HA! You beat me to it - I was legit putting together a DM to ask if he'd be interested. Obviously down for it - it just makes sense. They're both seconds so I'd imagine that she'd shamelessly hound her own class about it first.
Offer stands for Willow and Yew too - if ya want a fancy ball, Kaori's woulda had you covered. Either custom-made specialty balls or artsy'd up cosmetics for their existing balls.
Thesis Subject: The Effects of Speciality Pokeballs on the Capture and Growth of Pokemon.
Appearance: Ginkgo is a gremlin. Small of stature and slight of build, maybe a hair over 151cm (~5ft) if she stretches. But that delicate frame is offset by the woman’s rather rough style and mischievous eyes. Her sun-kissed (or more often sunburnt) limbs are covered in tattoos of wildly varying quality and styles with little rhyme or reason to any of them, a physical mark of her impulsive, reckless nature.
Her clothes are typically well worn and loose: lightweight tee shirts and tanks for tops, baggy cargos for bottoms held up by the handy-dandy tool belt (that’s putting in the finest of work trying to hold up those heavy pants on her tiny frame). A beat up trucker hat often sits upon her sandy hair (worn more often than not in loose twintails), frayed and distressed, just the way she likes it. That’s not to say that Kaori can’t dress up - she’s in possession of the obligatory dress or two and we simply mustn’t forget the lab coat - but those are her ass-kissing clothes, for when she really really needs to make a good impression. If she can get away with it though, you’re getting comfy Ginkgo.
Personality: Ginkgo is a gremlin. Repeated for emphasis. Were she a Pokemon, she’d be an Impidimp. Since she is not, however, the girl settles for simply being impish. A brat from birth, really. Pranks, little itty-bitty white lies, Ginkgo’s all about that harmless nuisance stuff. There’s no malice in it, mind you - it’s just for laughs. She’s just as enthused about being the target of shenanigans as she is being the conductor. Fun is fun, and Kaori loves fun.
Kaori also loves people. Extroverted as they come, she laughs freely and often, right at home in a group. Is it egotistical or arrogant to crave the spotlight? Yes. Moving on.
Okay, fine, it’s not just a hunger for attention that motivates her in a group. It’s mostly that, let’s not sugarcoat it, but not entirely. Kaori likes to consider herself a sort of platonic matchmaker. If person A and person B have similar hobbies or interests but don’t interact, Kaori will make it her mission to bring the two together, even if it means taking up a topic she’s not remotely interested in. Call it meddling but...well, no, actually that’s just all it is. Meddling. She meddles. It’s not a great trait and has bitten her in the ass several times. But to her defense, she can’t help it. She wants her friends to be friends with each other as well. Because that means that everybody’s having a great time, nobody feels left out, and… they’re not relying on her to keep the group together. Which means there’s less pressure.
Because Kaori cracks under pressure. It’s a terrible fate - craving the attention and approval of one’s peers while simultaneously being terrified of the weight of the expectation that comes with it. She crumbles. Shuts down. Factory reset.
Kaori.exe has stopped responding.
She’s just not built for it, the shackles of responsibilities. It’s suffocating. Burdensome. She’s a free spirit. Creative. Independent. Impulsive. Reckless. When following her heart, she thrives. She lives.
So why academia? It's not exactly a beacon for creativity, all that science mumbo jumbo. Why would one so ill-suited to the field choose to follow that path? Who knows. Ask her and she’ll say that it just felt right.
Or because, and let’s be completely honest here, them Devon and Silph machines ain’t cheap. And it just feels better to spend grant money than your own money, y’know? Sure, she’ll have to do some stuffy nerd stuff to earn her shiny toys, but that’s stuff that she’d already be doing on her path to build the best balls anyway. The name of the game is fleecing the government out of as much play money as possible and man… Greedy Ginkgo’s a gamer.
Bio: Kaori Ginkgo sprouted up in Azalea Town, the youngest of five and the sole girl amongst a gaggle of guys, though with how the tomboy turned out, one would be forgiven for thinking the Ginkgos went six for six on sons. Ever bought some Charcoal from the Azalea Town Pokemart? Chances are one of Kaori’s brothers was responsible for that. The Ginkgo family ran the town’s Charcoal Kiln and you best believe that growing up, Kaori collected her fair share of branches for the family business.
And in another life, that story might spin off into a tale of how Kaori Ginkgo the Charcoal Princess ruthlessly united the charcoal makers across Johto and Kanto to form a Charcoal Empire that would bring the world to its economic knees before the mighty environmentally questionable charcoal fist.
Ahem.
Luckily, Kaori met Kurt. Well, specifically Kurt’s granddaughter, but yes, that Kurt. Apricorn Kurt the Ball Baron…just, y’know, don’t let him hear you call him that. There weren’t many young girls in town so the little Kurtling clung to Kaori as a big sister figure, a role that Kaori took on eagerly.
And the more time that Kaori spent with Maizie, the more the little one’s grandfather warmed to the Charcoal Princess. It went both ways, mind you. Kaori originally saw Kurt as a prickly old codger. And while she was right, she did become fond of the old man. Her curiosity led to her taking an interest in the man’s craft. Don’t get things wrong, Kaori loved charcoal as much as the next girl, but the creative ceiling in that field was...well, low would be putting it mildly. There was a certain artistry to what Old Man Kurt did.
