# Forum > Play-by-Post Games > Finding Players (Recruitment) > Out-of-Character >  The Heights of Londo [OOC 2] - What? OOC is evolving!

## Hazuki

*The IC can be found here.* 

*Map V3*

Welcome to the OOC! Where I encourage you to chat about whatever you like, and if it's related to the game, that's a bonus!

Please choose a speech color (Aside from Bold, which I will use for NPCs.) and I'll add it to the table.

Player
Sheet
Starter
Concept

Comissar
*Leah*
Saura the Bulbasaur
Anxious Paleontologist

tgva8889
*Alyssa Mund*
Luna the Cleffa
Ambitious Artist



*Spoiler: Volunteer Replacements*
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Player
Sheet
Starter
Concept

tonberryking
Mossopal
Sunshine the Buneary
Ghost Kid

TheChadillac
Mort
Mrs Eaves the Duskull
Introspective Seer

The_Snark
Hilde
Zemyla the Rhyhorn
Thunder Squire!





*Spoiler: Previous Players*
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Player
Sheet
Starter
Concept

Dannir
*Alea Fairchild*
Seren the Eevee
Neophyte Knight

Merilan
*Linne Hirschell*
Zeta the Fennekin
Orphan Ranger

Ceralune
*Genevieve Neomme*
Damien the Eevee
Dances With Swords

AncientSpark
*Lina*
Zephyr the Starly
Determined Farmgirl





Now, for some more information on Sorland Town, where you'll be starting your adventure! I unfortunately don't have a map, because I'm terrible at them, and have no idea how to lay a town out properly, which is less obvious when I simply give out landmarks and vague times.

*Spoiler: Sorland Town*
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*Spoiler: Professor Hawthorne's Lab*
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Professor Hawthorne is Londo's Pokemon Professor, a twenty-five year old native who has been scooped up by Devon Corporation and given their full backing. Her lab is the most high-tech building in Sorland Town, with a quite traditional exterior that's backed up by airtight steel doors, air conditioning, and a fully-equipped Pokemon lab. It has a qutie homely atmosphere, with its wooden floor, painted walls, and plenty of flowers, but the lab itself is as clean as it can be.

In daylight hours, it's open to everyone, and Professor Hawthorne is always happy to talk with the curious over cups of tea and cakes, if she happens to have any delivered from the Three Roses Teahouse. As soon as dusk hits, she locks everything up tightly and returns to her home in Hawthorne Castle, which is a short walk away from Sorland town. She lives there with her younger sister, Misru Hawthorne, who is saving up money for an adventure by working in the Teahouse at night, and selling Cleanse Tags (They bring good luck!) during the day.

*Spoiler: Professor Hawthorne*
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*Spoiler: Misru Hawthorne*
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*Spoiler: Three Roses Teahouse*
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A large building that sits in the center of Sorland Town, the Three Roses Teahouse has stood for some time, and is currently being ran by Jakobi - an elderly native gentleman with a gentle heart and a frail demeanor. He has a small garden that grows in the back of the teahouse, with the most beautiful roses one will ever see, which he grows in honor of his dead wife. Three Roses is the only place in Sorland Town to buy drinks and food without having to prepare it yourself, and its recipes are closely guarded.


*Spoiler: The Brighten Inn*
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The Brighten Inn is an establishment as old as Sorland Town itself, and has been passed down all along the line of one family. It's the best place for travelers to stay, with good service and pleasant company. It is owned by a young local woman named Hale, who is both conservatively dressed and a perennial flirt. Her friendliness, and the boom of tourists after the arrival of the corporations, has led to her being the most successful owner yet. It even recently had an extension, to make room for some of the tourists that pass through.

Hale keeps a Wobbuffet beside her at all times, one that is said to have done the same for every one of her ancestors. His name is Bouncer.

*Spoiler: Hale*
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*Spoiler: Azula's Repairs*
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Azula is a Unovan who came to Londo initially as a tourist, and decided to settle down somewhere that her tech skills could be appreciated. Her shop is also her home, and while she doesn't sell anything, she offers repairs for any technology that people might bring in, or even enhancements to it, for the right price.


*Spoiler: The PokeCenter*
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Sorland Town's PokeCenter sits right beside the entrance to the town proper, with a proud pink banner hanging over the entrance and a simple set of sturdy doors. It offers medicinal relief both traditional and modern, and its interior consists of modern tech with a layer of traditional woods and materials, to make them fit in better. 

It is run by an easily-flustered Kalosian woman by the name of Indigo, who was recently given a Lilligantas a helper. Unfortunately, Minx is a particularly curious and excitable Lilligant, and enjoys taking advantage of Indigo's shyness, especially in front of people. More than once, the Sorland Officers have had a pair of Indigo's unmentionables deposited in the Lost & Found.

*Spoiler: Indigo*
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*Spoiler: Silph Co. Office*
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This small building sits by the shores of Sorland Town, and would very much blend into the homes surrounding it, were it not for the neon sign emblazoned with the Silph Co. logo planted on its side. Its sole worker is a pleasant gentleman by the name of Max Sherri, from Kanto, who dutifully sorts out the records that his superiors, or newly shipped-in Silph Co. Employees, might need. A young Litleo is his constant companion, and he lives with his partner, a native fisherman by the name of Tulli, who also has a young Litleo.


*Spoiler: Sorland Officers HQ*
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Sorland Officers HQ can be found on the outer borders of the town, in what was once a watchtower, and has has its insides refurbished for all existing Officers, as well as an area secured outside for training initiates. These Officers and initiates can be recognizes by their long black coats, with fully-fledged Officers bearing an ornate blade with a silver hilt at their hips.


*Spoiler: Hawthorne Castle*
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Hawthorne Castle can be seen from anywhere in Sorland Town, but not many people visit it - many battles have took place on its grounds, and it has a strong presence of Ghost Pokemon.



*Spoiler: The Recruitment Thread*
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*The Heights of Londo*
*Spoiler: Intro*
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Ten years ago, Londo was a region filled with strife. Lords and Ladies sent armies against their enemies, spies against their allies, and their civilians under constant stress of imminent attacks. They would feud among one another constantly, in the hopes that they might better protect or inspire the people that looked up to them as leaders. Young children were sent out on apprenticeships to Knights, to capture their first Pokemon and join the service of their Lord or Lady, even more than ever, following the disaster at Redbridge just a decade ago.

Five years ago, Devon Corporation worked with Mossdeep Space Center on a project to explore more of the known world. The first satellite launched discovered a whole new land, set to the far Northeast of Hoenn - and Mr Stone was all too giddy to discover the people there. Soon enough, ships were loaded, tech was gathered, and Devon were ready to set off for Londo. It would have went smoothly, were it not for Silph Co. hearing word of Devon's plans. They set out ships of their own, and a race begun.

Devon and Silph Co. landed on the shores of Londo and started competing for the affection of the locals - which was made far easier by their generous offers of technology, medicine, and knowledge. In just five years, Devon and Silph. Co have made themselves comfortable in two of Londo's towns, giving them plumbing, electricity, Pokemon centers, and even helped setup their own PC system. A Pokemon League was set up, with two of the Lords and Ladies replaced by Gym Leaders sponsored by Devon and Silph Co. respectively, and an entirely-foreign Elite Four set up on the Eastern shores.

Unfortunately, not everyone took to their technological benefactors kindly. Many of the Lords and Ladies saw these corporations as competition, despite their gifts, and have treated them with suspicion ever since. They've allowed the spread of foreign culture only when it bears similarity to their own - although it's far more prevalent in the domains of the less-traditional Lords and Ladies - which includes becoming Gym Leaders for the League. At least one good thing has come of it - they have no time to bicker among themselves, when they're all warily watching the corporations.


In this game, you'll be playing a small band of trainers who've joined together for adventure, mutual goals, or simply protection when traveling - we'll work out the details when we have characters picked. You'll be exploring the lands of Londo, where you can take part in the Pokemon League, explore the region's history and its myth, hone your abilities, or whatever else takes your fancy. As the Gym Leaders in this region also serve as leaders of the towns, with knowledge of the land, influence, and resources at their disposal, everybody can have a reason to visit them without needing to divert for one person challenging the League - although you can still split up when you feel like it.

You'll be starting as Level 1 Trainers, with a single Level 5 Pokemon (With three-stages of evolution, the Underdog classification, and preferably not one of the too-rare types). I'll note that some Pokemon (Like Magnemite, Porygon, and others) won't be native to Londo, so, if you want to play as a native, you may have to come up with an interesting backstory for how they acquired it. 

You can start without a Pokemon, in which case, there are two options: Your character can get a Starter from Professor Hawthorne, who will conveniently be having a Starter giveaway on the day the game starts, which will be an Eevee. Or, you can take up the traditions of Londo and find a Knight who'll train you and help you find your Starter, which could be any native Pokemon that fulfills the above prerequisites.

You may choose the Gender, Ability (As long as it's legal), and Nature of your Starter Pokemon. You won't get such luxuries with most other Pokemon you'll encounter in your journeys, but I promise I won't do stuff like handing out a Modest Gigalith with Slow Start.

You'll start with 5000 PokeDollars. 

You can be a native, a foreigner, young or old, with no restrictions on age aside from being ten years of age or above. 

If you'd like to request any specific information from me, feel free, and I'll do my best to answer.

*Spoiler: Londo Landmarks & Map*
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*Sorland Town* is a quaint on the Southern shores of Londo, which is under the jurisdiction of Lord Bastille. The streets are paved with pale stone and new electric lampposts, with tapered blue-tiled rooftops, neon signs, and views of the golden Londo plains. Professor Hawthorne's lab is here, as well as a PokeCenter, a PokeMart, and electronic stores. It resembles traditional Londo architecture, with subtle placement of technology, and many of the local farmers appreciate the comfort the technologies have provided. Hawthorne Castle sits in the distance.

*Whitebeam City* is the most technologically advanced of Londo's towns, playing host to both Devon HQ and Silph Co. HQ. The former is a tall three-pronged white building, with long slits for windows, white bricks layered down the sides, and a large clock sitting at its center. The latter resembles a miniature castle, with glass instead of stone and a set of automatic doors instead of a portcullis. Both corporations have provided the locals with advanced domains to portray their beliefs - Whitebeam Theater dominates a good portion of the city, while the Great Library plays host to ancient murals and modern art both. Even Lord Whitebeam, the local gymleader, is heavily invested in their festivals, despite being a Unovan.

Its sigil is a green book facing the sky.

*Bastille Town* is a farming town sitting beside the Severed River, where fortune is both bane and boon to its people. Those who succeed, succeed greatly, while those who fail are likely to have all their valuables stolen by a Sableye. Its people love to play games of chance with one another, while others like to scour the river for lost valuables or gold, and none have been able to beat Lord Bastille, the single luckiest Gymleader in the Region. Not in a game of chance, at least. It is reasonably friendly to the Corporations, who've helped support the Bastille Orphanage that plays host to children whose parents suffered in the Region's past wars.

Its sigil is a white wall over a blue river.

*Lancer Town* sits West of Sorland Town, and provides the region with a great deal of its fish, as well as producing the best ships, the best paintings, and the best craftsmanship outside of anything related to weaponry. But, what they're most proud of is their stories - it's unusual to find a Lancer who doesn't love a tale of romance, of loss, or the most joyful folk tales. For this reason, they've been very accepting of the corporations, and the visitors from foreign lands who share stories of their own - if only because it means they have new people to tell stories to. Lady Lancer is the Gym Leader of Lancer town, a great Kalosian musician and dancer - sometimes she even puts on performances with both.

Its sigil is a gold ribbon around a brown hand.

*Diwyneb Town* is at the heart of Londo's Blackmore Forest, right beside the Severed River, and was a frequent stop for people delivering goods all over the land. They provide entertainment in the form of tests of skill in all manner of things, from combat, to chess, to stealth - and more! If one's looking to improve at their hobby, Diwyneb town is the place to be - even many of Londo's Knights visit the town, to challenge the Diwyneb Dusk and tame a Pokemon with no allies and minimal equipment. Its Gym Leader is Lady Diwyneb, a fearsome native teenager who was unheard of until recent years.

Its sigil is a black wheel.

*Vibrost Town* is in the far Southeast of Londo, with its back to the mountains and a perpetual aura of snow and color. It is renowned for the magic that laces the air and the smoke, as well as its staunchly traditional roots. They play host to people wise in all manner of occult knowledge, and are far more welcoming of those with unusual gifts than most places one would encounter. and takes some joy in playing tricks on gullible visitors. Its Gym Leader is Lord Vibrost, who hails from a long line of Lords and Ladies.

Its sigil is a pink shooting star.

*Skybloom City* is the capital of Londo, and a testament to the accomplishments of its people. It sits on and in the Rifted Mountains, with great towering structures of white, ornate architecture, and a large bridge that crosses the valley between the two halves of the city - down which the Severed River flows. Once a month, it plays host to a Great Market where people can trade the best of their wares, and it boasts the largest military force in the region - as well as the best-trained Knights and Pokemon. It bears a temple from which The Head used to rule, and it goes utterly untouched aside from particular Pokemon being allowed to clean and maintain it. Lady Skybloom is its Gym Leader, and one of the most wary of the corporations.

Its sigil is an eight-armed figure with a rainbow cape.

*Parmez Town* is the most militaristic in all of Londo, with great emphasis put on honor, discipline, and good health. They have recently started farming, in light of most of the farming towns now being in the League's Pocket, and begrudgingly play host to the Pokemon League - but foreigners are less welcome here than anywhere else in Londo. Although they might not know it, since being openly rude to others would be very dishonorable, so they're treated much the same as any native would be. Its Gym Leader is Lord Parmez, a grizzled and grumpy Knight.

Its sigil is a red shield.

*Thundercrag Town* sits to the far Northeast of Londo, and is one of the only places one is likely to find Electric Pokemon. It is fraught with thunderstorms, lightning, and accidents - but its people have grown very resilient as a result. When the first town of Thundercrag fell into the ocean, they rebuilt. When the second was burned down by particularly volatile lightning strikes, they rebuilt. And so on, until the current town of Thundercrag has stood for over a century, and nothing makes them more proud than that fact. Lady Thundercrag is the Gymleader, and has recently become very wealthy thanks to the weather phenomenon that Thundercrag suffers from - all the lightning finally serves a purpose.

Its sigil is a yellow lightning bolt splitting a grey mountain.


*Spoiler: Pokemon and Their Professor*
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Professor Hawthorne is the most prominent Professor in the Londo region, notable for being both a native and an enthusiast of the technology Devon Corporation provides. Her family used to serve Lord Bastille, but as the family's new patron, she's taken to helping serve the League - an act made slightly more difficult by a younger sister, with whom she's had a few public confrontations. Her lab is in Sorland Town.

*Spoiler: The Professor*
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Psychic, Ghost, Fairy, and Dark Pokemon are more common than anywhere else in the world, and the most favored by traditionalists, but are far from ubiquitous.

Professor Hawthorne's preferred starter is Eevee, because it's adorable, represents that Devon and Silph Co. are adaptable, it has evolutions for many of their favored types, and encourages foreigners to explore Londo, due to its wealth of elemental stones and magic that can influence an Eevee's evolution.


*Spoiler: Technology Availability & Culture*
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All of Londo has access to the PC system, as well as signals for all of the services elsewhere.

The civilized areas of Londo have plumbing, electric lighting, as well as PokeCenters and PokeMarts, and a fair deal of appliances installed in their homes. Pokeballs have become commonplace, as well as some foreign businesses having set up shop to sell TMs and their services as move tutors, alongside some locals who still ply their old trades.

The traditional areas of Londo are still in a medieval/feudal Japan state. They have limited forms of plumbing, most of their buildings are made out of stone or fine wood, and most conveniences are achieved through hard-work, Pokemon, rare occult gifts, or the favor of an Arm (Lords and Ladies are collectively known as The Arms of Londo). Most people have one Pokemon, which they bonded with as a child, even if it's not perfect for their job. Farming, building, mining, art, alchemy, and apricot-Pokeball making are popular, but being Knighted is the highest honor.

Weapons are crafted in Londo's traditional areas, but bearing anything bladed means claiming you know how to use it, and anyone can challenge such a person to prove such. It's a matter of honor. Blunt weapons, on the other hand, are allowed, and tools requires for tasks are obviously exempt from the rule, for as long as their bearer is currently working.

Weapons in the civilized areas aren't allowed to be carried openly, because they're weapons. Each Arm has their own security forces, but the civilized ones work with Devon and Silph Co. to have uniformed police officers ruling the streets. Most of them are foreigners, because they're already trained, but they do accept applicants from the locals for training. 

Despite the technological advances, the people of Londo are fond of their nature, and both corporations want their favor - so the aesthetics of the land are maintained as best they can. For this reason, there aren't cars, trucks, trains, or highways - instead, the prominent methods of transportation are ships, bicycles, and blimps.


*Spoiler: The Supernatural*
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Londo is more steeped in the supernatural than most other regions, in everything from its Pokemon to its people. Hex Maniacs are common more due to practice than to happenstance, because there are plenty of Ghost Pokemon that lurk within the region - great sorrow and great joy both exist in its past, and both can be dangerous to people. A few Hex Maniacs can usually be found in or around a town, providing more direct advice, protection, and sometimes revenge.

Sages are usually one to a town, and in the employ of the local Arm. They provide general blessings to the people of the town, and advise on how best to guide its people or one's household. They're also often the healers, and respected by many for the fact that they promote honor in pity and nonviolence. Many Knights have retired to become Sages, when they've committed necessary bloodshed so that others don't, and are often sought out by civilian-soldiers for a peaceful existence, as well as hopeful Squires looking for a mentor.

Psychics and their ilk are usually the ones who make the most overt displays, and the ones treated with the most caution. They're often pressured into becoming Knights, so that they get the discipline necessary to control themselves and their abilities. They're rarer than both Hex Maniacs and Sages, and many have disappeared into the forests, never to be seen again.


*Pokemon Tabletop United can be found here.*

*An online character sheet can be found here.*


*Spoiler: Bastille Town NPCs*
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*Ser Wol*

Female Knight, accompanied by Pangoro. Escorted the PCs to Bastille Town.

*The Man*

Male Bookstore-Owner. Friend of Ser Wol, Alea didn't get his name.

*Bael*

Male Head Servant of Bastille Manor. Showed the PCs their room.

*Lord Bastille*

Male Lord of Bastille. Invited Leah to study a fossil, hired Alyssa to tutor his daughter, encouraged technology in Londo. His companion is a Lopunny named Miko.

*Macha Bastille*

Girl, daughter of Lord Bastille. Tutored by Alyssa, crippling illness in her legs, got injured in an incident with cyber leg-braces.

*Ser Vell*

Female Knight of Bastille. Kind, has pink and blonde hair, and a past with Ser Alonne. Accompanied the PCs after the Macha incident. Her companion is a Munchlax named Dite.

*Ser Alonne*

Female Head Knight of Bastille. Tall, disciplined, and not taken with kindness. Gave the PCs permission to investigate the Macha incident. 

*Doctor Perry*

Cybernetics-specialist Doctor from Devon in Hoenn. Lanky, salt and pepper hair, well-trimmed mustache. Apparently good-hearted, supported Alyssa's art, and made the cyber braces that injured Macha.

*Lissa* 

A native Bastian, her mother was a servant and her father before her. She's young, but disciplined, and quite often keeps the gambling under control - if only because she's really quite good at it herself, so nobody will play with her. She often tends to the hedge maze, and the Buneary within.

*Hetha* 

A woman in her early thirties, with something of a smart mouth that never quite goes quiet. She's betrothed to a gentleman up in Thundercrag, but has no plans on having a child - once she's saved enough, she plans on living a relatively luxurious life in Lancer Town with her beloved Murkrow.

*Ephem* 

An older Whitebeam man with a broad frame and an impeccable beard, Ephem spends as much time as he can getting to know guests. He's worked at the Manor for as long as can be, and despite sometimes forgetting his duties thanks to the aforementioned talkativeness, he's shown a willingness to help the other servants as long as they're not bad folk.

*Charname* 

Charname is one of the youngest women on staff, having started two years ago and recently reaching the ripe old age of fifteen. She came from Bastille's orphanage and spends most of her time in the kitchens, but is pulled into other duties on quiet days. Although it's difficult to get her to speak, Alyssa has spotted her admiring the tapestries in comfortable silence.

*Kaya* 

Among the more well-educated members of staff, Kaya has spent her years drifting from Lord to Lord and serving them mostly for access to their libraries. Despite her apparent mercenary attitude, she has a boundless enthusiasm for learning, and has a handy book of tips for dealing with anything one might come across in life. There have been some rumors that she uses her Dwebble, Urie, to eavesdrop on people.

*Pudin* 

With a distinctive Diwyneb accent, Pudin has "endeared" herself to the staff of Bastille Manor with constant competitiveness. Although some enjoy it more than others, and it means work gets done, even their limits are pushed when dealing with her claims that she used to be Lady Diwyneb's girlfriend and their break-up meant she had to flee the town.

*Charla* 

A musical man who grew up among the merchants of Bastille Town, he took from playing at teahouses to working for Lord Bastille to support his recently-injured father. He's been working here for over ten years now, and is always quite keen to share a tune with whoever'll listen. He swears that he'll leave as soon as he can convince the rest of the servants to let him go.

*Indi* 

Far from the most eloquent servant Alyssa has ever dealt with, Indi is the kind of bright person who just never got the education to elucidate his thoughts properly. Other servants are making efforts to help him, but his dedication to his schedule sometimes prevents it...not that it's kept him from his long-distance courtship of a young blacksmith in Parmez Town.

*Pomo*

A farmer by birth, Pomo has spent a lot of her life dealing with Pokemon, and is normally called upon to handle any unruly ones. She has a stern attitude and wisdom beyond her years, especially when it comes to treating Pokemon properly, and sometimes seems to resent the luxurious halls she tends to. Too much space for one family, no matter how important they are.

*Touko* 

Touko is among the teenagers serving at Bastille Manor, and one quite determined to squeeze every copper she can out of the job. She also happens to be one of the more fashion-conscious of the servants, with some skill in crafts, but most guests find it difficult to take the advice of a tomboyish servant on how best to wear a dress.


*Spoiler: Others*
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*Lord Vibrost*

Male Lord of Vibrost, extremely feminine in appearance and dress. Came to Lord Bastille's manor for Macha earning her cyber-braces. Has a reserved demeanor. His companion is a Mawile named Laurent.

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## Comissar

OoC's first evolution is at level 51? Man, that takes _years_ to achieve. Hardly seems worth the effort.  :Small Tongue: 

As for the covers, I can see what you mean. I guess it means you get to reuse the same cast, so you don't have to go to the trouble of setting up brand new legendaries that invalidate the older model?

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## Hazuki

I guess, but I was more thinking that it's obvious to anyone who's played Black/White 2 what they're doing. It's not a huge deal, but y'know.

Also, Team Skull is my favorite villain team and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.

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## tgva8889

Based on what I've seen, they're doing _exactly_ the Kyurem thing. Like, quite the same. They're not hiding it.

On the other hand, apparently B/W2 were the most successful "third game" so it kind of makes sense for them to try some variant.

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## Hazuki

I guess it does. Fun fact: Black 2 was my first Pokemon game. It's pretty kewl.

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## Comissar

Black and White actually put me off getting Black/White 2. There was nothing inherently wrong with them, I just wasn't invested enough to be interested in pokémon again until X/Y came out.

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## tgva8889

I didn't like B/W2 because I liked B/W so much personally. I thought X/Y were among the least interesting to me, but it might just be what I like about the games.

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## Hazuki

What I find interesting about Gen 6 is that, for a long time, it's going to be the odd one out in the Pokemon series. Gens 1-5 had the same 2d sprite style, with improvements. Gen 7 (And I imagine many after it) use full 3d. Whereas Gen 6 has this halfway-there 3d chibi style that there's really no reason to go back to.

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## Comissar

Just the Mudsdale outside? No trainer in sight?

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## Hazuki

That is correct.

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## Comissar

Read 'Ricewine' as 'Rincewind'. If it were possible, I'd say I read too much Discworld.

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## Hazuki

That was intentional.  :Small Tongue:

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## Comissar

> That was intentional.


Ironically, the earlier Discworld books are the ones I haven't read as much, so most of my knowledge of Rincewind is second hand from friends who _have_ read those books.

Was always a fan of the Watch books, as well as the witches ones.

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## Hazuki

I'm at, like, book eighteen. Rincewind is probably my least favorite of the characters so far, because...I don't know. I think he feels a little too close to the general narration that Pratchett uses? Like, they speak the same way and have the same perspective on things.

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## Comissar

> I'm at, like, book eighteen. Rincewind is probably my least favorite of the characters so far, because...I don't know. I think he feels a little too close to the general narration that Pratchett uses? Like, they speak the same way and have the same perspective on things.


Might not help that he's also one of the very first characters Pratchett wrote, so he hadn't really found his preferred style during his time writing Rincewind. He only really has a major presence in the earliest books, too. Though he does show up in Unseen Academicals.

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## tgva8889

The thing is, I liked OR/AS a reasonable amount. I mean, it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't too bad. I dunno, I guess the transition didn't work that well for me, but I really liked Gen V and what it tried to do.

Yeah, I didn't find Rincewind to be particularly interesting when I read Color of Magic. I liked the style of writing, but Rincewind didn't feel very different from that. I haven't read any of the others, so it's possible he's more interesting later.

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## Comissar

I do highly recommend reading some of the later books. Wyrd Sisters is a good one to introduce the witches series, and Men at Arms was the first of the Watch series that I read. That said, the vast majority of the books don't require you to have read any of the previous ones, so you could very easily just pick any of them up.

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## Hazuki

:Small Furious: 

Nobody buy Ultra Sun. They removed the Exeggcutor Island date with Lillie. 0/10 not adorable enough.

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## Comissar

> Nobody buy Ultra Sun. They removed the Exeggcutor Island date with Lillie. 0/10 not adorable enough.


 :Small Tongue: 

Game related, I imagine Leah's just kinda clumsy with getting up, lots of wobbling on the ladder, difficulty getting her leg over to the other side of the saddle, that kind of thing. She's not done anything comparable before, and hasn't really seen someone do it either.

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## tgva8889

Alyssa hasn't yet joined Leah on Ricewine, but I guess she can now.

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## Hazuki

I'd say that's my bad, but that would be bad for my ego. Must be a tricksy Rotom.

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## Comissar

Is Alyssa sitting behind or in front of Leah?

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## tgva8889

My intention was behind, I'll edit that in.

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## Hazuki

I stole those lyrics from Demonsbane by Heather Alexander, in case anyone's interested.

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## tgva8889

What kind of knowledge-related check do you think would fit Alyssa trying to remember a story from the title? I assume she's probably heard some of the old fairy tales of Londo but I'm not sure how many she'd remember.

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## Hazuki

Hmm...I'd say General Education.

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## tgva8889

Gen Ed: (2d6)[*11*]

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## Hazuki

Alyssa recognizes the Mawile Knight as a supposed servant of Parmez who was both a Fairy and Steel elementalist, and styled herself after Mawile. There are many tales of her exploits, featuring a combination of cunning, might, and enviable virtue. She's a particular favorite of children and young Knights, for her kind-heartedness, though some suspect that her various exploits have been exaggerated by those very fond of her, mixed up with tales of The Head, or even entirely fictional. She is one of the oldest figures in Londo storytelling.

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## tgva8889

Neat! I will mention that after Leah comments.

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## Hazuki

With the release of Ultra Sun and Moon, I've decided that Pokedex entries are complete bogus. A bunch of them seem really dark just for the sake of it, and I somehow doubt that _Bewear snapping your spine_ is something the average Alolan has to worry about.

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## tgva8889

I always wonder who in the Pokemon world actually writes those entries. Like, the reason you're recording Pokemon in the Pokedex is to complete this encyclopedia, but the Pokedex already has this information in it already? Does that mean you're not really discovering Pokemon? How does this thing work?

----------


## tgva8889

Okay, I just realized that Alyssa left her bag at Parkin's, and I'd been assuming she kept the money from Lord Bastille in there, but I realize if that's the case then there's not really any logical reason she would have left the bag there since she knew she was coming back here and she's not as completely forgetful as me. So how would you all feel about me just assuming she had the money with her, maybe carrying the bag on her like a coinpurse or something?

----------


## Comissar

I'd be fine with that. As you said, it makes sense given part of Alyssa's plan was to tie up the business at the Health Hole.

----------


## Hazuki

'Tis fine by me.

----------


## Comissar

Just to say, if you want the teen romance stuff dialling back, do just say. I do appreciate that you have story beats you want to hit too  :Small Smile:

----------


## Hazuki

'Tis fine by me.

----------


## tgva8889

Thanks Hazuki!  :Small Smile:  We'll start getting back on track eventually.

----------


## tgva8889

Probably Perception, right? (4d6)[*11*]

----------


## Comissar

Perception with a Pokémon Education for good measure!

Perception - (2D6+1)[*5*]

Pokémon Education - (4D6+1)[*12*]

----------


## tgva8889

Oh yeah, I can try to Edu it to.

Pokemon Edu: (2d6)[*11*]

----------


## Hazuki

I already rolled Perception for both of them to notice it.  :Small Tongue: 

Judging by the Pokemon's colors and the texture they can make out, it would seem to be a Grass type Pokemon, though its silhouette doesn't match any they've seen.

----------


## tgva8889

Oh haha, I never know if I'm supposed to roll dice for these things or not.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

I tend to assume a roll is needed unless explicitly told otherwise  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

I was hoping that one of you would fail the roll so I could include the spotting in a spoiler for one of you, which normally clears up that a roll was made, but you both succeeded. I should have just said I rolled for you in the OOC, but I am a dumb.

----------


## Comissar

No worries, years of RPGing have just conditioned me to expect I need to roll to spot something  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

I never know when I need to roll for games. I try not to assume anything, just to avoid things being like "so, um, are you rolling for that or just making it happen?"

----------


## Hazuki

Pictured: What will happen when the girls go to Vibrost town but it turns out there's _only one scarf_.

*Spoiler: Picture*
Show

----------


## Comissar

> Pictured: What will happen when the girls go to Vibrost town but it turns out there's _only one scarf_.
> 
> *Spoiler: Picture*
> Show


... I kinda want that to happen now.

----------


## tgva8889

We can make whatever we want happen!

----------


## Hazuki

Just in case it wasn't clear: The Lilligant was buffing itself for speed.

----------


## Comissar

Given Parkin's comments, I was expecting an attempt to sleep Luna/Saura  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

That was considered, but Saura is immune to Sleep Powder due to being Grass type. So Knotte could have put Luna to sleep, but then Saura would have a chance to attack her.

