Marlowe

Why Is No One Joining My RP (General Advice Thread)

That is just called life, my friend. Get used to it. You aren't owed anything, nor are you the only one in your situation.

Why Is No One Joining My RP (General Advice Thread)

We'll hang ghosters by their toes then. Does that make you feel better?

Success for me as a GM means that everyone has fun no matter how long it lasts.

Why Is No One Joining My RP (General Advice Thread)

How about people that want to start RPs on obscure fandoms? I was thinking of eventually starting a Wings of Fire RP or even one centered around dinosaurs.

Why Is No One Joining My RP (General Advice Thread)

My lord

Galarian Stories

MENTIONS:

With her arrival came a whole lot more. Hestia turned to face Fiona, returning her greeting wholeheartedly. "With this oaf, I might as well be him!" She jabbed a thumb in the direction of her Charizard, who had dipped his head low to glare at the other gym leader with frosty blue eyes. "He's been looking forward to tonight for a long time. No harm in letting him have some fun!" she chuckled as she slung her arm around Fiona's shoulders, posing for a moment to allow some paparazzi to snap a photo.

Isla and Zeke showed up next, and she thanked them for drawing some of the crowd's attention to them. Hestia grinned at their interaction and how they bickered. Zeke was quite the handful, and Isla wasn't left behind in challenging his claim. Next came Ezran, Harvey, and Liam, and she couldn't help but narrowing her eyes at the blond that had been hugged by the flamboyant Fairy-type gym leader. "Hey Easy. Hi, Liam. Harvey."" she nodded at each of them respectively, though her smile faded considerably as she turned to Malik. Even Apollo scoffed at him and his rather obnoxious Espeon, who had been hissing in his presence. Sure, he was a minor league gym leader, but she wasn't going to forgive him over what he did all of those years ago. Yeah, some might say that she was being petty, but how would they feel if they were suddenly defeated by an unworthy rival at the most pivotal time in their life?

Then came the rest-- Henrietta, and Moira, whose Dragonite had forced a low growl from Apollo's maw, and then Joseph and Thomas. All of the spectacles their Pokemon put on display had brought even more attention from onlookers, who all clustered closer and cheered with admiration. There were some out of their numbers that stared wide-eyed and with contempt while several of them watched with determination. Trainers were probably in the crowd's mix, most definitely the ones that they would face when the time came. The crowds only cheered more when Fiona's flying types shot out from their Pokeballs-- Hestia's eyes widened when she saw that one of such winged Pokemon was her Mega Salamence.

"We've really got this crowd going, don't we?" she laughed to herself as she glanced up at Apollo. The Charizard growled in agreement and she reached up to pat the side of his neck.

"Oi! You lot!"

The voice sounded from somewhere behind them, and she caught sight of a rather young face at the doorway to the Motostoke Gym. Hestia recognized him as Chairman Amaranth's assistant, Cereus Rothschild. She swore that Chairman Amaranth was crazy for hiring an assistant that looked to be younger than even she was; in fact, she was pretty jealous that she chose him instead of her!

"Chairman wants you bunch in the locker rooms, now. I suggest you hurry up and get in here."

Hestia glanced over at the rest and shrugged before she pulled out her Pokeball. In a flash of red, the large dragon was gone, and she clipped the Pokeball back onto her belt. Anxiety bubbled up in her. She had already done this many times, though the thought of being in front of so many people still sent a shiver up her spine. "Welp, let's get going!" she told the rest of their numbers before she waved to the crowd (which had produced another cheer) and began to walk into the stadium.

---

In the middle of an empty field covered in fake, bright green grass, a tall, suited man stood to meet the roaring crowd. His brown hair had been combed back, revealing the salt and pepper that coated the underside of some of the locks of chestnut. Gray eyes peered upwards towards the cheering fans who chanted and cried out with excitement as a frown twisted beneath his mustache and beard. He raised a hand to his beard and twisted a finger around one of the ends of his mustache as a blond boy raced from the sidelines to meet him.

"C-chairman Amaranth! I..." panted the young one. "I got everyone together... haa, any sign of Victoria yet?"