Eventually, Kaori would even head over to the old man’s place even when Maizie was staying with her parents, desperate to figure out how in the hell Kurt made them damn balls. She would demand the old man teach her how to do it. He would refuse. She would demand again. He would refuse again. An endless cycle.
Kurt eventually broke. Could you blame him? Sure, the first few times the brat asked, it was easy to say no. But after the hundredth? Or thousandth? The stubborn brat was persistent. And maybe he saw a bit of himself in her. Or maybe she was just projecting her interpretation of the relationship onto him much later down the line, who could say? In any case, Kurt eventually agreed to take her on as an apprentice. Not that there was anything formal about the arrangement. She kept asking and eventually one day the ‘No’ turned into ‘FINE! Get me my tools.’ After that, Kaori became a fixture around the workshop.
The pair bickered over everything, Kaori must have gotten ‘fired’ a thousand times over, and to an outsider, the whole arrangement must have looked a mess. But the fact of the matter was that they were both incredibly passionate about the craft. Kaori took to it like a bird to flight, showing a remarkable aptitude and in Kurt’s eyes, a profound potential.
It was Kurt’s suggestion that Kaori try for Laventon. In the years that had passed since that little brat first banged on his door and demanded he teach her, Kurt had indeed bestowed upon Kaori everything he could. Not everything he knew - an old man’s gotta have some secrets still - but enough that there was nothing else he could do for her. And he knew that when she applied herself, Kaori was a bright girl. The field of Ball Studies wasn’t very large, but Kurt’s word had weight. Silph and Devon would fight each other to get his successor on board.
Kaori, to her credit, rose to the challenge. Her funding secured through generous scholarships offered by both companies, her recommendation letters from both Kurt and Professor Elm (the old man had called in a favor) painted her favorably, and her proposal was well-written. The only thing that could possibly go wrong…
No. Nothing. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Kaori bottled up all of that fear and anxiety and stashed it away. Y’know, like healthy people do. Surely that won’t bite her in the ass. Surely not.
Gingko survived her first year at the institute without incident, relying heavily on her newfound friends to keep her grounded, and her ramshackle little custom pokeball sidegig to keep her creative juices flowing. But how sustainable will that be? How much more can that bottle truly hold before it finally bursts?
Pokémon:
Name: Boss Species: Galarian Farfetch’d Ability: Scrappy Bio: Gingkos use Farfetch’d. It’s a tradition. Now, as to what exactly was a Galarian Farfetch’d doing in the Ilex Forest when Kaori’s father went searching for his daughter’s partner, who’s to say? Truth be told, the Gingkos just thought the Farfetch’d to be a little moody. Kaori didn’t learn that her partner was a bit of a world traveler until she had started at the Institute. It…didn’t change much between the two, but it’s definitely nifty to know. As her first partner, Kaori is probably closest to the Boss, who keeps the others in line. He’s very much the boss of the crew, Kaori’s right hand man, with the others in the crew looking to him for leadership.
Name: Goob Species: Heracross Ability: Guts Bio: The first pokemon actually caught by Kaori. An absolute menace of Azalea town, the Heracross had spent several summers bullying the other pokemon around the town, all so that she could keep all of the sweet sweet nectar to herself. Kaori and Boss faced off against her to protect Kurt’s prize Apricorn tree, with Kaori narrowly managing to catch the menace in a Love Ball - the first successful pokeball that Kaori had managed to make. Now you might think that having been captured, the Heracross would no longer terrorize the town. You’d be wrong. Far be it from Kaori to stand between her new bestie and her need to munch down on the sweet stuff. In a way, it was rather relatable. Kurt’s tree was mostly spared though…with Boss now becoming the Heracross’ new favorite toy. Call it love. Kaori sure did, much to Boss’ chagrin.
Name: Buddy Species: Parasect Ability: Dry Skin Bio: Some people choose their pokemon. Others have a Paras accidentally step on their freshly made Friend Ball while they’re having a lil snooze in the forest. Kaori may not have meant to catch the Paras, but the little guy became so attached to her that she couldn’t imagine not having him around. The team mascot by unanimous decision.
Name: Champ Species: Scyther Ability: Technician Bio: Were you aware that you were in the presence of a Bug-Catching Contest Champion? No? Don’t worry, Kaori will definitely let you know. Kaori came across the Menace of National Park at the tail end of the competition. It was a fierce contest, pushing Kaori to her physical limits, but after tossing over ten balls at the beast, it all came down to her final ball. Be it by luck or providence, it worked, and Kaori had managed to snag the biggest, meanest Scyther to call the National Park ho- oh? What’s that? The Scyther wasn’t big? ...he was actually a runt? And a huge softie besides? Huh.
Truth be told, it was a miserable rainy day, so the turn out for the contest was super low, and even then, most of the contestants called it quits once the rain worsened. The regular crowd, the real contestants, hadn’t even bothered to show up. Kaori was only one of four to even bring a pokemon to be judged, and by all rights, she nearly lost to an absolute unit of a metapod brought in by a child. Still, she managed to eke out a win and got to bring Champ the runt Scyther into the Hooligan Squad. Definitely the biggest wildcard of the group, Champ is as reckless as his trainer, making poor decisions in battle just so he can…look...cool. He’s challenged Boss for the spot of top dog plenty of times, but most of the time Goob puts him in his place.
