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 Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:02 pm
 This journal is the property of Silver Angel so please don't post without permission. Angel 1: RenoAngel 2: Angel 3: Angel 4: Cosplay 1: Cosplay 2: Cosplay 3: Cosplay 4:
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:38 pm
Set-up May Change At Silver Angel's Discretion Rules and Guidelines1. Please refrain from posting.
2. Please contact me for RP either in the Descending Angels main thread or in a PM.
3. Roleplay that takes place in the shop thread will be reposted or linked here.Player: Silver AngelRoleplay style: I usually roleplay formally, in the past tense, third person. I'll occasionally roleplay more casually in the present tense, mostly for in-thread RP. If you need to get a hold of me, please contact me in the Descending Angels shop thread or send me a PM.Currently reading:Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Ouran High School Host Club, Aishiteruze Baby, Kamikaze Girls, NANACurrently watching:Rurouni Kenshin, Full Metal Panic, Angelic Layer, Mushi-Shi
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 4:48 pm
 Deus ~ CodyName: Cody Jack AbramsAge: 16Appearance:Skin: Light, even tan from open exposure to direct sunlight.Hair: Very fine, platinum blond that is more sandy towards the roots and lightens significantly farther out. When seen in bright sunlight, Cody's hair looks almost white.Eyes: Between piercing blue and vibrant green. 20/20 vision. Their narrow shape and expression usually convey an attitude of cool confidence almost to the degree of arrogance.Clothing: Although his parents like to buy him brand-name clothes, Cody isn't too picky about what he wears as long as it doesn't clash. He usually dresses himself in simple yet stylish outfits to reflect his cool yet casual outlook on life.Likes: his girlfriend Kara, Pokemon figurines and other toys, peach boba tea, his moped, friendly competitionDislikes: men who are disrespectful to women, women who deliberately sell themselves shortPersonality: Extremely devoted to the people and things he cares about, and eager to please. Attentive and sensitive to his girlfriend, Kara, and loyal to great costs.Biography: Now that Kara has gotten him into Angelic Layer, he is spending less and less time on Pokemon.
His father is a partner in a very successful electronics franchise and gives Cody a sizeable monthly allowance.
His mother is a successful fashion designer who specializes in exotic ethnic styles.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:46 pm
Basic Angels  Angel I - RenoType: PowerHeight: MediumWeight: MediumStatistics:Stamina/Health: 20Speed: 11Agility: 13Power: 20Defense: 16Reno is Cody's first Angel, and very special because he represents the first day that Cody and his girlfriend Kara became an official couple. Reno is named after Cody's Nidoran figurine but doesn't look much like the Pokemon aside from his purple hair.Angel II -Angel III -Angel IV -
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:47 pm
Cosplay Angels Cosplay Angel I - Cosplay Angel II - Cosplay Angel III - Cosplay Angel IV -
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:42 pm
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:16 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:41 pm
The Beginning Nidorino x Nidorina - Cody's introduction to Angelic Layer A slender young man with golden hair and vivid blue eyes looked up at the shop’s sign from his spot in traffic. DESCENDING ANGELS, it read. He grinned as if to say, Yep, this’s the place.
It took him a few minutes to find a place to park his moped, since the store seemed to be bustling and all the spots in front were filled. Beginning to whistle as he unbuckled his helmet, he strapped it to the bike and took the keys. Sliding these into one pocket, he dug something out of the other and studied it. The item was a replica of a pokeball, a round ball with a white hemisphere and a red hemisphere, joined at one point by a button. He pushed it gently, and the halves clicked open, allowing him to inspect the contents. He stopped whistling and smiled broadly, and anyone who might have been looking could have described it as a little sheepish.
Closing the ball with a click, the boy relaxed his hand at his side and made his way across the street toward the Descending Angels shop. Taking a deep breath as he approached the door, he gently pushed it open and stepped through. He scanned the aisles until he spotted a large golden sign with white stylized wings on either side bearing the words "ANGELIC LAYER." Smiling again from what seemed an odd mixture of nerves and confidence, he ran his fingers back through his hair and headed in the direction of that section.
