STATUS:
To those I RP with, I haven't dropped off of the face of the earth, just had a mental health crash but am recovering. Now to catch up on posting.
3 yrs ago
Current
To those I RP with, I haven't dropped off of the face of the earth, just had a mental health crash but am recovering. Now to catch up on posting.
7
likes
3 yrs ago
The worst thing about mental illness is you have to look after yourself a disgusting amount. I know it's the only way to actually be in a fit state to look out for others, but it still feels wrong.
4
likes
3 yrs ago
Emeth: Then I'll be that friend who's the opposite kind of annoying, whispering "Do it, you know you want to..."
5
likes
3 yrs ago
Judging by the Internet's definitions of introversion and extraversion, you'd think everyone's either an extreme hermit or a party animal with no in between.
6
likes
3 yrs ago
Krystal: All part and parcel of the job.
4
likes
Bio
A frazzled British thirtysomething cat mum with something of a tea addiction.
I like a wide range of RP genres, but have two absolute favourites: Pokemon and magical girls. (If someone manages to combine the two, I'll be VERY happy!) I post fairly regularly, but sometimes shit mental health days crop up - if that causes any delays, I'll try to resume posting ASAP.
Well, it seemed Team Fantasia had found themselves on the receiving end of the element of surprise. As she ran after Kiru, a scene of utter chaos greeted Ayumu. A park in ruins, broken lampposts and fallen trees strewn across a jagged icy wasteland. Quite a spectacle, the dark magician thought, a smirk spreading over her face. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from this - while the light girls hellbent on ruining all their fun would learn the hard way.
Instead of taking on shadow form, she turned invisible, catching up with and trailing behind Kiru to mask her presence. The original target was the furthest thing from her mind as the team zeroed in on a new opponent. A blonde she hadn't seen before, who hid behind several shields, preaching against some kind of Detention Club get-together by the sound of it. Phantasmagoria suppressed a chuckle, reaching for her cape. All she had to do was maintain her invisibility for a second longer, and with the light girl distracted, a sneak attack would be child's play...
Without warning, the shields exploded. First at a trapped Maiko, then at Kiru. Without wasting a moment, Ayumu flung her cape open, crow silhouettes soaring from under it and blocking as many shards as possible. She winced as some struck her, but kept her usual cool demeanour. "Tsk, tsk," she muttered, appearing before the blonde as the shadow birds faded. "For such goody-goodies, you haven't grasped how rude it is to keep crashing our parties."
"Conflict of interests?" Sophia tried to step forward as Oscar turned to leave, but the Bronzor wouldn't move from where it floated. "You... You're not even trying to understand! And how is this likely to get in the way? I mean you have other goals! You have people you care about! None of that's stopping you, so why should it stop me?"
Before she could say anything else, Oscar had disappeared through the doorway. "He says there's no getting through to me?" she muttered to the other trainers. "He's one to talk."
She wasn't going to let go that easily, wasn't going to take a promise lightly. Not after she'd nearly died. She'd narrowly avoided losing the opportunity to make her family proud, and like hell was she going to throw away that dream just because some smart aleck thought he knew best.
"Sophia... You really should rest," Amber suggested, backing up Oscar's statement. "I know you want to train up, but you'll be in a better state to do so if you take a few breaks now and again. Come on, let's sit down, I have something that may help."
Lacey, standing at her trainer's feet, looked up and nodded with an insistent "Ita!". Sophia visibly tensed, trying to stand up on her own, only to slump over Clarus again. "Ugh, if you say so..." the psychic muttered. "But I'll be fine in no time."
It seemed Oscar was right about Sophia being difficult to get through to... and she was also right about accusing him of the same. No wonder they ended up bickering if in the same room for more than a few minutes. "Well, while you two talk to Lan, we'll be outside," she told Rachel and Vivianne, then led Sophia to the doors, taking one more look over her shoulder at her former friend before stepping out. Maybe she needed to clear her head too...
