TWO YEARS AGO, A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION GOING BY THE NAME TEAM IMUM WRECKED CHAOS ACROSS THE LAND, DAMAGING CITIES AND KILLING THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS. While Imum itself has long since been disbanded, however, the region remains broken: entire towns have been laid to waste and the Association struggles to find homes for those who were lucky enough to survive the attempted genocide. Reconstruction trudges on as usual... but with three factions - the Association, the corporations, and the people - each wishing to take the rebuilding of an entire region down opposite paths, how long will it be before Lyeant's last leg gives out permanently?
03.01
first activity check is currently underway. regardless of your green status, please be sure to check it out and make extra sure your characters make it safe and sound after the eighth of march.
01.28
we're officially re-opened! come check out our event, the pokeathlon forever to enjoy some fresh restart activities. let leap know if there are any skin bugs, and they'll be sorted out accordingly!
Care to hear about our lord and savior Operation: Mindcrime? In all seriousness: Hello, hello! I'm Pharaoh Leap – or just Leap – local head admin and rock opera enthusiast. On the rare chance you catch me in a time when I'm not bawling about characters entirely written into song, you may see me actually doing work around the site, like skinning, making too many characters, and encouraging others to also make too many characters. I only know how to write angst, and in no fewer than six trillion words an app or post, so if you like dying while reading like I like dying while writing, I'm the girl for you. ;o
Howdy guys! The names Astro and I am your resident Brit & Red muse (you'll honestly see me more on him than any of my other characters). I'm a moderator and my main job is to make sure everything is running smoothly so the Admins can focus on other things, you'll often see me within the apps and shops, etc when I'm not on Red. What can I say about myself? Apart from being a Red fanboy I like music and games and yaoi huehue, I honestly never now what to put into these sort of things but ohwell, I'm more of a "ask me and I'll tell" sorta guy. Anyway, from my personally I hope that you enjoy the site and what we produce here but also if you're new, please look around and if you like what you see please consider joining for rad plots that everyone gives! :D
Hey there~ Nano over here! I uh.. Wait, I'm doing this right, right? Bleh. So I'm a moderator over here - fun, fun - who kind of just.. Keeps an eye on everyone. You know, the whole app thing and what not. Uh.. Lets see.. When I'm not doing school work (because I may or may not be trying to be a good student) I'm probably storming up new ideas like events and etc. Or plots. Plots are always good, too. As you can see, I uh.. Have the horrible habit of making way too many characters. I swear, I was tempted with plots, ships and angst. It's like, the holy trinity. Uh.. What else is there about me? Oh, right! Please excuse my obnoxiousness. I'm just really loud in general so don't be surprised if I start screaming as loudly as I can caps. So yeah. Nice meeting you!
tbe: take two! is inspired by, but not associated with nintendo's pokemon franchise. the current skin was created by pharaoh leap using font icons primarily from ion icons and fonts from google fonts. banner art by vav of pixiv. characters, with the exception of canons from the manga, belong to the members who write them, and all posts and templates on site are credited to their respective authors and artists. we claim nothing that is not ours.
The stark, chiming echo of the schoolbell shrilled through the air, alerting the students that it was time for dismissal and snapping Edd from his drowsing to full alertness. At once he jerked up, pretending that he absolutely hadn't been dozing off on his desk, no sirree. Only once he figured out that it was the bell that had woken him and not the voice of an angry teacher did he relax a little bit, climbing down from his chair and heading over to his cubby to grab his backpack. He sighed as he unceremoniously dropped his books in, jerking the zipper shut and meandering out the door. He really, really wasn't looking forward to the walk home, but he had very little choice. It's not like anybody could come get him, he just had to suck it up and get it over with.[break][break] No sooner had he descended the school steps and started hurrying down the sidewalk; hoping against hope that his lateness would mean everyone else was gone, than he was greeted by a cold and unpleasant voice just behind him, making him freeze.[break]
"Hey Allison! Little Allie, what is a girl like you doing out here all by herself?"[break] The voice grated up Edd's spine in the worst way, making him curl in on himself a bit as though his backpack might protect him. Slowly he turned, looking over his familiar rival with anxiety. He could scarcely remember the name of the boy, Larry, maybe? With his horrible little cronies Chris and Kate, all older than Edd by a year or two and more than happy enough to cause trouble on his way home. Reaching for calm, Edd breathed in, trying to keep his voice steady as he answered in hopes of getting away without too much trouble.[break] "It's Edd, you know it is, Larry. I'm not a girl, and I'm just trying to get home."[break] Praying that would be enough, he made a new attempt to walk away; only to be stopped by the hand that roughly grabbed at his backpack, yanking him to a stop and drawing a yelp out of him. Thrown off balance by the sudden halt, he staggered and fell onto the sidewalk, instinctively curling in on himself to protect from what he knew came next.[break] This was not the first time this had happened, and he knew well enough to be prepared. The first kicks to his ribs hardly even hurt anymore, though Kate's scrambling to take swings at him still did. Each hit was punctuated with icy words and laughter, and with three to one all he could really do was wait. for it to be over.
The past few months for Tord have been a wild ride from start to finish, but school was always the same. It'd only been about a week, but it was... the same. He didn't understand every single word spoken by the teachers or students, still only on the basics of his second language, but he was a smart kid. Assignments would be finished quickly - at least, once his teacher explained them a little easier - and Tord would spend the rest of the class doodling on a piece of paper or people-watching. The only real great thing about this school was that, in his class, he wasn't the only one different. He looked like a demon, sure, but man, you should see this other kid - a flat out monster. Tord thought he looked cool.[break][break]
But they never spoke. Tord didn't speak to any of his classmates, not yet. He wanted to suss them up, see what they were like - maybe he was shy? He had no reason not to be, at least. That wasn't to say he didn't want to make friends, he just wasn't... sure as to how, yet. One kid walked the same way home as he did, the kid who's favorite color was green and who liked to hang around the monster boy. Some of the other children were... mean to him, but Tord couldn't tell why. Seemed like a nice boy, kept to himself, wasn't malicious.[break][break]
Tord planned on staying a little late, seeing if maybe, this boy would be... go home friends? Is that what they're called? That's what he'd call them, at least. He idled around, swishing his tail behind him with anticipation, hands fiddling with the arms of his backpack - by the time he'd worked up a nerve, the boy was already on his way out, and Tord lost his nerve instantly. It wasn't meant to be, he guessed, thinking about how late it probably was and how his own parents were going to yell about it.[break][break]
They always yelled about something.[break][break]
The walk home started off lonely, started off boring, he kept a few steps back as to not creep the boy out, but that was that. It wasn't until some other kids - older kids - started picking a fight that Tord gained interest, backing behind a tree and watching silently at the three began to taunt at the boy. Allison? There wasn't a child in their class named Allison - nor did that fit the boys name! Edd, yeah, Edd was his name. Tord didn't follow everything said, cursing his inability to grasp English as well as he wanted to, but the second Edd was down, that upset went out the window into a whole 'nother rage.[break][break]
Dropping his backpack to the ground, Tord quickly ran forward, smoke billowing almost uncontrollably out of his mouth. "Hey!" He remembered in movies, a line that heroes always seemed to say to jerks. It seemed cliche enough to work right now. "Pick on your own size." Now, Tord was little - one of the smallest kids in his class. That did not, in the slightest, imply they should pick a fight with him. But, back at home, Tord had been known to be a little rowdy. Here was different, but that reputation would not escape him just yet.[break][break]
Grabbing the girl by the shoulder and yanking her off of Edd, Tord drew his fist back, punching her with as much force as he could pact into her face.
Once upon a time Edd would have defended himself from this assault, but the first time he'd fought back against Larry had merely provoked the bigger kid to bring his cronies the next time. Trying to struggle only made the attacks worse, and he feared that trying again would invite them to bring an even bigger army next time. Besides, he may not be a decently big kid, but that didn't mean he could even begin to stand a chance against three kids who were already older than him. All he could really do against them was try and shield himself with his arms and backpack, whimpering faint protests to their sneered comments. He wasn't a girl, his name wasn't Allison, he wasn't pathetic or stupid or a freak, he was a boy and a good kid...[break] His quiet attempts to defend himself were cut off quite suddenly, as the assault of kicks and punches slowed rather suddenly. It seemed too soon for them to be done, leaving Edd confused and wary; a sentiment that only deepened when he managed to draw in a breath. Why did he smell smoke?[break] All at once the Kate's thin weight disappeared from where she'd been climbing on him, far too quickly for her to have climbed off herself. Curious and startled, Edd lifted his head, eyes widening as he spotted the new kid from class. What was he doing here? Was he defending him? It took a long second to process this information, but as soon as it clicked in his mind the boy scrambled to his feet. After all, Larry and Chris had gotten over their shock and were looking pretty pissed off, and Edd wasn't going to let his apparent protector take the worst from all three of them. [break][break] Gaining his nerve and thriving on the adrenaline coursing through him, he grabbed the back of Chris's shirt and yanked him away from where he'd begun to attack the newcomer. What was his name? Trent? Todd? It was tough to remember, especially in the heat of the moment. When Chris spun to get a look at his new assailant, Edd was ready and waiting; and promptly clocked him in the jaw. He winced in pain as the impact jolted his knuckles, knowing he likely didn't have the expertise to not injure himself fighting like this; but at least Chris was looking worse for wear. Before his opponent could regain himself, Edd had punched him in the gut, following that up with a firm shove that planted the older boy flat on the sidewalk. Breathing heavily and aching all over from his previous beating, Edd looked up to survey the scene, only to see Larry coming up for a surprise attack on the new kid, who seemed to still be distracted by Kate.[break] Very suddenly, Edd could remember his name.[break] "Tord!!! Look out!!" [break] As soon as the cry had left his mouth he started running, acting on full impulse, and slammed his shoulder squarely into Larry's back. The larger boy stumbled at least, slowing his intended attack on Tord, but Edd had clearly not thought this through enough; as he promptly bounced off and hit the ground with a thud.
Maybe if Tord'd been bigger, these three jerks would have hightailed it immediately. Instead, the initial shock only remained as such, and faded with fury on the other boy's parts. But Tord kept wailing on the girl, trying to beat her down into leaving before he handled the other two - after all, she had thrown petty shots, she had no right to do so. The two boys had decided Tord was their new target, but that didn't last long when Edd finally stepped up. Thank all heavens for that.[break][break]
He was distracted, focusing on giving the girl what she had deserved as best he could - when he heard his name and started, looking up and behind him to witness Edd full body slam the older boy attacking them. Watching him bounce off the other like a ball, the boy only wobbling, Tord figured now was the right time to try intimidating them. Scrambling off of the child, the gijinka reeled back, growling and lashing his tail behind him, opening his mouth and billowing as much smoke as he could manage. [break][break]
If these kids knew better, they'd run. By all angles, it looked like Tord was about to shoot something from his mouth, sparks flying in the back of his throat. He hoped the facade would work and chase them off.
The harsh landing against concrete on already bruised ribs had winded Edd for the moment, leaving him to lay there and catch his breath. Closing his eyes for a moment, he drew a few quick breaths and took inventory to make sure he hadn't busted his head or anything before snapping them open again for a look around. From his perspective on the ground, he could see Chris starting to get up again, and at once he stumbled to his feet and prepped for more fighting. He was not talented at this by any means, but surely he could at least keep one of these older jerkwads at bay so they couldn't bother his new friend. [break] As it would turn out though, he might not have to, as Chris turned toward him and immediately froze; staring wide eyed at something behind him. Confused, Edd tossed a glance over his shoulder and froze on the spot. Okay, so the new kid had apparently harnessed some of his abilities as a gijinka. That was absurdly cool, and a little scary, but mostly cool. Upon seeing that his impromptu protector was apparently charging up the fire blast of a lifetime, Edd made a point to duck out of the way and leave the older boys to face the music. Of course, despite their talk and cruelty, none of them were ready to get roasted alive; and with an nervous, aggravated grimace Larry called off his friends and took off down the sidewalk with hardly a word.[break][break] Edd watched their retreat with something like amazement. Nobody had stepped up for him like that before, usually the one or two other kids who noticed what was happening just kept their heads down and went on to avoid becoming the newest victim. Having someone jump to his side like that was a first, and something he hadn't expected from anybody aside from maybe his tepig. Slowly, his gaze wandered over to his new companion, and he blinked =, expression slowly changing from shock to warm gratitude. A bright smile stretched over his bruised face, and he even dared to laugh a little bit in triumph.[break] "Haha, we really showed them! I bet they'll keep running forever and ever after what you did! That was awesome!"[break] As he went on, his cheerier nature took over his soreness and he took a step towards the Norski, almost bouncing as he went. [break] "You're Tord, right? You were so cool! Like a superhero wooshing in against the bad guys. Thanks!"[break] Come to think of it...If Tord had come this way, he must live in this direction. Had they been walking the same way and Edd had never even noticed? That would have to change![break] "Do you wanna walk home together or something?"
Phew, okay, that worked. Somehow, that had worked. Tord closed his mouth, glaring at the trio as they retreated. Once he was sure they were out of sight, the gijinka coughed up some of the remaining smoke and stuck his tongue out. Nasty, nasty nasty. Wiping the taste of smoke from his mouth, Tord started a little when Edd began to speak, almost forgetting he was there. All of his tough exterior melted into something more meek, tail swishing shyly behind him, hands fiddling with the lower hem of his shirt. Right, the friend part of this plan.[break][break]
"Ah - yes. Tord." He didn't want to sound stupid, or like he didn't know how to speak more than the very basics of English - which, uh, was the case. Instead, he chose his words carefully, choosing that not every word spoken by Edd was important and he could miss a few facts. Fidgeting, he gave a nod, giving a shy smile and wordlessly going back to where he'd left his backpack. Once it was obtained, the gijinka pointed in the direction they were heading. "Yes, uhm, thank you?" His cool-guy facade was down the drain and now he had to seem at least somewhat functioning as friend material.
Edd noticed immediately that his new friend's demeanor had changed. The powerful, intimidating stance had melted away in an instant, replaced by obvious uncertainty and a sort of shyness. Then again, Edd couldn't exactly blame him, he'd moved here from a whole different country! Or at least that's what the teacher had said. Besides, it was okay if he was a bit anxious, he was still really cool! Definitely top notch friend material, and Edd hoped to be just that. All at once, a trickle of anxiety began to slide down his spine; making him question if he was anywhere near cool or interesting enough to be friends with this guy. He had come from far away and had seen awesome far away things, maybe he wouldn't be fond of a small town gulpin gijinka. After all, a fair number of the kids who'd been his classmates for always didn't even like him![break] Thankfully, the worst of these fears was swiftly extinguished when Tord returned with his backpack and agreed to walk together. Edd lit up on the spot, the worried frown he'd been sporting quickly morphing into a beaming grin as he nodded to his companion's pointing. [break] "Yeah! I live this way, and since you're on this path I guess you do too. C'mon, let's get going!"[break][break] Happy and excited at the prospect of a new friend, Edd extended his hand to grab the Norski's own before beginning at a quick trot down the sidewalk, rattling off all the while. He'd always had a bad habit of getting a bit talkative when he was enthused, and today was no exception; though thankfully he did leave pauses for Tord to speak as well.[break] "Y'know, I don't think we've ever had a new kid before. It's really cool that you came here from way off where you used to live! I really like your tail and horns too, you look so awesome and tough!"[break] He flashed another smile, slowing down as his initial hyperactive eagerness began to calm; until they were walking easily towards their respective houses. For once, Edd wasn't all that eager to get home, he wanted to spend time with Tord first.[break] "Where did you come from? Did you move here for top secret spy reasons?"