----------


## tgva8889

Seems she had a reasonable strategy.

----------


## Comissar

Happy Holidays! Hope you both have a good one!

----------


## tgva8889

You all too!  :Small Big Grin:  I hope Santa Pikachu brings you the gifts of joy and all your Presents result in healing!

----------


## Hazuki

Happy holidays y'all.

----------


## Hazuki

Leah plans to go to bed?:

----------


## Comissar

She's sitting on the bed and reading, on top of the covers. It's comfier than a chair  :Small Tongue: 

Edit - The bit with the bandages was just her thinking out loud, a kind of mental note of 'Need to remember to put that on before I go to sleep tonight'

----------


## Hazuki

Ah, gotcha. Now I know.

----------


## Comissar

I'm imagining the Elementalist stories have a tone similar to very traditional folklore, where the tales are often kinda dark and nasty, whereas Leah would be more used to the heavily sanitised versions (closer to the kind of kids stories that kick around today).

----------


## Hazuki

That about follows what I hand in mind, aye. Not excessively violent, but y'know, stuff happens.

----------


## Hazuki

I realize that Leah has nothing to do that I can respond with at the moment. All I can recommend is interacting with the resident Pokemon, or even her Sableye, who she's been so cruelly neglecting.

----------


## Comissar

> I realize that Leah has nothing to do that I can respond with at the moment. All I can recommend is interacting with the resident Pokemon, or even her Sableye, who she's been so cruelly neglecting.


It's not deliberate, it's genetic!

And yeah, I'll probably get some pokémon interactions up soon. I'm fine leaving the spotlight mostly to Alyssa for a bit anyway  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Right, for the time being, Leah's going to walk Sable through how her tools are used. Given his penchant for tech, I think that'd be enough to give them common ground to start out from. She's probably not ready to show him the fossil just yet, she's not certain she has enough of his trust that he won't try and eat it yet.

----------


## Hazuki

Can vegetarians eat fossils?

----------


## Comissar

I mean, there are plant fossils?

----------


## Hazuki

Yeah but I mean, like, animal fossils. Is it against the vegetarian scriptures to eat those, since they're technically animal products?

----------


## Comissar

> Yeah but I mean, like, animal fossils. Is it against the vegetarian scriptures to eat those, since they're technically animal products?


Well, speaking as a vegetarian (though I must've lost my copy of the scriptures somewhere  :Small Tongue: ), I'd say it's probably ok..? There's so rarely any actual organic matter left in a fossil to begin with, you'd be eating pretty much just mineral at that point. The organic content is higher in soil than it is in fossils, so you probably eat more animal matter when you have mushrooms than you would eating a fossil.

Also, on the flip side, I'm not sure you'd _want_ to eat fossils. I can tell you that siltstone is kinda gritty and tastes a whole lot like sand (a genuine way to tell siltstone and mudstone apart is to taste it and see if it's gritty or not). It's not the most pleasant thing in the world  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

This isn't a matter of taste, it's a matter of morality! Think of all the starving vegetarian orphans we could feed with dinosaur bones!

Also yeah I'm a vegetarian too. I'm just being silly.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

> This isn't a matter of taste, it's a matter of morality! Think of all the starving vegetarian orphans we could feed with dinosaur bones!


All that tasty tasty Silicate they're missing out on! I also like the idea that the solution to starving vegetarian orphans is 'Get out to the dinosaur fields, dig up them bones, hand them out and let them try and eat them!' It's got an almost Dickensian charm to it  :Small Tongue: 




> Also yeah I'm a vegetarian too. I'm just being silly.


Perish the thought! I'd taken you to be 100% serious 100% of the time  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

> All that tasty tasty Silicate they're missing out on! I also like the idea that the solution to starving vegetarian orphans is 'Get out to the dinosaur fields, dig up them bones, hand them out and let them try and eat them!' It's got an almost Dickensian charm to it


This is going to be the driving plot of my next PbP.

----------


## tgva8889

Huh, I never would have guessed I was the only non-vegetarian in this game. 

Quick research tells me a portrait of actual high quality would take...months at a minumum, probably with multiple sittings. So how long do you want to spend doing this in-game, Hazuki?

----------


## Hazuki

Hmm, maybe a week? We'll just say that in Pokemon, artists are comparatively hyper-competent.

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah. I know nowadays you can get one done in a few days (at least, that's what I would guess based on my recently commissioned artworks) though it depends on artist process and such. A week seems fine with me.

----------


## Hazuki

And poor Leah will be left alone the whole time.

----------


## tgva8889

Alyssa will probably go find Leah when she's taking a break.

----------


## Comissar

As a bonus, at least for the first few days, Leah's going to be fairly house bound too while she waits for her foot to heal (although I guess Bibi's bandages might accelerate that a bit).

----------


## Comissar

Trying to think what Leah would do with her week while Alyssa's busy. I think she'd probably just work on her fossil a bit while house bound, maybe explore the town a bit when she's more mobile again.

----------


## Hazuki

That makes sense. :3

----------


## Comissar

tgva, do you think Alyssa has something in mind beyond general hanging out when she's done painting?

----------


## tgva8889

I'm not sure. I don't think she had anything special in mind, probably just a moment to not be in a professional headspace, y'know?

----------


## Comissar

That's fair, and I think Leah would be more than happy to oblige that.

----------


## Comissar

I was going to have Saura wandering the corridors too, and the pair bumping into each other, then I remembered that Saura was also keeping Luna company, and she wouldn't just leave her behind. So instead I guess they were just relaxing in the living room together?

----------


## Hazuki

That works for me.

Speaking of! Is anybody else planning to get more Pokemon, including that Smeargle for Alyssa? Just 'cause it's noticeable that given the nature of this game, it has seemed relatively hard for Leah to split her focus between the two Pokemon she has.

----------


## Comissar

I'm actually totally fine with Leah only having Saura and Sable! And yeah, I struggle to know what to do with Sable. I think I've settled on 'lab buddy' given he's been described as the inquisitive sort.

----------


## tgva8889

I would really like Alyssa to end up with a Smeargle or other Pokemon with Sketch repetitively at some point. Otherwise I don't have any specific plans. Though I did decide Alyssa would be capture specialist intending to capture a bunch of things, whether or not she ends up keeping them. But besides the Smeargle that I'm definitely still interested in Alyssa ending up with because it's just so perfect for her, I didn't have any specifics that I was like "yes that, Alyssa should have that."

Although, she does have a moon-theme team going on right now so it'd be amusing for her to end up with, like, a Lunatone...

----------


## Hazuki

Sorry for the poor post. I was doing other stuff when I realized I hadn't posted sooo.

Also! Is everyone okay with the current pace of the game?

----------


## Comissar

Don't worry about it. And yup, I'm fine with the current pacing. It's nice doing relaxed stuff. I think we can probably skip forward a bit once the evening plays out if you/tgva are cool with it (wanting to do a little Leah/Alyssa interaction ahead of that) just because a few days of 'Alyssa goes to paint, Leah does stuff around the house' might get a bit repetitive? Not sure, though, could be ways to explore that too.

----------


## Hazuki

Sure, I can do that, but you'll have to let me know if there are any goals you want to achieve or things to look at during the timeskip.

----------


## tgva8889

I am fine with skipping to a time where Alyssa and Leah are together, as Alyssa still has more painting she'd do but then she'd probably go looking for Luna after remembering she totally didn't have time to find her before she started painting due to stuff + her forgetting.

During a longer timeskip, I assume Alyssa would a) spend time with Leah b) spend time with Athe c) probably meet Sable at some point, which I'm sure would go over great[/sarcasm] and we should probably play out.

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, Alyssa meeting Sable will be fun.

Also have I forgotten who Athe is?

----------


## Comissar

Alyssa's Hoothoot  :Small Smile: 

And yeah, working out how to introduce Alyssa to Sable. I don't think Leah's really thought about it yet, but when she does, she might think something along the lines of "Oh, this might be tricky..."

----------


## Hazuki

Alyssa got a Hoothoot? My memory is ****.

----------


## Comissar

She caught it back when we were dealing with the Larvitar. Somewhere around this point

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah, she befriended a Hoothoot and then we tangled with a Larvitar for a little while and then we ran away and then the Hoothoot was still with them so Alyssa asked it if it wanted to come along with her and it did.

Does Leah know that Alyssa is specifically afraid of Dark-type Pokemon? I know Alyssa said stuff about her fears but I don't remember exactly how coherent she was.

----------


## Comissar

Just checked back, looks like she doesn't know it's specifically Dark pokémon.

----------


## Hazuki

Just to be clear - do y'all want to skip to later in the week, or just to later in the day/next day?

----------


## Comissar

Personally, I was thinking a couple of days? It'd let Alyssa progress with the painting and allow Leah the time to heal up. I think Alyssa meeting Sable should be handled on screen, though. Also, if you two would rather play out Alyssa and Parkin's painting sessions, I'm fine not skipping.  :Small Smile:

----------


## tgva8889

I don't have any specific things I'd like to do in the sessions, so I'm fine skipping a few days after this short scene.

----------


## Comissar

Clarification question! How close to Leah is Alyssa sitting? Initially read it as her grabbing her own chair to sit down in and then kinda sitting with her head resting on her own knee. Having just re-read it, though, I'm now reading it as her sitting directly next to Leah's chair and resting her head against Leah's leg? The general gist of Leah's response will remain the same in both cases, but her body language would be different, so thinking I'll probably edit my post if the latter is accurate.

Also, unrelated, got a friend asking me if I can help him make a D&D 5E character sheet. I've only got experience with 3.5/PF stuff, so was wondering if either of you had some experience with 5E? If so, are there major differences I should be aware of when trying to help him out? Am I going to need to do an in depth read of the 5E rules?

----------


## Hazuki

Sorry, I've got very little experience with 5E. I've tried making a character a couple of times, but that's as far as I've gotten.

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah, I had her sitting down on the floor with her head on Leah's knee or something. Now she got a chair.

There are some major difference with 5e compared to 3.5/PF. It would probably help if you read up on some of the rules; fortunately, there's an SRD for 5e so that might help. I'd also take a look at the sheet on Mythweavers for 5e so you can see the differences; it does a decent job laying them out.

----------


## Comissar

Will take a look through the SRD when I've got a bit of time. Didn't remember the 3.5 SRD being all that great, so wasn't sure if the 5e one would be too helpful.

----------


## Comissar

So, I've got a good three weeks of holiday from work at the moment, and I'm trying to decide what to do with them. Thinking I'm going to try and go away somewhere for a little bit, ideally somewhere of geological interest. Not sure yet if I want to stick to the UK, so I'm open to suggestions if either of you happen to know of any particularly stunning areas to visit! (Ideally within Europe, but hey, I'm open to ideas)

----------


## Hazuki

Don't go to the US.

----------


## Comissar

> Don't go to the US.


Duly noted  :Small Tongue: 

(I think I'd lose all my time to applying for a visa anyway)

----------


## Hazuki

Can't really help other than that. Me and my partner stopped doing international vacations since airports started getting crazy privacy-invading.

----------


## Comissar

Fair enough. US airports do seem hyper-strict, at least from an outsiders perspective. But then, I've only ever travelled around the EU, which is more lax on travel for those who live in EU countries.

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah, traveling to the US from outside is not the greatest ever.

----------


## Comissar

So I think I've settled on going over to the Lake District, never been there before, and it's meant to be a really nice part of the UK.

----------


## tgva8889

Nice! I hope you have a good time!  :Small Smile:

----------


## Comissar

I think I'm going to struggle not to simply be retreading things in the current scene, so I'm about ready to move on unless either of you wanted to add some other bits?

----------


## Hazuki

I forgot when you guys wanted to timeskip to. I have an NPC visit or two that could happen if y'all are interested.

----------


## tgva8889

I am fine with a time skip now, there's not much more to say here I don't think.  :Small Smile: 

Also, this is very similar to how my first kiss went.

----------


## Comissar

> I forgot when you guys wanted to timeskip to. I have an NPC visit or two that could happen if y'all are interested.


NPC visit sounds good! My initial thought was a couple of days forward, letting Alyssa progress with painting and Leah heal up. The only specific thing Leah would be doing during the time skip is making sure she used the bandages Bibi gave to her.

----------


## Hazuki

> Also, this is very similar to how my first kiss went.


Me too. I was surprised to find a couple of Pokemon watching me, but hey, when in Kanto...

----------


## Comissar

Yet to have that experience, personally. Though I've also not exactly been out and seeking a partner, either, so perhaps that's not as surprising as it might be.  :Small Tongue: 




> I was surprised to find a couple of Pokemon watching me, but hey, when in Kanto...


To be fair, Luna and Saura _did_ back off to give Alyssa/Leah some space

----------


## Comissar

Clayr certainly seems nice  :Small Tongue: 

I think Alyssa's handling her a lot better than Leah would've (and has in the past), although I guess I should give her the benefit of the doubt and say it's just jealousy talking from her.

----------


## Hazuki

I know, right? You'd expect a relative of Parkin to be as honey-tongued as she is.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

I don't know if I was really seeking the experience, but I did figure out how to take the opportunity when it showed up. I do want that kind of thing, though, so I'm usually quick to jump on those kinds of opportunities when I can, even if they don't always work out.

I assume after a few days with Parkin and knowing that Clayr is an artist, Alyssa can put two and two together. She does have the advantage of knowing more about Clayr than Clayr knows about her.

----------


## Comissar

50 pages of IC again already? Time flies!

----------


## Hazuki

New IC? *New IC*.

----------


## tgva8889

Would Alyssa know the person Clayr is talking about?

----------


## Hazuki

I think so. Remember the healer that another PC had been staying with/working for?

----------


## tgva8889

That was who I thought she meant.  :Small Smile:

----------


## tgva8889

Not that Alyssa would know, but are people from out of Londo competing in the Londo League? I guess they'd be allowed (we know for certain people from other regions can compete in foreign leagues), but I didn't think there were a whole ton of them!

----------


## Hazuki

There are a slightly higher number of them than in other regions, because Londo is new, which attracts veteran trainers as well as brand new ones, and those who might've failed at other leagues and thought they'd have an easier time with a new one. They're not swarming, but they are present.

The giveaway itself is halfway between what Clayr's saying and the group is saying - it's to encourage locals to get involved with the League, and to get foreigners involved with Londo.

----------


## tgva8889

That all makes sense to me. Now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder how far Kellam would get.

----------


## Comissar

Leah's feeling a bit guilty about Clayr leaving now, though apparently not guilty enough to insist she stays.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Leah just wants to stay inside and hold Alyssa's hand, the filthy animal.

----------


## tgva8889

How dare she not want to spend more time with the person she only sort of met but had an embarrassing experience with in the past who is kind of dismissive and abrasive?

----------


## Hazuki

Hey now, Clayr's not nearly as bad as Parkin or Misru.

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah, that's true. But she has to compare to Leah's best friend and significant other that she doesn't get to see as much because she's busy working.

----------


## Hazuki

That's true. It'd be a shame if someone even more disruptive were to arrive, wouldn't it? Ah well. Who's up for pudding?

----------


## tgva8889

I'm sure that would never happen.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Comissar

Would be amusing if it did, I can imagine Pudin being "horrified" that she wasn't the one for either Alyssa _or_ Leah  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, she wouldn't think that!

She'd think she's the girl for both.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Heh, Leah might need some convincing on that front  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Alyssa would also need some convincing, and probably something for the churning in her stomach at the thought.

----------


## Comissar

Poor Pudin, Alyssa seemed really interested in her way back when  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

I distinctly remember Alyssa spitting into the water after and being like "ew." It was an act, Alyssa can be good at those!

----------


## Comissar

> I distinctly remember Alyssa spitting into the water after and being like "ew." It was an act, Alyssa can be good at those!


Pudin didn't see that part! She'll be heartbroken when she finds out the truth!

----------


## Hazuki

So mean. All she did was say some pervy things!

----------


## Comissar

> So mean. All she did was say some pervy things!


Truly, a more noble soul has never been so wronged.

----------


## Hazuki

I'd be proud to have her as a guest in my home. 

I'd add a lock to my bedroom, and the shower, but proud!

----------


## Comissar

Are you implying that Pudin would be anything other than the epitome of good behaviour as a guest? Because I hadn't gotten the impression that she'd be anything else all this time.

I'm also realising now that Pudin was actually the first person Leah ever asked out to dinner, a request she never delivered on no less! Though there was much more fumbling through that request than there was this time.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Leah asked Pudin to dinner? Is there any PC that didn't flirt with her (Regardless of motives)?

----------


## Comissar

Technically she did, I think. I don't know if it counts as flirting..? From 1172 onward is where the magic happens  :Small Tongue: 

Also, I don't believe Alea ever flirted with Pudin, though she was flirted at.

----------


## Comissar

Lots and lots of sappy stuff, wondering when Parkin returns to bust it all up  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

I hope that's not what y'all are hoping for, because Maddy is getting the full facial. Gonna be a while yet.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

I'm cool with that, was just a back of the mind 'I wonder when Parkin's coming back' kinda thing!

----------


## tgva8889

That's definitely a question playing in the back of Alyssa's mind (also mine) but I'm enjoying this scene so no rush there.

----------


## Comissar

I guess Knotte's been studying under Koga, because that was a hell of a ninja move!

Editing my IC post to account for Knotte's shenanigans.

----------


## Hazuki

Gotta keep an eye out for the Pokemon kisses.

----------


## Comissar

I guess she just thought it looked like fun? Or does she think both Leah and Alyssa need practice as neither were falling asleep? I feel these questions need answering.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

You'll find out when they wake up. :3

----------


## Comissar

> You'll find out when they wake up. :3


Drama and suspense!

----------


## tgva8889

Can Alyssa make some kind of roll to see if she's understanding what Knotte means? I think I have an idea but I figure Alyssa got so good at understanding things, she may as well try to take advantage of that.

----------


## Hazuki

Sure can! Intuition would fit.

----------


## Comissar

Well, Knotte just got a genuine laugh out of me  :Small Big Grin: 

I'm also wondering how Leah/Alyssa are differentiated from one another in her drawings. Simply detailed enough that the differences between them are visible?

----------


## Hazuki

Yay. :3

Yeah, they've got just enough details different. Leah is taller, with long wavy hair, Alyssa has a ponytail, and I imagine their clothes are relatively distinct.

----------


## tgva8889

I don't even know what clothes Alyssa would be wearing at this point. I imagine she's got mostly working dresses, trousers, and shirts with, like, a smock probably (though maybe not right now) and then some nicer dressier stuff, but right now she's probably in work mode? Not to say they wouldn't be distinct, but I've actually lost image of that at this point since the image I was using doesn't have the kind of clothes one would wear if they were a Londo native.

I guess Leah and Alyssa have different colored hair, so it would probably be obvious?

Let's see, I think I should roll this then? (4d6)[*13*]

----------


## Hazuki

Knotte wants help so she can have a relationship with the Pokemon in the first picture, and thinks that Alyssa and Leah can help since she saw them kissing.

And, yeah. Alyssa's is red and Leah's is brown.

----------


## Comissar

I think Leah tends to wear outfits similar to that in her art. She doesn't exactly try to look like she's native, so her wardrobe is probably fairly non-traditional. I imagine that'll gradually drift with time, and she probably has more traditional stuff now than when she first moved over, just due to what's available and what isn't.

----------


## tgva8889

My guess is that Alyssa is mostly traditional but she's interacted with some Silph/Devon people before so I think she'd probably actually have one pair of jeans (if she could find one), they're super useful and durable. Otherwise I imagine she probably has some sets of travelling clothes, artist stuff (probably a very painted smock) and then some of the nicer dressier stuff like the cardigan she had and, like, a scarf probably? She's from Vibrost so she probably has some good cold-weather gear.

----------


## tgva8889

Does Alyssa get what Knotte means in general now? Or should I keep rolling for things? Also I don't get what Knotte means specifically by this last thing.

----------


## Hazuki

She means she saw her.

I'll start adding "translations" next post.

----------


## tgva8889

After I thought harder about it I figured that'd what she meant, I keep misreading "cries" as "tears and sadness" and not "makes a noise" which is what that means for Pokemon. It's at least partially my fault.  :Small Big Grin: 

Turns out when I'm not feeling well I am less good at reading.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Aw, you're not feeling well? Hope you do soon. :3

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah, I've been home from work for a few days in recovery. Thanks.  :Small Red Face:

----------


## Comissar

Yup, get well soon!

----------


## Hazuki

Sorry. Likely no post today, because Lazuki.

----------


## Comissar

Leah is the best person to ask to help with confessing feelings  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

I'm sure this will all go great.

----------


## Comissar

It's strange, I honestly think I always get a 6 on Charm whenever I roll it for Leah.

----------


## Hazuki

Leah is the most charming least charming girl.

----------


## Comissar

This Tsareena is very imperious, makes me wonder what her trainer is like  :Small Tongue: 

Edit - Doesn't help that Leah can be easy to push around when she's off-balance

----------


## Hazuki

Aww, I love Leah. <3

----------


## Comissar

And yet you put her in these situations  :Small Tongue: 

Would Leah recognise the newcomer's accent?

----------


## Hazuki

Not unless she's watched much Alolan television.

----------


## Comissar

Fair enough!

----------


## tgva8889

Does Knotte look different from usual Lilligant?

----------


## Hazuki

She looks something like this, if a regular Lilligant used things like string/styling to look this way. I described it in the post she first appeared in.

*Spoiler: Image*
Show

----------


## Comissar

Knotte does just tie her leaves that way though, right? It's not a natural appearance for her?

----------


## Hazuki

That's correct.

----------


## Comissar

I think Leah found the whole 'being a footstool' experience pretty demeaning, and it doesn't help that she had an audience for it. She'll be alright once she gets her mind off of it, but I think she's going to be a bit quiet for now.

Also, I think Knotte can do better than Etoile, she seems kinda mean so far  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Tsareena are meaaaaan. Just read their Pokedex entries!

----------


## Comissar

Oh wow, you're not wrong. That's just malicious behaviour.

----------


## Comissar

Changed 'Country' to 'Region', not sure that there is all that much distinction at the end of the day, though  :Small Tongue: 

Also, I'm imagining it's pretty unusual to have someone capable of getting as far as the Champion before failing, hence Leah's surprise.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye, that makes sense.

----------


## tgva8889

Despite the success of video gamers across the world, I imagine the Elite 4 are actually supposed to be super hard. I mean, in all the anime Ash still hasn't won the league cup in any region!

----------


## Hazuki

Yep. The videogame protagonists being prodigies is basically the only explanation for how they manage to stomp the League. This girl isn't that, though. She's somebody who'd be Champion if there weren't a Protagonist at the top of every League (Aside from Londo) in the world.

----------


## tgva8889

Maybe someday a protagonist will be at the top of the Londo league! Probably not one of these protagonists though.

----------


## Hazuki

Well, my aunt does work for Nintendo...

----------


## Comissar

Hazuki next champion confirmed..?

----------


## Comissar

Just had a thought. Professor Hawthorne studies pokémon psychology, right? Would she have done any testing to see if they experience love? I imagine they do, they seem far more sapient and self-aware than animals are, just wondering if Leah could conclusively give a yes/no based on what her professor knows.

----------


## Hazuki

Sure. Depending on how much Leah would ask questions and try to learn about that.

----------


## Comissar

Well, I doubt Leah would ask specifically about love, but she probably would ask bits and pieces. Will just have her mention bits as and when I feel it's appropriate, if that works?

----------


## Hazuki

That works for me.

----------


## tgva8889

This seems appropriate.

----------


## Hazuki

I like Awkward Zombie.

----------


## tgva8889

It earns my views!

----------


## Hazuki

"Oh, you're an almost-champion, that's cool, but I don't want to talk to you! Leah, I think we should go press our slimy, mucus-covered lips together on the docks!"

 :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

I definitely tried to leave it open for Sabah to express she didn't have anything to do and ask to come along. I feel like Leah and Alyssa would have just let her if she'd wanted.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

To be honest, I misread Alyssa's comment initially as her inviting Sabah along  :Small Tongue: 




> "Oh, you're an almost-champion, that's cool, but I don't want to talk to you! Leah, I think we should go press our slimy, mucus-covered lips together on the docks!"


You make it sounds so appealing when you put it like that! And yeah, Leah would've been willing to let her come along, though Sabah might've been left feeling like she was third-wheeling.

----------


## Hazuki

Dirty girls, naughty now.

----------


## Hazuki

Alyssa and Leah should get new outfits for their date. Splash some Lord cash.

----------


## tgva8889

That'd be fun! Is a kimono the kind of fancy wear that would be proper for Londo?

----------


## Hazuki

Yep, kimonos for everyone.

----------


## tgva8889

Awesome. Now we have to find good kimono designs for our characters.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Comissar

I was thinking that, on seeing Maddy post-Parkin's administrations, Leah might try and ask Parkin if she'd do the same for her for the date.

----------


## Hazuki

Then Alyssa shows up and feels self-conscious because she didn't get the amazing makeup treatment.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

That'd be a good way to make Leah feel bad for trying to look nice for Alyssa  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

*adds it to Parkin's script*

----------


## Comissar

> *adds it to Parkin's script*


...          </3

----------


## tgva8889

I dunno if Alyssa would feel that bad.

----------


## Comissar

> I dunno if Alyssa would feel that bad.


I think the implication would be enough to tip Leah's mood on it. Something like "I want to try and look nice for our date, can you help me with that?" "*Ok.*" *Makeup montage* "*There, done. Although aren't you worried she'll feel guilty about not doing the same given she's not got the same amount of free time as you?*" "I don't think so?" *Inner nagging thoughts* _But what if she does? I didn't want to make her feel bad, was this a bad idea?_

Leah over-thinks things  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Just a heads up, will be travelling to Germany tomorrow for a few days (back to the UK on the 2nd). I'm expecting to have wi-fi while I'm there, but just in case I don't, this is me letting you know  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Bring me back something nice please.

----------


## Comissar

I'll see what I can do  :Small Tongue: 

Had a pleasant surprise when I was offered a train pass valid until the 14th of April for 30 Euros which, bearing in mind a day ticket costs ~12 Euros, was a pretty nice deal. Might even be able to sell it on to someone else for the remaining 12 days once I'm done with it.

----------


## Comissar

Not 100% on what the market would have, but Leah may end up lingering over any stalls that are offering nice clothes. She's only got travel stuff with her currently, so she'd like the idea of picking something out for the date.

----------


## Comissar

Is this where Alyssa points to stall number three and has Leah go in full Clefable cosplay?

----------


## Hazuki

Only then will Luna accept her as her other mother.

----------


## Comissar

Is 10,000 poké a lot? It sounds like it should be, and it _feels_ like it should be, but I don't actually remember (and don't have the book to hand right now)

----------


## Hazuki

It's about a hundred bucks.

----------


## Comissar

Got it. It's also outside of Leah's personal price range, so it'd need to come from Lord Bastille's funds, which I believe Alyssa was keeping hold of?

Edit - Incidentally, that chain of thinking is probably _why_ Leah's mostly got practical clothes.

_This is nice.

It's a bit expensive, but it_ is_ nice.

... I can't really justify buying it, I don't have all that much money. I could ask my parents..?

... It's not something I'd use much...

I'll just leave it..._

*Last longing look at clothing item/treat to self*

----------


## Hazuki

Just for the record, a hundred dollars comes from an article I read about affordable yukata.

----------


## Comissar

> Just for the record, a hundred dollars comes from an article I read about affordable yukata.


Yeah, I fully believe you about the price. It sounds about right. It's also a decent chunk of money to someone of Leah's age  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Aye, true. I guess I just thought that, since Leah is from a region that will have Yukata (If less common than in Johto) she might know. But, she might have been more interested in geological history than cultural.

----------


## Comissar

I think she was a bit young to be buying her own clothes when she left Kanto, so probably wouldn't have had quite enough exposure to the experience to know prices all that well? I think either way, though, the logic chain makes sense in her mind. She might've been hoping it was a bit cheaper than a normal yukata as well? She can absolutely be talked into using Lord Bastille's money for it, but left to her own devices she'd probably just do a 'that'd be nice...' then move on.

----------


## tgva8889

How much money do they have from the fund? I don't remember if we ever got an exact amount, but given Alyssa's painting they might actually be able to afford this and be totally fine.

----------


## Hazuki

Let's say about one hundred gold pieces.

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah, if we're frugal this should totally be affordable.

----------


## Hazuki

Comissar, you know that Maddy identifies as male, right? You've referred to him with female pronouns a couple of times now and I just thought I should clarify - he's a cismale who's really into crossdressing and appearing female, but doesn't identify as female or trans in any way.

----------


## Comissar

> Comissar, you know that Maddy identifies as male, right? You've referred to him with female pronouns a couple of times now and I just thought I should clarify - he's a cismale who's really into crossdressing and appearing female, but doesn't identify as female or trans in any way.


It was a typo in the latest post (I did catch and edit it), and would have been typo's in previous ones too (will scan back through to find them). I'm aware he does identify as male, not intending to mis-gender him  :Small Smile: 

Edit - Think I caught them all? Gone far enough back that I'm back to 'his' and 'him' again. Let me know if there's any still there.

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, I didn't think it was malicious - just there's some potential for confusion. ^^ As long as I know you know, it's all good.

----------


## Comissar

"Umm, are, uh, are all siblings like that..?"

As an older sibling, very often, yes.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Not always in that direction, but yeah, I'd agree with that assessment myself.

----------


## Comissar

Even though she's not known him very long, I think Maddy's a friendly enough guy (particularly when compared to Parkin/Clayr/Misru) that Leah feels a lot more relaxed around him. Hence the sudden spill of anxieties. But then, she's also only known him a brief time, hence the sudden realisation of 'hey, maybe this is way too much information!'

----------


## Hazuki

That makes sense, and is adorable.

Also, I love how Alyssa was laughing at Dai while Leah was like "Oh my God this is the worst". :3

----------


## tgva8889

I mean, Alyssa was the younger sister to an older brother so she was probably like Dai a lot. Younger siblings are allowed to do some things other people aren't.

----------


## Hazuki

Oh! Do y'all want me to timeskip to the beginning of Date Night? If so, at what point? I figure, in the house, after Leah's finished getting ready. Or you might want to play out stuff before then I don't know.

----------


## Comissar

I want to do a little bit with Leah getting ready for it, but I can easily do that as Leah's bridge for the time skip, so i'm perfectly happy to be jumped ahead a little way.

----------


## tgva8889

I'm fine skipping to getting ready. Transition scenes to before date night sound great to me. I think Alyssa's just going to be painting until then.

