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.
Three optional icebreaker questions are offered: 1. If you could be granted three wishes, what would they be? 2. What is the cheesiest pickup line you have heard? 3. If your friends compared you to a Pokemon, which Pokemon would it be?
Feel free to discuss any of these or use your own icebreaker!
Derby wasn't exactly the dating type. She'd never really dated seriously, spending most of her time working on whatever new metal creation was calling her name, trading time that should have been spent dating and enjoying her youth for helping her pop and creating whatever gidgit she could think up- which in itself wasn't exactly a bad thing! Coming here was more a social thing than anything, to get herself (and her roommate) outta the house and just kinda... see what happens. It's not like she was expecting much from it, anyway.
Maybe Skye'd get off her back about wanting to see her with somebody if she told the kid that she went out for a dating thing and it failed terribly? He'd just laugh it off and say maybe she should just marry a robot or sumthin'. Maybe... they'd be able to make one- not as a companion or anything, but now that she thought about it she could make some decent money outta like a robot. But that's besides the point!
Derby didn't exactly attempt to look decent. Her hair'd been thrown back into her best attempt at a ponytail, with bits sticking out slightly at the front (which she may have attempted to gel down at some point before giving up) and she was most definitely wearing a cropped tank in the middle of winter which, despite showing off her muscles, wasn't exactly the type of thing you were supposed to wear to things like this...
But it was fine! Derby approached her table confidently, hell maybe she could make a new pal or sumthin' out of this anyway. Sitting down opposite the stranger, who's name she skimmed on the card before her Derby offered her hand, ensuring to take in the strangers pronouns before anything else. "Nice to meetcha, names Derby." and, offered the firmest handshake possible. What else dya do instead of handshaking- oh- icebreakers! Maybe she could do one of those next?
Remind me why I signed up for this again? Romance was a myth, a lie, or at least that was what Wren believed. There was no evidence for or against it and unless proven otherwise, they would continue believing so. Dressed in a greyscale outfit, Wren thought they had done a decent job toning back the goth aesthetic they usually preferred. There were only a couple of skull accessories, a silver chain was in place of the black ribbon choker they normally wore, and of course they still had the skull hair clip. Wren had opted to wear the extensions this time and had pulled back half their hair in a simple ponytail, leaving the rest down in a simple but nice look.
Wren had gotten to the location a little early and had spent some time looking at the rest of the people in the area. Wonder if I could use any of them... Hmm, that was something to find out at the least. Their 'date,' if it could be called that approached a little while later and Wren... wasn't the slightest bit impressed. The only thing of note was how well built this 'Derby' was. Not another racer, surely? Their run in with that other ignoramus had made them loathe to discuss any form of racing again. "Wren~," they mused in greeting, wincing when they suddenly found their hand in a vice grip, "Charmed, I'm sure~."
That hand was immediately brought to Wren's lap where they could rub it out of Derby's sight. What was this girl made of, iron? Sigh, best get these questions out of the way..."If your friends compared you to a Pokemon, which Pokemon would it be and why?"
Aye, this Wren person was fancy. Charmed? Was this like... the ballroom era? Derby raised an eyebrow but didn't exactly say anything. They seemed nice enough, dressed real fancy, though they were a little bit grey in style it wasn't anything too drab, Derby could get with the look. As they asked one of the questions Derby shifted a little, a thoughtful hum leaving her- that was right off the card thing, right? She didn't have many friends but... sometimes when she goes down to help out at the orphanage some kids call her
"Some of the kids I work with called my Machamp, actually- probably cuz' I was doin' a lot of the heavy lifting dad couldn't, y'know? And they're obviously one of the more muscular pokemon, dunno..." Derby shrugged then, she didn't really see herself as a Machamp but... it wasn't about that. She could maybe see herself as an electric type, or something... ehhhh... She shifted a little and scratched at her cheek, "Whadda bout you, Wren?'
Oh? Derby worked with kids? That was kind of endearing Wren supposed. Hmmm, maybe this speed date wasn't a complete loss after all. Hearing Derby liken herself to a Machamp didn't really surprise Wren in the slightest. She certainly had the muscles for it after all and Machamp were quite muscular pokemon. Usually Machamp worked in construction sites or movers if they remembered correctly hmmm, what profession was Derby in that she had to do a lot of heavy lifting? Intriguing.