As he neared it, however, he stopped short and gaped at the sight that met his eyes. Aisle upon aisle in the section was filled with girls of varying ages, younger children with their accompanying adults, and the occasional boy talking among themselves and clamoring over this or that on the displays on either side. He glanced at the shelves and saw an assortment of... dolls? There were several shelves full of doll-sized clothing and accessories, and one display wall full of what looked like colorless mannequins sitting in clear plastic shells. What was this Angelic Layer stuff? He raised a hand like a visor over his eyes and scanned the sea of people. How was he supposed to find anyone in a crowd like this..? He dug his free hand into his other pocket and pulled out what looked like a replica of a Hoenn Pokedex. When he pushed the button, however, it flipped open to a picture of a purple Nidoran with... icons in the corners?
The boy pressed a few buttons in rapidfire succession and then held the pokedex cellphone up to his ear. It rang for a moment, and then out of the crowd he heard the faint synthesized sound of another phone playing a melody he recognized as "Together Forever." He looked out over the crowd again to pinpoint the source of the sound.
Suddenly he heard a girl’s voice call his name. "Cody!" A girl with a barrette in her short brown hair was squinting at him through the crowd and waving an arm in the air. He brought the hand holding the pokeball up hesitantly and tried to maneuver his way toward her. She dropped her arm for a moment and dug around in her purse, pulling out a plastic pokeball just like his. Cody sighed with relief as he finally reached her. "Kara... I was worried I'd never find you in this crowd."
The girl waggled her hand with its pokeball at him. "Nidoran!" She pushed the button and the ball popped open. Inside was a blue figure, a female Nidoran.
Smiling in reply, Cody held out his hand and clicked his pokeball open to reveal a small figurine of a light purple Nidoran... and something else. Kara gasped. "Oh, Cody!"
Looped around the Nidoran was a little golden bracelet with an attached heart charm. "Yeah, it's kind of overkill for a first date, right? If you don't like it, you don't have to take it." Cody smirked, although he could feel his face starting to get warmer. "You know, I can always get you something else." Kara blushed and reached for the pokeball tentatively, her eyebrows knitting as if to say Are you sure it's okay...? When Cody nodded, she blushed even more and took the bracelet out of its unique case. "S..so... I guess after so many years of just being friends from school, this officially makes me your Nidorina." She giggled shyly, and Cody offered to help her put the bracelet on.
Her smile seemed to make her whole person glow. "Cody, I want to show you why I asked you to meet me here!" With that, she took his hand, and dragged him over to the display with the encased mannequins.
"It's the Angels and Angelic Layer." She pointed up at a few dolls on display that were wearing elaborate costumes. Cody looked from them back to Kara, his smile a little perplexed. "These Angels... you can do so much with them! You can make everything about them just the way you want them, and then you get to battle them." Her girlish voice brimmed with excitement.
"Battle... with dolls?"
"But they're not just dolls, don't you see, Cody? They use an interface that lets you control all their actions directly just by thinking! Every strength you can imagine can become your Angel's strength. Everything they feel... comes from what you feel inside." She cast her eyes down demurely, hiding another blush.
"But... what does this... have to do with... this?" The boy pointed first at one of the Angels on display, then at one of the blank-looking dolls in the egg-shaped cases.
"It's... Well, first you take this, and then it... Well, it's kind of like evolving Pokemon, except..." Kara's brow furrowed, and she finally picked up one of the Angels and thrust it into Cody's hands. "I think it'll be easier for us just to try it than for me to try to explain everything to you." She smiled enthusiastically up at him, her eyes sparkling. "Let's both get Angels, Cody! We can learn about them and practice battling them with each other. It'll be like... a commemoration of the evolution of our relationship." She giggled softly, fingering the bracelet on her wrist. "Let's do Angelic Layer together!"