Quirks: -As mentioned earlier, Kaori has a bit of a sidegig where she makes custom pokeballs for people. Not exclusively out of apricorn (those cost more), but the option is there for the right price. Cheaper if they agree to record data for the effectiveness of the balls on their new captures for her.
-The tattoos are pretty much exclusively done by friends for practice. She gets fun ink, they get a willing canvas for whatever they want to draw, quality not mattering at all and a custom pokeball job. It’s a standing offer for all of her artsy friends.
-Kaori likes to break rules / traditions / etc, just for the thrill of it. Small crimes, nothing that hurts anybody, but y’know. It helps give her a little burst of adrenaline to get through the day.
-Habitually says yes to plans with little to no context. It’s more fun that way.
Thesis Subject: The Effects of Speciality Pokeballs on the Capture and Growth of Pokemon.
Appearance: Ginkgo is a gremlin. Small of stature and slight of build, maybe a hair over 151cm (~5ft) if she stretches. But that delicate frame is offset by the woman’s rather rough style and mischievous eyes. Her sun-kissed (or more often sunburnt) limbs are covered in tattoos of wildly varying quality and styles with little rhyme or reason to any of them, a physical mark of her impulsive, reckless nature.
Her clothes are typically well worn and loose: lightweight tee shirts and tanks for tops, baggy cargos for bottoms held up by the handy-dandy tool belt (that’s putting in the finest of work trying to hold up those heavy pants on her tiny frame). A beat up trucker hat often sits upon her sandy hair (worn more often than not in loose twintails), frayed and distressed, just the way she likes it. That’s not to say that Kaori can’t dress up - she’s in possession of the obligatory dress or two and we simply mustn’t forget the lab coat - but those are her ass-kissing clothes, for when she really really needs to make a good impression. If she can get away with it though, you’re getting comfy Ginkgo.
Personality: Ginkgo is a gremlin. Repeated for emphasis. Were she a Pokemon, she’d be an Impidimp. Since she is not, however, the girl settles for simply being impish. A brat from birth, really. Pranks, little itty-bitty white lies, Ginkgo’s all about that harmless nuisance stuff. There’s no malice in it, mind you - it’s just for laughs. She’s just as enthused about being the target of shenanigans as she is being the conductor. Fun is fun, and Kaori loves fun.
Kaori also loves people. Extroverted as they come, she laughs freely and often, right at home in a group. Is it egotistical or arrogant to crave the spotlight? Yes. Moving on.
Okay, fine, it’s not just a hunger for attention that motivates her in a group. It’s mostly that, let’s not sugarcoat it, but not entirely. Kaori likes to consider herself a sort of platonic matchmaker. If person A and person B have similar hobbies or interests but don’t interact, Kaori will make it her mission to bring the two together, even if it means taking up a topic she’s not remotely interested in. Call it meddling but...well, no, actually that’s just all it is. Meddling. She meddles. It’s not a great trait and has bitten her in the ass several times. But to her defense, she can’t help it. She wants her friends to be friends with each other as well. Because that means that everybody’s having a great time, nobody feels left out, and… they’re not relying on her to keep the group together. Which means there’s less pressure.
Because Kaori cracks under pressure. It’s a terrible fate - craving the attention and approval of one’s peers while simultaneously being terrified of the weight of the expectation that comes with it. She crumbles. Shuts down. Factory reset.
Kaori.exe has stopped responding.
She’s just not built for it, the shackles of responsibilities. It’s suffocating. Burdensome. She’s a free spirit. Creative. Independent. Impulsive. Reckless. When following her heart, she thrives. She lives.
So why academia? It's not exactly a beacon for creativity, all that science mumbo jumbo. Why would one so ill-suited to the field choose to follow that path? Who knows. Ask her and she’ll say that it just felt right.
Or because, and let’s be completely honest here, them Devon and Silph machines ain’t cheap. And it just feels better to spend grant money than your own money, y’know? Sure, she’ll have to do some stuffy nerd stuff to earn her shiny toys, but that’s stuff that she’d already be doing on her path to build the best balls anyway. The name of the game is fleecing the government out of as much play money as possible and man… Greedy Ginkgo’s a gamer.
Bio: Kaori Ginkgo sprouted up in Azalea Town, the youngest of five and the sole girl amongst a gaggle of guys, though with how the tomboy turned out, one would be forgiven for thinking the Ginkgos went six for six on sons. Ever bought some Charcoal from the Azalea Town Pokemart? Chances are one of Kaori’s brothers was responsible for that. The Ginkgo family ran the town’s Charcoal Kiln and you best believe that growing up, Kaori collected her fair share of branches for the family business.
And in another life, that story might spin off into a tale of how Kaori Ginkgo the Charcoal Princess ruthlessly united the charcoal makers across Johto and Kanto to form a Charcoal Empire that would bring the world to its economic knees before the mighty environmentally questionable charcoal fist.
Ahem.
Luckily, Kaori met Kurt. Well, specifically Kurt’s granddaughter, but yes, that Kurt. Apricorn Kurt the Ball Baron…just, y’know, don’t let him hear you call him that. There weren’t many young girls in town so the little Kurtling clung to Kaori as a big sister figure, a role that Kaori took on eagerly.
