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.
There were few things that Sid enjoyed more than cosplay and LARPing— one of them being shopping for cosplay and LARP stuff. They spent hours in clothing and fabric stores working out what they could and couldn’t use for costumes and spend just as long in cosmetics shops searching or just the right type of makeup for a particular look they were going for. Sid was careful, frugal, and a bit too stubborn when it came to prices, but that in itself kept them from overspending to hell and back with their nurse pay as it was then. That didn’t mean they couldn’t oogle when they happened to see something that particularly caught their eye.
Which just so happened to be a New Years cosmetic set that had come out from a Kanto line and was actually available in Arciel’s stores. Standing there in one of Birch City’s mall’s shops, they looked in the window at it longingly. Entirely too much money… But they loved this brand, and it worked so well on their sensitive skin. But this would set me and Gaki back… But they hadn’t really bought themselves a present at Christmas… Maybe they’ll sell it to me in parts? Ah but these things normally came in gift sets. Sid grumbled as they reached up and ruffled their own hair slowly.
That day they wore a black sweater and white and gold jacket with an orangish Saffron City High School patch on the shoulder. Their pants were simply form fitting blue jeans, and only really their shined boots stood out as anything all that nice. Their long silvery white hair had been pulled back into a single ponytail and allowed to fall down their back. Messy loose strands of hair had been folded behind their ears whenever possible and hair sprayed into place when that was impossible. From their ears dangled simple circular silver rings that shimmered as they moved with Sid. They wore a little makeup, just enough to accentuate their features a little more on the masculine end of the spectrum but they were trying for that altogether androgynous look that day. Was just that sort of day.
It was awfully cold outside today, but that certainly wasn't about to stand in the way of fashion. Not if Riley had any say in it, and especially not when she planned to spend the day indoors anyway. So, even if the local mall wasn't the warmest place, she did wear a long-sleeve shirt of sorts, but with mostly bared shoulders and a cut just low enough to show a little cleavage. Her legs were technically 'covered', but by a short white A-line skirt trimmed by black lines across the bottom, and black semi-sheer pantyhose. Not the best at keeping out the cold, but slightly warmer than bare legs anyway. The nearly knee-high white boots did help, though. Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail, held by a nice ponytail holder with white fake roses attached to it. Particularly with the amount of makeup she wore, including red lips that matched her hair and dark eye makeup to go with her dark top, she looked rather stunning if she did say so herself~ Of course she was always biased in that regard, but shoosh.
She had gotten a fair amount of money for the holidays from her family, but hadn't been feeling up to snuff enough to spend it right away. Which was to say she'd both managed to catch a cold for about a week there and had been feeling kind of bummed out by having no one to really spend the holidays with without flying home, an expense she hadn't wanted to bother with right now. So she'd video chatted with her parents and siblings some instead, which was nice, but not really the same. But hey! Last night was New Year's Eve, a holiday she could easily celebrate on her own, i.e. going to a bar and drinking her ass off. She hadn't managed to go home with anyone, but did get a cute guy's number, so she was starting to feel much more back to her usual self today! And that meant time to spend this extra cash, or at least window shop a bit to see if anything caught her eye~ A cosmetics store was just one of many stops, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to actually go in since she felt like she had plenty at home already. But it was worth looking at the displays, anyway, and-- OOH! They had the new f.a.e. brand kit, that looked sick! Oh geez, look at that price tag though. Yikes. She could afford it, but was it worth it?
It was then that she realized someone else was looking at the same kit, from the look of it, and had been standing there since before she walked up, who knew for how long before. Riley flashed them a lopsided smile and said, "Looks nice, huh?" Having a silly thought, she teased, "Wanna go in halfsies? You pay the arm and I supply the leg?"
Not even Sid was sure of how long they had been staring. It wasn’t until a voice had hit their ears that they jolted back into reality. Blinking a couple of times and shaking their head to clear it, they turned their attention to this person instead— Oh their makeup is very on point.
