Zinnia's Multiverse Madness! (Roleplay, March 4-13)

[Virgil134]

Rodion blinked in surprise, before giving Kalas a small frown.

"Eh... I don't know about your world, but that's not how things work where I'm from," the Floatzel answered. "We can use our tails to swim at high speeds, but swirling them in the air would accomplish as much as the average 'mon flailing his arms about."

He cast a glance at the ball pit, and then back at his own tails, before screwing his eyes shut with a low groan.

"But it is a dare, I guess," Rodion sighed. "Sure, I'll try it."

He climbed up to where Kalas had asked him to go earlier and looked down at the ball pit, slowly starting to regret not picking truth earlier. After hesitating a moment, he braced himself begrudgingly.

"Well, here goes nothing..."

The Floatzel jumped down and began to twirl his tails as fast as he could. Much to his surprise, for a brief moment his descent seemed to be slowing down. Did this actually work in this strange world?

"W-Woah!"

... only for Rodion to lurch and lose his balance mid air. Before he knew it, he was tumbling down back first into the ball pit, before disappearing underneath the sea of plastic balls.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Lyle reflexively winced after seeing Rodion fall and go under the ball pit. He made his way over and craned his way over the lip with a puzzled tilt.

"Er... hey, you alright down there?"

 

[Virgil134]

The balls rustled a bit, only for Rodion to pop his head out from underneath them.

"Agh... my back."

The Floatzel made his way to the edge of the ball pit and climbed out of it. After nursing his back a little, he spoke to Lyle in response.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he groaned. "Think I’ll be sticking to the water from now though..."

 

[IFBench]

Gen looked back over at Dave. He'd said he went on an adventure with Saltriv, hadn't he?

"Um...wh-what was your adventure with Saltriv l-like?" the Oshawott asked.

 

[MintyMimix]

Kalas thought back to his off-screen life for a moment. His neck and back feathers stood on end as he recalled some particular cases in his life.

"Shortly before I retired, there was a Kadabra that went around infiltrating jails and police stations and attacking some of the Pokémon prisoners. My partner and I got locked in a room with her while trying to protect two witnesses in the Mad Mothim case... We tried to fight, I swear. It's just she flung us from wall to wall, she flung us at our prisoners, she choked us with her eyes; we were so desperate that it was just a few seconds in but we were down to just tossing ourselves at her, to clamp and clutch at her we could reach just so she could not fling us around. Not even escaping into a vault helped. Fortunately a few trainers with Absol came in."

He preened one of his wings nervously. "I'm a bird, I like to be able to just fly out of a bad match. Being enclosed with such a monster... it hits different."

Robin placed her hands to her mask-covered mouth as she looked in horror at what the Fearow was saying. Pokémon really were as terrifying as she thought! And not only that, but it seemed like even the bigger ones like this bird were helpless in the face of true might. Her gaze unconsciously turned towards Kora - just what kind of terrors could someone with that kind of power inflict, then? She shuddered, grateful that they were friendly. She turned back towards the bird and tilted her head in a silent honor. As fearful as she was for her own life, no one should have to go through something like that.

Jean blinked. Dave glanced over, narrowing his eyes at Kalas. "Why exactly are you trying to explain the furry fandom to her?"

That caught her by surprise. The tenseness in her body released as a muffled snicker escaped her lips.

Kalas gave out a sigh after a moment. "Enough of me, detective work is not that 'lit' as the fledglings say." He looked around checking the other contestants, until his eyes sighted Rodion. "Your world sounded interesting... Rodion, was it? How's about you, Truth or Dare?"

Lit?! Her snickering became fill on giggling as she couldn't help herself. She can't believe she just heard that come out an old Pokémon's beak!

The Floatzel jumped down and began to twirl his tails as fast as he could. Much to his surprise, for a brief moment his descent seemed to be slowing down. Did this actually work in this strange world?

"W-Woah!"