And the more time that Kaori spent with Maizie, the more the little one’s grandfather warmed to the Charcoal Princess. It went both ways, mind you. Kaori originally saw Kurt as a prickly old codger. And while she was right, she did become fond of the old man. Her curiosity led to her taking an interest in the man’s craft. Don’t get things wrong, Kaori loved charcoal as much as the next girl, but the creative ceiling in that field was...well, low would be putting it mildly. There was a certain artistry to what Old Man Kurt did.
Eventually, Kaori would even head over to the old man’s place even when Maizie was staying with her parents, desperate to figure out how in the hell Kurt made them damn balls. She would demand the old man teach her how to do it. He would refuse. She would demand again. He would refuse again. An endless cycle.
Kurt eventually broke. Could you blame him? Sure, the first few times the brat asked, it was easy to say no. But after the hundredth? Or thousandth? The stubborn brat was persistent. And maybe he saw a bit of himself in her. Or maybe she was just projecting her interpretation of the relationship onto him much later down the line, who could say? In any case, Kurt eventually agreed to take her on as an apprentice. Not that there was anything formal about the arrangement. She kept asking and eventually one day the ‘No’ turned into ‘FINE! Get me my tools.’ After that, Kaori became a fixture around the workshop.
The pair bickered over everything, Kaori must have gotten ‘fired’ a thousand times over, and to an outsider, the whole arrangement must have looked a mess. But the fact of the matter was that they were both incredibly passionate about the craft. Kaori took to it like a bird to flight, showing a remarkable aptitude and in Kurt’s eyes, a profound potential.
It was Kurt’s suggestion that Kaori try for Laventon. In the years that had passed since that little brat first banged on his door and demanded he teach her, Kurt had indeed bestowed upon Kaori everything he could. Not everything he knew - an old man’s gotta have some secrets still - but enough that there was nothing else he could do for her. And he knew that when she applied herself, Kaori was a bright girl. The field of Ball Studies wasn’t very large, but Kurt’s word had weight. Silph and Devon would fight each other to get his successor on board.
Kaori, to her credit, rose to the challenge. Her funding secured through generous scholarships offered by both companies, her recommendation letters from both Kurt and Professor Elm (the old man had called in a favor) painted her favorably, and her proposal was well-written. The only thing that could possibly go wrong…
No. Nothing. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Kaori bottled up all of that fear and anxiety and stashed it away. Y’know, like healthy people do. Surely that won’t bite her in the ass. Surely not.
Gingko survived her first year at the institute without incident, relying heavily on her newfound friends to keep her grounded, and her ramshackle little custom pokeball sidegig to keep her creative juices flowing. But how sustainable will that be? How much more can that bottle truly hold before it finally bursts?
Pokémon:
Name: Boss Species: Galarian Farfetch’d Ability: Scrappy Bio: Gingkos use Farfetch’d. It’s a tradition. Now, as to what exactly was a Galarian Farfetch’d doing in the Ilex Forest when Kaori’s father went searching for his daughter’s partner, who’s to say? Truth be told, the Gingkos just thought the Farfetch’d to be a little moody. Kaori didn’t learn that her partner was a bit of a world traveler until she had started at the Institute. It…didn’t change much between the two, but it’s definitely nifty to know. As her first partner, Kaori is probably closest to the Boss, who keeps the others in line. He’s very much the boss of the crew, Kaori’s right hand man, with the others in the crew looking to him for leadership.
Name: Goob Species: Heracross Ability: Guts Bio: The first pokemon actually caught by Kaori. An absolute menace of Azalea town, the Heracross had spent several summers bullying the other pokemon around the town, all so that she could keep all of the sweet sweet nectar to herself. Kaori and Boss faced off against her to protect Kurt’s prize Apricorn tree, with Kaori narrowly managing to catch the menace in a Love Ball - the first successful pokeball that Kaori had managed to make. Now you might think that having been captured, the Heracross would no longer terrorize the town. You’d be wrong. Far be it from Kaori to stand between her new bestie and her need to munch down on the sweet stuff. In a way, it was rather relatable. Kurt’s tree was mostly spared though…with Boss now becoming the Heracross’ new favorite toy. Call it love. Kaori sure did, much to Boss’ chagrin.
Name: Buddy Species: Parasect Ability: Dry Skin Bio: Some people choose their pokemon. Others have a Paras accidentally step on their freshly made Friend Ball while they’re having a lil snooze in the forest. Kaori may not have meant to catch the Paras, but the little guy became so attached to her that she couldn’t imagine not having him around. The team mascot by unanimous decision.
Name: Champ Species: Scyther Ability: Technician Bio: Were you aware that you were in the presence of a Bug-Catching Contest Champion? No? Don’t worry, Kaori will definitely let you know. Kaori came across the Menace of National Park at the tail end of the competition. It was a fierce contest, pushing Kaori to her physical limits, but after tossing over ten balls at the beast, it all came down to her final ball. Be it by luck or providence, it worked, and Kaori had managed to snag the biggest, meanest Scyther to call the National Park ho- oh? What’s that? The Scyther wasn’t big? ...he was actually a runt? And a huge softie besides? Huh.
