NeoAJ

The Road To Indigo (Kanto-based Pokemon RP): Chapter One: Starting With a Clean Pallet (Accepting Sheets!)

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Hello there, young trainers! My name is Professor Oak, but you can call me the Pokemon Professor! Even though the nickname is longer than my actual name! This world is inhabited far and wide by Pokemon! But since you lot are coming to Kanto from all over the place, you probably already knew that! I study Pokemon for a living, and I am proud to share my expertise on the subject with you! Now I know you don't actually need a starter Pokemon, since you all seem to have one, but still I'm going to explain to you exactly what you are here to do.

You have all come to Kanto for a reason: to take the Pokemon League challenge and become world-class trainers! You all have your own reasons, and honestly, I don't care what they are, but I can tell you it will be a long, dangerous journey. Not only will you have to traverse rough mountains, and swim over oceans, but evil people calling themselves Team Rocket will be around as well, attempting to give you a lot of trouble. However, you don't need to call the authorities on them! You can just overcome them with your spirit and the friendship of your Pokemon! I'm sure that will be way more effective than guns! Now, go off on your journey everyone! The world of Pokemon is yours to explore!

---

Make sure you read all this stuff!

A.J.'s Commandments of the RP (as borrowed from nine years ago, as well as my dear friend DPL)

1. If you are going to submit a sheet for this RP, make sure you are ready to make the time commitment for a LONG RP. This is going to be a trek. I don't need someone coming in and taking a spot from someone, then dropping out before the party hits Viridian Forest. It is a really annoying trend I've seen lately, and if someone does that in here, I am killing them off in the most embarrassing way possible. I'm talking a Fearow dropping a coconut on your head kind of death.
2. When making a post, I expect certain standards to be hit. A displayed coherence of the English language, if you will. I'm an editor for money, it irks me to see capitals missed. So while I'm not going to be going after people for a comma splice, I will expect sentence structure above that of your average Twitch stream. Also, I expect at least five sentences per post. Call it two paragraphs. That's the High-Casual standard, right? If you're devolving into one-sentence posts, maybe that's a sign that you should be collabing with the person instead.
3. Don't be a freaking Mary Sue. This is an RP. It's about the story. If you enter and just say "My Charmander evolved into a Charizard and flew Lance's Dragonite into the Sun so I win," I'm going to not only declare your post non-canon, you're going to be eaten by a Gulpin. And then spat out. And then nerfed so hard kids will be throwing your character's head around in the backyard for fun. So, don't do it.
4. Romance is allowed. I've been in enough SoL RPs here to know it is inevitable. Even with NPCs. But if it starts getting to the point where you wouldn't read the post out loud to your grandmother, your religious leader, or a massive stranger on a plane, you should probably take that to PMs.
5. Try to follow the formatting rules. Italics means thoughts. Bold means previous dialogue. Strike means you're being funny and I get it. Also, while I am expecting all characters to have a designated color for their lines, Pokemon generally just get the color that the Pokemon is. Makes it nice and easy.
6. While I am not imposing deadlines on posts in this RP, I am not going to be as willing to wait around for people who aren't posting. It took 1.5 years to go from Cerulean to Vermillion and back last time, and that shit isn't happening again!
7. If you have an idea for a plot point in the RP, don't hesitate to talk to me! I have my tentpoles to hit, but the rest of the story is going to be up to the group, so feel free to shoot a message over and we can discuss it.
8. Post your favorite Pokemon game in the Notes/Other section so I know you read the rules.