... only for Rodion to lurch and lose his balance mid air. Before he knew it, he was tumbling down back first into the ball pit, before disappearing underneath the sea of plastic balls.

She had no idea what was coming over her. It could have been the more familiar setting, the fact that actual human beings were around, the banter between the Pokémon, or even the antics happening in front of her, but... she felt relaxed for once. Mere minutes ago, she had been afraid of getting hurt or worse, but after all that happened topping it off with the Floatzel twirling his tails and tumbling into a treacherous ball pit, she couldn't help but smile and laugh. It was a genuine, and lighthearted laugh. Before she knew it, she found herself saying, "Hey, don't feel bad; that was great! Can't wait to see who you're gonna ask next!"

She was honestly enjoying herself.

 

[Venia Silente]

That caught her by surprise. The tenseness in her body released as a muffled snicker escaped her lips.

Lit?! Her snickering became fill on giggling as she couldn't help herself. She can't believe she just heard that come out an old Pokémon's beak!

She had no idea what was coming over her. It could have been the more familiar setting, the fact that actual human beings were around, the banter between the Pokémon, or even the antics happening in front of her, but... she felt relaxed for once. Mere minutes ago, she had been afraid of getting hurt or worse, but after all that happened topping it off with the Floatzel twirling his tails and tumbling into a treacherous ball pit, she couldn't help be smile and laugh. It was a genuine, and lighthearted laugh. Before she knew it, she found herself saying, "Hey, don't feel bad; that was great! Can't wait to see who you're gonna ask next!"

She was honestly enjoying herself.

Kalas had caught a glimpse of a nod from Robin back there, though he was pleasantly surprised by the more measured smile and the more carefree laugh that came afterward. "I guess I don't have to worry I went overboard with the dare," he said to no one in particular.

"But it is a dare, I guess," Rodion sighed. "Sure, I'll try it."

He climbed up to where Kalas had asked him to go earlier and looked down at the ball pit, slowly starting to regret not picking truth earlier. After hesitating a moment, he braced himself begrudgingly.

"Well, here goes nothing..."

The Floatzel jumped down and began to twirl his tails as fast as he could. Much to his surprise, for a brief moment his descent seemed to be slowing down. Did this actually work in this strange world?

"W-Woah!"

... only for Rodion to lurch and lose his balance mid air. Before he knew it, he was tumbling down back first into the ball pit, before disappearing underneath the sea of plastic balls.

Down the Floatzel went leaving Kalas with a half-amused, half-stunned look. "I almost can't believe it, I didn't expect that it would actually work! for three seconds" he mused.

The balls rustled a bit, only for Rodion to pop his head out from underneath them.

"Agh... my back."

The Floatzel made his way to the edge of the ball pit and climbed out of it. After nursing his back a little, he spoke to Lyle in response.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he groaned. "Think I’ll be sticking to the water from now though..."

From the distance, Tiana flew in to Kalas' perch and tipped her hat at Rodion. "Well done with that gamble, any landing you walk off from is a good one, as they say."

Kalas gave Rodion a small congratulatory wave with his wing, "That was pretty good, you did actually fly!" He coughed and composed himself. "But if you make your livelihood at sea maybe yeah stick to that."

 

[Virgil134]

From the distance, Tiana flew in to Kalas' perch and tipped her hat at Rodion. "Well done with that gamble, any landing you walk off from is a good one, as they say."

Kalas gave Rodion a small congratulatory wave with his wing, "That was pretty good, you did actually fly!" He coughed and composed himself. "But if you make your livelihood at sea maybe yeah stick to that."

"Thanks," Rodion said with a wry smile. "Though don't worry, I will."