Truth be told, it was a miserable rainy day, so the turn out for the contest was super low, and even then, most of the contestants called it quits once the rain worsened. The regular crowd, the real contestants, hadn’t even bothered to show up. Kaori was only one of four to even bring a pokemon to be judged, and by all rights, she nearly lost to an absolute unit of a metapod brought in by a child. Still, she managed to eke out a win and got to bring Champ the runt Scyther into the Hooligan Squad. Definitely the biggest wildcard of the group, Champ is as reckless as his trainer, making poor decisions in battle just so he can…look...cool. He’s challenged Boss for the spot of top dog plenty of times, but most of the time Goob puts him in his place.
Quirks: -As mentioned earlier, Kaori has a bit of a sidegig where she makes custom pokeballs for people. Not exclusively out of apricorn (those cost more), but the option is there for the right price. Cheaper if they agree to record data for the effectiveness of the balls on their new captures for her.
-The tattoos are pretty much exclusively done by friends for practice. She gets fun ink, they get a willing canvas for whatever they want to draw, quality not mattering at all and a custom pokeball job. It’s a standing offer for all of her artsy friends.
-Kaori likes to break rules / traditions / etc, just for the thrill of it. Small crimes, nothing that hurts anybody, but y’know. It helps give her a little burst of adrenaline to get through the day.
-Habitually says yes to plans with little to no context. It’s more fun that way.
Location: Men’s Room -> Hallway outside Training Room B Skills: Ursine Physiology
The faint humming of the fluorescent lights above was met with the sound of the water rushing out from a faucet only to splatter onto the basin below, both only serving to accent the numb silent buzzing that threatened to split the young man’s head. The creature that filled the mirror above the sink - only barely fitting into frame - stared at his reflection with beady brown eyes, his head held low, ears back, mouth agape.
Me.
Me watched himself, studying the brown fur that covered his muzzle, trailing down his face and dipping beneath his…
…what was the word?
…
Shirt.
His shirt. His white shirt. Button-up. A tie keeps his collar closed. Black tie. Suspenders keep his slate gray pants up.
Uniform.
Me hated the uniform. Hard to move. Easy to tear. Tearing was bad. Right?
…
Me couldn’t recall. His sleeves were rolled up. Too much hair. Too much fur. More than normal. A deep huff escaped him.
He was getting frustrated.
The Me in the mirror mocked him - CHALLENGED him. As Me stretched tall, so did the Me in the mirror, both just shy of scraping the ceiling. No…not Me…
The voice coming from beyond called for someone named Teddy.
His name was Teddy. And despite current appearances, he was a man. The creature turned his head toward the exit, breaking his gaze upon his reflection. The man within the beast was finding his way back into the driver’s seat. He had nearly lost himself...but would that have been such a bad thing? How easy it would be to just give in to the base instincts that rule the creature, to not think about his most recent failure. Too sick to make it to auditions. Bah. Pathetic. Months of training - wasted. And for what? So he could pretend that he wasn’t a monster? His vanity had cost him his chance to earn a spot on a team. What the stakes would have been higher? What if somebody was hurt or worse all because pathetic little Teddy had an upset stomach after taking his ‘Real Boy’ pills?
…
Teddy shook his head, killing the flow of water. He knew there was nothing good to come from beating himself up over hypotheticals…but the shame and embarrassment was gnawing at him. The guy hunched over even more in an attempt to hide from an invisible audience before slinking toward the exit.
As he rounded the corner to rejoin Miss Jones, it would become clear that he had grown several inches just in the time that it took him to dip into the bathroom. The shirt which had laid somewhat baggy on his body before the bathroom trip now was filled out completely to the point that it was nearly too small for him. The black bear had become the Kodiak. The boy offered Firestar a nod and, upon spotting her, offered Zelda one as well before turning back to his teacher, only hesistating for a moment when he caught the whiff of a rather pleasant scent coming from the direction of the gym. It was strong. It was distracting. It was nice. He tilted his head at her, still not entirely sure where she was dragging him and why.
Even now, part of him wanted nothing else than to storm off to go sulk in solitude. Teddy managed to bury that shameful part of himself underneath an eagerness to just finally get to whatever task Miss Jones had for him so that he could throw himself into work and occupy his mind with something more productive.
“Hm?” Teddy grunted, having caught Leah’s gaze from the corner of his eye. He turned his head in her direction, but she had already moved on. His brow rose. What was that all about? He pondered it, tilting his head until he glanced around at…oh, yeah, Diana. And…two- err, three freshmen. Mm, yeah, okay, never mind. That would just be classic Leah. He wanted to check in on her since, well…okay, she didn’t have the largest group of friends. But Leah was great. People just didn’t give her enough of a chance. Sure, she was uhm…well, okay, she could be pretty rough on the outside, but Leah had a good heart. A damn good heart. And Teddy respected the hell out of that. You had to. Unfortunately, that good heart didn’t exactly lead to an easy time making friends. He had hoped that she and Diana could get along, but that uhh…didn’t quite pan out. So, when he realized that she was heading over to the engineering club people, he felt a little relieved. Girl was a nerd. Maybe she could find her people there.