The Mechanics of Indigo

Basically, you will start with a level five Pokemon that is the pre-evolutionary stage of a non-pseudo legendary line of Pokemon (No Dratinis, Beldums, Gibles, that sort of thing). No middle evolutions either.
As we begin our journey, I will post the capture list of a given route or cave or ocean or whatever. You will have the choice to capture either one or two Pokemon from the given list. If a Pokemon is marked as uncommon, it will be your only catch. If a Pokemon is marked as rare, not only will it be the only catch, but I will need a damn good reason for why you need that Pikachu so badly. This can be discussed in the Discord when I get that up. The Pokemon available in the wild will be from the Kanto, Johto and Hoenn generations of the games. I will be distributing them by location in the game and by the geography of Kanto.
Battles will be handled by you, the writer. Whether you want to battle all the trainers on a route, or avoid them all and just beat up on wild Pokemon, either way is fine. When we get to gym battles or event battles, I will post the outlines, as well as the possible Pokemon that a trainer will be using. Then it's up to you to co-ordinate the battle, Jet Li style, and make it look real good. Whether you want to win or lose, I'm good with whatever. Just make it a good fight so I don't have to give the Joaquin Phoenix thumbs down to you.
Leveling up will be determined by the GM (that would be me) based on the experience you give your Pokemon. If the Pokemon is interacting outside of the ball, they will likely level up in the next update. If not, enjoy that Magikarp forever. Pokemon can know a maximum of four moves at once, and I will ask you to choose moves as your Pokemon levels up. They will be based on the Gen VIII movesets, because I am too lazy to go back in time. TMs are reusable and will be based on the 60 TMs from the Let's Go series.

Character Sheet (Insert your text color of choice in the coding)

Name: (Duh)
Age: (This is an older crew, so I'm going to say 16-22 on ages. 10 year olds shouldn't be running around with fire-breathing lizards.)
Gender: (However you identify)
Hometown: (Also duh)

Appearance: (I'm not going to be very picky about this, since I know Pokemon covers a lot of different visual aspect. You want to use a real-world FC? Go for it. You want to use an anime FC? Sure why not? You want to just give a detailed description of what they look like? More power to you. Just make sure the basics are covered. Give me height, build, eye color, hair color, tattoos/piercings, what they usually are wearing and that should be enough. If not, I will tell you.)

Personality: (What are they like? Why are they doing this? Why should anyone care to know you? Fill this out here.)

Profession: (Trainer? Coordinator? Chef? What do you want to be with Pokemon?)
Talents: (Can you make fire? Can you swim really fast? Can you make your fingers do the wiggle thing? What will make the Pokemon equivalent of Gabrielle Union not X you out?)
Inventory: (Some starter stuff. Don't go crazy there, rich folks, unless you want the endless Winston comparisons.)

Starter Pokemon: (As stated in the rules, your starter should be a Pokemon from a non-pseudo legendary line that has at least one evolution ahead of it. It should be from the region your character is from, unless you can work it into the backstory in a way that pleases me. Also, I am willing to accept appearance changes, but if you're like 'Oh it's a shiny!' and can't give me a reason other than 'because I want it,' I will not be pleased.)

Biography: (I don't need the complete volume of a life's story. I just need to know how your character became your character. How did they grow up? How did they get their starter? Are their parents assholes? That sort of stuff. Show a lot, but don't give away all the goods.)

Notes/Other: (Any other facts you think are pertinent go here. This is a good spot for those color codes. Also, this is a good opportunity to remind you to read the rules.)

The Character and Pokemon Rosters will be in the Characters tab. I will be posting periodic team/level updates in the IC, as well as updating the roster in the Characters tab, at regular intervals. Please post your sheets in this section for now. Please do not post sheets in the characters tab until I clear you to do so. I aim aiming for eight people max to join this RP, so there may be some cuts if I get too many sheets.

I will keep a status update in the OOC tab, just so people know where we are. I will post the capture list there as well just in case people forget.

I will add stuff here as I see fit, mostly because I can't think of stuff immediately after volleyball.

The Road To Indigo (Kanto-based Pokemon RP)

All right, just to provide an update, I have my weekend starting now, so the official thread should be up within the next day or so. I will start looking over sheets at that point, especially since I haven't even started on my own! Y'all are really eager on this!

Rosefell High.

As the leader and second-in-command of the Thorns struggled to get the cooler of coolers up into the position that the Queen desired it, Steph couldn't help but wonder what the point of this move was. "So, if the drinks are all on the roof, how are the rest of us going to be able to get them?"

