Zaria Brightly
Top Ranger/Coordinator | Zah-ria | 16
Appearance:
Standing at a tiny 5'1 and not growing much more, Zaria can look a little young for her age. Her thick, unruly, wavy black hair is typically pulled back or down or in a braid–– whatever she's feeling for the day. Her skin is always at an even light brown tan year round, so she sticks to bright colors that complement her season. She's a fan of anything loose or easy to move around in, having a fondness for athletic skirts, dresses, and anything that's sporty and chic. Her footwear is always some form of comfy shoes; so boots or a hardy pair of sneakers are usually what she walks around in.
Background:
Born and raised in the ––at times–– painfully sleepy, albeit quaint town of New Bark in Johto, Zaria was always yearning for more. The flowers were beautiful, the breeze was constant, and the town was idyllic. Nothing bad ever happened in New Bark, but that was just it–– nothing ever happened. Her house was large and beautiful, her parents were affluent, she should have been grateful.
All the same, home was where her parents resented each other deeply; their feelings manifested as shouting matches and thunderous arguments nearly every day. Usually it was her father raining insults on her mother because he was an ill-tempered and nasty man, but sometimes her Mama would be able to stick up for herself. While Zaria loved her mom, their relationship was complicated; strained specifically by her father's abusive tendencies. Suffice it to say, Zaria found herself spending most of her time in her room or outside–– alone.
School was difficult too. It wasn't that she didn't want friends or wasn't friendly–– her parents were strict to the extent she was hardly allowed to play with friends. They wanted their daughter to focus and 'friends' were a distraction. She was going to be just like her father, a doctor for people. Why, the money was stable and it was a respectable, prestigious profession.
As for her, she had no idea what she wanted to do truthfully, but she knew that pokemon interested her, painfully so. She'd longingly look at the glimpses of Pidgey and Swablu out her window, maybe a Caterpie or Weedle munching on a mulberry leaf outside. Friends would have been wonderful too, lots of friends to surround her. At some point, she did secretly buy a smartphone, and a whole new world opened up from there.
Still, it wasn't necessarily a straightforward path from that point either. It all felt like a pipe dream, and it very much was because her parents didn't support her aspirations. But there were a few things she could do: figure out the admissions process, work with what she had, and just apply. PMA required stellar grades, fantastic test scores, and showy extracurriculars. Her grades were quite good, her test scores grazed the cut off between good and average, but her extracurriculars were where she shone. A few friends she made online encouraged her, motivating her for her future.
Her parents did allow her to volunteer at the local ranger association when she was 12, if only because Zaria convinced them it was more about environmental clean up than what it really was. But even to her surprise, it actually exceeded her expectations. Getting to use a capture styler had not been part of the plan. Getting to go on patrols had not been part of the plan. Zaria found herself a junior ranger at times, shocked and grateful for her luck. It was a defining moment for her personally, and she found herself getting into everything ranger related.
One day, out on patrol, Zaria was attacked by a (by no fault of their own) rampaging Liepard. The whole thing is now a blur, most of the bad memories having vanished with her dreams, but she still remembers how helpless and terrified she felt that day. No physical scars mar her body, as she was knocked back by the scythe like tail without being cut, but her spirit certainly felt shaken. Being a pokemon ranger was not all the casual patrols she'd thought it would be. Dangerously close to giving up on her rangering dreams, Zaria instead reassured herself and swore she'd get a strong team to never fall under those circumstances again. If her team was full of strong pokemon, then she'd always be able to take anything on, right?
The application process was rigorous as PMA was and still is incredibly difficult to get into. Zaria applied three times before finally getting in on her fourth try. Her essay and commitment to community service was what prompted the admissions to call her, interview her, and offer her a proposal letter. On full scholarship, she went to the school against her father's wishes.
This was a new start, the future Zaria dreamed of. She was going to be different. She was going to be great. She'd win over her parents, make tons of friends, and become known throughout the region. Right?
Right?
All the same, home was where her parents resented each other deeply; their feelings manifested as shouting matches and thunderous arguments nearly every day. Usually it was her father raining insults on her mother because he was an ill-tempered and nasty man, but sometimes her Mama would be able to stick up for herself. While Zaria loved her mom, their relationship was complicated; strained specifically by her father's abusive tendencies. Suffice it to say, Zaria found herself spending most of her time in her room or outside–– alone.
School was difficult too. It wasn't that she didn't want friends or wasn't friendly–– her parents were strict to the extent she was hardly allowed to play with friends. They wanted their daughter to focus and 'friends' were a distraction. She was going to be just like her father, a doctor for people. Why, the money was stable and it was a respectable, prestigious profession.
