welcome to calamity! we are an au pokemon site based in hoenn. we do not have canons so you can pick them as your fcs! we have a short one hundred word word count. and you get to also pick your own starter! calamity is going to focus on providing users with a good and stable plot line to follow. this helps each character progress and some might even have a play in affecting the plot! we hope you enjoy your time here and if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask.
hey guys! we've finally hit our three month mark! let's stay strong. the activity check and gala have ended, if your character has been archived and you need them back please pm one of the admins! unfortunately, noods has steped down from his admin position. make sure you say your goodbyes here!
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JUNE 18TH, 2015
)
hello calamity! we're nearing the two months mark in a few weeks. how time flies! right now we have two things going on that need your participation. the first is an activity check! it is impotant that you check in so you don't lose your face claim. the second is the otm nomiations! we're doing it a bit different than last time. so please submit your nominations in. a vote thread will be up in the next few days. there will also be a formal event coming very soon, so keep your eye out for that. keep being cool!
we're currently about to host calamity's first contest in slatepor. trainers are flocking to the city to see, the city's been trying to get good pr since the gala, and it seems to be working! they're asking for both coordinators and volunteer judges to sign up.
CALAMITY is a roleplaying forum inspired by the popular franchise POKEMON, which does not belong to us. the skin was crafted by PHARAOH LEAP of GANGNAM STYLE. special thanks to SPIRAL for contributing ideas! all art on the forum does not belong to us unless stated otherwise, while all written works belong to the members who posted them. DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING that is not yours, please. thank you.
For all intents and purposes, the girl with the sea-green eyes and her diminutive companion appeared to be sitting quietly enough, enjoying the summer in peace and silence. Unbeknownst to anyone without psychic powers, however, they were actually in the middle of a conversation.
Tell you what. Maya settled her back a little more comfortably against the bench. I'd heard a lot of trainers start their journey here in Littleroot, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so busy.
Indeed.
It's a wonder Professor Birch can actually make time for research when he's liaising with rookies all the livelong day, don't you think?
He leads a busy life, certainly.
I don't think I've ever seen so many rare species in the one place before. Gosh, did you see the Water types from Kanto and Johto? Wonder if that Totodile would've let me pet it without gnawing my hand.
A fascinating menagerie, yes.
Maya thought she detected a note of sourness to her friend's laconic answers. Bartleby, is something bothering you?
The Psychic-type continued to stare straight ahead. Positively nothing.
Maya regarded him for a few moments until the penny dropped, and she smiled. It was possible to conceal thoughts and emotions even when their minds were linked through telepathy, of course, but Bartleby never bothered to keep things from her. In this case, he'd probably left the door open because he'd wanted Maya to figure out what was troubling him. You're not feeling jealous, are you? A touch green-eyed?
I don't know what you mean, Bartleby thought at her, stiffly.
Maya said and thought absolutely nothing for several seconds. It was an old trick. When she was certain Bartleby wasn't expecting it, she swooped in and enclosed him in a hug. Of course, he would certainly have read her intent and seen it coming, so she knew that the close contact was entirely consensual. She planted a quick kiss on his pale cheek. Aww, Bartleby, you do think some silly things sometimes. We're on this journey together. I wouldn't swap you for a hundred million Totodiles.
As if there were ever any doubt of that, came the flustered reply. But Bartleby's body grew warmer against hers, and she knew that he was pleased.
she's seen, beat, and stolen enough of those back in the day. they made good pokemon to sucker trainers back at the game corner, given they didn't really do much. no evolution, no nothing. they just waved a stick and hoped they poked an eye out or something! she was much happier with a raticate or a koffing or one of the better pokemon.
damn, fate must hate her to give her one.
she stared at the poke ball with a sort of disgust, not watch where she was walking. terrible luck, that. she'd probably dump the stupid bird for some other better pokemon, or maybe sell it at some high price. like, 'farfetch'd are super rare in hoenn', or other trash like that. she'll have to make do, though, as much as she hates it.
though, first chance she was getting, she was gonna build herself up. get some kanto-johto natives, work with her usual set... then she'd hit up some of the foreign pokemon. she heard this region had two teams, as well, so she'd probably do some research into those...
and then she bumped shoulders into someone.
she wasn't watching where she was going, sure... but frankly, she didn't care. that loser shoulda moved out of the way! better give her a piece of her mind. just cause she was out of her turf didn't mean she was out of dignity! "oy, move out of the way, would ya?"
she stopped walking past and looked back. some lady with a ralts. her eyes eyed the pokemon. rare, those, back in kanto. they caught quadruple digits if they were well-bred... wonder if she could get away with snatching it. "...hrm."
