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!
Well, this was going better than previously anticipated. If Gabe just sort of acted like Arietta didn’t exist, like she wasn’t in the room, and like she wasn’t constantly looking at him, he could just focus on these speed dates and… go on, heh. Sitting down at the next table and picking up the card with his and his date’s names and the optional ice breakers on it, Gabe read over it as he waited. Heh. Well I know exactly what I’d do with 100,000 pen…. But that wasn’t really all that interesting to him.
Ah. Yellow eyes flickered up to the person now on the opposite side of the table. “Well hi there,” he smiled twisting around his wrist and resting his chin on the top of his hand. “Name’s Gabe… I sort of cheated and read yours already,” he laughed once. “Nice to meet you, Liv.”
Getting the sinking feeling that she might not have been amazing on her last two dates, Liv took it upon herself to try her hardest to pick up any previous slack she left herself with to get the show on the road. It might have been because she was a little awkward, or maybe because she tended to put her foot in her mouth, but no more! She was a woman on a mission to impress, and impress she will.
Sliding into her seat confidently, she found herself a little off-guard despite her internal pep talk. Maybe she was a little rough on meeting new people. "Oh, right, of course. Nice to meet you, Gabe. I'm Li—" Wait, he knew that already. He literally had just said her name and everything. Again with the foot in her mouth, even if it was just an inconsequential greeting. "Wait, let me do that again... the pleasure is all mine?"
Better. She nodded with all of her heart and settled in a bit better without even waiting for his reply. Finally giving Gabe a once over with her eyes, she got stuck on something very particular about him, her lips parting in a bit of awe. "Wow, has anyone told you that you have really nice hair?"
A small chuckle escaped from Gabe as Liv spoke. Was she nervous? The retake seemed a little more confident, so maybe he’d just caught her off guard. Either way, heh. “For now,” was all he’d tease back.
The surprisingly genuine compliment had Gabe brightening some. “Why thank you,” he answered reaching to run one hand’s fingers through his hair and curling a few strands in between his fingers. “….I’d look at your hair, but I’m already too lost in your beautiful blue eyes.” He chuckled a little at that. He considered following up with the icebreaker question but decided to wait and see how she’d react first.
Liv furrowed her brow, the brain cells in her head taking a moment to connect the dots, initially taking it as if her hair weren't interesting enough to warrant the concentration or compliment. Which was a no-go, since it honestly ends up taking her forever to style in the way she liked to in the mornings. But that initial confusion—and maybe offense taken—slipped away like water washing over her as her eyes widened, finding the sudden tables turning a bit like whiplash.
"O-Oh... well, thanks. I guess I... take good care of them," she started, a bit of a small chuckle escaping her as she struggled to maintain a bit of eye contact. It wasn't the first time she'd been complimented like that, but it was so forward and sudden. She finally looked back to him, though maybe... just maybe squinting a little bit. Gotta hide those peepers so she doesn't get embarrassed.
Buuuut she might ride that high a little. "I didn't think they were so nice to look at that it was... you know, distracting, ahah... Your eyes aren't too bad yourself, you know." Maybe she was really riding that compliment high. Her attempt at playing coy was anything but. She couldn't help having such good looking eyes after all.
Oh, oh no Liv was actually kind of cute, heh. Gabe chuckled softly back. As the compliment was returned to him, though, he settled again. “You know what they say about eyes being the windows to the soul. I’ll count myself blessed to be in the presence of an angel and call it at that.” He glanced sideways and ready over the card’s prompts again. Hmmm well. “So tell me, what would your dream house look like, and where would you build it?” he asked after a moment before flashing a grin. No one said they had to use the ice breakers, but he was sort of legitimately curious about her now.
Liv unconsciously and immediately straightened her back as Gabe's words sunk into her brain like a sponge dropped into a bucket of water. As it really, really hit it, she could only do one thing and that one thing alone. She laughed, eyes wandering around rapidly as she slapped her fingers across the table's surface. "Wow, I wouldn't call myself an angel, but hey, your words!" She was definitely flustered by how forward he was being—even if it was truly some degree of corny, it was just so quietly slipped into conversation like it belonged there. At least, that's how she took it. But... she would still own up to the compliment. Ego? Boosted.
