Yankee

Pokemon: Shadows of Orre

^{Outside Phenac City Precept Gym}

While Zita was in the middle of her staring contest with the curved stone of the gym - which she was totally winning by the way - a slight movement caught her eye. The boy's greeting had barely registered, as quiet as it was compared to the chirping of her Pokemon a few feet away, but his wave got her attention and she turned her gaze on him. Her eyes were bright with the excitement of potential battle, and just experiencing a new place in general. Meeting new people wasn't very high on her priority list, but it pretty much came with the territory of "new place." Her flame-colored irises looked up and down the stranger. He... also didn't look very impressive! In fact he looked pretty tuckered out, even though it was still early in the day. Still, he had a cute Pokemon with him and he was outside a gym. That meant trainer, right? As his expression gradually shifted from a polite smile to a wider one, Zita gave him a grin of her own.

"You a local then?"

Ah, straight to the point. The question served as Zita's own style of greeting. Even if her words were brusque, her toothy smile could be considered friendly. Bo ceased his shenanigans for only a moment, turning to look between his trainer and the boy she was talking to, before he waddled quickly toward the both of them and began running in a wide circle around them. Every now and then he would jump a little ways into the air and try and peek at the Pokemon sleeping in the boy's arms. Like a true experienced, disciplined trainer Zita did absolutely nothing to stop the zen charm Pokemon. In fact her face seemed to light up all the more, fueled by her partner's energy.

"That's good, 'cause we've got some questions about the place! But, yeah, I'm here for this gym's badge!" Being from Unova, being awarded badges were the norm. The red head had only barely arrived to Orre, and was still unused to it, but a gym meant a badge, right? At least that was the assumption. The stranger's mention of other challengers inside spurred Zita into moving toward the door, but she stopped and spun around, facing the other trainer again and marching back up to him.

"I'm Zita!"

Introductions had almost genuinely slipped her mind. Almost. Her Darumaka used this time to climb it's way up onto the girl's shoulder and made as if to leap into the arms of the guy they'd just met, but a well timed movement from Zita had the Pokemon stumble a little instead. He clung to the cloth of her shirt as she reached a hand towards their newest acquaintance. "This is Bo!"

Current Mood in One Gif

Cacophony Concord

I've rewritten my initial sheet to be closer to what I had in mind for this character but felt I didn't express well with my first draft. I think the new version is more clear and less convoluted it's back in my post on the other page.

Also since there is a tie as far as starting nations go, I think I will officially change my vote to Velonta. Sorry Alderamin friends.

SPIRITUM

---

The trek to find the gryphon had been quite the bonding experience. Yup, several young adults who'd been excited for their much needed vacation hiking for hours up and down a long dead forest was great. So much different from their squad training. Honestly though it wasn't all bad. Listening to the rowdier members of their group squabble was always kind of fun. The exercise had everyone sobered up by then too, so the Barghest were in full form for their usual antics. "Really hope this thing tastes good," Zak murmured to himself as he watched the beast from the hill. He'd really been looking forward to that barbecue before they'd gone on the hunt. That would turn out to be the least of his problems.

Soon after the gryphon's departure the Barghest squad was stunned into silence as the wreckage of an airship plummeted from the sky. The largest pieces of the liner made for intimidating meteors, smothered in ash and flame until they hit the cracked earth some miles out and continued to burn there on the ground. The scene was awful, and incredible. The red haired WARDEN hadn't even realized he was holding his breath until Galahad broke the solemn quiet that'd overtaken them. Gal was right like he so often was - the mass of fire that was once an airship hadn't looked like any Rassvet vessel he'd ever seen. Somewhere in the back of his mind a thought stirred: if it wasn't a ship of Rassvet design, then that meant...? But it looked civilian, from what little he'd glimpsed of it before it exploded into hot metal chunks. There was no reason a foreign civilian craft should be in their airspace.

As the other WARDENs began to speak up and think aloud, Zak kept his quiet for a little while longer - though he nodded along with some of his squadmates' words regardless if they noticed or not. There was a pit in his stomach. Was it from seeing such wreckage up close for the first time? He doubted it, the officers at the Citadel had drilled pretty much any scenario into their heads. Still, that sinking feeling was there. Zak was glad that Sam took the initiative to pinpoint survivors, and he didn't need to double checking the other man's words before he got to reorganizing - preparing for another trek through the badlands rather than a battle with a winged beast. It was Ray's uncertain question that finally coaxed Zak's voice from his throat.