She had no idea what was coming over her. It could have been the more familiar setting, the fact that actual human beings were around, the banter between the Pokémon, or even the antics happening in front of her, but... she felt relaxed for once. Mere minutes ago, she had been afraid of getting hurt or worse, but after all that happened topping it off with the Floatzel twirling his tails and tumbling into a treacherous ball pit, she couldn't help but smile and laugh. It was a genuine, and lighthearted laugh. Before she knew it, she found herself saying, "Hey, don't feel bad; that was great! Can't wait to see who you're gonna ask next!"

Rodion looked over at Robin with an amiable smile. This girl was a human, right? When he woke up today he certainly hadn't expected to meet one, let alone entertain one of them.

"Well, I'm glad it made someone happy at least."

Robin's final comment made him pause a moment, before quickly coming to a decision and turning to the Quilava next to him.

"How about you go next, Lyle?" Rodion asked. "Truth or dare?"

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

"Truth, I guess," the Quilava answered.

 

[Virgil134]

Rodion paused and mulled over what to ask Lyle, when he suddenly had an idea. There was something he'd been wondering ever since he first ran into the Quilava...

"When we first met you confused me with some other 'mon called 'Nils'," the Floatzel began. "Who is he exactly and what's your story with him?"

 

[Fusion]

Even as a Human, Kora slept curled up like a ball under the shade of a tree. It wasn't as comfortable for some reason, but she wasn't one to complain. All that really mattered was that Kora got her daily recommended nap of... some unknown amount of time. Even better, she woke up just as the next dare had started. Vix, as Vix does, was a half-melted pile of wax off to the side. She wasn't even asleep, it just felt nice to not hold the form of a chandelier for a while. Also of note... her face had fallen off. It was floating in herself, quietly watching everything else going in.

He climbed up to where Kalas had asked him to go earlier and looked down at the ball pit, slowly starting to regret not picking truth earlier. After hesitating a moment, he braced himself begrudgingly.

"Well, here goes nothing..."

The Floatzel jumped down and began to twirl his tails as fast as he could. Much to his surprise, for a brief moment his descent seemed to be slowing down. Did this actually work in this strange world?

"Wh-What?" Vix bubbled, quickly reforming and slapping her face back on. She thought that was just a joke, that there was no way Buizels and Floatzels could fly with their tails. As if Vix herself wasn't a massive middle finger to physics and science already.

Kora, inversely, genuinely believed that Rodion had it, her eyes full of stars and sparks as the water weasel nearly became one with the skies themselves! It was almost enough to make Kora wish she had a tail, to see if she could do the same.

... only for Rodion to lurch and lose his balance mid air. Before he knew it, he was tumbling down back first into the ball pit, before disappearing underneath the sea of plastic balls.

Then, as orange and yellow plummeted into a rainbow of plastic, Kora's dazzled amazement vanished. What a shame...

...Is what Kora would have thought, if he wasn't immediately transfixed on the fact that there was a ball bit, and that she wasn't in it, and acted accordingly to correct that injustice. The Copy Goddess ran and leapt into the air, curling into a ball once more and crashing into the multi-colored spheres, exclaiming, "CANNONBALL!!!"

"At least most of us are having fun," Vix muttered, rolling her eyes as Kora resurfaced and backstroked through the ball pit.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Rodion paused and mulled over what to ask Lyle, when he suddenly had an idea. There was something he'd been wondering ever since he first ran into the Quilava...

"When we first met you confused me with some other 'mon called 'Nils'," the Floatzel began. "Who is he exactly and what's your story with him?"

Lyle stiffened up and bit his lip at the Floatzel's question. He didn't like the idea of answering a question that cut this close to home, least of all when it'd potentially out his background in front of an entire watching crowd.

... But if he was right about who Rodion was. Maybe he'd understand if he was being a bit evasive? After all, who knew? Maybe he'd be able to emphasize with the experience.

"... Nils is a Floatzel like you who's a Gendarm from around where I live," the Quilava explained. "I don't know if the term means anything to you, but if it doesn't, I guess you can think of them as like guards that work as babysitters for towns and routes for the army."

