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.
Cedar town, a place she'd been many times- picturesque, like it's right out of a magazine. Framed by blue waters, and the gentle sunlight that highlights the rising tide. Perfect for what was planned for today. As soon as it was known she had her phone back companies who she'd lost contact with had been practically slamming down her door- and that's how she found herself not exactly headlining, but being a feature for a gossip magazines column- a meet the team spread for Arciel's up and coming stars.
Today was going to be simple- something that can pick her back up, and something she could ace without much thinking. Smiling, posing... When she arrived she was met with a lovely team of reporters and photographers, as well as one director. They'd set her up right away, a little further past the pokecenter, off the high-up sidewalk with the beach in the background.
She'd already gone through her beloved Aumia, posing with the mone standing on her head, posing with her hands in the air like the sun shone just for her! She'd done one down by the beach earlier with Totodile, who got... a little distracted showing the director his tutu for the day. And right after had been Adagio, who'd been slightly nervous to come out, but when bribed by treats by the head photographer was more than keen for the shoot. Fpr each pokemon, there'd been an outfit change too to match the pokemon's scheme, so that probably explains why she was in a cream sundress with flowers and leaves laced throughout her braids- her hair currently- thankfully it's natural colour.
At the moment, she was sitting on the edge of the wooden platform, feet dangling as Code was curled up by her side, her eevee. A phot photographers stood around her, telling her to look one way or another, asking for a smile- then a neutral face- then for no face... Simple, easy steps to follow. She didn't get how people could get fed up with it, really! As she posed and hitched her skirt a little higher for the camera a reporter began to speak to her, prompted her eyes to flick over in their direction. "And Coda... what sort of role does she play within your choreography? Should we expect to see her up on the stage with the PNG?" Arietta threw her head back in a laugh that she'd practice for days to get right- a showbiz laugh- from the gut and meant to sound genuine. A really really good fake laugh. "Coda here isn't too keen for the stage, i'm only teaching her the basics now, so for now she'll only be doing minor jumps, y'know, under and over the leg, twirls, until she's confident enough to make her PNG debut!"
The reporter laughed, jolly, a curious twinkle in their eyes. "I see, I see- and I believe that's all we need for Coda!" the eevee let out a soft mewl, peering up at the reporter with an almost... disinterest in her eye. She didn't really wanna move right now. "One or two more shots, pleeeaaase? Coda doesn't seem ready to switch over just yet." "Aw, how can we say no to such a sweet idol?"
Gabe had been moving through Cedar Town. He’d wandered all the way down to Pine Town, got some business taken care of, and now he was back the way he came towards Bass City again. He’d only really intended to walk down mainstreet and then walk right out of town again. However, with the weather being so nice after several day’s worth of dreariness and storming, he couldn’t help but take a more scenic route— briefly through the shopping stalls and then out towards the boardwalk-type area.
That day, Gabe was dressed for comfort more than anything. Boots were worn only for security’s sake and were definitely more hiking boots than fashion boots. A simple red t-shirt hid itself partially under a denim jean jacket whose best feature was a few chains hooking the front pockets together. A pair of black jeans had seen better days but were somehow still black finished out the clothing look.
His hair was pulled back into two twin pigtails that streamed down his back, and his bangs had been pushed a little more to the side than usual. He couldn’t seem to finagle it into its usual structure, so this was the compromise.
Walking alongside him looking about excitedly was the newly hatched Tyrogue nicknamed Rogue. The small Pokemon kept running forward and then running back and jabbering on about what he saw to Gabe. Gabe understood less than half of it but was pleased none the less and rewarded the Pokemon with head pats. As he ran along the docks and then noticed a strange sight, he was quick to scuttle back to Gabe and pull his hand to come see. Gabe rolled his eyes expecting it to be another bird or something—
And then he saw Ara posing for a camera shoot. Color almost immediately touched Gabe’s features, and a hand raised to slap itself over his mouth. Why is she still so cute, damn it… He could walk away from this, though. He was fine with this. Grasping Rogue’s hand, he had been about to pull him away and onwards.