The rock garden looked like the perfect place to do so. A sense of calm settled over Amber as she made her way down the path, past simple yet artfully arranged rocks on ripple patterned sand, past bamboos towering high, the rustling of leaves in the wind like a soothing whisper. Sunlight glimmered on a pond, and on the scales of Goldeens dancing through it. After these past few days, most of us could probably do with taking a breather here, the researcher thought as she sat down on a wooden platform, Sophia easing herself down beside her.
The other trainer gave a weak laugh as she leaned against a wall. "Oh please, don't tell me you're going to teach a psychic how to meditate," she scoffed. "That'd be like me teaching you to scrawl down those notes at every possible opportunity. Besides, Lan got me to do all that self reflection and inner peace stuff earlier."
Amber shrugged off the acerbic comment with a smile. "Well, this is just something you might find relaxing," she replied, taking out her Pokegear. "If it doesn't help, let me know, but..." She recalled the first time she'd met Sophia, that humming as a coping technique. "Music cheers you up, doesn't it?"
Sophia rolled her eyes. "Like I need cheering up. But fine, go on if you must."
After a few button clicks, an online video started playing, showing Clefairys floating in dance-like patterns outside a cave under a full moon. "I think we all might need cheering up," Amber said as the fairies' song filled the air, the otherworldly beauty making the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. "Isn't it amazing, the way Clefairys sing and dance like that when the moon's full? It's the moonlight that lets them float. And apparently they create a strange magnetic field! Like certain meteorites... Uhh, ok, I'll quit babbling now and let you listen." Sophia stopped giving her that look, her eyes turning to the screen instead. Irritable as the girl was, there was no mistaking the fascination on her face.
"Let's just listen, breathe slowly and relax," Amber said, then closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of azaleas and letting the melody soothe away the tension she'd been carrying. Hopefully it would do the same for Sophia. She hadn't told the troubled girl this was the video Coral said she used to play to sleep more easily. That would be almost guaranteed to make her feel like a child and do more harm than good.
Coral... Amber couldn't help wondering if, by having sent that message, she'd harmed or helped her sister. She tried to focus on the music, but it seemed not even a fairy song could ease all a person's worries.
To her surprise, Jess noticed Roxy wasn't completely without hope for the counselling situation. She had to try and view it the same way. It wouldn't change the situation, but it might make them more able to cope with it. That and if it meant she could adapt better, she'd be easier for Roxy to live with, and possibly more fit to support the anchor through whatever was going on.
Before Jess could say anything, Roxy shuffled her chair to the side - as usual, she needed space and there was nothing to do but respect that. Attempting to brighten the mood - if she had any capacity to do so - the empath chatted with her mom. Better small talk than awkward silence. When the food arrived, she tucked in, forcing herself to act hungry instead of pick at it. All the while, she couldn't help but wonder what the presence of the watchers truly meant.
As a corrupted magical girl, the cape around her shoulders and the tails of her jacket have a ragged look, and seem to be made of trailing shadows rather than cloth.
• Name: Ayumu Harasawa
• Title: Trick of the Light (before corruption), Phantasmagoria (after corruption)
• Age: 16
• Emblem: A tattoo of the four card symbols - a heart, a spade, a diamond and a club - on her left shoulder.
• Devil Arm: A pack of playing cards that, when thrown, become cloaked in a magical aura and can slice through enemies. They then disappear and reappear in the pack. Since Ayumu's corruption, the cards have become ragged around the edges, and all of the hearts on them appear to be dripping blood.
• Magic: Ayumu's magic is based around illusion and summoning. - Sleight of Hand: She can create illusionary images and sounds to trick enemies in battle. Post corruption, her illusions are warped and horrific. While they cannot physically injure someone, they can inflict the sensation of pain. - Vanishing Act: For a few seconds at a time, she can become invisible. - Conjuration: Ayumu takes off her hat or lifts her cape, summoning from it a creature made of magical energy. Once, these creatures were a white rabbit that could significantly heal an ally before disappearing, or a flock of doves that could slightly heal several allies at once. Now, they're a black jackalope (deer horned rabbit) that can deal major damage by goring an enemy, or a flock of crows that peck and claw, inflicting lighter wounds but hitting a wider range of targets.
