she'd freaked Dani out earlier. The least she could do was help make her more comfortable.
"Mara. Lived in Florida my entire life. Plant essence, namely lemon..." God it sounded even weirded spoken out loud. "In other words, electricity. Don't ask. As for fun facts, I, uh..." Scrambling for a remotely interesting fact, she struggled to keep looking at the crowd and not at the floor. No, she was NOT going to act like that insecure kid she'd once been. She had to keep her defenses up. "Does not really being one for fun facts count? But if it's a must, I've always liked lemon flavoured stuff... I guess this explains it."
Whew, just like that it was done. Now able to relax somewhat, Mara waited for the next person to speak up.
Watching the dog accept the child's handshake and hug, Mara gave a near smile, if a twitch of the lips counted. Sascha reminded her of a childhood family dog she'd known, Alfie, ever-affectionate in contrast to most humans. Pets were the truest friends. At least Sascha's owner, Ryker, didn't seem too bad... As long as he was offering to help out of concern, instead of showing off. Mara wanted to believe the former, but she knew a certain two do-gooders who showed a different side behind closed doors.
An overenthusiastic shout drew her attention from the scene. Another guy waved and grinned, bragging about super speed before sprinting down the path at an entirely mundane pace. Mara rolled her eyes, nodding at Alonzo's comment. Ok, she knew what it was like to desperately want a power, but did that guy have to make an ass of himself over it? "Yep. All I have to say is, be careful what you wish for," she murmured.
No sooner were the words out than she inwardly cringed. Had she just let on how much she'd wanted what others had? What a vulnerable little sap she'd been? Not exactly something she wanted to open up about, especially to total strangers. "Anyway, yeah." She hurried after the tattooed guy. "Let's go."
Jess winced inwardly at Roxy's skepticism, that initial silence, that scrutinising look. She'd hoped to make the anchor more comfortable, and connect better with her, but it wasn't working quite yet. Had agreeing to the training session been the best choice, or would it make matters worse? Not that she could blame Roxy for taking time to trust others. Especially someone she was stuck with, when she valued her freedom.
The first thing Roxy instructed her to do was make a fist. An easy action by the sound of it, but Jess suspected there was more to it than that. "How's this?" She held out her hand, curling her fingers into a fist. Was it too tight? Too loose? Not positioned correctly? Unsure of what stance to take to best throw a punch, she pulled back her arm slightly. "Is this it? I'm going to guess it isn't so simple as it seems."
Well, at least Ryker now seemed pretty unfazed, compared to his initial reaction. Still, knowing she owed him a new jacket didn't make Mara feel much less guilty. A charred sleeve was much more minor than burned skin, but she still felt the need to make up for it, and her budget probably wouldn't stretch that far.
"Yeah, and hopefully they'll actually help us with that learning," she muttered, with a glance towards the pavillion. The suspicion that this summit would consist more of talking than anything productive hadn't gone away. With all these people gathering, she needed something that would take her mind off of such thoughts.
Her gaze settled on the big fluffy German shepherd, Sascha, and her expression softened. An undeniably cute dog, and she could see why the little girl and the guy with glasses were so eager to pet her. Mara inched forward, but stopped. No, it wouldn't be worth it. What if she hurt the dog? Or one of the people nearby? Besides, Sascha probably wouldn't take too kindly to someone who'd shocked her owner.
Keeping a safe distance as she watched, Mara hoped the cute scene would calm her enough that she wouldn't cause any more problems.
A pink, floral-scented mist swept through the area, easing Amber's fraught nerves. Around the group, frantic voices quieted. From her crouched position, Amber looked up to see the source of the cloud - a Lilligant, accompanied by a young, pink-haired shrine maiden.
"So that's Sweet Scent in action," she said, the awe evident in her voice. Just as it could pacify Pokemon in battle, it had done its job of preventing mass panic. As the girl took out two berries, Amber propped Rheese into a sitting position so he'd swallow them more easily. Chesto berries were known for their anti-fatigue properties, and she could only hope it would work fast. She'd eaten a fair amount before while studying, and they usually did, even if they could only so much for humans. The other berry, rounded and purple, was one she was sure she'd seen in guides - probably a rare one. Some rare berries lessened the effects of certain move types, so judging by Sophia's comment about the strange effect, this was likely a counter for psychic techniques.