The blonde boy looked doubtfully at the figure inside the clear egg. It didn't look like much... he still thought it resembled a miniature male mannequin. He looked back up at her to ask her a question, but stopped when he saw the hopeful look in her brilliant green eyes. He had always had trouble saying no to her, even when they were children, and on this day that they stopped being childhood friends and had admitted to themselves they were now a couple... he knew he'd do anything to make her happy. "It's not really what I was expecting for a first date, but... All right, Kara. Let's do it for us." He laughed as she dropped her purse and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
She picked up a female Angel egg for herself, a couple packets of wig hair, the specification programs, a few packets of special cloth, and a couple of pattern kits. Cody and Kara carefully wove their way through the crowd and waited in line at the counter. Cody didn't balk as the cashier rang up the amount, he just handed him a credit card and smiled. With plenty of cash coming from his father in the electronics industry, he would never lack the resources to make Kara happy. When they left the store together, Kara pulled her Angel egg out of its box. Cody did the same, and they both studied their Angels.
"I have a name for mine already, Cody. What do you think of... Rina?"
Catching on quickly to her train of thought, Cody grinned. "Then mine's going to be Reno."
Laughing together, the pair put their Angels back in their shopping bags and walked hand in hand across the street to the little cafe Cody had parked his moped by. This was the evolution of an old relationship, and the beginning of something exciting. <3
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:16 am
The Call of the First The birth and christening of Reno - Cody opens his first Angel egg [Cafe near the Descending Angels store]
The lunch date had gone well, though a bit slowly. After the food had come and gone, the two discussed what the Angels might look like and how they might battle. Blushing often with her hand in his, Kara smiled and chattered and speculated designs and styles to Cody while he sat and listened, smiling back. He didn't know a thing about Angelic Layer, but he was sure he would have no trouble developing his own interest in it, especially since it meant spending more time with a happy Kara.
After a moment of particularly quiet blushing, Kara looked up at Cody and said brightly. "Well? Are we ready to go?"
"Sure, if you are." Nodding and taking a moment to slip a few gold under the check as a tip for the waiter, Cody got up from his seat and extended his hand for Kara as well. She gathered her purse all her bags and then looped her arm through his with a light giggle. Picking up his own shopping with his free arm, Cody led her back to the moped. Once Kara had taken her seat behind him and wrapped her arms securely around his middle, Cody turned the key and glanced back at her with a grin. "So, where to?"
"Let's go back to your place and watch something while we work on our Angels," Kara said over his shoulder.
"Roger that!" Cody turned back to face traffic and off they went.
[Cody's house]
Upon reaching Cody's amply furnished living room, the two set their bags over the sofa and settled on the floor beside them. Kara reached into the bag containing the wig hair and cloth and looked over the packets, front and back, while Cody went to the large TV cabinet against the wall and shuffled through a few DVD selections from the large stacks. He picked out a Pokemon DVD, the one with the episode "Wherefore Art Thou, Pokemon?" on it, and put it in the DVD player, hoping Kara wouldn't think he was a total dork. He was pretty sure she wouldn't, considering the way they had met up in the Descending Angels shop, but there was always room for doubt, especially where he was concerned. He turned the volume on the TV down so it would be just audible, since he figured he and Kara would be too busy with the Angels to pay much attention to the episode anyway.
Kara was already busy opening the box containing her Angel egg. She removed layer after layer of tissue paper, opened the outer box, and then lifted the plastic egg out of the protective styrofoam. "It's kind of heavy," she remarked, holding it up to eye level and peering at it from all sides.
"Makes sense," Cody replied, taking a seat on the carpet beside her. "It looks like it's full of water or something."
"You're right!" Kara said, carefully lowering the egg. "I wonder why...? Hmm... I wonder if it's vacuum-sealed. It'll be hard to open if it is."
Smiling, Cody reached into the box for instructions. "Yeah, we should probably open them over the sink or something." As he had expected, he drew out a pamphlet emblazoned with the Descending Angels store logo and flipped the pages past the choking hazard warnings to the section about how to open or assemble the Angel. His eyebrow lifted at one particular line and he reread it. He hadn't read wrong... the instructions clearly said "Open the Angel egg in the bath." As he pondered the meaning of the words, his face began to turn a little pinker and he handed the paneled card wordlessly to his girlfriend.