• Background: Ayumu was never a stranger to magic. She grew up witnessing awe-inspiring feats, longing to do the same. Yet at the same time, she grew up detached from the wonders most children believed in, for she knew this particular kind of magic to be trickery and illusion.
Her older brother, who performed stage magic, taught her how to do a few tricks herself and impressed her with ones she didn't know the secrets of. It was a way to distract her from what lay behind the illusion of their home life. Their parents put up a cheerful, polite facade to the world, which hid the messy divorce they were going through. The next man her mother married was charming on the outside, cruel and manipulative on the inside.
This, combined with bullying and high pressure at school, made Ayumu long for real magic. A fairytale world to escape into. While in her room, practicing the tricks that were no longer enough while trying not to listen to the argument between her mother and stepfather downstairs, she caught sight of a creature at the window. A cat with a TV for a head, offering her the chance to become a magical girl. Once she'd gotten over the shock, naturally she accepted without hesitation.
To say the least, it wasn't what she expected. Under its glamourous surface, her life slowly became a living hell. Her long absences risking death to fight monsters made the home situation worse. She clung to the belief that she was making the world a better place by ridding it of Nightmares, but when she and her group defeated one, another would inevitably crop up before long. What little free time she had, she spent watching shows put on by the brother who stayed around to protect her from the toxic home environment. She yearned for her childhood days, back before she'd known about this darkness too great to dispel.
The events of one night caused such darkness to take over her as it had everything else. Nightmares were particularly active, and she'd been chasing down one when several more closed in on her. She defeated the onslaught of monsters, but only barely, emerging battered and exhausted. Nonetheless, catching sight of her original target, she mustered all her strength to run after it as it closed in on a figure. In the streetlights, she caught a glimpse of the young man's face - her brother, gripping the railings of a bridge, all positive emotion seeping out of him in glowing streams. He didn't even notice her, didn't hear her calling, as he climbed over before her eyes and fell...
In desperation, she rushed to the street where he lay and tried to heal him, but it was too late. Overcome with rage and grief, she lashed out at the Nightmare, tearing it to pieces and absorbing its essence.
Just as her brother was there one moment, gone the next, the righteous magical girl Trick of the Light had also vanished. In her place was Phantasmagoria. She couldn't live in a fantasy land any more, where goodness and kindness prevailed, not when she'd seen for herself how the world really worked. And what point was there in saving others, when she couldn't save a loved one?
• Inventory: A simple magic trick kit, which she sometimes uses in street acts. No matter how corrupt she becomes, she finds there's something heartwarming about brightening up people's day, especially that of children.
• Sample Post:
As she always did to escape the house's atmosphere, Ayumu dreamed.
Said atmosphere had changed completely. Silence replaced shouts and the smashing of plates. It had done ever since her mom had left that bastard of a second husband, the accusation that she'd been the cause of Daichi's mental state and the void in their lives having been beyond the pale. That void was the other reason for the quiet in the air, the lack of TV sounds or music from the other room. Ayumu felt his absence like a raw wound, worse than any she'd ever sustained in battle.
Letting her power thrum through her, she filled the emptiness with swirling images. A fairytale woodland surrounded her, the very air shimmering with lights, paths to faraway lands stretching out and tiny pixies flitting in and out of the foliage. Sitting on a log instead of her bed, Ayumu took in the storybook paradise. Oh, how her younger self would have loved this... But for her, every good dream had a tendency to turn bad.
The sky darkened. Trees twisted before her, branches reaching out like clawed, gnarled hands. The pixies buzzed like a swarm of vile insects, baring needle-sharp teeth that dripped with the blood of fresh prey. Ayumu showed no fear. Instead, she rose, the corners of her mouth curving into a smile. "I could use a good hunting trip too," she whispered. Nightmares, in both senses of the word, were something she had to face.
She let the illusions fade and crept down the hallway. Mom wouldn't notice her sneaking out, she always went to bed early these days. Ayumu gave a wistful glance towards the room where the one person she wanted to help slept, then looked away. Trying to reach out ended with her efforts being rejected. She wasn't the firstborn, after all, just the one who'd been left behind that night. The one who'd turned out the bad apple. If only the ordinary humans around her knew just how bad.
Smirking, she slipped out, streams of shadow trailing from her clothes. It was time to put on a show.
• Appearance:
• Name: Tama Miyara
• Title: Angelite
• Age: 17
• Emblem: A blue gem embedded into the middle of her upper back. As she transforms, it glows and more crystals spread out from it to form a pair of majestic angel wings.
• Divine Arm: The many crystals that float behind her back. While the "wings" do not allow her to fly, she can use them to attack and defend.
• Magic: Crystal manipulation is the core of Angelite's magic. - Crystalline Hail: With a sweep of her wings, Tama sends forth a volley of sharp rocky fragments created from magical energy. - Formation: This allows Tama to make crystals grow across her skin, forming sturdy armour that while slowing her movements, provides considerable defense. As pictured, she can apply it to just her hands and legs to boost punches and kicks. - Refraction: Tama crosses her wings in front of herself, and a diamond-like barrier appears, blocking attacks and sending them back at her opponent. She can only do this once every few minutes.
• Background: To be considered truly valuable, a gemstone has to be chipped at and polished until standardised facets replace its raw unique shape. Much like Tama, who grew up in a wealthy and esteemed family. She received everything she wanted, as long as she lived up to her parents' ideals. Being respected for who she was took a back seat to reflecting well on them.
This led her to seek out the companionship of people who saw through the surface. As a child at school, she gravitated towards the outcast kids, people she could be genuine towards and expect the same honesty from. Over the years, though, this got her labelled as an oddball herself. The taunts of her peers made her feel undervalued all over again, and the worst thing was, some of her friends joined the no-goods for their own protection. Gradually, their treatment wore her down to the point that she did the same.
Despite the guilt, she stood there and did nothing as the crowd she mingled with made others' lives miserable. Once or twice, she tried to confront them, asking them if they were going a little too far, but fear of losing them made her back down. The turning point came one day when she found out the consequences of their actions - one of her former friends had suffered a full on nervous breakdown and been moved to a different school.
Since then, she flat out quit having anything to do with the people responsible. They'd been just as bad as her family all along, caring only about the surface and not the substance. No matter what she did now, though, nothing could make up for what she'd done, or rather what she hadn't done. Or so she thought, until to her utter surprise, a TV headed feline approached her, giving her the chance to right her wrongs by protecting humanity as a magical girl.
From the start, she's been doing her utmost to help rid the city of Nightmares. Now, however, she views being a magical girl through a rather less rosy lens. One by one, she's watched her once-loyal team fall into darkness. Finding herself alone more often than not, fighting a seemingly futile battle against ever-growing hordes of Nightmares, she's starting to understand the dark girls' reasoning better than she'd like to.
Yet she stays firmly on the side of light. She knows the consequences of selfishness, of inaction, of mixing with the wrong crowd. No matter how many people betray her, she won't repeat the mistake of doing the same to others... will she?
• Inventory: A friendship bracelet, given to her a long time ago by one of the people she grew distant from. A reminder not to do so again.
• Sample Post:
"Great. Just freaking great."
In her physically and emotionally battered state, it had been all Tama could do to drag herself along the path home after the beating from her former ally, but she hadn't been able to ignore the writhing ooze in the distance. Just as always, the Nightmares had reacted to her presence like thieves to a precious jewel, for reasons that now eluded her. She couldn't exactly call herself a beaming example of positivity any more. Yet here she was, drawing them close, then spinning and striking with an onslaught of jagged rock shards.
