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 had one extra hour of free time a day, how would you use it? 2. Besides war and diplomacy, what would be the best way for countries to settle disputes? 3. What is one article of clothing that someone could wear that would make you walk out on a date with them?
Feel free to discuss any of these or use your own icebreaker!
Luckily, Liv found herself not having to move tables after the first round. And she really didn't want to risk bumping into familiar faces around here, so she opted to contain any thirst for refreshments or desire to stretch her legs in favor of... putting her chin down on the table and just looking around. It took her a few moments to realize how unbecoming it made her look, but wearing pretty casual attire to what was supposed to be a series of dates already did enough of that for her, at least in her mind.
So, by all means, she only picked her chin up off the surface to give a curt wave to who ever happened to be passing by rather closely, thinking that it may be the date she was meant to see. "Are you Lionel?" She called out, still waving. But it wasn't him, because it'd been like literally seconds since her last date ended.
And she kept doing this half a dozen more times before Lionel would finally near the table, at which point she was desperate to be right and stop bothering people she didn't know. "Lionel?!"
When his date with Faolan ended, Lionel faced a mild dilemma; he had to start over anew with someone else. Another awkward conversation - and another one after that, and he thinks, another after that? Oh, god, this was a mistake. The first one was hard enough. With his slight limp, it takes him a few seconds to make his way over to the next table, seeing as table three and table fourteen were a fair bit apart, but eventually he arrives to the sight of the girl.
As she exasperatedly asks after his name, he nods and scratches behind an ear. "Yeah, that's me." Pulling his chair out, he makes a slooow descent into the chair, and sighs out. "You're Liv, right? Is that short for anything, or... just Liv?"
Was that a bad thing to start off on? He was just curious. It was such a short name - but also, what could it possibly be short for? Liver? God, Lionel, you idiot. Inwardly, he's already panicking. A bit too quickly, he asks, "Either way, it's nice to meet you." Noticing that she, like Faolan, had been dressed rather casually - he once more laments that he looks like a funeral-goer. At least his sleeves were still rolled up.
It took everything in her power to prevent herself from sighing in relief, finally hitting the bullseye on the figurative dart board after probably calling out to half the people in the building. It wasn't that many, but in Liv's timezone, it might as well have been. Perking up—well, more than when calling out someone's name at random—she put on her brightest smile in an attempt to dazzle, reaching out to play with the frame of her sunglasses that she left on the table.
"Yup, that's me. Liv Sheridan," she started, settling into a more nature posture after the short introduction. No sense in smiling like a nut the entire time. That's just tiring. "It's not short for anything, but that just means more room for being creative with nicknames, don't you think? I bet you've been called Lion or something before, right?" Sure, just poke innocent fun at a man's name seconds after meeting him. A real pro move.
She does note, once she's done mentally chastising herself for the lingering embarrassment leading to social faux pas, that he seemed a lot more low energy compared to her last date. It could be something of a blessing, but she couldn't get a good read on him either. Staring long and hard at him after her words, her smile falls into an expression of pure curiosity. Maybe some conversation couldn't hurt. "If you don't mind my asking, how did you get that scar on your nose?"
Well, that was a pretty big smile. It bids him smile in turn, though it's a bit more awkward than hers. "You think? Maybe I'm just uncreative, but I can't think of anything off the top of my head. Most of it just sounds like puns I'd probably hate to be called myself."
She asks if he was called Lion, and he laughs a little. "Uh, yeah, on occasion. It's a pretty straight forward nickname, but then, people tend to get kind of weird about it."
The moment devolves then, turning as awkward as he'd been the moment he stepped up, as he isn't sure how to continue the topic of nicknames and names in general - and it feels a lot harder to get used to this girl than it had Faolan. But then, no two people were quite the same, now were they? Either she's ready to move on in general, or she's picked up on this fact, but she's the one to push the moment forward by inquiring as to scars.
"Oh." Thumbing his finger against the bridge of his nose, he laughs. "Nothing particularly... cool, I guess." Or, maybe it was? "I'm - or I was - an Officer for a long time, and sometimes you just get wounded in the line of duty. I got this one from a guy and his Pokemon, it was a... a Scyther, I think. Got a good scratch on me before my partner got in the way. Not a really cool story to tell, I don't think."
255 words | Liv Sheridan | lionel is the worst ladies man
Liv visibly relaxed as Lionel settled into a smile, awkward or not. It was reassuring that she hadn't nosedived the entire conversation into a fiery explosion at ground level with how she called out his name, and even brought up his scar. "Oh, I'm sure there's plenty of fun nicknames that aren't that bad. Like... Liv... Lively? I like that one," she murmured, the expression on her face saying it all. Please don't call her that, it was nothing but a bluff. Even the way she pronounced it was nothing short of strained.
