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Post by Robot on Aug 26, 2020 1:04:47 GMT
"You did. A brand is a business term. It is fame by recognition or association. Lance, in the Kanto region, is often brought up in conversation when someone mentioned Dragonite. Clair, here in Johto, is affiliated with Kingdra, but where she was never league champion, the dragon association more commonly goes to him. In that way his 'brand' spreads.". Aliana crossed her legs.
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Post by DataNinja on Aug 26, 2020 1:17:04 GMT
"That's... a lot of names and Pokémon to keep straight," he laughs. "It might take me a bit to remember. I remember hearing people mention Lance before, though. Must be his brand. Is that something that we're going to be expected to try and maintain, that sort of recognition? Or just know about and understand it?"
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Post by Robot on Aug 26, 2020 1:28:53 GMT
"Just understanding the theory behind it should be enough. Whitney is known for being playful, and a prodigy. She is actually in the top four of the Johto circuit. Chuck and Claire have both managed wins in recent years, and Jasmine's potent defenses turn away most opponents.". Aliana slowly gets up. "Had about enough learning for one day? We can meet a few of my friends to chat a bit before winding down for the afternoon. I know it is a lot to take in."
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Post by DataNinja on Aug 26, 2020 2:31:24 GMT
"Sure, I like meeting new people!" he says, enthusiastically. "And I... think I'm getting an idea of where to go in this place at least a little bit. Tomorrow morning is going to be interesting, though. Having to remember all of this while waking up." He laughs. "I think I'm well-equipped for that task, though, doing things while still tired. I'm impressed about Whitney. She always seemed to try and undersell her achievements."
He bends back down to the Skuntank, giving it another pet. "It was nice to meet you today," he says. Well... after that rather disastrous bit of association at the start. But it's fine. It's not like home. He doesn't have to worry. That's far away. It can't hurt him any longer unless he lets it... "And I'll make sure to bring brushes for if we end up meeting again. I'm sorry I couldn't do that now."
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Post by Robot on Aug 29, 2020 3:19:09 GMT
"Doing things while tired? When do you normally get to sleep?". Aliana seemed puzzled at the notion of rising early leading to exhaustion. "Tell me you can have Coffee? It is really the defining invention of our age."
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Post by DataNinja on Aug 29, 2020 3:31:39 GMT
"Admittedly, things've been better recently... but I'm used to basically being awake from before sunrise until at least a little after sunset, often being out and about most of the day. That's... way too long," he yawns involuntarily at the thought. "I feel a little guilty sometimes sleeping in later. Even if it does feel way better for me. I'm just not used to not having to do things right away, I guess. It's been weird not having... my mother and sisters to get after me to do stuff." He hesitates for a moment picking the right words. He remembers that he's supposed to be keeping his exact history quiet, and that's the best way to describe things. Even though The Lady might not be his actual mother. She just... kind of took de-facto ownership of everything and everyone. So, the closest human approximation, at least to his best understanding of the language. "It's been nice to have my own space, though. Being able to forge my own path. Even if it means, well... I'm kind of lost when it comes to self-determination." He laughs. "But, I'm getting better. Just need to get used to things."
He wrinkles his nose at the thought of coffee. One of those things he'd tried in the Center. One of the many, many, many things. "I can drink it, it just... blech. Way too bitter. Can't even put stuff like salt or spices in it to make it taste better. If it was more mild, maybe, but, as-is? I'll stick with other stuff to drink."
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Post by Robot on Aug 29, 2020 19:17:28 GMT
"Suh... salt?!" Aliana was horrified. "Arceus no, never! Cream and sugar, Thel, lots of both! You can make it as sweet as a dessert if you mix the right things in with it. You really have to try it the right way. Failing that, I guess we could get you into chai latte tea... It'd help wake you up and is pretty creamy. Never as strong as coffee, but it has its uses." Leading Thel back into the school and through the lobby, the pair meandered back into town discussing beverages at length.
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Post by DataNinja on Aug 29, 2020 19:30:35 GMT
"Oh, hmmm… I'd never really though to try and make things sweeter…" he muses. "That's something to try."
He enjoys the discussions about some of the finer points of drinks. They always seemed frustratingly hard to mix or change their taste in any positive way, so learning about drinks that were basically made of mixing things together? That was intriguing. He'd pretty much given up on being able to do anything interesting with them.
"Are we going to meet up with your friends now?" he asks. "I would have thought we'd do that at the school." He's a little confused that they're heading into town.