"A Machamp hmm? What do you do for work, if you don't mind me asking?" Wren mused, smiling a little before waving a hand to their attire, "I like the dark aesthetic and since I don't have many friends... I suppose I could be called a Zorua~," they continued, humming lightly before shrugging their shoulders. "Zorua are such cute things, and their illusion ability allows them to blend in quiet nicely~, I like to think of it as being flexible."
Was there another question they could answer? Arceus, all this small talk was tedious. Mmm, maybe Derby would offer up some interesting facts about herself without prompting.
Oh? Wren wanted to know what she did for work? It probably wasn't as cool as what they were expecting, but... "I'm actually a student right now, studyin' prosthetics- though I work part time with my pop, he's a contract worker, we used to do a buncha welding and stuff back when we lived in Hoenn- when we came here after the UB attack pop found it hard to get work, so we took on whatever we could involvin' metal- i'm basically his setta legs." Derby grinned then, she was proud of her pop for all he'd done. "We volunteer a bunch at some of the local orphanages and adoption centers, often there's stuff that needs fixin' around there and we're always on class- when i'm not studyin' that is."
She paused then, before letting out a chuckle, "Oh yeah, sorry, for context, my pops paralyzed from the waist down- though a buncha people round ivy, where he's set hire him for stuff, he's a tough dude." Hopefully she explained that well enough? Well, if she didn't it was whatever, as long as Derby loved what she did she didn't need others to understand, it was chill. As Wren gestured to their clothes and spoke Derby nodded, "The dark aesthetic really fits you- and the zorua match-up? There a certain reason you like all the dark stuff, or you jus' drawn to it?" another shrug then, "But yea, bein' flexible is good!"
A head-tilt then, "So whats brought you to this thing anyway? Is it the datin' aspect or you jus' lookin' for some mates?"
Oh? Prosthetics, hmm. Quite impressive~. Wren certainly didn't know many who would actually enjoy that field to say the least of things. Though maybe it made sense given that she was helping her father. Perhaps her father needed prosthetics? That would certainly be reason enough to go into that field. Why all the metal though? Mmm, a question for a little later perhaps. Of course Derby answered their unspoken question about her father which elicited a soft hum. Well then, that still didn't answer their question about why prosthetics but Derby was quite interesting.
Derby's comments about Wren's chosen pokemon and aesthetic brought a light smile to their features followed by a shrug. "I have my own reasons~, but it's easy to find matching clothes this way~," a soft giggle would follow that comment before the next question was given. A shrug was the only answer Wren had before they thought of something else to say, "I'm new to Arciel and it sounded interesting~," they mused, smiling bemusedly before sitting back in their chair.
It was their turn to ask the questions, now wasn't it? Hmmm... "So why prosthetics? Sounds like your father doesn't need them after all~."
New to Arciel? Damn, sounds like Wren had a bunch instore for them! Which was cool, in a way. Arciel was home to a bunch of cool things, like more complex pipelines, timber roofing, metal fences, fine materials- oh- she was gettin' distracted. "Arciel's a super open city too- there's a buncha cool stuff to do round here, my lil' bro goes on all sorts of wicked adventures." damn right he does! Skye adored adventures, and just discoverin' new things- kid was wild, but super damn curious, she loved his guts.
As they asked their next questions Derby raised a brow, "Mmm... well I found my partner amidst the wreckage in hoenn after the ultra beast attacks- Bender, a mighty brave Fennekin, was trapped under a buildin and we saved him, he had to get a leg amputation- and cuz i'd had background in buildin' like.. robots and stuff I took up the task of building him a temporary leg- even after that though I wanted to get into engineering, since it sounded cool." She ran a hand through her hair then, "But it wasn't the subject for me, and I guess after reflectin' I figured out I wanted to help as many mons as I could, especially after goin' to adoption centers with pops and seeing the state that some of the mons were in- missing limbs, eyes..."
She went quiet for a second, "My bro too, he's missin' an eye. One day I wanna be able to help him too with the work, maybe even change the world with what i'm able to do- I only adopt my mons or help those who need it- my girl Tinnie's missin' an ear, Char got trapped under a house and I found him when on the job, nobody took 'im in, and then my girl Nickle wa sput in the adoption centre cuz she was tiny bit overweight, and she took a real shinin' to me!" Derby grinned, "So I got her too." She laughed, then smiled at Wren. "So, what sorta mons you got- if ya don't mind me askin'?"
