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 hang out with any cartoon character, who would you choose and why? 2. You're given 100,000 Pen, but you have to use it or lose it within a month. What do you spend it on? 3. What would your dream house look like, and where would you build it?
Feel free to discuss any of these or use your own icebreaker!
Juni sighed softly to herself. So far none of these interactions had been bad per say, but none of them had been really great either. She figured maybe Wren could be a friend in time or something, and she was still kind of unsure of the previous kid (Ah damn it what was his name? Jace? Jase? Ugh whoops.) but well. Maybe this is the universe’s way of telling me I’m not meant to be in love… she wondered offhandedly even as she dropped down into a chair at the new table.
Her next date’s name was Koray— or so the card said. The questions below that were less interesting than the previous ones, but well if she did have 100,000 pen, she already knew what she would spend it on. So engrossed in what she was reading was Juni that she wouldn’t register her date there even after he’d showed up— not yet anyways.
Koray wasn't exactly feeling that great even after talking with the last date. He was still shaken after what Eri had told him and wasn't exactly in the best state of mind to try to talk with anyone else. Part of him wanted to just leave the speed dating event, run away, and hide. Of course being in the same vicinity as Ara and several others he'd recognized hadn't helped matters and... those bathrooms looked pretty tempting right about now actually... That would be mean though. He wouldn't do that to his date, not unless they said something that warranted running away at least.
It took a good few moments before he found the table they were sitting at. Juni. Well, it seemed that Juni (or Koray presumed this was her) was engrossed in reading the card in the center of the table. This is awkward... He didn't want to startle her but instead opted to sit down across from Juni. If that didn't cue her that he was there, Koray would say something but for now... he was just glad to be given a little chance to breathe. That, and it allowed him enough time to flag down a waiter and order a drink. That was what he needed right now after all. Something to steady his nerves.
Koray’s motion was not enough to catch Juni’s attention. It was on happenstance that she looked up from the card and registered he was there— And she immediately blushed in response. Oh Groudon how long had he been there?
“Ah, uh….”Another young one… Juni registered. “S-sorry I was just reading through the ice breakers— If you had a million— er… hundred thousand pen and you had to use it or lose it in a month, what would you spend it on— ah. Name’s Juni if the card didn’t show ah uh…. Koray's your name, right?” Juni could use a drink herself, but she didn’t trust herself not to put her foot in her mouth even more when drunk.
…And it was only after the fact she realized how worn the guy before her looked. “….Hey... are you ok?” she asked much after the fact.
Koray didn't mind waiting in silence while Juni looked over the ice breakers, or so he'd assumed at least. The waiter he'd managed to flag down nodded and waited to see if Juni wanted anything before retreating to place the order. Hopefully he would come back soon, but by that time, it seemed Juni had realized he was there. Heh. A wave of dismissal would be given at the apology as Koray gave a slight smile, "Don't worry about it. And yes, I'm Koray," he began before the question was asked of him. His smile faltered a little as he remembered what Eri had said about his future. It... can't happen... right? But this was a hypothetical, something meant to be fun, nothing more.
Right. "Well, I'd start with investing it into leasing a restaurant space. That's... been my dream for a while since my adoptive dad helped me realize my passion for cooking," Koray replied just as the waiter came back with his drink. Oh thank Arceus. He didn't waste time before taking a sip and then well, it seemed that Juni caught on to the fact that he still wasn't feeling all that great. A shrug would be given thereafter, "The... first date didn't turn out the way I thought..." Koray explained, shaking his head after that. That was true enough. "But I'm ok. What would you do with 100,000 Pen?" Please get the conversation topic off of him.
Huh…. Juni had never been a foodie, not really. She generally ate whatever was in front of her, but she really had no experience cooking or otherwise. She just sorta… nodded along with Koray’s words on that. When the waiter brought Koray his drink, he also stopped to set down Juni’s Pink Pop Soda Pop can. She picked it up slowly and popped the top just as slowly. “Ah…” was the vocalized response to the explanation. “Yeah this whole thing really hasn’t been what I thought it would be so…” She shrugged her shoulders and smiled briefly. "I feel that."