Melissa sighed as she rested her end of the cooler on the roof of Steph's minivan. "I told you, Steph," she explained. "Until I can scope out this party and determine what the status is of the alcohol available and the status of the idiots who may steal our alcohol is, it will be safer up here. And don't tell me you can lock your van. A strong breeze will blow the door off this thing."

A pout crossed Steph's lips. "I swear, you need to be nicer to my van. It got everything here, didn't it?"

"Not what I'm ultimately worried about, it's the getting home part." Melissa finished hoisting the beverages onto the roof. "So, I'll toss you a couple and then what do you want to do?"

"I'm probably going to try and find some of the others, see if Min-Jun or Daisie are still around."

Melissa shrugged. "Don't know why, but suit yourself." The cheerleader tossed a folding chair onto the roof and then gracefully hoisted herself onto the top via the hood of Steph's van. "You know where to come for refills though." She tossed a Cranberry and a Lime towards Steph. "Where did Tiff and Cami and ... that dude. Where did they go?"

"I don't know. I can try and find them?"

"Sure. Go do that." Melissa unfolded her chair and set it up next to the cooler. "You know where I'll be for now."

Steph nodded and wandered off, leaving Melissa to her own devices. The blond pulled an orange Breezer out, twisted off the cap and took a long, sickeningly-sweet sip as she sat down. She glanced over the bonfire that was slowly growing in stature, fellow students dancing around as if a part of some pagan ritual, the lake basking in the twin illuminations that the flames and the moonlight provided. Melissa felt at ease as she enjoyed the fake-orange flavor that beckoned her to let loose. But there would be time for that yet. For now, the Queen of Rosefell was content to sit on her throne, libations at hand, surveying her queendom and wondering who would be next on her list to conquer.

The Road To Indigo (Kanto-based Pokemon RP)

Looks like we are gonna have enough to at least get off the ground, even if Bee is mad that there is no Bayleef. So I'll get working on the official thread.

Meadow University

Jade Scott / Mallory Pugh / that deep red I had before / Scholarship (Soccer)

Kieran O'Connor / Brock O'Hurn / Some sky blue. Newfie blue / Scholarship (Hockey)

I'll add colors later when I can have a look.

The Road To Indigo (Kanto-based Pokemon RP)

@WriterRaven Look, I'm sorry about the zombie crack, but you didn't have to go and make me look bad with a literal new land to go with an already completed sheet...

@Mictlan93 I know, right? I'm a freaking zombie queen.

The Road To Indigo (Kanto-based Pokemon RP)

can i have a bayleef

@Bee

You can have a Chikorita, then evolve it into a Bayleef. Also, you can have some capitals, Bee! What did I say in the rules!

The Road To Indigo (Kanto-based Pokemon RP)

Hundred percent on board with this. Just need to format a character accordingly.

@WriterRaven

Who is this zombie, and why are you posting for the first time in three years? XP

The Road To Indigo (Kanto-based Pokemon RP)

Hello there, young trainers! My name is Professor Oak, but you can call me the Pokemon Professor! Even though the nickname is longer than my actual name! This world is inhabited far and wide by Pokemon! But since you lot are coming to Kanto from all over the place, you probably all knew that! I study Pokemon for a living, and I am proud to share my expertise on the subject with you! Now I know you don't actually need a starter Pokemon, since you all already seem to have one, but still I'm going to explain to you exactly what you are here to do.

You have all come to Kanto for a reason: to take the Pokemon League challenge and become world-class trainers! You all have your own reasons, and honestly, I don't care what they are, but I can tell you it will be a long, dangerous journey. Not only will you have to traverse rough mountains, and swim over oceans, but evil people calling themselves Team Rocket will be around as well, attempting to give you a lot of trouble. However, you don't need to call the authorities on them! You can just overcome them with your spirit and the friendship of your Pokemon! Yes I'm sure that will be way more effective than guns! Now, go off on your journey everyone! The world of Pokemon is yours to explore!

---

That's enough from Grandpa for now. He'll be back rambling in a jiffy.