Swelling with proud dad energy, Teddy was wholly unprepared for the unexpected voice that sprang up dangerously close. It took him a moment to place the voice, and by then…it was too late. He felt the weight of somebody leaning against him. Turning his head, still stunned at the sudden invasion of personal space to see…
While internally Teddy was having, well let’s just say a mild crisis, he had thankfully not vibrated into the Quantum Realm, scattered into atoms, or fainted, so…good start. He had, however, completely detached himself from the world around him, escaping into himself to survive this...this…
He had heard a voice surprisingly similar to his own saying “Oh, hey.” to D-D-D…ahem, Him. And he had heard that same voice meekly answer the question with, “She’s Ardere and that’s Mary Sue.” It was eerie how familiar that voice was. Teddy watched from afar as the familiar large man attempted to remain was still as possible - as if he had finally successfully lured the cat at the family gathering to to his lap where it had fallen asleep and he was fully aware that even the slightest disturbance would stir the slumbering feline and cause to awaken and go on the prowl again for a more stable place to rest.
The rest of the conversation unfurling around him was lost to Teddy, sounding little more than muffled voices from the next room down. Sure, he managed to pick up a word every now and then, but there would be no context. He was fully engrossed in staring at some exciting spot on the ground, seemingly enthralled by grass or something.
“Okay, but like, honestly? The sword’s kind of a hot look on you, dude. It’s kinda growing on me.” Mai shrugged, trailing behind Sabine at first as she took in the sight of her friend fully strapped and ready to fight for a bunch of bejeweled inbred rich dudes. She then sped up to match Sabine’s strides, cursing her itty bitty legs silently. Theoretically, she could always just make herself taller if she really wanted to…but that was a slippery slope. And dangerous. If she fucked up putting herself back together - a headliner in the ol’ anxiety lineup - well…we’ve already got so many other things to neurotically obsess over already, so let’s just save that particular hangup for a sunny day that needs to be a lil more shitty.
“Clubs? Ugh…” Chi Mai groaned, rolling her head. She hadn’t joined any up to now. Not because she didn’t want to, mind you, but because she just couldn’t decide. She’d spend the whole year debating which one/s to join then…not actually decide on anything. Choice paralysis was real, folks. “Dude, I don’t know and it’s killing me.” she admitted, her mind finally moving away from the Bad Places and finding its nice, comfy home back in the land of shallow, meaningless chatter with the peeps. “I might just start a shitty acoustic cover band.” she sighed, resigning to a life of ukulele and breathy croning. Whatever life’s left, anyway.
“I dunno. If you find something fun, lemme know.” she said as they approached the crew at the nerd ship. Chi Mai, not knowing a stranger, immediately spotted three strangers. A challen-
Oh. One of them was that impatient freshy girl. She had been standing next to Teddy who-
Bruh, what the fuck broke Teddy? Dude had gone full deactivated animatronic murder bear. Huh. Vibes were fucked today. Whatever. She then noticed Danni leaning against him. And the wires in her head connected, sparking a little. Was that smoke…? Maybe a little smoke out of her ears.
There was no fucking shot… Teddy? Really? No fucking shot.
“What’s up, sluts?” Chi Mai called alongside Sabine as they approached the nerds around their nerd shrine. When her friend started strutting the sword, Chi Mai laced her hands behind her head and grinned, letting Sabine work her shit while she cooked her roast to perfection. She'd let it slow cook, maybe hit him with it later after he's stopped thinking about it and come back down to earth just to send him on a trip again.
A little treat from Chi Mai to Chi Mai.
In the meanwhile, Chi Mai spotted Diana and knew what she must do - slinking over towards her and making a dramatic show of obviously checking her out. "God daaayyyymn, girl." she said slowly, putting heavy emphasis on the 'ay' as she dropped into a squat and covered her mouth with one hand. Shaking her head as she lingered, Chi Mai eventually popped back up, grinning at Diana. "Missed youuuu~" she lilted innocently.
Of the many, MANY things that Chi Mai had imagined may possibly have arrived for Sabine…bruh, this shit wasn't even in the top thousand. What the shit? Chi Mai watched Sabine shift the sword around with a dropped jaw. After the initial stun wore off, Mai couldn’t help but laugh. “Bruh.” she managed in-between hees and haws. “Why the fuck somebody gonna send you some goofy-ass sword?” she started, wiping the tears condensation from her eyes, not immediately picking up on Sabine’s apparent confusion.
Then the whooshening happened.
As the papers and whatnot were being kicked up and pushed aside, so too was Mai’s hair thrown about before falling back into its naturally messy state. In yet another mood swing (which were increasingly becoming uncomfortably commonplace for her), Chi Mai’s self-pity and fear had been replaced by pure awe. She glanced around at her surroundings, taking in the…what…force field? Murky air? Whatever the fuck it was, she was looking mighty hard at it. Then she shifted her eyes back to the sword. One might, should one listen with an eager and earnest intentness, hear the faint clinking and clanking as rusty gears begin to clunk together and turn in her head.
“Babes I think I…yeah, no, I uh…” she babbled, confused in response to Sabine’s suggestion. “Okay, but like, just hear me out for a second: all of uhh, well, THAT,” she started, waving her hands toward Sabine. “Yeah, that shit felt super fucking familiar. Like, I’m getting some real, like, I dunno, deja vu right now? Well, not deja vu but like..y’know what I mean? And I don’t know why?” she explained, glancing at her arm. “Yeah, dude, like check this shit out - I got goosebumps. Like actual goosebumps. What the shit? How am I gonna get goosebumps over some goofy-ass sword?” she exclaimed, more to herself than to Beanie.