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Post by Robot on Sept 1, 2020 0:13:55 GMT
"We are permitted a lunch period, me and the girls like to meet up and discuss the current political climate at the school, it keeps us ahead of our social rivals. Or something. You know how it is." Aliana smiles, leading Thel the remainder of the way to an outdoor cafe down by the water where three more girls wait at a shaded table. One with blue hair worn in two loops with her bangs kept long to frame her face, one with stunning green hair cropped at the base of the neck and flared to the sides covering her ears, and the third with purple hair held in a single tight braid with her hair parted on the side. All three wore the same uniforms as Thel and Aliana, though the boy couldn't help but get an eerie sense with the four of them together. One that did not register when it was just his mentor.
"Mable, Bryony, Celosia, this is Thel Lucasta, the new student I'm showing around." Aliana introduced them each in kind, which only elicited a very slight wave from Bryony, the girl's attentions returning to the cup in front of her and the distant crash of the waves.
"Filling her head with your social theorems, Aliana?" "Just the basics of the school really, she seems to have her own way of doing things, which is a bit different. I'm interested to see how they work out." "Lucasta now there's an exotic name, where are you from I wonder?" Mable posits. "Let her settle in for a drink at least before you start grilling her Mable, jeez." The orange haired girl giggled. "Get you something to drink Thel?"
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 1, 2020 0:53:43 GMT
"I don't actually know how it is," Thel says, laughing, "but it sounds like a smart thing to do. Really, pretty much everything you do seems smart. I wouldn't know where to start. But, it all makes sense. Get outside, and just... away from it all for a bit. It makes sense."
He brushes off the sense that he gets when he meets the others - it's probably just the fact that they're all much comfortable with each other, and he's an outsider here. In more ways than usual. It wasn't exactly the same felling that he got with Whitney and Jasmine, admittedly, but he'd gotten to know Whitney over the course of more than a few hours. And there was more than one additional person. So it makes sense.
"It's nice to meet all of you," he says, with a smile and a returning wave. "Aliana's been very helpful. I'd definitely be completely lost without her."
He briefly follows Bryony's gaze as he ponders the drink query for a moment. The ocean is nice to look at and listen to, and the wind is a nice temperature. "What would you suggest for coffee?" he asks Aliana. "Since we were talking about that earlier. I think I'd like to try something along those lines, see how it is." He doesn't yet take a seat, though, certainly not even considering the fact that Aliana might have just offered to get him a drink.
He turns to Mable. "I... I don't really know where I'm from, to be honest," he says, sheepishly. "Not where I was born or where my family line's from, at least. I don't... really think about it. I don't like thinking about anything about my family, to be honest. I'm just... glad to be away." He gives a wan smile. "I'm sorry that that's not really what you were looking for."
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Post by Robot on Sept 2, 2020 19:18:09 GMT
Celosia, Aliana, and Mable share a look between them, though their expressions vary wildly from curiosity to sadness. Bryony looks to Thel instead of the other girls, her eyes lingering on his face briefly before her attention returns to the water. "Who needs family when you have friends anyway?" Celosia interjected with a tone that insisted there was no room for interpretation. "Three cream three sugar for Thel it is then." Aliana declared before heading inside to get some service.
"It's all good, that's kind of why we hang out. We like to bicker the finer points of the universe, like where humans came from. Or why Celosia is wrong at least fifteen percent of the time." To that the purple haired girl got a little red in the face. "It was once, and quit picking at it!"
Bryony just smiled.
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 2, 2020 22:32:35 GMT
"The people that I've met since leaving my family have definitely been much better for me," Thel agrees. "I wish I'd had people like them around while growing up. Not everyone has been great," he recalls the periodic Rainbow Rocket encounters, "but, on the whole, people have been really nice. I couldn't have imagined something like that beforehand. It's amazing what you can find when you expand your horizons..."
"Huh... I never really thought about where humans, or Pokémon for that matter, came from..." he says, mystified. "I always just... assumed they always were, I guess. That is something that sounds interesting. Where do you think they might have come from?" he asks, with some interest.
"And being wrong once doesn't seem that bad," he says, turning to Celosia. He isn't sure what fifteen percent is, exactly, but once is low. "I'm wrong way more times than that per day. You must be as smart as Aliana, then."
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Post by Robot on Sept 3, 2020 0:05:58 GMT
"Smarter, but when you get into extremely high values in a given range it is hard to discern minute differences." Celosia replies with a mildly offended tone. "We all have our differing specialties, but as far as the charm school goes we're the top students in the graduating class. Kind of a big deal, but then, there isn't really that much to people."
