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- EXCH△NGE -
Mar. 26th, 2018 10:12 pmEXCH△NGE is an anonymous, text-based peer-to-peer support network created as a space for those seeking help, but who are unwilling to reveal their identities, to have safe, understanding conversations from likewise anonymous volunteers. The idea is to provide a listening ear and coping tips from other transplants to Kanto and Johto who may have gone through similar experiences, come from similar worlds, or share other common ground, so that no one feels that they have to deal with their burdens alone.
Please note that the members of EXCH△NGE are not professionals, nor are any of us paid for our work here. We are only qualified to talk things out with you and offer advice from our own lives. We're not replacements for certified therapists.
First time users, please contact Nathaniel HERE to be matched with a conversation partner. Questions, technical issues, and feedback should also be directed to Nathaniel. If you would like to volunteer as a listener, please submit the following questionnaire to Nathaniel's inbox:
HOW IT WORKS
Anonymous users will contact Nathaniel and answer as many of the following questions as they are comfortable with:
Nathaniel will then match each user to an EXCH△NGE member based on the submitted information and member availability. He will provide the matched EXCH△NGE member with the information received and ask them if they're willing to speak with the user in question; if yes, he will contact that user and give them the EXCH△NGE member's pseudonym and contact number. The user has the freedom to choose when or if to contact the EXCH△NGE member the first time. After that, if both parties feel that the match is a good one, they should set another time to talk.
If a user's first match chooses not to take them on, Nathaniel will find another match until the user has a conversation partner. If a user's first match doesn't seem to click well, either the user or the EXCH△NGE member may contact Nathaniel to let him know, and he will find another match.
OOC INFO
((Hi! Asher here. Hopefully the above paragraphs explain what's going on well enough, but if you'd like to check out the original IC post where York was hashing this project out, you can see that here.
EXCH△NGE members may choose to track their toplevel comment below, or direct threads to their character's inbox, if that's easier to track. Hopefully this is obvious, but each thread here is automatically private! So you can't see anybody else's threads.
The directory below is not available ICly, it is just there for the players' convenience.))
DIRECTORY
δ Nathaniel
δ Anabiel
δ Chris
δ Izuchi
δ Koma-san
δ Sunny
.007 Δ [Audio]
Apr. 28th, 2016 05:51 pmYou know, I never thought I'd be that guy, but I guess I'm that guy.
[He is the Jewish guy. It's him.]
Back home, the past week or so would've been a holiday for some people. I'm not gonna get into the whole story--well, unless you want me to and you've got some time--but the short of it's that it's a celebration of freedom, and of the end of generations of oppression, death, and slavery.
[That is, hag pesach sameach, Route. Happy Passover.]
Now, there are a lot of traditions that go along with the holiday, most of 'em about food, but the important one's the retelling of that story. Figured I'd open it up to everyone, though, especially now that the big sit-down dinner parts of the celebration are over.
What I mean is, you guys got any stories you want to share about...deliverance, I guess? Of getting free from something that was bringing you down, or worse. I know turning up here in Johto's been a huge breath of fresh air for me, personally, and I want to know about you all, too.
( And later, a post from 'Nathaniel'... )
[He is the Jewish guy. It's him.]
Back home, the past week or so would've been a holiday for some people. I'm not gonna get into the whole story--well, unless you want me to and you've got some time--but the short of it's that it's a celebration of freedom, and of the end of generations of oppression, death, and slavery.
[That is, hag pesach sameach, Route. Happy Passover.]
Now, there are a lot of traditions that go along with the holiday, most of 'em about food, but the important one's the retelling of that story. Figured I'd open it up to everyone, though, especially now that the big sit-down dinner parts of the celebration are over.
What I mean is, you guys got any stories you want to share about...deliverance, I guess? Of getting free from something that was bringing you down, or worse. I know turning up here in Johto's been a huge breath of fresh air for me, personally, and I want to know about you all, too.
( And later, a post from 'Nathaniel'... )
.006 Δ ["Anonymous" Text]
Mar. 19th, 2016 07:28 pm[Or, well, actually, this text isn't anonymous. It's simply that the ID number it displays doesn't match anything in anyone's previous contacts--as if someone's perhaps got his meddlesome paws on a brand new 'Gear.]
So there's a thing I've noticed, in the months I've been here. These anonymous posts, the ones asking for advice? They get a lot of answers. Seems we've got a lot of folks willing to help out around here, or at least to talk and commiserate, but it always seems to be a one-off deal; the person who's anonymous, most of us don't get to hear from them again, see how they're doing, and if we're anonymous ourselves, they can't contact us, either. It's like dancing some kind of intimate foxtrot and then never seeing your partner again.
