ECLIPSE

eris' curry entry

thread summary: In a trip to Petalburg Woods, Eris meets Matias once again
why is it important?: It's just a really fun and spicy thread - but also, the long literary breakdown is in the spoiler below

SPOILER: Click to show

Another thread that explores the strained relation between Matias and Eris, where both are survivors of Kanto but one has stayed with the League and the other has joined Rocket. This thread comes months after the murder of Chu-e Choi, where Eris witnessed her adoptive father die at the hands of MATIAS SILPH. The grief drives her to make choices she'd never have thought herself to make and begins to pick at the thoughts she keeps buried after the Kanto war.

In this thread, I personally liked how we go back into exploring what drives Eris to make her choices and how she hesitates no matter what choice she makes. Choosing to leave Rocket and live with the League sounds like a natural option for a kid like her, but her familial bonds that she's made with people in Rocket and Matias' clear hostility towards her and Reiner makes her think twice. It taps upon the story that Chu-e Choi has told her regarding the failures of the League and feeds into her need to find a family after being orphaned at an early age.

And yet, she's still doubting if being with Rocket is the right choice, whether trying to protect the unfortunate ones makes her a bad person just for picking that side. She even goes as far as to question whether she actually agrees with Matias over the fact that Chu-e should have died. She's griefing over the loss of a father-figure, extremely confused as to how she actually feels, lacks experience that comes with age, is far too naive regarding how the world should work and can only hold onto the values that her mother has taught her.

Over time, her plots will be exploring her hostility towards the League, how far she's willing to go to be accepted as a true Rocket and what she's willing to sacrifice to protect what she believes to be her family. So overall, I think this thread was probably a really good starter into her descent towards understanding what she wants to do!

LITTLE BLACK CARD #1

cygne's curry entry

thread summary: OKAY SO THis ended up being great on so many levels so i'mma break it down for you:

1) FIRST OF ALL we're spending mr silph's money by using the slateport limitless card FERNANDO SILPH gave to Elisabeth Fiorelli so we're extending THAT plot which also gives them something to talk about if spirele and scarlet continue their socialization.

2) SECOND ana fell is allowed to rediscover some of her childhood passions in horror and writing and elisa is FULLY SUPPORTIVE of it which is important for Cygne personally because as we see her shift into this very Rocket-climbing focused person she's more or less finding pieces of herself that she buried away as a child. like she's rediscovering what makes her herself instead of just being the perennial worker bee in society.

3) the most important part to ME is the affirmation that Elisa is not a monster, actually, which, like, past the fourth wall is obviously easy to say me and scarlet talked about it OOCly but that's actually how Cyg thinks and it was an important connection for her and Elisa to be like there is no such thing as the void staring back into you, you're not a horrible person for saving yourself no matter what you had to do. and part of it is Cyg being like "murder is okay actually" but i think it was an important part of both her and Elisa's development to verbalize that even IF Elisabeth told Cyg what had happened with her husband Cyg would have her back no matter what.

4) and then finally, the job offer that Scarlet whipped up was definitely NOT PLANNED until we got to the end of this thread and it was INGENIUS. scarlet is a wizard of whipping up stories and connections and already had, like, six plotlines in her head immediately after suggesting Cyg take the job at the flower shop. so you have the advancement of Cyg's personal story where she moves out of her shitty apartment and to Petalburg, but also her advancement in the Rocket org bc Elisa is going to teach her to poison ppl and she's also gonna be Elisa's delivery girl for her, like, shadier things. And then there's all the flower shop interactions this opens up like uhh if Barnaby swings by to hit on Elisa and finds Cyg instead, stuff like that. So you see this story that started with a chance meeting during the affection's confections mission begin to branch out and expand and really it's Scarlet that is the brains behind the operation, I just work here lol.

this isn't BRIEF im sorry

Who we are meant to be

andrea's curry entry

thread summary: Andrea Vaneau gets trapped inside a space-time distortion, where she meets Kazimir Wynter who has aged up into a total chad due to timey-wimey weirdness. Together they fend off a bunch of prehistoric monsters that attack them, until the distortion fades away and Kazimir reverts back to his proper age. Andrea is flustered upon realizing that he's an elite four member.
why is it important?: this thread showcases Andrea's growth as a trainer, able to hold her own when teaming up with a much more experienced fighter, to the point Kazimir commends her skills. There's also a continuity nod regarding the monthly HNN articles, since Andrea is able to recognize both what a space-time distortion is and the fact that Kazimir is an elite four member due to reading about it on HNN. Not all news are fake!

THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND INTO BATTLE

hideo's curry entry

thread summary: Hideo Kino gets invited by Melody Miro into a cave, without being told why he was invited. This extremely suspicious request was actually a surprise battle against Diancie, as a way for Melody to test Hideo for if he'd be a potential AQUA member. It's a close battle, with each side Mega Evolving and duking it out. Diancie eventually ends the fight, acknowledging Hideo and Melody's skills as trainers.

why is it important?: While Hideo has been fairly close to one AQUA member (John Sullivan ), this is the first time AQUA has turned its eye towards him (likely because said member he's close to wanted him as far away form AQUA as possible). This gives him an in with the group, potentially leading to further plots with it and its member, as well as developing his friendship with Melody. He also had a good chance to show his skills as a trainer, even without the aid of a Telepathic Pokemon.

It's also the first time Hideo's personally met Diancie - even getting to shake its hand. He even gave it a good first impression.

The blind leading the blind into battle

Melody's curry entry

thread summary: Melody and Hideo battle Diancie together and overcome (just barely) to claim victory thanks to hideo being the difference.
why is it important?:This thread is important to Hideo's growth as a trainer and really cements how Melody wants to invest and train the future generation of league trainers in case something happens to her, leaving the region in capable hands. On top of that this is her first time doing any sort of Mission as a representative of the AQUA initiative as she's scouting for talent to join their ranks. This is also helping a minor plotline of Melody slowly becoming more and more conscious of her loses that are starting to haunt her.

PEACE LILIES

elisabeth's curry entry

thread summary: After a harrowing experience in the Petalburg Woods with Felix Gallagher forces her to face her unaddressed grief for her parents head-on, Elisabeth decides to revisit her hometown in Kalos -- Camphrier Town -- to visit her parents' graves. Unable to face them alone, she brings with her Georgette Bluebottle, who is both her greatest friend and the one who is the most unaware of the skeletons lurking in Elisabeth's closet.

why is it important?: This thread is the culmination of so many threads of hard work. I have a lot I like about this thread, so apologies in advance!

I'll start with people who aren't explicitly in this thread. Captain and I have had a blast in our thread Flowering Distortions, where Felix Gallagher and Elisabeth Fiorelli are both faced with literal ghosts that haunt them. For Elisabeth, two memories resurfaced in particular: one of her horrific late husband, and one where she stood before her parents' graves in Kalos and felt shame for having killed the once-innocent version of herself they had raised and nurtured with love. The former she shakes out of due to a conversation she had with BARNABY FINCH, and the latter she breaks from due to the words of Martín del Mar: 'Or, does your lost love define who you are, Miss Fiorelli?'

Elisabeth has buried her husband, but she has yet to bury the guilt she feels regarding her parents, and hating the knowledge that she has become something that would shame them both. A resolution to face that shame is met, and she decides to go to Kalos to overcome it once and for all. Not alone, however.

So, why choose Gigi? The friendship with Georgette Bluebottle has been beautifully explored in Beneath Star-Kissed Wings and Wilting Flowers, the latter of which alerts Gigi to Elisabeth's difficulty with being touched, and hints that life in Kalos had been less than kind to her. The ways that Gigi responded to Elisa in those threads are why Elisabeth chose her ultimately for this journey, because Gigi is kind, and patient, and offers grace in the face of someone's pain. Picking her for this thread was natural, and I was so delighted that Laika took me up on it.

This thread breaks down Elisabeth as a character, piece by piece, until she allows herself to grieve -- not only for her parents, but for the person she used to be. It shows the guilt and self-loathing that eternally plagues her, and the belief that she is no longer a good person or even a person worthy of kindness or compassion. The 'Gigi' parallels of Georgette and her mother, Georgiana, were not initially planned but once we found them I couldn't stop tying them together. Elisabeth even comments on them aloud.