"Oh, the instructions!" Kara took the pamphlet and put her thumb at the place Cody had been reading. "Let's see..." Her response was much like Cody's, except that her blush was much more defined as she looked more closely at the page to be sure of what she'd read. "'Open the Angel egg in the bath....?'" she read in a quiet whisper, then put the pamphlet down and looked sideways at Cody, her blush full and deep.
"Umm... well..." Cody rummaged among the shopping bags for his own egg and held the box in his lap. "It won't be a problem for you to open it here, I mean, we've got rooms to choose from...." The look in Kara's eyes as her head shot up told him it was a bad plan.
"My parents would kill me!" she hissed through a horrified expression. Then she looked back down at her Angel egg, her blush receding to the tops of her cheeks. "We don't have to open them now, I guess..."
Reading her feelings, Cody shook his head and sighed in resignation. "It's okay, I can take you home. If you'll call me, or I can call you, whichever, we can talk about it after we open them."
Kara looked up and was about to apologize, but Cody put a finger to her lips. "Seriously, it's fine," he said, with an assuring grin, then laughed as Kara's blush returned to full burst. She busied herself with separating her shopping bags from Cody's, gathered her own, and then stood up. Although he was sorry to cut short their time together, Cody dug his keys out of his pocket and followed her out the door.
*~-----~*~-----~*
Cody tossed his keys on the coffee table in the middle of the living room and sighed, flopping into one of the recliner seats on the end of the sofa. "That... was... an interesting first date."
The young couple had arrived at Kara's house several hours earlier than they were expected to, and met by Kara's very surprised parents. Although they were all smiles that the two were more than on time, Cody couldn't help but feel that their eyes hid suspicion as Kara entered the house with her shopping bags and closed the door behind her.
Cody squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced at the awkward end to an otherwise wonderful day. He rubbed his eyelids with one hand before stretching and yawning, rising from his chair and walking over to his assorted bags from Descending Angels. A bath didn't sound like a bad idea right about now... although he wasn't sleepy at all, he couldn't help but feel a little tired from the encounter. He could do with a little relaxation. Gathering his Angel egg in one arm, he stuck the instruction card in his mouth to keep the other arm free as he made his way to his bedroom and picked out a set of clean clothes from his dresser with the other arm. Closing the dresser with a push of his hip, Cody walked over to the doorway to his private bathroom.
Although Cody hardly used it, the bathtub was kept dusted and scrubbed and sparkling clean. It was as wide as a jacuzzi and deep enough to soak in up to his shoulders, with space on one side to hold several bottles and a stack of towels. Cody set his clothes down in this space, along with his Angel egg and the instructions, and began to undress. He'd probably take a shower first just to get clean, and then soak in the clean water of the bath for a while. He turned the taps on the bath to flow at a relatively slow rate, then hopped in the shower. By the time he was done getting clean, the bath was a little more than half full. Shaking excess water out of his hair, Cody stepped over the edge of the tub and lowered himself into the steaming water as he waited for the rest of the tub to fill. He lazily leaned over and thumbed the instruction card open, reading over again the strange directions. "Open the Angel egg in a warm bath. This is to protect the Angel and keep it pliable after its liquid-filled egg is opened. It is also a moment of bonding between the Angel and its Deus, since the Angel will be controlled by the Deus's commands on the Layer."
"Hmm..." Cody mused to himself. "Bonding, huh?" He set the card down and peered curiously at the Angel in its egg. It seemed to be made of gray-blue plastic. It looked humanoid enough, although it was basically featureless, with no eyes or nostrils in the indentations on its face and no hair to speak of. "Kinda creepy," he muttered, making an odd face. Cody turned the egg carefully, examining it from all angles. It was definitely a male figure, judging from its broad shoulders, thick limbs and joints, and the telltale bulge protected by the Angel's folded legs. The doll was set in the fluid-filled plastic case, with its legs folded up toward its chest and its hand resting on its knees. A thought came to Cody and he laughed a little, the sound echoing hollowly in the bathroom. "Weird... it's like a fetus." He made another face as this one thought led to the next. "And I'm about to make the water break."
