Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 5, 2023 1:29:18 GMT 9
Taylor never had been one to shun the tutorials, and this game seemed particularly keen on making sure players opted into them; locking certain items and abilities behind at least a couple of them. They werenât vital, but even so, it was clearly encouraged. Honestly, she was rather impressed that they made them technically optional at all â normally the tutorial was mandatory in PokĂŠmon games.
Starting with the first of the four seemed smart enough, and now that she had her first pokemon from the lab, Taylor was more than happy to do so. Unfortunately, it did seem that all four tutorials required at least two players to start. Presumably this was a way of encouraging collaboration, but the young woman was a little concerned that since she was joining so long after the gameâs initial release, she might be waiting a while for a partner.
Idling in the designated waiting area outside the player home, the woman leaned against a waist-high brick wall, settling in for who knew how long. On the bright side, she had her new partner to keep her company! Letting the little Piplup she had named Mumble out of his pokeball, she grinned down at the little guy as he chirped and glanced around to get his bearings.
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Lacrimosa
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Player Character
Posts: 136
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Sarthor Caldwell
OOC Username: spibe
Arena Points: 50
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Post by Lacrimosa on Apr 5, 2023 2:07:41 GMT 9
Lacrimosa had spent a good deal of time simply... walking. Feeling the motion of it, the sensations in his legs and feet, how it affected his breathing, how his eyes passed the movement of the world around him. He was, to be certain, learning a lot. It felt realistic enough, maybe, for what he wanted... but would any of it work?
He would need to test it, and see. So, he would play this little game, and see what it had to offer him. A little map lit up, with a helpful arrow, and he let himself head that way. The others he passed all seemed to have their little cretins out, so as he went Lacrimosa retrieved the instrument the Professor had given him, and let it out.
<Ohh... It's so sunny...> The little sprigatito said, shaking out her head before turning to look up at Lacrimosa. <Hi! What's your name?>
Lacrimosa looked down at the cat, and its incessant mewling, and gave it a smile before continuing onwards wordlessly. Sure enough, the map pointed to a house, where a woman and her animal were already loitering. Time to engage with the rabble, then...
"Um... hi?" Lacrimosa tried, ears pinning a bit nervously as he approached. "Are you here for the, um, the quest? Thing?" It was evident he was... not a gamer. The Sprigatito had trotted after him, not too put out at being ignored, and looked up at their hopefully new friends? <Hi! What's your name?> She repeated, looking up at the woman, and then the Piplup.
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 5, 2023 3:22:20 GMT 9
By the time the other new player approached, Taylor had gotten distracted interacting with the newly named Mumble and completely forgotten that she was supposed to be keeping an eye out for others to complete the tutorial with. When the stranger spoke, she jumped a little, but it didnât take long for the wide, startled eyes to be replaced by a friendly smile. âOh hi!â she grinned, rising from the crouch sheâd been in and turning to face the stranger. âThe âsay goodbye to your momâ tutorial? Yes, I am! I was waiting for someone to partner up with, actually!â She left the remark dangling, hoping that if he was here for the same then heâd volunteer. If he was here, it was likely he was, but you know what they say about assuming!
Her attention was quickly stolen from their conversation though by a second little voice. Dropping her gaze to much, much closer to the ground, the young woman failed to contain her gasp. âAww, arenât you adorable!â she gushed, crouching once again to offer a hand to the Sprigatito to sniff. The grass-typeâs question made her realise she hadnât yet introduced herself. Oops.
âIâm Taylor!â she offered, glancing up to the stranger to make sure it was clear that the introduction was aimed at him, too. âAnd this is Mumble! How about you?â Again, the glance was split between the starter and its trainer.
Mumble, for his part, was thrilled to make a new friend. Chirping enthusiastically, he flapped his flippers and bounced more than waddled his way over to the feline pokemon. <Hello! Iâm Mumble!> The fact that Taylor had already made the introduction and so his response was unnecessary was lost on the little Piplup. He⌠wasnât the brightest bulb in the box.
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Lacrimosa
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Player Character
Posts: 136
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Sarthor Caldwell
OOC Username: spibe
Arena Points: 50
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Post by Lacrimosa on Apr 5, 2023 10:26:58 GMT 9
Lacrimosa let out a little breath of relief, and a soft laugh. That was good... he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of seeking someone out just to complete this.... incredibly banal task. He was saved from having to speak further by the woman being distracted by the cat, who pawed at her gently when she offered a hand. Precious.