The clicking of the camera was all Arietta heard as she shifted slightly, her hand gently curling through Coda's fur as she settled in for a a few more pictures- she could probably relax in this heat all day if she had to, head back... she might sunbake after this, actually! Letting the rays settle in- she could get a nice summer glow right before winter hit full-force! Arietta was eventually ushered upwards by the crew around her, and with a soft goodbye Coda was retracted back into her pokeball. The director moved over to her, a list in their hand, "...It's... Alto next, right? We got you a pretty downcast look for this one- we might need to go in the shadows of some buildings- against a brick wall, maybe?"
Aw, she was losing the sun?! Arietta held back her immediate though, instead smiling at the person before her and moving to take the leaves and flowers out of her hair, passing it to an assistant nearby, "Yeah, Alto- but that's only his stage name..." Arietta shifted, grabbing a ball and gently pressing the cartridge, smiling and bringing her hand forward as the Misdreavus appeared, "Buuut, he prefers Gabbie!" said pokemon let out a soft chorus of noises, moving quickly to rub himself at Arietta's side, terrified of... all the people.
"So, whatres the clothes for this shoot, then?" Ari tilted her head, her hand moving to play with the pokemon and hopefully getting it to feel safer in the current environment. "We have something darker for you- it's a big t-shirt, sponsored by some big-shot company- might be... oversized on you? But we'll match it with a collar and some cute pink devil horns, just the look to fit the occasion- you think you can change pretty quick?"
Arietta threw her thumb up at the director, that actually sounded like a halfway decent outfit! "Can-do- you got the curtains set up?" As she glanced around, the assistants seemed to have gotten to work, a tent surronded by curtains just... being there. It took no longer than 30 seconds, a quick in and out. By the time she popped out she was asking for some help from one of the assistants to tighten her collar and using a free hand to undo the braids.
Gabbie moved to flaot by her side, nervously staring at everybody and letting out a series of soft cries- he was practically shaking. "Ahhhh- Gabbie- Gab, it's okay! Just pretend it's just me here, Gabbie- yeah? We're gonna go take a walk in a second, yeah?" he seemed to relax slightly- arceus, he'd come a long way since the alley-way.
Gabbie… Gabe immediately stopped walking. He’d been a few steps away then having to pull the curious Tyrogue along, but that had stopped him in his tracks. Looking back towards Ara’s shoot, Gabe’s eyes fixated on what she had just named Gabbie. A Misdreavus. That was not a coincidence. That was not an accident. Gabe stared sideways in utter silence.
Ara hadn’t noticed him. She was talking to others. Of course she wouldn’t notice him. He watched her change and get ready for the next series of photos. Rogue pulled at his hand and whined a little impatiently. “Sorry,” Gabe spoke turning towards him and bending down. “I just happened to see a friend…. Do you mind a detour?” he asked. The Tyrogue squinted before shrugging his shoulders. So long as they were moving, fine??
And with that, Gabe was walking around the various photographers, director, and whoever else towards Ara. Coming up right behind her, he probably startled a few people aside from her. “You know I wore something similar but better,” he stated right behind her. “Gardevoir suits you more.”
Gabbie floated around her as she watched the photographers and reporters pack their bags, getting ready for the next shoot location. Idle chatter was exchanged and Arietta stood her place, grabbing out her phone to check her appearance and maybe tug out a few stray locks to her hair, adjust the horn headband a little and-
A familiar voice creeped into her ear, one she could recognise from a mile away, and she physically had to slap a hand over her mouth to stop herself from swearing out loud- right- Arietta-reporters- people- you're being... right. What the actual fuck was... Gabe doing here? The girl spun on her heel, attempting to put on an expression more befitting for an idol.
Nobody, at least who had seen him from nearby had recognized him, which meant they hadn't read her blog- she just had to hope none of the packing up photographers knew... "H...Hello, stranger." Gabbie moved to hide behind her, a loud wail leaving his lips. "I believe you're mistaken, uh..." Words- how did words work. People were watching- reporters. Her eyes flicked around at the people nervously and she whispered out, "I...I didn't ask to get Gabbie- if I could get a Raltz I would... the fuck are you uh-"She glanced around again, raising her voice and shifting her hands to her hip. "Here for- an autograph?"
