I hope the sun is shining tomorrow...

"Well hello there, dear trainer. My name is Valerie. How fortunate that the winds of fate have carried you here to my lovely little gym. I do hope you've enjoyed your stay. Are you ready for it to come to an end?" [Dependent RP blog for Gym Leader Valerie of Pokemon X and Y.]

[fairyfashionable]

ooc;

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that I haven't been around and that I'm keeping a few of you waiting for replies. I'm moving into my new dorm tomorrow and I've been packing and traveling for the past week. This weekend will be hectic as I move in, but I'll be more active after that! 

[blackhydrangel]

Toys in the Attic | Marley & Valerie

[blackhydrangel]

Marley curtsied back instantly, though it took longer for her to decide to speak. “…A pleasure.” As Valerie approached, a stoic expression hid curious thoughts, her eyes not showing how much she pondered over the other woman’s eyes. Her irises were enormous! Valerie was reminiscent of some manner of large person-eating insect - and with the flamboyant sleeves, she really resembled some kind of mantid. Like some manner of orchid scyther.

None of this was bad, of course. The older woman was very…interesting. “My name is Marley. I’m a traveler.” She thought up a fun lie, on a whim. “…A ghost. Come to haunt the fashionable dollhouse.” No, no, that sounded unpleasant. Something better. Maybe she should have claimed to be some other kind of spirit instead of specifically a ghost? Or maybe a projection of Valerie’s subconscious. The girl was so colorful, there had to be something monochrome hiding behind those big ol’ eyes.

A simpler lie, then. “A very pleasant haunting. I don’t rattle chains at night or anything, I won’t interrupt your sleep.” Extending a hand for Valerie to somehow shake from behind those sleeves, just as a friendly showing, she continued. “Would you mind showing me around the rest of the Gym? I’ll pick a room I like and…only knock over a chair once in awhile. Maybe hide some socks…”

[fairyfashionable]

The fairy trainer tilted her head to one side curiously, wondering if her little guest was for real. She was familiar enough with ghosts to know when she saw one. But, she supposed Marley's little ploy was all in good fun. And far be it from her to spoil that.  "Wonderful!" she cooed, a quick flick of her wrists freeing her hands from her massive wings. The took Marley's hand between both of her own, offering a small shake that she was reluctant to release. "You seem like such a considerate spook, I'm sure we'll be happy to have you." In one swift motion, she linked the smaller girl's arm in her own and began to lead her toward the stairwell that ran through the back of the gym. The warp pads were meant for challengers, and using them as frequently as Valerie and her furisode girls had to could be rather disorienting. So, the stairwell was meant for motion-sickness-free commute from room to room. "I designed gym in its entirety, from the base structure to the decor. The girls add their own flare to the room they battle in, of course. I must say, you'd make a welcome addition to the team. I don't know of any gym who has a ghost trainer in their staff. Well, a trainer who is a ghost, heaven knows I know my fair share of ghost-type trainers."

They went down a flight and into a tea-style room, the door they went through blending into the wall as Valerie shut it. "Are you hungry? Or thirsty? I take it you can eat, since you have a physical form. I'd love to hear about your travels, and your Pokemon for that matter."

[blackhydrangel]

Toys in the Attic | Marley & Valerie

Laverre City had been musty and damp. Not the image of a “natural paradise” she’d gathered in her head. That phrase always conjured green fields, endless flowers, bottomless colors; Laverre City was mostly rain and mushrooms. It was damp and musty, and made of wood. It sure was natural, but paradise…not the word she would have picked.

But the Gym - entered on a whim - was like coming home. The building’s exterior betrayed its gorgeous and ornate insides, mildewed bark giving way to lovingly decorated room after room, perfectly square, like the inside of a dollhouse. And in her own black and white dress, she fit in easily among the Gym Trainers waiting for challengers — whom she had to repeatedly assure that she was not in fact here to battle.

It felt strange to be in such company; normally Marley’s travels took her to much rougher places, colliding with hikers in khakis and denim, crossing over all kinds of mountains to find that sacred meadow. And here was a home full of trainers sporting lolita styles, like her, granted theirs was a different kind…but she wasn’t about to bemoan anybody’s tastes. Not when it was rare to begin with.

Maybe she’d try their wa lolita out while she was here. No harm in that. Though their may be harm in using their warp pads, it was making her dizzy, and making it hard to keep track of where she was in the Gym.

Until it became pretty evident, at least, that she’d found the Gym Leader’s chamber - encountering a young woman in even more exquisite dress and with fabulous hair. And massive sleeves. She could probably lift off the ground with sleeves like that.