“I am not even remotely high enough for this shit.” she resigned, shaking her head. “And that’s saying a lot because a bitch is pretty baja-blasted right now.” she added, nodding to herself. “Whatever. Yeah, let’s go find our dorks.” she said, shifting from bewildered conspiracy theorist Chi Mai back to Chill Mai and turning to leave the mailroom, heading back out into the heat and sunshine.
If she got her way, this would be all the heat and sunshine she got for the rest of the year. It was the sun’s fault that her head was funky today. She couldn’t quite prove it just yet, but just wait…
Hearing the sadness in Vicky’s voice, Teddy immediately broke and was about to attempt to apologize and explain himself when Zelda broke the introvert’s code and began to speak up. Teddy was first stunned by the sudden assertion, but that quickly shifted to defensiveness when he realized that she was aiming the blunted words towards his friend. When Vicky took her leave, he glanced at Zelda, now a bit unsettled by her, before turning back to Diana and relaxing back into a smile. “I was actually about to ask, so, I appreciates the heads up, Di.” he called over to Diana in an attempt to reassure her.
Turning back to Zelda, he couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the girl. It didn’t always feel the best to have somebody else explain you to somebody. But publicly lashing out at somebody over something as innocuous as an introduction? That wasn’t exactly…reasonable? Teddy began speaking before he even knew exactly what it was he was going to say.
“Uhm, hey, if you’re going to be upset at anybody, blame me. I’m uh…” he started looking around the little group before settling back on Zelda. “I’m pretty much the odd man out here and Di knows I’m nosy so she just sorta beat me to it this time.” he chuckled nervously. It wasn’t like him to speak this much at all, but he couldn’t just stand by and say nothing when something like this might not have even happened if he hadn’t been there. The guilt, deserved or not, was eating him up inside.
“If it helps, I still don’t really understand what SHIELD even is? Or…was? And I’m completely open to just forgetting that I ever heard that?” he babbled, digging the hole even deeper. “I think there’s actually a student around here that can make that a thing if we actually wanna…uhm…I’ll uh…I’ll shut up now.” he trailed off, suddenly feeling super self-conscious about how long he had been talking, the righteous fury he had felt for his friend gone as quickly as it had come. It had been replaced by the realization that he had just surgically inserted himself into a conflict that he quite frankly had no right to butt in on, even if his intentions were good, and he was now drowning in all of the embarrassment that deservedly came with the territory.
Fortunately, Teddy’s death-by-embarrassment was postponed when he was yet again stunned by an incoming freshman of the Margaret Carter Institute. The sheer ridiculousness of the incredibly earnest question caught him completely off guard, causing the large man to bellow a mighty belly laugh.The tension which had been suffocating felt as if it had been melted. Well, for him it had, anyway. He turned to look at Ardere and shrugged. “I mean…” he started, giving the ship a long, intense look. So far all he had managed to do was introduce Mary Sue to people she already knew and helped Ardere to become even more of a space cadet. So he had failed three different freshmen in the span of…what, less than an hour? Really just knocking it out of the park with this whole mentor thing. Though, in a way, if you have the worst possible day right off the bat, then it really could only go up from there, right? …right?
Tilting his head, he grunted. “Well…actually…I can sorta see it.” he said, amused and very much grateful for the rope that Ardere had thrown him. “I mean, if you squint a bit, it sorta looks kinda saucer-y.” he continued. “Maybe he actually saw one of these and just put it in the game?” he suggested.
In his defense, it was more likely than you might think.
Teddy offered Zelda a nod in response to her rather terse introduction. She didn’t want to talk and he didn’t want to pry. They could coexist in quiet peace. The other one however…
“Oh, no, no, I completely get it, haha.” Teddy chuckled at Victoria awkwardly, patting the air between them with two oversized mitts. “I don’t uhh… really get out much either so…uh…” he trailed, having lost the plot, unsure of how to approach her ‘offer’ to spar. To tell the truth, despite being as well-equipped for it as he might seem, Teddy utterly loathed violence. It was something he struggled with, because it often felt like the simplest, most reliable solution was just…violence. And if that was really the case, then what was the real distinction between a hero and an enforcer? The outfit? No, there had to be something else, and to Teddy, that difference was the willingness to exhaust every other avenue of resolving a conflict first.
“But uh…maybe. We’ll have to see,” he answered, shrugging. She was hardly the first person to want to fight the Big Bad Bear just to see if they could, but at least in the case of someone like Leah, for example, Teddy knew her heart was in the right place - even if he disagreed fundamentally on her overreliance on violence. But Vicky? Teddy didn’t know her from Adam, so for her to just immediately jump to wanting to fight, well, it rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was too harsh to draw conclusions about Victoria’s character from a harmless little throwaway comment…but Teddy would be lying if he claimed it didn’t make him think just a little less of her.