Her muscles seared in protest as heavy stony layers coated her fists, but she kept pushing, more crystals jutting from the shells as she punched. Had her armour always had this many spikes? Should she be worried? No time to think. Black gunk sprayed over the gems, stealing their sparkle as she tore through the foul creatures that attacked as one.
Did mindless monsters have a better sense of camaraderie than humans? If so, were people even worth protecting?
Panting, she stood over the last Nightmare. The dying beast squirmed, its substance trickling from the gem points pinning it to the ground. Just one. There it was again, the thought that intruded more and more often. What harm can absorbing just one do?
She'd regain her strength. She'd do a better job of defending the city. And maybe, just maybe, she'd be a more competent teammate to the few remaining light girls, giving them the hope they needed not to lose themselves to darkness...
She stepped forward, raised her hand, then froze. The sight of the friendship bracelet brought back memories. A schoolgirl leaving the bathroom with a tear-stained face, glimpsing her, hurrying away as if she wished they'd never known each other. Tama shuddered, letting her hand fall to her side as she watched the Nightmare dissolve into nothing.
No, she wasn't going to take that risk. Not just yet. Not ever.
• Appearance:
• Name: Honoka Takahide
• Title: Allegra
• Age: 15
• Emblem: A small quaver-shaped stud earring of blue hematite.
• Divine Arm: A guitar through which she channels her magic, whether by playing tunes to activate techniques, or by using it like a gun, firing plectrum-shaped energy bullets from the headstock.
• Magic: Honoka cleanses away negativity with her rousing and upbeat music. - Power Chord / Power Riff: Anyone of the darkness, whether a Nightmare or a dark magical girl, experiences a damaging shock upon hearing Allegra's magically amplified song. She can do this in short sharp bursts, or by sustaining a melody, although the latter is more taxing on her than the former. Singing as she plays boosts the effect. - Reverb: One application of her song is to make the effects of certain energy based attacks from the past few minutes repeat themselves, by playing at the moment of attack, then replaying the note. For example, an ally's detonated explosive will reappear and go off under a Nightmare's feet. Memorising where the attack happened is essential, as is timing, as being off by even a split second could cause the attack to miss, or to hit an ally. - Overdrive: If she plays a certain tune at the exact moment an ally attacks, that move gets a boost. - Distortion: Whereas Overdrive increases a move's raw power, by drawing on her magic differently while playing, Allegra can grant certain moves by allies finesse, as in gain control over the attack. She can make a flurry of projectiles all zero in on the same opponent, or cause an attack that missed to loop around and strike its target.
• Background: Throughout her life, Honoka always looked up to her many siblings, all of whom excelled at something. Her eldest brother was praised for his technological brilliance, planning to become an engineer. The second of her older brothers had considerable literary and language skills, writing up articles and essays with ease. Her older sister turned out a whiz with computers. As much as Honoka longed and tried to be like them, she couldn't figure out what she was good at. Her grades, while not terrible, were nothing outstanding either. Her parents reassured her she'd figure out her talent, but she knew they had their doubts.
One day while staying with her aunt, she asked if she could try playing the old acoustic guitar she kept around. Her aunt agreed to teach her, and while Honoka's first attempts were clumsy, she learned quickly over the course of her visits. Maybe this was where her skill lay, she realised, in music. On her thirteenth birthday, her aunt gave her a guitar of her own as a gift, encouraging her to nurture her talent. Her parents were disappointed that it wasn't anything academic she was good at, but as far as Honoka was concerned, it didn't matter as long as she could make people happy. At least, that was what she told herself, still unable to shake the feeling that she couldn't contribute to society in the same way as her siblings... Until somebody gave her another way to spread happiness.
That somebody was a most unusual cat, with a TV where its head should have been, and the ability to grant young girls the power to fight beings of darkness. Honoka took up the offer right away. Now able to use her song to cleanse away Nightmares and restore peace, so far she hasn't looked back.
Of course, it's still early days...
• Inventory: Sometimes carries around an ordinary guitar for street busking.