As Ara spun around to meet his gaze, Gabe stared down at her. The neutral idol façade was met with a cool if questionable one. Hello stranger? Hah, how funny. Mistaken? Sure. As she went on to make excuses, however, something dangerous flickered in his yellow spheres. The fuck are you… What was he doing? Was he here for an autograph?
“Oh sweetie,” he chuckled loud enough for the photographers and reporters to hear. “I thought you promised that you’d finally introduce me to the media again after so long….…” Gabe was smiling, but his hand was clenched around Rogue’s. The Tyrogue whined softly and pulled a little uncomfortably. What was wrong? “I really hope you’re not getting cold feet now.”
Gabbie let out a variety of soft squeaks and cries from behind Airetta, peaking his head out for a moment to blink at Gabe behind ducking right back behind her. Ara didn't like the way his expression seemed to flare, and her lips pushed together, yes darting around for a brief moment, trying to think... what... what could she do in this situation?
She could like... call security-if he tried anything- not that he'd... would he... She blinked out of her daze as he began talking, eyes moving back to meet his. nervous and skittish. "...I don't think I promised you anything." she moved to take a step back, shrugging her shoulders- stay pretty, stay peppy! They're all watching. "I doo believe you're mistaken though- maybe you've got the wrong idol- i'm in a group, PNG- uh..."
She gulped, and her hands moved to adjust the horns on her head, eyes looking anywhere but at him- she was going to throw out another line, uncomfortable- she was working, she didn't- this was supposed to be a day where she could just breath and focus on posing, and speaking! "I-"
A camera girl who'd been watching from far away let out a gasp, pointing to Gabe, "Ostinato- I think I recognize him!" Oh- oh fuck. Arietta's eyes widened significantly and her hands grasted as the plastic in her hair a little tighter. "O-Oh? Maybe you can tell me another time, Rosi-" ""No! That's- Gabe, right? From your blog- i've seen his picture, the one where you were younger? I did research for this..."
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Gabbie let out a series of other cries, floating now next to Arietta's head, staring at her worryingly. The girl attempted to keep on her plastic smile, eyes glancing around. "I... mean... the stranger does... look an awful lot like him- you're right, but I believe this- is just a confused fan...." She took a breath and attempted a smile, she was not gonna look back at Gabe- no way. "Right?"
Gabe’s features were unwavering, unshakable. His eyes remained locked on Ara’s face even though she wouldn’t meet his gaze. She was really about to play this off? Heh, well what else could she do when he set it up like that? What more could she do? He might have let it fall off, apologize, and go on. He might have flicked her Misdreavus but otherwise left.
But then a camera girl spoke up— and sure enough recognized him. Gabe blinked a couple of times almost a little jarred to hear his name spoken like that. He stared at her for a moment as she registered the blog, and then Gabe remembered all those words and documents were still out there— and that was something else to be mad about. She’d ripped apart his name and then given it to a Pokemon.
A smile flashed across Gabe’s features. “That’s right!” he beamed at the camera woman. “We met re-met a bit ago and made up after so long….” He spoke sickeningly sweetly. “And got back together. She even named Gabbie after me; isn’t that sweet?” Wasn’t that sweet? Wasn’t that sweet?
Please for the love of arceus leave- just- run- don't... Arietta felt like she was going to throw up,. Gabe was... oh her PR manager was going to eat her alive. She could feel herself fumbling for a response, but nothing that the reporters wouldn't document down every word of and use against her- she couldn't swear, she... fuck. How did she word this?! How did she...
"No-no-no-no..." She attempted to cut in before any reporters could go forth, he was not ruining this for her. Fuck. Arceus fucking damn it. "Don't... word it like that- Gabe- it'll... confuse them..." She practically forced the words off her tongue,knowing it'd be a confirmation, something solid that it was infact Gabe. Gabbie didn't like the smile Gabe had- and he cried out once more, attempting to press into Arietta's side. Said girl was just trying to pieece together something rational in her head- that'd work...
What can she even say?! Not like she could say she got utterly smashed out at a club and thought she saw Gabe in an alleyway, instead finding a terrified Mismagious all on it's own and basically adopting him on the spot- that'd ruin her image. She had to be careful. "We're... just...acquaintances- at the moment. Which is why I was so hesitant to believe it was him- i'm finding it difficult to put the past behind me, you see- so I didn't wish to... worry... any fans..."