"Debate is either that humans originated from Pokemon, all life originated from the sea, or that humans developed on land and Pokemon came from space. The highest likelihood lay with the largest unexplored variable." Bryony finally speaks up.
"Ah, so you will be joining us today Bryony, here I thought you were going to be shy and introspective." Aliana teased the girl, setting a cream colored drink in front of Thel and having a seat herself. "There's a chance." The girl replied with a smile.
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 3, 2020 4:16:21 GMT
"Oh, I see..." Thel says, wincing a little internally. Bad first impression, Thel. "My apologies, Celosia, I didn't mean to offend." He turns to Mable. "And I can certainly believe that you're all in the top. Hopefully I can pick up at least a little."
"Huh," he says, looking at Bryony, marvelling. "I never would have considered any of that. All food for thought... but, way, way beyond what I can even think of. I can't even imagine how you'd go about trying to figure that out." It would make sense if humans and Pokémon were kinda the same, though. Explaining himself and the others, at least. "Granted," he laughs, "I don't have much of an imagination."
"Oh, thank you," Thel says, as the drink's set in front of him, before taking a sip. Ahhhh, nice and burning hot. And... "...this is really good. That really does remove the bitterness. That was an excellent recommendation, Aliana." He gives her a smile, before absentmindedly wondering. "I wonder what other things could be improved with sugar."
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Post by Robot on Sept 3, 2020 9:02:32 GMT
"You'd have done it even if you were trying not to, Celosia offends really easily." Mable offered with a smirk. "I do not, you just like to push buttons!" Aliana took a long, rather noisy sip of whatever she was having and made no comment, the remaining girl returning her attention to the ocean, content to bask in the waves and the company of her peers.
"It's not just the sugar that helps remove the bitters, the cream really does that too, it milds out the flavors. You can get coffee that is sweet and dessert like if you ask for them, it is one of those things a lot can be done with. Sugar is more for baking, usually, but experimentation is the spice of life." They all toast to that with a laugh.
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 3, 2020 9:15:18 GMT
"Oh, uh..." He really doesn't know where he's supposed to support here. "Well, regardless, I still want to avoid annoying anyone, even on accident. I want to meet and get to know you, after all!"
"I'll keep that in mind," Thel says, nodding. "And that makes sense! I've really only just started venturing into the wonderful world of food, so I'm always wanting to try new things, and figure out what makes them taste good. If anyone's got any suggestions, I'd be happy to take them! Whether just flavours, or entire recipes - if it's not too complex, I can always give making whatever a try, too. Can't guarantee it'd be good, though." He gives a wry smile. "My skills are... a work in progress, let's say."
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Post by Robot on Sept 3, 2020 12:10:24 GMT
"As they should be." Aliana encouraged, "Believing yourself to have peaked is a good way to lose the abilities you have already developed."
"Well, Olivine is coastal, it doesn't do the same amount of fishing as Cianwood but seafood is cheaper here and is pretty popular most regions you visit.". Mable offered. "If you learn how to make seafood dishes you will always be able to find work somewhere."
Celosia shook her head but tucked into her drink, having been the butt of too many jokes already for one afternoon.
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 3, 2020 18:07:03 GMT
"Okay, seafood, I'll make a note of that..." Thel nods. It's never something he really had before, being... well, nowhere near the sea.
"I'm curious," he asks, after another few sips of coffee, "What sort of stuff are you hoping to do in the future? I... haven't really figured out what places there even are for me - that's a lot of why I'm going to the school - so, I'm interested to know what people who it feels like they have everything figured out are doing."
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Post by Robot on Sept 3, 2020 20:29:01 GMT
"You make it sound like we've peaked already Thel, there is always something else to discover." "Besides, at our age I think the belief is we'll live forever?" "I just want to be published. I've got everything else I want."
Bryony's head dipped for a moment. "Searching for a purpose is the journey, so few actually find it. Belonging somewhere, maybe." She added, a hint of sullenness in her tone.
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 3, 2020 20:41:21 GMT
"I've never really felt comfortable enough to feel anything but grateful for seeing another day," he says to Mable. "I don't know how long I'll have, but I know it'll end at some point. So I treasure every day of it."
"I guess even finding a purpose, finding a place to belong... it's not always true," he says, with more than a hint of melancholy. "I felt like I had a place in the world, but then my eyes were opened. I saw how fake it was. And now I search, just to try and see if I can have a place that gives me that same sense of self. Who's to say it won't happen again. But... I don't know, giving up hope of finding what lays at the end... I can't do that. It's in the same drive as self-improvement, I suppose. I have to just keep trying."
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