As for her, she had no idea what she wanted to do truthfully, but she knew that pokemon interested her, painfully so. She'd longingly look at the glimpses of Pidgey and Swablu out her window, maybe a Caterpie or Weedle munching on a mulberry leaf outside. Friends would have been wonderful too, lots of friends to surround her. At some point, she did secretly buy a smartphone, and a whole new world opened up from there.
Still, it wasn't necessarily a straightforward path from that point either. It all felt like a pipe dream, and it very much was because her parents didn't support her aspirations. But there were a few things she could do: figure out the admissions process, work with what she had, and just apply. PMA required stellar grades, fantastic test scores, and showy extracurriculars. Her grades were quite good, her test scores grazed the cut off between good and average, but her extracurriculars were where she shone. A few friends she made online encouraged her, motivating her for her future.
Her parents did allow her to volunteer at the local ranger association when she was 12, if only because Zaria convinced them it was more about environmental clean up than what it really was. But even to her surprise, it actually exceeded her expectations. Getting to use a capture styler had not been part of the plan. Getting to go on patrols had not been part of the plan. Zaria found herself a junior ranger at times, shocked and grateful for her luck. It was a defining moment for her personally, and she found herself getting into everything ranger related.
One day, out on patrol, Zaria was attacked by a (by no fault of their own) rampaging Liepard. The whole thing is now a blur, most of the bad memories having vanished with her dreams, but she still remembers how helpless and terrified she felt that day. No physical scars mar her body, as she was knocked back by the scythe like tail without being cut, but her spirit certainly felt shaken. Being a pokemon ranger was not all the casual patrols she'd thought it would be. Dangerously close to giving up on her rangering dreams, Zaria instead reassured herself and swore she'd get a strong team to never fall under those circumstances again. If her team was full of strong pokemon, then she'd always be able to take anything on, right?
The application process was rigorous as PMA was and still is incredibly difficult to get into. Zaria applied three times before finally getting in on her fourth try. Her essay and commitment to community service was what prompted the admissions to call her, interview her, and offer her a proposal letter. On full scholarship, she went to the school against her father's wishes.
This was a new start, the future Zaria dreamed of. She was going to be different. She was going to be great. She'd win over her parents, make tons of friends, and become known throughout the region. Right?
Right?
Personality:
Zaria means well, but she can be a handful. Her rigorously strict upbringing, combined with being an only child, has manifested as several negative traits: she doesn't take criticism well from her peers, cries far too easily, and lacks discipline. She has big dreams, but naively underestimates what it takes to get to them. Also indecisive and sheltered, as she's never truly made her own decisions before. Her parents used to decide everything for her after all, so suffice it say they were incredibly overbearing. As such, she thinks of herself as not good enough to make her own decisions, and she's naive about the world to boot. (To be honest, ever since coming to PMA, she feels crushed by the expectations put upon her, not that she tries to ever let it show.)
Her typical mannerisms on a daily basis involve her being quite the upbeat and friendly- if occasionally absent-minded- dreamer. Zaria's mind is almost always drifting somewhere else constantly, and it often feeds into her blunt speech. Though eager and gregarious, she can also come off as really annoying or just plain rude because she's loud and has a tendency to speak without a filter. It's only natural, not having a great understanding of being conscientious. (But it doesn't stop her from trying to make friends.)
Brimming with energy, she finds it difficult to focus and stay disciplined since she feels like she's been cooped up her entire life. All too often she's asking people for their assignments or homework just because she procrastinates constantly and loathes homework of any kind. Being on her own, she'll need to be able discipline herself, a lengthy and trying learning process for sure.
When dealing with personal conflict or confrontation, Zaria is sure to apologize quickly if she upsets someone. She doesn't like conflict, but her attempts at assuaging can come off as dismissive, because she'll often try to just pacify or lighten up the mood. Often times, she's just trying to run away from the situation.
Hypercritical of herself, Zaria knows she's inadequate compared to everyone at PMA. She wants to be this cool, popular, all star but she's coming up pretty short and she feels terrible about it. Constantly comparing herself to others can lead to her having a really skewed sense of worth. To compensate, she always tries to make herself known and seen, which doesn't always work out well either.
All that said, Zaria hates feeling inferior or threatened. Wanting to be the best ranger ever, instead of trying to be the best person she can be, can be exhausting and disappointing though. As she tries to become this impossible, idealized version of herself, she feels the need to suppress her natural self. For instance, she's fascinated with pokemon contests, but feels like they're the complete opposite of rangering. How can someone who's a real hero engage in that sort of silly frippery? Feeling guilty for liking contests eventually turned into her telling herself she hated them. Nevertheless, she secretly yearns.