Wren hummed as Derby went on about Arciel and what could be done. Yes, the professor at the lab said as much at any rate. There was probably quite a bit they could do, but they were more interested in making connections. As Derby went on to answer their question about prosthetics, Wren was... actually endeared? That was really a sweet sentiment, wanting to help Pokemon out like that. Hmm, that would be pretty neat to see exactly what went into making these prosthetics. Something to look into later perhaps. It would take too long to get into the specifics right now~.
"That's quite noble of you~. My partner's a Ditto and such a dear~," Wren hummed softly, though they were a little uneasy about hearing about the whole missing eye thing. They didn't know how Derby could stomach things like that but to each their own~. "Though, what if a pokemon wanted to stay with you and it didn't necessarily have any permanent injuries or disabilities~?" Wren mused, tilting their head slightly as they waited for an answer.
As Derby asked her own question, Wren hummed slightly, "Well, I have a Ditto as I said. A newly hatched Nickit, Zorua, Galarian Ponyta and Zigzagoon, Rookidee, Impidimp, and some others I caught in the local swarms and along the routes. While I enjoy the dark aesthetic, I supposed I don't exactly have a typer per say~."
Noble? Nah, it was the right thing to do, just kinda common sense to Derby, really. Usin' her skills and stuff to do things that can help others. Though she did grin a little bigger at the word. As they began talking about their pokemon team Derby resting her head on his fist, curiously listening. A ditto? Aye, that's pretty cool. The blobs looked pretty damn cute.
As Wren spoke again Derby shifted a little... hum...Well, if the little mate wanted to stay with her, and didn't have friends and fam in the wild she wouldn't really be against it- though she didn't really see them spending much time with her, especially when she was so busy doin' all her metalwork stuff- she'd just bore the poor lil' dudes. "...If they wanted too, and weren't bothered by me havin' to work a bunch then maybe?" A shrug, "Guess it depends on the mon, and if they've got like a home and fam- I wouldn't wanna take em' out of a place they'd be much happier at."
Wren went over their team and Derby nodded- sounded like there was a buncha galarian mons? Definitely not all dark aesthetic, but they still suited Wren- a kinda cute team. "Nah, I like the variety! I reckon they all suit you." A nod, "Sometimes it's better to with what what mons grow close to ya rather then just how they look."
An eyebrow was raised there as she debating another question, "You said you weren't from Arciel, yea? You perhaps from Galar? You got quite a few Galarian mons."
Wren hummed thoughtfully at Derby's response, not exactly what to make of this one. My, but you're a moral one, aren't you~. That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how Wren played their cards. Shrugging a little at Derby's answer, they explained their choice in pokemon and how they enjoyed the dark aesthetic so much. It was a little odd to have someone compliment them without ulterior motive... or well, what seemed to be no ulterior motive. This could easily be another act however, especially given the way they were so reluctant to take in any pokemon if they didn't have flaws.
"Quite the angel of mercy, aren't you~," Wren murmured, smirking a little bit, touching the skull clip in their hair briefly. They could feel MJ ripple a little under their fingers, but unless Derby was looking for it, it was hardly noticeable. "Thank you~," Wren mused, shrugging their shoulders a bit. They had an aesthetic they liked but weren't exactly choosy either. If the pokemon wanted to go with them, who were they to say no~?
"Kalos, actually. I quite enjoy that Arciel has more than a big city to offer~. Such expansive lands~. No, I just lucked out when I met my dear Alouette and a few others~," Wren replied, shrugging a little in response. Mmmm, when did this date end again? This small talk was growing quite tiresome.
...The hells an angel of mercy? Derby wasn't too sure what that meant... at all, but meh. This was slightly awkward, she was kinda aware of that, and it was hard to keep conversation going. Derby got the feel that Wren didn't exactly feel keen to talk a bunch about metal, so like... that was chill, that was fine, but she wasn't the best at talking when it wasn't about her one passion. A shrugged, "Welcome?" Left Derby at their thanks, and she settled a little further into her seat.
