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BasicVanilla — Isle of Steam: Vernon Madris (2019)
Published: 2019-06-09 12:59:05 +0000 UTC; Views: 1205; Favourites: 6; Downloads: 1
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Description
--- REVAMP: Oh boy here we go! After 4 years Vernie is getting a brand new app! ---
Vernon is jaded and will rarely smile, especially when first meeting someone. Overall very untrusting, he even prefers to avoid contact during the day entirely. When nervous or flustered, he will come up with blunt insults to protect his fragile ego.
He likes to take attention away from his inferiority complex by masking it with a projected sense of superiority. Hypocritical, he does not appreciate insults and quickly loses his temper. While he can be aggressive, he tries to maintain an honor code and isn’t outwardly harsh to the innocent, naive, or genuinely good.
With mild gigantasophobia, he is particularly sensitive about his and others’ heights. He loses his composure around exceptionally tall people of about 6 feet or greater. His aggressive tendencies favor those who trigger his phobia or insult his appearance.
Under his cold exterior is a soft, scared side that few have come to know. In truth, he seeks out someone to confide in and ease his fears. Those close to him have gained his trust and with that he cherishes and protects them, offering what strength he has and emotional support. With his loved ones, he’s still grumpy but puts aside his dislikes to accommodate others.
Vernon believes in hard work and loathes the lazy. He works through most nights studying agricultural techniques, working out, and preparing things for the next day.
In those days, he enjoyed sitting outside in the sun and drifting in the wind with his best friend, Abby. They spent many days playing in the woods of Verdanturf and talking about their ambitions. One day 9-year-old Vernon came home from school and his mom introduced him to her new boyfriend, a Cacturne named Reed. From this point, Vernon slowly grew apart from Abby.
It was only Vernon and Abby who knew how cruel Reed truly was. He would yell and belittled Vernon for his girlish appearance and soft nature. Vernon began to strengthen his muscles, sparring with Abby by day and working out every night to evolve faster and improve his masculine appeal. He was sleep-deprived and slept through his classes. Eventually, forgoing his morning training with Abby in favor of sleep and his nightly session. Spending less and less time in the sun, he pushed his friends even further away.
However, this shift in his sleep cycle change had another effect. He continued to train only at night; because in sunlight was beginning to overactive his chlorophyll ability, jarringly shifting his mood to an uncharacteristically and embarrassingly jolly one. A year later, he finally evolved into a skiploom.
By then, Reed and his mom got married, and he hated him even more. The bullying continued to escalate, even with the evolution and training Vernon had done, it didn't matter. He tried to appeal to his mom, but as sweet as she was, she was in denial of his claims. She would say things like “ Isn’t it nice to have a complete family again?” or “Look at all the things he’s done for us.” On top of the guilt of ruining his mother's happiness, his new stepdad further guilted him by saying his objections were a sign of weakness.
Abby, his only remaining friend, would still try to defend him throughout these times. Her efforts were fruitless and soon, her family had moved away. The move cut their few remaining ties, and Vernon lost contact. This is when the verbal abuse progressed into violence. Vernon’s hatred deepened and he grew to direct towards his appearance. At this point, he felt powerless to speak up not only from threats of more violence, lies, and abuse from Reed, but also the loneliness of losing the only person who believed him.
Two years passed and he evolved into a jumpluff. Both he and his step-father disliked his new look. He had known what he would look like, but the years of browbeating from the caturne made Vernon resent even his new appearance. He changed himself gradually at first, turning his hair over, and wearing dark clothes to match his style that soon followed into his teen years. He wore gothic make-up to hide what he saw in the mirror, and he felt that this was better. Vernon started to sulk most of the day and became depressed. Years of this turned what would have been a natural jumpluff smile into a frown. He found is very hard to make friends and his grades were falling further. At this point, his mother was worried. When Millie heard about a private academy- she applied for him. Vernon, now 14, agreed to anything that would get him away from his monster of a step-father.
In his school years, he tried to forget his home life. He made a few friends and faced a lot of fears, maturing not only his body but also his perspective on life. He was learning to accept himself. In this time of soul-searching, he enjoyed studying agriculture and mixed martial arts. Flowers had always brought him solace and the exercise eased his stress.