The Quilava looked away and shook his head bitterly.

"Damned Grünhäuter is a bullying leech who abuses the fact he's in army plates to push others around," the Quilava sulked. "He'll swoop in and help himself to your pay and call it a 'donation' if you have the misfortune to cross paths with him, especially if he thinks you can't do anything about it."

 

[Virgil134]

Rodion grimaced as he listened to Lyle's story.

"I'm... sorry to hear that," he said, giving Lyle a reassuring pat on his shoulder. "Dealing with someone like that regularly must be pretty rough."

The Floatzel looked away for a moment and sighed.

"I can actually relate to what that's like, or at least to some extent," Rodion insisted. "One of the ports my crew regularly sells stuff at is teeming with guards like that. Usually they leave us alone if we stay in our own little corner and leave within three days, but you never be sure with those square-necks."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Rodion grimaced as he listened to Lyle's story.

"I'm... sorry to hear that," he said, giving Lyle a reassuring pat on his shoulder. "Dealing with someone like that regularly must be pretty rough."

The Floatzel looked away for a moment and sighed.

"I can actually relate to what that's like, or at least to some extent," Rodion insisted. "One of the ports my crew regularly sells stuff at is teeming with guards like that. Usually they leave us alone if we stay in our own little corner and leave within three days, but you never be sure with those square-necks."

Lyle looked up from Rodion patting at him. Not that he minded it, but he didn't expect him to step in like that. Was he used to looking out for others back in his old world?

... Meh, he was probably overthinking it.

"Guess there's no real getting away from them, huh?" Lyle sighed. "Though at least I don't need to worry about Nils here. And with a little bit of luck, I won't need to for a long while after I get back."

The Quilava looked around his surroundings, before noticing everyone was waiting on him.

"... Right, it's my turn. Er... Blauflamme, where do I even start here?"

The Fire-type looked around, before his eyes settled on Robin and he tilted his head curiously.

"How about you, human? 'Robin', right? Do you prefer a truth or a dare?"

 

[MintyMimix]

Robin's blood ran cold. She was enjoying the conversations and the stories, and she had all but assured herself that since she had already gone, she wasn't in any further danger of being exposed or asked to do something really dangerous.

Then the Quilava - Lyle, she think she had heard earlier - had turned to her again. She gulped beneath her mask, took a deep breath, lifted her shoulders and cleared her throat before settling on, "Truth." She had gotten lucky once with the dare; no sense in trying her luck twice again. Besides, at least this one wasn't in on her other conversations, and these Pokémon weren't fanatics like the ones from that other world... right? Her eyes wandered to Kora as she tried to mentally persuade herself.

 

[Fusion]

Her eyes wandered to Kora as she tried to mentally persuade herself.

Kora waved from the ball pit, a big, toothy grin on her face when she noticed Robin staring at her. "Wanna come in the ball pit? There's still plenty of room!" she called out, sinking down to her nose and sighing pleasantly. "It's actually really relaxing~!"

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Robin's blood ran cold. She was enjoying the conversations and the stories, and she had all but assured herself that since she had already gone, she wasn't in any further danger of being exposed or asked to do something really dangerous.

Then the Quilava - Lyle, she think she had heard earlier - had turned to her again. She gulped beneath her mask, took a deep breath, lifted her shoulders and cleared her throat before settling on, "Truth." She had gotten lucky once with the dare; no sense in trying her luck twice again. Besides, at least this one wasn't in on her other conversations, and these Pokémon weren't fanatics like the ones from that other world... right? Her eyes wandered to Kora as she tried to mentally persuade herself.

Lyle thought to himself and for a moment, he couldn't help but think that the human looked uncomfortable for some reason.

... Where would one even begin to ask questions to a creature that he knew nothing about aside from myths? They were supposed to be wise creatures and great mediators between Pokémon in the world between the Great Flash. If ones who didn't have the same command over the elements as Pokémon did.