Though his response about his own nickname managed to distract her enough that maybe, just maybe, she could forget about her mangling her own given name. "How do people get weird about it? Do they start calling you king of the jungle?" There was an earnest curiosity in her tone, something that lampshaded the way she could easily corner herself in steering the conversation in strange, horrible ways by saying things she would regret. No, this time she was okay with it. Looking him up and down, the first time she really did, her eyebrows raised. "I think it kinda fits someone of your build, at least."
She hummed at his answer about his scar, propping her chin on her hand for a moment. "I think it was an interesting story, at least. It'd have been cooler if you went into really big details about how it happened instead of glazing over it, but the way you tell it is half the battle, right?" This was the writer in Liv coming out. "But that doesn't make the aspect of it any less cool. Gives you a dignified look, and makes you seem cooler by default. Maybe not a net win because I'm sure it... uh... hurt."
Maybe she was backstepping on her own words a bit, but she shook head as if to shake off the vibes. Reaching out toward one of those question cards on the table, Liv nodded to herself. "Let's try one of those icebreaker things... 'What is one article of clothing that someone could wear that would make you walk out on a date with them?'"
"King of the jungle," he repeats, amused, "Yeah, maybe once or twice." The man looks bashful then, as the woman remarks on his appearance befitting the nickname, and he leans back as he thinks. "Mostly it was just women making... remarks. I'm pretty aware of the whole," he gestures to himself, shrugging, "thing I've got going on. I did have a couple guys on the force calling me Kitten for a while, when I was still a rookie."
Leaning forward, he shifts the topic back a few steps then, "Lively doesn't sound like a nickname. I think it's just too short. Maybe it'd be better to give you a nickname based on how you act, or, uh, look." A pause. "Not a bad nickname, though - you're-- you're not bad looking, I mean--"
Lionel freezes a moment, about to murmur an apology, when she decides to talk about one of the suggestions on the card. Which, was probably a good idea, the situation seemed to be devolving, in a way.
"I mean, I... I don't think much anything short of just being naked would make me outright walk off? People can, uh, wear what they want, right? Distracting or strange as you might find it, but far be it from me to judge a book by its cover. Never much was a fan of it." Pausing, he waits a few moments, appearing thoughtful, before saying, "That said, I never understood fishnets."
240 words | Liv Sheridan | this is pretty awkward actually
Out of everything he said about his nickname, there was really only one thing that Liv picked up on and most definitely focused her small brainpower on. "Kitten," she parroted, trying to imagine how anyone could get away with calling this guy that with a straight face. Look at him. Then again, he said when he was a rookie, right? That must have been awhile ago, since he didn't look like he was right around Liv's age, let alone younger.
Then her mental facilities went into overdrive, trying to picture him younger. It showed on her face, eyebrows furrowing as she mentally tried to fill in pieces of a puzzle that wasn't needed to be completed.
She snapped out of it, leaning her elbows on the table again as the topic shifted a bit. "I hope it wouldn't be a bad nickname," she spoke, wondering what nickname anyone would even come up with. "I mean, if you got anything, I'll be happy rolling with it for a bit. Trying it on like a figurative pair of sunglasses." She didn't really react too much to being called 'not bad looking' despite how she might be prone to it, if only because she knew. She knew she was good looking.
But alas, the conversation shifted the same way Liv did as she put the card back onto the table, sigh of relief passing through pursed lips as they moved on to something more interesting. Or at least potentially more interesting. "I guess I'm the same way, though I have to say if I showed up to a date and someone was wearing a really giant hat indoors, I'd be weirded out," which seemed kind of specific, but she digressed. "Fishnets can be really cool! Just try to picture it on me, right now." She held her arms out as if someone was about to literally put one on her over her head. "It goes really well if you're wearing the right color shirt on underneath, like a fashion statement."
"Me? Oh, no clue. I've never been one for nicknames - I suck at them. I can barely name my own Pokemon." Laughing faintly, Lionel shakes his head, "I think Liv's just fine, if you ask me - short and sweet, don't-- don't, uh, need anything else." It would be true to say that the date was crashing and burning faster than, really, anything else ever had before - even a speeding plane. But really, at least it wasn't without trying. They really were giving it the old college try, they couldn't be faulted for that at least.
When she tells him to imagine fishnets on her, he opens his mouth briefly, and then shuts it, because that whole line of thought felt awfully like a trap. One he didn't understand, or really have the capacity to navigate, even being the age he was at. "The right color, huh? I don't really get it. I guess it's 'cause I'm old, though." Loathe as he was to admit it, that particular fashion trend escaped him entirely.