----------


## Hazuki

Love it when players add background details like the gifted Yukata, tgva. <3

----------


## tgva8889

Glad you liked it!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Comissar

Is there a specific type of food that the Pecha Hut does? I forget if Clayr said or not.

----------


## tgva8889

I was thinking the exact same thing! I wasn't sure what would be on the menu until after I finished the post and was like "maybe that was mean of me to throw it back like that."

----------


## Comissar

Heh, if I was more confident on traditional starters, and less debilitated by hayfever, I may have attempted to come up with a suggestion  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

I dunno. Some kind of food? Unless you're planning on doing the spaghetti kiss thing, I don't think it matters much, as long as it follows the rules that there's no meat or anything like it.

----------


## Comissar

Hadn't been planning on that, no, just wasn't sure if there was some specific thing  :Small Tongue: 

Edit - Given her Kantoan roots, I think Leah would probably gravitate more toward Japanese-style food than anything else, if only because it has the touch of the familiar for her.

----------


## Hazuki

Y'all should go through Diwyneb. Pudin used to date Lady Diwyneb, you know.

----------


## Comissar

"Oh! And, uh, we could visit Pudin's ex? I think, uh, I think that'd be worth doing?"

 :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

"So, you used to date Pudin. Don't you think that should disqualify you from any kind of leadership position?" - Alyssa, probably

----------


## tgva8889

Alyssa knows how to be respectful! I don't know that she _would_ be necessarily, but she knows how to and that's what matters.

----------


## Hazuki

Since Alyssa should know of Lady Diwyneb's reputation, I think she'd be more likely to be fearful.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Sorry if I don't post for a few days, I'm super sick right now.

----------


## Hazuki

Sorry to hear that! Please don't die. <3

----------


## Comissar

Don't worry, focus on getting better!

Similar topic, having trouble with the forum this evening, keep getting 503 errors, so may not be able to post until tomorrow.

----------


## Hazuki

At this point, both girls are likely to notice their food is taking a while.

----------


## tgva8889

Thanks for the well-wishes! I'm feeling more better now but it's a process and I'm trying to take things easier for a bit. 

Can Alyssa see anything that might be causing the problem from here? Like some sort of Pokemon or something?

----------


## Hazuki

She can not.

----------


## Hazuki

For some reason, Rana feels happy that Professor Hawthorne didn't decide to give away Furfrou.

----------


## Comissar

I feel like someone would've stepped in if Leah went through multiple different hairstyle options  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

I think it's becoming a character trait that Alyssa thinks of things after she probably should have.

----------


## Hazuki

Is Athe going to ask Parkin if Rana can stay?

----------


## tgva8889

I was probably gonna have Alyssa write a note to ask, if she can find something to write on/with.

----------


## Hazuki

What will y'all do while waiting for Athe?

----------


## tgva8889

I was gonna wait for Comissar to make a post so we could do something cute? I wasn't actually sure, to be honest.

Also for some reason I've had the image of Alyssa with a Rowlet for a long time. I think I'm mentally turning her into some kind of owl-themed trainer.

----------


## Comissar

Trying to figure out what Leah's gonna do with the situation at the moment  :Small Tongue: 

Alyssa surrounded by Owl's seems fun, but are there more owls than just Rowlet and Hoothoot?

----------


## tgva8889

Well, I mean technically there's Noctowl, Rufflet, and Decidueye, but besides their evolution chains I don't think so.

----------


## Comissar

Apologies for the lacklustre IC post. Received news at lunch today that my grandparents were victims of an aggravated burglary in the early hours of yesterday morning. They were discharged from hospital, but are understandably shaken, and the news has kinda left me out of sorts. Will hopefully be back to normal post quality by tomorrow.

----------


## Hazuki

No problem. I'd accept "I'm not feeling up to it", let alone a genuine issue.

----------


## tgva8889

Woah, I hope everything's okay! That sounds really rough, no worries about the posts.

----------


## Comissar

Everything is fine as far as I can tell with my grandparents, they're being very pragmatic about it and insisting that I don't worry.

As for IC, Leah's feeling pretty overwhelmed following the events of the evening, Parkin's snap at her is enough to tip her over the edge, with Alyssa's concern just bringing it to the fore slightly sooner than it would otherwise have happened. She's not thinking straight, hence the 'I need to get out before Alyssa sees me crying' approach, despite it being almost certainly way too late for that.

----------


## tgva8889

I feel like Alyssa would have a sense of what's going on in Leah's head given how much time they've spent together and how good Alyssa is at getting a sense of people, but I'm not certain if she would know exactly the right thing to say or do to help her. She's definitely trying, but she's not very eloquent and she's not really sure how she herself is feeling so I think she's just trying to do what she can. I think her really simple words might be a hindrance to her here, but I leave that for you to decide! I think what Leah's feeling is pretty reasonable, though.

I also just realized that Inkay is totally a Dark-type and Alyssa should be terrified of Ibib. I think since I didn't do it earlier maybe she's just okay with Inkay in particular for some odd reason? Or maybe specifically Ibib because she's okay with Bibi or something?

----------


## Hazuki

Perhaps Alyssa simply doesn't recognize that Ibib's Dark type? I'm pretty sure knowing that requires a check, and, at a glance, you'd think Inkay is Water/Psychic.

----------


## tgva8889

Actually, that makes perfect sense. The Inkay line is kind of deceptive by design so maybe she just has no idea whatsoever. It's not one of the Dark-types I imagine she'd know besides Bibi having one, and she never Dex-checked Ibib, so yeah, that works.

----------


## Hazuki

I'm glad Bibi isn't here to see all this lewd hand-holding. That kind of depravity would scar her for life.

----------


## Comissar

I guess we'll have to put a stop to it immediately, the last thing we want to do is see Bibi with scars  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

But I don't know how to do anything but have Alyssa try to be cute with Leah!  :Small Eek:

----------


## Hazuki

Alyssa can be cute without sinking to such depravity. What's wrong with a firm handshake, or a batting of the eyelashes? You don't have to go leaping straight to holding hands like a bull at a gate!

----------


## Comissar

Leah was already thinking she should apologise to Parkin in the morning. Parkin beating her to the punch in talking about it (assuming that's what's being brought up) is just giving her a real 'I messed up' moment.

----------


## Hazuki

You thought it was time for you to apologize, but it was me...!

----------


## tgva8889

Apology battle! Parkin gets in the first strike! Can Leah's apology overcome this lead?[/sarcasm]

In advance, sorry if I'm a bit slow this week, my parents are visiting this week so I'm showing them around town a bit!

----------


## Hazuki

Hmm. I _guess_ that's a valid excuse.

----------


## tgva8889

I mean, I'm still posting some, but in case I'm slow that's the reason why.

----------


## Hazuki

I was just being silly. It's cool, yo.

----------


## tgva8889

I figured, but I wanted to be clear.  :Small Smile: 

Also, I assume you meant Alyssa's shoulder in your last post, so I'm gonna write my post accordingly. Let me know if you meant otherwise, though.

----------


## Comissar

The real question, of course, is 'Did Knotte actually do a good job, or is Alyssa being polite'  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

It's actually not bad. It's not pro elite skill, but it's good enough.

----------


## tgva8889

I think Alyssa is being genuine. She's not starstruck like she was with the yukata scene, but she does think it looks good.

----------


## Hazuki

Hmm. I think I'll give Alyssa a chance to help with the Charming before replying.

----------


## tgva8889

"I tried my best!"

I guess 10 is, like, almost exactly average on 3d6 so that's not too bad!

----------


## Comissar

It kinda sounds like Rana's got an addiction to the electricity she can channel? Would that be fair to say?

Also, would Leah know anything about her condition from the book Vaster loaned her? I think it was just stories and legends, but sometimes those have a grounding in truth.

----------


## Hazuki

That would be fair to say.

Leah's book would have had information on elementals, so I could answer a few specific questions if you have them. There's nothing that matches Rana's supposed symptoms, though. Aside from, y'know, physical changes and being able to summon/channel/absorb the energy she uses, because all elementals have those.

----------


## Comissar

Would Leah know from the stories if there were any Elementals that seemed to become addicted to their power? Were known for using it trivially or excessively, that kind of thing?

----------


## Hazuki

Lots of ego, but no addiction.

----------


## tgva8889

Alyssa, of course, only sort of knows what she's talking about. By which I mean she probably has no idea what she's talking about at all. But she's trying her best!

I imagine this fits since while Alyssa might know what addiction is, she's almost certainly never had any experience seeing its consequences. At least, probably not enough to know them when she sees them.

----------


## Hazuki

Hmm. Not much of a good place for a GM post. I'll give tgva a couple more days before posting something.

----------


## Hazuki

Is Leah heading to the town or the Knight barracks, which require a walk up the mountain?

----------


## Comissar

Ah, knight barracks. Had assumed they were in town too  :Small Smile:

----------


## Hazuki

Hmm. I'm going to be nice and remind y'all that Rana specifically didn't want Knights involved last night, and she's lived in Thundercrag with the knights for years and hasn't asked them for stuff re: elemental-ness. It might not be a good idea to do what you're doing.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

The reminder is appreciated, have edited so that Leah's a bit more vague (and misleading) about her reasons. Let me know if you want a roll to accompany that.

----------


## tgva8889

I think in general we're really extremely bad at remembering things OOC.

----------


## Hazuki

My favorite was when Parkin claimed to be Lord Bastille's wife, which would contradict a lot of everything in Bastille, and Leah believed it.

----------


## tgva8889

I mean, at this point I should probably just default to rolling like 3 checks every time anyone says anything to see if Alyssa should remember whether that is relevant to anything in the past or whether she can tell if they're joking or lying.

----------


## Comissar

De-Leah'd version - "I'm sorry you're not feeling good, don't feel like you have to hide not feeling good, I want to help you and be here for you"

But words are hard, and Leah overthinks  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

It fits her whole 1d6 of Charm.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

That's fine, I think Alyssa's 3d6 of Intuition is good enough to mostly figure it out!  :Small Wink:

----------


## tgva8889

Can Alyssa make an Edu: Medicine check to see if she can think of anything that might help Rana recover? If so I rolled it below:

*Spoiler: Roll!*
Show

Edu: Med: (3d6)[*12*]

----------


## Hazuki

Some new, loose-fitting clothes made of a light fabric. Something easy that could keep her entertained, like a book. A Pokemon that could help her sleep or soothe her, like Hypno.

These are more rehabilitative than medicinal, because Bibi likely has that covered and it would suck for Alyssa to grab something, get there, and have Bibi be like "yeah, I've got that". So these are things she'd know of after realizing that Bibi has ointments and such covered.

----------


## Comissar

Sera's legacy is known even as far as Thundercrag!

----------


## Hazuki

Yep. Crossover time.

----------


## tgva8889

Alyssa hasn't interacted with Rana much, but would she be able to get a sense of her tastes at all?

----------


## Hazuki

I don't think she has. Your time spent together has been relatively light on banter.

----------


## tgva8889

That makes a lot of sense, I think.

----------


## Comissar

Just a heads up, my laptop's died. I'm making do with borrowing other computers in the house where I can until my new one's ready, but my post rate may be taking a hit.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye aye, thanks for letting us know.

----------


## tgva8889

I hope your computer problems are fixed soon!

----------


## Comissar

I have my new laptop! It's so much lighter than my old one, it's kinda disconcerting

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah, my laptop is super duper light too, so I know how you feel! It's nice sometimes, but it is different than having a heavy clunker of a thing.

----------


## Hazuki

Do y'all want me to to timeskip to the knight meeting?

----------


## Comissar

I'm cool with it, I think at most Leah would be comfortable to just chill with Alyssa for a bit. At most a bit of talk about nothing.

----------


## tgva8889

I'm fine either way! It's probably not much time until the meeting with the knight so we can just have them hang out off screen a bit and then go see her.

----------


## Hazuki

I know; I was expecting her to be ginger and dark-skinned, too.

----------


## Comissar

Can Leah tell if Ser Jaffer is a non-native? Or just a fan of foreign clothing?

----------


## Hazuki

She looks native.

----------


## Comissar

Leah's not sure how far is too far with her questions, and she also wants to try and make sure she can keep to Rana's wishes and not out her while still getting useful information on how to help, hence her uncertainty in asking them.

----------


## Hazuki

Marker pens confirmed lewd.

----------


## tgva8889

Isn't Rana from Hoenn? Or was it just her dance that's from there? Or am I thinking of someone completely different?

----------


## Hazuki

Rana is from Hoenn, moved to Londo when she was young.

----------


## Comissar

I guess knowledge Occult to see if Leah can work out if Rana's been cursed?

(2D6+1)[*5*]

Edit - Assuming that's not good enough to know one way or the other  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

You are correct.

----------


## Comissar

Leah does not like having attention called directly onto her, and Dai has already made her uncomfortable once before  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Just be glad it's a relative stranger and not, say, Misru.

----------


## Comissar

I feel like Misru might not be inclined to wolf-whistle  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

You're right.

I'd be a Lycanroc whistle.

----------


## tgva8889

I like all the cute moments!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Comissar

If Dai is in the direction of the route out of the market, Leah would try to take a more circuitous route to try and go round her rather than go past her. Unless Alyssa insists on going past Dai, anyway.

----------


## Hazuki

Where are y'all heading?

----------


## Comissar

I forget if we found out where Bibi was staying? If we did, I think Leah's gonna head there. If we didn't, she'll head back to Parkin's instead to talk to Rana. I'm not sure if tgva is wanting to have a bit more conversation on the way out of the market or not, mind.

----------


## tgva8889

Bibi's staying in the Knight's barracks I thought? Anyways, I thought she was at Parkin's place with Rana right now (as far as we know) so I thought we were heading back to Parkin's.

I'm fine with more conversation! I like talking! Talking is fun!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Hazuki

I'm pretty sure Bibi was at Parkin's when you last saw her.

----------


## Comissar

Back to Parkin's it is, then!

----------


## tgva8889

Let's go! *points dramatically*

----------


## Hazuki

I don't think y'all ever actually described what clothes you bought?

----------


## tgva8889

I found this for the description.




> She sorts through the available options, picking out a T-shirt with a Minun and Plusle gleefully holding hands across the chest, and a pleated knee-length skirt with pokéball's printed within the pleats.

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, uh, announcement, I guess! I know I decided on it a long time ago, but I don't know if I told y'all: Basically, in my Pokemon world, there's no eating Pokemon. Fishers fish fish because they carry hard-to-find berries, or other junk, like Pokemon sometimes carry in the games. Of course, it's physically possible, but it would be treated like cannibalism is in most real-world cultures.

What this means for leather in Londo is that it's not leather. It's woven cloth, perhaps with chunks of horn, or the shed scales of scaled Pokemon, and so on, and so forth.

This is 'cause I think that the idea of eating Pokemon is completely antithetical to the Pokemon setting, and having normal animals is just weird. So, yeah, no Pokemon harvesting.

ALSO! How much do y'all want me to interact with the Alyssa X Leah romance? I'm happy to read pages of them smooching, if that's what you want to do, but how much do you want me to have NPCs notice it/talk about it? I've been quite conservative with it so far in that, I haven't had them react a lot or often, because I'm unsure whether you want me to leave you to your romance or what.

----------


## tgva8889

I really like that idea! Like, it's supposed to be really horrifying that those Rockets harvest Slowpoketail even though it's a delicacy in that same game. I don't really know how that works! So I'm fine with mostly vegetarianism and not harming Pokemon for their products in Londo/in general.

As for Alyssa X Leah, I feel like as long as it feels natural I don't mind other people noticing it, though in my general experience it's the kind of thing that doesn't come up that much in real life. Like, people who are close will point it out but no one really draws attention to it. I don't mind stuff like them being called out for a public displays since that can be a bit much and definitely makes people uncomfortable, but them being together and looking happy or walking hand-in-hand doesn't feel like that big a thing. Maybe people who know them being like "oh that's nice" or "I'm happy for you" but unless they're really mean or don't like it for some reason, they probably wouldn't point it out over and over. 

I also think it would be nice for them to have a moment together, since this is kind of new and they haven't technically finished a first date yet, and I really like doing the cute scenes with Alyssa and Leah. I love that part of the game and I like that it kind of just happened and Comissar and I ran with it. But I also don't want to derail your ideas for the story and plot and stuff since I really like those, too! They're why I love coming back to the game. So maybe a bit of a mix would be good? I leave a little bit of that pacing up to you as well.

I'm having a lot of fun with the game either way, so as long as we all agree to something I'm down with it.

----------


## Comissar

Yup, not eating pokémon makes sense to me. They are, after all, sentient.

As for Alyssa/Leah, I'm with tgva in that I enjoy playing out that side of the characters. In part simply because the cute scenes are fun to write, but also because it gives an opportunity to explore Leah's psyche from a different angle. With NPC interactions over it, I think what there has been so far has felt pretty natural. I'm personally cool with having NPC's react both positively and negatively (though we've had none of the latter so far, I imagine it's most likely to start to happen if/when we encounter some of the more anti-foreigner people of Londo). Leah being Leah, her reaction to people calling attention to them is going to be very context dependent. If it's public and she's not expecting it, embarrassment and subject avoidance will probably be her reaction. If it comes up in conversation more naturally, she's probably _still_ going to get quieter for a little bit before bouncing back. I think I've said it before a while back, but in case I didn't, I'll say it again, I don't mind Leah being put in situations she's uncomfortable with. It offers the chance for character growth for her, and I'm happy to trust that you'll set up and handle any such situations well.

Also, I am aware that you've got your own stuff you want to do, so I do appreciate you giving the space to let us play out Alyssa/Leah's romance, but do feel free to say 'ok, time to move on' if it's getting too much. It is your game, after all  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Your opinions have been noted! Really, the only problem I have with it as a GM is when I feel like I'm not doing my job.  :Small Tongue: 

Also, I've decided to take some focus off of the story since seeing how the game has gone. The things I'd planned initially are still happening and so on, but since Leah and Alyssa aren't necessarily the type to leap into action, it won't be as prominent. Hope that's okay.

----------


## tgva8889

I'm okay with it as long as you're okay with it! I am okay with some pushing Alyssa into the plot, too, if need be. Though I do see what you mean, they both have some pretty internal problems that they're focused on.

----------


## Hazuki

I'm perfectly okay with it. 

If nothing else, it means you'll go one town without meeting a maimed young woman. So you have that to look forward to!

----------


## tgva8889

It's always good to meet less maimed young women! is not a thing I thought I would ever need to say.

----------


## Comissar

I think Leah would like the idea of not having her arrival in a place be shortly followed by a maiming of a new acquaintance  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Rana said it hurts when she uses her abilities?

----------


## Comissar

Maybe I misunderstood, but that's the takeaway I got from here?

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...he-Lady/page16

Edit for clarity - toward the bottom of the page, 474ish onward

----------


## Hazuki

Ah, no. She's referring to gathering electricity, and how it just hurt her. Not using her electricity powers in general.

----------


## Comissar

Ahh, ok, editing the IC post accordingly

Edit - And edited.

----------


## tgva8889

Does Alyssa know what a Rotom is? Let's find out!

Edu: Poke (2d6)[*8*]

I'm gonna go with "she knows it's a Pokemon and by context that it's probably Electric-type"? Not sure how good rolls are in this system.

----------


## Comissar

Now, I know it's unprecedented, but I just want to confirm that Leah _did_ just suggest going pokémon catching in a pokémon game  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

> Does Alyssa know what a Rotom is? Let's find out!
> 
> Edu: Poke [roll0]
> 
> I'm gonna go with "she knows it's a Pokemon and by context that it's probably Electric-type"? Not sure how good rolls are in this system.


That works for me.




> Now, I know it's unprecedented, but I just want to confirm that Leah _did_ just suggest going pokémon catching in a pokémon game


You're a loose cannon, Comissar.

----------


## tgva8889

I am totally down for actually catching Pokemon. Or at least trying to.

----------


## Hazuki

If y'all like Pokemon so much, maybe you should interact with the ones you have.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

It'll happen eventually!  :Small Tongue:  Alyssa promised!

----------


## Comissar

> If y'all like Pokemon so much, maybe you should interact with the ones you have.


In my defense, it's proving really tricky to think of places and things for Saura to do while Leah interacts with people directly  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Clearly, we need a subplot about Saura and Luna helping Knotte mack on ladies.

----------


## tgva8889

I am down for a Pokemon side-episode.

----------


## Hazuki

Just FYI, Rana wasn't self-harming. Her tanking a lightning hit was an adrenaline high. She got hurt this time because of Rotom interfering with it. Not sure if I'd made that clear and there seems to be some confusion.

----------


## tgva8889

That's kinda what I figured, but I think I wrote what I meant unclearly so I'll edit it.

----------


## Hazuki

For a Pokemon subplot, I'm guessing you'd want it as part of the main thread? What would you like it to involve?

----------


## tgva8889

I'm not sure. It'd have to be something that happens during a time when Alyssa and Leah would be busy but also not in any need of their Pokemon friends for some time. I suppose more comedy would probably be better?

----------


## Comissar

Probably bad timing for Leah to ask here given Rana's just been talking about losing family, but in her defense, she _was_ outside the room during that part of the conversation  :Small Tongue: 

Light hearted side adventure with Saura and Luna sounds good to me, may need to wait until after helping Rana catch something, though? Unless she's bed ridden for a long stretch.

----------


## Hazuki

When do y'all want to timeskip to? My first instinct is to the Pokemon catching, like, when you're just setting out and figuring it out. I'll let you have bought Pokeballs or whatever if you need them.

----------


## Comissar

I'd say straight to the catching/setting out to do the catching would make sense. Leah _does_ still have some pokéballs still, so she can provide a few (I want to say 5)

----------


## tgva8889

Skipping to the catching also seems good to me. Alyssa has 5 Basic Balls on her, I suppose we should go get some more before we set out. I'm kind of excited for Alyssa to actually get to use some of her catching abilities!

If this is anything like the video games, Rana will just catch her first Pokemon on her first try, so no problem!  :Small Wink:

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, good news, there's an official Gen 7 Pokedex. Gen 7 Pokemon for all!

----------


## tgva8889

Hooray! More Pokemon to add to my wishlist!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Hazuki

Just to clarify, the Solosis is above the PC girls, not the twins.

----------


## Comissar

So, I was going to make some initiative rolls and look into attack stuff for this IC post, forgot that I don't have access to the books anymore as they were on my old laptop. I might have missed them during my quick skim of the threads, but could either of you shoot me a link/remind me which version of PTU we're using?

----------


## Hazuki

We're using 1.05, according to the PDFs I have.

----------


## tgva8889

I don't think initiative rolls are even a thing, I think it's mostly just done by raw Speed stat comparison, right? Should we just start acting in turn order?

Also just so my mental image is correct, is this Pokemon a Solosis? Alyssa probably wouldn't know that, but that was my first guess.

----------


## Hazuki

Yah. 

I've said it's a Solosis a few times, so..no, it's a Charizard.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

I'm a derp, don't worry about it.  :Small Tongue: 

What is actual turn order? I remember at once point I figured it out for Alyssa, Leah, and all their Pokemon at the time, but I don't remember where that is. Also I don't think we know what Rana's Speed is.

Edit: I found the last list I made! I think I'm missing some Pokemon and I don't remember if we leveled up in between when I last made the list and now, but here's what I got:
12 - Alyssa 
11 - Athe
10 - Sable
8 - Saura 
7 - Leah 
1 - Luna

I couldn't find stats for Sable anywhere.

----------


## Hazuki

Rana goes first, because her class is nothing but Speed. but she's passing her turn to wait for guidance. Solosis will go last, because that's convenient for me and they're slowww.

----------


## tgva8889

I love how slow Luna is compared to Alyssa when Luna tries to protect Alyssa from stuff.  :Small Big Grin: 

Edit: I hope talking is a free action.

----------


## Comissar

I've been using my first post in the original OoC to keep my sheets up to date (which does mean the link in the first post of this one is inaccurate).

Also, just a heads up, as of this coming Friday, I'll be away from home until the following Monday. I'm not expecting to have no internet, but I may not be online as much as usual.

----------


## tgva8889

Ah, I found it here. Thanks Comissar! From that I got Sable's speed as 10, which I'll add to the Initiative Chart.

Also given that Alyssa did all her actions this turn, I'm not sure if she can actually let Solosis out of the net, but she will if Rana wants her to.

----------


## Hazuki

Sorry if Rana's being super dismissive of Alyssa's efforts, here. I do think it makes more sense for her to borrow a Pokemon to beat her first one, and y'know, y'all can get some Pokemon too! Even gives you an excuse to use Athe while Rana borrows Luna.

----------


## tgva8889

No worries. I think it still works fine, given that despite being trained at catching things, now that I think about it I don't think Alyssa actually captured any of her own Pokemon. Luna was a gift from her brother and Athe she mostly befriended and then convinced to join her. So I guess she wouldn't really know etiquette like what Rana's talking about, so she can just be awkward about it because she knows how to catch things but doesn't really know how it's supposed to be done.

----------


## Comissar

Jax and Jill are up on the hill? Hopefully they're paying attention and have steady footing  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

It's more of a series of hills.

----------


## Comissar

Still, if Leah sees either of them trying to fetch pails of water, she'll know to shout a warning

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, I get it now! Hehe.

----------


## tgva8889

I thought that was a completely intentional joke!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Hazuki

Please roll Perception if you're looking for Pokemon.

----------


## Comissar

Leah's gonna be going to say hi to Jax and Jill first, IC post to that effect following shortly

----------


## tgva8889

Well when we get around to looking for Pokemon, here's this roll:
Perception: (4d6)[*14*]

----------


## tgva8889

With this Edu: Poke roll, how many of those things Alyssa notices can she clearly identify as Pokemon? Also would she know any of their names?

Edu: Poke (2d6)[*5*]

I may need to improve this skill at some point.

Personal guesses: I don't recognize the scorch marks + sweet scent combination, but my guess on the bluish rock is Roggenrolla and my guess on the purple tail is Gligar.

----------


## Hazuki

She can't identify them, but they're all either Pokemon or the trails of Pokemon.

----------


## Comissar

I guess pokémon education for Leah to know why Jill got an evolution before Jax? Guessing it's either down to how much care gets given, how many battles were won, or how many thunderstones she lets the Eevee play with  :Small Tongue: 

(4D6+1)[*11*]

----------


## Hazuki

It's most likely because of all the lightning in Thundercrag, from the natural storms to the lightning towers and so on. Basically, functioning like an area-wide Thunder Stone that that particular Eevee got into the right state for its cells to be affected by.

----------


## Comissar

I feel really bad for Rana, by the way. She seems like she desperately needs some friends in her life.

----------


## Hazuki

Then I am doing my job right.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Thank you for the Alluring Pokemon, I am much appreciative. Given that Rana brought it up, though, Alyssa's gonna focus on her first and then be excited about this new thing after Rana's okay. Plus they're here for her so she should get to pick first.

Also the word she's looking for is "rigid" but I've decided Alyssa has a small vocabulary so she's trying to figure it out.

----------


## Hazuki

Interesting! Seeing as she was a court artist before, why does she have a limited vocabulary?

----------


## tgva8889

I've been playing her as speaking kind of simply in general but more complicated with things she knows about like her work. I haven't quite decided yet exactly why she would be that way; my current thought is that it might have something to do with the relationship she had with her brother when she was growing up, and her lack of many other friendly relationships up until she got to art school.

----------


## Hazuki

Err. You know that Fairy types are weak to Poison, right?

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah. The specific status effect Poison doesn't really do anything to Luna, though, because she has Magic Guard.

----------


## Hazuki

Don't mind me, just need a place to keep my GM notes.

*Spoiler: Pokemon*
Show

*Salandit Long*

*Health:* 26/50

*Nature:* Timid

Level 10

*HP:* 10 (5)
*Attack:* 2
*Defense:* 7 (3)
*Special Attack:* 12 (5)
*Special Defense:* 6 (2)
*Speed:* 15 (5)


*Salandit Marked*

*Health:* 43/50

*Nature:* Modest

Level 10

*HP:* 10 (5)
*Attack:* 2
*Defense:* 7 (3)
*Special Attack:* 14 (5)
*Special Defense:* 6 (2)
*Speed:* 13 (5)

----------


## tgva8889

Athe has +2 evasion in general and Alyssa has +2 evasion in general, so it looks like Athe was hit by Ember (14 roll > 4 AC)  but Alyssa dodges the Poison Gas (6 roll < 8 AC). Athe takes 16 damage and has 45 HP left. Or at least, he should, it's been at least a week since he was injured so he should probably be better now.

Also, now that we're actually doing combat, how do you plan to do capture rolls? There's rules in the main book, but I think one of the playtests also had rules for converting a capture roll into a d20 roll instead of d%. I don't think it actually changes anything mechanically, was mostly curious what you prefer.

----------


## Hazuki

We can use the d20.

----------


## tgva8889

Sounds good to me. I hope Alyssa and Athe can keep the Salandit's attention away from Rana.

Edit: Alyssa takes 22 damage and is at 37 hit points. Man, I see what they meant when they said you don't want to skimp on your HP stat.

----------


## Hazuki

Maintaining HP, pretty hard. Catching Pokemon, apparently pretty easy. It's only DC 9 to catch one of these.

----------


## Comissar

Given Leah doesn't spend much time with Sable out of his ball, she's still a little uncomfortable with him right now. This could provide a good chance for her to bond a bit, though!

Also, she's gonna be pretty upset when she sees Alyssa's been as burned as she has.

----------


## Hazuki

That's what happens when you're the one holding the net the Pokemon wants out of.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

All the same, if Leah knew that Alyssa was having that kind of trouble, she wouldn't be sitting around talking  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

So Alyssa has Fast Pitch, which is a Priority action, which I think means she can act before her turn with it? If that's the case, in the future, should I let you know I'd like to do that potentially so we can insert it into initiative order? I only just thought of it.

----------


## tgva8889

I forgot to make a roll in the IC thread, so here's that d20:
(1d20)[*20*]

Alyssa's display so far has been downright embarrassing, but at least Athe is great at hitting things! Thanks, Athe! I'm pretty sure when Alyssa actually hits this Salandit with a Pokeball it will have such a low catch rate that her capture roll won't matter.  :Small Tongue: 

Edit: Okay, there's no rules for natural 1s on capture rolls, can we just say Alyssa did it this time if I hit the capture rate? I feel like she did, this Salandit has lots of damage and is asleep.

Utterly hilarious rolls there, Alyssa.  :Small Sigh:

----------


## Hazuki

Yep, I'll post it.