Anyway, hey. I'm A.J. This is a reboot of a Pokemon RP that I started in the long, long ago, during the before time. Better known as 2011. It lasted three years, and got as far as Lavender Town before collapsing, but given the uptick in Pokemon nostalgia and the itch to actually get my freaking plot out considering I came up with it nine years ago, I'm willing to give this another shot.

This RP draws heavily from the Kanto and Johto-based games as well as the original Pokemon anime, but it is a much darker version. Not grimdark, but dark enough that people and Pokemon will die in this RP. People will be eating Tauros steaks. In the original, the party ended up eating Ekans meat. That sort of thing. So be prepared for that. It is set 12 years after the original plot of Red/Blue/Yellow/Let's Go P/E, and will follow a group of trainers that is just starting out on the Indigo League Challenge. Now I'm going to go into the rules, and explain the mechanics of how this RP is going to work.

A.J.'s Commandments of the RP (as borrowed from nine years ago, as well as my dear friend DPL)

1. If you are going to submit a sheet for this RP, make sure you are ready to make the time commitment for a LONG RP. This is going to be a trek. I don't need someone coming in and taking a spot from someone, then dropping out before the party hits Viridian Forest. It is a really annoying trend I've seen lately, and if someone does that in here, I am killing them off in the most embarrassing way possible. I'm talking a Fearow dropping a coconut on your head kind of death.
2. When making a post, I expect certain standards to be hit. A displayed coherence of the English language, if you will. I'm an editor for money, it irks me to see capitals missed. So while I'm not going to be going after people for a comma splice, I will expect sentence structure above that of your average Twitch stream. Also, I expect at least five sentences per post. Call it two paragraphs. That's the High-Casual standard, right? If you're devolving into one-sentence posts, maybe that's a sign that you should be collabing with the person instead.
3. Don't be a freaking Mary Sue. This is an RP. It's about the story. If you enter and just say "My Charmander evolved into a Charizard and flew Lance's Dragonite into the Sun so I win," I'm going to not only declare your post non-canon, you're going to be eaten by a Gulpin. And then spat out. And then nerfed so hard kids will be throwing your character's head around in the backyard for fun. So, don't do it.
4. Romance is allowed. I've been in enough SoL RPs here to know it is inevitable. Even with NPCs. But if it starts getting to the point where you wouldn't read the post out loud to your grandmother, your religious leader, or a massive stranger on a plane, you should probably take that to PMs.
5. Try to follow the formatting rules. Italics means thoughts. Bold means previous dialogue. Strike means you're being funny and I get it. Also, while I am expecting all characters to have a designated color for their lines, Pokemon generally just get the color that the Pokemon is. Makes it nice and easy.
6. While I am not imposing deadlines on posts in this RP, I am not going to be as willing to wait around for people who aren't posting. It took 1.5 years to go from Cerulean to Vermillion and back last time, and that shit isn't happening again!
7. If you have an idea for a plot point in the RP, don't hesitate to talk to me! I have my tentpoles to hit, but the rest of the story is going to be up to the group, so feel free to shoot a message over and we can discuss it.
8. Post your favorite Pokemon game in the Notes/Other section so I know you read the rules.

I think that's it for now. All right, now to explain how this will work:

The Mechanics of Indigo

Basically, you will start with a level five Pokemon that is the pre-evolutionary stage of a non-pseudo legendary line of Pokemon (No Dratinis, Beldums, Gibles, that sort of thing). No middle evolutions either.
As we begin our journey, I will post the capture list of a given route or cave or ocean or whatever. You will have the choice to capture either one or two Pokemon from the given list. If a Pokemon is marked as uncommon, it will be your only catch. If a Pokemon is marked as rare, not only will it be the only catch, but I will need a damn good reason for why you need that Pikachu so badly. This can be discussed in the Discord when I get that up. The Pokemon available in the wild will be from the Kanto, Johto and Hoenn generations of the games. I will be distributing them by location in the game and by the geography of Kanto.
Battles will be handled by you, the writer. Whether you want to battle all the trainers on a route, or avoid them all and just beat up on wild Pokemon, either way is fine. When we get to gym battles or event battles, I will post the outlines, as well as the possible Pokemon that a trainer will be using. Then it's up to you to co-ordinate the battle, Jet Li style, and make it look real good. Whether you want to win or lose, I'm good with whatever. Just make it a good fight so I don't have to give the Joaquin Phoenix thumbs down to you.
Leveling up will be determined by the GM (that would be me) based on the experience you give your Pokemon. If the Pokemon is interacting outside of the ball, they will likely level up in the next update. If not, enjoy that Magikarp forever. Pokemon can know a maximum of four moves at once, and I will ask you to choose moves as your Pokemon levels up. They will be based on the Gen VIII movesets, because I am too lazy to go back in time. TMs are reusable and will be based on the 60 TMs from the Let's Go series.

Got all that? Good. Now this is just the interest check, so I'm not expecting full on sheets or anything yet. Hell, I don't have a firm grip on my character for this reboot yet. But I will post a blank sheet if you want to start getting your submissions ready. I'm aiming for 6-8 players, because I don't have time to track that many Pokemon.

Character Sheet (Insert your text color of choice in the coding)

Name: (Duh)
Age: (This is an older crew, so I'm going to say 16-22 on ages. 10 year olds shouldn't be running around with fire-breathing lizards.)
Gender: (However you identify)
Hometown: (Also duh)

Appearance: (I'm not going to be very picky about this, since I know Pokemon covers a lot of different visual aspect. You want to use a real-world FC? Go for it. You want to use an anime FC? Sure why not? You want to just give a detailed description of what they look like? More power to you. Just make sure the basics are covered. Give me height, build, eye color, hair color, tattoos/piercings, what they usually are wearing and that should be enough. If not, I will tell you.)

Personality: (What are they like? Why are they doing this? Why should anyone care to know you? Fill this out here.)

Profession: (Trainer? Coordinator? Chef? What do you want to be with Pokemon?)
Talents: (Can you make fire? Can you swim really fast? Can you make your fingers do the wiggle thing? What will make the Pokemon equivalent of Gabrielle Union not X you out?)
Inventory: (Some starter stuff. Don't go crazy there, rich folks, unless you want the endless Winston comparisons.)

Starter Pokemon: (As stated in the rules, your starter should be a Pokemon from a non-pseudo legendary line that has at least one evolution ahead of it. It should be from the region your character is from, unless you can work it into the backstory in a way that pleases me. Also, I am willing to accept appearance changes, but if you're like 'Oh it's a shiny!' and can't give me a reason other than 'because I want it,' I will not be pleased.)

Biography: (I don't need the complete volume of a life's story. I just need to know how your character became your character. How did they grow up? How did they get their starter? Are their parents assholes? That sort of stuff. Show a lot, but don't give away all the goods.)

Notes/Other: (Any other facts you think are pertinent go here. This is a good spot for those color codes. Also, this is a good opportunity to remind you to read the rules.)

OK, I think that is everything for now. So yeah, if you're interested, let me know below and I might start working this up into a full-blown OOC in the very near future.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

It felt really weird to be back in this spot.

It shouldn't have. This was essentially Shawna's designated parking spot. The one next to that palm tree that Keelan Walker smashed his moped into during Shawna's freshman year. The imprint of his side mirror was still visible in the bark. At least Shawna thought she could see it.

There weren't a lot of things Shawna could see anymore. Since her return from her New York excursion with Sunshine, it was tough to figure out what exactly she was seeing in her immediate future. Chris and Ariel weren't able to help much either. She spent much of January in a Carter-fueled haze, trying to get her brain to settle down from all the stuff that had happened over the previous month. Between Kellie's exodus and Sunshine's New Year's kiss, things had suddenly shifted in a way the former honors student couldn't have seen coming.

But it was the last conversation in New York that was playing on her mind as she sat in her Audi, unsure of how willing she was to go back into school to begin the long march to graduation. It was a spur of the moment decision, one that was only made possible by some fortuitous timing on travel schedules and a rare willingness to actually reach out to someone for help as opposed to trying to deal with everything herself. It wasn't Shawna's first choice, but as far as people go, she could have done a lot worse...