The ending is a closing of a small, but significant arc: Elisabeth, like the flowers she tends, abhors unexpected human touch and contact. Yet by the end of the thread, Elisabeth has accepted her need for it outweighs her fear, and that she trusts Gigi enough to be a source of that closeness. Laika's writing of Gigi's comforting friendship is exquisite, lovely and thoughtful, and I wanted to showcase it as much as possible in the final post by indicating how much each and every word resonated with Elisabeth in its conclusion. The Elisabeth in Wilting Flowers couldn't even be touched on the knee without triggering a response. By the end of Peace Lilies, she feels safe enough to hold Gigi in gratitude, and like she is allowed to forgive herself, just a little bit, for the person she's had to become to survive.

WELCOME TO HOENN

nagi's curry entry

thread summary: nagi goes out to get dinner and returns home with trauma fried rice, courtesy of THEO BECKETT

why is it important?:
1) nagi’s first face-to-face exposure to rocket — both reinforcing the idea that rocket is not an organisation to be messed with, but also that they might be more than the dangerous terrorist entity that the news presents them as.
2) it’s a precursor for dilemmas that are likely to come: this is nagi’s first taste of adventure — except it’s not as picturesque as in the stories he reads and writes. what will he do with the knowledge that, perhaps, the league is failing to protect the people? yet, do the ends justify rocket’s brutal means? — from a potential plotline standpoint, could nagi’s yearning for adventure, his attraction towards extraordinary stories, draw him towards rocket? much to think about
3) also this is my very first thread since joining hoenn and it’s just really funny to me if it’s chronologically one of the first things that happens to nagi after reaching hoenn. *pokemon narrator voice* it’s a new day, in a brand new world! what adventures await— that is a corpse.

STRIKES TWICE

Adrian Malcolm'S CURRY ENTRY

thread summary: Characters Adrian Malcolm and Martín del Mar are stranded in a space-time distortion and must escape using only what they brought.
why is it important?: Although it seems unimportant and simplistic, the reason this thread is important is because it, like a handful of others are allowing Adrian to build something of a trust and camaraderie between himself and another Rocket member. This is something that he normally wouldn't do and is helping to bring him into the fold. It's also one of several threads where they've established similar interests in the phenomenon and other areas of study. They are building a working relationship.

STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED

Aedan Quigley's curry entry

thread summary: Aedan (finally) decides to run away.
why is it important?: I'm taking Aedan a direction where he can (hopefully) feel less restricted by the (self-enforced) headcanon of his parents holding him back; I've got something in the pipes related to space-time distortions and involving Kazimir Wynter that is going to build off this development, and the aim is to bring Aedan up to speed with Hoenn's userbase so that he's not landlocked to Rustboro. That's the plan.

SILPH X FIORELLI

FERNANDO SILPH 's curry entry

thread summary:

FERNANDO SILPH and Elisabeth Fiorelli meet at the speed dating event. they discuss loss, elisabeth’s wedding ring, and fernando gifts her a gracidea flower when their time runs out.

why is it important?:

this thread is my highlight of the period for several reason, both ic and ooc.

one of my favorite aspects in roleplay is continuity. when people ask for threads, i highlight that i want them to be purposeful. many times, people interpret this to mean that it must be some super deep plots, which is rarely the case. it just needs to feed into something or be something i can refer back to for organic world building.

their speed date sets in motion a chain of events that have culminated in a thorough and expanding plot!

• fern meets elisabeth at speed dating. (this thread)
• users her services for palentines. her gives her a card as thanks. (scarlet ic event)
• elisabeth treats cygne to dinner with the card. (scarlet x ceej thread)
• fern comes to elisabeth about the gracidea seeds. (our current thread)

it’s not too complicated. doesn’t involve world shattering events or anything super deep. however, the fact that each one happens and feels like the logical aftermath gives it an organic feeling of growth. it’s plots and threads like these that make the world of hoenn feel alive to me.


in-character, i adore how the characters seem to match but still contrast thematically.

they’re both polite and uphold certain courtesies due to their upbringing. it’s not hostile but still holds a certain amount of tension. like a game of cat and mouse. there’s a fatal attraction on the surface but it’s nothing more than being among the oldest in a room full of people who are both physically and mentally younger.

narratively, we slightly touch on the people they were married to and lost. it’s for different reason, with eliabeth seeking freedom while fernando wants nothing more than to hold onto what he had with elysia. the baggage of their relationships still dwells on them and it’s something we get to explore if only as flavor text.

overall, it was a fantastic thread and a great opening to a very fun event in hoenn. despite the brevity of the thread, and the usual brevity of my post, i found it both easy and encouraged to write more as i delve into parts of fernando i seldom get to touch.

thanks for the thread Elisabeth Fiorelli!