----------


## tgva8889

Alyssa has 19 hp and because of that, 1 injury, so she's actually legit hurt right now.

----------


## Hazuki

Does Leah have a wishlist?

Also, the stats for Alyssa's Salandit are above, under "Salandit Long". Salandit's extended mechanics can be found *here*, along with the rest of the Alolan Pokemon.

----------


## Comissar

Hmm... I'm not sure... Fossil pokémon are an obvious one, but they're not going to show up outside of actually finding and animating a fossil. Other than that, I think she's content to observe for the most part, doesn't feel any special urge to go catch a pokémon. I guess a good comparison would be Tracey from the Orange Islands part of the series. If she starts getting more active on dig sites, she might look at getting a pokémon that can dig, or maybe a bird pokémon of some kind to scout out potential dig sites.

----------


## tgva8889

I'm gonna have to migrate my sheet over to the updated one with the Alolan Pokemon on it, but I'll copy the stats over once I get there. I gotta come up with a name at some point, too, but that's something Alyssa's probably gotta think about.

I may adjust Alyssa's requests list. Besides the Smeargle, I think mostly she'd just be interested in having some Pokemon with very unique moves, but none of those things she wants specifically.

Edit: What gender is the Salandit Alyssa caught? This is actually super important, since it's a Salandit. Also, does Salandit have any unusual moves, or just the ones it would have for its level in the Pokedex? I know it has Poison Gas and Ember since it used those.

Edit 2: My sheet has been migrated to an Alolan version, here should get you to it. Let me know if the link works and if things look about right!

----------


## Hazuki

Dude, it's been over two weeks since your edits and I still hadn't noticed. It's totally fine to double post when it's been that long.  :Small Tongue: 

It's a female Salandit. Right now it has Scratch, Poison Gas, Ember, and Sweet Scent. I figured it would be Alyssa's kind of thing due to, well, Alluring, and because Corrosion is a move-affecting ability that I think she'd find interesting?

Oh, and what I came here to post: If Alyssa finishes her painting today (in-game), you'll be free as birds tomorrow. Thinking about heading out somewhere else?

----------


## tgva8889

I'd forgotten I had so many questions.  :Small Big Grin:  I'm excited about Salandit (who will need a nickname at some point probably). Having her gives me some incentive to push towards some different class options than I'd been thinking about before, which may or may not be interesting; I haven't really decided what she's gonna do besides the classes she already has, but I might go into Trickster with Salandit in the party for poisoning and burning.

Alyssa will probably do that if there's nothing pressing to do today. I forgot we were catching stuff in the morning initially.  :Small Smile: 

In terms of where we go next, I don't think Alyssa has any immediate plans, but perhaps we should spend a day hanging out with Rana and assuring her she has friends even if we're gonna go travel some.

----------


## Comissar

Alyssa's fear of Sable reminds me of one of my younger cousins. While I was at the family gathering, I found out that she's really freaked out by dogs. The aunt who was hosting has two of them, and whenever they came close, she'd try and get far away from them, hiding behind her mum to get away. As the evening wore on, she started getting more bold. At first not running away, then gradually building up the confidence to reach out and touch them, then finally building the courage to pet and stroke one of them (though she still didn't feel brave enough to stay in contact when they turned to look at her). Was encouraging to see her confidence build like that.

----------


## tgva8889

I don't have a personal inspiration for Alyssa. I think mostly it was just part of building her character that I thought she should have a complicated relationship with her brother rather than just "he's great and awesome!" which has developed as I've played her.

----------


## Hazuki

Is Leah sitting out the next little bit of time?

----------


## Comissar

Working out what to do with her, will likely post something that she'll do in her room when I next post IC. But she is taking a little bit of time to herself.

----------


## tgva8889

I am fine with us skipping a bit ahead to when Alyssa is done cleaning herself up so she can go down to see Leah if there's nothing else pressing.

----------


## Hazuki

Y'all hear about that new Pokemon?

----------


## tgva8889

The one in Pokemon GO? I heard about it but I don't know a whole lot about it.

----------


## Hazuki

I'm not a fan. And I'm not even one of those people with an irrational dislike of inanimate object Pokemon.

----------


## tgva8889

It kinda looks like it should be related to Ditto. Otherwise, I'm mostly meh about it right now.

----------


## Comissar

Hadn't seen it, it does look very Ditto-ish. Not sure I'm sold on it.

----------


## Comissar

I don't think I've explicitly mentioned it before, but I've always had it in my head that Leah keeps her hair in a pony tail while she works on fossil stuff, keeps it out of her eyes. She'd normally let it back down on her way to wherever she's going, but she won't have just yet this time.

----------


## Hazuki

Leah Baudelaire.

----------


## tgva8889

I like it! I am not a super great artist but I have a good imagination so I can visualize it I think.

----------


## Comissar

Hmm... I think Leah's feeling a bit out of sorts at the moment due to a combination of things (feeling guilty for Rana, anticipatory worry over how Alyssa and Rana's talk will go, generalised stressing that she's going to put a foot wrong with her growing relationship with Alyssa, arguably with a dose of imposter syndrome for the latter), but is doing her best to not show it. So! I think that calls for a Guile roll;

(2D6+1)[*5*] - Guile

IC post to follow pending result.

Unrelated! I'll be away on holiday as of this coming monday, and will be coming back home the same week sunday. I'm expecting to have internet access during this time, but just to make you both aware.

----------


## Hazuki

Leah should ask Vaster for relationship advice.

----------


## Comissar

> Leah should ask Vaster for relationship advice.


It's mostly a case of building the confidence to ask for help/advice (as an example, how she was when asking Maddy for help with the yukata/make-up). There's no thought more insidious than 'I should be able to handle this, so I shouldn't ask for help'.

Though I personally am curious to know what Vaster's advice would be, especially given how Parkin is with most other people  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

She can handle Parkin. She's a Platinum-tier relationshiper.

----------


## tgva8889

I suppose I should roll Intuition to see if Alyssa sees through Leah's "deception":

Intuition: (4d6)[*14*]

----------


## Comissar

Look, look! I found myself a sea urchin fossil! (Early Cretaceous if you're wondering!)  :Small Big Grin: 

*Spoiler: Image*
Show




Just think it's a particularly cool looking fossil, wanted to share it with you both!

----------


## Hazuki

It looks kind of like marble?

----------


## Comissar

I have a less damaged fossil of the same species at home, they're called _Micraster_. The thing to look for is the five pointed star pattern on the surface of it (though you can only really see three of the five clearly on the one I found). Here's a complete one (though not the same species) for comparison;

*Spoiler: Image*
Show




Edit - Totally misread what you said, thought you said 'it looks like *a* marble'  :Small Red Face: 

It's flint, would've fallen from a chalk bed that goes over the top of the cove I'm currently at. Lulworth cove if you're curious.

----------


## Hazuki

That's freaky. Kind of like a chalk outline on a crime scene, if a starfish was murdered.

...also, Lulworth Cove sounds like a place named by the internet.

----------


## Comissar

> That's freaky. Kind of like a chalk outline on a crime scene, if a starfish was murdered.
> 
> ...also, Lulworth Cove sounds like a place named by the internet.


Starfish _are_ closely related to Sea Urchins!

And nah, it's British place names. They can just be weird sometimes. As an example, to get here I had to get a bus from Wool. And later this week, I'm going to Llantwit Major (which, admittedly, is more a case of Welsh place names having too many consonants).

----------


## tgva8889

That is a neat fossil! I don't think I've seen fossils besides at museums.

I do like Welsh names, though. They result in spellings of words that to English speakers look like utter nonsense compared to how they're pronounced but in general I think I like the sound.

----------


## Comissar

So, on the subject of _Welsh_ fossils  :Small Tongue: 

*Spoiler*
Show




I found this while wandering the beach today, and I'm 90% sure it's a cut through of an ammonite. The inner bit's turned to crystal, but you can just about see an outline a little way out from the crystal in-fill, which I think is the outer chambers. Sadly it was in a huge boulder, so couldn't take it with me, but would've loved to try and clean it up and see how much more was preserved.

----------


## Hazuki

I wish I had anything interesting to say in response to that. << It looks kind of like a stretched pig snout.

----------


## Comissar

> I wish I had anything interesting to say in response to that. << It looks kind of like a stretched pig snout.


Heh, I can kinda see what you mean  :Small Tongue: 

*Spoiler*
Show




The fossil is, I think, on the same axis as each of the 'b' images in the above, just cut through the middle.

----------


## tgva8889

That is cool! It's kind of hard to say for sure because it's a cross-section sorta. I dunno if there's much study of the insides of fossils.

I got interested in rocks and geology when I was really young, but never really fossils and that kind of stuff. To be fair, though, I didn't keep the interest so it's not helping me now identify anything about your picture.

----------


## Comissar

> That is cool! It's kind of hard to say for sure because it's a cross-section sorta. I dunno if there's much study of the insides of fossils.


More than you think, one of my lecturers back on my undergrad course regularly made trips to Switzerland to use a high powered X-ray (functioned similarly to CERN's super-collider) to scan the interior of some of his fossils. Another lecturer on my Master's course did something similar to reconstruct the growth patterns of some microscopic shelly plankton.




> I got interested in rocks and geology when I was really young, but never really fossils and that kind of stuff. To be fair, though, I didn't keep the interest so it's not helping me now identify anything about your picture.


Almost everyone I know who works/studies geology/palaeontology do so because of a fascination with it that never left them, I think it's pretty unlike the other sciences in that respect. While you do still get those that are passionate in other fields, for palaeontology especially, it tends to be _only_ those with an enduring passion that study it (at least in my experience).

Entirely unrelated to that, I came across this artist, and was massively impressed by this specific piece (below). Figured I'd share their gallery in case either of you wanted to make use of it.

*Spoiler*
Show

----------


## Comissar

Just so we don't end up waiting for each other and not getting anywhere, I kinda feel like Leah would stay quiet and let Alyssa explain here, she doesn't see it as her place to step in just yet.

----------


## tgva8889

I don't think Alyssa exactly knows what's going on, since she just knows Rana is annoyed at her because she was afraid of Sableye. But I guess she's going to say some words.

----------


## Comissar

So, I think we established that Thundercrag's signal strength is pretty poor, but Leah still wants to try and talk to the Professor rather than text her, so she's hoping it'll connect.

----------


## Comissar

I guess I should make a... Pokémon Education roll to see if Leah recognises the fossil?

(4D6+1)[*16*]

----------


## Hazuki

Issa Sail Fossil.

----------


## Hazuki

Wouldn't it great to have Misru show up and make Alyssa's day even worse?

----------


## tgva8889

Alyssa is mostly just looking for some fresh air, then probably going back inside after she's had time to be alone unless she decides to take more time than Leah's conversation. Rana sleeps in her room so she doesn't really have anywhere to go to be alone.

I dunno if Alyssa quite deserves that, though.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

So, apologies tgva for the hogging of the camera over the past few days, but Leah's off to find Alyssa now!  :Small Red Face: 

Also, we should probably start mooting where Leah/Alyssa are gonna head next given it's their last(?) night in Thundercrag. Any strong leanings?

----------


## tgva8889

Looking at the map, the most logical places for us to head next are Parmez Town (and then to Skybloom City), Whitebeam City, or Diwyneb Town. I think Whitebeam City would make it really hard for us to go anywhere new afterwards since all the closest major towns and cities would be places we've already been, although Alyssa has never been to Sorland so that might be fun. I think that leaves going to Parmez and then continuing to Skybloom City or going to Diwyneb, planning to cross the water and get to Lancer and Vibrost after. I feel like going to Parmez now might be less interesting since we know a bunch of starting trainers but they're not far enough along to be challenging the League yet, so we might want to go to Diwyneb and then go to Skybloom after that?

So after all that, my suggestion would be that we go to Diwyneb, planning to go to Skybloom, Lancer, or maybe the Deep Ruins afterwards, with eventually seeing Vibrost as an end goal of that leg of the journey?

----------


## Comissar

Works for me. Worth noting that Leah's father's over in Whitebeam, so there is reason for her to travel there, but being able to chain on to other places makes a lot of sense. This is, of course, assuming that Hazuki isn't conspiring to send us in a different direction  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Regardless of where you go, there'll probably be: A big muscle woman, a gay couple, and an injured young woman. That's just a part of my programming.

----------


## tgva8889

Well if Leah gets super buff and Alyssa never recovers from her burns, we can just be a party with all of those goals already met!  :Small Wink: 




> Works for me. Worth noting that Leah's father's over in Whitebeam, so there is reason for her to travel there, but being able to chain on to other places makes a lot of sense. This is, of course, assuming that Hazuki isn't conspiring to send us in a different direction


That might be fun, too! I expect we'd head to Whitebeam and Sorland eventually since Alyssa's never been to that part of the world.

----------


## Comissar

> Well if Leah gets super buff and Alyssa never recovers from her burns, we can just be a party with all of those goals already met!


Leah _is_ well known to be a fitness guru.

----------


## Comissar

Ok, so. Hopefully Leah's comments haven't come across as vain and 'please compliment me more', I tried to make sure they didn't read that way, but it can be tricky to be certain. The intent is for her to be being open about her insecurities. She's feeling like she hasn't actually earned any of Alyssa's praise, and has been feeling that for a while. Each time she's been complimented previously, she's kinda deflected it away, either giving the credit to someone else (such as when complimented on her appearance on date night, her make-up/yukata being the work of Parkin/Maddy, she mentally passed the praise on to them instead), or thinking the person was just being polite (most often when she gets called smart, most recent example I can think of being Jax/Jill).

She's aware that the person saying it does _mean_ it, but she has difficulty accepting it. And, because she wants to be in a relationship with Alyssa, that's causing a fair bit of mental strain for her now since she kinda feels like _not_ believing the compliments she's given is letting Alyssa down. And I'm hoping I've managed to get that across.

----------


## Hazuki

You seem to be doing well to me. But then, I don't think that insecure people looking for compliments is some great sin, like most of the internet seems to.

----------


## tgva8889

I also have no problem with this. Learning to take compliments is still something I'm bad at. It still feels weird when people tell me good things about myself.

----------


## Hazuki

I've decided to start a discussion in the OOC, to tide me over with things to do while Leah and Alyssa do their romance.

Mawile is best Pokemon.

Discuss.

----------


## Comissar

Counter argument - Bulbasaur is literally number 1. It's also a plantasaurus.

----------


## Hazuki

Counterpoint: Your face is a plantasaurus. 

Also! Thoughts on Leah getting a Sail Fossil? I don't think you ever said anything about it.

----------


## tgva8889

I like Amaura! It's one of my favorite fossil Pokemon. Aerodactyl I mostly like due to nostalgia.

My favorite Pokemon is Pichu! Though I like lots of Pokemon, I have trouble picking a true favorite. Scizor is high up there, as is Kingdra.

----------


## Comissar

Plantasaurus is bestasaurus.

Also, I like Amaura's design a lot! Tbh, I'd have been happy with the vast majority of fossil pokémon anyway, they're all pretty cool (except Cradily, Aerodactyl (Sorry tgva, it just looks too far from a pterodactyl, it makes me twitchy), and Tyrantrum (T-Rex is over-rated). Leah's opinion is pretty much just 'Holy crap, I get my own fossil?! That's amazing!'

----------


## Hazuki

My worst experience with a Fossil Pokemon is Shieldon, when I was trying to fill out my Living Dex, got that through a wonder trade, and then traded it away because I thought it was a normal Pokemon. I like just about all of them enough, but the same could be said for every Pokemon whose name doesn't start with "Char".

tgva, all three of your favorites are from Gen 2.  :Small Tongue:  Guessing you were a Gold/Silver fan when they came out?

----------


## Comissar

I was a little disappointed with the Shieldon line now you mention it, I feel like there should've been horns involved rather than just a big old faceplate.

----------


## tgva8889

I like a loooot of Gen 2 Pokemon. You can tell because I made a character who has Smeargle listed like 5 times as a want and started with a Cleffa. Some of my favorites that aren't from Gen II are Reuniclus, Cubone, Rhyperior (I actually like Rhyhorn, Rhydon, and Rhyperior a bunch) and Shedinja. I have a soft spot for Gyarados after it saved me across several nuzlocke runs, too. But I do like me some Gen II Pokemon, rather a lot. It's probably the generation I have the most favorites from.

I don't like Aerodactyl that much, mostly just for the memories. In terms of design Aurorus is maybe my favorite fossil Pokemon? I like it a lot and am kinda sad it's hard to use in the games. I do like Cradily, though, so I guess you and I must disagree some. I really also don't like Shieldon too much, but mostly because it disappointed me by being basically another super slow rock/steel Pokemon that looked kinda neat but didn't really add anything special. I actually really like Carracosta?

My favorites are kinda a mix of Pokemon I think look neat, Pokemon I used a lot in the games and love for gameplay, and Pokemon that have special meaning to me because of stuff I did with them.

----------


## Hazuki

That's interesting! Gen 2 is technically the fist gen I played, for about ten minutes once, before actually buying Black 2. Reuniclus, Cubone, and Shedinja are pretty cool too, though I'm less fond of Rhyperior. I think my gen with the most favorites might legitimately be Gen 7, I love Litten/Torracat, the Primarina line, the Rowley line, the Vikavolt line, Lycanroc Line, Wishiwashi, Maranie line, Mudsdale line, Salazzle line, Tsareena line, MIMIKYU, and I like a whole lot more beyond those.

Speaking of Nuzlockes, I decided to continue some of my White 2 Nuzlocke recently and I thought "Well, I might as well go to see if I can get a Metang deep in the Giant Chasm", so I put on a repel and went there and...I got a Metang for my first Pokemon there. Which is great, 'cause it's a 10% chance, 'cause I like Metagross a lot, 'cause it rounds and my team, and it's a pseudo-legendary just in time for the Elite Four.

----------


## Comissar

I don't know that there's a single generation that I think has the best designs. I like a lot of the Gen. 1 designs (and it _does_ have literally the best pokémon ever to exist), but that's probably because it's the first gen. I played, and it's got childhood nostalgia going for it. I've never tried doing a nuzlocke run, but I can see the appeal.

----------


## Hazuki

I'll reserve comment on your favorites, you filthy genwunner.  :Small Tongue: 

I recommend Nuzlockes. It feels even more like a Pokemon journey because you have to take so much care to keep your Pokemon safe. Even though it's been, like, a year since I picked up my White 2 Nuzlocke, taking a look at the Box I keep my dead Pokemon in still made me emotional. And that rarely happens with games.

----------


## tgva8889

I like Nuzlockes, they've given me greater respect for a bunch of Pokemon I've never used before and they make me care a lot more about each Pokemon. But I also like doing a variety of theme runs. My current Pokemon Moon Fire-type run has been fun and I've gotten to greatly appreciate the Fire-type Pokemon you can use on Alola. Anything other than "use whatever I feel like" is really fun, because then I don't worry about what I'm picking and I'm not worried about "using the best Pokemon" which is often a trap I fall into because I like optimizing in games. I think in the future I will have to try to pick Pokemon less for what works and more for what's fun.

I'm not as fond of Gen VII, but I do think Alolan Marowak is awesome. I like Mimikyu, but I'm not as fond of it as I think most people are, I just think it's neat. I do also like Kommo-o.

It's kind of hard for me to think of Gen II Pokemon I don't like. Even the weird ones I'm fond of in some way. I guess Qwilfish I don't really like or find cool or interesting in any way?

On a completely unrelated note, how did either of you feel about trying to get more people into the game? I was thinking that last time we traveled we considered adding some people and it might be a natural time to consider adding more. I am also kinda fine with the three of us hanging out doing our thing.

----------


## Hazuki

I find that I have that optimization problem too, although I do tend to like all the Pokemon I use. Although one fun thing was breeding a team of Hidden Ability, 6 IV Pokemon and porting them to Sun to have fun with. 

I could make a re-recruitment for some people if y'all like. I'm not very optimistic about its chances, but I can do it.

----------


## tgva8889

I'm kinda whatever about it. I think just Alyssa and Leah works pretty well.

----------


## Comissar

I'm cool with it being just us for the time being. While there is potential to try and fit other people in, if we keep Alyssa/Leah's romance as a major thing, it might lead to potential other players feeling third-wheely.

Also, disregarding Red Gyarados, Qwilfish was my first ever shiny pokémon. And possibly my only legit one now that I think about it (again, discounting Red Gyarados). I did get a blue Mew off a friend once, but it wasn't able to port forward from Leaf Green due to not being legit.

----------


## tgva8889

I think the first shiny I ever got was a Drowzee. I was playing at night in bad lighting so I only sort of realized it was shiny when I was looking at it. I only truly discovered the next day.

----------


## Hazuki

Mine was a shiny Houndour that I bred.

----------


## tgva8889

I was doing a lot of breeding in Gen 7 for a little while, but I haven't played much of it recently. I ended up with a lot of shinies after that because I had the Shiny Charm and some Dittos from other countries. They're still special, though. I will always appreciate my shiny Scizor.

----------


## Hazuki

I can't remember my other shinies. I have a lot of Pokemon, so it'd be haaard. I can remember my first Alola team, for some reason.

Also! Now seems like a good time for a scene shift?

----------


## Comissar

I'm good to move on if tgva is

----------


## tgva8889

I am quite all right with a slow fade to black while we transition to a new scene.

I actually remember a lot of my teams. My Nuzlockes or challenge runs are particularly memorable, though, because everyone plays a key role or does something truly special that I remember. Like Umbreon in my Soulsilver run, who proved unbreakable in the face of every enemy in the world.

----------


## Hazuki

Breakfast has already happened.

----------


## Comissar

Apologies, misunderstood, will adjust post in a little bit (out of time to do so this moment).

----------


## Comissar

Edited! Leah feels obligated to thank the hosts for their hospitality, which isn't a bad obligation to feel  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

I'm a dumb  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Mistakes are bound to happen.

----------


## Hazuki

Hope that wasn't mean-spirited, I just thought it was funny when I was replying.

----------


## Comissar

> Hope that wasn't mean-spirited, I just thought it was funny when I was replying.


No no, it made me smile when I read it.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Were we planning to leave today, or did we have 1 more free day in town before we leave tomorrow?

----------


## Hazuki

You're free to leave today.

----------


## Comissar

I'd been working on the assumption that we were leaving Thundercrag today.

----------


## tgva8889

I realized I wasn't sure right before I was about to post so I figured I'd ask. I have no opinions, mostly just wanted to clarify where we were in the timeline.

Also man we're terrible people for asking Bibi and Rana if they would come with us literally hours before we leave.

----------


## tgva8889

Culturally, how is haggling seen in Londo? I'm used to the Western world where haggling isn't really a thing most of the time.

----------


## Hazuki

It's allowed, as long as you're not but if the seller firmly sets a price then it's considered rude to keep tying to haggle, or to do it if somebody else is waiting to purchase something.

----------


## Comissar

I've assumed Leah would know Ibib's typing, let me know if you'd rather I roll for it.

----------


## Hazuki

Nah, it's fine.

----------


## tgva8889

Meanwhile we've already established that Alyssa does not know what type Ibib is.  :Small Wink:

----------


## Hazuki

Is my post not appearing...?

----------


## Comissar

It is, just a busy couple of days have kept me from posting. My sister's had a baby  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

And you've suggested naming it after your favorite GM, right? Right?

----------


## Comissar

:Small Tongue: 

He's only actually been named today, so my nephew is now called Finn! (I think my sister is aware of Adventure Time, but I don't know if it was an influence  :Small Tongue: )

----------


## tgva8889

Given that Alyssa spent some time in Lancer as an art student, how likely is she to know who Vaster is talking about?

Here's a General Ed roll, that seemed like the most applicable skill here? If not I can always roll more or less dice: 
(2d6)[*6*][*1*](7)

----------


## Hazuki

She doesn't recognize the name, but there are plenty of freckles in Lancer Town.

----------


## Hazuki

Uhh. I forgot where the PCs are going. I know you're going through Diwyneb, but is it to Vibrost or Lancer Town?

----------


## Comissar

I think we were aiming at Vibrost? tgva might need to correct me on that.

Also, apologies for the slow post rate recently. Between the new arrival and retail work at christmas, I'm not getting as much rest as I'd like, so free time is more limited than usual. Post rate should pick up again properly once the holidays pass.

----------


## Hazuki

No problem.

----------


## tgva8889

Aim is to head to Vibrost.

Also sorry for my slow posting recently, though I don't have as good a reason.

----------


## Comissar

This is where the Gothorita just keeps it up keeping Leah from doing anything, walks in, takes the stew, and walks out.

----------


## Hazuki

How dare you impugn the honor of Gothorita.

I'd post now, but I'll wait to see Alyssa's reaction.

----------


## Hazuki

I asked a friend of mine to revamp the Londo map to be a little less square and boring, and *here's a link*. I like it a lot more than the old one.

----------


## Comissar

Looks pretty cool! I keep forgetting how far Thundercrag is from Sorland, Leah's travelled a long way already  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Yup! Imagine how much easier it'd be if she had some kind of mount.

----------


## Hazuki

Lore theory: If you show up to, say, a dock in Pokemon with an Electric Pokemon, everyone thinks you're a jerk but don't say anything 'cause the protagonist is a kid.

----------


## tgva8889

I'm not able to see the map, it says I don't have access to it.

----------


## Hazuki

I've changed the link at the top of the OP. Work now?

----------


## tgva8889

It does now, thanks!  :Small Smile:

----------


## Hazuki

Sorry, small edit: I meant to write Maggie runs up to him, but I forgot to actually write her name.

----------


## tgva8889

Now that Maggie has traveled with us a bunch, I'm not sure how Alyssa feels about her. She certainly didn't intend to, like, catch her and add her to the squad or anything, but she's kinda a friend now and it might be kinda weird to just leave her somewhere?

----------


## Hazuki

She's an allegory for teenage pregnancy. Don't Leah and Alyssa know that holding hands leads to this kind of thing?

----------


## Comissar

> She's an allegory for teenage pregnancy. Don't Leah and Alyssa know that holding hands leads to this kind of thing?


And to think, normally you'd have a nine month waiting period before getting your Gothorita  :Small Tongue: 

Leah's uncertainty around the Salandit, btw, is based on how she was getting 'the look' from it back in Thundercrag. She's not quite sure where she stands with it.

----------


## Hazuki

> Leah's uncertainty around the Salandit, btw, is based on how she was getting 'the look' from it back in Thundercrag. She's not quite sure where she stands with it.


Aye, that makes sense. Poor Leah's getting all the stares.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

> Aye, that makes sense. Poor Leah's getting all the stares.


She just has such a striking appearance, people can't help but stare!  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Leah's feelings of guilt here aren't entirely rational. Logically, she knows she's not responsible for Rana's scarring (and, if anything, you could argue she helped mitigate it as much as possible along with Alyssa and (mostly) Bibi?), but she still feels like she ought to be doing something to help, and the guilt is mostly from not being able to.

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, aye, they've been helpful, but Rana in the worst possible mental state right now. She's still physically recovering, she's still got that scarring for the rest of her life, she's just had a fresh reminder of that, she hasn't had her "hit" of lightning that she was getting very frequently before, along with unresolved existing feelings of depression from before the scarring. She's not going to be at all helpful for Leah's mental health, unfortunately.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Yup, I figured (some of) that was why she was reacting badly to Leah's attempts to help, hard to hold it against her too. She _has_ been through a lot in a short space of time.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye. I mean, part of her reacting badly is also 'cause Leah has Pathetic Charm.  :Small Tongue:  I still want the scene to have interesting stuff, so Rana is still revealing things, but it's not in the more...confiding manner that it would be if she's been successfully charmed.

----------


## Comissar

Leah's not great at people! Doesn't stop her from wanting to try! I will admit, I was expecting this to end in a 'push Leah away' kind of chain of events.

----------


## Hazuki

Yeah.  :Small Tongue:  'Tis unfortunate that Alyssa is occupied by the result of her last Charm working well.

----------


## tgva8889

Sorry if my posting is slow, I've been feeling super out of things lately and my parents are in town as well. I'll do what I can but I'm feeling under the weather so hopefully that doesn't last too long.

----------


## Hazuki

It's cool. I don't know if it'll help,but *this is a cute image.*

----------


## tgva8889

It is a cute image!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Comissar

> Sorry if my posting is slow, I've been feeling super out of things lately and my parents are in town as well. I'll do what I can but I'm feeling under the weather so hopefully that doesn't last too long.


Don't sweat it, I'm battling christmas retail exhaustion, so probably will be slowing post rate until next week anyway  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Yeah, that's fine.

Although, for every day that nobody posts, I'm going to post a page of my erotic Pyukumuku X Shuckle fanfic. Y'all have been warned.

----------


## Comissar

> Yeah, that's fine.
> 
> Although, for every day that nobody posts, I'm going to post a page of my erotic Pyukumuku X Shuckle fanfic. Y'all have been warned.


Half tempted to call that bluff, does the OoC count?  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

I never bluff! That stuff is for Rock trainers.

----------


## Comissar

I think Leah would be listening in enough to the Knight and Bibi talking to latch onto that as a thinking exercise rather than contemplating her difficulties with Rana (if not immediately, then at least after listening to them talk for a little bit). So, pokémon education to figure out where a Crustle might prefer to hide itself/what might work as bait to lure the Crustle somewhere predictable?

(4D6+1)[*11*]

----------


## Hazuki

Since the Crustle is hiding itself as a stone in the walls of the waycastle, it's hard to guess where it would be - it could be anywhere. Any food that's high in minerals, or berries related to toughness, would likely help serve as bait. In addition, Crustles tend to seek the most protective "crusts" possible, so it may be tempted into a shell tougher than a castle stone - if it proves to have an overall better benefit than its current food-eating plan.

----------


## Comissar

Merry Christmas!

----------


## Hazuki

And to you!

----------


## tgva8889

Merry Christmas to you all as well! I was busy with family things all day and I have to go back to work tomorrow, but I made it here!

----------


## Comissar

Huh, not seen a bot straight up copy a previous post before.

----------


## Comissar

Does mystery girl look particularly unkempt, btw (i.e. as though she's been living out in the woods for some time)?

----------


## Hazuki

Actually, her clothes are remarkably clean and tidy, and she has a black manicured/pedicured nails. Her hair is also cut quite short.

----------


## tgva8889

I think it's telling that I spent a not insignificant amount of time thinking about what Pokemon this girl might be.

----------


## Hazuki

Clearly a Stunfisk.

----------


## Hazuki

Sorry about all the exposition dumps recently. This is stuff I've been excited about for a while.

----------


## Comissar

So that means this is the part where we peace out back to Thundercrag..?  :Small Tongue: 

More seriously, no worries! Gives plenty to play off of.