11 DAYS EARLIER...

Bergen Bagels seemed like the last place to be having this kind of talk. The establishment was busy, with New Yorkers filtering in and out, giving the obvious out-of-towner a glare for taking up two precious stools and forcing them to go back out into the January weather, sheltering their precious sandwiches from the frigid wind. But her everything bagel with vegetable cream cheese was just as important. Plus, this small slice of property Shawna had carved out for herself was the staging ground for a vital conversation.

Sunshine was very understanding. How could she not be? Given how long it had been since Shawna was able to talk to any member of her family without seconds of delay between video calls, Sunshine was willing to begin taking care of the preparations for departure herself. She was a good friend like that... possibly more than a friend... dare she say... best friend? It was Sunshine's to lose at this point. Shawna only had one other friend who could kiss like Sunshine could.

And that's why she made the call. The recipient wasn't in the city. The recipient was in Beacon Falls, Connecticut, visiting her husband's family over the holidays while avoiding all the crowds making their way through New York during the festive season. Given she was nine when the Josis moved to Florida, it wasn't surprising that she still preferred small-town charm over the big city. However, she promised she would be back after New Year's to prepare for the next semester at Columbia.

Shawna kept watching the door to see if the woman was still as good as her word. Shawna had arrived a little early to make sure she could get a spot and get herself one of those famous bagels. But it was 12:30. Usually her big sister kept to a rigid schedule. The fact that she wasn't in the designated spot on time was a little shocking. Maybe it was a sign that Shawna wasn't the only one coming undone a bit?

Just before the clock above the counter was set to hit 12:31, the bell above the door rang. Lia Ellis had cut it close, but she was right on time as always. The blonde woman unwrapped the scarf from around her face and took off her woolen cap, shaking her hair loose while her bangs remained perfectly in place. She gave a quick wave to her sister as she pointed towards the counter, golden mittens blunting the effectiveness of the gesture as Shawna nodded and took a sip of her french vanilla cappuccino.

It would be a couple minutes for the elder Josi to get some food herself. That gave Shawna a bit of time to think about just exactly how she was going to handle this. OK. So how the fuck do I lead into all this shit? 'Hey Lia, just so you know, I'm not going to university and I'm a lesbian?' Fuck that can't be it. Why the fuck didn't Netflix have an episode of the Office or something dealing with this? C'mon Shawna. You were on the debate team. That shit's gotta be useful in this situation... Fuck. I don't even know...

"Shawn! Little Sis!" The sudden hug snapped Shawna out of her self-induced stupor. Lia was very affectionate when she wanted to be, and usually it was reserved for family. Still, this was a strong effort. "I am so happy you're here! This is such a wonderful surprise! I can't believe you came up to New York! In January! I know you hate the cold! But I'm blabbering! Let me get my order and then we can really catch up!" With that, Lia released her hold on Shawna and left to stand by the counter in wait for her food and drink.

Shawna shook her head a little bit to recover from the sudden lovefest. It was nice to know Lia was still affectionate as ever. Even after the past summer of disappointment. Despite the age difference, Shawna still considered Lia her strongest link in her immediate family. When she was younger, Lia was the one who kept her ahead of the curve with her advanced tutoring. For someone who was on a rigid schedule throughout grade school, Lia was willing to spend a lot of free time with her little sister. Still, the change in mood when Lia was accepted into Princeton was almost like a shackle had been removed. When she returned home, there was a noticeable bounce in her step. Maybe that was Ryan's doing. Who knew? Whatever happened, Lia became even more open with her affections and in all honesty, it was something Shawna missed with her spending all her time in the Big Apple area now.

Lia grabbed her order, a cinnamon raisin bagel with apple cinnamon cream cheese and a coffee and grabbed the open stool that Shawna had jealously guarded like a dragon with a horde. "I'm glad you were able to find this place all right. These are the best bagels in Brooklyn, I can guarantee it!"