Oh, damn- from Kalos? Close enough to Galar, right? "Yeah, Arciel's huge, and they have a lot more freedom in their rules then a buncha other regions- it's why my fam moved over here." A nod, "But Kalos is super fancy, i've always wanted to travel there, at least to check out the power plant- it sounds kinda wicked..." She moved to push at her hair a little, "But yeah- in Hoenn after the beast attack went down everythin' was super expensive, and even more so if you're disabled- housin' was expensive, and housin' with wheelchair access? With everything gone my fam couldn't afford it- so Arciel's kinda a blessing with what they've got. So I getcha."
At the mention of freedom, Wren smiled a bit more genuinely. Yes, that was the main thing they'd wanted away from Kalos. Freedom. Though, they had to wonder now if Derby's work with metal was voluntary or because she was forced to by her father. It was hard to imagine anyone willingly being part of a family with their own experience. Hearing Derby describe Kalos as 'fancy', Wren waved a dismissive hand. It wasn't like they'd been allowed to explore a lot of Kalos so there were no good memories of the region. Mmm, aside from school and learning how to be respected~.
"I never saw the appeal, myself~," Wren mused, shrugging a little, "But I do enjoy the freedom being here brings," they continued, putting a little more emphasis on the word than perhaps was necessary. Hoenn hmm? Well, they weren't quite familiar with that region but made a mental note of it regardless. Hadn't she mentioned that earlier? "How did you get into metal working, if you don't mind me asking? You mentioned working with your father before, but not whether it was voluntary~."
Maybe it wouldn't be a question that would be well received but with time almost up, Wren didn't think they had anything to lose. "I wasn't offered much of a choice at home regarding what I could or couldn't do," they explained briefly, humming before giving a brief shrug as if it never bothered them. It did, far more than they would ever let on but that wasn't a problem anymore, was it now~.
Ooooh- so they like the freedom too? Well, at least they're probably enjoyin' themselves... It was easier to get clients here in Arciel too, it was just a kinda cool environment that Derby wasn't against, at all. "Yeah, its great." Some more hair was shifted, circling a finger before falling flat against her shoulder. As Wren posed another question towards her Derby hummed, how'd she get into it? "Nah, it was completely voluntary."
Her mum and pops had been in the creative bushiness, so it was obvious that either way she'd end up like them. "Pops had been a metal worker, and as a kid I used his basement where he did all his work as a playpen rather than an actual playpen- workin' with metal, creatin' things- tiny robots, little screws, dad taught me the ins and outs and I just got hooked- been lovin' it ever since." She flashed Wren a grin then, which died a little as they spoke once more. Aw no, they had controllin' parents, maybe? Well, whatever the case, "It's a good thing ya came to Arciel then, for the freedom?"
A hand was outstretched towards the other people in here, "I bet a buncha people in here are chasin' opportunities they didn't get the chance to grab at when they were younger, so hopefully in Arciel you'll be able to do what you want, aye?" Before she could talk more, an alarm went off, and the girl shrugged her shoulders.
"Aye, looks like it's time." She outstretched her hand again, for another shake. "Nice meetin' ya, Wren. Maybe i'll seeya around?" An eyebrow raise, "Or not- whatever the case, hopefully ya have a good resta the night."
As the question was answered that the metal working was indeed voluntary, Wren hummed, putting a hand on their chin as Derby went on to explain. So family had been supportive, how quaint. Wren wasn't about to admit that they were jealous about the family dynamic that Derby had apparently been fortunate enough to have. It sounded so foreign to Wren that they didn't know what to say about that. Still, the comment about coming to Arciel for freedom's sake earned a softer smile.
As Derby gestured to the other people in the room, Wren surveyed the crowd briefly spotting a familiar face here and there. Still, it was an interesting thing to note at the very least. "Mmm, I suppose that's true~, I do enjoy it here~," Wren mused, smiling a little more before the bell finally went off. Thank Arceus.
"Indeed," Wren replied, eyeing that hand again and hoping it wouldn't be another vice grip. Still, it wouldn't do to appear rude and took the offered hand regardless, "Perhaps, enjoy~."Arceus, nobody was allowed to touch them again during the next date. Wren was pretty sure they couldn't feel their hand....
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