MARCH UPDATE

POSTED ON Sept 5, 2022 4:26:08 GMT

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[attr="class","marshallposttext"]

The slow and seemingly inevitable approach of the meteor toward Hoenn was whipping the region into a frenzy. Marshall swore he read more headlines about it in the news, heard more conversations about it wherever he went, and saw more posters about various meteor-related events on walls and bulletins. One in particular had caught his eye: a call for volunteers at a charity kitchen that made lunches for lower income and struggling families.[break][break]

The feeling of needing to do something to help the Hoennians had been growing within Marshall over the last few weeks, especially now that he knew several of them. In particular, it angered him to think that people like Lia (especially Lia) might suffer huge calamity to their homes and lives. And what of him? The dome was preventing him from going home. He had no chance of escape.[break][break]

Hoenn was home for him at that moment, whether he liked it or not.[break][break]

So Marshall had decided to go to the charity kitchen. He'd told Lia about it days before, not expecting her to express interest in joining him. But that's exactly what happened. That's how they found themselves standing at a metal counter in a very professional-looking kitchen, putting together lunch boxes. The menu was simple but filling: honey baked ham and swiss cheese sandwiches, baby carrots with hummus dip, sliced apples, a box of orange juice.[break][break]

Marshall and Lia weren't the only ones in the kitchen, either. At least a dozen volunteers stood or sat around, packing the same lunches. Others were cooking soup in another area while still others were cutting vegetables for meal prep. It had been a busy morning thus far, even chaotic at times. But the mood of the place — the determination and unity as they all worked toward the same goal — was energizing.[break][break]

"Thanks for coming with me today, Lia," he said to the woman beside him, his words accompanied by a warm smile. "I'm glad they don't have me on soup duty because I definitely can't cook. A sandwich, though? Doable." He laughed.

[break]

[attr="class","marshallpostooc"]

[break]

NOTES

+ Mission: Zero to One Hundred[break]
+ Dawn of a New Day (Helping Hand)

BY GUNSMILE

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Lia

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POSTED ON Sept 6, 2022 15:10:44 GMT

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It’s the least they can do.
[break][break]
The whole reason why Lia had first become a ranger had been to help the people of Hoenn in whatever way she could. Usually, that means protecting them from dangerous pokémon, but things like these suit her too. As long as she doesn’t have to cook.
[break][break]
”Tell me about it, the last time I tried to make soup I put waaay too much salt.” Her nose wrinkles there for a second, as if disgusted by the sudden memory, but it’s quickly that this expression is replaced by a joyous smile, accompanied by a light laugh that rises in the kitchen. ”It’s great that you wanted to help, though. Things like these are important.”
[break][break]
It matters to her.
[break][break]
She had not expected him to be the sort of person who’d care about volunteering at places like these, but Marshall always seems to find new ways to surprise her. It’s a good thing. It’s like there’s always more and more reasons to like him.
[break][break]
Lia smiles at the thought, turning her attention back to the sandwich she had been making.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@marshall

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notes

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Outfit Check[BREAK][BREAK]
DAWN OF A NEW DAY - HELPING HAND🌟

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POSTED ON Sept 6, 2022 16:34:46 GMT

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Marshall simultaneously cringed and laughed at the thought of Lia cooking soup, only to discover she'd oversalted it. But who was he to judge? He would end up doing the same thing. "That's nowhere near as bad as the time I tried to cook my own pizza. I thought, how hard can it be, you know? Let's just say, my mom banned me from the kitchen after I nearly burned down the house."[break][break]

Despite the horrific thought, he laughed again. It hadn't been that bad, in reality — just a burning circle of dough and a lot of smoke. His father had grabbed the fire extinguisher in time to save the kitchen. Marshall had had to clean the oven as punishment, but it was one he'd gladly accepted.[break][break]

He finished packing another lunch box and stacked it with a dozen others. Another volunteer would grab the growing pile before it got too big and would whisk it away for distribution, but Marshall didn't know how any of that worked.[break][break]

Turning to Lia as he grabbed an empty box and some sandwich ingredients, he said, "I overheard some of the people in charge say that this meteor thing isn't the first calamity to happen to Hoenn." His smile was gone, replaced with a pensive frown. "How's that possible? You grew up here — how did you survive it all?"

[break]

[attr="class","marshallpostooc"]

[break]

NOTES

+ Mission: Zero to One Hundred[break]
+ Dawn of a New Day (Helping Hand)

BY GUNSMILE

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Lia

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Petalburg City, Hoenn

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POSTED ON Sept 12, 2022 0:20:17 GMT

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”No way. For real?… Marshall! Remind me not to let you cook anything ever.” She laughs, obviously joking, but this joke in itself causes her to abruptly turn her attention back to the sandwiches they’re making, being all too aware of the blush that suddenly colours her cheeks. It sounds way too domestic. This would feel like it too, honestly, if it weren’t for how aware she is of all the people around them. It sounds nice, though… Cooking with him. Even if it clearly would be a disaster.
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And then Marshall brings up other sorts of disasters.
[break][break]
For a moment there, Lia focuses on packing another lunchbox, silent while he asks the sort of questions most foreigners ask about Hoenn. Does he hate it here? Does he wish he were back at Unova, where everything is easier? She tries to push those thoughts away when she turns to face him.
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”There’s been a lot of catastrophes over the years, so I could spend all day telling you about them. Even if it’s just the ones here in Slateport… Ah, but I think that’s kind of the beauty of Hoenn, you know? A region full of people who have survived it all.” Lia gives him a smile, soft and gentle, and it comes followed by an equally gentle laugh. ”I probably wouldn’t like it nearly as much if I hadn’t grown up here, though. I was still living in Slateport when the Ultra Beasts first appeared here a couple of years ago, and honestly, it was a kind of terrifying time.”
[break][break]
That's putting it mildly, but she doesn't want the conversation to take too much of a dark turn.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@marshall

