Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Extreme =&gt; Extreme Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Karma on 17-02-2011, 20:51:24</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Karma</strong> on <strong>17-02-2011, 20:51:24</strong>
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				Morning always began a bit later inside the city-forts. Their towering walls kept the sun out of the streets for a full hour past the official sunrise, creating a strange, shadowy environment as light reflected off the sky but did not hit the city directly. Endevara, as this city was known, was relatively small compared to others within the realm of Entaro. It was scarcely five square miles, compared to the fifty of the commerce centers or even the one hundred of the capitol. The cities were architectural marvels, tiered walls with buildings set into the inside of the innermost, tallest wall, which was at least one hundred and fifty feet tall. Between the walls, buildings were built more traditionally out of wood for the most part, but the skyscraping tenements and business hubs were reinforced with metal. The streets were narrow, with only enough room for two horse carts to slip by each other. The greater cities could afford to expand their walls, but Endevara had not the funds to do so.<br><br>It was in this bizarre twilight that Constance Cyntrona, Moderator of this city's New Trainer initiative, strolled casually on her way to the graduation ceremony. Today, dozens of young adults would set out to make their mark on the world. Most of them would fail, she knew. Many of them would die. For many reasons, however, the Trainer system was necessary. Philosophers, sociologists, and economists all agreed that it was the best way to manage both the hotbloodedness of youth and the population problem. With more youth out in the world, cities would be less cramped, trade would flourish, and the young would not suffer the powerful cabin fever engendered by castle towns. Constance prayed that some, or even just one, of her students would be successful out there in the violent wilds. Perhaps they would uncover an important relic, or save someone's life, or become successful competitors like she had been. It mattered little to her what they did; only that they thrive. Too many died. She knew, though, that the Trainer system was a sieve through which the government drained the population. Studies said it was successful. The public never saw these studies, obviously.<br><br>Next to Constance was her trusted familiar and life-mate, Jenevieve. Slightly shorter than Constance, Jen's demure, feminine manner contrasted with Connie's boyish quirks. Small steps beneath a long, flowing skirt moved quietly next to long, confident, pant-legged strides. The two of them were met with greetings from citizens of all shapes, sizes, and wallets; a city's Moderator was its most prominent member, and Endevara had the honor of hosting a national battling champion as their own. To the people here, Constance, or C.C. as the media liked to nickname her, was the greatest thing to ever happen to the world. She knew better, of course, having seen the world herself. Tournament battlers had barely scratched the surface of what familiars were capable of, and if any real threat were to appear, it wasn't going to be the competitive types that would have the strength to resist it. This was one of the reasons Constance had retired, but not the only. Not by far.<br><br>The stage set up in the courtyard of Endevara Educational Enterprises came into view as the two women rounded one final corner. Many students were milling about already, some chatting with teachers. Constance had not taught any classes herself, but she was a regular guest lecturer in both familiar-related and national events classes. Her success with “Pokemon,” the media's favorite commercial term for familiars (and co-opted by the younger generations), had brought her endless celebrity with the students, and more than one misguided marriage proposal from young people who were getting ahead of themselves. A gaggle of starry-eyed twenty-somethings gathered around her and Jenevieve as they entered the grounds. Pleasantries and congratulations were sent all around, until she was finally able to break away and slip behind the stage curtain. Jenevieve milled through the crowd, sending Connie telepathic updates of the situation outside, allowing Connie some peace, if not quiet, as she waited for everyone to arrive.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Opheliac</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 04:49:33</strong>
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				A thin woman with a slightly muscular but still feminine build stood within earshot of the Dean and his flock of cronies. The stark platinum blonde of her long hair was countered by the deep black of her leather dress, which seemed like it was rather thick and heavy. She stared at the back of the deans balding head with a narrowed glare, the blue of her eyes shining through the narrowed slits of her eyelids. The dean was continuing his rant on the prosperity of the young, and how the world economy would suffer if a single one of these entrepreneurial young adults were lost in the wilds. Contessa Giovanni almost laughed aloud. Thinking to herself, 'Bullshit. The Organization deliberately sends us off to die. This way, they remove free thinkers and other dissidents from developing and creating change in this horrifically flawed society of ours.' Turning her head away so she didn't have to look at the blind fools gobbling up the propaganda the dean was spewing into their gaping baby bird faces, Contessa looked at the graduating class of Trainer academy. 