What would she do with a hundred thousand pen, though? “Honestly? I’d go on vacation,” she admitted with a laugh. “Out to the Sevii Islands or maybe even Alola. I’ve spent a lot of my life working.” She sat back slowly. “I’m a researcher working in Ivy Town, and before that I was doing my graduate studies.” So absolutely no time to be had.
Koray relaxed when he heard that Juni wasn't exactly having the best time either. Well, at least he wasn't the only one. Maybe not for the exact reason that Juni had specified, but at the same time, maybe they could make this speed dating thing better for the both of them. It was worth a shot at least. Another sip of his drink, and Koray could feel his nerves getting less frayed. Like he could relax for now. A nod would be given in response to those words at least before Koray answered and asked the same Juni'd given him.
"Vacation?" Koray repeated, smiling a little along with Juni. Oh, the islands sounded nice. Alola too? He had a preference for Alola but well, he was biased. A researcher too? Wonder what she researched specifically, "I think I'd choose Alola, of course I was born there so I may be a little biased." Koray shrugged after that, taking another sip of his drink, "What do you research by the way?" That seemed interesting enough to talk about.
“Oh yeah?” Juni blinked. “That’s neat. I’ve never been.” Not yet, anyways. She’d been to Dewford and Mossdeep and Sootopolis and even Pacifidlog Town, but all of those were in Hoenn. Alola was supposedly very different from any other island chain. Didn’t they even have an active volcano or two there as well? It had been so long since she’d looked into it, come to think of it.
But actually, that led well enough into the question that was asked of her. “I currently study the tectonic plates and seismic and volcanic activity of the Grumble Volcano and the areas around it,” Juni answered. Or rather, started to answer. The rest was yet to come, and with every word, it was clear that Juni got more and more excited. “My graduate work is in thermodynamics of various regions and how it shapes certain areas. For instance, the tectonic shifts in both Lentimas Town and Fallarbor Town have led to drastically different soil compositions, Pokemon distributions, and human interactions.” She smirked a little and adjusted her glasses. “My masters was in the potential of terraforming certain areas and the modeling of potential consequences of that using data that we already had available from New Mauville. I’ve published five peer reviewed articles detailing different aspects of each.”
Koray nodded at the initial comment about going to Alola. He wasn't going to divulge any other information about his experience there and was thankful that Juni hadn't asked. As she went on about what her research was about however, Koray couldn't help but smile a little more. Clearly she was very passionate about her studies, perhaps just as much, if not more than he was with cooking. The explanation of graduate work and a masters degree was impressive though it had Koray wondering why he'd never gone to college. Well, there were several reasons one of which was that he'd been fairly depressed until recently. Maybe it was something to consider for the future though.
"Impressive. You don't look that much older than me either," Koray replied, smiling lightly, "Have you noticed anything different in the Arciel region since you've been here?" It was something to go off on based on what Juni just talked about. He'd understood... most of what Juni'd said at least, so maybe he'd be able to follow if she did explain more.
At the declaration that her work was impressive, Juni flashed a grin. She couldn’t help but be passionate and proud of her work. She’d dedicated her entire life to it (aside from a significant portion that was science-adjacent and still valuable and important to her).
The mention that she didn’t look old, though, had her frowning and her brow knitting a little. She wasn’t… sure if she wanted to take that as an insult or a compliment because on the one hand, staying young looking was nice, but on the other, he kind of had that baby face that made it hard to determine just how old he was. Instead of responding, she just sort of let it roll off her shoulders right after.
Instead, she paused and hummed a little at that thought. Anything different? She supposed he meant…. “From the volcanic modeling I’ve done, there seems to be a particular sediment deposit located deeper in the volcano that could prove to be …. Interesting to research,” she explained a bit slower. “I’d be more descriptive, but the information is proprietary as of right now.” She explained.
