Set in the original region of Arciel, Legends Rising is a route-inspired, but not strictly route-based, Pokemon roleplay. Pick a faction, pick a class, and strike out into the wild to take on the League, master Contest coordination, research the mysteries of Pokemon and Arciel, and much, much more. Will you be a classic trainer? A criminal? A farmer? Choose your destiny on Legends Rising.
This time of year, many were busy with shopping and decorating and all manner of festivities. Gabe was busy too but for entirely different reasons. He was at the stores, though, purchasing various items here and there in preparation for other things— but in all of this, his finances weren’t in the best state now. Heh, well, not like he hadn’t ever been in this situation before.
Standing in a specialty electronics store mulling over different equipment and items now, Gabe found himself slowly glancing around to the store’s cameras and the various other patrons here. Hmmm there’s a blind spot about here…. Now if only those witnesses would move…. Gabe shifted from one foot to the other and glanced back at the boxed electronics feigning indecision.
“Is there something I can help you with, sir?” a squeaky employee’s voice had Gabe glancing sideways at her. Ah, maybe he had been feigning too much indecision.
“Ah, no, I’m alright, just trying to decide between these hard drives,” he answered. “I know the differences— and the payment plan options— but it can be a bit of a challenge when shopping for someone else you know.” He winked and the girl turned red before nodding along with his words. “Thank you, though.” She gave a quick assurance that she’d be right over there if he needed anything. Gabe nodded and waved her off.
Now then… She was dealt with. The customers were out of sight now, and he was still in the camera’s blind spot. Picking up the small package and putting it in his jacket pocket, he turned and feigned indecision as he started to walk towards the exit.
Post by Michael Kempler on Nov 23, 2019 5:52:41 GMT
5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15
T'was the season, blah, blah, whatever. So Michael was out looking for gifts. Getting gifts was seriously one of the worst things ever, if he was being honest with himself. There was always that dumb chance of someone hating your gift and then you'd wasted both time and money that could've gone to, say, training his Pokemon? Or... y'know? Anything that he actually enjoyed? Yeah... But here he was, trying to be a good son and brother and... whatever. He was honestly thinking of gift cards as gifts, but his parents wouldn't give a damn about that, right? Rae might like it, as long as it was a decent clothing shop or something... Maybe.
As he was mulling all this over, he happened to see something out of the corner of his eye and looked over. Why this movement, of all the other people caught his eye, he wasn't sure... until he realized what it was that had pulled his attention. "Gabe?" He whispered this to himself, squinting a little in disbelief. He'd been honestly trying to stalk this kid for years now and this was how he'd finally meet back up with his brother? Really? Arceus, Unown, Palkia, and Dialga, WHAT were you thinking?
He approached quickly, not wanting to squander this opportunity. "Oi, what you doin'?" Michael was in no way an actor and was horrible at disguising or changing his voice when it really came down to it, but forcing himself to fudge the way the words came out so he could distract Gabe and get a jump on him was quite possibly his only hope. So here was to the likelihood that his long-lost brother wouldn't recognize his voice.
Gabe was in the clear. Gabe was in the clear. Just needed to get passed the next aisle and then the cash register and then out the door and— Oi, what you doin’? Gabe froze. How had he not heard the quick sounds of feet behind him until now? Maybe it was just too quiet over the sound of his own thoughts. He didn’t have time for these questions, though. He needed to act. He needed to think he—
He wouldn’t even register whose voice it was right then. It was only as he spun on his heels to face the person that he became exactly aware of who it was. “Mike—“ Was he kidding? Were they really about to— What was he doing?? Gabe’s face flicked between a dozen emotions all at once, and he was indeed stunned for a moment long enough for Michael to grab him or whatever.
Some people from the aisles over were peering out to see exactly what was going on right then.
Post by Michael Kempler on Nov 24, 2019 2:24:38 GMT
5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15
Taking advantage of the shock on his brother's face, Mike took it upon himself to snag his wrist. Truthfully, he had zero idea that Gabe had actually stolen anything, but there was absolutely no way, no how that he would let his triplet escape him again after four years (three years? didn't matter, it was too long). So he shifted Gabe so that he mostly blocked the view of customers and cameras alike as he held onto his arm. "I think you need to come with me, my friend. We're going to head to the local station," he 'explained'.
For now, he would seem entirely serious. Be a good ranger, Mike, he told himself, trying to treat it as real so he didn't have to act and mess everything up in the long run. Without letting people get a good look at Gabe, he dragged his brother off with a stern look. At least, that was the plan and he hoped the longer-haired one wouldn't actively fight him on this. That would make the seriousness a lot more difficult. "Did you think you'd get away with that?" He squinted over at Gabe as he asked this, thinking about how long he'd been trying to track down this dude more than the actual stealing.