----------


## Hazuki

You do that and I'm bringing back Pudin, Misru, and ALL of the naughty Lilligant!  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

I'm half expecting the occultist to _be_ Misru already  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Nah, that'd never happen.

----------


## tgva8889

No worries, I'm just still under the weather. Also I think Alyssa would be totally overwhelmed by meeting a bunch of people since despite her improved skills at interpersonal interaction she's still kinda new at the "having friends" thing.

----------


## Hazuki

That's totally fair. 

Though, I have been thinking. Does Alyssa's interesting-move seeking apply to Elementals? She hasn't expressed much interest in Rana's, although that could just be because Rana has hardly seemed co-operative.

----------


## tgva8889

I never thought about it, but I suppose it probably would. Elementals are well known enough in the world that I think Alyssa would be interested in Elemental moves, too.

I think Alyssa hasn't really focused on Rana because so far Rana has seemed to not like her, so she's not really sure how to approach being friends with her. In general when she wasn't liked Alyssa would just leave people alone, but now she's traveling with Rana so she's trying to figure out how best to be friends.

----------


## Hazuki

Of course, the problem ends up being that Elementals mostly have the same effects as Pokemon do. But, since Alyssa's interest is mostly aesthetic, it kind of works for her goals?

----------


## Comissar

I'm not sure if Misru's actually done much that warrants Leah's high opinion of her, it might be a hang over for her from when she was relatively friendless in a foreign country  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Aye, that's fair. I don't think we established them as especially close, but she did see her fairly often and there's probably some family bias that comes from Leah's friendship with Professor Hawthorne. Plus, they did catch Sable together!

----------


## Comissar

They did! Though even then, Misru was fairly prickly with Leah on what she should be doing  :Small Tongue: 

That said, Misru's not done much in a negative way toward Leah either, beside the odd caustic turn of phrase, anyway.

----------


## Hazuki

Every rose has its thorn. Misru just has a few hundred more than most.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

"Someone's (indirectly) called me cute, involuntary blush and stutter reaction go!"

----------


## Hazuki

I mean, if you're going to blush, that's the time to do it.

----------


## tgva8889

I realized that I never actually established how long Alyssa had been away from home, so I'm establishing it now!

Oh yeah, can I add Rana and Maggie to Alyssa's archive? Or just one?

----------


## Hazuki

You can add both! I've forgotten what Archives do, so I'm feeling generous.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Mostly they make the Chronicler class do things. Right now I think they make Alyssa better at using interpersonal skills on them like Charm and Intuition, which I guess is because she understands them enough to draw a piece of art of them? I think mostly it just allows Alyssa to use Chronicler abilities on them, but I have completely forgotten to use those abilities, so mostly I'm treating them as a flavor thing for Alyssa drawing art of people/Pokemon she knows and likes.

I imagine if it starts mattering I'll remember to add the +2. +2 to evasion against attacks in her technique archives is probably useful!

----------


## Hazuki

Ah, fair enough. Any Charm boost will help with Rana, though I don't know if she needs the boost for Maggie.

----------


## tgva8889

Mostly I'm adding people to Alyssa's archives that she would probably want to draw. I'm not really thinking about the bonuses or anything.  :Small Smile:

----------


## Comissar

Just to confirm, did Ibib pass the invites back to Inoir? I don't recall that happening, and if it's written in the IC I've missed it (have been assuming Leah still has it).

----------


## Hazuki

It did not happen, no. The rangers showed up before Ibib took them, so Leah presumably still has hers.

----------


## tgva8889

When Shiva said "Rend" did she mean Rip, the Delibird, or was she referring to someone else and Alyssa should ask who Rend is?

----------


## Hazuki

'Tis the latter.

----------


## tgva8889

Okay! Will have to ask about it another time, it doesn't seem natural right now.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye aye. That's fine.

----------


## Hazuki

GM note: I made these characters and their Pokemon teams without referring to the Pokdex .pdf at any point. So, uh. There may be some fudging when it comes to what Pokemon are available at what level.

Also, uh. I think you guys deserve a level-up? It's been a long time since there was one. So...take another level when you have the time.

----------


## tgva8889

No worries, that happens enough in the games themselves I don't care. Maybe things are different in Londo.  :Small Smile: 

Are we, Alyssa and Leah, just the ones leveling up? Or Pokemon too? I guess Luna hasn't really done that much lately to deserve leveling, so that doesn't make sense. I don't actually remember how to level up in PTU, so it might take me a bit.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye, I was just thinking it would be the PCs themselves. There hasn't been a lot of Pokemon doing things, but there have been enough skill rolls and character growth and such that I think the PCs have grown.

----------


## tgva8889

I think that's fair! There's been a lot of character development for Alyssa and Leah, I think.

Also man, I have no idea what feature I would even want. I could get into a third class but I don't know what class I would even want to take, and I don't qualify for most of the class features at this point. I think class-wise I was considering Nurse, Cheerleader, Trickster, Juggler, Provocateur, or Cook, but none of those make sense for where Alyssa is now in terms of character. I was thinking given Alyssa's current aims to try and help Rana and Leah I think maybe Let Me Help With That makes sense? That feat kinda represenst something Alyssa sometimes does anyways, which is try to step in and help Leah when she's having trouble talking to people.

Any thoughts on where would make sense for Alyssa to head towards based on what you've seen?

----------


## Hazuki

Hmm. Let Me Help You With It, though not as exciting as a new class, does seem to suit Alyssa best of those options.

----------


## Comissar

Man, it has been quite a while since I last levelled Leah up. Gonna have to remind myself how to do that  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Doesn't help that PTU is fairly complicated. The systems in themselves aren't, but all of them put together are.

----------


## Comissar

Ok, going to take the Pokémaniac feature for Leah. Kinda fits with her being the professor's assistant, and doing her best to learn more about pokémon on her journey, too.

Edit - Durp, already took it  :Small Tongue: 

I will instead take Herb Lore

----------


## Comissar

Happy New Year!

----------


## Hazuki

And to you.

----------


## tgva8889

Happy New Year! It's not yet here, but it's coming.

This level is fortunately not as hard as some of them. I did find that I want edges way more than I want features at this point.

Any opinions on where makes sense to take Alyssa based on how she acts? I feel like Juggler and Provocateur, while cool, maybe don't fit her personality right now. Cook is a thing she could do but probably not unless something happens to make her really appreciate food.

----------


## Hazuki

I think something you might want to take into account is stuff that'd apply to what she does. Pokemon Support abilities won't necessarily do much for her, considering she doesn't battle. Perhaps the class that helps with Pokemon, their learning moves and such? Mentor, IIRC. That fits with her whole Pokemon Move focus, kinda?

----------


## tgva8889

The thing with Mentor class is that it's really redundant, because the Chronicler ability lets you teach moves in your Archives like a tutor. I think it also has a big Pokemon knowledge component and I'm kind of amused by Alyssa not knowing that much about Pokemon.

----------


## Hazuki

Hmm, good point. Perhaps Alyssa could try to learn from one of the people in camp, and then spend her Feature on that? Palla, Bibi, Yusari, could all teach her combat things. Shiva could teach her Oracle things (Could fit into the mysticism of her first encounter with Cresselia). She could even try to learn from Misru, if she hates herself.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Have to admit, don't know if there actually is anything Leah can do to help, but she knows a decent amount about a wide variety of subjects, maybe she can help a bit!

----------


## tgva8889

I'm thinking that I like taking Let Me Help With That right now, and maybe looking into what of the other stuff makes sense for later. Oracle and Channeler were the two mystical classes that made sense given both Alyssa's interests and abilities, but I'm not really sure how one develops Mystic Sense in terms of the world.

----------


## Hazuki

I think you get it by doing lots of yoga.

----------


## tgva8889

I guess Alyssa better start doing lots of yoga then?

----------


## Hazuki

The Downward Diglett is my favorite yoga pose.

----------


## tgva8889

The Murkrow pose is a real test of strength.

----------


## Comissar

I feel like over my christmas days off I've mostly been doing the Resting Snorlax pose  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Now that I look at it, Hobbyist might be a really good fit for Alyssa? Looking at Mentor again it actually looks possibly useful (although somewhat redundant) but I'm not sure thematically it fits Alyssa right now either, so I'd probably look at that later.

----------


## Hazuki

I feel like both of the PCs might qualify for Hiker at this point. They ought to have thighs like Chun Li's.

----------


## tgva8889

If you're thinking of the Backpacker, I think that requires Survival which, if I remember correctly, both Alyssa and Leah are Pathetic at, so we're sadly both far away from that one. I have considered maybe improving Alyssa's Athletics next time I can due to all the hiking she's been doing, though!

----------


## Hazuki

Ah, yeah, I was probably thinking of the Trainer Class from the games.

----------


## tgva8889

That's fair, the Hiker is a classic trainer class from, like, the original games.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye. I generally find myself liking the Veteran/Ace Trainer classes from the various games. There's no game where they're not stylish.

----------


## tgva8889

Ace Trainers and Veterans are awesome! I think they look consistently good in all the games. Generally I like the Lady and Tourist classes? I also like these ones.

----------


## Hazuki

Lady and Tourist are super cute, I agree. The Furisode Girls are good, too, though they feel more like fully-fledged characters to me, 'cause they're only really found in a couple of places.

Oh, and Pokemon Breeders! Although, I find it funny that Alola has stereotypical ranchers for its Breeders, while Unova's look like park rangers. Unova is basically the USA, yet it's Hawaii that gets the cowboys.

----------


## tgva8889

Hawaii actually has a lot of cow ranchers from what I remember, there's surprisingly a lot of cows out there for whatever reason.

I agree on Pokemon Breeders, I really like the design for the other ones but I am not a fan of the Gen VII design. Now that I'm looking at it, the Breeders from Sun/Moon are literally the Ranchers and Cowgirls from Gen VI.

----------


## Comissar

Saura drawing makes me think of this;

http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com...okemontrainer/

Her version is probably closer to how a ditto does the eyes and mouth.

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## Hazuki

> Hawaii actually has a lot of cow ranchers from what I remember, there's surprisingly a lot of cows out there for whatever reason.
> 
> I agree on Pokemon Breeders, I really like the design for the other ones but I am not a fan of the Gen VII design. Now that I'm looking at it, the Breeders from Sun/Moon are literally the Ranchers and Cowgirls from Gen VI.


I didn't know that!

And, huh, you're right. That's an odd choice.




> Saura drawing makes me think of this;
> 
> http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com...okemontrainer/
> 
> Her version is probably closer to how a ditto does the eyes and mouth.


I don't get it. D:

----------


## Comissar

> I don't get it. D:


Context comic - http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com...shvotersmario/

There's a few of them for different people in smash  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

I meant, I don't get the joke with Ivysaur.  :Small Tongue:  Is it their veins lacking manual dexterity?

I've never gotten into Smash, though I have been looking at the competitive side of it recently. DBFZ is being barred from a bunch of the major tournaments, so it's probably gonna die soon.

----------


## Comissar

> I meant, I don't get the joke with Ivysaur.  Is it their veins lacking manual dexterity?


I think the joke is partly 'The other two are ruined, Ivysaur's is useless too', partly 'pokémon have kinda animal+ intelligence, can they actually write?' and partly 'noodle vines probably don't write too well'.

Naturally, explaining the joke makes it all the funnier  :Small Tongue:  




> I've never gotten into Smash, though I have been looking at the competitive side of it recently. DBFZ is being barred from a bunch of the major tournaments, so it's probably gonna die soon.


I've only ever played fighters casually, especially smash. I did give DBFZ a try, and enjoyed it for a bit, but only ever played against the computer. Curious as to why it's being banned, though?

Also! Can Leah make a new (presumably occult) knowledge on what the runes mean? Or would that be tied into her previous roll?

----------


## Hazuki

Nobody knows exactly why, but people suspect that a company in charge of the IP is charging tournaments for a license to show it, which no other company does.

I've only played Injustice 2, myself, and I'm not actually into playing them, just watching. When i got into that, I wanted to see what a tournament was like (Seeing as I still get reminders about them on my PS4 to this day, even though I've got all notifications turned off). There, I found out about SonicFox, who I thought was neat. Then I heard that he'd gone to DBFZ, and Dragon Ball is neat, so I watched that. And I know that he's training for Smash Brothers now - I don't know whether that means he'll drop DBFZ, but I expect he'll eventually have no choice, 'cause if a fighting game isn't seen at the biggest events then it's gonna die pretty quickly.

----------


## tgva8889

I've always played Smash Bros, even since the first one, and I play the new ones whenever they come out. I was super hype for Smash Bros Ultimate. But I don't play any other fighting games, really, though I have tried a few of them and sometimes watched them for some time. Mostly I love Smash Bros because I'm a Nintendo fanboy, a huge Pokemon fanboy, and mostly nostalgia at this point since the first one was my favorite game on the N64.

The DragonBallZ one actually looked really impressive from an art-style perspective. I'm not the biggest DBZ fan but my best friend from school was so I know a bunch about it and recognize the characters and stuff.

Watching fighting games can be really impressive. I watched a guy do videos of Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and that game was certainly a spectacle when you were watching people who knew what they were doing.

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, yeah. I don't know if I'd have been interested in DBFZ if it didn't look so damn good. Without a doubt the best-looking fighting game I've seen.

And aye, they can. I don't know how people find the time to watch most of the tournaments (As in, most of the length of them). I normally just watch the finals, and even in condensed versions (without time spent for the commentators to have a break/players switching) those normally take three hours or so.

----------


## tgva8889

The tournaments do take a really long time, even though the actual fighting matches don't usually take that long! I'm always amazed how much time things take like that.

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## Comissar

Pokémon Education - (4D6+1)[*9*]

Didn't roll it in the IC, because I figured it'd be high enough for Leah to know about Mimikyu disguises and work out what was going on  :Small Tongue: 

Edit - Though maybe I was mistaken? Will edit my IC post if you feel like 9 isn't enough.

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## Hazuki

> The tournaments do take a really long time, even though the actual fighting matches don't usually take that long! I'm always amazed how much time things take like that.


I know that last year's EVO had DBFZ's pools take, like, two days. I think it had something like 500+ applicants.




> Pokémon Education - [roll0]
> 
> Didn't roll it in the IC, because I figured it'd be high enough for Leah to know about Mimikyu disguises and work out what was going on 
> 
> Edit - Though maybe I was mistaken? Will edit my IC post if you feel like 9 isn't enough.


That's high enough, especially since Leah did see Amiga do her disguise earlier.

----------


## Comissar

Amiga's going over to Rana? Or Faye?  :Small Tongue:

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## Hazuki

It always said Faye I have no idea what you mean.

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## Comissar

Will be interesting to see if there's any old recordings on there, too.

----------


## Comissar

So, I think Leah got the impression from Faye that Inoir only robs bandits. She's getting a bit of an attack of conscience now, seeing who the holocaster belonged to before is hammering home that it _is_ stolen property.

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## tgva8889

I've been trying to measure Alyssa's response to Suvia explaining they kinda just take stuff. She's kinda afraid now but trying not to show it.

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## Hazuki

Y'all are so judgmental. Girls just wanna have fun.

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## Comissar

Yeah, no, Leah had an 'I guess it's ok if it's bandits..?' approach to Inoir's lifestyle. She's not cool with just robbing anyone  :Small Tongue:

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## Hazuki

Hey, it's not just anyone! Pretty girls are exempt.

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## Comissar

> Hey, it's not just anyone! Pretty girls are exempt.


I think that just ups the 'this isn't cool' factor  :Small Tongue:

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## Hazuki

I can't believe my players have basic respect for personal property. You do-gooders.

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## Comissar

I know, right? Normally you have to force players to _not_ take everything that's nailed down!

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## Hazuki

This is true.

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## Comissar

... Well, I feel I should apologise for cutting short the area you were looking forward to for ages. Wasn't quite expecting such a reaction from Inoir, there.

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## Hazuki

It _was_ foreshadowed in Suvia's conversation with Alyssa.  :Small Tongue: 

I don't mind, actually. Drama happening is good.

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## tgva8889

I don't know about Comissar, but I was purposely not reading any of the parts of the posts that only Leah would hear so they wouldn't influence what I had Alyssa do. I'm not as good at keeping player and character knowledge separate, so I try to do some of it this way.

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## Hazuki

That's interesting! I actually resent it when it feels like somebody is doubting my ability to keep player/character knowledge separate, personally.

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## tgva8889

I do try, but sometimes I think it works better for me to read a lot of that stuff after I've decided what my character would do without me personally having that knowledge. Sometimes I metagame without thinking about it (generally with rules interactions and stuff) so I try to help myself avoid it. It's just what I've found works for me. 

Nothing on your writing, by the way! I really like all these characters in this camp and I actually have been dying to know how Leah and Faye's interaction went but I haven't read it because it helps put me in Alyssa's mind space, since she's feeling really uncomfortable about not knowing what's happening between them. I'll probably go back and read more of it (I did read some of it as I was scrolling through since it helps me figure out where on the page I am to read stuff if I'm looking for an old post) when the scene is over.

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## Comissar

I... Don't have the restraint to _not_ read what other people are up to most of the time  :Small Tongue: 

I do feel like I'm good at separating IC/OoC knowledge, though.

Unrelated, I think it's interesting to see how differently Rana/Alyssa/Leah are reacting to how Inoir operates. It's understandable that Rana sees a potential kindred spirit in Inoir since she's a free Elemental (i.e. not being pushed to join the knights), and having Inoir telling her her scars are cute/cool probably helps put a positive spin on it. For Leah, stealing is probably one of the bigger crimes she's been exposed to. Having only come to Londo recently, she doesn't have much experience with actual deliberate violence (Macha aside), so to her someone robbing someone else just for personal gain is pretty horrifying and scary. I guess Alyssa might be comparing that to the actual, real violence that was around in Londo prior to the corporations arriving and thinking 'at least it's only robbery'? Or maybe I'm reading too much into what Alyssa's thinking  :Small Tongue:

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## Hazuki

About right on Rana's motivations, aye, and Leah's reasons for acting how she is are legit. Too bad she'll have to suffer the consequences, such as having to set up their own camp and making their own dinner.

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## Comissar

Leah's tendency to shut down in stressful situations means it's up to Alyssa if she has anything she wants to say to the rangers. No pressure!  :Small Tongue:

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## tgva8889

I think Alyssa sees a bit of both sides. She knows what it's like to feel alone and not have friends and after talking with Shiva and Suvia she does see the group as tight-knit and good to each other. On the other hand she doesn't really like the idea of them stealing things from people just to steal things or fighting people to do violence, so she certainly wouldn't join them herself. But overall she wants Rana to be safe and she knows that they'll take care of her. So she doesn't really like what they're doing, but she knows that at heart they are good people (unlike some) and she knows she doesn't really have any ability to stop what they're doing herself.

There's also some self-preservation instinct for Alyssa, in that she learned it's better to be nice to people who are threatening so they'll be more likely to be nice to you.

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## Hazuki

Lore question: Why don't trainers switch out Pokemon in the round following a Hyper Beam? It doesn't exhaust the Trainer, so it should be legit for switching out or using an item.

----------


## Comissar

> Lore question: Why don't trainers switch out Pokemon in the round following a Hyper Beam? It doesn't exhaust the Trainer, so it should be legit for switching out or using an item.


Maybe it's the same reason why nobody interferes during a transformation sequence?

----------


## Hazuki

...the part where you see their nude silhouette?

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## Comissar

I mean... With a few rare exceptions... Aren't pokémon always nude..?

----------


## Hazuki

Yeah, that's why I thought the comparison was weird.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

I guess the hyper beam could create a silhouette? It's normally depicted as a blast of light, right?

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## tgva8889

Sorry for missing a day, I am currently in the hospital. Doing okay right now but might be posting a bit less for a bit.

----------


## Hazuki

Dang dude! Hope you're okay.

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## Comissar

Oh man, hope you're ok! Take the time you need!

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## tgva8889

Thank you for the well-wishes. I have returned to some normalcy this week, so I think I'm mostly back to normal, but I'm trying to take things light for now.

----------


## Hazuki

Glad to hear it. :3

----------


## Hazuki

What weapons _would_ the girls choose, if they had to?

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## Comissar

If she had to..? I think Leah probably would choose something like a bow. I think it helps make fighting feel less real when you're not right on top of whatever/whoever you're fighting  :Small Tongue:

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## tgva8889

I imagine Alyssa actually may have some very basic training with weapons since her brother was a Knight (or something), which means she might know how to swing a sword properly but just be very, very bad at it.

I can imagine her probably using a spear or something. They're pretty easy to use, and I think she would probably feel comfortable with some of the motion of it.

Also is Maggie with the girls right now?

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## Hazuki

I don't know if he'd have taught her swording, because that's asking to be challenged to carry one. But a spear would work, or a dagger.

Maggie is with the group, I just forgot to include her in the descriptions.

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## tgva8889

Actually Alyssa knowing how to use a knife very badly makes sense. Kellam would have taught her some weapon, and I guess since he would have done it when she was very young a knife makes the most sense since it'd be small enough she could still use it and carry it if she needed it, which is why he would have taught it to her in the first place.

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## Comissar

Apologies for the low post rate/lower quality posts over the past couple of days, been feeling a bit out of it recently. Should pick up again soon, though.

----------


## Hazuki

That's okay. Hope you feel better soon!

----------


## Comissar

> That's okay. Hope you feel better soon!


Appreciated, am back on the upswing now  :Small Smile: 

Have edited my last IC post to give a bit more to work with.

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## tgva8889

I realize there's no scale on the map of Londo we have, but it looks like Thundercrag and Diwyneb are really far way from each other. I guess with Bibi's help and following the roads the girls made really good time.

On the other hand, I guess you can travel across a region in a Pokemon game in, like, a few minutes even if you walk and don't run, so scale in Pokemon is kinda weird.

----------


## Hazuki

Yah, I have no idea how distance works, so I kinda just wing it.

----------


## Comissar

To be fair, travel in the Pokémon anime is similarly wonky from what I remember. Sometimes they seem to take forever to cross the distance between towns, other times it only takes an episode or two.

----------


## tgva8889

I mean, time in the Pokemon Anime also doesn't make any sense. Despite them literally in an episode celebrating the one year anniversary of when Ash met Pikachu, Ash has still never aged or had a birthday.

Edit: My bad, it was actually in one of the anime shorts.

----------


## Hazuki

Not that it matters what happens in the anime, because the only canon is the one that I write. I have that power here.

Charizard is the weakest Pokemon.

Lillie X Moon is real.

Mr Mime is a sex symbol.

----------


## tgva8889

I mean, Charizard does suck.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

I could beat up two Charizards at the same time.

----------


## Comissar

> Not that it matters what happens in the anime, because the only canon is the one that I write. I have that power here.
> 
> Charizard is the weakest Pokemon.
> 
> Lillie X Moon is real.
> 
> Mr Mime is a sex symbol.


Are... Are you implying none of that is normally true..?

----------


## tgva8889

I can't Beat Up any Charizards, I forgot that move for Rest.

----------


## Hazuki

Unfortunately, there's no Rest for the wicked.

----------


## Hazuki

I wish y'all would type an exit to the scene, when you want to leave it. It's kinda frustrating not knowing when to move you along.

----------


## Comissar

Apologies, will try to remember to do so moving forward.

----------


## tgva8889

Sorry, I've been more busy this week since my roommate is away. I will make sure to be more clear in the future.

----------


## Hazuki

Thank ye kindly.

----------


## Hazuki

I should warn you that staying in Diwyneb through Alyssa's therapy is going to mean you're going to stay in Diwyneb for a loooong time. At least a month, IC, for the kind of trauma/fear she has. I can GM that, but I feel like it might get boring pretty quickly...?

----------


## tgva8889

I don't know that we have to RP all of it, but if some interesting stuff happens in the meantime then we can RP that? I suppose we'll have to tell Bibi we're staying, too.

I feel like Alyssa would want to do this before she goes back to Vibrost since that's where she thinks her brother is and he's the catalyst for her fears so she'd be a wreck in front of him which she's afraid of in itself. Also I don't expect her to just, like, get over it in a month even, but maybe be better able to deal with it.

At some point we should probably actually get Salandit out of the ball and give it some kind of nickname, so that can be one thing we do at least.

----------


## Comissar

Ah, hadn't realised it'd be _quite_ that long. Maybe on-the-road therapist would be the better option, then.

Edit - Though tgva offers a reasonable alternative I think? Given this bit is mostly about Alyssa, I'm happy to follow along here. Leah can maybe take the time to actually put her botany stuff to use while Alyssa receives therapy.

----------


## tgva8889

I am also fine with the alternative of having Alyssa travel while she gets some help along the way and having this be a thing that takes a really long time for her to get over because she's not doing it the optimal way.

If there's enough to do in Diwyneb for Leah and it won't destroy our funds to hang out here for a month while Alyssa recovers it seems reasonable to do it now.

----------


## Hazuki

The ultimate thrill ride: Medical bureaucracy.

----------


## tgva8889

I will try not to make everyone spend a million years going through it.  :Small Wink:

----------


## Hazuki

I don't know what to do for therapy scenes. Normally in storytelling or RPs, those kinds of things are overcome through the events of the story. Though it's healthy to see a medical professional, it's going to make for some dull and dreary roleplaying or else be skipped, thus making Alyssa's character development in overcoming her fear a waste, because none of it happened on screen in a way that builds a connection.

----------


## Comissar

Maybe a quick 'talk me through it', followed by a practical 'lets go out to the local dark pokémon emporium'?

----------


## Hazuki

There is no Pokemon emporium.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Well obviously there's not a _bulk_ pokémon emporium, but that's why you have the type specific ones!  :Small Tongue: 

Was just thinking that, while it's maybe not entirely true to life, going to an aversion therapy-esque setting out in the wilds might work to help keep things interesting from a roleplaying perspective?

----------


## Hazuki

I guess? But Alyssa seems to want to do it privately.

----------


## Comissar

Doesn't need to be with lots of other people around, maybe just a two person into the wilderness type thing? Also doesn't need to be immediate, could be worked up to after some talk first. Also also, these _are_ just my thoughts on it, ultimately it's up to you and tgva on what you guys think would be appropriate!  :Small Smile:

----------


## tgva8889

I am also fine with the option of "Alyssa spends a lot of time talking to someone about it off-screen, but still has to overcome it through actual character development in person" so we can do off-screen sections of Alyssa talking about her feelings and then actually roleplay her overcoming her fears by interacting with Dark-type Pokemon that are around. I imagine some stuff like "I talked to Torchwood about trying this so I'm gonna do that, Leah can you send out Sable?"

I think Alyssa wants to start talking about it privately but given that the reason she wants to overcome it is so she can be better to people around her she will need to overcome her fears with other people around, like Leah, which will ultimately lead to some roleplaying opportunities.

Also I didn't mean to make things more difficult! I'm glad to help make things more interesting, and I think as much counseling as possible won't be enough on its own so there will definitely be roleplaying opportunities over the course of this month in-game that we'll be moving through.

----------


## Comissar

To clarify, Leah thought Nika's clothing would've come from lots of encounters with non-natives, which to her mind means travelling.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye, that makes sense.

----------


## tgva8889

Let's see how much Alyssa knows about eggs!

Pokemon EDU: (2d6)[*6*]

----------


## tgva8889

I just wanted to let you know that I caught your book author reference.  :Small Wink:

----------


## Hazuki

Finally someone recognizes my cleverness!

----------


## Comissar

Apologies for the lack of post today, feeling very under the weather and struggling to work one out. Will try and get something up tomorrow morning.

----------


## Hazuki

That's okay. Take your time.

----------


## tgva8889

I've been there too, no worries.

----------


## Hazuki

So...thoughts on Gen 8/its starter Pokemon?

----------


## tgva8889

I don't think I like the designs that much as a gut feeling and I thought the names were really awful, but I'll give them a chance to grow on me. The world design looks really awesome, so I'm excited for Gen 8 all the same.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Comissar

Sobble looks like the best of the three to me. Also, feels weird to have a psuedo-familiar looking region! The architecture looks a lot like buildings I'm pretty familiar with!

----------


## Hazuki

I agree with none of the starters jumping out as the best, though I might go with Sobble just because everyone else seems to be doing that. But then, I chose the water starter for Gen 7 and 6, and that meant missing out on adding one of the other new cool Water Pokemon to my team. Might just wait on the evolutions before deciding.

That's 'cause it looks UK-y, right, Comissar? I liked the uniform that one girl had, though neither of the protagonist designs jump out to me like others have. I mean, the dudes have been kinda generic for the last few gens anyway, but Moon was 10/10.

----------


## Comissar

Yup, the building designs remind me heavily of some of the older buildings you'll see in the countryside. And the countryside itself, along with the chalk pokémon(?) on the side of the hill is reminiscent of rural britain.

----------


## Hazuki

But I didn't see a single monocle OR top hat.

----------


## Hazuki

It's time for the *fourth IC thread*!

----------


## Comissar

Man, 4th IC. Time flies!

Also, the monocles and top hats are reserved for when you visit the Etonian part of the region.

----------


## tgva8889

Happy 4th IC thread! We're still having fun and that's awesome.

I love the subtle British aesthetic, though. It's very different from past Pokemon games and distinct enough that when I saw the hills I was like "Oh, this is based on Great Britain."

----------


## Hazuki

At first, I thought it was Spain - some of the buildings reminded me of Karnaca from Dishonored 2, actually. But, yeah, that gave way in the face of the industrial and countryside stuff.

Have y'all seen the map of the place? It's very tall and narrow. I'm wondering what the layout will be like, when ti comes to the player's journey, 'cause a straight line could be boring.

----------


## Comissar

> At first, I thought it was Spain - some of the buildings reminded me of Karnaca from Dishonored 2, actually. But, yeah, that gave way in the face of the industrial and countryside stuff.
> 
> Have y'all seen the map of the place? It's very tall and narrow. I'm wondering what the layout will be like, when ti comes to the player's journey, 'cause a straight line could be boring.


Well, the topography of the UK is pretty varied, so even if they make it a north/south, they can add in a lot of terrain variability to keep it interesting.

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah, I'm not sure what the plan is for the map traversal. It'd be kind of neat if there was some more good backtracking in this game so it didn't feel like it was just "always go one direction to get where you need to go"

----------


## Hazuki

Aye. Although some of what's good about backtracking (Noticing new things/paths) is very difficult to do, because of Fly and past experience. Sure, some people might check out old routes for new sidepaths, but there's only ever been (often) underwhelming items down those. And most will just Fly right back to the destination anyway.