Post by Maya Maualuga on Aug 10, 2015 11:48:06 GMT
[googlefont="Noto Serif"]
my mind is an ocean
"Ooof!"
Something collided hard with Maya's shoulder, jolting her forward. Turning her head in some confusion, she found herself look up into the face of an irate young woman. Maya quickly put two and two together, and refrained from commenting on the state of distraction that might have led the stranger to walk into a bench and its occupant. The stranger was saying something to her, or at least her lips were moving, but Maya couldn't make out a thing. Too late, she realized she'd left her hearing aid off to save power while Bartleby spoke to her telepathically.
"Sorry, hold on... just a sec..." Maya's words came out a little thick and tumbled, as they always did when she couldn't directly hear herself speak. She fiddled about with the switch, briefly scrunching her face up as audio feedback suddenly punched into her ears. She blinked a few times, and turned back to the older girl, flashing her the sunniest of smiles. "There. Hi! What's the problem?"
Bartleby huddled closer to her, peering suspiciously up at the newcomer. I don't like this one. She's staring at me.
I'm sure she means no harm by it, Barty.
The vibe I'm getting from her is not pleasant.
Yeah, but you say that about everyone.
With good reason, usually!
But Maya had just noticed the Pokeball in the young woman's hand. Her attention was instantly captivated. "Ooooh, is that the Pokemon you got from Professor Birch? What you got, can I see?"
"i said, you got in my way." giovanni asserted. she was gettin' real irritated with this lady, she really was. though, she didn't have her usual crew to back her up this time around, sowas a bit defanged, at the moment...
that, and all the signs pointed to this person being hard of hearing, and that was just poor form.
she'd hold herself back. this once. next time they crossed, the lady probably wouldn't be so lucky. but for now, all she had was this stinkin' bird. nothing of her usual pokemon. now, if only she had that ralts... heh, she might even keep it and raise it as her own gallade. depends how desperate she gets for pokemon as time goes on.
eh? lady was askin' to see the duck. "huh? the thing in the ball?" she snorted. she'd prevent herself from smashing teeth on a curb, but she wasn't afraid of badmouthing the bird. it was her pokemon, she could do whatever she wanted with it! "whatever suits your fancy. get out here, ya little..."
she tossed the ball up almost derisively, and the farfetch'd came out. it gave a few soft quacks, wringing it's stick as it stared timidly at maya. there was something wrong with the picture; a callous, cold trainer with a farfetch'd that fears for the worst.
"a farfetch'd. nothin' special. why, you wanna buy it?" she quipped darkly. there was an undertone of her not exactly valuing the pokemon... at all. the ralts would pick it up, surely, since that apathy of hers wasn't exactly masked.
Post by Maya Maualuga on Aug 11, 2015 16:41:37 GMT
[googlefont="Noto Serif"]
my mind is an ocean
"But all I was doing was sitting on this bench here," Maya replied reasonably. "I mean, it's not like I could've lifted the whole thing and moved it into your path, could I? With these skinny arms?" She flexed her biceps, just to prove the point, then smiled disarmingly and indicated the space next to her.
"Would you like a seat? We can budge up."
Bad idea, bad idea, Bartleby moaned in her head. Make her go away.
Oh come on, Barty, play nice. I'm sure she's perfectly nice, she's probably just a bit testy because she bruised herself on the bench.
That's not what I'm talking about and you know it!
But even Maya, who was normally oblivious to danger, was starting to detect that something was off here. It wasn't just the steady waves of barely suppressed anger that seemed to be radiating off the young woman. Bartleby was right, she was staring at him a lot, and her expression seemed to carry more than a hint of greed. Maya's shoulders tensed. She forced herself to relax and carry on as if everything was normal, but it wasn't easy. Especially when the girl responded to Maya's request to see her starter with open disgust in her tone.