She attempted another smile, glancing around at all the reporters- all while her head was bouncing around what to do. If she didn't touch on the Gabbie bit, it didn't exist- if she didn't mention the Gabbie bit, it wouldn't be brought up- just ghost over it- because Gabbie was... technically... named after him- or- like- because of what he dressed up as.
Gabe smirked. He got what he wanted— for the moment. “Oh my apologies for the confusion,” he mused playfully back. As she went on, he found his lips pressing together in a hard line.
Was that why you named it Gabbie? Was that why you’re tormenting me with this? Giving all of your affection to something that was just a— substitute? Gabe’s chest was tightening by the second, and while the rational part of him was screaming that this was no time to get emotional, he could barely hear it. Naming something after me…. After our dance… so you can just…. just….
“Well… I see you’re busy, so I won’t keep you any longer…” Gabe managed to keep his voice calm, relaxed, at ease. “I—“
“Wait! Why don’t we get a few pictures of you together?” The photographer was asking her eyes practically shining. They definitely had that cool and warm aesthetic going on. It could easily earn some good publicity to show her moving on too!
Oh thank fuck he was leaving! Arietta could carry on with her day- her life even and never have to dwell on what could have just gone down. Well... depending on what was written, she might.... The photographer was asking a question of her... with... those eyes. Those stupid, sparkly eyes that meant she was sure she'd be able to make some sort of scoop over this- probably. Arietta bit back attempting to tell her that it wasn't her job to take photos of her with... aAAAH.
Arietta was hugging herself, arms tight around her chest and she stared at the reporter,how did she... she couldn't decline this, could she? Not with the entire crew ready to dig in to their latest discovery. "...Only if what they're published on is... highly regulated by my staff." Gossip mags were hard to trust, she... just wanted a gute picture with Gabbie, damn it- not... with Gabe.
The reporter bobbed her head up and down, eager. This would be great! A real shot! Arietta... didn;t think she was going to actually... A choked noise left her lips which she covered up by attempting a soft laugh. Fuck. Fucking... could she scream? And now the sun was beating down on her and she was sweating a little. "...and...you should at least formally do a contract with the other participant- i'm sure there are things... he...wouldn't...want...written about him." Her words were chosen carefully, she wasn't in charge of marketing, what was she doing?! Gabbie's soft cries were all Arietta could hear, and after a few seconds the girl finally turned too face Gabe.
"...Unless of course you find this idea a waste of your time and stuff- really, feel free to leave, a-aha!" Please chose to leave, she could just imagine the hell her PR team would have with this- she couldn't decline for the sake of keeping up an imagine and agreeing would keep her in the good books.
Gabe eyeballed the photographer. He didn’t… really want pictures of himself out there right now. Not with— not with something else coming up, exactly. But, well. Ugh, well. He… felt a strange desire to do it all the same. He wanted to be seen with her. He wanted them to be seen together. He wanted to be with her, but that was not going to happen, brain. And… and he was planning something to where a photo in a newspaper magazine or wherever could identify him would be a bad idea. But I want it…..
He glanced over to Gabbie. I hate you… Yellow eyes closed, though, and a low hum escaped from Gabe. “Mmmmm I am rather busy right now, I just noticed you were here is all,” he answered making a gesture down to his Tyrogue as if this was an explanation for everything. Rogue squinted. He was feeling restless now and wanted out. “Maybe some other time.” He smiled at the reporter before stepping around Ara and the reporter. “We’ll talk later, alright?” he called over his shoulders.
Oh thank arceus and everything else fucking holy! A sigh of relief practically escaped Arietta so fast she could have gotten whiplash. Gabbie floated closer to her, gently rubbing his head into her side in an attempt to comfort her- something about her stance was wrong, she didn't look very happy... Arietta moved to rub his head, forcing a grin onto her face. Eyes flicking down to the Tyrogue, then back up she nodded. "...You heard the guy, Rosie. No pictures. Now herd up the others, we're losing daylight."