The frown that came when Koray mentioned how old Juni looked wasn't the reaction he'd wanted. Oh.... well, some people liked when you said they were young? Was Juni not one of those people? Something to note for later at the very least. As she went on to explain about the volcanic modeling, Koray nodded, "That's fair. Don't want to chance anyone hearing about and thereby stealing your ideas. I'm the same way with my recipes," he explained, smiling a little after that. Not that there was much competition in the restaurant or that anyone would want to steal his recipes, but it was a safeguard to be sure.
Umm right, there were a couple other icebreakers, right? It seemed like the first one was innocent enough. "If you could hang out with any cartoon character, who would you choose and why?" Koray asked, already trying to figure out what he would say. Instinctively, he wanted to say Casper, but that might be revealing a little too much. Hmm.
A small half-laugh and half-nod came from Juni in unison. “Yeah, basically,” she answered. “When I get this manuscript out and published, maybe then I’ll talk about it more,” she smiled a little.
As the conversation shifted back to the icebreakers, Juni glanced sideways at the card again. Any cartoon character. Hm…. She hadn’t really… planned for it, but.... she supposed... "Korosensei from Assassination Classroom," she decided. "I know he's technically a tentacle monster and a pervert, but...." Her eyes traveled sideways for a second, and she seemed to be thinking a bit deeper on how to reply. "In the end he really knew how to be a good teacher and really cared a lot for people. He's the model of everything I'd ever want in a teacher or want to be as a teacher." That got deep fast, and Juni coughed. Well, whatever.
Koray grinned when it seemed his guess had been right regarding making sure Juni's work stayed secret, "I'll look forward to that then~," he mused before asking one of the icebreaker questions. He still didn't quite know what character he would like to meet. Though Juni went on to explain that Korosensei from Assassination Classroom was who she would want to meet. Well... that was unexpected... But, wasn't that an anime? Eh, cartoons and anime were essentially the same, just made in different regions.
"Really? That's really cool, hope meeting him doesn't mean you get roped into something like the show though," Koray laughed, trying to think once again what cartoon character he would like to meet. This was... harder than he thought it would be. Ah, right. That would work. "Danny Phantom. He's fun and well, it'd be nice to find someone that I can relate to."
Was that revealing too much? Ahaha, what if Juni questioned him... well, it's not like being a psychic was something to be ashamed about.
Juni snorted softly at the mention of being roped into Assassination Classroom. Groudon, she could only imagine what kind of role she would have to fill in that if she was there. Would she be a more competent Irina? Or perhaps less competent with children. Eh…. Heh… Juni didn’t want to think about that too much.
As Koray mentioned Danny Phantom, though, Juni paused trying to remember just who that was. It had been… a long while since she had heard that name, but she was pretty sure that either Adian or Simon had watched it when they were younger. “I’ve seen a few episodes,” she answered. “Didn’t get to watch a lot of it since I was studying a lot when it was airing. Danny was a ghost kid or whatever yeah? Think that’s right….”
Rather than assume that Koray had any sort of power he related to Danny with, though, Juni jumped to the assumption that he related to teenaged boyhood and ostracization that came with high school and……. Groudon if that wasn’t a Mood in one way or another, lol. Before she got a chance to say more, though, the ding of the timer to change rang in her ears. Oh. Huh. “Anyways, was nice talking with you,” she stated getting up and getting ready to fumble over to the next table.
Koray smiled when Juni laughed and nodded when she said she'd watched a few episodes. "Yeah, I watched a fair amount when I was a kid," he explained briefly, "Ghost kid is accurate and a teenager," he was definitely glad she hadn't pressed further. Being similar to Danny Phantom was true in a number of ways, but with a lot more downsides than a cartoon character.
Oh well, it seemed that the date was over and it was time to switch tables. That meant there was one left, right? Well, maybe it'd be a fun one kinda like this one was. "Thanks, it was nice to meet you too, Juni," This wasn't so bad... he could do this. It was just a little longer, right?
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