'Not the sharpest tools in the box, but still usable I guess.' She went through her normal boredom exercise of mentally calculating who was more valuable than who. 'That guy... He's obviously worth more to me than her...' She had obtained this practice early on in primary school, after she first learned that not everybody was as charming as herself, or as brilliant, or as wily. Her father was very upset with her when she told him this practice of hers, Sergio yelling at her for thinking of her classmates so inhumanly. She never stopped, but her father did end up lowering himself on her list of worth however.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>DudelRok</strong> on <strong>19-02-2011, 20:23:06</strong>
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				<em>La-la-la</em><br><br>"Today is going to be a good day! Just like every other day, really, but even better than every other day. Today, of all days, is the day I graduated from my studies and get my very first real friend! A great day, an excellent day, one of those days that comes along once in all of anyone’s entire life!"<br><br><em>La-la-la</em><br><br>Lost in a little common delusion of his, Garry “Buddy” Orrell wondered himself into the main area almost as if he was dancing; no, it was more like a skip. Skipping along, letting his casual dress ware (casual for him) flow with the way he moved, almost like the thing didn’t exactly fit Gary’s rather short (and non-threatening) stature. That did not matter to Gary, though, what mattered was that today was Pokemon assigning day and then off into the big world for a lot of awesomly-fun adventure! Oh the reasons to smile, there we so many today... so many.<br><br><em>La-la-la</em><br><br>Bowl cut hair, brown for the most part, swishing and flipping as those steps (skips) continued and then Gary stopped to see just where he should sit. Lucky for Gary there was one person sitting all by herself, and sitting by yourself is lonely (as Gary would know) so a quick (and possibly stupid) choice was mad. With skips turning into a determined march but smile changing not a bit, Gary made his way up to the female in question and happily introduced himself.<br><br><em>La-la-la</em><br><br>“Hi Contessa!” Gary knew her from school (he liked to know everyone), “Might not know me, I’m Gary, you can call me Buddy. We actually shared a class, together... I don’t think the teacher liked me much. I bet he loved you, though. I was always more into plants than politics.” Buddy sat himself down next to Tessa, smiled brightly and clapped his hands together in excitement, “Isn’t today great? We’re getting our Pokemon today! I hope mine is nice. Don’t you hope yours is nice? I bet whichever one you get, it’ll just love you. I mean, everyone does already, right? People like rich and strong, you’re both! Is that the dean over there? I think it is the dean. Can he even hear us? Does he know we're here?” Babble, babble, babble.... Buddy continued for awhile.<br><br><em>La-la-la</em>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Opheliac</strong> on <strong>23-02-2011, 20:36:30</strong>
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				Her frown turned into a scowl as what was quite possibly the only negative worthed person she could think of sat next to her as started blabbing on about whatever. It was sapping her will to live just being next to him. "Hello, Gary. Yes, I know who you are. That professor was not a good one at all. He knew nothing of the real world." Sweet merciful dieties uncaring, please make him go away. "I don't particularly care who my familiar is. And no, Gary. Nobody likes the rich and strong. People are jealous of the rich, and fear the strong." He isn't going to go away. She lets him ramble for a few minutes, not even pretending to listen, when she saw Jenevieve. Any excuse to be away from Gary would be better that being with him, even if that means chatting with creatures who can spit fire or rend the flesh from your bones with a thought. "Excuse me, Gary. I would like to talk to Jenevieve." She stood to go over there, and paused. "Privately," she added, just in case Gary decided he could tag along. As she walked closer to the green haired woman, she started counting prime numbers in her head, as an added precaution to keep her mind more secure. 1. 2. 3. 5. 7. "Hello Jenevieve. What is supposed to be the schedule for today?" 13. 17. 19. 23.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>wetbethany</strong> on <strong>24-02-2011, 05:34:18</strong>