Maybe her tone came out a little harsher than intended but thankfully Rosie nodded and skittered off. She could oly watch as Gabe walked away, a glare formulating on her face. Fuck you, Gabe. Now she had to bullshit up a bunch of stories for the media, and if the reporters blabbed... Arceus why was life so hard.
As she heard his voice she had to ignore the stupid relief that flooded his gut, because of course he wasn't walking about to leave her alone again or whatever. Her hands moved once more to play with her horns, how... stupidly appropriate. "'...Y-Yeah- bye-bye." ,A simple goodbye and loud enough to hear, she quickly turned around once more to face the crew infront of her.
"So, we're scouting for... a brick set-piece t be a backing- u-uhm- how about behind the pokecenter?" Maybe she should go through her blog and make sure those with well known news IP's could only see what she wanted them to see- was that... would that be possible? Arceus fucking... now she couldn't think about her job and just have fun- her tanning later would instead be replaced with PR meetings.
Gabe had been planning to leave town that afternoon. Bass City was a bit of a trek even by bicycle, and it would be good to get going. However, instead, he found himself booking a cheap hotel room and settling in for a while. He played with his Pokemon, talked to Liz, sat in the bath tub for a couple of hours, the usual.
After all of that, though, he finally fished up his phone and texted a certain number he’d only received a few weeks ago. -- Since you’re in town, why don’t we go to dinner? There’s a diner just off of main street -- What was he doing daring to text her like that? Why was he doing it? What did he want out of it? Gabe didn’t know, couldn’t know. All he could do was wait.
The photoshoot had thankfully ended without too many bumps in the road, though one of the reporters attempted to ask something about Gabbie being named after 'the guy' that was here before, and Arietta had asked, as nicely as an idol can, for him to retract his question. She really wasn't in the mood to have more of her photoshoot ruined. She found herself at the beach with one of the reporters now, who'd offered to take her down after seeing her want during the photoshoot with Sonore, and the two were just... chatting. She'd have to organise the stupid PR meeting after the incident earlier, but she could probably get it rescheduled for tommorow if she asked nice enough- right?
"Oh, i'll totally be at the mini-concert, miss. ostinato!" The reporter next to her was talking animatedly, leaning back against their bag as they stared out at the waves. "It sounds like it'll be an utter blast, i've never seen anything solo from-" As they continued to go off, a musical text tone rang out for Ara's bag.
Curious... maybe one of the girls? Arietta moved to flick open her phone, the sound of the reporter being background noise for a moment... no... that wasn't the girls. Saved under the title 'Mambo Number Five' for his fifth ex status, Arietta almost did a double take at a text from Gabe.
Oh. Great- just what she needed. The girl stared at the text for a solid minute, blinking. Dinner... with Gabe... oh, was he going to try grill her about Gabbie? Or did he want to talk about dance- or did he just want to ebaress her infront of reporters and photographers again while she was at work. A soft huff left her lips as she replied back with.
whyyy.
That sounded good enough, right? The girl glanced back at the reporter, who was smiling at her. "I'm so glad you're always open you your fans, Ostinato! I don't know many other celebrities who actually hang out with people like me- like this." The girl attempted a smile, brushing some sand off her forelegs. "Where would I be without them? Gotta give back the kindness somehow, especially when almost all of them are great people!" she turned back to the phone then, a minute having passed, and wrote down.
okay but...will there be ribs?
Her fingers tapped on the screen, a soft clicking noise being all she was focused on... bad idea, right- but... she had a craving, a diner sound great and she was... on decent terms with Gabe- ddespite all the stupid shit that happened today. Maybe... it'd be okay- like- it wouldn't hurt.
if there's ribs and no side of grilling me i'll be there.
Why? Gabe looked at the phone as it pinged back and read over the singular word a few times. Shifting the phone in his hand, he typed back. -- I want to talk to you -- was the response message. It wasn’t necessarily a lie, but it was vague in of itself. He’d been expecting more of a fuss than that, or perhaps no response at all.
Instead, he got a question that nearly had him dropping his phone on his face. -- Pretty sure the place has ribs -- he texted back. The next statement had him pausing briefly. No side of grilling her. Did he want to? Yes. Even after a shower and a bath, he wanted to. Even after trying to convince himself that it was fine, he wanted to. He wanted to terribly. --Fine, I’ll meet you there at seven-- he texted back.