----------


## tgva8889

I remember in Gold/Silver there was a lot of backtracking you could do through Union Cave that was completely optional, as well as a lot of pretty useful items you could obtain through backtracking most easily (mainly attack-boosting items which were nice). I guess I'm hoping for more areas like that, where there's some time and effort to go through exploring some area that offers a lot of potentially interesting stuff like new Pokemon or treasures of some note. Like, I liked in Black/White how there was some backtracking and a specific cave for Cobalion, or how in Diamond/Pearl there was an entire cave that was optional that was the only place you could find Gible.

----------


## Comissar

In Leah's head right now - "I don't know! I'm just guessing now! I thought you just wanted me to tell you _what_ it was, not _why_ you have it!"  :Small Tongue: 

And yeah, I kinda wish there was more replayability to Pokémon games without having to restart entirely. I like going back through with new teams after beating the game, but I'm pretty much limited to facing off against wild Pokémon at that point. Would be nice if you could re-battle the majority of trainers + gym leaders.

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, I agree that backtracking is cool! I just don't think that the methods of travel available for it allow you to naturally weave it into the game. Perhaps sidequests are something they could do, to encourage people to explore?

Poor, naive Leah. Doesn't she know NPCs can't solve their own problems?

----------


## tgva8889

On the other hand, I did like what Gen 7 did with the Pokemon League, showing you where it would be throughout the game and then, when you finished the last challenge, being like, "Hey, it's open now, come test your strength!" I thought that was neat. There's still some ability to do some of that stuff I think.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye, that was good. I was disappointed to find out that they were going back to gyms. I mean, gyms are cool and all, but I liked Trials more. The boss fights felt more boss-y than just another trainer battle.

----------


## tgva8889

Trials were, in general, more difficult than anything in the previous games. It turns out 2v1 battles are hard. On the other hand, Z-moves did allow you to cheese the vast majority of them in a single round, which did kind of ruin the challenge.

----------


## Hazuki

...was that a thing? I don't remember ever doing it. I do know that people could use Inkay and...I think it's called Topsy Turvy, a move that reverses stat boosts, effectively meaning the Totem Pokemon got hit with -4 combat stages.

----------


## Comissar

So... Nika's shown herself to be willing to wear stuff that's the wrong size for the sake of it being foreign, but is she about Leah's build? I've been assuming so, but I don't think I ever stopped to double check.

----------


## Hazuki

Yep, they're about the same height and build. Nika is probably a little heavier due to being more athletic, and a little curvier, but close enough.

----------


## Hazuki

Nika's mom always told her to carry spare underwear wherever she goes. And outerwear. And accessories. 

And Hazuki didn't want to line up a third inn-visiting scene.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

> Nika's mom always told her to carry spare underwear wherever she goes. And outerwear. And accessories. 
> 
> And Hazuki didn't want to line up a third inn-visiting scene.


Heh, that's fair  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

> ...was that a thing? I don't remember ever doing it. I do know that people could use Inkay and...I think it's called Topsy Turvy, a move that reverses stat boosts, effectively meaning the Totem Pokemon got hit with -4 combat stages.


When I was doing my run-through of Moon after playing Sun, I discovered that there's several challenges that you can cheese pretty easily with Z-moves. Like, use a Z-Water attack on the Marowak to one-shot it, use a Z-Fire move on the Lurantis, Z-Rock on the Vikavolt, and I think you can use basically any Fairy-type move on Kommo-O. But yeah, Topsy Turvy is also hilarious.

You don't really _need_ to do all of this, of course, and some of the challenges are super hard (the Water-type trial is pretty rough no matter what you do) and I don't mind that with some preparation you can get through some of the challenges without as much trouble. It made me feel a bit smart to figure some of that stuff out, which is a good thing to have in a game.

Also, we'll try not to make you keep having stuff happen at the inn.  :Small Smile: 

I just realized, is there a general term for "people from Londo"? Like, Londonian?

----------


## Hazuki

I think part of the difficulty comes from it being first time, too. Like, Z-Rock might destroy the Vikavolt, but does the player know they're going to face a Vikavolt and have their Pokemon equipped with the right crystal leading their party when they go in?

I mean, I'm the one who's writing characters keeping stuff in their rooms. It's hardly your fault.

And...uhhh...sure, Londonian.

----------


## tgva8889

I still haven't decided whether Alyssa feels like she should just ask Maggie to join her permanently or not. She's basically been taking care of her so at this point maybe she should?

----------


## Hazuki

I have no strong feelings one way or the other.

----------


## tgva8889

I feel like doing so might also help you since you wouldn't have to keep having Maggie do things in the scene. I also kind of like Maggie personally, but I dunno how Alyssa actually feels about her.

----------


## Hazuki

I don't mind doing it. And, I mean, it's good to have a Pokemon hand during these scenes in civilization.

----------


## tgva8889

Well in that case I'm glad my random decision to befriend this Gothorita worked out!  :Small Smile:

----------


## Comissar

Re-rolling the charm thanks to tgva!

(1D6+3)[*5*]

Edit - Heh, still a poor actual roll, though the modifier makes a big difference.

----------


## Hazuki

Just to be clear, there is very easily-accessible solution here. I know that Leah has a way to figure it out, not sure about Alyssa.

----------


## Comissar

So, few options I can think of. 1 - Waye is wrong and her Smeargle is female, 2 - Smeargle's painted something to look like an egg (Leah's not actually been passed it to hold, just shown it. Might be the Minoir's shell? It's not in it's shell mode right now, right?), 3 - There's a spooky ghost leaving eggs for random trainers and Waye's been ghost-pranked.

Of the three, I think 3 is most likely 2 is most likely right now? If it's none of those, then I'm stumped at the moment/am being dumb  :Small Tongue: 

Assuming the Minoir's not in its shell, poké-knowledge for Leah to know they normally have shells?

(4D6+1)[*14*]

----------


## Hazuki

Leah knows that Minior normally exist inside a shell and that, without their shell, they will quickly die unless taken into a Pokeball or given the resources to make a new one.

Oh, and that this one is not in its shell. It's the core form.

----------


## Comissar

Follow up questions, is the egg approximately Minoir size? And does the Minoir look like it's searching for something? Given you said it's kinda bouncing all around the room, that implies some kind of restlessness. If Waye took the egg and it did turn out to be the shell, then that could explain it (literally) bouncing off the walls.

----------


## Hazuki

Size is similar, but the shape is different - the egg doesn't seem to have the five spikes protruding from it, and is egg-shaped.

The Minior looks like it's having fun doin' a little bounce around.

----------


## Comissar

Ok, sounds like I'm just not seeing the solution then if the shapes are wrong to match up. Will take another pass over it tomorrow when I'm not half-asleep to try and work it out  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

My personal guess is that a Ditto is involved, but Alyssa would have no way of knowing that.

----------


## Comissar

So, it's seeming more and more likely that tgva was right here and Ditto is involved  :Small Tongue: 

Would Leah have information on pokémon she hasn't personally encountered on her pokédex? Specifically, would she know that Ditto can be found in Alola?

----------


## Hazuki

I don't think she would, but she could know about Ditto being found in Alola with a kinda hard Pokemon Education check.

----------


## Comissar

Pokémon education ahoy, then - (4D6+1)[*16*]

----------


## Hazuki

Yep, Leah knows that they can rarely be found on Mount Hokulani. As can Minior.

----------


## tgva8889

Completely unrelated, but reading through Alyssa's backstory and seeing where she's gotten to now, I actually feel kind of proud of her. She hasn't completed her loftiest goals yet, but she has officially sold a painting to a woman of some standing and has a datemate, so for all intents and purposes she's both become a professional artist and made a good friend, and she's definitely come a really long way as an artist since then. At the very least I think now I imagine her art is actually pretty good and no one would say she's "lacking in talent," which is what I originally wrote.

I also feel like a better writer/roleplayer than I was when I wrote all that, so I feel some sense of personal accomplishment, too. Sometimes it's nice looking back.  :Small Smile:

----------


## Comissar

Leah's charm rolls started off unusually high for a 1D6, now they're unusually low. I'd settle for 3's/4's consistently  :Small Tongue: 

Unrelatedly, I get what you're saying tgva. It's interesting looking back for Leah, because I feel like I've settled into who she is as a character way more now. I also feel like her confidence has grown somewhat as time's gone on, though a part of that is using other people as an anchor for herself.

----------


## Hazuki

Character development is good. So say I.

----------


## tgva8889

Well, there's more consistency the more dice you roll, I think. Though having Alyssa to help does give you a decent average!

----------


## Hazuki

I mean...Leah's not going to get a good result no matter what.  :Small Tongue:  She can't even help Alyssa with her Charm, 'cause you need to be at least Novice to give a bonus to an ally.

----------


## tgva8889

That's fine, Alyssa will just have to get better at Charm so Leah doesn't have to.  :Small Wink:

----------


## Comissar

Utterly unrelated to anything, but I've been doing daily photos this year (week thirteen already!), and I really like the one I did today and want to share it;

*Spoiler: Photo*
Show

----------


## Hazuki

Looks pretty cool. What is that place?

----------


## Comissar

It's a bridge over the Thames near where I live. The building is a hotel/restaurant. I used a slow shutter speed and just zoomed out while the photo was being taken to get the effect. I did a bunch of other ones on the same evening (some were panning shots, had one other that was a zoom, just focused on the bridge), but this one is my favourite.

----------


## tgva8889

Really cool! I like the effect.

----------


## Hazuki

Ibib sits on Bibi's head, not float around.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Ibib can float, though, right?  :Small Confused:

----------


## Hazuki

Probably can, but I don't believe it has ever left Bibi's head.

----------


## tgva8889

We'll just go with "Alyssa has a creatively incorrect memory" then.  :Small Red Face:

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## Hazuki

Just so y'all know, I'm definitely not self-indulgent.

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## Comissar

Heh, Nika's smooth moves getting her a date  :Small Tongue: 

Gotta be honest, I'd assumed Nika and Sass were an item though!

----------


## Hazuki

You assume Nika knows what she's doing.  :Small Tongue: 

And really? Interesting! How come?

----------


## Comissar

Honestly? Not 100% sure looking back  :Small Tongue: 

I think it was something to do with the tone Nika had talking about Sass, consistently very complimentary and talked about dinner plans, which I think I read at the time as being 'lets go out somewhere for dinner', but again, looking back that seems to have just been my reading of it!

----------


## Hazuki

Ah. Well, Sass having a love interest is something I've thought about, but it wasn't that long ago that she was in Bastille Town talking about how romance is for suckers.

----------


## Comissar

Huh, I'd forgotten that was a thing she did. I guess that means she'll think Leah's a sucker once she meets Alyssa again  :Small Tongue:

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## Hazuki

Maybe. But she might not say it to her face.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Eh, better to be a sucker IMO.

----------


## Comissar

Incidentally, despite being british, the only tea I'm a fan of is the iced variety. Don't actually enjoy hot tea/coffee/most hot drinks.

----------


## Hazuki

_Hot drinks, really get you going~
Warms you up, when you feel you're slowing~_

Are you suuuuure you want to try to fill out a scene of general chitchat with Nika? She's been with you since the library (Four scenes!) and I don't know if you'll be able to get a lot going without further stimulus.

----------


## Comissar

I'm cool skipping ahead until Bibi's done

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## tgva8889

I am also down for skipping ahead.

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## Comissar

So I was thinking about stuff for Leah to do around town while Alyssa's busy, was thinking she could try helping Sass prep. for her upcoming battle? Don't know how much she might actually be able to help with, especially since Sass is already a more experienced battler than she is, but she'd want to help if she could.

----------


## Hazuki

That could work! What kind of help might she give?

----------


## Comissar

I'm thinking that, at least to start, Leah's help will probably be more analytical in nature than anything else. Picking apart Lady Diwyneb's battling style and the decisions she makes under pressure, that kind of thing. Maybe look for tells that could give Sass an opportunity. Possibly looking at the way her pokémon behave too, see if any of them have gotten frustrated enough in the past by a particular strategy to stop reacting quickly to instructions given? (Leaning on the pokémon psychology she might've picked up from the Professor)

----------


## Hazuki

Huh. Is she planning to get, like, recordings of Lady Diwnyeb's battles or something?

----------


## Comissar

Probably not recordings, unless there happen to be some around, but there should be records of her battles around? Or at least people who can give anecdotal accounts? It's not perfect, but it gives a place to start from.

Edit - Oh! But if Lady Diwyneb has some battles with other trainers while Sass is preping, Leah could record _those_ then analyse them with Sass..?

----------


## Hazuki

Hmm. I'm going to concept-mine you guys for stuff you'd want to do/kinds of quests you like, to fill up Diwyneb since you'll be spending time here.

----------


## Comissar

So, I think for Leah the helping Sass prepare is going to be one with some decent depth. Can be broken down into researching, maybe including (covertly?) recording a battle. Specific training with Sass could feature as well, possibly? (thinking trying to get her pokémon used to specific strategies/used to fighting a specific type).

For stuff to do on her own, she could maybe look into learning how to do potion making stuff? It's plant related things, and would let her use her botany powers. (Disclaimer - I am aware I've been the main one standing in the way of Leah using her botany powers previously  :Small Tongue: )

----------


## tgva8889

I mean, Alyssa is always interested in catching Pokemon and finding ways to use her artistic skills in a general sense. I don't have a specific idea in mind for how she might use those skills, but she'd be down to use them. In a specific sense I imagine that she will be spending a lot of time trying to take care of this new egg and work on bettering her fears, and I think there's definitely some ideas for misadventures in egg care and/or fear management.

I think we also have to get to know Salandit, who is still yet to be released from the Pokeball, and I think Alyssa and Maggie may have to decide what their plans are in the future. Is Maggie gonna walk with them for the rest of their journey, or does she want to be Alyssa's Pokemon? Plus any new Pokemon Alyssa may meet along the way that she catches. I'm realizing Alyssa has only actually caught one of the 3-4 Pokemon she has right now, which is kind of funny.

There's the possibility for other characters from Alyssa's past to show up. She's far from home, but she spent some time in Lancer, maybe someone from there? I'm down to write up some quick summaries of people if you want more help making people!

In the relative long term, I would like to do a scene where Alyssa has enough sense of self to apologize to Sable. I don't think Alyssa would get far enough to, say, catch and have a Dark-type, but that's maybe an eventual long-term goal.

Also, we must actually have Alyssa and Leah go on a date, and not have it interrupted in the middle!  :Small Wink:

----------


## Hazuki

Thanks for the detailed feedback. :3

I'd love some NPC summaries from Alyssa's time in Lancer.

----------


## tgva8889

I will get on writing some stuff! I realize that canonically Alyssa doesn't have any friends per say from when she was in Lancer, but she did have some classmates, and possibly some other people she would have met.

----------


## tgva8889

I'm still writing some stuff, taking a bit longer for me to get down things than I expected as I'm planning a move soon, but I'll send over stuff when I've got some things down. I'm having fun working on it though!

----------


## Hazuki

Glad to hear you're having fun with it! Although now it sounds like you're writing a little more than summaries.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

I have to figure out who these people are!  :Small Tongue:  My plans are to write a bunch of them so you have some options to flesh out and some can be left out if they don't inspire you.

----------


## Hazuki

Well, if you want any hints about what I'd like:

BuffLesbianThat's it.

 :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Simple tastes  :Small Tongue: 

Also, only just noticed that we managed to post near simultaneously in the IC. Will edit my last IC post when I'm home from work to better reflect the post just prior to it.

----------


## Comissar

Edited in a response to Nika.

----------


## Hazuki

Are y'all gonna check out the new Pokemon trailer? Some pretty sweet designs in there.

----------


## Comissar

Will take a look once home from work. Sneaking forum time is easy, videos are more of a hassle to pause/unpause  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

There's also some stuff on the site. Some neat details about the Pokemon, most of which I like.

----------


## Comissar

Having watched it, I really like the snapping turtle-ish pokémon, I'm again struck by how weirdly familiar some of the setting looks, and I'm not 100% sold on the giant pokémon thing. Looks like a game I will be getting, though.

----------


## Hazuki

Yeah, the giant Pokemon thing isn't terribly exciting to me. It doesn't have the character of Z-Moves or the creativity of Mega Evolutions.

----------


## tgva8889

My hope is that it will open up more group play interaction. I love Pokemon but I don't really get as much of the social aspect of it as I would like, so it'd be fun to have a more cooperative experience to play with friends and/or random people on the internet.

I haven't seen any of the trailer stuff yet, though, so who knows, but I like new Pokemon designs! I'm already buying this game (take my money Nintendo!) so unless they really go downhill I think it'll be a fun time.

----------


## Hazuki

Interesting! I don't care for the social features of Pokemon at all, aside from trading being useful and Wondertrade being fun. I expect the raid fights to get very boring very quickly, though.

----------


## tgva8889

Maybe! I dunno how they're going to make them. I imagine they could end up being kinda cool, and at the very least you probably get a neat Pokemon out of it.

----------


## Hazuki

Ehhh... I doubt they'll be that neat. I have a feeling that you can make any Pokemon gigantic, seeing as the main character used a giant starter in the trailer (And they're sure as hell not going to let you catch multiple starters, definitely not before the post-game). And the ones that are gigantic are probably going to be some kind of weekly event thing, rotating, which means you can almost guarantee there'll be a lot of gen 1 pandering.

I don't know. I'm a cynic.  :Small Tongue:  That and the designs of the legendaries are my only problems with what promises to be an amazing game. Although, if you ask me, the Professor's Assistant looks like she's gonna turn evil at some point. I just get that vibe from her.

----------


## tgva8889

It will probably be the only way to get certain Pokemon, so it'll be worth doing sometimes. I like the idea of playing Pokemon with other people so I'm down to try it and find out it's bad. To be honest I'm mostly hype for actually running into Pokemon in the field and I can be taken in by some spectacle.

As for the Pokemon, I really like the Shield one, the Sword one seems kinda meh to me.

----------


## Comissar

Things I didn't expect to be doing when joining this game originally - Discussing the merits of tube tops and sarashi's  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Because a sarashi is clearly superior, right?

----------


## Comissar

> Because a sarashi is clearly superior, right?


Exactly, who knew it would even be necessary to debate. Leah is looking quite foolish here  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Let me know if I can write any more for you Hazuki! I've got other ideas but I figured I would get you what I had now and then work on other things later. Was harder than I thought since I realized none of these people could actually just be Alyssa's friend since she didn't have any of those really.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye aye. Will do.

----------


## Hazuki

I'm pretty sure I've already done this joke, but it's still good okay

----------


## Comissar

> I'm pretty sure I've already done this joke, but it's still good okay


Pshh, what kind of jokes come with expiration dates?

----------


## Hazuki

Imma chargin' ma lazer blaaaaah

All your base are belong to us

----------


## Comissar

Apologies for the lack of post today, kept trying to make one and drawing a blank. I know roughly what I want, but having trouble phrasing  :Small Tongue: 

Will try and get a post up come the morning.

----------


## Comissar

Nya-Chan - "Now you're only saying I'm cute because you want food!"

----------


## Hazuki

Wow what are the chances of that happening

----------


## Hazuki

Leah is such a liar-pants. There's tall grass everywhere in Kanto!

----------


## Comissar

> Leah is such a liar-pants. There's tall grass everywhere in Kanto!


But there's also old men everywhere warning you not to go in it without a pokémon  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

The Pokemon will never _really_ hurt you in Kanto!  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Weird aside that I'll be curious to check when I'm no longer at the library, tried to get a reply up to the IC while on lunch. Something on page 14 of the thread has caused the system to block it, alleging the reason as being 'sex'. And presumably because replying also shows previous posts back a way, I can't reply to it.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Just took a look and I have no idea why that might be. Utha too hot?

----------


## Comissar

> Just took a look and I have no idea why that might be. Utha too hot?


Must be, can't imagine what else it could be  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Having now scanned the page, I also have no idea what caused it to flag the library system's block. Very odd. Also, went back to read the Inoir bit to make sure I got her name right. Forgot how quickly things turned sour between her and Leah.

----------


## Hazuki

Look, you can't just go around telling people not to rob people. It's rude!

----------


## tgva8889

Beats me. I can't think of why that might be.

----------


## Comissar

"Thankyou valued customer" Turns to Leah, "And you too!"

Leah's mind - _Am... Am I not a valued customer? I must_ insist_ on speaking to the manager_

----------


## Hazuki

The manager is Nya-Nya-chan, who has cat ears on.

----------


## Comissar

Alyssa - _Shows affection toward Leah_

Sass - _Eyes narrow_, "Leah... Are you not _cool_ any more..?"

----------


## Hazuki

She's officially out of the cool club. She has to hand over her sunglasses and pleather jacket.

----------


## Comissar

I guess it'd be pokémon education to know if there are Steel pokémon in the area around Diwyneb?

(4D6+1)[*13*]

----------


## Hazuki

Of the few Steel-type Pokemon known to be found in Londo, Honedge is the only one that's been seen around Diwyneb. They're most often found in the Dusk or just off of the main routes. It is quite rare, although though most Honedge attacks are apparently against already-armed travelers.

----------


## Hazuki

Where do y'all wanna skip to?

----------


## tgva8889

What time is it? Presumably there's some time for Alyssa and Leah to wander around before addressing the fact that their room only has one bed, which sounds like a relatively short but amusing scene we should probably do. At minimum I think we should do that little scene, then if no one has any ideas skip a bit along the timeline. 

Alyssa and Leah were going to be in town a while for Alyssa to receive some counseling so maybe we can do some sort of side scene that occurs after that?

----------


## Comissar

Yeah, the 'sharing a room' bit is something that I feel should get a scene, though I don't know how long a scene it'd end up being. Beyond that, I would like to do the pokémon hunting with Sass for Leah, figured it could give a good chance to have Sable finally get some time out and about too? I had it in my head that it could be the main thing Leah does while Alyssa starts her counselling/therapy? Though again, my concern would be how well the two scenes would line up on timings.

----------


## Hazuki

I'll skip y'all to the inn soon.

Are you sure about wanting to do the Sass Pokemon-hunting while Alyssa is getting counseling? I don't think we're going to roleplay the counseling (Unless you want to, tgva?) so it'd leave Alyssa with nothing to do.

----------


## Comissar

> I'll skip y'all to the inn soon.
> 
> Are you sure about wanting to do the Sass Pokemon-hunting while Alyssa is getting counseling? I don't think we're going to roleplay the counseling (Unless you want to, tgva?) so it'd leave Alyssa with nothing to do.


Ah, I'd forgotten that part of the discussion. The main reason I was thinking of having it while Alyssa was absent was for ease of Sable presence, but I also don't want to leave tgva with nothing to do.

----------


## tgva8889

I don't particularly want to roleplay therapy, but we could have Alyssa do something else while they go hunting. There's always Utha to talk to, or Alyssa could finally meet her Salandit.

Perhaps some sort of prep stuff could be skipped over while we skip over Alyssa in therapy, so we can make the timings match up kinda?

----------


## Hazuki

Sure! I think I'll have more content for Utha than Salandit, of course.

----------


## Comissar

Shouldn't affect my post speed as I'm expecting to have internet, but as a heads up I'm off on holiday today

----------


## Hazuki

Aye aye, noted.

----------


## Hazuki

Y'all want me to skip you to the next day?

----------


## Comissar

I think I'm good to do so

----------


## tgva8889

I'm so glad I have this game right now, I've been in need of some physical intimacy and getting some nice cuddling in an RPG is a good close approximation.

----------


## Hazuki

Glad I didn't go with my idea to have Maggie pull a sneaky prank, then.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

> I'm so glad I have this game right now, I've been in need of some physical intimacy and getting some nice cuddling in an RPG is a good close approximation.


Aww, glad to be able to help, but hope all's well with you.




> Glad I didn't go with my idea to have Maggie pull a sneaky prank, then.


I _did_ think she was being awfully obliging of all that was going on  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

She'll get us back later, I'm sure.  :Small Wink:

----------


## Hazuki

Erm. Is Alyssa sure that she wants a hot breakfast this morning?  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

Thats what Leah said she wanted, so thats what Alyssa is looking for. Presumably theres lots of hot breakfast options from Vibrost?

Maybe this is one of those cool down by drinking hot tea situations?

----------


## Comissar

Cooling down by having something warm was the thought, but yeah, that only works if it's not _oppressively_ hot. So, uh, my bad  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Hang on! Didn't one or both of you have plans with Sass this morning?

----------


## Comissar

Leah has plans, she just figures she has time for breakfast first  :Small Tongue:

----------


## tgva8889

I dont remember whether Alyssa was involved in those plans or not! But she certainly could be if thats be more interesting.

----------


## Hazuki

It'll be interesting, since I think the last real Sass and Alyssa interaction had Sass and Luna disagreeing.

----------


## Comissar

Apologies for the lack of post today, been a bit of a bleh brain day and for bringing Saura back into things I want to try and make it more than a few lines for a post (which is all I've been managing when trying to type so far). Will be aiming to post tomorrow lunch-ish.

----------


## Hazuki

It's totally fine. ^^

If y'all find it requires a bit too much from you, I can always take over for controlling your Pokemon like I do for Maggie.

----------


## Comissar

That... Would actually be really helpful if you're sure you don't mind doing it.

----------


## tgva8889

I am cool controlling them myself, but either way works fine with me!

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## Comissar

Happy Turkey Day!

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## Hazuki

You too! 

...do you celebrate Thanksgiving? I thought you were based elsewhere.

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## Comissar

I don't, I'm in the UK, can still wish you a happy Turkey Day though  :Small Smile:

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## tgva8889

It was certainly a turkey day! trying to be careful ssince I'm on a new diet this year but so far so good I think!

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## Comissar

So, uh, thought I'd posted! >_>

Apologies for the delay!

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## Hazuki

No problem! Although next time, I'm bringing out the whip.

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## tgva8889

I'm sorry, I may require the whip.  :Small Eek:  Life has been life and I'm doing okay now but it's what it is.

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## Hazuki

Fortunately  it's undergoing maintenance right now.

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## Comissar

Lack of post is due to retail christmas fatigue, intend to get one up by the end of tomorrow! 

Relatedly, Happy Holidays!

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## Hazuki

Ditto! The sentiment, not the Pokemon.

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## tgva8889

Santa Pikachu and I wish you all a good Christmas!

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## Hazuki

Y'all ready for the scene change?

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah, I think so.

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## Comissar

Yup yup, I think so

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## Comissar

Little white lies help smooth things over, hopefully (or so Leah wants to believe)  :Small Tongue:

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## Hazuki

Am I confused? This is the day y'all are going to catch Pokemon, isn't it?

----------


## Comissar

It is, Leah is under the impression that she won't have to be too active. She is naive in that sense.

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## Hazuki

Y'all still around?

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## tgva8889

I have returned! Good to see you again!

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## Comissar

Still here, hope the downtime treated you two well  :Small Smile:

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## Hazuki

Oh sweet. Really glad you're both still here. ^^

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## tgva8889

Sometimes I forget that Alyssa is good at Insight, so she actually totally understands Pokemon sometimes.

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## Hazuki

I don't think we actually roll very much. Y'all need to start challenging people to Pokemon Battles.  :Small Tongue:

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## tgva8889

I don't think Alyssa would necessarily avoid all battles entirely, but I don't think she really wants to fight people...

Mostly battles take a really long time and I think we like the talking and character development and stuff. I'm down to go catching Pokemon and stuff!

----------


## Hazuki

I know, I like that stuff too.  :Small Tongue:  And Alyssa is a capture specialist, if I recall correctly?

----------


## tgva8889

Yep! I had planned for her to try and catch a bunch of things and draw some special unique moves. I guess there's always more Pokemon with more moves, though, so I don't know how many signature moves there are these days.

----------


## Hazuki

Yeah, signature moves are gonna be hard to get. Like, they're normally more prolific in subsequent generations and I'm pretty sure there've been two generations since this game started, so the only signature moves will be from Legendaries or maybe some rare ones from Gen 8.

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## tgva8889

There's still a few notable ones from older generations. Because Sword and Shield have weird move availability there's some moves that just aren't in that game because the Pokemon aren't, and some other unique ones like Farfetch'd is the only Pokemon that gets Cut in those games because it's not a TM anymore. But to be honest I'm fine with this being a long-term pie-in-the-sky type goal. She doesn't have to actually _catch_ them all, just collect their cool unique moves in artistic renderings.

Looking through there's actually surprisingly a lot from Gen I. It's amazing how long these Pokemon have held onto their moves that make them completely unique.

In terms of Pokemon to catch, I actually still kind of like that Alyssa randomly has a moon theme going, though besides Lunatone and Umbreon I don't really know what other Pokemon that suggests. And I have no idea how all her Pokemon will fit in that and I kind of just imagine her catching lots of things since she likes to do that.

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## Hazuki

I'd say that the reason Gen 1 Pokemon get to keep their stuff is that Gamefreak loves Gen 1 more than their own children.  :Small Tongue: 

Lunala is pretty moon-associated, but I think catching it would be a big challenge.

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## tgva8889

I mean, my intention was Cresselia was the secret legendary inspiration for Alyssa, so while I'm not opposed to her ever getting one I don't expect that to happen any time soon (or possibly ever).  :Small Big Grin: 

I guess there's some other "evolves only at nighttime" Pokemon, right? Or, like, other Moon Stone evolutions. Or I could just lean into whatever happens, which I think Alyssa would be fine with. Pokemon that surprise her, that she happens to catch, or that help her with finding new moves to see are all possibilities. Like, I don't think she intended to catch any of her current Pokemon besides Salandit, and she also has Maggie as an unintentional ward. Friendship is the true magic of Pokemon or something.

Thinking about it more, there'd definitely be an awesome character development moment in Alyssa getting an Umbreon, so maybe put that on the back burner? She's not ready for that now, but maybe someday.

----------


## Hazuki

Friendship is the true magic of Pokemon! Sass' Sylveon literally evolved due to friendship. And aye, Maggie is there too, although interestingly I don't think Alyssa has ever actually asked her about her moves.

Umbreon would be interesting, aye. Although she'd have to intentionally evolve an Eevee, I think, since they're not found in the wilds of Londo so their evolutions definitely aren't.

----------


## tgva8889

I think Alyssa has been busy dealing with other things recently, so her desire to draw new moves has taken a small backseat. Like, she also has a Pokemon she hasn't released since she caught it yet. She's got a lot going on.

----------


## Hazuki

Isn't she doing something with that Pokemon (Salandit, IIRC) on this little trip?

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## tgva8889

Yep it is Salandit, and I'm not sure that we'll have time for that but we'll see! I was planning to do it at some point.