It took clearing her throat for her to finally focus on the question and not so much on the whole ordeal of her eyes. "Dream house... ah," she muttered to herself before the answer clicking in her head. It'd been an obvious answer to herself since she was young, so her not saying it immediately could be chalked up to Gabe controlling the pace of the conversation. "Something quaint and small. Nice and quiet out in the forest, surrounded by nothing but nature and its finest. You know what I mean? No hustle and bustle of the city to drown out the peace you can find out there."
She nodded to herself, pleased with her answer. "Mountains could be fine too, if they're nice most times of year... What about you?"
….Oh. Liv had a nice laugh. Gabe grinned briefly. They were his words, and he’d stand by them if it made her laugh again.
As Liv described her dream house, Gabe’s features relaxed a little. Months ago, he wouldn’t have been able to relate to that sentiment at all. He’d lived for the hustle and bustle for so long. Since buying that property out in Cherry Town, however, he understood it. The quiet, the seclusion, the everything was just… “It’s nice, yeah…” he agreed. As she mentioned mountains, though, he couldn’t help but briefly imagine building a house up on the Grumble volcano and immediately grinning toothily.
The question was returned to him, and Gabe now had an answer. “I think I’ve already got it, actually,” he admitted with a smile. “I bought some property in Cherry Town semi-recently with an old farmhouse already on it. It’s not in great shape right now, but that can be fixed…” he hummed a little softly. “The quiet is nice.”
Liv's eyes lit up faster than a brand new lightbulb put into a socket. The sudden feeling that there was a mutual understanding about the good things of a place in quaint, honest nature. The way her face perked up from simply being happy thinking of it to the excitement that shot through her body was probably somewhat startling, but she didn't hide it. Finding someone who understood was really all she ever wanted in meeting someone new.
"It is really nice, right?!" She asked, her voice anything but quiet. In fact, it wouldn't have been surprising if some of the other close tables heard her sudden outburst. Suddenly feeling a little sheepish as her volume sunk in, she offered a smile to match her sheepishness—but she most certainty was still fixated on the subject. "I'm so glad you understand, though. I come from Celadon, so it's not always so nice and quiet, and sometimes it's really hard to try to get the point across like we get it. It's soooo nice!"
With the biggest grin she'd wore since sitting down, she leaned back in her seat and let out a sigh. "I'm so jealous of you," she started, trying to picture what he described. "I'd kill for property like that. You know, when I'm ready to settle down and stay still, anyway. Are you gonna set up a farm for yourself?"
She had the most direct interest in Gabe since they've started speaking, that is for sure.
Gabe blinked a couple of times in rapid succession. The way Liv perked up was so sudden and so stark in contrast to what it had been, but…. but really it was also sort of infectious. Even then, he felt the corners of his lips quirking up a bit. “It is; it’s so quiet and so alive,” he spoke quieter than Liv but audibly all the same.
As Liv explained where she was from, Gabe nodded along. He’d kind of sort of heard of Celadon but only really in the fact that it was a big city in Kanto— (Or was he thinking of Saffron?? Whatever) Still, he knew the contrast from big city to small town well enough. Bass City itself was a good enough representation of city life versus the much quieter and rural Cherry Town. And none of that mattered anyways because…. Liv’s expression was….. U-oh.
Oh no. Liv was…. she was so cute.
Gabe felt his own features warming a little, but he grinned all the same. “You can come wander it for yourself if you’d like,” he commented— only to answer the actual question after. “That’s the plan. Last fall, some of my Grass Pokemon and I managed to get the land tilled and ready to go— and then winter hit out of nowhere.” He snorted softly remembering the disdain now a little more fondly. “But once spring settles in or the snow stops—“ Whichever came first. “We’re going to try again. I’m thinking apricorn trees.”