"Of course we're gonna help," Zak all but snapped out. Dark eyes flickered towards the squad's de facto leader Galahad - a young man who, despite his reputation, was far from heartless. It was only a matter of time before they'd move out to help the possible survivors of the crash, and like most of them Zak was ready to get going. "I don't think the fire will spread in a place like this so - " the red head paused, swallowing thickly and dragging his gaze from the Barghest back to the burning remains of the liner, then out into the petrified forest where he guessed the parachutes might have landed based on Sam's initial spotting. With some talented Mist users on their team, there was no doubt they could put the fire out if needed, but it was... unlikely, to say the least, that anyone still in the ship when it crashed would have survived. And as he said, the flames shouldn't spread. The airship itself was the least of their concerns, they had to head towards the most likely survivors. "You all heard Sam. Come on, we should hurry."

Cacophony Concord

beta CS...2!!!!!

Name: Amelia Marescol
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Nationality: American
Description:
A down-home girl from the Midwestern United States. Amelia's friendly personality, positive outlook on life, cute face and, frankly, her girl-next-door vibe made her quite popular in the rural little village where she lived. The place had barely 5,000 people residing in it and was home to all the charms of small town living: close-knit and nosy neighbors, a single gas station where local kids loitered, fields of corn and wheat as far as the eye could see and of course, a high school full of students hoping to leaving their hometown far, far behind once they'd graduated. Amelia was no different.

While growing up Amelia had much the same desires as other girls her age... to get whisked away by a nice man, move to a big city and live a more exciting life than she could ever have in a small town like the one she was born in. When she wasn't daydreaming about that she passed her days reading romance novels, keeping up with school and her cheer squad, and... playing videogames?

Her interest started with what is commonly referred to as a visual novel. While on the search for more love stories online, she happened to stumble across one and ended up enjoying it. She considered it sort of like a choose your own adventure book! This led her down a rabbit hole of otome games and mobage. Her gaming hobby, if you could even call it that at the time, wasn't a secret or anything. She even attended her school's gaming club when she had the time between cheer tournaments. The guys in the club introduced her to what they called "real videogames," and they turned out to be a lot of fun. Contrary to what a hollywood high school romcom might have you believe, Amelia's confident, cheerful demeanor meant she could keep up with both her extroverted friend group and the school's gaming fans without coming off as weird to either party. Amelia's summer days were filled with long drives down country roads with local athletes and fellow cheerleaders, and her nights were filled with adventure games and virtual romance.

Once graduated, Amelia took the first opportunity to leave her small town behind with a friend from her cheer squad. They moved into an apartment together in one of the state's larger cities. Amelia enrolled in college and began her search in earnest for a nice guy, cool job, and exciting life... and found none of those things! Going out with friends every now and then was fun, but RPGs were a lot more exciting than her current student life. And her love life was especially dismal. None of the guys she dated could measure up to the SSR cards she'd collected on her phone games. However! She was determined not to give up! She poured her all into school work and speed dating, leaving her little time for hobbies - including games. Unsurprisingly this quickly led to a burnout and a break year.

Two months into the break year, Amelia reconnected with one of the guys from her old high school gaming club. Sean had always been particularly nice to her. He'd lived next door back in their hometown, and let Amelia borrow games when she was still just getting into them. The surprise lunch chat they'd had was the most refreshing conversation Amelia'd had in a while. He recommended a certain game to her by the name of Cacophony Concord - which he had nothing but praise for. The only down side was she'd need a machine that could facilitate a full dive into it's virtual world. MMOs were a genre she'd played a little of, but hadn't really gotten into. However the appeal of an exciting virtual experience was alluring, and on her old childhood friend's recommendation she promised to give it a shot. Her roommate was speechless when not even a week later Amelia lugged a FDD through their apartment.

After setting the game up and logging in for the first time, a sudden whim came over Amelia and she created her avatar to cater specifically to her type - a cute guy with a main character vibe. It'd slipped her mind that this was a VR game... as in, first person. However! She wouldn't let that stop her!

If I can't find my own knight in shining armor, I'll become him! Or something like that.

Since the characters posted are all spread out over the globe I add "gaming forum regulars" to possible explanation for how they are connected.

EDIT: I've rewritten my initial sheet and am much more happy with this version. The build I would be looking to work towards is something like a spellsword. Though the mention of the Star Seer class has given me some ideas too.

Cacophony Concord

Star Seer

@ERode

This might make me switch my vote.

Feast Fantasy

A few awkward words were exchanged with the man already inside the room, and after that... silence. For a while. Now waiting in silence wasn't something that Wilben particularly enjoyed, but he was a grown adult and he could stand to be a little patient. So he sat in his chair with his arms crossed and his chin down and waited. And waited. And waited until his patience was worn a bit thin. The next time the room's door opened, Wilben flicked his head up and intended to give that guildmaster a piece of his mind, but he was surprised to see a beastfolk enter. The gnome wasn't exactly subtle with his staring, his eyebrows perched high over his eyes. It wasn't a hateful look, just one of confusion. Wasn't this a culinary adventure?