As the hand sealed around his wrist, Gabe inadvertently pulled back. A grimace pealed across his lips as he stared back at Michael with a mix of confusion and defiance in his gaze. What— what what what no no no no no no— “I don’t think you have the authority,” Gabe growled pulling back. “You have nothing on me—“ No, don’t sass him. Don’t— Ugh.
“I mean…” Don’t struggle either. But his body and mind were at odds with one another. Because this was Michael. And because Gabe remembered learning he was actually an officer. “Let go—“ But Gabe found himself stumbling forward being carted off by someone who, despite looking so much like him, was an awful lot stronger than him right then.
“You goddamn….” Mike’s question cut him off, and Gabe fell silent for a moment. Gabe squinted back at Michael and then glanced forward defiantly. “You traitor,” he grumbled.
Post by Michael Kempler on Nov 24, 2019 5:04:09 GMT
5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15
How in Arceus's name had Michael not gotten the theatrics and dramatics from his siblings, he wondered? As Gabe mentally fought himself and half-physically fought against Michael, the younger triplet just raised a brow. Being called a traitor, though. Damn, son... Mike looked at his brother, gauging what he could from the side of his face and then sighed, shaking his head.
Don't lose your cool, Michael. Just keep walking. Since Gabe had (mostly) stopped struggling, they were able to make their way far enough; away from the shops, down a side street (which, honestly, was nowhere near the direction of any Ranger Station), and then finally Michael stopped.
"Fuck, man. I knew you were mad at me, but traitor? Celebi J. Priest... What'd you steal, anyway?" He'd start nonchalantly trying to reach into any spot he thought Gabe would've tucked something away in... well, at least the places that weren't places he'd get kicked viciously for, anyway. "You know, people are a hell of a lot less likely to suspect you of criminal behavior if you're supposed to uphold the law," he muttered, a little bitter that Gabe actually thought he'd take him in.
Gabe chewed the inside of his mouth. His mind bounced over various ways to get away. If he could just get his to his Pokeballs, Liz could use Smoke Screen, and they’d be out of there. Or if he could release anyone else for that matter, he could finagle it one way or another. However, as they turned down a side street, Gabe realized something: this was not a path leading to a Ranger’s Station.
As Michael stopped, Gabe took a step only to be pulled back. He scowled looking at him from the corner of his eye. “You’re the one who went and joined the ra— HEY!” Gabe squirmed a little stepping one way and then the other trying to keep Michael out of his pockets but ultimately unsuccessfully. Sure enough, the pocket of his jacket still had the boxed computer hard drive in it.
The words that fell after, however, had Gabe stilling for a moment. Gabe glanced at Mike slower now holding the stare for a moment. “You’re working the inside?” he ask-stated back.
Post by Michael Kempler on Nov 24, 2019 18:51:32 GMT
5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15
Looking over the hard drive, Mike just gave his brother a weird look. "A hard drive?" There were so many ways to ask 'why?' that he just couldn't settle on the best, so he just shook his head and handed it back to Gabe. Then he raised a brow at the disbelief he heard in the reiteration.
"It's not like you were the sole troublemaker, sheesh. We were in it together! I may not be the greatest actor of the three of us, but I actually like being in charge." He put his hand on his hip, taking a pose that was quite haughty. Then he reached up with the other hand to run his fingers through his hair, staring back at Gabe. "Maybe if you hadn't made me spend years chasing after you, I wouldn't have resorted to scaring the hell out of you to get your attention." With that, he smirked a little and reached out to playfully punch Gabe in the arm. Whatever their decisions had done to tear them apart, they were siblings and Mike had spent long enough holding onto whatever his part of the disagreements had been. At least for now.
As the hard drive was held out to him, Gabe snatched it back up and pushed it as far into his bag as it would go. His eyes remained on Michael, though, searching his face for any sign of deceit. He found none to be had, though, and slowly, Gabe was cooling. Michael was… still Michael, still easy and straightforward and….
The mention of appreciating being in charge, though, earned a snorted laugh. “Is that so?” Gabe asked a little softer now. “Who’re you in charge of then?” He didn’t have a full grasp of how Rangers were ranked or what differentiated them in status, but that didn’t matter then. What came after, though took precidence. Reaching forward and grabbing Mike by the cheek, Gabe pinched and pulled. “If you hadn’t gone with Dad then it wouldn’t even be a problem,” he answered letting go only after. A huff and a sigh escaped from him in one breath. “Don’t try and convince me to see him,” was the only warning after.