"The thing in the ball"? I think I see your point...
Maya watched apprehensively as the woman derisively released the Pokeball, causing an anxious-looking Farfetch'd to materialize on the grass. It glanced up at Maya cautiously, and conveyed the distinct impression that it was struggling to hide behind its own celery stick. Faced with the contrast between the Pokemon's nervous demeanor and its new trainer's stony expression, Maya felt moved to offer it at least a shred of tenderness.
"Oh, my gosh! What a handsome duckling!" she enthused, squatting down on the grass with Bartleby clinging grimly to her shoulder. "Could I pet him?" She extended a hand carefully, but stopped short of actually touching the Farfetch'd without its trainer's permission. Even if she hadn't refrained, Maya would still have paused in the act upon hearing the woman's harsh question. She stared up at Milan, eyes wide and round. "Buy him? No, never! He's your starter. A person's first Pokemon is very special."
Sorry to disappoint you, Maya, but I think you're wasting your breath, Bartleby thought bitterly.
"thing is, he ain't my first." she said with a frown. wasn't her first was right. nothing would beat her first pokemon. "my first pokemon... we parted ways. i did things in my past that neither of us agreed with. for now, i guess i'm stuck with this duck." and so she recalled farfetch'd.
hrm? was this an actual conversation? she surprised even herself, sometimes. eh, whatever, she was in a better mood, and she kinda wanted to scare the other girl a bit. seemed training was new for her. giovanni had been doing this gig for a few years now, so she's a bit out of tune with the whole amateur mindset.
well, if she was talking, she better introduce herself. give a little context to her attitude, too. "allow me to introduce myself. i'm giovanni, former hand of a crime syndicate known as team rocket." she gave a grin as her pride started swelling up. "i've stolen my fair share of pokemon, sold 'em, used 'em. a lot of them are waaay more valuable than this duck, see? what i'd do for an abra, or a gible..." and then she eyed the psychic-type. "...a ralts. you know, that pokemon can evolve two different ways? they're worth a lot on the black market."
she smirked, but crossed her arms when she remembered her current agenda. that's right, she was trying to fix her little criminal problem. she'd hold off on stealing ralts. for now. again, it depends on how desperate she gets. "but the team's disbanded, so i won't be doing anything of the sort. yet."
Post by Maya Maualuga on Aug 12, 2015 12:01:09 GMT
[googlefont="Noto Serif"]
my mind is an ocean
Maya was silent while Giovanni delivered her diatribe. Even Bartleby perched on her shoulder in horrified silence, but she could feel the shape of his thoughts all the same. They were in perfect alignment with her own. This was the first time Maya had found herself face to face with someone who was not only a criminal, but vocally proud of it. She found herself sickened, repulsed, and angrier than she could remember feeling in a very long time. Her gaze rested firmly on the intimidated Farfetch'd while Giovanni was speaking, her expression unreadable.
When the woman concluded on a threatening note that all but sealed her intentions of seizing Bartleby for her own devices some day, there was silence. Maya remained squatting before the Farfetch'd for a few moments. Then she slowly unfolded her knees, standing up to match the ex-Rocket's gaze. Her eyes were flat and calm as the sea before a storm.
"I've heard of people like you," Maya said. Her tone could have cut ice. "You treat Pokemon like commodities with a price tag. You abuse the ones you see no value in, like this poor creature here. You use them - your own words - until you've worn them out and then you toss them aside like garbage. And you're proud of it." Her brows knotted with contempt. "Except you don't even have the guts to dirty your hands without your squad around to back you up, or a bunch of Pokemon you've broken into serving you."