As the shrine maiden fed Rheese the berries, Aeshna set about picking up the scattered Pokeballs between her front legs, and reattaching them to his belt. The breeze from the Yanma's wings wafted the fragrant haze around. Amber breathed deeply, patting Aeshna on the head and nodding up at the girl - Saki. The gym leader Rachel had mentioned. "Thanks, both of you," she addressed Saki and the Lilligant. "I'm Amber, and this is Rheese." Placing Rheese's arm around her shoulder, she struggled to her feet. "Ugh..." While she was no slouch physically, supporting an unconscious six foot tall guy wasn't easy. Her eyes settled on Alexis, who'd been panicking as if she didn't know what to do. "Alexis, would you be able to help out? This should be doable with the two of us."
Slowly moving in Saki's direction, she glanced over her shoulder at the others. Sophia didn't look in any fit state to travel much further. "Uh..." Amber turned back to Saki. "Miss Matsusuki? You wouldn't happen to have any Leppa berries, would you?" Again, they'd have less effect on a human than on a Pokemon, but could help with exhaustion to some extent.
"...Oh. You're those trainers from the other town."
Sophia huffed at the green-haired boy and his neutral tone, devoid of any concern. "Yeah, and in case you hadn't noticed, we're dealing with a bit of a crisis right now." Yet another one, in just a span of days.
Someone, thankfully, knew how to calm a crisis. The pink haze wafting over the group took effect right away, with its soothing scent. Shoulders relaxing, Sophia breathed a sigh of relief as a miko approached, her Lilligant in tow. The girl wasted no time in feeding Rheese a combination of berries, reassuring the group that he'd be ok, and introducing herself as Vareena's gym leader.
Well, Sophia hadn't expected someone so young to be a gym leader, but this girl seemed to know what she was doing. Hopefully, anyway. As Saki turned for the group to follow, Sophia tried to stand, needing Clarus' support once more. Which was, of course, Amber's cue to start fussing. "Sheesh, give it a rest already!" Sophia rolled her eyes. "I'm fine." In truth, she wouldn't refuse a berry, but the group had other, more pressing concerns. "It's Rheese we've gotta focus on anyway."
She staggered after the gym leader. "As for what happened... Ugh, where to start. You see, this wasn't our first run-in."
Karya was awake well before Athena's announcement. As an early riser, normally she'd have been buzzing with energy from the get-go, but the headache that made its presence known as she sat up reminded her of last night's excess. As did the branches growing across nearly an entire wall, and the soil on the floor.
Yeah, this wouldn't exactly help Arn accept the living arrangements.
Thankfully, either Athena or the school's magic had set a fresh glass of water on the bedside table. Blinking away bleariness, she sipped at it. Classes would start soon, and she'd have to shake off the hangover before then. As well as put other issues right before Arn got up. She placed down the glass and hurried over to the plants, placing her hands over the pot once more, speaking the incantation clearly. Vines started to shrink and uncurl themselves from shelves - knocking down several books in the process. Cringing, Karya set about gathering them up. Damage to provided school property wouldn't go down well. "Ehh, sorry Athena!"
It was just then that the bathroom door opened. "Ah, morning!" Karya's smile was more of a grimace as she faced Arn, with her arms full of books, and the still-considerable overgrowth shrinking behind her. "No need to worry! It's all under control! Eheheh..."
Hopefully this wouldn't set the tone for the rest of the day.
The morning's start didn't diminish Karya's enthusiasm as she headed into the sprawling arena, clad in leather armour, her bow and quiver on her back. Her fingers clenched around the map. After what she'd heard yesterday, about the disappearances and worse, she HAD to do well at this.
At Vermont's announcement, her stomach dropped. Anyone who failed would be removed for a year? She closed her eyes, shaking her head. No, no, she couldn't let that happen. She couldn't wait a year. Not when it came to such urgent cases. The clang of metal jolted her from her thoughts - with no warning, Vermont had taken off running. The students' cue to start.