After 2 years, he worked up the courage to ask out his long-time crush to date him. This was a happy time, the change in him brought up unpleasant memories that he had locked in his mind to protect him from the trauma. He would lash out against his peers. He felt vulnerable again and the few friends he made started to turn on him. In the following 2 years, he started to depend on his girlfriend for emotional support.
Through his schoolings and her, he was starting to cope and thought all was going well again. He felt calm and happier. Finally, as he was gearing to confront his abuser, this person he cherished the most left him without a word. Crushed and heartbroken, he returned home after a bitter graduation.
Except now, his home was no longer his. He found that his step-dad had taken his ire out on his mother, physically and verbally abusing her while he was away. With the news of her son coming back, Millie had worked up the courage to report him and seek help. Reed was charged for multiple accounts of domestic violence, and following his arrest, his mom opted to move in with his grandparents for safety, financial security, and healing. Vernon and his mom were together again but now broken.
In spite of the news, Vernon tried to funnel his anger into something productive. He enrolled himself into something he enjoyed: floral design. Online, he got his certification and got a job at a florist’s shop part-time, but this was short-lived. His new family life was stressful. His grandparents held resentment towards him. Unbeknownst to him, Millie had run out of town “with that hippy” that was his father 22 years ago, disobeying her parents. They had taken them in more out of pity than sincerity, and it showed. Between the lingering distrust with his mom, the new conflicts arising, and other unresolved issues he was losing control of his emotions with little escape.
While tending to some seedlings one day, a strong gust of wind rushed by and- PLAP! a piece of paper in breeze hit him in the face. It was a letter. Reading it gave Vernon all the incentive he needed to leave this town. He had heard the rumors of this land during his time at the academy. He was ready for anything new at this point, anything to get him away from it this old life. That night he packed his stuff quietly, leaving behind most of his things and note on the counter.
He arrived at the nearest port the next morning and set sail for steam with a new eagerness to start a new life, hoping to open a floristry shop and find peace.
-Cotton spore: Cotton fluff spawns from his hands and hair and clings to his target. Surrounding them and making it more difficult to move. (Speed reduction)
-Sleep Powder: Vernon emits a cloud of dust from his cotton fluff. If inhaled or makes skin contact, it will put his target to sleep. (Sleep chance)
-Acrobatics: Vernon will usually drop what he's holding, to jump up to rapidly kick and punch his foe with great speed. (Low [55%] to high [110%] damage)
-Aromatherapy: Vernon can release plant-based scents from oils that cure the status conditions of himself or others. He'll sometimes use this to give himself a "masculine" cologne. Egg move from his dad. (Status cure, smells nice)
-Unfortunately, while waiting for transfer, Reed managed to escape and remains on the run from law enforcement.
-Vernon’s hands and hair shed cotton or dandelion seeds in the Fall.
-Carries his parasol around during the day to keep his ability from activating
-He Hates Cacturnes.
-He has a soft spot for feral Pokemon and is an animal rights activist.
-Favorite berry flavor: Spicy
-His nose isn't "normal" because of certain events that occurred at the academy
-He always gets sick in winter.
-Can fly if there's any wind.
-Vernon means " place of alders" which are a type of tree but it also comes from verdant or "greenery". Madris is a variant of madras which is "a light cotton fabric".
About his ability: When in sunlight, his mood perks up. He laughs and smiles more freely and is quite pleasant but doesn’t identify as another person. He is closer characterized as his younger, carefree self. Aside from stepping out of sunlight, only pain or duress can trigger this persona to change back. This is a side effect from not only switching his day-night cycles in his childhood and limiting his amount of sunlight intake as a night owl, but also a symptom of his childhood traumas.
Fun facts about how it works: His low-light-adapted leaves under ago photoinhibition (light overload) and cannot cope with the sudden uptake of sunlight. As a result, his chlorophyll ability triggers easily in most direct sunlight. Initially, this ability will elevate the phloem flow to increase his speed and cause him to get dizzy for a few seconds. As a type of C4 plant, his leaves attempt to quickly assimilate the extra energy and cause a temporary mood and persona change. The effect is strongest in harsh light.
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Jumpluff (c) Pokemon
Template from: IsleOfSteamMod