Post by Michael Kempler on Nov 27, 2019 17:31:46 GMT
5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15
"Nah, not like... Not like that. I mean, y'know, people have to listen to police officers and rangers are basically police officers for the wilds." Michael squinted a little at his brother, wondering how else to explain this. He could feel that he was going to get teased or laughed at... Whatever. Instead, he focused on the whole argument on which parent they'd gone with. Of course, it was much easier to focus on that when his face was being stretched. "Agh! Okhay! Shorrhy!"
Once he was released, he rubbed his cheek and offered in his defense, "Look, man. I could deal with getting hit. I couldn't deal with the mind games. Maybe I should've gone with you, just to make sure we both had support... but I can't change that now." Holding up his hands in surrender, he shook his head. "I won't," he promised. If Gabe didn't want to see their father, there was no reason to try pushing for it. All that would accomplish would be more fighting. "In all seriousness, though, how've you been? Still up to the same stuff, obviously. Anything new?"
Heh, same Mikey…. Same partner in crime, same bully-material. Gabe caught himself as the thought came about. It was too easy to just… fall into their stupid rhythm again. And we really shouldn’t, should we? Gabe grimaced a little.
The promise earned a soft sigh. “Good,” escaped from Gabe before he could even stop himself. A tightness that he didn’t realize was in his chest seemed to ease a little. The question that came after earned a small smirk and a roll of eyes. “Could be better,” he decided. “Could be worse.”A lot worse…
A wry smile came and went from Gabe’s features. “Quite a weak interrogation there, Officer Kempler…” he teased a little softer now. The sharp aggression and malice had gone from him for the moment at least. “You’re supposed to say shit like ‘where were you on the night of the twenty third?’ or whatever…” he laughed a little at his own words. A pause. “Same shit different day….” Another pause. “Fun as always though.”
Post by Michael Kempler on Nov 29, 2019 2:17:32 GMT
5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15
"Pfft, I'm not trying to interrogate. Less I know about what you did, the better... or something like that." Michael smirked and took a deep breath. "I'm glad to hear things aren't bad," he offered. If things had gone incredibly downhill for Gabe, he would have felt way too much guilt. He didn't necessarily regret staying with their father, but he did regret not sticking by his brother. It was... a messy thing. He actually would really enjoy getting into some of the same trouble, especially now that they were both older and more experienced in their shenanigans.
If they hadn't split all those years ago and lost contact, for the most part, Mike couldn't really even imagine where they'd be now. Would they both have ended up in jail? Maybe they would be part of some criminal organization... Probably even have started their own damn gang or something. He probably would have laughed out loud at that thought, but instead he just shook his head. "It's... really good to see you, man."
Less I know the better… A small breathed laugh escaped from Gabe. Wasn’t that the truth? But maybe… No. Not right now. Maybe not ever. But maybe… The words that came after that struck a strange chord, and Gabe felt himself fighting the urge to fall back so easily into old habits.
…Damn it just this once, he promised. If he got Michael into trouble, well that wasn’t his fault in the least.
“….Wanna go move the flowers and items on gravestones one grave over?” he asked unable to stop himself. Or would broad daylight be too much for you? Gabe stopped himself from asking it. He wanted to see Mikey’s answer by itself.
Post by Michael Kempler on Dec 5, 2019 12:46:09 GMT
5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15
Michael probably should have figured out sooner that his sibling was arguing with himself, but by the time he felt there was too long with no answer, the question was already coming. He stood there, a little stricken by the suddenness of the offer for shenanigans, and looked at Gabe in contemplation.
Although he wasn't really surprised, just how quickly it happened was a bit unexpected. "Man," he murmured and reached up to run his fingers through his hair, other hand on his hip. Then he shook his head and snickered, "I manage to find you again and the first thing you wanna do is get in trouble." Just a brief pause, coupled with a shrug and Mike replied, "Why the hell not?"
He wasn't wearing his ranger outfit and honestly, this was one of those things where the likelihood of having the cops called was fairly low. More likely, they'd just get scolded by some little old lady and they could run off cackling with no repercussions. Even if the cops were called, as long as they got the hell out of Dodge quick, they weren't as likely to be recognized and it would just be a fun experience to laugh about later.
A goofy smile slowly pulled across Gabe’s features as Michael shook his head and snickered. The words that came after might as well have been music to his ears for a hot second there. “Atta Mikey,” he laughed, a warm, genuine, almost heart felt laugh right then. This was nice; this was good. This was just a little mischief between …. Estranged siblings who were trying not to be estranged. Or at least Michael was. And that was enough for Gabe then. “C’mon then….”