Teddy turned back towards Diana as she began to explain her connection to the freshmen. “Ah…right. SHIELD. Of course.” he hummed, nodding as if that were the most mundane profession she could have listed. Though, to be honest, after three full years of this sort of madness, he’d probably have been more surprised if she had said their parents had been just dentists. Obviously the answer was going to be secret agents. When his friend continued by nodding towards Leah, Teddy nearly did a double take. Had he just summoned her? Maybe his real mutant power was manifesting unstable lesbians? He gave the grounds a subtle scan for Chi Mai just in case. Satisfied that he wasn’t about to have a sentient backpack - again - his gaze snapped back to Diana when she snapped.
“Uh, yeah, that works. I actually wanted to stop by and wish her well before she left anyway.” he nodded, thrilled to have somebody else to go with. Having Diana tagging along would make approaching Agatha a bit easier. She could be a bit…intense. He wasn’t entirely sure if she actually knew who he was, but overall, he liked her and he was a bit bummed to hear she was leaving, so it only seemed fitting to send her off.
Location: The Field (School Carnival) -> The Field (Kree Spaceship) Skills: None Used!
“Mm, you said Vermont…?” Teddy asked Ardere as filler while his brain wracked itself trying to put together what little bit of US geography it had stored. Vermont was uhhh…oh no, it was one of those itty-bitty ones in the corner wasn’t it? “I dunno if it’d survive that trip, if we’re being honest.” he nodded to himself, having absolutely no frame of reference for just how long a trip that actually would be.
When the girls started chatting about alien attacks, Teddy just smiled to himself. This was nice. It was working. The small talk was actually working. Look at him! One bona fide social butterfly in the making. He glanced at the roommates, wholly oblivious to whatever sort of tension that might be brewing between the two. In his book, this was a win. It was taking everything in him not to just burst out into a little victory shimmy.
…he’d do it later.
As the trio arrived at the ship, Teddy noticed Ardere approaching the ship proper, but Teddy stayed back, noticing Diana and two other girls arriving about the same time. “Oh, great timing.” he muttered to himself, raising one paw in the air and giving his roommate’s sister a wave as she approached. He raised an eyebrow towards her when he realized that she hadn’t brought Percy but instead Victoria van Dyne and… uhm… someone else.
As Diana greeted his add-ons, he greeted hers. “Oh hi there.” he said as he offered the pair a friendly smile and nod before addressing the junior directly. “You’re Victoria, yeah? I think I’ve seen you around, but I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Teddy. It’s nice to meetcha.” he couldn’t help but notice that APPARENTLY Diana already knew Mary Sue based on her greeting. Which…huh. Okay. That was unexpected. Well, he was glad the girl would have at least someone familiar around. Err… other than her Dad.
Teddy then turned towards the unfamiliar face. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I recognize you…?” he said, posing a question in his apology. She looked just familiar enough that it was odd. She reminded him of…someone, but he couldn’t place it to save his life. The big man crossed his arms, tilting his head as he tried to place the face to a name unsuccessfully.
Phan Le Chi Mai
Location: Outside Agatha’s Tent Skills: None Used! ~First Day Fit~
With her face buried into April’s back and her arms wrapped around the girl’s waist, one solitary, PROUD, middle finger stood erect in the direction of Leah. Yeah, it was an ‘entrance’ all right. Who could rightly blame her after her little encounter with the witch? She needed to be coddled, not called out, dammit. And as if the universe had heard her plea, God’s hand came from the heavens to rest upon her head, reassuring her and waving away the bad mojo.
Well…Danni’s hand, but fuck it, close enough, probably. Dude was an actual angel in the moment. He could do no wrong. As the rest of her friends began to ask her what was wrong, what had happened, she moved to answer when Danny beat her to it, revealing his fortune: his fortune that he would…
Would…
What…?
What did he just…?
Mai stared at Danny, seemingly transfixed. As April began to babble, Mai loosened her grip, releasing the girl and standing straight up to her full…five feet. There was a joke to be made there, but it was gone, lost like any other thoughts that she may have had before Danny dropped his bombshell. He was going to…? And she was going to…? That…
There was no fucking way.
…right?
The other chatter around her melded into white noise. It was only when a pair of ‘fucks’ were exchanged that Mai fell down to Earth from a hundred miles away. Whatever, somehow she’d make it work. Being upset was overrated and, honestly, a little played out. With the exception of Sabine - obviously - everyone in their little group had had some sort of dramatic flair up today. The vibes were simply fucked today. Hip hip hooray and happy birthday.
When Dorian initiated the group hug, Mai leaned into it, ready to do some damage control. “Nah, don’t sweat it, bb. I went in there pretty fucking high and I probably shouldn’t have done that. I think she probably noticed and was just fucking with me. I’m good.” she lied in the most natural voice she could muster as she strained to pat Dorian’s back reassuringly. “Besides, a bitch burped in her goofy ass tent, and she’s just got to sit in there with it, so I mean, who’s the real winner here?”
[centre][h2]Heyo, Ogo, leggo[/h2][/centre]
Hiya! Morgan here. I am the mountain mama.
Used to be hella active, now I mostly just lurk. Feel free to drop a message if you catch me snoopin', I probably won't bite.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="bb-center"><div class="bb-h2">Heyo, Ogo, leggo</div></div><br><br>Hiya! Morgan here. I am the mountain mama.<br><br>Used to be hella active, now I mostly just lurk. Feel free to drop a message if you catch me snoopin', I probably won't bite.</div>
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