A small, friendly smile quirked onto Sid’s features. “It does,” they admitted with a half-laugh. Some part of them was aware of her tone, but Sid was not one to deny their affections for things. The offer, though, earned a look of surprise that quickly melted into something calmer, easier. “Actually, if you’d be willing to, I’d love to,” they answered. “They have some of the best eye-liner and eyeshadow on the market these days, especially or sensitive skin.” They almost verbatim quoted one of their previous video lines.
“Ah, my name is Sidney, nice to meet you.” Where were their manners? Gone with leaving Kanto, they supposed. Back then, they were entirely too used to pulling a business card, bowing, and reciting the formal greeting that they’d been reinforced to for so long. Here in a different region (and away from mother dearest), it came secondly, an after thought almost.
Oh? She hadn't expected them to actually be interested in the offer; she'd mostly been joking about the price. "You really wanna?" When they mentioned sensitive skin, she actually felt a bit bad; she 'could' wear most anything, after all, and wanted this as luxury more than out of any need for it. Not that makeup in itself was ever really a 'need', but still.
Actually, their voice sounded really familiar? As they went on to introduce themself, Riley tried to think if she knew a Sidney. Maybe, but not one that matched this face and voice? Oh but they did look familiar too. Did she know them by another-- Her eyes trailed to the makeup kit and back before it clicked and she straightened up. "Oh! You're Glasswind on Chutube, aren't you!" Glasswind something, she always forgot what the katakana half of their name said. But still.
"Er, sorry I'm being rude. I'm Riley! And it's great to meet you in person!"
Ohhh???? They’d been recognized? How fun! “Oh, yes I am! Glasswind Kami,” Sid answered straightening some. “Congrats, you’re actually the first one in Arciel to recognize me from Chutube… hahah….” Granted there had been quite a few who had noted them from Instachu, but that didn’t count in this case.
As Riley gave her name, Sid replied right after. “Nice to meet’chu, Riley, pronouns?” A pause, and they’d commit the name, pronouns, and features of Riley before them to memory. Their eyes flickered sideways to the makeup and then back to Riley again, a somewhat slier expression coming to their features for a moment. “I’ll take a guess and say you’ve seen my makeup tutorials more than my lets plays…”
Oh yay! She was right! Riley lit up all the more as their identity was confirmed. And she was the first one? How neat! As they asked pronouns, she answered, "Ah, she/her today, but thanks for asking! I'm genderfluid so it changes quite a bit." She'd forgone her fem necklace today in favor of just strong fem presentation, but yeah.
She snorted at their sly expression and their following question. "What gave me away?" she asked, feigning disappointment for a moment before giggling. "I've actually watched a bit of both, but it was definitely the makeup that drew me in." She grinned. "A couple of your vids have helped me improve my masc makeup on dude days, in particular, so thanks for that!" Not that she hadn't already had a pretty good idea what she was doing; she just picked up a few alternate techniques for slightly different looks and a few shortcuts. But still!
"But so, back to this arm and leg then, yeah?" Her eyes shifted briefly over to the makeup in the window again to indicate it before looking back to Gla-- er, Sidney. "How's this sound. We go in halves on the price and split up the contents, and you can have a little bigger share if you give me your contact info and collab with me on a vid some time~" She grinned. "I'm a fledgling coordinator, so I could use the exposure to help build my brand. Plus it just sounds hella fun."
“Ah gotcha,” Sid smiled a little as Riley spoke. Good to know. “You probably already know, but I use they/them exclusively.” Just on the off chance that she’d somehow caught all the videos apart from those where they’d talked more specifically about that nonbinary look being their personal perfect aesthetic and lifeblood.
Heh, oh? So she actually watched a bit of both? “Nice…” That was nice to know considering the demographics information that Chutube provided didn’t really offer a lot of information on what overlapped with what. They couldn’t help but smile brightly, though, when she mentioned the help. “Oh! You’re welcome! Glad they helped.” A little color touched their cheeks, but it was a more warm-with-happiness feeling than anything else.