----------


## tgva8889

In response to your OOC comment, we can just assume Alyssa didn't find what she was looking for (because it wasn't there) and have her go after Sass?

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## Hazuki

We can do that.

----------


## Comissar

Apologies for the slow post rate at the moment, a lot of mental bandwidth being taken up by Covid-19 (how it's impacting work primarily, but also the omnipresence in the news). Hope you're both staying safe and healthy!

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## Hazuki

That's totally fine. Hope you're staying healthy too!

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## tgva8889

I'm finally working from home starting today, so I'm staying safe as I can. Sadly my anxiety is triggered by health stuff, but I'm feeling better now that I don't have to leave my house.

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## Hazuki

Did I not give you a list of moves when I gave you Salandit?

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## tgva8889

Oh you did, and I totally know them, but Alyssa wouldn't know them unless she'd either done this or spent time with Salandit, and, as we've established, she hasn't let Salandit out of its Pokeball since she caught it. So she knows it has Ember because that's the move it attacked her with, and besides that would need help.

Really, as someone who cares about Pokemon moves, this is Alyssa being kind of a dummy.

Edit: I can make a post about Alyssa getting the moves and getting ready to battle if we want to move things along, sorry if I've been dragging things out.

----------


## tgva8889

Is the group at the place for battling or are they still walking through the woods?

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, sorry. Yeah, you arrived.

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, do you want to play the battle out with mechanics, etc.? Use it as an excuse for fluff training? Skip over the battle entirely?

----------


## tgva8889

As someone who's not involved, Comissar, what would you prefer? I don't mind playing it out but am also fine to sort of handwave the scene and have generic training occur.

----------


## Comissar

An apology first, been getting caught up in my own head a lot over the past few weeks, so apologies for not being as active here as I perhaps should be. As for my preference, I'm happy for you to play it out in full if you're wanting to, that said, I can see it being done in a few posts (likely with Sass winning, because realistically, she would). Leah would probably be wanting to act as referee during the battle.

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## Hazuki

That's totally fine, Comissar. Hope you're talking care of yourself.

Sounds like the ball's in your court, tgva.

----------


## tgva8889

I'm not feeling like playing it out in detail, though Alyssa would probably wanna get some ideas for sketches during the battle and grow closer to Salandit. But we can do it in a few posts and move on, I think.

I totally understand, Comissar, take care of yourself!

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## Comissar

Doing my best to look after myself, appreciate the concern  :Small Smile:

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## Hazuki

We'll go with general descriptions rather than doing moves and calculating damage, etc., in that case. Just base your actions on Salandit's moveset/capabilities and it'll all work out from there.

----------


## Comissar

I feel like I've said it relatively recently (though not gone back through the thread to check), but I'm having trouble finding a path for Leah to take in terms of motivation. To use an analogy, it feels like I've made a Gohan-type character, where she reacts to what's going on around her, but mostly is just content to go with the flow otherwise. I really like the setting and set-up, but I'm struggling to properly apply Leah to it at this point. Going to muse on it for a bit and see if I can come up with something.

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## Hazuki

Well, I did have a thought about that person who has a crush on Alyssa pursuing that, but I wasn't sure y'all would want to deal with a love triangle (Or love line with something trying to make a triangle) so soon. Could that be good motivation?

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## Comissar

> Well, I did have a thought about that person who has a crush on Alyssa pursuing that, but I wasn't sure y'all would want to deal with a love triangle (Or love line with something trying to make a triangle) so soon. Could that be good motivation?


I'd be fine with RPing that personally, drama can be fun to play out, so that sounds like it'd be a good one to me. While in game it may be a bit soon, out of game it has been quite some time since Alyssa and Leah became romantically involved  :Small Tongue:

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## Hazuki

tgva! Are you okay with that?

Also! Do y'all want to roleplay through the forest wandering?

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## Comissar

My thoughts for the forest wandering were primarily that Leah would be trying to use it as a chance to get Sass and Alyssa on better terms with one another (she wants her friends to get on). I'll leave it to tgva if they think there's bones for a scene there, and if they don't, I'm happy to handle it with just a skip post.

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## tgva8889

Sorry, last couple of days have been interesting for me healthwise (not Covid), but I'm better now!

I am okay with the love triangle thing if everyone else is, I did write that character inspiration. Mostly I imagine that Alyssa's gonna be kinda oblivious about it.

I am fine either way, mostly I wonder about what Alyssa and Sass can do to get along, since I think the reason Sass doesn't like Alyssa is because she's with Leah.

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## Hazuki

You think that's the reason? Interesting. Based on her expressed distaste for romance?

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## tgva8889

That was my impression, yeah. I mean, Alyssa's also kind of bad at interacting with most people so there's that too.

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## Hazuki

I will timeskip at next confirmation. Then you'll be back in Diwyneb Town where THINGS will HAPPEN. Get HYPE

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## Comissar

We get back, the town's burned down >_>

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## Hazuki

I mean, that's to be expected, after the last two sank into the swamp...

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## tgva8889

I am excited for THINGS!

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## Comissar

> I mean, that's to be expected, after the last two sank into the swamp...


But the _FOURTH_ Town! That one will stand strong!

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## Hazuki

I had to go back to check Utha's characterization and ended up reading Nya-chan's posts, too.

Is it narcissism to really like a character you created? 'Cause Nya-chan is the best.

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## Comissar

Nya-Chan is pretty fun  :Small Tongue:

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## Comissar

Has Leah gone too far with her comments to Sass? Will it shock Sass to reasonable-ness? Or make her double down? Tune in next time to find out!

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## Hazuki

It might have been possible, but I don't think Leah is the right person/had the right tactic to do it. Sass is so headstrong that she's not generally gonna pay heed to somebody who's stuttering, for example. She needs someone to butt up against or firmly put her in her place to start calming down. 

Also! Just from an OOC perspective, Leah had good arguments, but they didn't deal with the main point of Sass' anger. Nika can't travel with Sass and date the nurse at the same time, but she already agreed to do the latter, so Sass is feeling a sense of betrayal. The ideal way to get through to her would probably be to get her to discuss with Nika which she wants to do, provide another solution that allows both things, or even just establish what exactly Nika's doing (If she's just having a fling, then she can move on no problem).

I wouldn't normally explain this so much, but I know that it's felt a little abrupt when an NPC has cut off communications with a PC in the past, so hopefully this is helpful.

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## Comissar

Oh, yeah, no, totally agree. Leah lacks the assertiveness to get through to someone as headstrong as Sass. Leah was trying to use reason against an argument from emotion, that typically ends poorly. I was fully expecting Sass to get angry and yell/storm off. Leah herself is gonna be pretty shaken by it and probably want some alone time  :Small Tongue: 

She also may well have made things worse for both Nika and Sass rather than better, but that's what can happen when you nose in on someone else's problem without being asked to do so! She'd have been better served waiting until Sass had cooled down a bit really, but the problem was right there in front of her and she is still both young and naive, after all.

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## Hazuki

Yupyup, that checks out.

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## tgva8889

This is probably the wrong decision, but this is what Alyssa's gonna do! A sad moment but I think one that's good. Also poor Utha.

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## Hazuki

Poor Utha now?  :Small Tongue:  Wasn't Alyssa being dismissive to her through their whole conversation?

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## tgva8889

Oh I don't think Alyssa feels especially bad about Utha, but I do. Alyssa doesn't really get what's going on with Utha, and she was a bit distracted by a big thing happening involving her friends and her girlfriend at the time. But I know what's happening and how it would probably look or feel from Utha's perspective so I do feel bad for her.

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## Hazuki

Comissar, you still with us?

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## Comissar

Sorry, yes, hadn't realised how much time had slipped by since my last post >_>

Will get a post up shortly

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## Hazuki

Is fine; it happens to me too.

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## Hazuki

Oh dang. Poor Leah.

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## Comissar

> Oh dang. Poor Leah.


Objectively, there's a number of things that've happened on the journey that have shaken her. She wasn't able to get along with Rana, she's starting to pick up on Misru's more caustic habits, and she'd kind've set herself up mentally as a mentor figure to Sass. Mix in some genuine homesickness for Kanto from not that long ago, and being away from the reassurance of the familiar, she's feeling rough! I'm debating where she's likely to go if Alyssa tries comforting her. I think it'll depend heavily on the direction Alyssa takes as to whether she seeks solace, or potentially even lashes out a bit.

Also, as the player, I don't mind at all doing these scenes, so don't feel bad as a DM  :Small Tongue:

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## Hazuki

Nah, it's fine. I like reading them. I'm always uncertain of what to do as a GM, though, especially in this case 'cause Maggie and Saura could be here, or not, but their influence on the scene would be odd. So maybe they just stuck to the inn, because Saura has stubby legs and Maggie is small? 

My usual thing is to wait until it seems like some Stuff Got Done and then have an NPC do something to make sure the scene doesn't drag.

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## tgva8889

I don't think Alyssa knows how to handle this situation so this will be interesting!

I realized partway through writing this that Alyssa was just going to talk constantly because she doesn't know what else to do and then there were words.

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## Comissar

Haven't forgotten to post, just figuring out how I'm going to respond  :Small Smile:

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## Comissar

_Probably_ not worth the three day wait, but was doing a lot of back and forth on what to put >_>

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## Hazuki

Hmm, do you actually want Leah to be left alone if Alyssa leaves?

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## Comissar

Dramatically, it'll be more interesting if she isn't, I don't have much that I intend for her to do if she does leave. The reason for Leah wanting space has both IC and OoC reasons. IC, she's not a person who acknowledges her emotions easily, and so she wants time to process them but thinks she needs to do that on her own. OoC, it helps create a separation and space between Alyssa and Leah that allows Utha a way in  :Small Tongue: 

Neither of those reasons preclude someone making their presence known to her once she's on her own.

----------


## Hazuki

So uhhh, does anyone remember the name of Alyssa's therapist? I went back to refresh myself but I can't find where they were.

----------


## tgva8889

Got lucky randomly clicking through the archive! Her name is Torchwood.

----------


## Comissar

Was gonna have Leah be entirely bewildered by the Psychic-ness, then remembered she's from Saffron City originally, she's probably well aware of psychic people  :Small Tongue:  (Also, apologies for the slow post, been starting back at work this week >_>)




> Got lucky randomly clicking through the archive! Her name is Torchwood.


Always makes me think of Doctor Who

----------


## Hazuki

Thank ye for the name.

And pfft, I'd never steal names. Ever.

(Gosh, though, the fourth season of Torchwood was trash.)

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah I have to remind myself that Alyssa totally shouldn't be surprised by magic sometimes.  :Small Red Face:

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## Hazuki

Alyssa should be a magical girl and have a transformation sequence.

----------


## tgva8889

Okay but I have been reading a magical girl webcomic (actually two recently, but one hasn't updated in a while) and been hanging out in the community around that comic so I have been seeing a lot of magical girl stuff lately. My brain is sometimes just like "how would this be a magical girl?" and I have thought about Alyssa as a magical girl non-zero times.

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## Hazuki

I'm pretty sure there is actually a class for that, the Fairy elementalist, IIRC. That'd be a good way to get over her fear of the Dark, being supereffectivs vs them.

----------


## tgva8889

Sadly I don't think you can be an elementalist unless you have elemental affinity, and I'm not sure you can get elemental affinity after you create your character? Though that'd be a weird and interesting direction for Alyssa to go.

Actually aren't most of the elementalists effectively magical people in various respects? I think the Normal Elementalist was, like, bright lights and energy attacks which was cool.

Edit: Nope I was totally wrong. I did consider getting Elemental Connection or Mystic Senses at some point for Alyssa, though I hadn't really thought about what that would mean. I don't know how that would work in-world though, Alyssa gaining a power she didn't have before or, like, discovering it inside herself?

----------


## Hazuki

It would definitely require something special, even just according to the lore of Londo. But it would be possible. A Legendary encounter, maybe.

----------


## tgva8889

Alyssa has had one of those in the past, so it's not out of the question?

Also I was thinking about it, and I was wondering, does Alyssa technically have a title? Her family is part of the Arms and her brother is (probably) a knight, does that actually confer any status on Alyssa? I don't think she cares, but I was wondering about it.

----------


## Hazuki

No title, no, only the Lords and Ladies (And I guess technically Knights, in that they're referred to as Ser) get them. I figure they'd be a respected family, like the Hawthornes.

----------


## tgva8889

That makes sense! Was thinking about Alyssa's background and realized I hadn't thought of it.

----------


## Comissar

Sorry, time slipped away from me again, I keep thinking it's only been a day or two since I last posted, then it turns into nearly a week.

----------


## Hazuki

It's cool, hun. Happens to everyone.

----------


## tgva8889

As long as you're doing okay!  :Small Smile:

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## Hazuki

Hmm, I think it looks like a good point for the girls to rejoin at the inn, unless you want to do more with the therapy tgva?

----------


## tgva8889

Nope! I am good to skip back to meeting at the inn if everyone is.  :Small Smile:

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## Hazuki

Finally, Nya-chan will return.

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## tgva8889

Truly the reason Leah wants to go back there.  :Small Wink:

----------


## Comissar

So, I don't think I've given a full explanation of what's been going on at my end, and I do feel that given it's impacting both my post rate and the quality of them, you guys deserve one. Especially given how patient you're both being with me over it. It... May get a bit ranty, so I'm going to apologise in advance for that >_>

It turned out very long, so there's a tl:dr at the end.

*Spoiler: Spoilered in case you'd rather not read it*
Show

I moved in with my partner at the start of the UK lockdown back in March, and the house they live in is a busy one (there's five people in total, myself, my partner, a lodger, my partner's brother, and his girlfriend). It was initially a fairly comfortable arrangement, some teething problems in learning to live in the same building as one another (we had been talking about trialling it prior to the lockdown, but with the knowledge we wouldn't be able to see each other in person otherwise, we jumped into it. The main issue was learning how much space we did/didn't need at different times), but by and large it was all pretty amiable. I should mention at this point that the brother is frequently messy, and that my partner can struggle with that. It's going to become very relevant later.

Communal spaces (the living room and the kitchen primarily, but also the entry hall) consistently end up being kinda cluttered to being outright a mess (having come from a house with a messy sister, this doesn't bother me as much as it bothers my partner/the lodger). Initially, we attempt to let everyone clear up after themselves, but this leaves us consistently in the messy situation. When challenged on this, the brother states that he feels he's pulling his weight. A rota is suggested, but brother deems it unnecessary, and he instead agrees with a suggestion that whenever something is cleaned, it gets tracked on a calendar, so that it can be seen who is and isn't cleaning things up. A month goes by, he doesn't record anything on there. When this is bought up, he says he has been doing stuff, but just hasn't been writing it down.

_So_, the next attempt is to assign different parts of the house as different peoples responsibilities. my partner and I take the kitchen (probably the highest traffic part of the house), the brother and his gf take the living room. Having taken on the kitchen, it quickly becomes clear that a number of plates/cutlery aren't being cleaned properly after use by the brother and gf, often being put away while still having bits of food stuck to them. This is bought up numerous times to little effect. With how frequently the kitchen is needing cleaning, and how quickly washing up can build up again, my partner is getting frequently frustrated and upset, and so I propose what has become the current system. We (meaning myself and my partner) each take two days in the week where the kitchen is our sole responsibility, and just put the mess out of mind for the rest of the week. This means the kitchen gets thoroughly sorted 4/7 days, and gives peace of mind when it's not the given persons turn.

This helps a lot with my partner's peace of mind as it allows them to more easily tune out the mess when it isn't their day to deal with it as it isn't their responsibility. There are still irritations with how things are left (food often left to go over without being dealt with is one that gets on my nerves, plates not being stacked/rinsed is one that gets my partner), but it's more manageable. I take to specifically calling out exactly what I do on my given days to try and tackle this, saying when I'm doing what I consider to be work above and beyond what I should be (throwing out mouldy bread, for example, I would consider to be the task of whoever left the bread to go over).

While we're determining the best way to deal with the kitchen (a process that in itself took a few months), I don't think I saw the brother cleaning/clearing the living room once. Instead his girlfriend does it a couple of times, and even then usually only when asked due to mess build up.

Running parallel to these domestic battles, the lodger's mum dies (was not an unexpected event, but still an unpleasant one) and the cat that had been intended to only be a temporary foster, abruptly gets given permanently the first time we ask the owners to cover some vet bills. This in turn leads to additional stressors over concern for the lodger, as well as trying to get ownership of the cat transferred (and subsequently, an on-going 3 month long battle with the insurance company to try and get them to actually pay out on his care).

On top of _that_, my partner and the brother's parents are semi-frequent visitors to the house (despite lockdown conditions). I should note that my partner has a very poor relationship with their parents, to the point of having panic attacks if they arrive unexpectedly, and requires frequent reassurances that they are nothing like their mother (which, they aren't. Their mother is, to put it mildly, a very unpleasant person who I suspect of being a narcissist). My partner is aware that their parents are also their brother's parents, and as such just asks that they get notice that they'll be coming round rather than putting a ban on them. Over dozens of visits, there's maybe two or three times where notice is given.

Fast forward a bit and brother and girlfriend are looking to get a pet kitten. My partner has misgivings about this, and does voice them, but is assured that it'll be their kitten and the care will be entirely in their hands. My partner _still_ has misgivings, feeling they're not really grasping what's involved in looking after a baby animal, but after I talk it over numerous times with them, is assured that with the brother and girlfriend being adults, they can be left to make that decision themselves, and if it does end up going wrong, they can be trusted to work through the problems as adults. (You may be able to tell, but by this point I was starting to lose my remaining goodwill for the pair).

The kitten arrives, and to her credit I feel that the girlfriend is doing a decent job of caring for it. She does need to go back to work after a week or so of initial care, and this is where new problems begin. The brother simply does not spend anywhere near enough time with the kitten. It can be heard screaming for attention and scratching at the room door often, and the brother does not pay it attention, sometimes even when prompted to do so by the other people in the house. The lodger ends up being the one to give the kitten direct attention more often than not, but even then not as often as the kitten needs, because she has her own issues to deal with and doesn't want to take on kitten care as an additional responsibility. My partner and I try and leave kitten care to the brother and girlfriend, as they had insisted the case would be, but still need to step in sometimes when even prompting the brother doesn't yield any results.

The girlfriend grows frustrated over the situation, but hopes things will improve once the kitten is old enough to roam and start to interact with the house cat. The two cats simply don't get on. My personal opinion is that the kitten has far too much energy due to not getting to leave the room nearly often enough, and the house cat ranged from unwilling to interact with, to being hostile toward the kitten. The kitten was, again, being looked after fairly well by the girlfriend when she was in the house, but she was also working full time, and so it was only being let out consistently when she was back from work. This came to a head when I find that my laptop charger has been chewed on and damaged by the kitten. I make a comment on it in the group chat for the house (as much so that people know it's going for cables as anything), and the girlfriend pretty quickly turns it into an argument about how nobody is willing to take responsibility for the kitten, how she and the brother feel like they're not being treated as equals in the house, and how since we 'all obviously hate us so much, we're going to leave'.

Which leads into the _current_ situation where, having asked when tempers had cooled somewhat, they confirmed that yes, they were actually serious and wanted to leave. My partner and the brother co-own the house, which means the brother needed to be bought out, or the house would have to be sold. Initially I'd been hopeful that I'd be able to buy him out through a mortgage, but there was no joy there, so we're now at the point of needing to sell the house and my partner and I need to find a new house.

Things that have been happening during this time that I wasn't sure where to fit in;

 - Multiple visits from friends of brother+girlfriend without prior notice, despite being in a national lockdown
 - Brother having the cheek to complain that nobody let him know someone would be coming over the _one time_ it wasn't mentioned ahead of time
 - Brother frequently banging/being loud late into the night when playing games
 - Bin bags/recycling removed from brother/girlfriend's room as preparation for the kitten arriving being left out the front of the house for ~3 months, only being dealt with when I personally did so (despite several requests and, when being told that brother is best motivated when not being pestered, being left without comment for ~2 months)
 - Girlfriend all but blaming us for not carrying out the brother's responsibilities for him as 'he just wants to do his own thing'
 - Girlfriend insisting we (meaning myself and my partner) need to communicate better, and then never spending time in the communal spaces, and actively removing herself from the house group chat, as well as fairly aggressively shutting down attempts to talk prior to that
 - Boyfriend all but saying that he doesn't want to handle any of the actual paperwork involved in selling the house, leaving it almost entirely up to my partner
 - Having to reassure my partner that, no, none of the above is (in my mind) reasonable, and we're well within our rights to insist they handle their own responsibilities for once
 - Unrelatedly, my partner tackling past trauma due to a past abusive relationship and trying to reconcile their treatment as a child by their parents (particularly their mother)
 - Also unrelatedly, my partner tackling their gender identity and trying to determine if they're trans, non-binary, or genderfluid (or none of the above, but from an outside perspective likely nb or genderfluid, and has currently asked to use they/them)

So, uh, the tl:dr;

I'm having to use a _lot_ of mental bandwidth on drama in the house, particularly drama generated by the brother and his girlfriend, and the fallout and impact that has on my partner. And I'm both aware of, and frustrated that it's having an impact on my ability to enjoy PbP games right now. I can only apologise for that, and thank you both for the patience and understanding you've shown. I don't want to drop from this game, it has been enjoyable for the time I've been a part of it, but particularly right now I'm struggling to give it much in the way of attention. And... I feel I owed you both a proper explanation.

----------


## tgva8889

That sounds like a lot. No worries on that, Comissar. Things are all rough and having to deal with extra stuff is a lot more than most people could regularly deal with. I hope you can get things resolved and if there's anything I can do to help let me know.

----------


## Hazuki

It's totally fine; you can take your time and all that stuff deserves more attention than this does. 

Also, the time you've been a part of it is from the beginning! If it's been fun the whole time, we must be doing something right.

----------


## Comissar

The forums ate my post last night, so here's a possibly slightly different version of events that I hope carries the same tone.

Plot twist, Nya-chan genuinely isn't interested in going home and just has weird turns of phrase.

----------


## Hazuki

She's being completely honest. Have you ever met a Nya-chan who's not a straight shooter?

----------


## tgva8889

I myself have only met one Nya-chan, but I'm glad to be friends with her!

----------


## Hazuki

When did that happen?  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Comissar

Merry Christmas! I hope you guys are having a pleasant festive break.

----------


## Hazuki

Ditto! Hope you've managed to find some comfort.

----------


## tgva8889

I hope you all had a good Christmas as well!

----------


## Hazuki

You guys can have a little poke, as a treat.

----------


## Comissar

Had been waiting on tgva, shall get a post up tomorrow if nothing's happened 'til then  :Small Smile:

----------


## Hazuki

Hmm, it looks like he hasn't been online in two weeks. Hoping nothing bad has happened, but hm. Do you want to do a solo side-story or something until he's back?

----------


## Comissar

Ah, that's concerning.  :Small Frown:  Hopefully he's well.

Yeah, a side story to keep things moving would make sense. Did you want to go with Leah meeting up with Nya-chan? Or did you have something else in mind?

----------


## Hazuki

I don't have anything in particular in mind, but we can brainstorm! As for your suggestion, you think another scene with Nya-chan so soon would be good? They can certainly get into more detail about Kanto stuff, but we did just have a scene with that. I don't know if Leah is emotionally ready for another scene with Sass, but Bibi ought to be available.

----------


## Comissar

That's fair, I was mostly thinking Nya-chan due to it being a plan for later in the day for Leah, so it felt like a close one in terms of time. I agree that Sass is probably a 'too soon' one for Leah, can do something with Bibi? Something around the outside of town perhaps?

----------


## Hazuki

Sure! Leah did get back from a recent expedition outside, IIRC. She met Sass on the way back, right at the gates. Perhaps Leah wants to gather some stuff for her plant...herbology...I forget what it's called, but she does that as well as fossils, yes?

----------


## Comissar

She does indeed, and she hasn't explored that aspect too much, so going out looking for some kind of plant would work well. Doesn't necessarily need to end with her finding what she's looking for, of course, but I imagine she'd want to pick up some herbs or roots that'd be useful as provisions for travel.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye aye. I shall endeavor to portray a scenario establishing such a scene upon the morrow.

----------


## tgva8889

Sorry, life got suddenly busy in the last month!

----------


## Comissar

All good, glad to see you're ok  :Small Smile:

----------


## Hazuki

Eyyy glad you're good!

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, do y'all want me to teleport you back to the inn?

----------


## Comissar

I'm fine with just moving there as the conversation moves  :Small Smile:

----------


## Comissar

Will be aiming for a post tomorrow, apologies for the wait  :Small Smile:

----------


## Hazuki

Y'all still with us?

----------


## Comissar

I am, apologies, just been a busy few days and lost track of time. Will be getting a post up today.

----------


## tgva8889

I forget, does their room have a table?

----------


## Hazuki

IIRc, just a little one by the bed.

----------


## Comissar

Aiming to post tomorrow  :Small Smile: 

(Had intended to do so today, then slept half the day away, and have been busy for the rest of it due to lost time  :Small Red Face:  )

----------


## Hazuki

Aye aye! Definitely understand the cycle of being busy, so you sleep more, so you're busy, etc.

----------


## tgva8889

That cycle is definitely me sometimes. Other times it's "be busy, forget to sleep enough, crash and burn" though.

----------


## Comissar

I don't know that there's much more I'd be looking to do personally with the current scene, so while there's time in game, I'd be ok with moving forward to later in the day if you guys are?

----------


## Hazuki

Sounds fine to me, just lemme know where you wanna go or if you want me to cook something up.

----------


## tgva8889

I was just about to ask that haha, this seems like a really good place to fade to another scene. Let the girls have some good happy times before somethinge else comes along.

In terms of what Alyssa wants to do, maybe we should have her go find Utha? Not enough drama yet today.

----------


## Hazuki

Yep, I can take Alyssa to Utha. Would she take Maggie with her?

----------


## Comissar

I'm good with either going forward to the re-meeting with Nya-Chan post work, or going with what we were talking about a while back and doing herb hunting with Bibi, whichever you'd prefer to see play out  :Small Smile:

----------


## tgva8889

> Yep, I can take Alyssa to Utha. Would she take Maggie with her?


I forgot to reply to this but yeah, I think she might!

----------


## Comissar

Leah's not so subtly trying to find out Nya-Chan's real name  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Turns out, her actual name is Missy Meow.

----------


## Comissar

> Turns out, her actual name is Missy Meow.


Checks out.

Can't remember if Leah ever actually did introduce herself to Nya-Chan back when they first officially met, but hey, she's doing it (again?) now.

----------


## Comissar

Man, remember Pokémon Pinball? Never completed that game, but remember having a lot of fun with it as a kid.

----------


## tgva8889

Oh yeah, I played the second one for GBA a lot! Pokemon did some real wacky stuff.

----------


## Hazuki

I've never heard of it. I think the most niche Pokemon game I've played is one of the Mystery Dungeons where I tried to play as a Charmander to get over my dislike of Charizard but I stopped playing so it didn't work out.

----------


## Comissar

Turns out Leah knows her way around a pinball machine! Assuming we're not doing golf rules for it, of course  :Small Tongue: 

And yeah, pokémon pinball came out around the same time as the pokémon TCG for the gameboy. Being a pokémon nerd in my youth, I did my best to get basically all the pokémon related games as a kid, even the weirder ones. I was really sad to miss out on Colloseum and Snap due to not having an N64.

----------


## Hazuki

I can't relate because I got into gaming in about 2010, so most of my experience of older stuff is...retroactive, I guess? 

Are you planning to buy the new Pokemon Snap?

----------


## Hazuki

Also **** I forgot to roll.

(2d6)[*10*]

----------


## Comissar

I don't currently have a switch, so if I did I'd need to buy one first  :Small Smile: 

It does look really cool! But I'm not sure I can justify a new console for it, sadly.

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, right, I think you mentioned that before, actually. I don't think I've used my Switch in a few months, last thing I played was probably Hades?

----------


## tgva8889

I did end up getting the new Pokemon Snap for Switch, mostly because everyone in my household wanted to try it so seemed worth getting a copy.

----------


## Comissar

> Oh, right, I think you mentioned that before, actually. I don't think I've used my Switch in a few months, last thing I played was probably Hades?


I'm very out of the loop on new game releases these days, quick google tells me it's some kind of Dungeon crawler? Any good?




> I did end up getting the new Pokemon Snap for Switch, mostly because everyone in my household wanted to try it so seemed worth getting a copy.


Nice! Enjoying it so far?

----------


## Hazuki

> I did end up getting the new Pokemon Snap for Switch, mostly because everyone in my household wanted to try it so seemed worth getting a copy.


Imagine I asked what Comissar did!




> I'm very out of the loop on new game releases these days, quick google tells me it's some kind of Dungeon crawler? Any good?


Yep. It's a Roguelite (You restart the game when you die, but there are new story beats every time you do and you keep certain advancements) with great characters, designs, music, graphics, story, etc. Very popular.

----------


## tgva8889

Haven't had much time to play it lately, but I'll get around to it! Been being distracted by many other things in my life.

----------


## Comissar

> Yep. It's a Roguelite (You restart the game when you die, but there are new story beats every time you do and you keep certain advancements) with great characters, designs, music, graphics, story, etc. Very popular.


Ah cool, I do like that kind of design philosophy. Get as far as you can, get rewards to help you get further next time. Gives a nice, simple gameplay loop and rewards skill as well as just buying all the upgrades.




> Haven't had much time to play it lately, but I'll get around to it! Been being distracted by many other things in my life.


Fair, let us know how it is once you do get a chance  :Small Smile: 

Hopefully the distractions aren't too severe!

----------


## tgva8889

Nah, mostly just work and lack of sleep preventing me from getting the motivation to do much more than veg on Youtube. I should definitely play more games or do something, though; I have quite a few games I want to play (and also several other things to work on, I have signed myself up for quite a few projects)

----------


## Hazuki

Hope you can find some time to get some sleep sooon.

(2d6)[*7*]

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, Leah is Player 1/the winner, just in case that wasn't clear.

----------


## Comissar

Some news! I've had my first covid jab today! Excited to finally be getting the vaccine, but while I feel fine currently, I might end up getting wiped out by it for a couple days, so if my post rate drops abruptly that's why  :Small Smile:

----------


## Hazuki

Nice! Thanks for letting us know.

----------


## Comissar

Wasn't sure if Juno was sitting or standing, was gonna have Leah sit beside her as she offered comfort if she was sitting down

----------


## Hazuki

I think we're at a natural timeksip point for this Juno scene, but Alyssa looks like she'll be busy for a little while yet. Do you want to do something else in this scene, have Juno and Leah go somewhere else, or maybe have Leah go somewhere else by herself?