She's probably here to guide us into unknown beastfolk territory, he thought to himself with a muted shrug. Content with coming to his own conclusion, Wilben watched others begin to file into the room. An oni, and two humans. Oh, and a cat. Great, more fur. The little pastry professional scoffed aloud at the sight and tucked his arms in tighter. Despite the holier-than-thou attitude he put out, Wilben wasn't completely discouraged by the group that had formed in the little room. Most of them seemed well prepared for a journey like the one they were apparently going to undertake. Some even carried the smell of food with them, which was a plus. Dedication to the craft. The large oni woman could even play entertainment on dull nights!

After another little while of silence, save for the notes expertly played from the shamisen, and no introductions, Wilben sighed and stood up on his chair. He barely came to some of the human's heights while seated, let alone the musician's, but still during a lull in her played the gnome cleared his throat in a similar manner as he'd done out in the open guild hall. With on hand on his hip and the other hanging in the area gesturing, he spoke in a deeper voice than one might have expected for someone as small as he.

"Friendly bunch we've got here, huh? I don't blame you, I'm not the friendliest gnome myself. But while we wait for Nivaan to get his slow arse in here, we could do something besides sit around and listen to music." After a moment he blinked and looked at the oni woman. "Which is lovely, by the way. I'd even invite you to play in my café. Speaking of which - "

The gnome proudly slapped his chest, and with a smirk he introduced himself. "I, Wilben Felpip Overtamer, of the Gnomingham Felpips, am the prestigious owner of Le Paradis - a café which needs no introduction for any that considers themself of high culture."

He jumped back into his seat, his smirk still fixed in place. "Naturally a man wants to know what his fellows can bring to the table. So? Credentials. All of you." He pointed at each person in the room in turn, his words not quite a command, but rather a strong suggestion. He was more than used to being the captain of his own ship, and since there were many more people gathered now he didn't see a reason to wait however long Nivaan wanted them to before they got to know each other. In particular, Wilben wanted to know the caliber of each individual signed up for this crazy mission before he committed to going. He wasn't going to waste his precious time going on a wild goose chase with incompetents, after all.

Help me give him a name

Ooooh nice bike!

Since Yamaha is Japanese company, and the black bike's headlight area looks sort of like a hero mask, what about something Japanese hero themed? Like Kamen Rider. Most of the heroes in that various Kamen Rider series use motorcycles too, hence the "Rider."

Cacophony Concord

What nation do y'all wanna citizenship in?
Do you have any particular ideas for how characters would know each other out-of-game?
Got any character concepts you're leaning towards or set on?

@ERode

Personally I'm on the fence with interest but if you wouldn't mind some opinions on these questions...

1. My vote would be Deneb or Alderamin. Deneb seems like a fair starting area for characters that are to be newbies to the game and get their bearings. Alderamin in the same vein as that, I can see either being fun for starting players.

2. Perhaps like a gaming club in college/university? Although I'm sure the bulk, if not 99% of the RP would take place within the game world, having a mention here or there of outside game drama might be fun.

3. I'm considering someone that joins for fun and gets accidentally super strong? Or something like a girl that makes a bishounen-type avatar, acts a bit dorky and doesn't optimize their skills/abilities but somehow it works out. Probably sword user and uses kaomoji (─‿‿─);

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Operation: Ground the Harpy

When the one stage performance ended Taras joined in with the other patrons in clapping quietly. Regardless if he enjoyed the show or not, they were doing their job. Maybe they were doing a bit more than their job too - as the woman stepped up to the microphone Taras thought she might inquire about song requests, though it became immediately apparent that that wasn't the case. The Russian agent couldn't say he was surprised, giving the explosive start to their mission.

He leaned over towards Lilliane in the middle of the dancer's speech with a raised a brow. "They are quite fond of you, hm?" Although Taras still had his misgivings about her, the attack on both the route to the barn and the cafe didn't make him think she was a double agent - at least, not yet. Instead he thought that perhaps she wasn't as good a spy as he initially gave her credit for. That, or German intelligence had improved a frightening amount in a very short period of time. Obviously he preferred the former to be true.

His eyes shifted to the windows where soldiers were beginning to line up. The outlook wasn't good, but like hell was some sub-par stage act going to be the last thing Taras Tupolev ever saw.

<Excuse me>. As soon as the woman at the mic said her farewell, Taras sighed the words out heavily, giving Yonaka barely a moment's notice to re-position before he slammed his large fist the table. The remains of the group's food and cutlery went flying as the table was upended, landing on it's side and making a shoddy barrier between the agents and the stage. Almost calmly Taras found himself grateful the server had been slow with that coffee refill. They'd been placed closer to the stage than the door - top-notch seats on the house - so there were quite a few tables and fixtures between them and the shooters outside. Soon enough though, they would become shooters inside.

"Well," Taras spoke over the gunfire to his fellow agents, ducking low to avoid the random spray of bullets, "Now we should definitely think about our next move."