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				Faith was looking over her notebook while listening to the the updates. She was intrigued on how it sounded in her head vs outside. The way Jenevieve and Constance behaved with each other was interesting. They were very much separate people, yet they seemed almost in-sync under the surface. She made notes of their behavior while walking when she spotted an odd man with a bowl cut. <br><br>She recognized him immediately. Being the shy girl in class as she was, the only one she really talked to was gary...an odd man but a fun person to chat with. "Hay Gary! It's me faith" She made her way to him trying to still focus on the updates.<br><br>One thing that was interesting to her was the way she school pushed trainers...she wanted to be one, just the concept was almost like suicide. Statistically it just didn't add up, and yet the safety officials didn't seem to mind. She was sure she would be fine though,<br>she had more research on pokemon than most of the teachers...well fire pokemon...and she had never actual seen or touched a real one, but still. She started to get scared thinking of it like that.<br><br>Faith noticed a woman in the corner of her eye, Contessa Giovanni. She was scary...and if anyone stood a chance out there it was her. Faith just had to remember to steer clear of that lady, stick to her books and she should be good.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xuel</strong> on <strong>24-02-2011, 23:24:04</strong>
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				It was never hard to notice Taaryn, but today he at least looked simi-professional. He had his black hair pulled back for the occasion and a pair of rose colored sunglasses covered his eyes, which were a swirl of green and grey. He was dressed as well as any of his classmates had ever seen: His well starched black button up long sleeved shirt that was tucked into a new looking pair of dress slacks covering the top of his hiking boots was a stark contrast to his usual T-shirt and casual pants. Dress shoes had <strong>never</strong> been his thing.<br><br>He first spotted the Giovanni girl, being tormented by Gary. He couldn't help but grin a bit. He'd always liked Gary, and kept an eye on him during their time at the academy, even if they rarely actually spoke. Gary was, well, different. Taaryn felt like he probably needed a little help, especially in dealing with other people. After Contessa excused herself, he noticed Faith as she called out to Gary. Always seemed to have her nose in the books, doesn't she realize there is more to being a trainer than analysis?<br><br>Of course he'd studied hard as well, but for him, the idea of forming a bond with his very own 'Pokemon' was more than some scientific formula or statistical analysis. It meant having an ally that was <strong>always</strong> there for him. Someone he could count on. While he had lots of acquaintances, he had always been the one everyone else counted on, but he had yet to find someone he could place that faith into. That's what this opportunity was to him. <br><br>Noting that Contessa was obviously occupied and hearing Faith call to Gary, he decided to head in her direction, hoping to talk with the two of them. "Faith" he called as he began to walk.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>wetbethany</strong> on <strong>25-02-2011, 00:57:04</strong>
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				Faith was thinking over her notes on dragon and fire pokemon, and the way their abilities build on eachother. She couldn't seem to remember how though...her thoughts wer interrupted when she heard her name. Turning around, she looked up from her notebook to see Taaryn.<br>He was a son of a businessman, faith envied him so for this. She never knew what it was like to have money. She always thought money made your cruel, but Taaryn was not. <br><br>This didn't mean that he was interested in faith as far she could tell. He was for more social than her and for lake of a more fitting scientific term, cooler...than her. It wasn't like they didn't speak, she just never knew what to say. He doesn't care about her statistics, no one does.<br>How does she talk to a boy like that, how does a normal person talk. <br><br>"Hello, Taaryn. You look...good" Brilliant Faith, now is just going to think you are creepy. You don't know him well enough to say stuff like that.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>DudelRok</strong> on <strong>25-02-2011, 02:23:43</strong>
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				Babbling with, rather at, Contessa for a little while before the girl politely excused herself Gary kind of got lost in what he was doing. In fact he had lost his train of thought completely, he had a point of coming over to talk with the girl in that thick dress of hers but that point got lost after a few moments of rambling.<br><br>"Excuse me, Gary. I would like to talk to Jenevieve."<br><br>“Ah, okay.” Gary shifted his weight slightly.<br><br>"Privately.”<br><br>“Oh, right... you’re probably gonna go s-” Contessa was gone and Gary was left sitting off by himself, for now.<br><br>"Hay Gary! It's me, Faith" Well, not for very long. That’s nice, Faith came over to say hello. She’s a great kind of person, her with her fire Pokemon and Gary with his plants... it was an odd kind of friendship, but still not the kind of thing Gary ultimately looking for. Faith and Gary didn’t really talk much out of school, and this was the first time since that final school day that Gary had even seen the red-head.<br><br>“Hi, Fai-” Gary, no one’s buddy, started to say but couldn’t finish.<br><br>"Faith." That guy, coming on over... what was his name, again? Taaryn, right?<br><br>"Hello, Taaryn," Said Faith back, "You look...good."<br><br>Gary didn’t like Taaryn for some reason, couldn’t quite place why. “Yeah... so we’re finishing school, huh?” The words kind of mumbled out of Gary’s mouth, but he forced his smile as he always did, “Getting our first Pokemon. It- it’ll be great.”