Karya launched into a sprint. Agility and endurance, two vital skills for a ranger. As she'd been taught, she kept her breathing as even as possible, gradually building up running speed. Focused as she was on surpassing those ahead of her, a sudden thwack took her by surprise. A glance over her shoulder revealed arrows raining down on the students in the back. Blunted arrows, but they still struck hard enough to knock a guy over. Karya winced, but as she recognised who he was, her sympathy diminished. Especially as she witnessed the fiasco with the boy who tried to help him.
She pressed on, conflicting thoughts nagging at her. This whole situation was far from fair. She was no stranger to harsh training - nature was also harsh, for all its wonders, and those who lived in it had to be prepared to face its dangers. Yet punishing someone for something that wasn't their fault? How was that helpful? It was only fear of failure that held her back from intervening. Fear of losing the chance to grow stronger, to look into the cases, to find Xanthe...
In the end, however, her community-focused mindset won out. Clenching her fists, she turned back and sped towards the struggling young man. Adventurers typically worked in teams, so what good was an adventurer who left their allies behind? Hopefully the teachers would see that. And as somebody used to running, she could catch up. Surely she could... "You ok there?" she called, placing herself beside Toma just as Dex unleashed another arrow. She grunted and staggered as it struck her shoulder, but she didn't fall. Her natural defenses meant the blow barely hurt.
"C'mon, there's no time to lose!" As she gripped Toma by the arm and rushed forward, she spotted someone else doing the same for another - Calven, helping out Ixius. Karya sped up her pace. She and the other student would have to do as good a job of catching up as those two did.
The man's reaction was worse than Mara had feared. Instead of yelping or recoiling, he spaced out for a few seconds. Mara's stomach clenched as she noticed the trembling of his left hand, the traces of scars on his arms and face. Had she just triggered a bad memory? As if the whole situation wasn't already shitty enough, in the distance, a scream rose up. She stared over at the teen hunched on the ground, people gathering around her. Great, she'd all too likely set off someone's phobia of lightning.
It was only when a dog pushed between the guy's legs, poised to guard him, that he snapped back into the present.
Although he tried to reassure her it was ok, Mara bit her lip. Used to it? So she had gone and reminded him of something unpleasant. Judging by his reaction, he wasn't used to shocks in the same way that electricians and engineers were. "It wasn't your fault," she replied. If only she'd damn well pulled herself together, this wouldn't have happened. "Not like you could've known."
Before he could answer, the woman with flowers in her hair approached, with an odd request. Mara raised an eyebrow. Give her a zap? While both damp and on edge? Yeeeeah, what could possibly go wrong? Even if this girl had an essence that could lessen the effect, it would still be a risky move. "Ehh, I'm going to guess you want to keep your fingers in working order." She folded her arms. "So I'll pass. What was it you wanted to check though?" As much as she needed the money, to help cover the cost of repairs to her parents' home, it wouldn't be worth it, at least not until she dried off and calmed down. She glanced at the wounded man again, proof of why it wouldn't.
The tattooed blond had stepped in, the wound fading at his touch. Not completely, but enough that it wouldn't get infected or leave major scarring. Mara gave a sigh of relief. Ok, lucky there was a healer around. His essence was obvious - the distinctive scent of lavender overrode the smoke and lemon smells.
Of course, that still left the issue of the guy's mental state, as the concern in the approaching teen's eyes made clear. The same girl who'd panicked just now. The burn may have been healed, but that didn't change the fact that electricity freaked out at least two people here.
A frazzled British thirtysomething cat mum with something of a tea addiction.
I like a wide range of RP genres, but have two absolute favourites: Pokemon and magical girls. (If someone manages to combine the two, I'll be VERY happy!) I post fairly regularly, but sometimes shit mental health days crop up - if that causes any delays, I'll try to resume posting ASAP.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">A frazzled British thirtysomething cat mum with something of a tea addiction. <br><br>I like a wide range of RP genres, but have two absolute favourites: Pokemon and magical girls. (If someone manages to combine the two, I'll be VERY happy!) I post fairly regularly, but sometimes shit mental health days crop up - if that causes any delays, I'll try to resume posting ASAP.</div>
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