Finally, she has an 'interesting' view on pokemon. Picturing herself as a strong, proud hero has made Zaria obsessed with strong and cool looking pokemon. She needs to have a strong team in order to succeed, or so she's convinced herself. (No, she doesn't quite realize that a crap trainer won't do well even with a strong team yet). She's scared of being unable to fight back in a bad situation, but lacks the self-awareness to understand how to truly cope. Not to mention, the cycle of her parents having had sky-high, unfair expectations of her, has rubbed off on Zaria, and she has unrealistic expectations for her pokemon. Though she would save any creature if they needed help, she isn't willing to lend a spot on her team otherwise. In other words, Zaria doesn't understand that the pokemon she wants may not be the pokemon she needs. And she's in for a sore awakening when she realized that big pokemon up close are actually pretty scary...
Her typical mannerisms on a daily basis involve her being quite the upbeat and friendly- if occasionally absent-minded- dreamer. Zaria's mind is almost always drifting somewhere else constantly, and it often feeds into her blunt speech. Though eager and gregarious, she can also come off as really annoying or just plain rude because she's loud and has a tendency to speak without a filter. It's only natural, not having a great understanding of being conscientious. (But it doesn't stop her from trying to make friends.)
Brimming with energy, she finds it difficult to focus and stay disciplined since she feels like she's been cooped up her entire life. All too often she's asking people for their assignments or homework just because she procrastinates constantly and loathes homework of any kind. Being on her own, she'll need to be able discipline herself, a lengthy and trying learning process for sure.
When dealing with personal conflict or confrontation, Zaria is sure to apologize quickly if she upsets someone. She doesn't like conflict, but her attempts at assuaging can come off as dismissive, because she'll often try to just pacify or lighten up the mood. Often times, she's just trying to run away from the situation.
Hypercritical of herself, Zaria knows she's inadequate compared to everyone at PMA. She wants to be this cool, popular, all star but she's coming up pretty short and she feels terrible about it. Constantly comparing herself to others can lead to her having a really skewed sense of worth. To compensate, she always tries to make herself known and seen, which doesn't always work out well either.
All that said, Zaria hates feeling inferior or threatened. Wanting to be the best ranger ever, instead of trying to be the best person she can be, can be exhausting and disappointing though. As she tries to become this impossible, idealized version of herself, she feels the need to suppress her natural self. For instance, she's fascinated with pokemon contests, but feels like they're the complete opposite of rangering. How can someone who's a real hero engage in that sort of silly frippery? Feeling guilty for liking contests eventually turned into her telling herself she hated them. Nevertheless, she secretly yearns.
Finally, she has an 'interesting' view on pokemon. Picturing herself as a strong, proud hero has made Zaria obsessed with strong and cool looking pokemon. She needs to have a strong team in order to succeed, or so she's convinced herself. (No, she doesn't quite realize that a crap trainer won't do well even with a strong team yet). She's scared of being unable to fight back in a bad situation, but lacks the self-awareness to understand how to truly cope. Not to mention, the cycle of her parents having had sky-high, unfair expectations of her, has rubbed off on Zaria, and she has unrealistic expectations for her pokemon. Though she would save any creature if they needed help, she isn't willing to lend a spot on her team otherwise. In other words, Zaria doesn't understand that the pokemon she wants may not be the pokemon she needs. And she's in for a sore awakening when she realized that big pokemon up close are actually pretty scary...
What are some ways you would like to affect the story:
I'd like for Zaria to organically grow into a better version of herself. In the the beginning, she's going to be kind of uncertain, have really low confidence, and struggle a lot. She'll suffer from fear of failure and sabotage herself. But she'll also start rangering/ saving pokemon more, participating in contests, etc. This would all amount to her building up her confidence and eventually becoming a great trainer. I'd also like for Zaria to meet a legendary like cosmog or mew, and even possibly battle the leader of some organization.
She needs to understand that she can't keep being this idolized version of a ranger. She needs to be herself.
She needs to understand that just because a pokemon looks cute or maybe isn't the strongest, doesn't mean that they're worthless on her team.
She's actually more scarred for him incident with the Liepard than she realizes, and is actually pretty afraid of large pokemon.
She needs to understand that she can't keep being this idolized version of a ranger. She needs to be herself.
She needs to understand that just because a pokemon looks cute or maybe isn't the strongest, doesn't mean that they're worthless on her team.
She's actually more scarred for him incident with the Liepard than she realizes, and is actually pretty afraid of large pokemon.
Magnet
Magnemite ◼ Genderless ◼ Determined | Bubbly ◼ Magnet Pull
Not quite what most expect a Magnemite to be like, Magnet is always bouncing around and quite inquisitive. Magnet is also quite alert and dangerously curious, so they sometimes get a little too carried away by going off on their own, leaving Zaria to panic.