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				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Karma</strong> on <strong>25-02-2011, 03:01:25</strong>
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				Jenevieve flowed graciously through the assorted crowds, greeting and nodding where appropriate. The graduation was a rather formal occasion, but the attendees were mostly students and teachers. She had noticed the standard Antonine Association recruitment table with its traditional gaggle of poorly-performing but still graduating students gathering around it. Everyone knew the Association was crooked, perhaps even villainous, but there was never any court-worthy proof. The rumor was that they were protected by the government.<br><br>“Miss Giovanni,” Jenevieve replied quietly, with a polite bow, when Contessa approached her. “You are looking beautiful, as ever.” It was true. The Giovannis were well known for their excellent blood when it came to producing attractive children. Sadly, such beauty did not always extend to their motives. “The ceremony will begin once all of the students have arrived. The dean will make his customary speech, and then each student will receive their diploma. Afterward, all of this year's accepted Trainers will move into the gymnasium to choose their first familiar. That procedure will be directed by my mistress Cyntrona.” With a pleasant smile, she waited to see if Contessa had any more inquiries.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>wetbethany</strong> on <strong>25-02-2011, 03:18:11</strong>
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				Faith turned her attention to gary hoping to not embarrass herself any further with Taaryn. "I know I can't wait to see what Pokemon I get...I can't believe school is almost over" <br>Things where finally going to all run by her. her own experiments,her own research, her own pokemon!<br><br>The thought of having her own pokemon filled her up with joy. She loved pokemon so, but never had her own. <br>Faith just hoped the pokemon was like here, she wanted a pokemon that would love research as much as she did. <br>That way they could go on full adventures together and stay up late running experiments...a girl can dream.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>mannik</strong> on <strong>25-02-2011, 06:42:58</strong>
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				Eric was late, as usual. And, as usual, no one said anything about it as he made his way down the aisle of chairs, choosing one near the back. He smirked to himself as a few students suddenly decided to find another seat, clearly afraid of him. He hadn't waisted time in hammering out a reputation around school, and shortly after his arrival here most knew to just leave him alone, lest they risk his explosive temper and his tempered fists. <br>&nbsp;<br>That didn't bother him. He enjoyed the respect that came with being feared. He leaned back in his chair as he lifted his legs and placed them on the back of the chair in front of him, making himself more comfortable but practically kicking the chair's occupant in the back of the head. "Hey! Watch it you jerk!" The man protested, turning around then going pale as he recognized Eric's self satisfied grin. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Eric asked, his grin widening as he waited for the man to do something about it. "Uh....nn-nothing...sorry." The student studdered before chosing to relocate, giving Eric all the leg room he'd ever need.<br>&nbsp;<br>Yeah...it's good to be feared.<br>&nbsp;<br>Eric relaxed as he looked over the crowd of gathered students. A bunch of weakling good for nothing book worms with their head up teacher's ass if you asked him. None of them would last a week back home. Well, maybe that Contessa Giovanni chick would do alright. But everyone else....<br>&nbsp;<br>He found himself staring dreamily at Miss. Giovanni as she conversed with Jenevieve. His one track mind leading him to idle fantasies of the body she had hidden beneath that heavy dress of hers. Hell, simply carrying it arround all day probably keeps her nice and toned. A fact that was well considered in his mental image of her.<br>&nbsp;<br>He considered aproaching her, but decided against it. She looked busy. Besides, last he checked he wasn't exactly on Jenevieve's good side. Eric contented himself with the pleasant view and waited for the cerimony to begin. Even he was getting eager to recieve his first familiar. He couldn't wait to see what sorts of bad assed fighting types he could choose from.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xuel</strong> on <strong>25-02-2011, 08:55:55</strong>
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				Taaryn smiled at Faith's comment, as awkward as it may have come across. He had spoken to her enough to realize she sometimes had a bit of trouble finding the right words. "Thanks Faith, I appreciate it. You look" He paused for a moment, trying to find a the right words. She looked the same as always, her nose in her work. "Dedicated, as usual."<br><br>“Yeah... so we’re finishing school, huh?” He heard Gary say and he turned to face him. “Getting our first Pokemon. It- it’ll be great.”<br><br>He went to placed a friendly pat on Gary's back as he responded,&nbsp; assuming the young man was speaking to him. "Great? This day marks our embark into the real world!" He was obviously excited, and was honestly just glad to have someone to talk to. Gary might be awkward, possibly even more so that Faith, but the both of them had always come across as nice people to him. The Giovanni girl reminded him of everything his father represented, not to mention she could come off as slightly, well, rude. Eric was just a tough guy, so he tried to keep his distance. No reason to go looking for trouble, after all. These two, though, were nice people in his eyes. He had no idea that Gary harbored a distaste for him, assuming he was just shy.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Only What You Take With You (Pokemon-ish) Main Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>DudelRok</strong> on <strong>25-02-2011, 11:43:52</strong>
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				"I know I can't wait to see what Pokemon I get...I can't believe school is almost over." Faith seemed to be beaming over graduation, that was good for her.<br><br>“I think-” Gary started to say quietly.<br><br>"Thanks Faith, I appreciate it. You look," If Gary was one to sigh, he’d do so in frustration right now,”Dedicated, as usual."<br><br>Gary‘s smiled perked up a little bit, and he tried again, “I think you’ll get-”<br><br><strong>SMACK!</strong><br><br>At least it was on the back, and didn’t knock Gary free from his seat. That was something, and certainly better than the “accidental locker incident” sometime ago.<br><br>"Great?” Gary really, really, didn’t like Taaryn for some reason, “This day marks our embark into the real world!” Well the guy had a point on that one, this was the day that marked an embark into the real world, that wild and fascinating world filled with new and exciting things. Would be better than great, that’s true.<br><br>“I think we’ll all get exactly what we need out of this.” That’s eventually what Gary decided on; not what he was originally going to say, but better to just spout out something quickly before getting interrupted again. Adjusting his sight, slightly, Gary looked down a bit to see Eric being his usual dick-hole self, that was nice... good to know that nothing ever changes.
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