It took literally everything in Liv's being not to start bouncing her chair like an excited child, to control that impulse that oh-so desperately wished to take over like primal instincts coming forth in a time of heightened emotion. All because of a conversation that interested her so dearly that she wanted far more time than they would be allowed to talk about it. She figured she could talk this kind of talk all night, really. But alas, she had to control herself.
"No take backs on that offer, I'm saying that right now," she started, wagging a finger almost threateningly at Gabe if it weren't for the wide smile plastered on her face like it was nobody's business. "Because I'm likely to steal every idea you have if you're going to invite me to wander around. Especially if it's as good as you say it is!" It was definitely obvious that Liv's interested was piqued beyond belief, and she would take every and any opportunity to explore that interest.
The imagery that then flooded her mind was quaint, picturing Gabe and... whichever Grass Pokémon he might have. She couldn't know, so maybe that was a slight hang-up, but she pushed past it to picture what he could do with trees and a quiet little place of his own. "I think that sounds amazing," she said, suddenly cutting herself off with a gasp. "Have you considered crossbreeding?"
“No takebacks,” Gabe snickered back at Liv. He had no intention of it— not when her eyes lit like that and she moved like that. He froze briefly as she mentioned stealing only to melt again when she made it clear she meant ideas. That he was fine with, heh, aesthetic snatched. Wig.
As Liv cut in with another thought, Gabe paused to consider. “I’ve heard it’s possible with berries, but I’ve never heard it done with Apricorns,” he answered thoughtfully. Still, it wasn't like he had exhausted his understanding of farming or even come close to doing so. There may have just been a subsection of books he hadn't read or a group of people he hadn't met that already knew this was possible.. “Worth a try.” A small toothy grin came to his features. “Unless of course you meant berries in which case, I suppose when spring hits I can have a few of those trees and bushes around and see.” Those he had heard of. Those he was pretty sure had some standard combinations known by then.
Another thought came to him, and something amused flashed in his gaze. “Actually now that I think about it, there is one condition for coming over. You’ll have to wait till spring… and you’ll have to help me get some berries planted as compensation.” She seemed like the type to like that, actually— and it could totally be another date, unintentionally or not. Hah….
Hey, if he was honoring the time-honored tradition of no takebacks, then that gave Liv plenty of reason to wear her excitement on her face. The sheer implication of being able to take and bask in the kind of place he was describing was nothing short of Goals. Wearing a wide smile that was akin to wearing her heart on her sleeve, Liv leaned back into her chair as if she'd had a good dinner, sighing in the kind of relief that fit that idea too.
Though, now that she thought about it, she didn't really know the first thing about farming. Sure, she knew a good bit about plants and flowers, even opting to name most (if not all) of her Pokémon after species of flowers, but that didn't really extend that far. Tapping her chin in thought, the blonde narrowed her eyes as she spoke her next words more slowly, almost cautiously, "You know, I've never done anything like crossbreeding myself... I really only know how to take care of a couple flowers, so I figured if you can crossbreed flowers and berries, why not anything else you can plant?"
Probably not how it worked, but she was optimistic.
His next words did give Liv a flash of surprise to her expression, eyes widened as she thought it over. And by thought it over, it was really like an instant decision. "Deal!" She yelled out, thumbs up flying out from under the table as she gave Gabe a nod. That was the closest she could get to making a contract about it, despite it not needing anything of the sort. "But I have to waaaait? That part kinda sucks, but I bet it'll be worth it."
“Oh? Did you work at like a green house or something similar?” Gabe asked back. Or was she more of a passive gardener with a few plants on the windowsill type person? Either way, her interest wasn’t fake. He could tell that well enough. And the way she spoke was…..
Deal— Liv’s zeal again had Gabe’s features warming just a little. A small laugh escaped from him. “Well unless you just want to shovel snow, but I guess?” he asked with another laugh. “It is pretty right now, but there’s not a lot you can do.” Aside from travel, actually, which he had been doing a lot of for different reasons. And…
Oh was that the timer going off signaling the end of this round? Gabe blinked and turned around towards it. Sure enough, that was it. Huh. “Why don’t I give you my number and we can talk more,” he mused as he turned back around and fished out his phone.
06
04
00