Amaranth hummed as he stroked his beard. "Not a single one, unfortunately." He kept his eyes glued to the black sky.

Cereus suddenly took a deep breath and straightened up, his brows furrowing together in what seemed like juvenile determination. "Well, we can't leave them hanging forever, eh?" he asked as he handed Amaranth a mic.

"Suppose we can't," Amaranth murmured to himself as he took the microphone. After a few more moments of pensive thought and a longing glance back up at the sky, he flicked it on and put it to his lips as he turned to face the crowd. With a flourish of his free arm, he opened his mouth to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen! As you probably know, I am Amaranth, chairman of the Pokemon League. I know that everyone here, and everyone watching from home, has been waiting for this grand moment. It is my pleasure to announce that finally, the Galar region Gym Challenge will now begin!"

The roar the crowd emitted almost deafened him. Arceus, if he hadn't had any tact, he could have lowered the sensitivity in his hearing aids... "Yes, the Gym Challenge! Participants must defeat the eight Gym Leaders and gather the eight Gym Badges in order to prove themselves as a Trainer. Only the most worthy will have the honor of challenging Madame Victoria for her title of Champion of Galar! Now, I would like the Gym Leaders to show themselves!"

The giant flatscreen televisions that had previously been focusing on his face (and had made the crinkles around his eyes and the gray in his beard blatantly obvious) now zoomed onto the entrance of the field. At the sight of the seven shadows that emerged from the depths of the tunnel, he shared a surprised glance with Cereus. Not only were they missing the Champion, but they were also missing one of their Gym Leaders. Amazing.

"We might be missing one," Amaranth continued pointedly. "But please say hello to Hestia Quintell, our fiery Fire-type Gym Leader at Circhester! Next, Thomas Tyrell, our Grass-type expert from Turffield! Ezran Hawthorne, the Poison-type fanatic from Hulbury! William Prescott Anwell, our very own Fairy-type Gym Leader from Ballonlea! Henrietta Durand, the hardy Ground-type user from Stow-on-Side! Fiona MacConnell, the Flying-type Gym Leader who makes her home here in Motostoke! And finally, Moira Kingsley, the fierce Dragon tamer from Hammerlocke!"

As he announced their names, the cameras panned from each of their faces, which made the crowd grow even more wild. Amaranth noticed that several of them had noticed Victoria's absence, though it was for the best that they kept up their charade. Now wasn't the time to worry. They had a region to bolster. Nevertheless, he raised his eyes to the sky again. I really, really wish she were here...

"These are the Gym Leaders that we in the Galar region are proud to call our own!" Amaranth motioned to the Gym Leaders once again, and the crowd's cheers, screams, and chants seemed to make the ground tremble beneath his very feet.

---

At last, the night had begun to die down. With the end of the celebrations, people started to go on their own way. The Gym Leaders had gathered in the lobby of the Motostoke Gym, bidding farewell to dreaming trainers and aspiring fans. Hestia, of course, was one of the their numbers that had garnered the most attention, alongside Moira, Fiona, and Thomas-- probably because they thought that their typings were "cooler" than the others. She didn't blame them. Fire-types were pretty cool compared to a couple of fairies or weird mind-readers. But either way, each of them had gotten their fair share of attention, so much so that Hestia's face was tired from smiling and her right hand was exhausted from autographing trainer cards. Nova had escaped his Pokeball to perch upon her shoulder, and the Flareon's warm mane had comforted her a significant amount as he rubbed up against her cheek.

"Augh, I need a drink after this. Or at least a tasty meal. Preferably a free one," Hestia grinned once again as she gave Nordrin a deliberate look. Nova trilled in agreement and curled his fluffy tail around her neck. But before the culinary genius could answer, she noticed the chairman approach with Cereus at his heels. "Oh shite. Looks like you're gonna get chewed out for that stunt earlier, Fiona. Oh, hey, Chairman! Loved your presentation. You drove the crowd wild!"

"I'm getting too old for this," the chairman grumbled under his breath as he wiped his forehead with a folded cloth. "Least you lot did a good job looking presentable."