He carefully peeled the plastic seal from the egg, fumbling a bit with the slippery egg between his wet fingers. He eventually applied enough pressure that the egg case opened with a popping noise, followed by a splash as the fluid gushed from around the Angel into the bathtub. He lifted the doll from its now-empty egg and held it up close to his face to examine it. It seemed to be full of joints everywhere in its body, facilitating the motion of the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, knees, ankles, toes, and even fingers. He tested the Angel's mobility a little, picking up one of the arms and moving it around, followed by bending one of the legs back toward its head. "Amazing," he breathed. He turned its head but stopped almost immediately, a little spooked by the movement of the blank face. He emptied the egg of the rest of the fluid and then replaced the Angel in it, getting up out of the tub and reaching for a couple of towels to throw over his shoulders and wrap around his waist. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to be "bonding" with his Angel, but he didn't relish the idea which sprang to him of it suddenly coming to life and being impressed with the image of some human as its parent or master.
Cody wondered briefly just how serious the battling Kara had told him about was going to be. How was it even supposed to work? Kara hadn't even explained to him how these were supposed to battle, except for something about the Angels being controlled by its owners thoughts. As far as he could tell, the dolls certainly looked capable enough of moving and executing some spectacular battle moves. The question how. He shuddered a little as he pondered telepathically commanding his Angel. Sure, it would be cool... but also absolutely freaky. He hoped these things didn't attach themselves permanently and go around broadcasting everything he thought. That would lead to a lot more trouble than this game was worth.
Cody quickly dressed, let the bathtub drain, and gathered the Angel egg with its instructions in his arms again and headed back to the living room where the rest of his Angelic Layer gear still sat. He read a few more pages of the instruction card as he dried the remaining water from the lifeless Angel. "Okay... so the wig comes first... and then it'll be ready for configuration." He dug around in the bag of accessories until he found a packet of wig hair trimmed to fit a doll. It was a full head of thick, light purple material. "Man... I don't think he needs this much hair, though." He arranged it on the Angel's head, smirking at the odd effect. At least it was better than a completely bare doll. Having never even cut his own hair, much less someone else's hair, since he was four years old and told not to run with scissors, Cody tried to get used to the look of the doll with long hair, but it was no use. "...That... that's just not going to work." Rummaging in a drawer in the TV cabinet, he pulled out a pair of scissors. These were most often used to cut apart packaging tape on boxes or plastic bags containing new video games. This time, however, their purpose was much more delicate and precise.
Cody took a deep breath before gripping the Angel in his fingers again and raising the scissors. He opened the blades and positioned the curtain of wig hair between them, tentatively moving the scissors up, then down, then back up again. Finally he lowered the scissors. How did he want this done, anyway...? It had to be shorter than ankle-length, anyhow. The shorter the better?
"Hrmmm... if a Nidorino had hair, what would it look like...?" He reached into his pocket before remembering that he had left his cell phone and pokeball in the bathroom, and scrambled back to get them. He clicked the pokeball open and set the tiny purple figurine of the male Nidoran on the coffee table beside him and looked back and forth between it and the purple-haired Angel. "Eh," he said presently. "Spikes it is, I guess. I wonder if you can gel the hair later...?"
Gathering his courage, he wielded the scissors against the smooth wig hair, leveled the blades just behind the Angel's shoulders, and clipped. The severed wig hair fell immediately to the table, where it lay in several smaller locks. "Hmm, good," Cody muttered to himself, his blue-green eyes focused on the remaining hair. "Just long enough to hide any missteps. Let's try..." Trailing off as he arranged the scissors again, he snipped tiny bits from the back of the wig and carefully trimmed the front into short bangs. He pursed his lip briefly, and then nodded. "Eh, good enough." He smoothed it gently with his fingertips and figured he would leave the styling for another time. "Wig's on straight... guess it's time for configuration."