"You’re…Valerie, right? I’m a visitor…not a challenger." She really wasn’t interested in battling. Her Pokemon were another story - the more aggressive ones could just feel they were somewhere powerful trainers gathered, and wanted in. If anyone around had a sense for feeling a Pokemon’s emotions, they’d be able to tell just how much more eager they were than her.

[fairyfashionable]

Valerie was surprised to hear the gentle whir of someone warping about in the gym. The other Gym Leaders hadn't mentioned any new challengers passing through, so she hadn't been expecting anyone. She hurried down from her room to take her place in the final chamber of the gym. Going through a mental checklist, she counted pokeballs in one pocket, medicines, in the other... oh.

"Sempai, darling," she called up to her bedroom, flitting back to the stairs. Her partner had been napping the day away, and she couldn't welcome a challenger without him. "I'm sorry to wake you, but we have some work to do! You can have the rest of the day off, I promise." The sleepy sylveon reluctantly dragged itself from bed and to the top of the stairs, where Val recalled him. Tucking the ball away, she settled back before the final warp pad just as the newcomer appeared before her. 

Immediately she was taken by the girl's style. She fit in just perfectly against the backdrop of the dollhouse. Valerie's instinct was to hug her, but she held back. No sense in frightening her off with unexpected affection. "A visitor?" the leader repeated, her eyes alight with curiosity. "What a nice surprise. You're correct, I'm Valerie. The leader of this gym, as you probably know." She curtsied politely before taking a few steps closer. 

The girl was so precious! From her dress, to the little bow in her hair - even her voice was adorable. And in her heels (far from the lolita standard), Valerie towered over her. "And what may I call you? At any rate, I can sense you've come to the right place. How did you like my gym?" 

[fairyfashionable]

How do you feel about your family?

"I love them all very much, of course. I'd do anything for my brother and sisters. Though, I do wish we could see eye to eye on a few things... Sometimes I don't think they understand why I wanted to leave home, or why I didn't want to be a dancer. And I know there are times that I fail to comprehend why they wouldn't want the same...

But, despite that, I miss them every day and I'm always looking forward to my next visit home."

[fairyfashionable]

So do you prefer men, or women?

"Each have their own charms. Why make me chose?"

[fairyfashionable]

So... fairies, huh? Do you really believe they exist?

"Of course! I have since I was a kidlet. It's always been a dream of mine to see one, but they are such elusive little beauties. Fairy pokemon are more than enough for me, though."

[fairyfashionable]

mortsuba replied to your post:How many lovers have you taken into your "dollhouse"?

…vALERIE!

[fairyfashionable]

*looks at Valerie's dresses with distaste* Those... are... Who /wears/ that?!

Her head tilted to the side. "My, my... how do you make it through the day with such poor deductive skills?"

"I do of course, they are my dresses after all."

[fairyfashionable]

How many lovers have you taken into your "dollhouse"?

"You'd be surprised."

[fairyfashionable]

(show us your frilly undergarments)(ARE they frilly??)

"Of course they are, nonnie, I can't belittle my wardrobe with plain-jane underwear."

"Most of them look something like this, though day to day what kind I wear depends on my mood."

[fairyfashionable]

how do you get your eyes so dark? do you wear contacts?

"I do wear contacts, but they don't make my eyes darker. They just make my irises seem a bit bigger. Plus I'm blind as a zubat without them."

[fairyfashionable]

TMI Tuesday ♥

[bzweeeeep]

Snowpoint Slip-Up || Thorton & Valerie

[bzweeeeep]

When Thorton finally glanced over in her direction, he noticed that she had been watching him quietly. His own gaze quickly darted off into the opposite direction. His mind was still racing at his own embarrassment. Not only had he made a fool of himself but it was in front of a woman. What now?

Thorton was silent for the following moments. I must have looked like such a child, he thought. This girl though, she was taking it all too well. Maybe he was overreacting, as he would from time to time. "I’m fine, but I hope I didn’t hurt you or anger your Mawile there," he said quietly. He looked up toward the sky and noticed that it was only getting darker and colder. Many of the townspeople had vanished from the streets and the town itself was becoming heavily decorated in lights that dotted the streets. These people that lived here… How did they do it? Really, it mattered nothing to him— he had decided long ago that he was one hundred percent done with the outdoors for a while. "I agree with you that we should head back, but I am not scooting anywhere,” he said in all seriousness, unable to sense the playfulness in her statement. With that being said, Thorton was determined to stand. It took a few tries, but he was able to bring himself to his feet, though still wobbling and tense. First things first, he recalled Breloom. It looked disappointed, but Thorton reasoned that it had had enough fun for one day. He then carefully turned back to her and extended his hand. "Here, I’ll help you back, since I got you into this mess, after all."