TURN AROUND

pace's curry entry, ft. Martín del Mar

thread summary -

pace is called out to an aggron sighted in petalburg woods to go help the big dude out, but comes across mars. due to their shared history - namely pace's direct involvement in the plot to murder mars' wife - things come to a head, involving mega evolution, guns, and setting the woods on fire.

why is it important? -

pace has always been the kind of person who gets away with a lot of stuff - he hurts people's feelings by sleeping around, he's lazy, he doesn't finish anything he starts; but he can get away with it by charm, or sweet-talking, or plain old charisma.

but with regard to natalia's death, there's really nothing he can do to get away from the fact that his actions caused one of his best friends to die, and his other best friend to grieve deeply as well as hate his guts. it eats him up inside, but even here, in this thread, he tries to shrug off the responsibility and make excuses.

the first time properly meeting face-to-face since her death, and mars and pace are bringing out the worst in eachother already :monkas: this is a plot arc that'll continue to grow and build, and this is definitely one of the lower points

GOOGLE SEARCH: HORSE ROLEPLAY FORUM

izzy's curry entry

thread summary -

izzy returns to mt. pyre to check on his carrots, only to find that a curious spectrier has been drawn by their aura. over the next few days, his sleepless nights are filled with thoughts of that spectrier, culminating in an attempt to ride it, and izzy discovering a little about himself in the meanwhile.

why is it important? -

izzy's been spending a lot of time on mt pyre recently, looking after the ghosties (both his and the wild ones), so to have this kind of mini-arc ending with meeting and capturing a legendary is a nice outcome for him. he cares for ghost types bc he worries that they don't get a lot of love from the majority public, and can relate to them a little. being "chosen" by spectrier means a lot to him, even if he's not really at a place to process it that way just yet.

izzy suffers badly with anxiety and panic attacks, and the rolls were really good to me in this thread in order to make the narrative work well. he rides spectrier, but does so badly, and ends up freaking out about it - is he even good enough for this? why would he be chosen, and not someone more deserving?

but then he takes a deep breath and calms himself - something he's been awful at doing for years and years. for me, this thread represents a little lightbulb in izzy's head: sometimes the world listens when you put out what you want to get in. even though he didn't keep spectrier, i think he learnt a good lesson from it that he'll be putting into use in future panic attacks. hehe

OMG U R TOTES PRESH

amber lenoir's curry entry

thread summary: Amber Lenoir attempts to go on a speed date to appease her publicist, Cynthia. Poor klaus anchoret is the unlucky recipient, and chaos ensues.

why is it important?: I almost didn't have Amber go on a speed date, because she's such a bad date. I knew she'd be texting on her phone the whole time, being chatty but miserable at conversation, and just obliviously trampling all over her partner's boundaries as she's trying to remember what dating is like.

I did like this thread, however, for a few reasons! One being the sharp contrast between Amber and Klaus as people. Whereas Amber is brash and rude, Klaus is awkward and anxious, always second-guessing himself and trying to make a good impression. Amber, on the other hand, could sorely benefit from second-guessing herself more often.

Their date is a confusing mishmash of personalities that Amber basically storms through like a rampaging bull while Klaus is left trying to piece together a greater meaning from the chaos: Does Amber like him? Is she making fun of him? Or, wait, is she just clueless and crass?

This leads to a few new plot points: one being a photoshoot that Amber gets Klaus to agree to at his lighthouse, and Amber having a much more positive view of herself as a date partner. The next being yoshiro shioda being jealous to hear that Amber is dating, which culminates in the romantic undertones of my latest threads with Rabbit. Most importantly, this leads to a follow-up speed date where yoshiro shioda confronts klaus anchoret and makes him hand over his phone to remove Amber's cell number from his contacts. That thread, in particular, lets Klaus show a different side of his personality -- one that knows when he's being mistreated, and stands up for himself.

In the end it sets the stage for three very different characters to explore different parts of their personalities than usual, which I think all three of us thoroughly enjoyed!