He found the wrapped box containing the starter kit Kara had grabbed for him, opened it in a flash of tissue paper, found the instruction manual and flipped briefly through them, and then plugged the blue laptop-like device, which was also branded with the Angelic Layer logo, into an outlet in the wall, setting it on the coffee table and attaching the small platform to the console by its provided cord. Placing the two rings over the platform as directed, he pressed the power button. The laptop screen lit up immediately, startling Cody a bit when the two rings floated up by themselves, forming a pillar of golden light. "Place the Angel in the configuration chamber," the instruction book read. Holding the instruction manual with one hand, he doublechecked the Angel's wig with the other, then gently slid it into the glowing tube, where it floated when he let go. Sensing the Angel in place, the console beeped, loaded rapidly, and then began to ask for specifications.
"Please select the type of Angel you would like to make," Cody read. "Speed is important, strength is important, stamina is important. Hmm..." He thought for a moment, then looked at the screen. "Please set the parameters." He leaned back against the sofa, folding his arms behind his head. "Wow... fully customizable, just like Kara said. No preset strengths or weaknesses." He looked up at the ceiling as he thought. "I could make him just like Nidorino and Nidoran... but I might want to make him different, since this is a whole new game. At the same time, though... I have all the time in the world to learn."
He returned to the configuration console and pressed a few buttons. "Ah, let's go with medium height and medium weight. Balance things out for now. Nidoran's still kinda small, but Nidoking's way too heavy for my taste... we'll settle for a nice medium Nidorino. As for type..." He debated internally between the three main types for a while, finally deciding that balanced stats were boring, a speed type had too low defense, and a power type was more like a Nidoran's style. "Good enough for a tackle charge, and high enough defense to take a good hit."
He input the remaining specifications for the Angel's physical appearance and finally hit ENTER. Cody heard the sound of the configuration chamber whirring and watched as his Angel's color turned from blue-gray to a fair flesh color and the formless face developed smooth, defined features. A draft of air seemed to follow the color up from the base of the column, and the Angel's hair waved briefly before the console beeped and the golden chamber disintegrated, the top ring descending to the bottom again. The Angel continued to float as Cody looked on, turning only at the sound of the device beeping again for his attention. "Please enter a name for your Angel." He smiled. "Finally, the easy part," he said, typing in "RENO" with the keys.
As soon as the Angel was named, it opened its eyes and looked up at Cody with the vibrant red eyes he recognized from his favorite Pokemon. "Wow," he breathed, staring in awe at the finished Angel. "Reno..." The light at the base of the configuration device faded and Reno fell forward. "Whoa!" The boy's reflexes saved the Angel from tumbling to the floor, and he held the doll up in wonder, marveling at the combination of short, wild, purple hair and the fierce red eyes. Although Reno looked back at him with a doll's neutral expression, Cody couldn't shake the feeling that there was fighting spirit in those eyes.
He set his new Angel down on the coffee table and began to put everything else away. His eye came back to the bare doll and he frowned. Now that the Angel had skin and looked more life-like, it didn't seem right for him to leave it naked. Cody rummaged in the Descending Angels bags again, puzzled when he couldn't find what he was searching for. "Ah... figures she took them all. Fair enough, I can't make clothes worth a darn, anyway... and Mom would just say it's a waste of her time." All the same, Reno deserved to be clothed. He went to his bedroom and came back with a handkerchief emblazoned with tiny pokeballs. "Sorry, buddy," he apologized to his Angel "but this'll have to do for now." He wrapped the cloth around the Angel's body and tucked in the loose ends. As content as he could be under the circumstances, he laid the doll back down, grabbed his pokedex cellphone and speed dialed Kara's number.
"Nidorina...?" The abridged version Cody and Kara go back to Cody's place to start unwrapping stuff and set up their Angels. <3
Cody and Kara discover that the Angel eggs must be opened in the bath! oh my =O Awkward~
Cody ends up taking Kara home amidst much awkward silence and blushing~
Cody eventually takes a bath and opens his Angel egg and ponders what to do with it. <.<;;
Cody observes the egg; it's faceless and nearly featureless, but it's curled up in the fetal position and the egg is filled with liquid.
Cody makes parallel between Angel "hatching" and human birth and is somewhat temporarily weirded.
Cody visualizes Reno's look...