[fairyfashionable]

His stoic tone didn't seem to bother the girl, who maintained a pleasant smile. She always had a mild curiosity when it came to other trainers, but that combined with his interesting hair and the fact that having him crack a smile could be a fun challenge made him much more interesting than the average passerby. "Oh, I'm right as rain!" she assured him. Her Mawile was none too pleased, on the other hand. It glared up at him with narrowed eyes as it nuzzled to Valerie's chest. 

A soft giggle left her as he struggled to stand up, and she offered him a one-person round of applause when he was successful. Mawile growled at his offered hand, and moved to snap at him. Luckily, Valerie was used to his protective nature and clamped her hands onto his maw before he could strike. 

"Do forgive Mawile, he tends to be a bit nippy. And I think seeing me fall has his scales ruffled," she said with a sweet chuckle. "Play nice, lovely, it was just an accident." A muffled click of understanding sounded and she let him go to shuffle out of her lap. With the Pokemon appeased, Valerie reached to take the other's hand and was soon wobbling her way to her own two feet. 

"Sorry, it seems you've made me weak at the knees," she sighed to Thorton, wondering if he'd catch her tease the second time around. Mawile snapped to attention, going to steady her legs from behind. "Much better. Now I think you should rest up for a bit, I'll let you out again as soon as we're back in the room." Mawile didn't protest as she called him back to his ball, tucking it away when she'd finished. 

"I believe I read somewhere that you're supposed to walk like a Piplup to keep from falling, but I'm not sure what that entails," she murmured as she started a slow waddle towards town. "Oh, where are my manners? I am Valerie. What may I call you?"

[bzweeeeep]

Snowpoint Slip-Up || Thorton & Valerie

It was early evening, the sky a palette of orange and pinks as tiny white puffs of snow danced all around. Some children continued to laugh and play, while others were called inside for a warm, hearty meal. Everything that the eye could see was shimmering, sparkling and white, as it had been all year long and for many years before. The sight was quite beautiful, actually. Thorton hated it. "I-it’s so c-cold," He muttered through a thick scarf that he had wound tightly around his neck and face so that only his vacant green eyes peered over it. Other than this new addition, he was dressed normally, which wasn’t nearly enough to keep him warm. He stood completely still, obviously unaware of a well known phenomenon- movement will keep you warm. When he noticed small accumulations of the snow building up atop his hair, he shook it off and began to move forward, with Breloom following close behind. The cold mountain air didn’t seem to bother Breloom, in fact, it happily skipped along, kicking snow all about. It seemed to laugh each time that it created a tiny snow explosion with it’s feet. It waved it’s arms around and screeched. Thorton looked at his Pokemon disapprovingly, “Breloom, stop it. We’re in a hurry.” They weren’t. They were only passing through, however, all it took was a few minutes for Thorton to know that he wanted to get out of there. Breloom was not finished having fun, though. It let out another gleeful cry and then darted towards Thorton, landing a headbutt into his back. His entire body tensed up at the surprise, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from looking his footing at a slick embankment— the one that he was preparing to climb down carefully. “Damn it!” He sneered as his back made contact with the ground. With nothing to grab onto, Thorton slid down the frigid hill, unknowing when he would come to a stop. When he did, it was only because his tumbling had become so out of control that he collided with somebody nearby. Embarrassed at being the heart of such a spectacle, Thorton tried to stand up quickly, only to slip once more and hit the ground with a thud. He gave up and stayed still with a pained look on his face. He took the time to look around— up above, Breloom stood atop the hill that Thorton had been standing on only moments ago, waving it’s arms excitedly. Up there, it was nothing but powdery snow, but down there, there were patches of clear ice everywhere. No wonder. Still embarrassed and growing upset, Thorton could not look at the unsuspecting victim of Breloom’s antics when he spoke. "My apologies."

[fairyfashionable]

"Mawile, dear, I don't find this very funny," Valerie called out to her mischievous little Pokemon. Mawile didn't seem to particularly care - he was eagerly gliding around on the ice patches, his massive jaws helping to keep balanced. The gym leader couldn't help the smile that came to her lips as she watched. He was typically such a somber little thing, seeing him so happy was quite out of character. 

A map-and-dart-board system of destination-picking led Valerie to the Sinnoh Region on her most recent vacation. It had been a while since she'd seen snow, and her Mawlile seemed particularly enchanted by photos of Snowpoint in the guidebook she'd been paroosing through. She had no idea he'd be this excited about it. As soon as they arrived, he went charging off onto the first patch of ice he saw and Valerie hadn't caught up to him since. 

"Why don't we take a break and get some warm tea or something?" the shivering trainer asked, taking a few shaky steps out toward her Pokemon. He gave a few defiant clicks and turned to grin at her, but his attention was soon pointed up the slope they stood by. Valerie's eyes followed his only to see a body gliding right to her. 