• Sample Post:
A smile felt more like success than any number of coins dropped in the case.
"Here's a little Christmas spending money," the woman said, straightening her back. "Keep spreading that good cheer!"
Grinning and thanking her while strumming out that fast-paced rhythm, Honoka noticed something. A look of emptiness in the woman's eyes, a forced quality to her voice. Before she could ask what was wrong, the listener had wished her luck and continued along her way. Hopefully this will help at least a little, Honoka thought, resuming singing as she launched into the refrain. It wasn't exactly the easiest time of year to play, her fingers stiff from the cold, but it didn't matter if she missed a few notes as long as she got that passion across. The important thing was making people happy.
Which she dedicated not just her days to, but her nights, lifting people's spirits with her song even when they couldn't hear it.
At the blast of soundwaves through the late evening air, the cluster of Nightmares writhed. "Hey! Pick a fair fight, will you?" Allegra called, one moment charging at them, the next reeling at the sheer number that broke away from their target and advanced on her. The mascot had never told her there'd be this many around. How on earth would she get the hang of this?
All she could do was what she always did. Try her best.
Another progression of power chords sent them stumbling back. Allegra seized the opportunity, pointing the guitar at each stunned Nightmare and unleashing her magic through it. Flatpick bullets evaporated predators into wisps of darkness, one by one. "This brightening the mood?" she shouted, trying to mask her fear. "Waaugh!" Turning too fast, she stumbled, only missing a strike from a tendril through sheer luck.
With the horde diminshed, Allegra glimpsed a face, caught some of the conversation.
"Y-You'd think I'd be able to take it in by now..." the woman from earlier said, voice trembling, to a man with his arm around her shoulders. Steadying herself, the magical girl shot through a Nightmare that tried to gain strength from the woman's energy. "It's... It's just, Mom was always so healthy, how could this happen to someone like her..." the passer-by continued. "There I was, hoping she'd at least make it to Christmas..."
Allegra's eyes widened. She could only begin to imagine the utter devastation this person's loss had brought. Determined to do all she could to help even a little, she started up a melody, pouring as much positive feeling as she could into it. The remaining creatures squirmed, their inky forms dissipating.
"Whew..." As the magical girl sagged from relief and exhaution, the man spoke up to his wife.
"Let's make sure to support the rest of the family, ok? Like she'd want." He pulled her close, and Allegra saw the faintest of smiles light her face. A bittersweet smile, but a sign of hope nonetheless. The light girl's heart warmed as she watched the couple walk into the distance, safe from harm.
This was the great thing about music. Even in the darkest of times, it could help people hold on.
• Other: As a new magical girl, she only knows how to use her plectrum bullets and her Power Chord / Power Riff techniques, her other abilities are to be learned later on.
@TheWindel@KoL Ladies and gentlemen, for my next trick, I will conjure up a Dark Magical Girl!
• Appearance:
As a corrupted magical girl, the cape around her shoulders and the tails of her jacket have a ragged look, and seem to be made of trailing shadows rather than cloth.
• Name: Ayumu Harasawa
• Title: Trick of the Light (before corruption), Phantasmagoria (after corruption)
• Age: 16
• Emblem: A tattoo of the four card symbols - a heart, a spade, a diamond and a club - on her left shoulder.
• Devil Arm: A pack of playing cards that, when thrown, become cloaked in a magical aura and can slice through enemies. They then disappear and reappear in the pack. Since Ayumu's corruption, the cards have become ragged around the edges, and all of the hearts on them appear to be dripping blood.
• Magic: Ayumu's magic is based around illusion and summoning. - Sleight of Hand: She can create illusionary images and sounds to trick enemies in battle. Post corruption, her illusions are warped and horrific. While they cannot physically injure someone, they can inflict the sensation of pain. - Vanishing Act: For a few seconds at a time, she can become invisible. - Conjuration: Ayumu takes off her hat or lifts her cape, summoning from it a creature made of magical energy. Once, these creatures were a white rabbit that could significantly heal an ally before disappearing, or a flock of doves that could slightly heal several allies at once. Now, they're a black jackalope (deer horned rabbit) that can deal major damage by goring an enemy, or a flock of crows that peck and claw, inflicting lighter wounds but hitting a wider range of targets.