----------


## Comissar

I'm alright with skipping forward for Leah, I imagine she'd be happy to spend a bit more time playing games with Juno, though I don't know that we'd get much more that's different to what's already happened with that. Once they wrap up at the arcade, Leah would probably want to check in if Juno wanted to spend more time with company or not, possibly to the point of inviting her back to the rented room/heading to Juno's own place if the offer were to be extended. I'm not too sure what Leah would do by herself atm, her goals right now are to try and get Juno in a better place, and to try and get back on better terms with Sass.

----------


## tgva8889

Sorry for my delays, I've been pulled back to work in the office so I have to adjust to that.

----------


## Hazuki

Not a problem, dude. Hope your settling back in goes smoothly.

----------


## tgva8889

My desktop computer at home just went out, so that was annoying. Still have my laptop working so not much to my abilities, but it was a draining experience trying to fix.

----------


## Comissar

Little fun fact, Macha's injury happened a little over 5 years ago in real time!

----------


## Hazuki

That's pretty long ago, huh. She'll be all grown up now!

----------


## tgva8889

Not an event in itself to celebrate but wow we have been enjoying each other's company for a while now!

----------


## Comissar

Wasn't quite sure how to make a 'Leah accepts the hug' post interesting, so just a brief sentence-worth of a post.

----------


## Hazuki

Short posts are perfectly fine sometimes.

----------


## tgva8889

I don't always have brain space for long posts.

----------


## Comissar

Hopefully the impromptu statements and expansions on the nature of Grass-types is alright, if not, let me know  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

I'm frothing with rage at your presumptuousness, but I'll allow it just this once.

----------


## Comissar

Leah's fine. It's fine, she's fine. She's _fine_.

----------


## tgva8889

Meanwhile Alyssa is learning how kitchens work  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Hazuki

Imagine if someone made Leah run into Sass on the way home. That'd sure suck, huh?

The juxtaposition of the scenes is fun, yeah. I am thinking it's looking good to tie them both up soon and move on to a scene where the girls are back together? I'm thinking maybe a morning scene, since it'll be pretty late by the time they get back.

----------


## Comissar

> Meanwhile Alyssa is learning how kitchens work


One less mystery in the world!  :Small Tongue: 




> Imagine if someone made Leah run into Sass on the way home. That'd sure suck, huh?
> 
> The juxtaposition of the scenes is fun, yeah. I am thinking it's looking good to tie them both up soon and move on to a scene where the girls are back together? I'm thinking maybe a morning scene, since it'll be pretty late by the time they get back.


With Sass at least, Leah is cognisant that they've had an argument but it can be patched up. She's coming to the realisation that, at best, Misru's just not a great friend. And at worst, wasn't really her friend to start with. She's also still got very mixed feelings over how the whole Rana situation went down. Also, yeah, I do enjoy the juxtaposition. Two very different conversations going on  :Small Tongue: 

I'm also fine with starting to move the pair back into the same place again  :Small Smile:

----------


## Hazuki

Misru? Not a good friend? Perish the thought! She's always there to lend an ear, a helping hand, and a smile!

The Rana situation could use some closure, though one that's hard to get without Rana around. And she's obviously somewhere that nobody wants to go back to any time soon.

----------


## tgva8889

I think both scenes are reaching a natural conclusion and would be happy to have Alyssa and Leah back together again as well.

----------


## Comissar

Haven't forgotten about posting, just been feeling really tired following second covid jab. Today's already been better than yesterday, though, so hopefully post to come tomorrow

----------


## Hazuki

No problem, hope you're recovering well.

----------


## Comissar

> No problem, hope you're recovering well.


I'm getting there  :Small Smile: 

I'd been taking mid-day naps past couple of days to keep myself going. Didn't have that option as I had work today, came back feeling weary from it, but anticipating tomorrow to be easier again.

----------


## Hazuki

Of the things I'm thinking, a meeting with Bibi might be fun? It's been a while. You could even rope her into finding a Petilil for Juno, if that's a thing y'all wanted to do together.

----------


## Comissar

I like the sound of that, Leah would probably feel most comfortable having Bibi help out in the outskirts of town.

----------


## tgva8889

Alyssa is absolutely interested in helping people catch Pokemon and/or watching Pokemon battles.

----------


## Hazuki

I haven't posted in a little while, for obvious reasons, so this is a post to confirm that I do, indeed, exist, true to the spirit of Rick Astley

----------


## Comissar

No worries, glad to hear you're still around  :Small Smile: 

I forget if this is something I'd mentioned or not, but my partner and I are moving house and we're now moving house _imminently_ >_>

As such, my post rate is gonna be dropping sharply soon as I focus on packing and, post-move, on getting internet back up and unpacking.

----------


## Hazuki

Aye aye, thanks for letting us know. Hope it goes smoothly.

----------


## tgva8889

No worries! Take care of your needs, I will be here still!

----------


## Hazuki

I wrote some Ace Attorney fanfiction a few years ago and my inbox is getting filled with people finding them 'cause people are playing the new games and revisiting the old ones. It's kinda neat.

----------


## tgva8889

That sounds very exciting!

----------


## Comissar

Appreciate your patience with me so far, move day is tomorrow, so just need to ask for a few more days of patience and I'll be back to it  :Small Smile:

----------


## Hazuki

No problem, still hope it goes well.

Let's play I Spy in the meantime, tgva. I spy something beginning with P.

----------


## tgva8889

Is it Pikachu?

----------


## Hazuki

Ooh, you're good at this. Your turn.

----------


## tgva8889

I spy with my eye something that begins with G.

----------


## Hazuki

Is it gnosticism

----------


## tgva8889

It is not!

----------


## Hazuki

Gallifreyans? Gallimaufrey? ...Gotye?

----------


## tgva8889

Nope, nope, nope! This thing I spy, it begins with GL.

----------


## Hazuki

Glothorita?

----------


## tgva8889

Nope! I am not sure how to play this game, should I give you more hints?

----------


## Hazuki

Oh, I was just making stupid guesses. Not sure when it comes to actually playing it. The capital letters make me think Girls' Love, the genre?

----------


## Comissar

Clearly it's 'Good Lord, Comissar's back!'. At least, sort of back. My new laptop was meant to arrive today (old one broke the day the internet arrived, which is fairly typical  :Small Tongue:  ) but didn't, so borrowing my partner's computer  :Small Smile: 

Move update, we're in! Mostly unpacked! We have internet! All in all, gone fairly well so far.

----------


## Hazuki

Glad to hear things are going smoohly.

----------


## tgva8889

Glad things are going well, Comissar! Hope your new computer arrives in a timely fashion.

----------


## Hazuki

What's everyone's favourite Pokemon

----------


## tgva8889

At different times, Pichu Smeargle Scizor Quagsire Skarmory are all up there. I like gen 2 a bit.

----------


## Comissar

Bulbasaur by a country mile.

Discounting the obvious choice, I like the designs of Anorith and Aurorus as well. For non-fossils, I've always loved the appearance of Dragonair.

----------


## tgva8889

Oh, also obviously Santa Pikachu.  :Small Big Grin: 

What about you, Hazuki?

----------


## Hazuki

Those are some good choices, Skarmory and Dragonair are both great. My favorites are Mawile and Mimikyu, definitely. Fairy has a lot of designs I like.

When do y'all want me to move you to in the morning? Meeting Juno for catching?

----------


## tgva8889

Fairies are definitely cute, I do like Azumarill (oh my do I just like only gen 2s).

I would say that skipping to helping Juno catch a Pokemon would be good!

----------


## Comissar

I'm also happy to skip forward to heading out with Juno  :Small Smile:

----------


## Hazuki

Just so y'all know, we're using Pokemon Legends: Arceus rules for this Pokemon capturing, so I hope Leah and Alyssa have been practicing their dodge rolls.

----------


## tgva8889

I am pretty excited for that game haha

Also did Alyssa have her own bed? I thought the joke of this room was that there was only one bed.

----------


## Hazuki

Was that the case? I thought I remembered them having two single beds. I can edit if I'm wrong.

----------


## tgva8889

Yeah I think it was one bed, there was a thing where Alyssa and Leah already had an awkward "how are we gonna sleep" moment before which was funny and awkward. It's not a big deal.

----------


## Comissar

Happy Thanksgiving to you guys (I forget if you celebrate it, but I'm fairly confident you do)  :Small Smile:

----------


## tgva8889

I do, and thank you!

----------


## Hazuki

I'll wish it as well, though we don't celebrate it since moving. 

Sorry for the delays of late. Been trying to sort out my sleep and blah

----------


## Comissar

Don't worry about the delays, Winter's a trickier time of year all round. Hope you manage to get your sleep schedule back on track sooner rather than later!

----------


## Hazuki

Thank you. It was NaNoWriMo that seemed to really mess me up.

----------


## tgva8889

NaNoWriMo definitely messed me up for November too, so no worries there!

----------


## Hazuki

How is everyone doin'?

----------


## Comissar

I have been completely sucked into the new Minecraft update, losing track of days as a result. Had to remind myself to check threads that were waiting for me and was embarrassed to realise how long I'd waited to post here.  :Small Red Face:

----------


## tgva8889

I have been having some bad sleep days, and been trying to feel a bit better so I can actually do some editing on my NaNoWriMo projects!

----------


## Hazuki

What new stuff dropped in Minecraft? I've never been a big player of it. Every time I try, I usually make a small house of some kind, think "this is sufficient" and stop playing.

What NaNoWriMo projects did you write, tgva?

----------


## Comissar

The 1.18 update has totally changed minecraft world generation, there's now huge cliffs and mountains.

*Spoiler: Some Images*
Show









And those are all in vanilla! It's really awesome!

Also, this is my starter base

*Spoiler: Starter Base*
Show

----------


## Hazuki

That building looks neat. How do you plan it all out?

----------


## Comissar

It's less planning and more rules I follow when building. Like, with this style house, I have pillars for the roof that are regularly spaced around the outside, then have fence posts connecting the tops of those to add detail.

----------


## tgva8889

> What new stuff dropped in Minecraft? I've never been a big player of it. Every time I try, I usually make a small house of some kind, think "this is sufficient" and stop playing.
> 
> What NaNoWriMo projects did you write, tgva?


There was a big fanfiction I had been planning for like the better part of last year that I finally wrote down a draft for, so now I have no excuse not to make it an actual thing.

Also is this a Hatterene? Like, the fully evolved form? That's neat.

----------


## Hazuki

What's the fanfic for?

And oops, no, sorry. I intended to use Hatenna, described Hattrem, and used Hatterene's name. I could not have been more of an idiot if I tried, there. So uh, let's split the difference and say Hattrem?

----------


## tgva8889

I figured since the description didn't quite match Haterenne! That's okay, I think Alyssa would do this either way.

It's fanfic for a webcomic that I'm active in the fan community for, Sleepless Domain, which is about magical girls in a city where monsters pop up every night. If you do read it, it shifts dramatically after chapter 2 so be warned, but I like it and all the community there.

----------


## Hazuki

Happy holiday's y'all.

----------


## Comissar

And the same to you both! Enjoy your day!

----------


## tgva8889

Hope you both had a good holiday! I had a good restful holiday myself.

----------


## Hazuki

Sorry for the delay, may be New Year's when I post.

----------


## Comissar

No stress, holiday period is a busy one  :Small Smile:

----------


## tgva8889

I certainly wasn't thinking of posting for the holidays so no worries! Hope y'all had a good end of the year!

----------


## Comissar

Apologies for the lack of posts, been dealing with a lot of job interview stuff the past few days that's been sucking up a lot of my free time. Will be aiming to have a post tomorrow.

----------


## tgva8889

Hope your interview goes well!

----------


## Comissar

> Hope your interview goes well!


It... Went ok, it's for a position that's kinda outside my field, and I think that showed in the interview, but when I asked them how they thought I did, they said that I didn't panic when I was asked something outside my experience, and gave relevant examples of transferrable skills. We'll see!

----------


## Comissar

If Leah were thinking a bit more clearly, she might've warned Juno, and especially Alyssa, that she was changing over to Sable.

----------


## tgva8889

Oh yes, time for the return of this! Hopefully Alyssa's short burst of advice and the introduction of some new Pokemon helps.

----------


## Hazuki

Imagine if I were clever another to plan an encounter that would target Saura's weakness while promoting the inclusion of Sableye to help further both Alyssa and Juno's stories at the same time, instead of it just being a happy accident. I'd be so smug right now.

----------


## tgva8889

I mean, Sableye isn't even that good against Hattrem, because it's also Fairy-type.  :Small Wink: 

Also, feel free to control Athe for the scene if Athe is going to be of much help. It seems like Sable is doing a decent job so far.

Any of y'all playing Pokemon Legends: Arceus?

----------


## Hazuki

I am playing Legends: Arceus, aye. I quite like it, though it doesn't top Sun and Moon for me. The story is nothing special but the biggest problem has been the lack of Pokemon variety; I'm on the fifth area with effectively a team of two, because I like to use all new Pokemon in a new game and most of the new designs are kinda bad? Which is odd, because I loved the designs of the last two generations.

----------


## Comissar

I've been enjoying Arceus, though taken a break for the past few days. I really like the open-world and catching mechanics, only real critique is that I wish there was a bit more diversity between regions, and I dislike Carnivine and always have XD

Game related, sorry it's not a great post, but got something up to try and keep some forward motion.

----------


## tgva8889

I am loving the catching mechanics and the exploration and the whole "Pokemon are dangerous!" vibe. I mostly just use a bit of everything, since they kinda want you to in order to fill out the Pokedex. Most of the new Pokemon aren't really that interesting to me, though.

----------


## Hazuki

I do wish they had a little more customization. My MC is black and she's had the same haircut since the start of the game, because none of the rest fit at all.

----------


## tgva8889

I think you unlock more customization options as you play through, but yeah I haven't especially enjoyed a lot of them. Mostly I use default hair (my character is slightly darker skinned but not black) and haven't messed too much with it, but I probably should see if there's anything more interesting to try.

----------


## Hazuki

You get some more over the course of the game and through sidequests, yeah. Same for clothes, which are admittedly 90% kimonos.

----------


## Comissar

My main gripe with customisation is that I wish it told you what was new when you unlock something new, rather than having to scroll through the dozens of options and hope you don't accidentally skim past it

----------


## Hazuki

That bothered me partially 'cause it's just inefficient design, designed that way to hide how few unique clothes there are. It'd be like Pokemon Kimono, Patterned Kimono, Formal Kimono, then clicking on them to reveal all those textures.

Also, y'all aren't waiting on me IC, right?

----------


## tgva8889

Mostly I have just found what I like and stuck with it, like usual. Eventually I'll probably have enough money to own all of it, I hope.

I am waiting for Leah or Juno to realize what's up with Alyssa at this point, since she's a bit busy trying not to completely melt down.

----------


## Comissar

Ah, sorry, I had been thinking I was waiting on others, but can get a post up (will be tomorrow rather than tonight)

----------


## tgva8889

No worries! It was a bit unclear.

----------


## Hazuki

Sorry y'all, I think I decided that Leah should post before Juno and didn't communicate that.

----------


## tgva8889

It's all right, life's been busy and stressful lately so no worries on a bit of lacking clarity. We'll get back to it as we go.

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## Hazuki

I forget, was Juno given a Pokeball?

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## Comissar

I... Think so..? If not, I think it's a minor enough thing that it can be assumed Leah would pass one to her now if asked. Not sure it'd be worth a post to itself for that. Or can edit in Leah passing a pokeball into my last post. Whatever's easiest.

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## Hazuki

It's cool, I'll just have her have one and let the scholars debate over the details.

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## Comissar

Was wondering how it worked in the series, so took a quick look at the wiki, apparently Pokéballs and Pokédexes are able to communicate with one another. I imagine it's as simple as just tapping. ( https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/w....A9dex_entries )

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## Hazuki

That works! 

Also, Leah will probably just...have knowledge of how to handle a Grass Pokemon that can use Poison, since Bulbasaur is both types. (Not that Shroomish is Poison Type, so it's a weird thing for the Pokedex to focus on.)

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## tgva8889

It has poison, but it's not Poison poison. Because, uh, those are different! Shroomish is a strange Pokemon.

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## Comissar

Aiming to get a post later today, apologies for the inactivity, life is hectic atm

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## Hazuki

No problem at all. Hope things become calmer!

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## tgva8889

Take care of yourself!

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## Hazuki

How do I describe a Pokemon miming the concept of scavenging/food theft?

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## Comissar

> How do I describe a Pokemon miming the concept of scavenging/food theft?


Literally steal the berries from Leah?  :Small Tongue:

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## Hazuki

Guys help I forgot what you wanted to do next.

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## Comissar

It's been a while so I honestly don't remember! Seems like a good opportunity to discuss directions, though? For Leah, I think for stuff around town she'd be wanting to get back into Sass's good graces (though the how of that I'm unsure on currently), and she'd be wanting to make sure Juno's in a happier spot and getting on ok with her new pokémon (though that'd involve coming back to her after a little while given we've just had the scene with her now). More long term, she'd also want to travel both to Alyssa's home town and to introduce Alyssa to her Dad in Whitebeam(?). So if you guys feel like we've gotten as much as we're going to from the current town, I'm ok moving onward.

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## Hazuki

We could do a scene with getting back into Sass' good graces, then get ready to leave town, perhaps include Juno in that? I don't know if there's anything Alyssa still needs to do, aside from her therapy, which we could perhaps continue with directions for her to visit home with another therapist (Did I call them that?) there so that arc can continue?

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## tgva8889

Shorter term, yeah I think we were gonna do something involving Sass, and I think there was some discussion of the direction between Alyssa and Utha, but mostly Alyssa was going to be doing therapy in town for now. Oh and she was making clothes with Nika? That probably wouldn't be too much to say "and then they did that" but that was a thing that was happening at some point. But if we want to get things moving elsewhere, directing Alyssa to go somewhere else to further her therapy would certainly be a good way to push her in a direction.

Longer term, Alyssa did want to go back home, and presumably meet Leah's dad at some point, and then I'm not really sure. She still has her longer-term goal of cataloging Pokemon moves, and she still has a longer-longer term goal of eventually patching things up with her brother (which will probably result out of the "going home for further therapy" thing) and also she still wants to have, like, an actual date with Leah? And also help Leah with her situation. Also she has an egg that will probably want to get hatched at some point. 

Longest term they could maybe also figure out what was happening with Lord Bastille? I dunno if there was a wider plot going there that we wanted to circle back to or not. I mean also Alyssa meeting Cresselia at some point but I imagine we're not really close to that in her arc and she has no real knowledge or understanding of how relevant that might be for her.

If we wanted something to delve into in the plit, maybe there could be something about expanding on the relationship between Alyssa and Maggie. I'm fine with her catching Maggie or not, but we could certainly develop their relationship more if we wanted.

Also sorry I disappeared for a bit, been busy with life stuff and on-and-off health wise for the past week or so.

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## Hazuki

You...will have to remind me about the egg and how that happened, because it has completely slipped out of my memory. Popped right out. 

Utha is mostly present as a kind of pseudo-antagonist thing with her crush on Alyssa, but that hasn't come up very much, I think mostly because she's polite and also hasn't really shared a scene with Leah? There's probably some way we can wrangle it to have a scene that tackles Leah and Alyssa, Nika and her girlfriend, and Utha's crush on Alyssa (Even if it's not directly addressed), _and_ solve Leah's problem with Sass, since that was, IIRC, all about Sass being annoyed about Nika being distracted, then lashing out at Leah along the same lines?

We can do the date with Alyssa and Leah, but I don't necessarily know how I'd contribute to that. I think they'd have a couple of almost-dates, they just got interrupted (Like with Rana!), and I'd be contributing nothing while they held hands and made eyes at each other. d:

The Lord Bastille thing is something I've mostly let drop, as we've moved towards more of a slice of life vibe. There was a bigger plot there and I could try to include more of it, but it seems like something that'd happen more in the background now, 'cause the girls have got their own, more personal goals to deal with.

If you have any ideas for how to develop Maggie and Alyssa, I'm open to it! It's just that for now, Maggie's quite happy spending time with the girls and being independent, even though she doesn't really act on that independence. I feel like it would probably be a sidequest focusing on some goal of hers. I feel like evolution is an obvious Pokemon-focused quest, but I feel like the vibe with the girls might change if Maggie is as tall as both of them. "Me, my girlfriend, and her 5'0 tall Gothitelle"

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## Comissar

> Utha is mostly present as a kind of pseudo-antagonist thing with her crush on Alyssa, but that hasn't come up very much, I think mostly because she's polite and also hasn't really shared a scene with Leah? There's probably some way we can wrangle it to have a scene that tackles Leah and Alyssa, Nika and her girlfriend, and Utha's crush on Alyssa (Even if it's not directly addressed), _and_ solve Leah's problem with Sass, since that was, IIRC, all about Sass being annoyed about Nika being distracted, then lashing out at Leah along the same lines?


I'm happy to go with something like this, might be a bit contrived to have it all happen simultaneously, but I could see events cascading into one another.




> We can do the date with Alyssa and Leah, but I don't necessarily know how I'd contribute to that. I think they'd have a couple of almost-dates, they just got interrupted (Like with Rana!), and I'd be contributing nothing while they held hands and made eyes at each other. d:


I have to admit that, for the time being, I'm not that fussed about trying to do another Alyssa/Leah date scene. I'm not sure there's enough new ground to cover for one to happen just yet. It could potentially be a thing for later on when there's been more personal development for either/both of them. At least for now, though, I'm happy to wait for a more natural moment.




> The Lord Bastille thing is something I've mostly let drop, as we've moved towards more of a slice of life vibe. There was a bigger plot there and I could try to include more of it, but it seems like something that'd happen more in the background now, 'cause the girls have got their own, more personal goals to deal with.


Agreed on this, too, the game has moved to be pretty slice-of-lifey (which is fine). I can see more minor events circling back in to have an impact potentially? Maybe another run in with the bandits outside town, but as with the date scene, I don't know that it'd be breaking enough new ground to warrant being a thing to happen..?

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## tgva8889

Alyssa got a Smeargle egg in this town. I think it was this town? Not really sure it's right time for that to hatch but eventually probably it should.

I do think the whole issue with Sass should probably get resolved before we finish up in this town. Sass was gonna borrow Maggie to fight the gym leader here if I remember right, so maybe we can force it that way? We have reason to meet up with Nika again since I think Alyssa left all the clothes they were painting at her place, so could do that too.

I'm not really sure what specifically to do for Maggie and Alyssa, was just something I thought of maybe. It might just play into Alyssa's desire to actually get better at battling and her growing protective nature? 

I think waiting on the date is fine! Alyssa could certainly use more therapy and personal development before we do another one. It's not, like, a required on-screen thing right now, but it was something I was thinking of.

I don't think resolving the Lord Bastille thing is required either, I like the current way things are going! Was just something I remembered happening if we wanted to expand on it.

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## Hazuki

Sass borrowing Maggie does seem like a good way to get those three, at least, together. If Alyssa wanted to help Leah get into Sass' good books, she could invite Utha, a Knight prospect, to give her advice, etc. That's a way to get most of them in the scene together, though it feels like something Alyssa ought to suggest IC?

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## tgva8889

Perhaps introducing Utha and Sass to one another would be a good way to help in developing both of those characters? Maybe move Sass along and maybe build up some subtle conflict between Utha and Leah there? Though from an IC perspective, I think Alyssa probably thinks Sass wants nothing to do with her, or would maybe not want to approach her given the tentative relationship between her and Leah.

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## Hazuki

Hmm. Well, how about I have Utha be near Alyssa and Leah's inn when they get back? Then Utha can suggest it if it comes up. I'll make it the next post if y'all think it's a good idea.

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## Comissar

That'd work for me!

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## tgva8889

Sounds like a good idea to me!

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## Hazuki

A friend of mine drew a little picture of Leah and Alyssa. Link.

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## Comissar

That is incredibly sweet  :Small Red Face:

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## Comissar

I know I said it already yesterday, but I think it bares repeating, it really is a sweet drawing. I feel kinda flattered that your friend drew it, could you pass my thanks on to them?

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## Hazuki

I told them you thought it was sweet already and they said you're welcome.

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## Hazuki

I realized overnight my last post probably sounded rude and dismissive. << I told them the first time, and then passed on your thanks when you asked.

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## Comissar

> I realized overnight my last post probably sounded rude and dismissive. << I told them the first time, and then passed on your thanks when you asked.


XD

I didn't take it that way, don't worry! I appreciate you passing the thanks on  :Small Smile:

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## tgva8889

> A friend of mine drew a little picture of Leah and Alyssa. Link.


Omg that's so cute and wonderful! Very lovely!

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## Comissar

Leah's feeling like the conversation is passing her by here (which is fine OoC, btw. That isn't a complaint. Alyssa/Utha don't need to try and pull her back into it). I imagine Utha's far more interested in Alyssa than she is in Leah after all  :Small Tongue: 

On an unrelated note, today marks 7 years to the day since the game began. Speaking personally, a _lot_ has happened in those seven years. I completed my Masters degree, lost my Dad and two Grandparents, got into a relationship with my best friend, moved out of my childhood house, endured lockdowns during Covid, moved to Scotland, and started a brand new job as a bookseller.

Through that time I just want to say that this game has been a great source of stability, particularly through the low periods, and I'm glad to still be continuing with it. It's been a pleasure to be a part of this game and I have enjoyed going through it with the both of you.

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## Hazuki

She indeed is, but! She's likely to try to include Leah regardless for the sake of manners; she's a very polite homewrecker. Also, in response to something IC, Utha isn't actually a Knight. I know recently I mentioned her being a would-be Knight, but I went and checked to refresh my characterization of her and she's actually a would-be mercenary. 

I don't think I can match what a sweet message that was, but it does make me happy to read and so does continuing with this game. It's the only real PbP I do now and I'm thankful for both of you sticking around so long. (Also, bookselling seems like a fun job.)

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## Comissar

> She indeed is, but! She's likely to try to include Leah regardless for the sake of manners; she's a very polite homewrecker. Also, in response to something IC, Utha isn't actually a Knight. I know recently I mentioned her being a would-be Knight, but I went and checked to refresh my characterization of her and she's actually a would-be mercenary. 
> 
> I don't think I can match what a sweet message that was, but it does make me happy to read and so does continuing with this game. It's the only real PbP I do now and I'm thankful for both of you sticking around so long. (Also, bookselling seems like a fun job.)


Ah, np! I knew she was involved with the professional fighting world, I think I must've gone off the knight comment. Will make an edit to correct that  :Small Smile: 

The game has absolutely been worth sticking around for  :Small Smile: 

And yeah, bookselling is honestly pretty cool! I work in a store called Blackwell's, it has a focus toward the academic side of things and caters to Universities and Schools as well as general high-street selling. I'm working as a supervisor for the academic floor. We've just hit the start of the back to university rush, so pretty tired, but it's been a really cool atmosphere in the shop since I started. Lots of like-minded folks, and there's a big games section in the basement that I get a 40% discount at (which is simultaneously great and dangerous  :Small Tongue: )

The particular Blackwell's I'm at is a huge shop, too. It's split over three floors (games in the basement, Fiction and general audience books on the ground floor, academic and popular science books on the upper floor, where I primarily work)

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## Hazuki

It sounds like a really chill vibe, especially if you're focused on the academic section. When you say games, you mean like board games, right? They don't stock Xenoblade 3 in the same building as Philosophical Anatomy and Its Implications For Federal Law?

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## tgva8889

I have been very thankful to have this game in my life, I've greatly enjoyed exploring Leah and Alyssa's characters and relationship and also doing it with Pokemon, and it's been good to have something like this while the rest of life has been going so far. 7 years is definitely the longest I've played any RPG and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Thank y'all for keeping things going! I'm glad to do my part.

I think I also switched jobs during this? I've been at my current job like 3 years so I must have. That's how math works right? My scale of time is very messed up after Covidtimes. But definitely been plenty of ups and downs for me too, and I'm glad I could help you get through yours.

Sounds like a much cooler job than what I do at least!

Also oh hey Xenoblade 3 that game consumed 2 months of my life. (In a good way!) I would play it more but it's Splatoon times for the next two months.

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## Comissar

> It sounds like a really chill vibe, especially if you're focused on the academic section. When you say games, you mean like board games, right? They don't stock Xenoblade 3 in the same building as Philosophical Anatomy and Its Implications For Federal Law?


Board games, yeah, to my knowledge no digital games.

And yeah, student rush excepted, it's been just a nice relaxed job.  :Small Smile:

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## Hazuki

Look at y'all with your various jobs. I'm still a housewife but I did move countries, so that's a thing.

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## Comissar

Moving countries is pretty exciting tbf! Just moving normally is a big shift, changing to a different country is even bigger.

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## tgva8889

Oh yeah, changing countries is a big thing! And I would say being a housewife is its own job.

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## Comissar

So, unfortunately, my laptop has crashed on me as of yesterday lunch time. Taking it in for a check after work today, but may be without it for a bit. Post speed is gonna suffer as a result. Hoping to not be without it for too long, but letting you guys know just in case.

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## Hazuki

Aye aye, thanks for letting us know.

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## Comissar

Laptop is back in action again!

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## Comissar

Apologies for the inactivity, combination of lots of physical work at work (shop refit, lots of moving things) and a bug (fortunately not Covid) have left me pretty wiped, will aim to be posting again soon

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## Hazuki

No problem at all, hope you recover soon!

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## Comissar

Thanks, surviving on painkillers at the moment, but I'm gradually shaking it off.

Game-related, realised Utha could've meant 'not a local' rather than 'from another country' with 'foreigner', but it feels pretty natural for Leah to just assume she meant 'from another country'

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## Hazuki

The foreigner thing was actually just a brain misfire on my part oops.

Now seems like the ideal time for a transition to the center, unless y'all want to accomplish anything else here...?

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## Comissar

Scene change is fine by me!

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## tgva8889

Sorry, American Thanksgiving took up much brain and time but I am totally alive and still here! Moving on to the Pokemon Center sounds good to me!

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## Hazuki

Just so y'all know, the Tinka line from Scarlet/Violet is canon in this game and always has been.

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## Comissar

Merry Christmas folks  :Small Smile: 

Hope you have a great holiday and a wonderful new year!

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## Hazuki

Happy holidays! I was going to say folks, but that's been taken so...gang? Happy holidays, gang.

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## tgva8889

Happy holidays friends! And a good new year to you too when that arrives!

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## Comissar

Happy New Year from the UK  :Small Smile:

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## Hazuki

And also happy new year to y'all.

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