There was a valiant effort on her part to get away, but soon enough he came crashing into her legs and she fell back rear-first. It shocked her more than it hurt, and she was left drifting off to one side as she watched the boy try getting up. Mawile was horrified, skating over and leaping into her lap to see if she was okay. "No harm done!" she assured both of them, giving Mawile a pat on the head. "Though I do think we'll have to scoot our way back to town now."

Her gaze lingered for a few moments before she gave herself a little push towards him. "Are you alright, though? That was quite a tumble."

[fairyfashionable]

ooc;

Ah, I'm excited to be getting started! Sorry to clutter the dash, but I just wanted to offer that my skype is to-kill-a-mockingjay (no judgment, haha) so if you'd like to add me, please do! I love chatting OOC. 

[dragon-dancing]

Open || Valerie / Clair

"Geeeeiiiuuuu," the small dragon cried, happily bounding into the large flower patch.  Petals of orange, purple and white sprang into the air and were lifted by a gentle breeze before settling on the ground.  Unamused, Clair put her hands on her hips and glared as the tall stalks swayed noisily.

"Would you get over here," she hissed, motioning with her hands.  Once again, Deino wandered off, curious about everything despite her visual blindness; Fraxure could keep her in line, but keeping more than one young Pokemon’s attention—especially in a new region—was difficult enough as it is.  Clair frowned and moved towards the very edge of the patch, her nose tickled by their pollen.  She sniffed once before continuing, “It’s not time for play!”

Deino cried out again, her voice unintelligible.  Despite being capable of communicating with dragons, the Gym Leader couldn’t understand what she was saying.  With a frown, Clair entered the flower enclosure.  “Come along, Deino,” she called, covering her nose with the back of her hand.  “It’s time to practice.”

The grass rustled and the Gym Leader’s ears perked up, her attention honing in on the noise faster than the beating of a Yanma’s wings.  To her left?  Right?  Clair surveyed her surroundings; there was little to see.  A branch cracked, and the woman wheeled around, her hands held out in front of her and her cape swishing, but there was no-one there.

Deino burst through the underbrush with a gleeful growl, her maw clamping down on her Trainer’s leg.  “Waagh—Deino, let go!” Clair yowled, moving her leg slightly to test the dragon’s grip.  She winced again and bent to stick her hand in Deino’s mouth, her fingers pressing deeply into the fleshy gums; an effective pressure point.

The young dragon immediately let go with a whimper, smacking her jaws and tongue together as if she’d tasted something foul.  Ignoring her throbbing leg, Clair scooped Deino into her arms and forcefully carried her out of the flower patch.  The young dragon was heavier than she’d normally been—had Deino been gaining weight?—and so, with a slow walk, Clair made her way towards a large castle-like building, making sure to stay a safe distance from the river’s edge. 

Deino grumbled loudly, but soon quieted when Clair stroked her belly.  What a handful, she thought to herself, more with affection than with irritation.

[fairyfashionable]

The gentle tug of Sylveon's ribbon-like antennae around her arm had become a constant comfort to Valerie. As she strolled from Camphrier Town and to the Battle Chateau, parasol in hand, her beloved Sylveon was at her side as always. The sun was out and shining bright, but the gentle breeze kept it nice and cool. "It's a lovely day, is it not?" the gym leader asked her companion, who gave a gleeful yip in reply. "I think Mawile should enjoy a bit of the fresh air too." With another agreeing nod from Sylveon, Valerie produced a dusk ball from her pocket and allowed the other member of her team out to play. 

The oddly-colored Mawile materialized with a distinct glint, stretching every which way before taking his place at Valerie's other side. "Are you two excited for our matches today? I do hope there's a crowd at the Chateau today, it can be so boring when there are few people to challenge." Mawile gave an eager click, but in an instant his expression turned serious and his attention went to a ruffling patch of flowers in the distance. 

Valerie was more interested in the woman standing next to the patch - there was something familiar about her. She knew her face, but after years of travel, Valerie knew thousands of faces and placing each one could be hard. The sudden attack of a Deino on the woman's leg left her wide eyed at first, but seeing the way the woman handled it made it clear that she knew what she was doing. And the tender look about her as she cradled the little creature showed that her skills weren't limited to control.

"That's a playful little miss you have there," Valerie greeted with a warm chuckle as she approached the pair. Sylveon stared up at them with a curious look. He always loved meeting new people, and was probably itching for Valerie to introduce him. Mawile on the other hand was more reserved, making sure to stand separating Valerie from the strangers. "Is your leg alright, though? I believe the Chateau keeps a few first aid kits around if you need one."

[digletts-feet-blog]

My favourite gym leader <3 ~ Shunka

valerie by Sangcoon