Shawna nodded as she swallowed another bite. "You know this city well, Lia. I'm not surprised. You were always good at finding out stuff like that."

The elder Josi gave a wink at she chewed at her own meal. "When have I steered you wrong?"

The younger Josi gave her a stare. "Um, that time when you dyed my hair jet black when you wanted to see how it would look on someone else first?"

Lia held up a finger. "And that experiment yielded vital results! I learned black is not a good color on any of us! So, I did it for you, Shawn."

That earned an eye roll from Shawna. "Whatever, sis. Pretty sure that's why my hair is still dark. Anyway, I'm just happy to see you in person for a change."

"I know! I'm happy to see you!" Lia confirmed. "I mean, I'm sorry I left you alone for the holidays, but with Mom and Dad gone and Nick focusing on his hockey, I thought it would be better if I went with Ryan to his family thing. And I'm sure that must have been terrible."

Shawna waved her sister off. "It's all right. I mean, I managed, right? Clearly I did all right if I ended up here."

"Yeah, with your new friend, right? Sunshine? What a lovely name! I'm sorry she couldn't join us here! We will have to try and get something together another time! Maybe when the weather is better!"

"Or you could just come back to Florida. I'm sure Ryan could survive at least one week in the Sunshine State if he tried.

Lia nodded. "I know. I'm going to force him to deal with his issues with the heat and he'll come visit." She sipped casually at her coffee. "Anyway, I'm boring. I want to hear about you! Are you all right? I know it's gotta be lonely down there by yourself. Plus the whole Pre-Calc fiasco, it has to have been rough."

"Like you wouldn't believe," Shawna confirmed. "Look, don't be shocked if I'm not on the honor roll like you and Nick this year. I'm not sure how much more I want to do with school."

That statement made Lia nearly spit out the chunk of bagel she had in her mouth. She kept her composure though and managed to swallow it. "Shawna, you can't be serious. Why would you say such a thing? You're smart enough to do great things! You need to continue!"

"But I don't want to!" Shawna exclaimed. "I'm so sick of it, Lia! I am just so sick of that life! I can't keep doing it anymore. I'm not doing it anymore, and I haven't been doing it. I mean, am I gonna pass? Sure. The courses aren't brutal enough I can't do that. But I'm not doing it anymore. I'm not killing myself, and making myself miserable just to have nothing make sense. I'm so done. I've been done since the summer, and I'm so much happier for it. I've been invited to parties and stuff. I feel happier, I'm just not about that process anymore."

The look on Lia's face changed from shocked to stern. "Shawna, that is the biggest crock of shit I have ever heard." When the usually proper Lia started swearing, that's when Shawna knew that rant was a bad idea. "So you had a bad test! Big fucking deal! That's no reason to just give up on everything! That means you have to actually start trying! I know you've had it relatively easy with me and Nick blazing a trail, but you have to be able to do something for yourself! You have to give yourself that push sometimes! Hearing you sound like you've just given up on everything, that's fucking unacceptable!" Lia pounded the table. It had been a while since Shawna had seen her older sister this worked up. "Shawn, you know if you're struggling with things, I'm always there, right? I have my phone. I might be busy with my dissertation, but I will still make time for you! You just have to text me! I don't want you to feel like you're alone, OK? I'm so sorry! I promise I will be there for you! Just... just don't give up for me...OK?" Lia punctuated this with a hug, this one far tighter than the initial one she offered.

Meanwhile, Shawna just felt bad. How the hell did Lia end up being the one apologizing? Holy shit. What is happening? ...I guess I forgot how much she actually gave a shit. How much anyone in my stupid family gave a shit. Fucking... fuck. She hugged her sister back. "Lia, I'm not that person anymore... but... I'll... I'll try, OK? I will try. I can't promise success. But I will try."

"That's all I can ask you to do, little sis," Lia affirmed. "And if that's not enough for Mom and Dad, just remember, I will be in your corner. Always. No matter what. Even if you end up decked out in tattoos and working as a writer or something."

