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!
After the very loud greeting from Riley - which he'd returned with a small wave and a lighthearted smile - Touma eventually managed to find his assigned table and waited patiently beside it for his date. He hadn't really dressed up for the occasion aside from finding one of his button up shirts that was less wrinkled than the others and pairing that off with his nicer set of jeans. His hair was always going to do what it wanted, but it looked more manageable today than others and overall, he thought he looked okay. The blond didn't have high hopes about walking away from this venue with someone, but meeting new people in a region where he knew almost no one was always nice.
Rather than take a seat, Touma stood behind one of the chairs, hands on the back of it as he examined the area around him and, consequently, the card denoting his partner for this session. Sage Harper was who he was looking for but he wasn't sure if he was looking for a male or a female - not that it mattered, since he was pretty sure he'd leave here happy to have met anyone at all.
He was a bit distracted noticing the other couples pairing up that he didn't notice when Sage actually showed up, and when he did he gave a little start. His expression quickly melted into a warm, welcoming smile and he gently pulled out the chair that he was standing over, a silent indication for her to sit.
"Hey there, it's nice to meet you. Sage, was it? I'm Touma."
Last Edit: Feb 2, 2020 0:13:35 GMT by Touma Shinjo
Sage had been very unsure about this whole speed dating thing. She hadn't even ever really dated anyone normally, let alone speedily. But she was starting to feel a bit lonely, so she had decided well, if there was any way to meet new people this was it, and she could meet a ton in a short time too.
When she walked in, she realized that it seemed like a lot of people knew each other, and yet the only person she even recognized was Sid, who was clearly busy. This might be a bit harder than she was expecting. But her mama didnt raise no quitter, so she put a big smile on her face and breezed through the crowd, searching among the tables for her own.
When she arrived she found a blond-haired young man. He seemed distracted, so she knocked lightly on the table. That seemed to alert him to her presence, and he smiled at her, pulling the chair out for her.
She hadnt been really expecting that, and her cheeks took on a slight tinge of pink before she shook it away with a happy smile.
"Hi! It's nice to meet you too, Touma!" She took the seat, though it was almost as if she didnt put all her weight on it, uncertain what she was supposed to do. "So uh, you ever done anythin like this before?" Sage asked curiously.
Once he was sure she was settled, Touma moved around to the other side of the table and took a seat across from her. She was small, petite, and overall seemed like a sweet enough girl he felt whatever nerves he had gradually dissipate. Having never really been to one of these things before it was nice not to have any kind of expectations hanging over him, and so when she asked if he'd ever done anything like this he was able to answer truthfully without feeling too bad about it.
"No, not at all. I've been travelling most of my life, and getting to Arciel that hasn't changed much - with the only difference being the free time that I have I'm usually working. So I don't really have many opportunities to do things like this, let alone meet people." He offered a sheepish smile, and inclined his head politely towards her. "What about you? Is it your first time doing something like this, too?"
Well at least the guy seemed nice, better than some of the weirdos she had known back in Hickory Town.
When he mentioned traveling and not having a chance to meet anyone, she nodded, looking thoughtful.
"No, I haven't done anything like this. Closest thing was when some of the young guys in town tried to court me after I played at one of the weddings in town." She rolled her eyes, and then grinned. "I have the opposite problem, I never really left home until recently, so I havent had a chance to meet very many new and exciting people." She loved Hickory Town, but it was a small community. It was hard to really date anyone when you had known them since they were five picking their nose on the school playground and tugging on your braid.
"But, you said you traveled, where are you from?" She asked. Of course she had learned about the world in school, but she had certainly never left Arciel, and it already seemed impossibly big. How exciting it must be to travel all over the world!
"Oh, I'm not from anywhere around here. I came from a little place called Snowpoint, back in Sinnoh. The call it the City of Snow, because... well, it never stops snowing!" He laughed a bit at this, but shook his head at the memory. "Needless to say I got bit by the travel bug early on. Arciel is the first region where I've actually given serious thought to settling down, but when you've been roaming the world for so long I suppose it can't be helped."