But I found out something interesting. If you go to any Pokémon Center or PokéMart and tell them your Gear's broken or missing, they'll just hand you a new one free of charge. And if you happened to be lying, well. Then you've got an extra Gear unconnected to your main one.
What I'm saying is, there's an easy way to maintain privacy and anonymity on both ends while still checking in with someone you've spoken with before. Obviously, this is great to know for prank calls - and you're all welcome in advance for the April Fools idea - but I'd like to pose another option to those guys who want to help:
What if there were some kind of system in place for people to just talk about what's eating them multiple times with the same person, without ever having to know who's on the other line?
( OOC cut for length )
So there's a thing I've noticed, in the months I've been here. These anonymous posts, the ones asking for advice? They get a lot of answers. Seems we've got a lot of folks willing to help out around here, or at least to talk and commiserate, but it always seems to be a one-off deal; the person who's anonymous, most of us don't get to hear from them again, see how they're doing, and if we're anonymous ourselves, they can't contact us, either. It's like dancing some kind of intimate foxtrot and then never seeing your partner again.
But I found out something interesting. If you go to any Pokémon Center or PokéMart and tell them your Gear's broken or missing, they'll just hand you a new one free of charge. And if you happened to be lying, well. Then you've got an extra Gear unconnected to your main one.
What I'm saying is, there's an easy way to maintain privacy and anonymity on both ends while still checking in with someone you've spoken with before. Obviously, this is great to know for prank calls - and you're all welcome in advance for the April Fools idea - but I'd like to pose another option to those guys who want to help:
What if there were some kind of system in place for people to just talk about what's eating them multiple times with the same person, without ever having to know who's on the other line?
( OOC cut for length )
.005 Δ [Video]
Feb. 8th, 2016 04:51 pmEvening, good folks and gentlepeople. York here, back in town from a quick trip to Ecruteak with an exciting announcement for anyone passing through Goldenrod in the coming months. D-2, take it back.
[Whoever's holding the PokéGear moves back to show York sitting on his couch with about twenty eggs, each bundled tenderly in a cute yellow-gold blanket against the February chill. York and the Granbull sitting next to him don't look cold at all, though. They look hype as hell.
They're wearing Goldenrod Granbulls baseball uniforms and couldn't be more excited.]
Baseball season's right around the corner! Starting in March, there'll be biweekly games every Sunday at the stadium here, and practices are free to watch on Fridays. If you're in town, come on and support Johto's reigning champs, the Goldenrod Granbulls.
[Yankee Doodle, his Granbull, barks a gruff cheer. Go Granbulls! York grins and holds up the egg on his lap.]
As a promotional deal, I'm gonna be offering free Snubbull eggs to anyone who shows me proof of purchase of a Granbulls ticket. All I ask is that you take a selfie with your new buddy at the game! These four'll hatch in about a week, so you got time before the season starts. And if you miss out on these ones, I'll keep breeding until the season ends, so you'll get another chance. I'll add that their father's a shiny, so some lucky winner's got a shot at getting a shiny of their own.
[He hands the Snubbull egg to Yankee Doodle, who takes it with a mother's loving care and moves to settle it like the others. York waves openly at the rest.]
I also got a bunch of other species on offer--Abra, Elgyem, Meowth, and so on. I'll send out the pricelist and the moves each one should learn as a text in a second.
Oh, and any new kids who just arrived, you can pick one out on the house. I recommend Meowth--these ones aren't much right now, but at level thirty, they'll learn a move that'll make your lives a heck of a lot easier.
[Somewhere off-screen, a Persian purrs his smug agreement.]
All right, that should cover everything. Agent York, over and out.
((Here's the OOC egg post, there's plenty of everything left! And you know what, I changed my mind, new arrivals can go for the Elgyem eggs free of charge, too.))
[Whoever's holding the PokéGear moves back to show York sitting on his couch with about twenty eggs, each bundled tenderly in a cute yellow-gold blanket against the February chill. York and the Granbull sitting next to him don't look cold at all, though. They look hype as hell.
They're wearing Goldenrod Granbulls baseball uniforms and couldn't be more excited.]
Baseball season's right around the corner! Starting in March, there'll be biweekly games every Sunday at the stadium here, and practices are free to watch on Fridays. If you're in town, come on and support Johto's reigning champs, the Goldenrod Granbulls.
[Yankee Doodle, his Granbull, barks a gruff cheer. Go Granbulls! York grins and holds up the egg on his lap.]