"It's wonderful to meet you, Taylor." He said, gracious. "And you as well, um, Mumble." The piplup was given a bit of a more uncertain look, but it was, to be fair, a bit of a warm climate for a penguin to be wandering around in. He looked back up at Taylor, and gave a nervous meeting-someone-new smile. "Right- I'm Al- I mean..." He cut himself off, paused, and shook his head, correcting himself. "Here I'm Lacrimosa. Sorry." He turned his gaze back to the little cat, who meowed up at him. <Lak-ri-moh-sah?> "Um, I suppose I.. haven't named her yet..." He said, slowly frowning.
Why should he name something like this, bundle of ones and naughts or otherwise? But he flicked his gaze back to Taylor, a hand going up to anxiously play with his hair. "What would be a good name for you...?" He pretended to give this thought, looking back to the green cat. Lily. Bella. Willow. Holly. Lemongrass. Any cat or plant name, honestly. "Maybe... Wysteria?"
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 5, 2023 21:45:33 GMT 9
The tiny paw was damn near the sweetest thing Taylor had seen in a long time and it absolutely melted her heart. âAww, youâre such a little darling, arenât you!â She cooed quietly, so as not to speak over or interrupt the other characterâs answers. Gently petting the Sprigatitoâs head, she marvelled over how it could feel so real, like petting an actual cat in the real world!
âItâs great to meet you too, Lacrimosa!â She returned, desperately hoping sheâd gotten the pronunciation right. The slip-up of almost giving his true name rather than in-game alias was one of the major reasons sheâd decided to keep her real name, here. Taylor really couldnât be bothered with keeping two identities straight!
âWysteriaâs a wonderful name for a Sprigatito!â she praised, noting just how unsure Lacrimosa seemed about, well, everything, and hoping to put him at ease. Of course, she failed to see anything sinister that might lurk past that, always eager to believe the best of people, even if she probably should have learned her lesson over such things by now.
Mumble, for his part, noted the names given and got rather stuck on the humanâs. <Al-eye-meen-lak-ri-moh-sah?> He chirped, completely misunderstanding the aborted first attempt and mushing the whole thing together. Canting his head to the side; perhaps things might make more sense at a forty five degree angle. <Thatâs an awfully long name>.
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Lacrimosa
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Player Character
Posts: 136
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Sarthor Caldwell
OOC Username: spibe
Arena Points: 50
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Post by Lacrimosa on Apr 7, 2023 5:35:23 GMT 9
Lacrimosa just smiled, pleased at the praise. "Doesn't that sound nice, Wysteria?" He asked, looking down at the pokemon again. She looked up at him, nose twitching a she studied his face, and brushed against him. <Lacrimosa,> She corrected, soft eyes moving to Mumble. <But I don't think he can hear us like your trainer can...> She trailed off, looking between the players.
Lacrimosa, quite naturally, didn't respond to her music. "So, um, what is it we need to be doing? Finding our... um, moms?" He'd pulled the quest log down to read from it, clearly confused by this. He... already had a mother, so this felt. Strange. "How are we supposed to do that?" He'd let this, mh, Taylor be the de facto "leader" of this little escapade. She was certainly chatty enough for it.
He'd need to see if his assistant could find a mod to quiet everyone down.
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 10, 2023 3:47:38 GMT 9
<OhhhâŚ> Mumble breathed in response to the gentle correction. Well that was strange! <That must be lonely,> he observed, sympathetically. Taylor didnât always respond to his commentary, especially when she was talking to other players, but she always seemed to be able to understand. In truth, the Piplup rarely communicated with speech when it was just the two of them, and was much more inclined to chirp and squawk wordlessly. Heâd likely be completely fine most of the time if she couldnât understand, but the little penguin didnât think about it that hard and so had no idea.
Taylor nodded a little uncertainly in response to Lacrimosaâs question. âYeah, I think so,â she replied. âAlthough I think itâs mom; singular.â A grin was sent the other playerâs way. âIf what Iâve heard is right, she acts like weâre all her kids and she raised us all, or something?â The logic really started to feel a little weird if you looked at it too long. âSo I guess weâre siblings for the next little while!â
The how seemed fairly straight-forward, at least, and she nodded towards the cute little cottage they were loitering in front of. âIâd guess we knock?â She suggested with a shrug, stepping forward to do just that, Mumble sticking close to her heel as she moved.
âComing! Just a minute!â
A few moments later the door opened to revealâŚ
A Medicham?
âUhhhhâŚâ Taylor stammered, turning a wide-eyed, what-the-fuck look in Lacrimosaâs direction. Surely their âmotherâ wasnât a PokĂŠmon?