She tossed her head, clearing the bangs out of her eyes before once again fixing the woman with a hard stare. If looks could kill, Giovanni would be a red smear on the grass. "Hello. My name is Maya. I wish I could say it's a pleasure to meet you. But truth is, you make me sick to my stomach."
hah! so the girl was heroic, eh? it was always hilarious to see these types of people. where she was generally trying to figure out her morality, she couldn't help but scoff at the whole protagonist point of view. it was just so amusing, so cliche. "that's fine. i've met plenty of people like you, too. gym leaders, gym trainers, policemen..." she smirked. "those types of people are what lead to the downfall of team rocket, so i gotta say, the results speak for themselves." and so she smirked. "i think you'll find that you and i have a lot in common. after all, now that my team's gone, i gotta be one of you now. one of those courageous trainers. off to save the day, right?" giovanni didn't even blink when she was quipping. she knew her lot; and she accepted it. it was time to use it to her strength. "you talk about not having guts, but why do you need a pokemon to back you up in a fight? you can catch pokemon without a starter; i know, that's how i got my first. and besides..." she raised a finger, smiling. "who's to say that the pokemon you catch in the wild don't have dreams? a family? are pacifists?"
"you don't know what they're thinking, so you assume they like battling. but maybe they don't like to disappoint, or they aren't capable of human communication, but inside, they hate battling with all their guts. how's that any different from what i do? at least i'm honest about treating pokemon terribly. how do you truly know how a pokemon feels? how anyone feels?"
"but... that's just me. if you want to make it real personal..." she snapped her fingers, and almost like machinery, the once-apprehensive farfetch'd got into battle position, holding it's stick like a blade. "we can settle our differences like the trainers we are. or... we can settle them honestly." and so she raised her arms into her own fighting stance.
Post by Maya Maualuga on Aug 16, 2015 12:15:12 GMT
[googlefont="Noto Serif"]
my mind is an ocean
Everything Giovanni said seemed to calculated to further provoke Maya's normally easygoing mood into greater heights of anger. She was a self-confessed villain, full of nothing but contempt for people who disagreed with her vicious philosophy. Maya couldn't imagine a single person she could have less in common with, and Giovanni was saying they were alike, that they now both belonged to the same breed of trainer. Giovanni wasn't any kind of trainer Maya was willing to acknowledge. The thought of her embarking on a twisted mirror image of the journey Maya herself was about to undertake was sickening.
It got worse from there. Maya had never been subjected to this kind of reasoning before. She fully understood the implications of capturing Pokemon, of removing them from their home environments and introducing them to a life of battling. She'd promised herself she would never force the Pokemon she encountered along her journey into anything they didn't wish to do, and yet Giovanni's argument struck upsettlingly close to home. At first, Maya thought she'd never articulate an answer that didn't come across as empty or naive. But then Giovanni demanded to know how she could possibly know how a Pokemon felt, and Maya nearly blew her top.
How dare she talk that way in front of Bartleby? Bartleby, who'd shared her mind for the past ten years? Bartleby, who'd been the first voice ever to break into the quiet in her skull, the first mind to touch her own since she was born into this silent world? Maya had first heard, properly heard, when she was finally fitted with an earpiece on her tenth birthday. Until then it had been Barty who had served as her ears, describing everything in painstaking detail through their mental link. In that time, he'd come to know her mind better than she herself did. How do you truly know how anyone feels? She opened her mouth to shout.
Don't, Bartleby thought urgently. You'll just be wasting your breath. Don't you see she'll say anything to justify herself? Don't let her drag you down like this. The Ralts sounded just as shaken as Maya felt, but he plowed on, refusing to stand by and watch while his friend lost her head. Her mind has never touched another's. She's never had what we have. Even if you tried to explain, she wouldn't understand or believe it. I'm as angry as you are. But this just isn't worth it.
Maya drew a deep breath, and closed her eyes for a moment. Of course Bartleby was right. She opened her eyes again, and gave Giovanni a chilly look. "I don't have to humour moral relativism from a third-rate criminal." She stared down at the battle-ready Farfetch'd, pity mixing with the anger in her face. "And I don't have to fight you on your terms. I'm certainly not pitting Bartleby against this poor frightened creature."