But this human didn't exactly scream 'standout' beyond looking a bit strange to him. Though... looks could be deceiving, so maybe it was best to hear things straight from Robin's mouth.

"Hrm... in my world, humans were said to be creatures with a fundamental impulse to create, and there's ruins and artifacts left behind from when they lived alongside Pokémon that are completely unlike anything that we can make on our own," the Fire-type remarked. "I guess that's what I'd like to know as my truth. Is there anything you've made or created before that you're particularly proud of? If so, what was it?"

 

[MintyMimix]

The question gave her pause. Something she was proud of having made? To be honest...
She looked down at herself, eyeing up her dress and smiling. It was the reason she still strove on despite the chaos of the new world she had ended up in. It wasn't just something she "made"; it was the woven from a fabric that tied together herself and her family. It was the last string she could cling onto in moments of loneliness and anxiety.

Her hand then felt her mask-bound face. The mask had been her shield from the world - her protection from anyone trying to read her, judge her - to see through her lies and realize that she wasn't as great of a person as they thought she was. In her mind, in that other world of Pokémon, it was all that stood between her and being mobbed. Mobbed by questions. Mobbed by concerns. Mobbed by claws as they would ask why - why wasn't she what they thought she was?

She had been satisfied with the results of both the dress and the mask, but when it was a contest of what made her the most happy... there was no question. In that moment, she felt something that was more valuable than solitude and safety: her love for her family. She wanted to properly express just how amazing and important they really were. More than I will ever be, she thought. And she was going to make sure they knew just much they meant, consequences be damned.

She took off her mask as her bangs danced out into curls. They pirouetted away closer to her forehead, but held the stage open for her green eyes to speak her emotions for her. "It's this dress," she declared, shoulders rolled back and chest out as she welled up with pride, "The dress we made. Uh, me and my sisters, I mean." With the mask off, her lack of confidence was far more apparent: eyes darting from one person to another and mouth occasionally puckering with each pause of stutter. "In the spring, we'd spend some nights just going outside and looking at the night sky imagining what it would be like if the stars we could reach out to them."

Her speech became increasingly certain as she weaved her tale, "Solra wanted to try to tie the stars with a string. She said the constellations were so pretty, and it was so sad that you couldn't see them unless you knew exactly what and where they were. Yumi talked about how it all looked like a giant blanket to her that she wanted to wrap around and snuggle in." A nostalgic smile pursued her lips, "Man, they're the coolest; having those kinds of deep thoughts. I didn't have anything like that to say, but I promised I was going to make their wishes come true."

"It was going to be a surprise at first, but they caught on what I was up to pretty quickly when they saw me buying all these blue and purple fabrics and paints." She tugged on the sleeve of it as she continued, "Yumi loved using the glitter paint, and with the right amount of blending, they could actually look little stars. And Solra actually seemed interested in learning how to sew from me. Imagine that - something that wasn't super math-y catching her eye for once!"

She giggled to herself, "Anyways, this one definitely wasn't the first one. I'm pretty sure that one doesn't fit any of us anymore anyways. But with the help of mis hermanas, we kept redoing and redoing it until it was something that we could all at and remember those days we used to just... be together." Her brows drooped as a frown snuck onto her face, "I hope really they're okay. Yumi was about to go college, and Solra was going to get married. I had prepped some of the decorations and—"

As soon as she realized she had not only been rambling, but openly exposed emotions that would make her "undesirable", she immediately placed the mask back and crossed her arms. "Sorry for that," she coughed. Why did I do something so stupid?! Now they're gonna know I'm a fraud! "Anyways, yeah, that's... that's what I'm most proud of." ...Screw it. If I'm going to go down, I will at least have told the world how amazing my sisters are before that.

 

[Fusion]

She took off her mask as her bangs danced out into curls. They pirouetted away closer to her forehead, but held the stage open for her green eyes to speak her emotions for her.