• Background: Ayumu was never a stranger to magic. She grew up witnessing awe-inspiring feats, longing to do the same. Yet at the same time, she grew up detached from the wonders most children believed in, for she knew this particular kind of magic to be trickery and illusion.
Her older brother, who performed stage magic, taught her how to do a few tricks herself and impressed her with ones she didn't know the secrets of. It was a way to distract her from what lay behind the illusion of their home life. Their parents put up a cheerful, polite facade to the world, which hid the messy divorce they were going through. The next man her mother married was charming on the outside, cruel and manipulative on the inside.
This, combined with bullying and high pressure at school, made Ayumu long for real magic. A fairytale world to escape into. While in her room, practicing the tricks that were no longer enough while trying not to listen to the argument between her mother and stepfather downstairs, she caught sight of a creature at the window. A cat with a TV for a head, offering her the chance to become a magical girl. Once she'd gotten over the shock, naturally she accepted without hesitation.
To say the least, it wasn't what she expected. Under its glamourous surface, her life slowly became a living hell. Her long absences risking death to fight monsters made the home situation worse. She clung to the belief that she was making the world a better place by ridding it of Nightmares, but when she and her group defeated one, another would inevitably crop up before long. What little free time she had, she spent watching shows put on by the brother who stayed around to protect her from the toxic home environment. She yearned for her childhood days, back before she'd known about this darkness too great to dispel.
The events of one night caused such darkness to take over her as it had everything else. Nightmares were particularly active, and she'd been chasing down one when several more closed in on her. She defeated the onslaught of monsters, but only barely, emerging battered and exhausted. Nonetheless, catching sight of her original target, she mustered all her strength to run after it as it closed in on a figure. In the streetlights, she caught a glimpse of the young man's face - her brother, gripping the railings of a bridge, all positive emotion seeping out of him in glowing streams. He didn't even notice her, didn't hear her calling, as he climbed over before her eyes and fell...
In desperation, she rushed to the street where he lay and tried to heal him, but it was too late. Overcome with rage and grief, she lashed out at the Nightmare, tearing it to pieces and absorbing its essence.
Just as her brother was there one moment, gone the next, the righteous magical girl Trick of the Light had also vanished. In her place was Phantasmagoria. She couldn't live in a fantasy land any more, where goodness and kindness prevailed, not when she'd seen for herself how the world really worked. And what point was there in saving others, when she couldn't save a loved one?
• Inventory: A simple magic trick kit, which she sometimes uses in street acts. No matter how corrupt she becomes, she finds there's something heartwarming about brightening up people's day, especially that of children.
• Sample Post:
As she always did to escape the house's atmosphere, Ayumu dreamed.
Said atmosphere had changed completely. Silence replaced shouts and the smashing of plates. It had done ever since her mom had left that bastard of a second husband, the accusation that she'd been the cause of Daichi's mental state and the void in their lives having been beyond the pale. That void was the other reason for the quiet in the air, the lack of TV sounds or music from the other room. Ayumu felt his absence like a raw wound, worse than any she'd ever sustained in battle.
Letting her power thrum through her, she filled the emptiness with swirling images. A fairytale woodland surrounded her, the very air shimmering with lights, paths to faraway lands stretching out and tiny pixies flitting in and out of the foliage. Sitting on a log instead of her bed, Ayumu took in the storybook paradise. Oh, how her younger self would have loved this... But for her, every good dream had a tendency to turn bad.
The sky darkened. Trees twisted before her, branches reaching out like clawed, gnarled hands. The pixies buzzed like a swarm of vile insects, baring needle-sharp teeth that dripped with the blood of fresh prey. Ayumu showed no fear. Instead, she rose, the corners of her mouth curving into a smile. "I could use a good hunting trip too," she whispered. Nightmares, in both senses of the word, were something she had to face.