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and Gabe was now sitting in the far corner of a diner sipping a smoothie. He’d come in a little early mostly to survey the place but found it reasonably to his liking and ended up sitting down. He sent over his location on the off chance Ara got lost and then just… sat and waited.
If Gabe's first response hadn't been even the tiniest bit ominous- but yeah, fine. And he didn't say anything about the grilling part so she could only hope she could enjoy her ribs hopefully without an all out war breaking out- she had to speak to him about today at the very least- it's... one thing to come up to her in public or whatever but- when she's on a fucking job and can't say anything? Ugh. A hand tugged through Arietta's hair and she didn't respond to his text, instead pocketing the phone and turning back to the reporter, attempting another grin. "Sorry, where were we?"
It didn't take long for the time to come around- thinks you dread most seem to come up as if the world around you's on fast forward or something. Arietta's hair was still in curls from the braids earlier, and she had her hands stuffed in whatever branded pastel jacket she had on today. But... she didn't exactly know where she was going- diner? Cedar was practically a tourist city, there was diners and cafes on every other street.
She wasn't going to text anything, no, she'd find it on her own. Didn't need help, or to be seen as further stupid. Eyes flicking around she struggled to actually locate a diner, and ended up peeking through the window to one of them- No Gabe... so where was she- the familiar tone went off and the girl all but snatched her phone out of her pocket.
Oh thank Arceus! Arietta was on the other side of Cedar though... which meant. A long sigh left Arietta as she moved back, flicking up the nearest map app. She wasn't losing her ribs tonight. It took a further ten minutes for her to arrive, hair slightly frazzled as she eventually stumbled through the doors, eyes skirting around the place.
Gabe- Gabe- there he was. Arietta fought back the gut feeling telling her to run the fuck away as she moved closer, one hand stuffed in her pocket while another attempted to flick a strand of hair from her face. Sliding into the booth opposite him with a sigh she awkwardly managed out a, "...I... forgot Cedar was bigger than it lets on..."
As Arietta was stumbling through the door, a waitress was filling Gabe’s water glass and looking sideways at him a little worriedly. On seeing a girl come in and Gabe sit up in turn, though, she breathed a little easier. Looked like she wouldn’t have to serve alcohol tonight or anything.
A small uncertain smile had pulled onto Gabe’s features as Ara entered, and a hand raised to wave her over just in case thereafter. As she sat down across from him, he leaned back a little and made a small gesture to the other water that had already been ordered for her before taking a sip of his smoothie again. “I guess I should have been more specific about… which diner…” he answered. “Sorry about that.” A pause. “I ordered us both ribs already since your text had said that’s what you wanted….” Gabe shrugged his shoulders.
Arietta shrugged in response, moving to grab at her own water. "No biggie." she took a sip and swirled the water around in the glass for a moment, staring at it before eventually putting it down. "Oh- you're gettin' ribs too? I hope they're good, i've been like, craving them...I just hope they have good sauce." she shifted back into the booth now, so like... what exactly did she say? Maybe she could bring up the shoot or... something.
"Shoot went well." She mumbled out, glancing up at Gabe with a raised eyebrow, "Their reporters weren't nosy which i'm thankful for, some gossip mags just don't hold back." Arceus, she had a bad experience with them, especially right after her recent breakup where they made some stupid sob piece that her team almost ripped her apart for.
Gabe shrugged his shoulders. “It sounded good when I started thinking about it,” he answered. He didn’t eat meat on the regular, but he was by no means averse to it— usually. The mention of sauce had him reaching sideways to the end of the table to turn the general bottles around as if to view them. The mention of the shoot had him biting the inside of his mouth silently. The question, though, had his gaze pulling back to her again.
“I…” A pause and he took a drink of water instead of sipping his smoothie. “…Wanted to apologize for earlier…” he admitted his gaze dropping slightly. “I know I made things awkward for you…. I was just irritated.” A small smile quirked at the corners of his mouth as he looked up again to her. “So sorry about that. I'll pay for dinner tonight to make up for it.”
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