Thankfully, before Taylor could jump to too many irrational conclusions, a sweet, middle-aged woman bustled over and appeared behind the pokemon. âWell, itâs about time, you two!â She scolded with hands on her hips, a smile belying and softening the disapproving words. âI thought perhaps youâd spend the whole afternoon out on the doorstep! Come in, come in, Iâve got soup and sandwiches on the go, so youâd best make yourselves useful and set the table!â
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Lacrimosa
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Player Character
Posts: 136
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Sarthor Caldwell
OOC Username: spibe
Arena Points: 50
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Post by Lacrimosa on Apr 16, 2023 10:57:42 GMT 9
Lacrimosa looked... baffled, to put it kindly. "Singular?" He repeated. That- The logistics of that were... not something he much wanted to think about. Shaking his head aggressively, he followed after Taylor, looking at the outside of the cottage when she knocked. It was... pretty enough. Quaint, really. What one instantly thought of when "simple cottage" came to mind, complete with flowers climbing up a trellis. Did no one have any creativity?
And then a... thing opened the door, swollen and misshapen. Lacrimosa fought to keep from jerking back, just looking at Taylor from the corner of his eye- And, clearly, she was just as offput as he was. But a woman came up, soon enough, which did little to fix the creature that stood there, but answered one question, at least- the mutated thing was not their "mother."
Still, he forced a smile, letting himself be ushered into the house. Dark wooden baseboards and butter-yellow walls assaulted him as he entered. The couch even had a massive crocheted throw over the back of it. Hideous. There were pictures, up on the walls, portraits and photographs of countless other people. Were those, too, other players and "children?" What were they implying with this woman...
"Thank you for lunch," Lacrimosa said, a bit timid, trying to be kind. The kitchen, at least, was less of an eyesore. Glass-fronted cabnitry belied mismatch, kitschy dishware. There was the smell of vegetables and herbs, a massive pot roiling under a lid, and a cutting board prepped with fresh cuts of meats, cheeses, and toppings. He pulled at a drawer, at least willing to pretend- "Oh, the silverware's one over, Lacri."
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Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 25, 2023 20:24:46 GMT 9
Honestly, Taylor was a little relieved to see that Lacrimosa seemed to have the same moment of what the fuuuuuck as she did, when the Medicham opened the door. As soon as she'd realised that the PokĂŠmon definitely wasnât their mother, her face had flushed beetroot in embarrassment. The look of horror on the other playerâs face had eased it slightly; humiliation loves company and all that. That was the saying, right? As she moved into the house, she pressed the back of a hand to one scarlet cheek. Interesting that even that physiological response carried over into this world. That was certainly one she could have done without...
She had to bite back a slightly hysterical giggle as they entered and the other playerâs eyes went a little wide behind his stiff smile at the sight of the interior that greeted them. They really werenât messing around with making it feel like a Mom⢠lived here. An deep inhale pulled in the surprisingly delicious smell of cooking food â the devs were showing off here, for sure! â and Taylor practically skipped over to a random cupboard. She got lucky, stumbling upon the eclectic array of mismatched bowls purely by chance, and giggled when âMomâ corrected the other player.
âYeah Lacri,â she grinned, a juvenile, teasing lilt to her voice. âGosh, donât you remember where the silverware is by now?â This was an exceedingly weird situation, and Taylor was handling it by leaning into the weird. That sounded like the most entertaining way to proceed, to her!
âNow Taylor, you leave your brother alone!â Came âmotherâsâ scolding voice, and she bit back laughter, adopting an appropriately penitent expression and fetching the bowls over to the table. Once the woman's back was turned she collapsed into silent giggles - gleefully mouthing the word brother to the other player in a sort of can you believe this? manner.
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Lacrimosa
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Player Character
Posts: 136
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Sarthor Caldwell
OOC Username: spibe
Arena Points: 50
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Post by Lacrimosa on May 17, 2023 7:18:44 GMT 9
Lacrimosa took a little breath, trying to steel himself. This... was a game. And more than that, a means to an end. He could bite back and bear whatever ridicule he faced to see that end in person. "Ah- sorry," He apologized, moving over one drawer and retrieving cutlery for the- ... three of them. Better to err on the side of caution.
This was all so... bizarre.
He caught Taylor 's look, and kind of just shook his head, too bewildered to do anything else. He breezed by Taylor, under the guise of getting glasses for drinks. "What is it... we're supposed to do?" He asked, in a soft whisper. The quest description wasn't... very descriptive.
Beside them, Mom continued to bustle, taking the offered bowls and doling out soup for everyone, carrying it over to the table. "Come on, you two- eat up! You don't want it to get cold, after all."
Lacrimosa drifted to the table, sitting as the food was placed down before him. He listened, idle but attentive, as Mom spoke- Weaving some nonsense about their pasts. His own father had been âlostâ in some âmedical experimental trial,â which she refused to elaborate on further.
A shame for him. But it wasnât a reflection on his life, at all.
They ate, in quiet, for a few moments, before Mom left again- returning with offerings. One for Taylor, and one for him- a box of dress shoes. How these would help him run, he had no idea.
He gave thanks all the same.
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