As a promotional deal, I'm gonna be offering free Snubbull eggs to anyone who shows me proof of purchase of a Granbulls ticket. All I ask is that you take a selfie with your new buddy at the game! These four'll hatch in about a week, so you got time before the season starts. And if you miss out on these ones, I'll keep breeding until the season ends, so you'll get another chance. I'll add that their father's a shiny, so some lucky winner's got a shot at getting a shiny of their own.
[He hands the Snubbull egg to Yankee Doodle, who takes it with a mother's loving care and moves to settle it like the others. York waves openly at the rest.]
I also got a bunch of other species on offer--Abra, Elgyem, Meowth, and so on. I'll send out the pricelist and the moves each one should learn as a text in a second.
Oh, and any new kids who just arrived, you can pick one out on the house. I recommend Meowth--these ones aren't much right now, but at level thirty, they'll learn a move that'll make your lives a heck of a lot easier.
[Somewhere off-screen, a Persian purrs his smug agreement.]
All right, that should cover everything. Agent York, over and out.
((Here's the OOC egg post, there's plenty of everything left! And you know what, I changed my mind, new arrivals can go for the Elgyem eggs free of charge, too.))
.004 Δ [Video]
Jan. 19th, 2016 10:10 pmGoooood evening, residents of Johto. It's a lovely, drizzly January day, and I've got a question you folks might be able to answer for me. Consider it an informal poll.
[York looks comfortable and cozy as he lounges around his house, still wearing his ugly Christmas sweater.]
Now, I understand that this place just isn't equipped to support a Grifball League, but there's got to be more to life than just hockey and baseball. Are there Pokémon Olympics or something I should tune into? And, hey, what kind of sports did you guys have back in your worlds? Were they fun? Would you recreate 'em here if you could?
[He rubs his chin for a moment, then adds:]
If anyone around Goldenrod's interested in forming some kind of low-key community sports team--y'know, something for people, not Pokémon--let me know. I might be able to help us get something set up before baseball season starts.
[York looks comfortable and cozy as he lounges around his house, still wearing his ugly Christmas sweater.]
Now, I understand that this place just isn't equipped to support a Grifball League, but there's got to be more to life than just hockey and baseball. Are there Pokémon Olympics or something I should tune into? And, hey, what kind of sports did you guys have back in your worlds? Were they fun? Would you recreate 'em here if you could?
[He rubs his chin for a moment, then adds:]
If anyone around Goldenrod's interested in forming some kind of low-key community sports team--y'know, something for people, not Pokémon--let me know. I might be able to help us get something set up before baseball season starts.
.003 Δ [Video]
Dec. 15th, 2015 03:41 pmOkay, so does albinism happen to run in particular Pokémon species? I thought it might've been a newborn thing, but it's been a while and normal fur hasn't grown in yet for him at all.
[A young, energetic Sneasel clambers his way up the back of York's chair. He's kind of excessively pink.
Someone's got his first shiny is what's happening here.
The Sneasel waves at the camera, then slips back down in an undignified tumble before running off again to play with York's Rotom. York watches him go before shaking his head.]
I ask 'cause I know that can cause eye problems, but he hasn't complained about it and Delta Two hasn't picked up any bad news from him. But he's a Dark type and a baby, so I dunno how much she'd be able to get from him, anyway. Do I need to get him glasses? Keep him out of the sun?
--Also, anyone celebrating Hanukkah this year, hope you had a good one. York out.
[A young, energetic Sneasel clambers his way up the back of York's chair. He's kind of excessively pink.
Someone's got his first shiny is what's happening here.
The Sneasel waves at the camera, then slips back down in an undignified tumble before running off again to play with York's Rotom. York watches him go before shaking his head.]
I ask 'cause I know that can cause eye problems, but he hasn't complained about it and Delta Two hasn't picked up any bad news from him. But he's a Dark type and a baby, so I dunno how much she'd be able to get from him, anyway. Do I need to get him glasses? Keep him out of the sun?
--Also, anyone celebrating Hanukkah this year, hope you had a good one. York out.
.002 Δ [Voice]
Oct. 22nd, 2015 06:51 pmOkay. Okay.
[York's voice is the soft but urgent hiss of someone who's freaking out but doesn't want to alarm the people around him. The sound quality, for those sensitive to that sort of thing, indicates that he may have, you know. Locked himself in the bathroom. As one does.]
Can I lodge a complaint? I dunno who to, exactly, but I'da hoped this would be the kind of thing that got covered in the rookie's field manual as early as possible.
[He pauses.]
Turning into a werewolf, I mean.
[The pause is practically italicized. Whatever's happening to York, he is strenuously unhappy about it, and the tension rides his voice hard.]