Hestia laughed. "Was the least we could do since Elijah didn't show up. Speaking of which," she paused as she glanced about. "Where's Victoria? I thought she was supposed to come soaring in on that Altaria of hers."

To her surprise, Amaranth let out a long, disgruntled sigh. "Honestly, all of you know as much as us. We don't know where she is. Perhaps something came up and she couldn't make it, but to be frank, it isn't like her at all to do such a thing. At the moment, we can only hope she's alright. I'll get in contact with her in the morn."

A Song of Shadows | Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

MENTIONS: Everyone

The small room had become chock full of commotion. The Bagon and strange-looking Meowth were more than eager to receive a chance to meet Scorch, while there were others such as the Litten and Croagunk that were very rude. Yew's ears lowered slightly as she looked up at the large, scarred Arcanine. The bored look in his eye had become aglow with a muted rage, and his lips were curled in a snarl. She swore that she saw smoke curl from between his sharp teeth, and she ducked down to brush against the Buneary. Sure, she liked danger and adventure and all, but this was kind of unfair. Arceus, the size of Scorch's paw was practically the size of her entire body! Fluffy tail not included, of course.

"Well!" Fae's paws clapped together a few times. Even though they looked very soft, they emitted a loud noise that made Yew jump. When she turned to face the other Pokemon, she caught sight of one of the Sylveon's bows reaching up to jab Scorch in the side. "That's enough of that. If we want to work as a team, we've all got to get along, right?"

Scorch huffed out a black cloud of smoke, which rose up and disappeared into the air. A long silence passed before Fae once again spoke up.

"Oh, I know, we should do introductions! That should be fun, and it'll make it easier to figure out the boarding... so, you, little Poochyena, come up and tell us your name!" Fae's paw waved towards where she sat.

Yew swallowed and walked up to the front of the group. "Uhm. I'm Yew. I'm a Poochyena!" she stated. She looked over at Fae only to see that her blue eyes were wide and expecting. "I like... exploring? Yeah! Exploring! I also like to write. I write poems!" Well, that's made up.

"Oooo! A writer! It's been a while since we've had an artist around," Fae chirped while Scorch sighed. "Thank you so much, Yew. Next, the little Litten. Ha! That sounds funny. Little Litten. Anyways, come, come! Tell us all about you!"

Legends of Pyrrhia | Wings of Fire

Dreamseeker watched Eclipse's expression to see if she could detect any trace of anger or betrayal. She didn't want to risk reading his thoughts there and then, no matter how tempting it was at the moment. It was never made clear to her whether or not other dragons could feel a NightWing in their mind, but... she didn't want to risk it, especially when she had revealed something so personal. She prayed to whatever was out there that he wouldn't shove her claws away or yell and scream at her, and begged that he wouldn't do something even worse.

But she felt the squeeze around her claws and smiled as she was brought in for a hug. Dreamseeker returned it wholeheartedly, a lump in her throat. "No have no idea how much it means to me that you understand." She brought her head up to nuzzle him under his chin. "The stories are true, but there are very few NightWings who can see the future or read minds... and there's even fewer that can do both."

Dreamseeker pulled away when she finished embracing him. "I'm not sure how to tell the rest, though. Something tells me they won't be as understanding."

Legends of Pyrrhia | Wings of Fire

Dreamseeker wasn't how to feel after Eclipse had stepped forward to press his muzzle against hers. She felt warm, bright, and more confident in herself and what she was going to say, but at the same time her dread gathered more and more in the pit of her stomach. It formed a knot so tight that she wasn't even sure if she could speak. Nevertheless, she returned the other dragon's smile the best she could and reached forward to take his claws in hers. "T-thank you... it means a lot to me that I tell you the truth," she murmured as she curled her tail close to her. She looked down at his paws, back up at him, and then further upwards toward the dark sky.

"I was born under the moonlight," she began hesitantly. "Though, it wasn't just any moonlight. No, part of this light came from a full moon... and it gave me a 'gift', or a curse, or whatever you would like to think of it. This gift..." she took a breath. If only she had the gift to tell the future! She would know how Eclipse was going to react if she did. She looked back at him and met his gaze, trying not to tremble too much. "It granted me the power to read minds. Ever since I met you and Skua and Aardwolf and Jaguar... sometimes, I've been peeking into your thoughts."