Hmmmm, that deal didn’t sound bad at all. Collabs were always beneficial if done well, and they did enjoy helping smaller channels (or in this case brands) grow (at least those who really brought their A game). That and getting a bigger share for the same amount of pen, heh they couldn’t beat that. “Hey that’s not a bad deal…” they slowly grinned. “Could even do something kind of cute like having whatever your contest Pokemon are apply the makeup or something…” That could be really cute. “Or maybe something with cosplay if you’re interested in that…” They could work out the details later, though, probably. A small laugh escaped from them. “Let’s go shopping?”
"Ah, yeah," Riley nodded. "I meant to confirm as much, cool." She 'knew' they used 'they', but had wanted to ask just on the off chance it had changed since the last time she'd watched a video or it was different in person compared to online. So good to be sure.
She smiled sweetly when she saw that tinge of color on their cheeks. Granted, she may have mistook it for some mild interest, but whatcha gonna do?
The suggestion had her sniffing a small laugh. "Ah, I assume you mean having the Pokemon put makeup on us, not putting makeup on them, yeah?" She neither wanted to waste any of the expensive makeup nor to risk any side effects for non-human use. Maybe if they had like a Jynx or a Gardevoir or something, but still. "Because I have 3 hyperactive monkeys and a bunch of Pokemon who don't have hands, so..." She laughed a little more. "Cosplay would be fantastic though~!" She grinned bright. "Lead the way~"
As Sidney headed in, Riley followed them, looking around at all the other stuff inside in case they changed their minds or wanted something else too. "Hm?" They picked up a bottle. "Ooh, Sid, smell this scrub!" Who would've thought cucumber and Watmel would make such a good combination?
“Ah yep, that’s what I meant,” Sid replied with a small nod. They snorted softly thereafter at the mention of three monkeys and armless Pokemon. “Oh dear heh…” The follow up on cosplay, though, had their eyes lighting again. “Do you have a favorite character or group?” they asked even as they walked into the store followed by Riley.
Red eyes immediately began to bounce around searching out colors, shapes, and aesthetics. Out of habit they found themselves wandering towards the racks of eyeliner and brushes— though they paused briefly at the numerous skin creams and scents available as Riley pointed one out.
Wafting some of the cucumber watmel smell over, they immediately took in a deeper breath. “This would smell heavenly with Epson salt and a lavender shower…” they commented stepping sideways to pick up the moisturizer associated with it. Flipping it over and reading through the ingredients, they were pleasantly surprised to find everything all natural and gentle. “Do you have any favorite brands?” They had some, of course, but really what came down to it was what was in it.
"Hm?" A favorite character? That was a good question. "Let me think and get back to you," Riley had decided, idly keeping that in the back of her mind as she looked around the store.
Sid's comment to the scrub she found had her thinking. Epson and lavender? She tried to imagine it, but came up with something muddled and probably inaccurate. Oh well heh. Favorite brands? "Ah, not really. There's a lot I like, but I don't make a special point to buy them so much as I pick up whatever looks good and some have been more prominent than others." She shrugged. "Everything Plush sells tends to be nice though."
Oh right, their question. "As far as cosplay goes, I can't think of too many characters that really jump out at me like, I wanna be that, you know?" She'd blame a lack of genderfluid characters in media, heh. "But I do like dressing up in general, so you could always pick the theme since I'm not picky!" She smiled sweetly at them. "You're really into high fantasy aesthetics, right? I can always go for some fancy ball gowns if you wanna find a character to fit that. Or a badass battle maiden if you wanna get together and make some foam armor or something like that."
Hmmmm, yes that was reasonable. Sid nodded at Riley’s assessments. “Agreed, they do have excellent items.” Hmmm they might actually buy this one and try it out— though they were going in on the f.a.e. kit already but ah maybe it wouldn’t be too much more…
Oh— Sid blinked back into reality as Riley mentioned cosplay. Immediately, they brightened again. Oooohhhhh a battle maiden would be fantastic given Riley’s vibrant hair and eyes. She could really rock that look, especially with the right metal plate fittings over a dress— She’d be amazing for Saber… they realized then and there. “Have you heard of the Fate franchise?” they asked. “There’s a main character named Saber who has a beautiful battle gown….” They’d whipped out their phone in a flash and immediately went about scrolling through images. “I think you could really work this aesthetic.” They found one they liked and showed it to her right after.