Like, the fact that that's apparently a real possibility in this universe.
[York's voice is the soft but urgent hiss of someone who's freaking out but doesn't want to alarm the people around him. The sound quality, for those sensitive to that sort of thing, indicates that he may have, you know. Locked himself in the bathroom. As one does.]
Can I lodge a complaint? I dunno who to, exactly, but I'da hoped this would be the kind of thing that got covered in the rookie's field manual as early as possible.
[He pauses.]
Turning into a werewolf, I mean.
[The pause is practically italicized. Whatever's happening to York, he is strenuously unhappy about it, and the tension rides his voice hard.]
Like, the fact that that's apparently a real possibility in this universe.
.001 Δ [Video/Action for Cherrygrove]
Sep. 25th, 2015 07:57 am[The feed flips on to show a man holding a brush in one hand and a young Shinx in his lap. Both of them appear to have been freshly bathed, with the damp Shinx swaddled in one of Cherrygrove Inn's warm, fluffy towels. When all of her wriggling and protesting comes to naught, she just lies there in her towel burrito and seethes. York, on the other hand, has found that shops in this world do, apparently, sell hair product for humans, and he couldn't be happier. He's fixed his hair for the first time in days. Life is wonderful.
Not that vanity's necessarily the reason he hasn't introduced himself to the PokéConnect community at large yet. It's just. You know. Coincidence.]
Good morning, people. And Pokémon, too, of course, can't forget you guys. For those of you I haven't spoken to yet, I'm York, I'm one of your more recent unwitting transplants to sunny Johto. Or, well, partially cloudy Johto, anyway. How about that weather, huh?
[The temperature has dropped literally twenty degrees in the five days since he got here, oh my god, why. Being caught out on the road in yesterday's rainstorm sucked. Now he's warm and dry and comfortable in a clean shirt a couple sizes too big for him (and he's not exactly a small man). Really, what could be better than being alive here and now?
He rubs the Shinx's fur drier, unwraps her, and then holds her still before she can escape so he can brush the tangles out. She mewls fussily, but his hands are steady, and eventually she relaxes--if mutinously--into the attention. He chuckles a little.]
But okay, I'm not actually here to make small talk. I got a question for you folks.
[He turns the PokéGear with the back of his brush to show another Pokémon, an Elgyem, bundled up in a blanket on the bed, fast asleep.]
Can someone tell me more about Psychic Pokémon? [He goes back to brushing.] I get that they read minds--Delta Two there communicates with me all the time--but she doesn't use words so it's hard to get more...complicated ideas across, sometimes. I was wondering, can you train them to talk? Or do other things? These guys are obviously a lot more intelligent than the animals back on my Earth, so I guess you could say I'm curious about what they can do.
[The Shinx's eyes are half-closed now as York brushes away. Someone's a sleepy baby.]
'Preciate your time. Over and out.
((Action also available for Cherrygrove, where he can be found at the inn or browsing the PokéMart stock.))
Not that vanity's necessarily the reason he hasn't introduced himself to the PokéConnect community at large yet. It's just. You know. Coincidence.]
Good morning, people. And Pokémon, too, of course, can't forget you guys. For those of you I haven't spoken to yet, I'm York, I'm one of your more recent unwitting transplants to sunny Johto. Or, well, partially cloudy Johto, anyway. How about that weather, huh?
[The temperature has dropped literally twenty degrees in the five days since he got here, oh my god, why. Being caught out on the road in yesterday's rainstorm sucked. Now he's warm and dry and comfortable in a clean shirt a couple sizes too big for him (and he's not exactly a small man). Really, what could be better than being alive here and now?
He rubs the Shinx's fur drier, unwraps her, and then holds her still before she can escape so he can brush the tangles out. She mewls fussily, but his hands are steady, and eventually she relaxes--if mutinously--into the attention. He chuckles a little.]
But okay, I'm not actually here to make small talk. I got a question for you folks.
[He turns the PokéGear with the back of his brush to show another Pokémon, an Elgyem, bundled up in a blanket on the bed, fast asleep.]
Can someone tell me more about Psychic Pokémon? [He goes back to brushing.] I get that they read minds--Delta Two there communicates with me all the time--but she doesn't use words so it's hard to get more...complicated ideas across, sometimes. I was wondering, can you train them to talk? Or do other things? These guys are obviously a lot more intelligent than the animals back on my Earth, so I guess you could say I'm curious about what they can do.
[The Shinx's eyes are half-closed now as York brushes away. Someone's a sleepy baby.]
'Preciate your time. Over and out.
((Action also available for Cherrygrove, where he can be found at the inn or browsing the PokéMart stock.))