Shawna was suddenly very happy that the wolf on her back had finished healing up. No flinching meant no giveaway. "I appreciate that, Lia. You can stop crushing my sternum now."

"Sorry," Lia apologized as she released Shawna and returned to her own stool. "Anyway, were the parties at least good? Did you manage to meet someone there?"

Shawna looked back down at her own food. "Yeah, they are. I think I know how you felt when you got to Princeton. And I've met some people. Some good people..."

"So I can start planning for your wedding soon now?"

"What? No! God, no! Not that your wedding wasn't great," Shawna quickly corrected. It was pretty fun, even if Shawna wasn't allowed to enjoy the same open bar access that the other patrons did. Lia had good taste in music, even if Ryan was corny as hell. "I'm just... definitely not there yet..." Shawna took in a huge breath. "Especially since it's pretty unlikely Mom and Dad will foot the bill for it."

Lia looked confused. "Why wouldn't they pay for it?" She mock gasped. "You didn't hook up with some boy from Minnesota, did you?!?"

Shawna laughed and shook her head. "Hell no. I think Minnesotans would melt in Florida. Even worse than Ryan. But..." She paused. This was gonna be it. "It's probably not gonna be a guy. Pretty sure I'm a lesbian."

Lia looked at her sister, the confusion slowly lifting from her face. "Huh," was all she got out. "Are you sure?"

"Well, I had sex with another woman, so yeah. I'm pretty sure at this point.

Lia turned her gaze away from her sister for a second, towards her bagel, then back at Shawna. "That does sound pretty definitive. Well, I'm happy for you, sis."

It was Shawna's turn to look confused. "That's it?

"Do you want me to give you a medal or something? Sis, I'm happy you figured that out about yourself, and I'm happy that you trust me enough to tell me that! Even if you went a little graphic on it. Still, that doesn't change anything. You're still Shawna. Who you love is about you, and as long as the woman you love isn't a complete asshole, then I support it wholeheartedly."

Shawna breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That means a lot to hear you say that, Lia. Seriously. Especially since I really don't know how Mom and Dad will take it. Pretty sure they voted Trump, even if they don't want to admit it."

Lia put her hand on Shawna's. "It doesn't matter. They can't control you. You're 18, you are your own woman now. You can choose for yourself what you want in life, although I strongly recommend at least getting A degree from a university, but they can't tell you who to love. That's for you and you alone. And like I said, I support you. No matter what."

The emotions were too much for Shawna. It was Lia's turn to get enveloped in a hug as Shawna struggled to keep herself from crying in the middle of that New York deli. "Lia... Thank you. I needed this. More than anything right now."

"Of course, Shawn. I'll always have your back." Lia continued to hug, given there was no chance Shawna was gonna collapse a lung with her embrace. "So, who is this girl? Is she cute? Can I meet her?"

Shawna released Lia from her grasp and wiped a tear from her eye. "No, and you probably won't ever meet her. We... we broke up before Christmas because she had to move."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Lia said, trying to console what couldn't be consoled. "But I'm sure there is someone else just waiting to get their hands on you... or in you..."

"Holy fuck, Lia! Phrasing!" Shawna blurted, laughing a bit. This was the side of Lia that was never there in high school, but was still shocking when she busted it out now. "There may be someone else, actually. I dunno. We'll have to see."

"Well, keep me posted," Lia ordered. "Now, what else is going on in the land of Sunshine and non-howling winds?"

With that, the awkward parts of the conversation were completed and the two sisters could go back to eating their bagels, Shawna with a much more relaxed mind knowing that despite everything, she still had the most important family member in her corner.

BACK TO PRESENT DAY...

Shawna stared at King's Academy for another moment and breathed a heavy sigh. All right. You are gonna do this. Not just for you. There are people who want you to do this for you too. So do it for them. The senior grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car, clicking the lock button. She looked around to make sure there were no crazy drivers tearing through the lot. Even if April was pregnant now, there were still idiots that could follow her lead. Confident she wouldn't be sideswiped, she made her way towards the school.