The weight on her chest lightened, but there was still the fact that she had to deal with Eclipse's reaction. She squeezed his claws even harder. "Don't be angry," she asked him again with a quivering voice. "I don't know where I would go if you make me leave!"

Legends of Pyrrhia | Wings of Fire

Moonseeker followed Eclipse somewhat into the forest, making sure to brush away any dripping fronds that had dipped towards her muzzle. How dragons could live in such a wet place, she didn't know. Didn't they want to be dry sometimes? She knew that the rainforest had dry spells, but those were rare. Perking up as she saw Eclipse waiting for her, she trodded a few steps forward. Her legs felt like they were filled with rocks and her heart was racing so fast that she swore that it was going to burst out of her chest. "I-I'm fine," she stammered out at his question. "It's just that..."

Three moons, how was she going to tell him her secret? He was bound to find out eventually, and that would only cause more issues for her. Keeping secrets wasn't a smart move around these dragons, especially with Skua and Aardwolf around. "I... have something important to tell you. But please, don't be angry with me." She begged as she ducked her head low. "Promise?"

Galarian Stories

MENTIONS:

The roar of wind. The rush of colors below. The ebony sea, dotted with tiny diamonds, above her head. These were only a few of the things that Hestia Quintell loved about flying. It was like she was meant to be riding upon Apollo's back; as if the fates had destined them to soar through the sky together. If she didn't know any better, she would have told Chairman Amaranth that she might have been considering a start in training Flying-types. The old coot would surely have a heart attack there and then, with everything else he had to deal with. As Apollo wings caught the night breeze within their azure membranes, Hestia leaned forward in her seat and brushed her fingers against the Charizard's neck. His warm scales vibrated beneath her fingertips as he gave her a low rumble. Nah, she thought to herself as she turned her gaze back to the sky, Fire-types are more of my thing.

Something shiny flashed in the distance, which brought Hestia's attention back to what was in front of her. Past the rolling fields and tiny towns was a large city. Ah, there's Motostoke, she realized. Multicolored lights shone up towards the sky from its depths, and the closer she got, the more she could hear the music that reverberated around the town. It seemed like its citizens had already started the party without her. "Fly lower, Apollo!" Hestia called out to her Pokemon in a laugh. Apollo roared loudly and dipped down towards Motostoke, only stopping his decline when he was just above buildings themselves.

As they drifted above the roofs of the buildings, several surprised faces looked up towards her. Some of them smiled, while others laughed and waved at her. Some of them even called her name as she passed. Hestia's smile stretched wide as she waved back at them. She wondered if any of them were part of the lot of new trainers that signed up for the Gym Challenge-- she hoped they were, at least. While she was only the second major league Gym Leader in their path, that didn't mean she was a pushover. She had worked hard to secure her spot as a Gym Leader and wasn't about to let some kid get an easy pass during their battle.

After spending some time traversing the city's streets upon Charizard-back, Hestia found herself nearing the Motostoke Gym. It was there where the crowds were at their thickest and concession stands dotted the streets more frequently. Apollo snorted at the smell of food, making Hestia chuckle. "You'll be able to rest when we land, boy," she told him. "Let's go land right there, near the front of the gym. We should make our landing something special for the crowd, eh?"

Of course, being a rather snobby Charizard, Apollo's definition of special was to be loud and scary as to provoke a reaction. So, the alloy-scaled beast suddenly swept down on the crowd before he suddenly pulled upwards, drawing startled cries from the people below. After a few moments of gaining altitude, he descended upon the gathering again, this time in a low and leisurely circle that ended with his claws touching the ground. Finally, he spread his wings and opened his maw to let out another loud roar that split the air. Hestia chuckled nervously from his back, somewhat disoriented. "That's a good boy," she grinned at him as he leaned down to let her off of him. "I wonder where the others are. They should be here by now... I feel bad for them if the Chairman finds out they're runnin' late!"