Her mention of playing at a wedding had his interest piqued, though not necessarily for the courting that came after. "Playing at a wedding? Like in a band?" He seemed genuinely interested. He didn't have much talent in music or even reading notes - he liked to think that had gone to one of his eight siblings - so meeting someone that could was something of a unique experience for him.
Sage listened with interest as he described his home. Snow... Sage hadn't seen a ton of snow in Hickory growing up, since it was a much more arid area, rolling plains and savannah. Even the rare times it did snow, it never stuck for long. So imagining a place named for snow was... fascinating.
"It must have been so cold and wet." She said thoughtfully. "We had snow a few times growing up, but not much. Its much too warm and dry where I live." She said.
When he mentioned playing, she looked around, tapping her fingers rhythmically as she thought. "Well, yeah, I play the banjo. But... I'm not sure it would be a good idea to play right now, with so many people around and talking. It might disrupt other people's dates."
She had brought it of course, as well as her other things, but she had left them with the reception desk so she didnt have to lug it around to each table. Technically she could go get it and play it later, if she found that she and one of her dates were hitting it off, but it was far too early for that.
"Oh hmm, you're probably right about that," Touma agreed, looking around at the different couples in various stages of conversation. It seemed like everyone was moving at about the same pace, save a few here or there - for a speed dating event, this was surprisingly well populated. Turning his attention back to Sage, he gave her another of his warm smiles and leaned in, resting his chin on folded fingers.
"You said you've left home only recently? Why is that?" She seemed so young, enough that his feelings toward her tended more along the brotherly route than anything romantic which probably defeated the purposes of speed dating. Whoops. Still, it was nice to meet someone new after spending time with only his pokemon for company. Not that he particularly minded since they seemed to have colorful personalities all on their own, but being able to actually hold a conversation and understand what another person was saying was incomparable to the company of pokemon.
Remembering where he was and they were, essentially, strangers, Touma blinked and his expression turned sheepish. "Oh - if it's personal don't worry about answering, you don't have to." He understood not everyone had a happy home life - regardless of how cheerful they might seem on the outside. He could appreciate that about Sage.
Sage nodded as he agreed. "Maybe I'll play later, once things die down." She offered. It was a tentative offer, but she did greatly enjoy playing, and her pokemon also enjoyed singing and dancing along.
When he asked why she had only recently left home, she looked around the room. It was becoming clear to her that she was on the younger end of the people there, not the youngest, but close. Even her current date was definitely older by several years. "Well... Truth is, my parents needed my help on the farm, and Im only seventeen. They didnt say rush." She had always wanted to travel, always wished to see more of the world. It was why she had explored every nook and cranny of the land around her parents farm. Now she had finally gotten her chance.
She appreciated that he had been willing to let it pass, but unlike some, she didnt have a dark tragedy in her past. She missed her old guardian, the Luxray who had protected her as a child, but his loss was healing as she gathered and cared for her own pokemon. "It's not a big deal, I'm kinda borin like that."
"I'm sure you're not terribly boring," He was quick to respond, an encouraging smile on his face. "Everyone here is new to me, so by default I suppose everyone here is interesting. That's one of the reasons why I decided to sign up for something like this. I suppose it's probably odd if one decides not to go for romance in speed-dating, but I've never been particularly good at that sort of thing, either." Horrendously bad was probably a more apt descriptor. As nice as he was, he knew he'd made several people cry in the past over his obliviousness to their feelings.
Seventeen was really young, but it was about as young as he'd been expecting. He had no siblings around that age, with some more around the tween years, so he found it a little hard to relate. He himself had been an odd seventeen year old, with his proclivity for not being able to say no to people. He didn't imagine many other people to be the same way.
She smiled in gratitude when he said she wasn't boring. It was kind of him, but she could imagine he had many more interesting things to talk about, having traveled and just experienced more. But when he mentioned not necessarily going for romance she blushed slightly again. "Yeah.... Im not sure I'll be getting a date out of today." She said somewhat mournfully, though she wasn''t too disappointed.