Ah good, Sid had excellent taste it seemed. And Riley, too, was debating buying more things she probably didn't strictly need, but ah well.
Hm? Fate franchise, huh? "Ah, yeah I have," Riley said, perhaps a little too slow, seeing as Sid was already pulling up a reference. She nodded at the picture she was shown. "Not sure a red-headed Saber would look good though, and I'm not sure how I'd look as a blonde. Hrm." She pondered it a moment. "Would Saber of Red have too much armor? I do love me some Mordred, and my natural hair would compliment the outfit better~" Or at least she hoped it would.
Post by Sidney Ridley on Jan 25, 2020 18:16:55 GMT
Ahhhhh???? Sid couldn’t help but smile a little more as it seemed Riley already knew of the Fate series. They could definitely see her in a Saber of Red outfit. Armored up or a less armored look. Actually it would be interesting to try a hybrid design for movement purposes…. So many costume ideas, so little time.
Sid blinked a couple of times as they realized they’d gone silent for a second too long. “I’ve got some armor already that could probably be used to help make a mold of something similar,” they nodded along. “Different materials now a days make for lighter armor, so we could probably mitigate the weight…” They started to drift into Kantonian but then quickly stopped themselves again. “It has the potential to look really amazing…” they grinned.
Riley blinked as Sid went on about the armor idea and.. the weight? Cosplay armor had weight? And molds from... "I... Are you a blacksmith or something?" Riley asked with a light laugh. "I was thinking like, foam armor or maybe that thin moldable plastic stuff I've seen. I forget what it's called since I've never worked with it myself, uh... worble something? That doesn't sound quite right but you know what I mean?" she asked.
She didn't expect anything expensive or hardcore. "I mean it's just for looks right? Or..." Wait, that was right. "Don't you do LARP? Haven't I seen you talk about that in some vids?"
A blacksmith? Heh. “Not professionally,” they laughed briefly. “But back in Kanto, I knew a few katana smiths who helped me craft some real armor.” They smiled a little softer thereafter. Wonder what Yuto and Sasaki are up to these days… They’d only come to Arciel a short bit ago, but it felt so long now, somehow. Thoughts for later.
Hmm…. Foam and thin plastic— “Oh worbla?” they asked. “Thermoform plastic yeah…. I’ve used it for smaller pieces before. It’s pretty inexpensive too…” But not very protective or really real but they supposed just for photo and video it would be fine…. They blinked a little at the question and then immediately understood. “Ah, yep, I LARP medieval fantasy mostly though there are some scifi fantasy groups that I occasionally collaborated with.” A small sigh escaped from them. “Still working on connections here in Arciel, though.” They rolled their shoulders a little and smiled. "My cousin Gaki, you might have seen her on a few blogs or not, is using her farm property to make a LARP landscape." And they'd gotten wrangled into it too, but that was the fun of it.
"Oh damn, that's kinda badass." Real functional armor! "Must be heavy, but still badass." Katanas were so damn geeky too but Riley damn sure wouldn't wanna mess with the guys who made them.
Worbla! "That's it!" they exclaimed as Sid said the name. "Yeah inexpensive is good, especially compared to full on metal, ha." Yeah, medieval aesthetics sounded right. Riley nodded as Sid explained, then searched her memory. "Gaki... Oh yeah! She's cute," she commented. "A whole landscape, huh? You'll have to keep me in the loop, I might check it out when it's finished. I've never really LARPed before, but I like other kinds of RP and I like getting exercise in fun ways, so it sounds up my alley really."
Realizing they'd kind of got stuck standing around, Riley proposed, "Why don't we grab our new makeup kit and check out, and you can tell me more about it over some lunch, yeah?"
A soft smile pulled on Sid’s features as they talked about Gaki and the farmland they were setting up. “Will do,” they agreed. It would be really nice to have a big LARP group for all that land that Gaki was working with. Oh— right. Lunch sounded pretty good, actually. “Alright,” was the answer. They purchased the kit, divided it accordingly, and then went out to lunch right after. It was nice, and Sid was pleased to have met them.
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