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POSTED ON Sept 12, 2022 14:14:20 GMT

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Not for the first time, Marshall marveled at how natural it was to chat and laugh with Lia. Conversation between them came so easily, and it helped that they shared a sense of humor. "If you can't cook and I can't cook, then who is doing the cooking?" he teased.[break][break]

And then his brain caught up with his mouth, causing him to blush when he realized just exactly what his words insinuated.[break][break]

How odd that his first thought afterward was, I should get better at cooking.[break][break]

But then the conversation sobers as the topic shifts to the disasters that have beset Hoenn. He listened with uncharacteristic quiet as Lia spoke, his hands moving methodically to continue packing sandwiches.[break][break]

"Do you wish you lived somewhere else?" Marshall asked after she fell silent. His tone was pensive as his thoughts once again drifted to selfishness: Like in Unova, with me?

[break]

[attr="class","marshallpostooc"]

[break]

NOTES

+ Mission: Zero to One Hundred[break]
+ Dawn of a New Day (Helping Hand)

BY GUNSMILE

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Lia

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March 30th

Petalburg City, Hoenn

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POSTED ON Sept 16, 2022 2:05:38 GMT

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Who is doing the cooking?
[break][break]
She knows he’s teasing her… Or, well, she assumes that he’s probably teasing her, but the comment does no more than heighten Lia’s feelings about how domestic this conversation is. Her blush deepens and she focuses even harder on packing the lunches, and yet as takes care to methodically prepare another sandwich, the realisation comes that it’s not at all a bad feeling. Even if it’s embarrassing, even if it makes her heart beat stupidly fast, talking about these things with Marshall is nice. She likes thinking about it.
[break][break]
The rest of the conversation, though? Not so much.
[break][break]
She’s honest because it’s him, because it matters to her, and because she wants him to understand. Hoenn is her home, it has always been, and as much as Lia has travelled and learned about other places, she has never even thought of living anywhere else.
[break][break]
As such, the question surprises her.
[break][break]
”Oh…” Lia turns to look at Marshall, golden eyes looking up into his. A strand of hair is gently tucked behind her ear. ”...Like where?”
[break][break]
”Like with you?”
[break][break]
Ironic, how she had just been thinking of it.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@marshall

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POSTED ON Sept 16, 2022 16:48:12 GMT

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"...Like where?"[break][break]

Damn, was Lia reading his mind?! Marshall's blush deepened, and he hastened packing the lunchbox currently in front of him in order to distract himself from the question. "Um, well," he started, trying to find the right words. "Well, I dunno."[break][break]

Should he be honest? Normally, he was not a coward. He surfed, climbed mountains, snowboarded, raced at high speeds — all manner of extreme sports that risked his life. And yet he couldn't find the right words to tell his crush that he liked her?[break][break]

What the hell, Marshall?[break][break]

"Like Unova, I guess."

[break]

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[break]

NOTES

+ Mission: Zero to One Hundred[break]
+ Dawn of a New Day (Helping Hand)

BY GUNSMILE

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Lia

She/Her

March 30th

Petalburg City, Hoenn

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POSTED ON Sept 22, 2022 2:10:04 GMT

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Her life is in Hoenn, it has always been, and truth be told, Lia had thought it always would be. She really had never entertained the thought of living somewhere else, but when Marshall mentions Unova, looking up into his eyes, she allows herself to imagine what it would be like.
[break][break]
”Unova?”
[break][break]
He hadn’t said anything about living with him, but the thought is there anyway: moving to some quiet town in Unova, finding a place together, and having the sort of nice and uneventful life Lia has only ever read about in books and seen in movies. Peaceful, quiet, and nice. Neither of them are made for peace and quiet, that much is obvious enough, but maybe she could get used to even something like that if it were with him…
[break][break]
What the hell is she thinking?! This is crazy. It’s not like they’re dating or anything.
[break][break]
”Maybe… There’s a lot of places in Unova I’ve always wanted to visit.”
[break][break]
Her cheeks are burning up, she’s sure he can see her blushing, but she doesn’t look away all the same, and for a moment, Lia forgets all about making sandwiches.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@marshall

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Outfit Check[BREAK][BREAK]
DAWN OF A NEW DAY - HELPING HAND🌟

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POSTED ON Sept 22, 2022 12:17:10 GMT

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"I'll take you sometime," Marshall blurted out without thinking twice. His head was suddenly full of imagined scenarios: a road trip across the region with Lia, taking her surfing at the beaches of Undella Town, skiing and snowboarding in Icirrus, and dirt biking the familiar trails near his hometown of Accumula.[break][break]

"Which places have you wanted to see? We can make a road trip out of it! There are some good long distance motorcycles out there, two-seaters too. If you want, I mean. We can rent a car, too."[break][break]

His rambling was a mix of sheer excitement and slight embarrassment at even suggesting Unova to her. After all, her life was in Hoenn, right? Her family, her hometown, her job. It would be silly to think she'd give it all up to move to his home with him, but—[break][break]

Wait, why was he thinking that? They weren't even dating![break][break]

Still, he beamed at her. "After the dome goes away, all right? Let's do it."

[break]

[attr="class","marshallpostooc"]

[break]

NOTES

+ Mission: Zero to One Hundred[break]
+ Dawn of a New Day (Helping Hand)

BY GUNSMILE

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Lia

She/Her

March 30th

Petalburg City, Hoenn

Bisexual

Historian / Explorer

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187 height

I can and I will. Watch me.

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