When he asked about life outside the farm, she took a moment to think. "Well, it's slow going I guess." She hadnt had much luck so far, and it had taken much longer to get places than she had expected. "But It's been wonderful to travel, and play, and meet people, although I havent had a chance to meet as many as I would like." She thought fondly of her pokemon. "The best part has been my pokemon. I've been around them all my life, but I never expected to have so many, and to be so close to them."
"What makes you say that? There's a lot of people here, there might be someone that you'd vibe well with." For a moment he wondered if maybe she'd gotten the wrong idea about him not wanting to go for romance; it wasn't something specifically with her, but it was just... him. Which really sounded like the most cliche let-down line ever, but he wasn't sure how to word it otherwise.
At the mention of pokemon though, he found his interest piqued again. "Did you have a lot of pokemon on the farm? Since it snows in Snowpoint all the time, we don't really have much in the way of agriculture. I did pass through a few farms during my travels, but I've never really spoken to any of the workers there since they'd all seemed so busy. It looks like a lot of work keeping up on a farm!
"Ah - right?" He agreed on her thoughts of owning Pokemon. "We had a Mr. Mime at home growing up, since there were nine of us, but I've never actually had one of my own. I actually got my first partner a few... weeks ago now, I think? From the pokemon lab up in Birch City."
"Oh, well, maybe Im overreacting! I guess we will see. " She said. Maybe he was right, this was only her first date after all. She didnt really have any reason, other than that there were so few close to her age, and that she had never had any luck before. She didnt even really know how to get a date. Did you just flirt? How did you flirt? Or just ask?
She was extremely grateful when he changed the subject. "Well my parents specialized in breeding bovine pokemon, particularly Miltank for their Moo Moo Milk. So we had a decent herd, I definitely spent a lot of time cleaning up after them." Her face wrinkled in remembered disgust at her chores. "And then there was my dad's Luxio, and one or two of my mom's pokemon. Lux was my companion and protector throughout my childhood, although he was never mine in a way. But he passed away a little while ago..." She sighed, thinking back. "But that was the day I met my partner Staccato, a cute little Kricketot." She grinned again happy to think about her pokemon now.
When he mentioned he had only had his pokemon for a few weeks she looked surprised. "Oh wow! You are still just getting to know each other then. That's the best part."
Touma listened to her speak about her parents' farm with rapt attention; perhaps this was something he was considering himself later on down the line? He imagined with the recent encouragement of tourist contribution to the economy getting a farm would be a little easier once he had the funds put aside. It would be a lot easier to take care of the influx of pokemon he had suddenly acquired, and would give them plenty of room to roam around and such.
At the mention of her companion's passing his brows furrowed in sympathy and he gave an apologetic "sorry for your loss" in response. He imagined it was never easy letting go of a pokemon partner, and he dreaded the day he'd encounter it in the pokemon center.
"A Kricketot, huh? I feel like it suits you, especially with a name like that. I've only named my first partner, but I haven't been able to come up with names for the rest at the moment. I feel like once I get to know them a little better than maybe something will come to me, but for now --"
Touma was interrupted by the sound of a bell signalling the end of the first round of dates. Blinking, he looked first around to all the other couples standing up from their tables, and then across to Sage with a sheepish expression on his face. "I guess these things are supposed to run short, huh?"
Sage was starting to feel like she had been talking way too much, but at least Touma was a good listener. He even sympathized with Lux's loss, though she shrugged. "I appreciate it, but even though i miss him, its not as painful anymore."
When he mentioned her Kricketot suited her, she grinned widely. "Nicknames are pretty hard, all of mine are based on music, and so far it seems to suite them."
But they didnt really have a chance to continue, as the bell rang. She stood up as Touma did, nodding sadly. "Yeah I guess, well thanks for the good talk! It was nice to meet you!" Sage waved at him and then headed off to her next table.