Cody finalizes Reno's stats and name!
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:23 pm
An Absence of Heart It had only been a few weeks since he and Kara had gotten together and bought their first Angel eggs. Although Cody would have done anything and everything for Kara, especially now that she had agreed to be his girlfriend, he found it difficult in spite of himself to really throw himself whole-heartedly into Angelic Layer. Instead, he simply watched and smiled as she became more engrossed in this new game, or sport, researching and learning more and more about the Angels and what kind of clothing gave them advantages or disadvantages, and the probabilities and statistics of different classes of Angels against each other. He found himself much more interested in studying the delicate curves of her face, the sparkle in her warm eyes, the draw and spread of her lips when she smiled, and the quick dexterity of her slender hands as they moved and gestured and fidgeted. He was fascinated by the way she tucked her brown hair behind her ears, by the way she chewed on her lip when she was engrossed in thought, by the way she leaned intently over her books when she studied.
Kara knew, too, that Cody had only done it all for her, but she was determined not to let him know that it upset her inside. She wished he could be as enthusiastic about it as she was, and she had hoped from the start that Angelic Layer could be another passion they could share. She was just a little crushed that she had guessed wrong. Even so, he had already given her so many things she had desired, and Kara was quite resolved to make the most of what she had.
She made many efforts to involve Cody in her passion for Angelic Layer, and initially he came with her to meetings and watched her battle with other Dei and their Angels, but she could tell that his interest was only superficial, and that he was enjoying himself more because she was his girlfriend and less because she was a Deus. He was happy for her and he told her, often, that he was proud of her, but she knew it would mean so much more if he could really understand what it was like to be a Deus and feel his Angel's motions on the Layer. She thought it would draw them that much closer to have something exciting in common. So she tried another tactic. Once or twice, she played and watched him play the video games which were popular with young men of his age, but she knew she wasn't skilled enough to keep up with him. Gradually, she accepted the truth of the situation: that she could neither bend him to her hobbies nor abandon her own to join his. On this point, and soon in many others, they became independent of each other.
After the new school year began, the two of them began to drift father apart, though they were slow to realize it. Cody became more interested in being the top of his class and joining extracurricular activities in school, while Kara juggled her grades with her Angel's training and the new Angelic Layer club she and a group of other girls from each class were planning to start. Cody played video games with opponents and allies all across the world, while Kara made friends with scores of other local Angelic Layer fans she met on a regular basis at the Descending Angels shop.
It wasn't until college brochures and standardized tests started coming in that Cody finally realized just how different they had become. Cody's parents encouraged him to take a year out of school and study abroad and he was thinking seriously about it. He was also looking into universities overseas, especially in Europe. The two best friends who had spent every moment together since their childhood had now grown up and wide apart, held together by a thread of affection that had worn and faded. When Cody had broken the news to her, Kara had been unwilling to stand in his way, and cast about for any reason, any chance of coming with him. Cody knew, however, that his future lay in other pursuits, and that his best chance of reaching his goals was to keep exploring his options and continue to work hard.
Calmly, though he was anything but calm, he took her aside one day when she came to see him and they talked about what was happening between them.
"You know that I love you, Kara..."
"I love you, too, Cody..."
"But we both know... that where we are... what we've been doing to each other... It's not fair, and it's probably not healthy. Right now... we just need to figure out what we're doing and where we're going, and wherever we end up might not be with each other."
Kara began to cry, even though she agreed with everything he was saying. She'd have been a fool not to see it coming.
"I know we're both young, Cody..."
"And that means we've got the rest of our futures to think about. We can't... we can't pretend we know what's going to happen, that we'll get married and have however many kids and spend the rest of lives together, especially since we're pretty much going in completely different directions."
Kara choked back a sob, covering her mouth with her hands.
Feeling his own heart beginning to break at the sight of her crying, Cody took her in his arms, but refused to let his own tears come, instead building up defenses and struggling to keep calm.