Thank Arceus, this kid was friendly. And excited, it seemed. His excitedness helped chill Tord's anxiety a bit, relaxing the gijinka. Still, he fiddled around, pulling at the collar of his shirt and chewing on it gently. Tord let his new friend take his hand, following along without protest, quiet while the boy babbled. He got the gist of what was said, more or less. Mostly less, Edd was talking a bit fast. Doing the polite thing and nodding along, Tord gave a shy smile at the compliment - 'cool' and 'awesome' were definitely nice words![break][break]
At the new inquiry, Tord paused, tilting his head and pulling his shirt from his mouth, wearing a very confused expression. Choosing his words as carefully as he could, the small gijinka spoke slowly. "What does 'spy'? 'Secret'?" These words felt entirely foreign, and he did his absolute best in mimicking how they were said, but no doubt did his accent make that difficult, the vowels too emphasized.
Somehow, despite all his awareness that Tord was absolutely from another country, it hadn't really dawned on Edd that he might not speak perfect English yet. Probably because he hadn't really met anyone before who didn't speak it well; though frankly it was something he should have gathered from the beginning. Tord's slow, cautiously enunciated question very suddenly made him aware of this, however, and all at once he was a little ashamed of how fast he'd been talking. Jeez, his poor friend must not have known the vast majority of what he was saying this whole time. Still! He managed to override the shame by deciding that he'd do better from here on out, and turned his gentle, eager smile back to the other. This time when he spoke he was careful to keep it a bit more slow and even; not condescendingly so, just enough to not be rattling off like he'd been doing before.[break] "Oh! You probably don't know all the words yet, huh? That's okay, I don't know all the words yet either, I'll help you!."[break] Secret and spy were probably as good of a place to start as any, since they were clearly very important words that should be used all the time.[break] "Okay so... A secret is like, something you don't want people to know, so you either don't tell anybody or you only tell your most-best friends, but you tell them they can't tell anybody else, so not everybody knows it!"[break] Yeah. definitely a sensible definition. Practically Webster's, that was.[break] "And uhh, a spy... A spy is like, somebody who's hired to find stuff out, or fight bad guys, but they have to do it in secret. They have to be like, hard to find and all their stuff has to be really quiet and fancy so they don't get caught!"[break] Satisfied with that, Edd gave a definitive nod. He felt...oddly important. It wasn't often he got the chance to be the teacher! Honestly, hanging out with Tord was seeming better and better. He probably hadn't seen all the cool stuff around town yet, like the field that always had butterfree hanging around or the tree where everyone tried to set records of who could climb higher! [break] Though, chances are he was getting ahead of himself. He could only hope that his companion was warming up to him the same way.
Tord nodded slowly along as Edd spoke, appreciating the slower speed and doing his best to grasp everything. Edd wasn't a perfect dictionary, nor was he a good translator, but Tord was sure he was getting it. "Ah, a James Bond? He is a spy?" The gijinka had never once seen a James Bond movie, but the adults talked about it a lot, and he got the mildest gist of it. Thinking for a moment, considering whether or not he was, indeed, James Bond or not, Tord shook his head, giving a sad smile.[break][break]
"I am not a James Bond, no. Nothing done is secret, I am going to school and my -" He paused a moment. "Family? Yes, they are going to work." Making an apologetic expression, the gijinka shrugged, moving to nibble on his free hand. He liked Edd, Edd was very kind! Which was interesting, considering Tord was... Tord. The weird, ugly little kid with the tail and temper. Well - now the weird, ugly little kid with the tail, temper, and also accent. "Are you spy? Do you secrets?" Tord thought that over really quick, before leaning in and loud-whispering. "I will not tell."