With the mask off, her lack of confidence was far more apparent: eyes darting from one person to another and mouth occasionally puckering with each pause of stutter.

Kora blinked, just then realizing that she never really tried to look at herself until the real deal went and revealed herself. The first word that came to mind was 'Cool...' but that very quickly shifted into a 'Wow, she's like, adorably shy.' She knew their hair was luxurious, but for whatever reason, Kora thought it just looked better on Robin. So did the dress, it all looked... cosmically floaty in the best way! Heck, somehow, Robin's nervous look was a whole lot more convincing that Kora thought hers was!

'No matter how convincing a substitute is, it just can't hold up to the genuine artichoke... Wait, no, Art-cycle? Shoot...'

She giggled to herself, "Anyways, this one definitely wasn't the first one. I'm pretty sure that one doesn't fit any of us anymore anyways. But with the help of mis hermanas, we kept redoing and redoing it until it was something that we could all at and remember those days we used to just... be together." Her brows drooped as a frown snuck onto her face, "I hope really they're okay. Yumi was about to go college, and Solra was going to get married. I had prepped some of the decorations and—"

As soon as she realized she had not only been rambling, but openly exposed emotions that would make her "undesirable", she immediately placed the mask back and crossed her arms. "Sorry for that," she coughed. "Anyways, yeah, that's... that's what I'm most proud of."

While Kora didn't read Robin's mind, she could tell what the star-studded human was feeling fairly easily. It was like they shared the same mind. Or maybe they just felt the same outright... For all the fun Kora was having, she couldn't help but feel a bit homesick whenever she wandered into these dimensions alone. Even when she met old friends and made new ones, or knew that nothing back home was gonna change while she was gone, there was always this worry at the back of her mind for everyone else.

Robin's homesickness, though, was a lot different from Kora's. That, the copy-human knew for a fact. To her, it felt almost the same as Gen's, and thinking about that only made Kora's heart ache more. There were many things Kora could do, but returning someone to their homeworld didn't make that list. How many friends was she gonna make that she couldn't help get back home?

Kora shook the thought off, forgetting she still had a mask on as she forced a smile and clapped her hands together. "Geez, keep being all sweet like that and I might actually get a cavity!" she snickered, then hugged herself and snickered some more. "I thought this fancy dress was special, no wonder it feels so freeing and stuff! Like I'm wearing a cloud made of stardust, hehe!"

Her demeanor shifted to a more somber one, and Kora crossed her arms behind her back. "...You'll get to see your sisters again, though. I believe you will, at least."

 

[MintyMimix]

Her demeanor shifted to a more somber one, and Kora crossed her arms behind her back. "...You'll get to see your sisters again, though. I believe you will, at least."

She relented behind her mask. It was... a comforting thought, coming from anyone else - but from the one she was most scared of? She instinctively wanted to dismiss the sentiment, and yet...

Maybe because it was Kora. Because it was someone so powerful. She let herself relax and reply, "T-thanks. That means a lot."

"It's a wonderful thing," he said softly, "how something as simple as an article of clothing can hold so much meaning. Every thread holds a spark of love, a piece of memories." He smiled. "Thank you, Robin, for sharing such wonderful memories."

She began to well up; he understood exactly what it meant - how much it meant. She quickly gave a deep bow in response. "Thank you, too!" She sniffled and shook her head. She was glad that the couple were so amicable, and she really wanted to just get to know them better. Her head bopped up as an idea came to mind. There was an easy to do just that. "...Say, Wallace, I have a question for you."

Muscle memory kicked in as from her practiced stances in the other world as she dramatically opened her hand and arm out towards the man and asked, "Truth, or dare?"

 

[MintyMimix]

He swallowed, then he said, "Dare."

Robin hummed in response as she twirled one of her curls. Not the answer she wanted, but she supposed it was still getting to know each other by playing games together, right? "How about... you show us one of your best talents?"