"I don't know... we can't assume anything, Kara. So we just have to follow our own paths and see where they lead. We have to grow up as independent individuals before we can even begin to think about spending the rest of our lives with anyone. You don't want me to spend the rest of my life taking care of you, and I know that I might not always be able to, so... we just have to make our own way from now on. I don't want to... to lead you on like we're never going to have to be apart, because chances are the best place for you might not be the best place for me, and I don't want either of us to have to wait for the other or settle for something less than we deserve."
Shaking with sobs, Kara wept into his shirt, not wanting to accept the truth but at the same time feeling it sink in like an ink stain. Eventually, she stopped crying, dried her puffy eyes, and turned away. For the last time, she washed her face in Cody's bathroom with Cody's towels. For the last time, she walked down his great spiral stairs. For the last time, she stepped through his front door.
Cody watched her go, feeling like dirt for turning her away and screaming at himself to run after her and take her back. But it was already done; he felt he could only hurt her more if he kept pretending they could love carefree and carelessly. He felt a heavy weight in his heart, but at the same time, he felt lighter, as if a burden had been lifted.
He went back to his room and took Reno from his place on the shelf where the Angel had always sat. Carefully folding his joints, Cody placed Reno with his handkerchief back into the clear plastic Angel egg and slid it back in its box, then took the box and quietly shut it in a storage cabinet high against his wall. ARGH. I WRITE SUCH CRAP. I'LL FIX IT SOMEDAY. D8
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 2:41 pm
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder Cody threw his backpack on the floor, himself on the sofa, and a hand over his face, heaving a sigh of mixed frustration, relief, and annoyance. He had just come back from another college tour, and this one looked just as promising as any other. As he leaned back on the cushions, he mumbled to himself about the day. Of all days to tour a campus, he had scheduled Valentine's Day, just to keep him busy. He had thought that as long as he didn't have to be at home, he wouldn't have to think about it.
Even though he had told Kara that the breakup was for their own good, that it would give them more clarity to concentrate on other things in life, it hadn't turned out the way he had expected. Since that time, he hadn't seen much of Kara at all besides brief glimpses in the school halls, and he could only guess that she was avoiding him to keep things from getting more complicated.
It was strange not spending every moment with her anymore, and for a while it felt as if everything he did suffered for the loss of Kara. Every time he went to a restaurant they used to frequent together, he would find himself thinking, Kara should have come. It was the same when he went to see a new movie. Kara would have loved this...
But because he believed his future depended on it, Cody still managed to push aside his feelings for moments at a time to focus on his schoolwork, his college applications, and his thoughts for a future career.
Kara also seemed to be doing better, considering. Cody heard things around school about her tutoring underclassmen and becoming active in the rock climbing club. To respect her space, however, he never went to see her; he didn't want to make things more difficult for her, or so he told himself. He didn't feel like admitting to himself that if he saw her, he might be overcome by weakness and try to ask her back.
A knock came at the door just then. "Master Cody," called a butler, letting himself in when Cody didn't answer. "This package was delivered for you." Cody looked up lethargically. The butler raised an eyebrow and quietly placed the package on the coffee table, bowing to his young master as he left. Cody sat up to have a look at whatever it was.
It was a very beautifully decorated red, white, and brown box with homemade chocolates inside. The attached card was equally delicately made. Inside was this message: "Good luck in everything you do. - Nidorina"
Cody froze. It had been easy enough to avoid the subject while he was away, simply ignoring the greetings and holiday fundraising ads around the foreign campus that was so eager to persuade him into committing thousands of dollars and four years of his life to them, but now that he was home again, he was blown away by the thought of just how much time and thought Kara had put into this box. He bit his lip and took one of the chocolates, savoring the rich aroma of the chocolate before putting it in his mouth.
The taste brought so many memories to him that tears followed. He sat quietly, chewed, and swallowed; and as soon as he had finished the sweet, he stood up and went to the storage cabinet. Carefully, delicately, he lifted the Descending Angels box out and laid it on the floor. He opened the plastic egg and lifted out his abandoned Angel as gently as if it were an infant. "Hello, old friend..." he murmured, smoothing the handkerchief over the Angel's form. "Forgive me... I've been a bad trainer." OMG MORE CRAP TO FIX.
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