She let the illusions fade and crept down the hallway. Mom wouldn't notice her sneaking out, she always went to bed early these days. Ayumu gave a wistful glance towards the room where the one person she wanted to help slept, then looked away. Trying to reach out ended with her efforts being rejected. She wasn't the firstborn, after all, just the one who'd been left behind that night. The one who'd turned out the bad apple. If only the ordinary humans around her knew just how bad.
Smirking, she slipped out, streams of shadow trailing from her clothes. It was time to put on a show.
@OtomostheCrazy We might be heading back to the Pokemon centre before long, if that's easiest for all of us, so our charas could meet up with Alexis there.
The only way Sophia could stand was by leaning on Clarus as he floated upwards. Although she kept a steely glare trained on Oscar, it was in a much cooler tone than earlier that she spoke.
"How typical of you. Not getting what I mean," she muttered, panting like someone who had run a marathon. "You don't have to tell me all that, because I know. I know you by now. And..." Something in her face mellowed, a trace of that vulnerability showing. "You may or not believe me, but same here. Besides the promise to my family, that's why."
She stood up as straight-backed as she could. This was something she'd say to his face, in front of his Pokemon, like he wanted. "The stories we shared, about our home regions. That kind of thing stays with you, especially... Especially if it starts happening all over again." The wounds on her hands ached as she gripped the Bronzor's ridge, wounds that were nothing compared to what had happened to Rheese, or those paramedics. She took care to keep her phrasing vague enough not to let on too much to the dragon. "Enough damage has been done."
She gave a shuddering breath. "You can think what you want about me and my family. I should be above caring. But back there, on the way to this town, when I said count me in... I meant it." She hoped the sincerity in her words was clear. "And no matter how many things about you get on my last nerve, this isn't one of them. In fact, as long as you're not doing anything reckless..." The corners of her mouth lifted into a near-smile. "Quite the opposite."
Sticking close by Sophia, Amber glanced in the direction Lan had gone to heal his Pokemon, then back towards Oscar. "Let's not let this get out of hand," she urged him and Sophia. "Given recent events, it seems we all have more than our original reasons to grow as trainers, even if it's just to make sure we're prepared. Now, we should go find out if the healing machine's free, and then rest up ourselves."
To her side, she saw Vivianne nod. The other researcher needed to speak to Lan anyway, and so did Rachel. She could take some comfort in that, knowing there were people looking into these matters, even if it didn't completely quell her worries.
"Easy there!" Rachel rushed over to the drained psychic, who still insisted on having a heavy conversation. "Yeah, sitting down sounds like an idea."
Trying to lift the mood, she beamed at Oscar and his newly evolved Fire type. "Congratulations! Two milestones in one battle, that's pretty neat! Ooh, with that team of yours, seems like you'll have a good few Fighting types before long! That'll be useful if you battle my Rock types at any point... Ehh, maybe I shouldn't have let that on." She rubbed the back of her neck, chuckling at her own blunder. At least there were ways to get around type disadvantage, and fellow specialist Oscar was probably planning on doing the same.
A frazzled British thirtysomething cat mum with something of a tea addiction.
I like a wide range of RP genres, but have two absolute favourites: Pokemon and magical girls. (If someone manages to combine the two, I'll be VERY happy!) I post fairly regularly, but sometimes shit mental health days crop up - if that causes any delays, I'll try to resume posting ASAP.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">A frazzled British thirtysomething cat mum with something of a tea addiction. <br><br>I like a wide range of RP genres, but have two absolute favourites: Pokemon and magical girls. (If someone manages to combine the two, I'll be VERY happy!) I post fairly regularly, but sometimes shit mental health days crop up - if that causes any delays, I'll try to resume posting ASAP.</div>
Member
BrokenPromise
twave
IAmTheIsland
RisingRobin
