seasonsrpg | It's automatic, you've gotta have it

WHO: Rinku, you
WHAT: Playing with animal transformation, research attempts, rolling gacha with touch energy, and watching a Sobble buy groceries.
WHEN: Early March
WHERE: Solarpeak, Amberfall, Nightwake
WARNINGS: Some NSFW discussion in threads

[1) Solarpeak Lake]

[There's a fish in the Solarpeak lake/pool today. A specific fish, and one that seems to be diving into the bottom of the pool and then dragging stuff up to the shore in its mouth. Mostly cool-looking seashells, come to think of it... What's with that?

Anyone who comes to shore to check it out will be greeted by the fish speaking in Rinku's voice when she surfaces.]

Hi! Are you looking for shells too?

[2) Amberfall Library]

[Rinku's last trip in here to try and study didn't go well, mostly because she's really bad at it. But she's trying it anyway, and right now, with a basket full of romance novels (again?), she's wandering the cookbook section with a growing frown.]

There's a lot of books about cake, but I don't see any about blood yet...

[3) Gacha Arcade]

[Hey, remember the Gacha My Heart quest? Because that game store's still going strong, including the machines that run on touch energy, and Rinku is all over it today. This time, she's hit up a machine that advertises gift certificates for restaurants around the city. She pulls a ticket and reads it over.]

Aww, please play again? Okay!

[She looks and waves to the nearest person.]

Oh, hey, can you help? I'll need more touch energy to pull a bunch more!

[4) Grocery Store]

[Rinku is outside a grocery store, peering in from behind a telephone pole. If someone approaches, she'll look over, wave, and whisper to them.]

Shh! I'm following to make sure Mecchan does okay. He's on his first errand!

[Sure enough, when she points toward the shop doors, there's her Sobble, dragging a shopping tote bigger than he is behind him into the store and holding a shopping list in the other hand.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hm... I dunno. I mean, aren't they part of the world? Every quest we do, every mission we go on, everything that helps our neighbours or at our jobs, all of that's right here in Ellipsa. And it all helps. We've done little things and we've done big things, and it's all made things better! So even if things aren't as good as they could be yet, I'm sure we'll find better ways! Ways to purify the Darkness, or stop the people trying to hurt everyone, or even convince them to help!

You really think "the" people would join forces with us? After they've been causing so much harm? What could possibly convince them?

[Much as she admires Rinku's idealism, sometimes her reasoning simply eludes her.]

I dunno. Some of them definitely wouldn't, but some we barely know at all. And we do know some people got tricked into working with them in the past. Maybe someday, we could help somebody out who wants it.

I feel like the core group must be set in their ideology - otherwise, they'd long have broken apart from each other. But the locally recruited followers--

["-- can perhaps be convinced", she wanted to say, but a commotion at the surface draws her attention: Hina seems to have fallen into the water, presumably after colliding either with a water projectile or the jumping Magikarp.]

Oh, Hina!

[Despite the other pokémon already coming to the Zubat's aid, she quickly propels herself towards them. It has to be scary to get submerged when you're blind!]

[Rinku immediately swims after her. Hina flaps her wings in a panic, and Mecchan tries to hold her up and gets knocked away. Rinku swims, swims -- and eventually breaks the surface.

Just in time to scare away a bird coming down to see if the weird creatures are edible. She gathers Hina and Mecchan up into her arms, disregarding Mecchan's tears making her cry too.]

You better not be bullying my babies!

[Hic. She helps hold Hina up and get her to cough out the water, then sniffs and holds them both gently.]

Are you okay? How about you, Karpje-chan?

[Karpje, too big to be picked up by any regular bird, is fine, if also worried for her little playmate, as her fretful splashing signifies. Frieda strokes her back to soothe her.]

Let's get them back to the shore.

[She'll help carry them - even if Mecchan will make her cry too - if it's hard for Rinku to swim with them. Safe as Solarpeak is for people, for little pokémon is still does hold some dangers!]

Karpje, did you collide with Hina?

[She's asking gently, but even so the Magikarp's rudimentary pantomime and ambiguously distressed noises indicate that it was a water projectile accident.]

It's alright, just remember to be careful. Hina is so little, and she can't swim.

[Mecchan babbles apologetically between sobs. Hina coughs, tilts her head, and smiles. She squeaks and snuggles Mecchan, and his tears start to slow.]

It's okay, you guys. I shouldn't've left you alone so long, huh. But you turned out okay! [sniff] Maybe we should just rest for now.

You guys should warm yourselves up in the sand! I'll dive some more with Karpje.

[The Magikarp seems to feel really bad about the little accident, but that aside, Frieda feels like she's been enough of a downer on Rinku today. Much as her friend often manages to instill confidence in her, talking about the City and its circumstances and the eventual separation between them and Evangeline has made her despondent. Even so, she keeps a smile on her face as she tries to interpret her pokémon's distressed flailing.]

Of course Hina still likes you, Karpje. Don't worry!

[Rinku reaches into her bag for a hand towel and dries her little Zubat off. Hina squeaks in confusion and flies back over to Karpje, gently bonking her head into her. No worries! They're friends!]

Are you sure, Frieda-chan? Thanks a lot. I should've watched more. I still have a lot to learn, huh... But I'm really glad you were here.

[Karpje's joy over Hina still wanting to play with her is evident even with its lack of expression, and Frieda gently shakes her head.]

You stayed where you could see them, so you could come to Hina's aid quickly. That was responsible. Don't blame yourself, alright? If we never let them play on their own, they can't learn to be independent.

[In a way, it's no different than letting kids run and play, even if they end up with scraped knees sometimes.]

[Rinku hums over this. She wipes her own tears and then Mecchan's, petting him with a little smile. He blows a bubble, but his tears slow.]

That's true. I wanna give them good lives, and I want them to be happy. And things turned out okay.

[Hina squeaks. Of course she wants to play with Karpje! Sometimes people have gotten upset (when she bites them), and she still wants to be their friend!]

[If nothing else, Karpje is hard to bite with those big scales (and Frieda heals right away and has patience to spare)!]

It's a difficult balance, isn't it? Life is fragile, and we want to safeguard the ones we love, but caging them is no good either.

[As soon as she says that, the Walls inevitably come to mind, and she lowers her head with a faint smile, but then brightens up again. She wants to say goodbye to Rinku and her pokémon cheerfully, if nothing else! Letting the next wave carry her onto the beach, she scoops them all up in a hug (which isn't hard, seeing how Rinku is holding the little ones).]

You're doing great, believe me. All of you!

[Rinku snuggles back, as do Mecchan (no longer crying) and Hina (who happily bonks her head into Frieda).]

Thanks, Frieda-chan. I think we're all gonna be okay. You guys too.

...You asked about my fish form, and why it's so different from my mermaid tail, right? I chose that fish on purpose. It reminds me of the fish on Tiotio Island, and it looks like Neechan. So no matter where home is, there I am.

Oh... now that I know, I see it! That's a beautiful choice, Rinku.

[Having seen Tiotio Island too now, she has warm feelings towards the tropical paradise, and she's felt Rinku's love for Evangeline. She won't look at that little black-and-white fish the same anymore.

She gives her another deeply affectionate squeeze, then lets the next wave sweep her out into the water again. She waves, and Karpje splashes.]

Until soon, everyone! If we find any rare shells, we'll save them for you.

It's automatic, you've gotta have it

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject