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.
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 15, 2017 21:33:35 GMT -6
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The way his fingers drum against the table b=make her uneasy. No. The more she thinks about it, the truer it becomes that everything about him makes her feel uneasy, ever since that day. She could pretend and smile and say soft things all she liked, but wishful words and idyllic thoughts could not persuade time to turn back. They couldn't spend another eternity trying to piece back a trust that had been broken, a love that had never been whole to begin with.
Nevertheless, Harper mirrors James' reaction, a tiny bit of her lips quirking up in a coy smile.
God, sometimes, she sickens herself. The thought has only just entered when James says something that makes her stomach feel truly queasy. But she's already braced herself to the truth. And it's time she told him the truth as well. "Well, it wasn't easy," she admitted. "I spent a night in Eirenhyre before I actually even got here. But it was just my luck that I ran into a kind old man that let me stay a night in this coffee shop..." An out of the world smile falls on her face as she remembers the day-- vividly, like it's a movie happening right before her eyes.
"It wasn't easy at all," she mumbles.
And then she heard the noise of footsteps walking towards their table, and she was overcome with dread. She couldn't say it. Not now. Could she? Was she brave enough?
"But I guess...I guess that's what happens when a parallax heiress tries to convince people she's on their side." And it's hard to tell lies, especially to James. So she says only the truth. "And you know there were some days I wish I was back home. The coral reefs and endless blue of Irisia never left my dreams for so long. But James---"
the footsteps are getting louder. Harper's heart is hammering for some reason. His order is about to come to their table. All the noise sounds like it's getting amplified, and she's always fighting to be heard. Especially when it comes to talking with James. She stands up suddenly, breathless-- with stars in her eyes. On some level, she supposes, she's always wanted him to understand. The boy she had spent her whole childhood trying to figure out. It would have been so much nicer, so much better if she could have told him exactly why she'd left.
"I'm happy now, where I am!"
The waitress isn't the same one they ordered from, and she passes their table by. It seems as though, once again, Harper's gotten riled up at something so seemingly insignificant. Harper blushed toe-to-forehead when she realized what had happened, and quietly settled herself down. However, the napkin she had placed on her lap had fallen down, and she hadn't noticed at all.
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 10, 2017 10:15:22 GMT -6
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James quirks an eyebrow but doesn't respond, and Harper shifts uncomfortably, wondering how long she'll be here for. She casts a quick glance towards the kitchen. She hasn't ordered anything at all, but at the very least she has to wait until the food arrives. It would be rude not to after they've already ordered.
Time stretches on as James speaks of Irisia. He's always been happy to be a part of that city-- unique, distinguished, dignified. Everything he had always tried to be, even as a kid. And there he goes again. Harper picks up on the detail immediately. She asks the same from others so it'd be rude not to read between the lines as often as she does. Sorrow drenches her mind, mixed with a sudden nostalgia for home.
His question catches her off guard. She thought he'd ask about her job, or why she left home. Yet James was playing her game now, taking his time with the conversation. In fact.. she stole a quick glance to the kitchen again, and to the rest of the restaurant...it was like time had been frozen in place. But even if she'd been given all the time in the world, she wouldn't come up with an answer good enough for this one. "It's wonderful, really. Everytime you think you've seen all of it, you find another turn, another field, another street. It's as endless as the sea."And it's home, present tense. She makes no note of it being incomplete. Because it isn't, at all. And she won't let herself admit that every time she looks at James she starts to feel homesick. "Did you ever cut down on the junk food?" she asks, attempting once again to lighten the mood. It's impossible, but she's always been a sucker for the impossible.
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 10, 2017 7:09:41 GMT -6
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Harper returned the smile, though she was evidently still flustered by what had happened, and her eyes seemed to scan the crowd, painfully aware of things. She dind't like being reminded of the existence of crowds. It was easier when she had something good to show, and sometimes it was genuinely fun to be around people. But this had to be a prime example of all the reasons why Harper would much sooner be left to her won devices. "Thanks," she said, taking the napkin from the girl and using to the daintily wipe at her, hand, wincing in pain but not giving much more reaction than that.
Harper's smile grew uncomfortable on her face as Evie pulled her hand to inspect. Did this girl have no boundaries or something? She had a (quickly suppressed) expression of distaste when her hand was handed back to her. All that time but she wasn't exactly used to being touched too suddenly. "Oh, that's fine, I think water will do," she said, not wanting to accept more help than she already had.
Harper smiled again, and it was stretched oddly across her face as though she had no idea how to refuse that invitation without seeming downright rude. She didn't honestly want to spend more time with this woman, but she had to twist the situation in her favor somehow. "Sure. I'll pay. It's the least I could do."
Harper dashed off to the counter to get her hand under a sink and more coffees ready. While there, the owner made some offhand comment about her having an unusual way of making friends, and she could only groan internally as she made some innocent comment on the surface. When she returned, she came bearing two cups of cappuccino. Years of networking had taught her what the more favored drink was, and she gave the girl hers with practiced ease and a casual, "Oh I hope you don't mind cappuccino?"
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 10, 2017 5:56:22 GMT -6
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As soon as she speaks in a tone reminiscent of yesterday, Jame's expression softens. It goes from stoic to wistful, and she feels a sharp pain in her chest when he smiles awkwardly. He teases her, and shes not quite sure what to feel, or if she should feel anything at all. Would it be wrong to say he looks perfect with a half-dazed smile and wide, open eyes? It's just her silly mind acting up again, she reminds herself. She thinks back to what her mother used to say. To rose tinted eyes like yours, even barbarianism would be poetic. Well, now that her job was pretty much doing just that, she wondered what mother would say.
James' napkin is on his lap and Harper's soon follows, not without a frown beginning to tug at the corner of her lips. Their eyes meet, and it's all harper can do to keep up with the intensity of his green eyes. She barely notices the waitress leaving, as everything vanishes in the CEO of Silph Co's radiance. Or darkness? It's hard to tell.
James isn't talkative, but when he talks he's always fond of getting to the point. Harper's not sure if it's a business thing or if, like her, he can't stand small talk on foolish topics, but it's one thing that's always brought them together. Though now it might not work that way.
"You could have started with something simpler," she says, and her voice is a whisper as she breaks his gaze. Sighing, and attempting to relax on the hard wooden chair she's so unused to in some foreign restaurant, Harper speaks.
"It's not like I own a house here, after all," she says, but she's pushing her luck with her teasing this time and she knows it. "I'm here because I got a job here, in marketing..."
Why can't she bring herself to say the truth that right in front of her? Why can't James bring himself to see the truth that's right in front of him? At this rate, there will be no end to the game they're playing.
"As for my question...How's Irisia?" She can't be specific or direct. It's simply not in her nature. And while she might have been playing games with anyone else, suddenly there's a sharp longing in her heart for her old home and she wants to know what the underwater palace has been like without her there. But she dismisses the thought. Irisia was home.
since you mentioned something about mercer perhaps working for her family in the past (kek bodyguard mission), i could imagine him having met harper when she was a lot more entitled. she probably wouldn't have talked much to him considering her situation, but he would have been able to pick up quite a bit about her. harper wouldn't like him at all even though now he's in the republic, but since they're both on the "same side" i could see her playing nice or being passive aggressive. "sketchy bad republic people" is sort of a reputation that harper's working desperately to avoid so she'd probably get super frustrated with mercer and if they're ever on a mission or the like together i can see her being sarcastic and/or whiny. mercer, ofc, could use the opportunity to point out her character flaws, mockingly calling her princess or something bc she does have the tendency to be...well; a rich girl. it's really fun bc harper's so idealistic and mercer's just living breathing proof that there are going to be "sketchy" people everywhere-- what do you say?? add/subtract/delete/rearrange?
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 7, 2017 10:15:39 GMT -6
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She's in another memory, another wistful time. Because there had been a point in her life, when she had been all quirk and sarcasm, as sheltered and privileged as she had been made to be. When she had been coy and confident, before she'd known anything at all and when she had though she had known everything there was to know. Would it have been easier to have remained like that, frozen in place? Would James and she have been happy? Ignorance is bliss. But she chose to run from that one.
Jame's voice drags her out, startling her. And for once there's nothing on her face except sudden fear and horror as she stares at him. A nano second, only, but she's sure he won't miss the expression she had given him before she'd run out of that cafe all those years ago. And in a flash she's regained composure again because it's taking her everything she has to even say anything at all in front of him.
Harper watches him, and swallows a dry lump in her throat before giving the table a coy smile. "Well you know I always did say you had too many meetings for your own good." A truck of nostalgia hits her like a ton of bricks, and she feels nauseous. Why did she say that? It feels so wrong and right at the same time.
No. She can't avoid this any longer, or pretend like it's okay, or make herself believe that she's in a simpler time. It won't work that way. "I'm sorry, James. I guess I was trying to run away again..." Finally, her eyes meet his. She's ready to try again, she's ready to take anything he can throw at her. Or so she thinks.
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 7, 2017 9:48:43 GMT -6
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Her shower had tkaen her the better half of her morning. And now, it was taking the better half of the situation to really even react. Sometimes, her head was too far in an other dimension to really even believe that Harper was, in fact, alive on the same earth as everyone else. She only came to her senses (from the vivid, horrifying worst case scenarios she had just found herself imagining) when she saw another woman cleaning up her mess. Oh god.
She wasn't sure how to act, and unlikt he girl she couldn't give herself the further embarrassment of jumping down onto the group and wiping up the floor with paper towls of all things. As much as she'd like to play hero like that, Harper's upbringing wouldn't allow it. Instead, she mumbled incoherently... of course she did. "Ah! No, please, that's unneccessary, I really don't--"
As usually, she was saved by the employees, which only made her embarrassment levels reach the stratosphere. The janitor would likely attempt to relive the pink haired woman from her napkin-ing, with Harper desperately trying to stare a new hole in the ground. She was burning red, coffee or not. "No, no. I think I'm fine. Thank you so much..." It took her another minute to get what the girl was thinking of. "Oh this?" she said, absentmindedly bringing her hand to her bangs. "Oh that's just water--"
Well, the liquid on her bangs was just water, anyway. That much was obvious from the fact that she'd been in a shower. But the brown liquid dripping from her hand --how had it gotten there?-- was something else entirely.
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 6, 2017 6:10:54 GMT -6
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As usual, James doesn't understand. She smiles softly, staring out into space as she often does, frozen in time as her mind reaches elsewhere. She supposes she's never really been clear, and a long long time ago she could count of James to bring her back to reality or clean up the mess that's her mind. But now it just feels like they're speaking two different languages, taught two different vocabularies.
Her mind goes back to that day, where she had run away from him. From her family, and never once looked back. She had run from the cafe to an alleyway where he wouldn't find her, and then she had run back home. After lying and telling her parents she was going out to meet James, she had stuffed everything she could into a duffel bag and disappeared. What had happened next? She imagined James giving up on his search and bursting through the door of her home, shouting at her parents, maybe. She imagined them rining her up, only to find that her phone had been left absent mindedly by the bathroom sink. How long had they stayed up, waiting for her to come back?
Guilt fills her wholly, and James' rising voice makes her close her eyes and brace herself because she's certain she won't be able to survive what comes next.
And the waitress interrupts James. And she opens her eyes, and stares, practically bewildered. She's looking at the waitress for a few moments, before it comes back to her. "No, thank you. I won't be having anything."
She gulps and turns to look at James. "Thank you so much. But I shouldn't have come with you. You...shouldn't have come here." Her heart is beating wildly again, remembering the last time she'd gone against James in such a similar backdrop.
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 4, 2017 9:40:22 GMT -6
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She's barely made an answer, though it's an honest effort of hers. Regardless, she regrets the words as they leave her mouth. But words, like time, can never be taken back. And it's two years she has to repent for. She feels like a fifteen year old girl again, getting reprimanded for a single hair being out of place, or looking outside the window while attending one of father's meetings. When James sighs angrily, she's afraid she's said something wrong, and the thought paralyzes her.
Busy how.
And that brings her back to life. Her chest swells up, and she blinks suddenly. How could she have forgotten? How did she let it get this far? James simply breathing again in her life made her forget everything. All the friends she'd made in the past few years, all the wonderful work she'd been doing as the head of marketing. All the people and the pokemon she'd met. She swallowed hard, and she knew she had to speak for herself now, or get lost as history repeated herself.
"The past two years." She says, firmly, now. "I guess I...I've rented an apartment in New Veherena, James." Though she can be quite charming, she has the habit of speaking with her words and ideas all over the place, fragments that only seem to come together when she's done. "I've met new people." Her eyes stare at the table, glance away to see strange faces occupying the tables near them. "I've made new friends." Each word is made distinct from the other by furtive glances towards James, as though afraid of what he'd think of her. "I've learned...so much."
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 4, 2017 7:17:17 GMT -6
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He motions for her to lead, and when she does the only thing she can feel are his eyes on her back, and the rising beat of her heart. It's so loud that the sound swallows the city whole, and it's just the two of them again. "I've been okay," she says, quietly, because she wants something (anything) to punctuate her heartbeats and make them seem more steady.
When she takes a risk and glances back, James is on his phone, the vaguest hints of a faraway smile on his face as he types quickly across the screen. In that instance, a wave of nostalgia hits Harper and reminds her of everything that could have been. They could have been everything, had everything, done anything together. She tore that future apart. And her reasons almost had nothing to do with James. He didn't deserve what she had done...
Her eyes averted and she walked into a small corner shop with pretty wooden furniture and a classic sandwhich menu. It was quaint, and little bits of the paint on the walls was peeling off, but there were few people still. She sits down as he speaks, and she opens her mouth but she doesn't want to choke on her words. Because she doesn't want to stutter, not when saying this. "James I--" and for a minute, it sounds like she's about to say something, and that she's been looking to say something for years and years. But she catches herself, and averts her eyes again, looking at the old and deteriorating wall. "You're right I've been...busy."
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 4, 2017 4:47:44 GMT -6
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Her elbow's already numb by the time he thinks to let go.
His words sort of phase out, going from one ear to the next and losing themselves in the wind. They mix with the voices of the people near them, fading, fading, lost forever. It had been easy to forget, but right now she was staring him in the face and it was far, far easier to remember. Everything. Vividly, suddenly-- like a blast of water across her face. She didn't want to remember.
She's spent too long a time hiding in his shadow to even dream of seeing the light when he's so close. How had he found her? Had he been looking for her? Would he take her back? Harper reverted, all of a sudden, into something she didn't want to see ever again. It was just lunch. It was lunch. With her betrothed. With James... The walls of her past had closed in. She could not break free. "Yeah...Okay." She said while nodding, but she was quick to break contact with his eyes.
She hadn't eaten yet. At least, that was what she told herself.
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 4, 2017 1:07:00 GMT -6
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Harper's in her own world as usual, headphones blaring music into her ears and her thoughts lost someplace where terrible office lunch and the hustle and bustle of the city can't reach her. It's so easy to forget about everything like this-- these re the busy days she forgets even to eat or go anywhere, and all around here are the things she'd rather be immersed in, or already is.
The call to reality goes unheard, and her naivity allows her to ignore the shift in the crowd-- she's invisible when she wants to be and she has no reason to believe that they're whispering about her. Or the boy behind her, always, always running behind her.
And then something jolts her elbow, catching on and grabbing the loose wire that makes up her headphones. When she walks, the force tugs at her ears and at her hands and she stops, turning around, completely startled...
But startled doesn't even begin to define her expression when her eyes fall on him. One item on the far too long list of things that she had left behind. She'd speak, but she's certain that if she opens her mouth her heart will fall right out, and spill all the words she never said onto the streets. Busy people walk them by, but some leave whispers before they go.
"J-james," she stutters his name. Because saying it after all these years is as close to confrontation as she ever wanted to be.
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 3, 2017 23:53:02 GMT -6
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The morning started, of course, with scheduled posts to all The Republic's social media accounts. The dawn in New Veherena was quite a sight for the sore eyes-- golden rays touching at green fields, spacious lands, and all the wonders of the world that Parallax wanted to take. She saw it first hazily through the screen of her phone; the post she'd spent weeks preparing beforehand. New Veherena was theirs, and their supporters would see it first through the marketing team's skilled photographers eyes. Harper offered her screen a lazy smile, but when she cast aside the curtains to see the view herself, it hastily widened into a grin. For once, she didn't want to stay in bed too long.
Hah, who was she kidding.
She brushed her teeth at around noon, and climbed out of the shower half an hour later with a yawn still poking through her features. The upside, was, she supposed, that her apartment flat was only four floors above a coffeeshop. She needed her burst of energy. As usual, she seemed to walk along to her own rhythm, no matter how far it contrasted the sway of the crowd. People had already piled into the shop, but the owner gave her a holler when she skipped in. She waved and smiled, running up to the counter to quickly take her order (at this point, it was always there, steaming and ready for her at one o'clock every saturday).
She spun around, drink in her hand, and landed the hot coffee a one way ticket into the air--
--and onto the ground.
And she became the center of attention far too early to call it a lazy morning anymore. Blinking hastily, wet bangs still clinging to her forehead, Harper could feel the color rising in her face.
Post by HARPER THORNE on Jan 3, 2017 22:26:26 GMT -6
harper thorne
twenty-four y/o selling the rebellion
friends
Harper's got friends in droves. She's talkative, excitable, and has a penchant for discussing bold ideas in colors and is music more so than simple words-- she loves the abstract, the sensational and anything that is not everyday. People are often attracted to her, and she is happy to grace them. She's an emotional activist, a passionate person and the head of marketing for the republic which means she should have lots of friends. However she does have the tendency to keep people at arms length, and to get further than the exterior requires a ot of work. Regardless, Harper is a loyal and dedicated friend that can't help but idolize the people shes grown found of-- arms length or not..
enemies
Harper's the daughter of a rich girl pretending to be an anti-Parallax activitis that probably doesn't know nature if i hit her with a brick-- or so her enemies say. She can come off as condescending and entitled. She keps people away from her, and if you study her enough you'll know she's plenty secretive. Also, she betrayed her famiy and Parallax. And she's sort of out-there and weird, some times. It's not too hard to make her hate you. Just do something that doesn't correspond with her values or hate her-- she likes to avoid hate and discomfort, but if it can't be helped she will fight back. Especially if her ideals are on the line.
lovers
After barely escaping an arranged marriage to James Deleon (and with the boy still on her back) and having nearly every guy she talked to hurt or damaged in some way, Harper's not the most open spirited about romance. She'll fall hard, but might not act on it, and she's terrified of committment so she keeps things as crushes. After all, they keep life interesting. An actual relationship without yandere undertones? Consider her a stranger. It might be easier than you think to win her slightly naive heart...
etc
She's an only child, but she probably has a ton of Parallax-minded cousins. Maybe some childhood friends that ran away from Irisia with her to join with the republic? Some people after her to get her to return as the Thorne heiress? An old/ex bodyguard? A mentor? Her kohais in the markerting dept? I am ready for all the plots~~ .