A James Bond, yes! He was a spy right? Edd also hadn't seen any of his movies, but he'd heard plenty about the guy and he was at least eighty-five percent sure he was a spy. So Tord had it, and his explanation was good! That realization made his chin lift a little bit with pride at the idea of having successfully taught somebody something. As Tord went on, Edd listened with wide, interested eyes; waiting patiently for his companion to pick his words. Though it should seem that his new friend was not actually a top secret government spy, he couldn't find it in him to be disappointed. How could he? He'd maybe found somebody else who actually liked being around him; and more than that, Tord was nice! [break][break] The implication that he might be a spy gave him room for pause, and for a second he contemplated telling the other that he was a spy and trying to play pretend, but it quickly occurred to him that with the language struggle that might be taken seriously. Edd was a lot of things, but a fibber was not one of those things. He opened his mouth to disagree, but broke off when the other leaned in, giggling at the loud-whisper and beaming at the other boy.[break] "No, no, I'm not a spy either! I'm just going to school, like you! Maybe one day we can be spies together, though." He still kept his talking slow, trying to be conscious of his words and not launch off at a million miles per hour, as he was wont to do. The friendly offer to keep his silence if he really was a secret agent meant something to him, and he wanted to repay that with a touch of trust. Even if the biggest secret he had probably wasn't a hard one to notice anyway.[break] "I'm not a spy, but I'll still tell you a secret. You just can't tell, okay?"[break] With that he leaned in close, glancing around them to check for any eavesdroppers. You can never be too careful.[break] "I'm different, like you are! I'm a gulpin, though! Not as cool as you, but still."[break] As soon as he said it, he leaned back and, with one more perimeter glance, lifted the feathery appendage atop his head to show off with a shy smile.
Admittedly, it was probably a good thing Edd was not a spy. James Bond has a lot of movies, Tord is pretty sure - clearly it's hard being a spy, otherwise everything would have been finished and over with in one movie! So, Edd was not a spy, but he did have a secret, to which Tord perked up about, tilting his head and dropping his hands to his sides. Leaning in even more to hear the secret, Tord rose his hand over his ear.[break][break]
Gulpin. Gulpin, gulpin - admittedly... Tord had no clue what that was. It sounded like a Pokemon name, but whether it was called something else in his language, or he just never heard of one, it didn't ring a bell. Tord almost asked what he had meant, looking incredulous and confused - 'different' how? When the little feathery appendage rose from his new friend's head, Tord let out a gasp. A head tail. With almost rude curiosity, the gijinka put his hands on Edd's shoulders, pushing him down a little so he could get a better look at the feather, oogling it a bit.[break][break]
He poked his finger against it, noting the strange texture it had. Looking down at Edd, he loud-whispered, making sure only Edd could properly hear him. "You have tail on head! Your head... is a butt." That was a bad word but you know what, these are trying times.
Okay so, whatever reaction Edd might have anticipated to the grand reveal that he was a gijinka, this was certainly not it. He might have expected to be laughed at, or for Tord to be grossed out, or maybe even being better friends because they both had some pokemon parts, but he had not thought to prepare for hands planting firmly on his shoulders and pushing down until he gave in and squatted. Still, even if it wasn't a response he knew to be ready for, it wasn't one he minded in the least. Calm and rather happy that Tord seemed to be taking this well at least, the larger boy stayed crouched, even going so far as to tilt his head forward for easy access. He'd never had someone so curious before, it was kinda fun![break] The sudden touch to his delicate head-feather surprised him; as did the sudden discovery that it could be a little ticklish. Giggling, he twitched and wiggled the soft appendage to try and shake off the itchy tickle-y feeling; but other than that he accepted his newfound friend's exploration. It was probably fair, he didn't know if they had gulpin wherever Tord had come from, so this might be his first time encountering something like this![break] Honestly though, he could have done without that particular commentary.[break] For a short moment, he was almost hurt. Was Tord making fun of him? Everybody made fun of him, so it wouldn't be a surprise, but the longer he thought about it and measured the other's tone and gentle, inquisitive touches, the more he figured it wasn't meant in cruelty; and after a few seconds of quiet he grinned and laughed a little bit. Okay, yeah, he had to admit. He could see why it would resemble a tail.[break] "Hey, my head's not a butt! Your head is a butt!" [break] His tone was light and well-humored, not mocking at all. As if to punctuate himself, he flicked the little yellow feather forward to purposely tap against Tord's hand before he continued.[break] "It's not a tail, its my head-feather, like gulpins have! They're a type of pokemon, and I was born with some of the stuff they have! Like you have horns and a tail, I have my head-feather and some other stuff!"[break] His speech, though still steady for Tord's benefit, couldn't completely mask his enthusiasm. Even if they weren't as uncommon here as they were in other regions, gijinkas still weren't exactly the average. Meeting new people like him and having them be as nice and fun as Tord seemed to be was a remarkably rare occurrence; and an exciting one at that!