She tossed her head, and looked back up at Giovanni. "If you'll insist on commanding the Farfetch'd to fight, he can hit me, as long as he likes." Maya reached up, carefully plucked Bartleby from the bench, and set him down on the bench. "Or if, as you say, you want an 'honest' fight, you can just come right ahead and hit me yourself, until you're satisfied." Unlike Giovanni, she didn't raise her arms in a boxer's stance. She just stood, shoulders loose and feet planted wide, and waited. Maya: 5079f8 Bartleby: 018646 tag;; Milan Giovanni
"aw, man... you're not the hotheaded hero... a bit sad, since that's what i expected you to be." really, she did. what with the strong vigilante words and the impairment that she would be so desperate to overcome and to succeed over. maybe become a champion, go on cereal boxes saying 'even i could be the champ!' "you know, the type to get real angry, even if you're nice and well-spoken at first."
"farfetch'd, return." she pulled out her poke ball and shot the duck with a laser, retracting it into it's capsule before she pocketed it. "man, it isn't all that fun, fighting people, i'll tell you that now. it's just kinda sad. kinda like beating up a nerd in high school, no fun. with pokemon, they have the power to fight back, even if they need orders to do so efficiently. even farfetch'd could use that stick real creatively. that's why it's more useful to kidnap pokemon to battle with, and less useful to kidnap people; less intelligence on what to do independently, but power to keep themselves up. meanwhile, people are the ones that come up with the plan. that's how the symbiosis between people and pokemon works, right?"
at this point, she was speaking a little gibberish, but she'd thought about why people need pokemon before. the whole 'all pokemon exist for the glory of team rocket' didn't appeal to her, given she had her own philosophies. but she was digressing. "though, i suppose that's another similarity; even i have a standard, when it comes to being a third-rate criminal. i could easily beat you up, but it isn't worth it."
"well, i think i've done my day's worth of talking. i was on my way somewhere, anyways." milan smiled at the girl. "but... one last thing... how thin is the line between good and evil, would you say?" she stuck her hands in her pockets. "especially if you can't communicate with every person or every pokemon. after all, i'm sure your ralts can't understand certain pokemon whose thoughts and emotions are purely primitive... and i'm sure you have trouble talking to people sometimes."
"so what makes you the good one and what makes me the evil one? i'll leave you with that. smell ya later, maya." and so, giovanni made a brisk exit, effectively making a response from maya impossible.
Post by Maya Maualuga on Aug 19, 2015 15:56:41 GMT
[googlefont="Noto Serif"]
my mind is an ocean
Maya was too slow to mask the look of confusion that crossed her face when Giovanni retracted her Farfetch'd. Wasn't this exactly what the older girl had been after? In Maya's book, people like Giovanni did violence for the sake of violence. But now the ex-Rocket was acting as if Maya had disappointed her, protesting that she'd get no enjoyment out of beating her up. Well, if she'd robbed Giovanni of her pleasure, that was no skin of Maya's nose. But she was considerably baffled by the idea that she was expected to be the 'hotheaded hero' and let her anger dominate her decisions.
Now that a physical confrontation seemed to be off the table, Giovanni wanted to talk. Or at least, she wanted to hear herself talk. Maya listened with a flat expression, consistently on the verge of switching off her earpiece but never quite mustering the bad manners to do it, even though the last thing she owed Giovanni was courtesy. Besides, it was a risk she couldn't afford to take, knowing the kind of intentions Giovanni harbored about Bartleby. Still, it made painful listening. The lengths to which the woman was willing to stretch the facts, all in order to sell the idea that she and Maya really weren't all that different had to be heard to be believed.
Maya refused to humour her musings with an answer. Eventually, Giovanni seemed to decide she'd said enough, and turned to leave. Before she did that, though, she decided to cast one last barb in Maya's direction, no doubt thinking it would haunt the girl well after she was gone. In this too, however, Maya was set to disappoint her. "You think of people and Pokemon as they're resources to be exploited," she retorted promptly, giving Giovanni an unimpressed look. "Playing devil's advocate doesn't grant you some kind of moral or intellectual superiority. It's pathetic."
Her posture gradually relaxed as Giovanni retreated into the distance. "If our paths cross again on this journey, I guess we'll find out whose philosophy holds water best."
Bartleby was less than enthused by this prospect. You can speak for yourself, Maya. If I never see her again, it'll be a sight too soon. Maya: 5079f8 Bartleby: 018646 tag;; Milan Giovanni