A pause, and he suggests, "But, a big hat, though. Maybe that's a fashion statement, right? They want you to, uh, look at 'em. Though, I guess it's still weird." Shaking his head, he feels rather embarrassed that this conversation wasn't all that great. "What about the other question, ah, if you had one extra hour of free time a day, how would you use it? "
Thinking a moment, he admits, "I think I'd probably use it to take a nap, or catch up on some puzzles, something like that." Boring. Booooring.
Sadly to say, Liv didn't think this date was crashing and burning in the least. She may have embarrassed herself once or twice by speaking without thinking, or at least yelling in that first instance, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. That in itself was a win in her book, so she kept her eyes on Lionel, invested in the conversation despite the awkward air surrounding the two of them. If she had a thick-skull about something, at least it was that.
"Yeah, I suppose Liv sounds like a nickname anyway," she nodded, as if imparting some knowledge that Lionel was unaware of. Despite his asking if it was short for anything. Something something goldfish memory, probably. "But if you're having trouble giving your Pokémon names, maybe you could try thinking of a fitting theme! I've been naming my partners after different flowers and plants that I find super interesting, and then sprinkle in a little bit of subtle meaning... and boom! Perfect names that not even a Pokémon could hate."
Though, despite her confidence in her names for her partners, she was imaging Lionel in a big hat. Maybe not an amazing look. "It's one thing to want all eyes on you, it's another thing to be blocking eyes from looking past you," she said a little flippantly, maybe thinking too hard on the subject of giant hats. She shrugged eventually, moving along with Lionel's change of subject. At least in her heart of hearts, she knew that her sunglasses wouldn't be in anyone's way.
"If I had an extra hour everyday... I'd spend it outside. That's an entire sixty minutes I can spend out in nature, enjoying the little things, especially with my Pokémon by my side. Hiking or camping for an extra hour, not having to worry about timelines so much," she started, almost standing in her excitement. An extra hour also meant she would probably only be an hour late when she would inevitably get distracted in Birch City, instead of two. "Though... I don't think I could turn down a nap if I really needed one. What kind of puzzles do you like to do?"
"Huh," he starts, apparently amused, "Flowers and plants." That was pretty cute, now that he thought about it, and he peers at the woman rather curiously for a few short moments. She didn't exactly strike him as the flower-liking type, but then, wasn't that just him judging a book by its cover? Knowing better than to let himself do that for long he admits, "That's a pretty good idea. I usually just give them whatever name comes to mind. I don't do anything really special with them, but it can take a while to find something that fits right. Samson took ages to name."
Even then, he still wasn't sure Samson was quite right, but he responded to it all the same, and there had to be a time where they're just stuck with it, right? Like, that's your name forever.
When topic changes to what she'd do with that extra hour a day, the flowers and plants thing suddenly makes sense. It draws a smile to the man's lips, and he says, "That so? Before I got hurt, I'd go on hikes and jogs when I had downtime." Admittedly, that did sound pretty nice, and for the most part, he still does those things - but they're far less vigorous. Judging by a man his size, his hikes and jogs were probably a bit more like climbs and sprints.
"Crosswords," he notes immediately, before then saying, "Jigsaws, too. Mostly just those two. I think they're fun, pretty challenging - the uh, sudoku? Those ones from Johto and Kanto and whatnot? They're alright, too, but I'm better with words than numbers."
Slowly lowering herself back into her seat, Liv offered Lionel a warm smile. "That's a perfect way of doing it if it works for you. I think Samson's probably real happy with the name, so... I guess I'm saying don't break what isn't broken?" Which might have been a little contradictory of her earlier advice, but she seemed earnest about it. Sure, she might have been able to come up with a name that seemed to fit her partners on the spot, but it probably helped that she had some of them picked out since she was young before coming to Arciel. Not everyone was like that, and she knew it.
Color her surprised, however, when he said that he used to go on hikes and jogs. Before he was injured, huh... "Did you injury really make it hard to do those things?" She couldn't imagine a life where an injury made her feel like that, even if she was mostly mistaken about how bad he had it. The way he worded it really sounded like it was worse than it was. "I couldn't even imagine... but I suppose that explains why you like puzzles so much."
Yeah, not because he just happened to like them. It had to be because he couldn't go on hikes or jogs. The only explanation that made sense to a nature-brained creature like herself.
"Oh, I'm from Kanto! I think my parents like the sudoku, but I don't really have the right headspace for those... but jigsaws are okay in my book. I wouldn't really peg you for someone who likes them, but I guess I can't judge a book by its cover," she propped an elbow on the table as she spoke. "I'm good at crosswords when the theme is nature too."
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