And suddenly he was reaching for his hand like they were ten years old, and Gabe was about to drag Michael out of their house down the lawn and out to the graveyards in town. He stopped short, though, and looked down at his hand and then up at Michael. A smaller puff of air escaped from him, and he made a hand gesture to follow instead. “There should be one down a few blocks on the left if I remember right…”
Post by Michael Kempler on Dec 9, 2019 1:19:07 GMT
5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15
"Yeah, yeah," Michael muttered in amusement. Running his fingers through his hair again, he considered how this would actually go for them. With his luck, they'd probably get caught and he'd been be written up and given a warning about such behavior. Ah, whatever... It wasn't actually hurting anyone, right?
Truth be told, Mike almost instinctively reached for his brother's hand before snorting faintly as Gabe huffed. "Like old times, right?" Smirking, he moved to follow after, nodding his head. "I think you're right. I never visited, but... anyway, I think you're right." Stop rambling or trying to... mansplain, Michael.
“Almost too familiar,” Gabe admitted with a small smile. It was strange, too strange, and comforting, too comforting. At the mention of the graveyard location, Gabe laughed. “Oh yeah? Scouting it out already huh?” he teased with a small grin. Of course, he wasn’t entirely sure of that, but he wouldn’t rule it out either. Leading down the alleyway and then down another street, he paused, looked around, fished out his phone, checked the GPS, and then pointed in the right direction before smirking at Michael and starting on again.
Soon enough they were there amongst the gravestones in overcast light with some snow in the area. There wasn’t anyone else around that Gabe could see from a quick sweep of things, but he didn’t doubt there could be someone low to the ground right then praying and not cacthing his eye. Slowly, Gabe started down an row of them.
For all he was and all he wasn’t, Gabe liked the looks of grave markers. They were so many variations of the same slab, and each had a weird name and date assigned to it, heh. “Louis Redsock….” he read one of the names out loud. “Burried… with his Pachirisu….” He muttered softer after the fact, reaching back and pulling at his hair some.
Post by Michael Kempler on Dec 9, 2019 4:52:32 GMT
5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15
"Pfft, maybe." He hadn't exactly been scouting it out for this, but graveyards were a good place for shenanigans so... Only part of it was so he could "think like the troublemakers" and figure out where people might be ahead of time if he was ever called to this place on a job.
Michael honestly wasn't as fond of the general appearance of the place, per se. Names didn't really draw his attention and... "Shit, man. That's depressing," he muttered and looked around. Deciding "screw it", he snagged a bundle of blue flowers from a random grave and stuck them on Louis Redsock's. "There... Matches his partner... or whatever."
Making a face, Michael pulled out a Pokeball and released none other than... a Jigglypuff. "Ida, I need you to keep a look out for people. Just anyone, okay? I don't care if you think they're dangerous or a problem. Just any person you see, got it?" The little pink puff ball tilted curiously and then expressed her delighted agreement before floating off to look for just anyone. Gabe would immediately get a glare and a warning of, "Don't ask." He fully expected to still be asked, though.
A small forced laugh escaped from Gabe. “Eh, least they ain’t alone yeah?” he asked stepping sideways and pulling a few coins off the tops of one gravestone and setting it there on Louis’. He never would quite understand that tradition, but he guessed if it wasn’t that much pen anyways who cared.
Gabe’s eyes flashed sideways as a Pokeball was produced and a…. Jigglypuff was released. “Mikey look at yooouuuuu….” he teased even as the glare was shot sideways at him. “I never thought you’d be the type to have that Type…” he chuckled raising a hand to only absently cover his mouth. He wasn’t going to ask; Michael had already said not to. But Gabe was gonna tease one way or another. “Got a secret stash of cutsie Pokemon all lined up I bet…. Ranger Kempler’s Fairy brigade…”
Post by Michael Kempler on Dec 10, 2019 16:13:33 GMT
5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15
"That's a little morbid, but I guess you have a point," Michael responded and then groaned as the teasing began. "Man, it's not like I got to choose what the Ranger Union gave me..." As Gabe continued on, he grumbled at the teases but didn't try to defend himself in any other way. There wasn't an easy way to convince his brother that he didn't have a bunch of cutsie fairies and even if he could, he figured it was better to let Gabe have his fun.
Besides... technically speaking, he did have a bunch of currently-cutesy Pokemon that would evolve into beastly bears eventually so there was no denying. "She's not that smart. Are we going to do this or not because with my luck, she's going to bring someone to us, thinking that's what I wanted. Either that or she might end up daydreaming and miss something important." The only reason he'd chosen her to keep a look out was because she could float but she was small, unlike his gigantic shiny Heracross.
06
04
00
