I wonder if anyone's made a funny character tournament specifically for guys with orbs for heads, lmao.

world building: aesthetic au

( that’s right heathens, instead of doing actual replies im going to talk about this cozy little setting for a minute. buckle up and get ur d batteries, it’s time to take a trip back. )

@truthfullyideal​ ( cause u were interested; heckin buckle up m80 )

First things first, a lot of this stuff may be subject to change, I’ve had a few ideas of where to take it (mostly technology wise) because it’s supposed to be reminding of a time never experienced (im 19 give me a break) or reminiscent of the ‘good old days’, but also having phones and stuff would be cool? So that’s not really concrete but for this we’ll just assume that it is. 

The “Aesthetic AU”, as I’m calling it, takes place in a small, slow town called Lanolin Heights (which is located in the region of Hoenn). It’s got a school system, one (1) main grocery store and one strip mall with slow, municipal businesses. The main store is like a Walmart in that it sells general things, but smaller. For specific items, one would have to go up to the city, a nice forty-five minute drive up the highway. Needless to say, a lot of the teens are forced to hang out at the local pizza joint, (one of the only standalone businesses aside from what I just listed) at their houses or in the woods. Local law enforcement is pretty slack and knows just about everyone by name. If they don’t know someone, they usually know their relatives.

The schools are the Elementary and High School, Elementary serving as both Primary grades (K-5) and Middle grades (6-8) ((based on american school systems)). The High School houses grades 9-12, in which students either move or commute to the college in the next city over, Rustboro. While the overall Elementary School atmosphere is welcoming and inviting, the High School is super cliquey. Everyone has their own group, which may seem good on the surface: the jocks have a group, the popular girls, cheer squad, even the smart kids and outcasts have a clique. But if you don’t fit in any of those cliques, you’re often left high and dry. The kids in the school system have known each other and grown up with one another for the most part, so they’re not very welcoming to outsiders unless you fit into a clique or can conform to fitting in. Luckily the cliques themselves are pretty good, once you get into one of them.

For fun, the kids usually stay in their houses with groups or hang out at the local pizza joint, Rockwell’s Pizza. The joint has a jukebox with the latest hits, good food for a price teenagers can afford and the owner, much like the law enforcement, knows just about everyone. On the weekends and before exams, you’ll find the place packed with teens and young adults alike. Along with the standalone pizza joint, there’s a small VHS store and worn-down bowling alley. Lane 13 is always broken, there always seems to be a flickering light, the two arcade games have a 50/50 chance of stealing your quarters, but the fries and soda are legendary so no one really cares. The VHS store never seems to have the new releases until a month after they’ve already hit the theaters, but they have good quality tapes and never seem to run out of movie snacks, which keeps the people appeased. Every once and awhile, the store has a small amount of movie merchandise. This usually sells out very rapidly, but the plus side is that they usually forget they even have it in the first place so it’s usually vintage merch by the time someone bothers to clean out the store room. A good steal if you happen to get lucky.

There’s a single gas station that has stupid delicious glass bottled soda and has a plethora of 40s, 50s and 60s memorabilia on the walls. Old timers often spend a lot of time talking to the cashier which can be a pain, but teenagers in the High School are known to be easily hired here as the owners are elderly so there’s usually one cashier line with two elderly people chatting and one with a super busy, hectic teenager trying to get to every customer in line. The gas station is a good place to hang out with old people, for the history enthusiasts they can often be found here striking up a conversation with some of the town ‘elders’.

Beside the pizza joint and the gas station there is an old, abandoned strip mall. There’s development signs up advertising the creation of a mall here, but it’s been up for so long it’s starting to fade. The parking lot is cracked and the stores look dilapidated. The parking lot is a popular place for new drivers to practice, daring drivers to do some donuts in the winter, or teens just walking its length back and forth while chatting. Sometimes you can find a casual soccer game hosted here, and even rarer than that, a flea market will set up shop, or even a small, watered down carnival. If the schools have some sort of event, such as a bake sale, weather permitting they will have it here due to the abundance of space. Rockwell appreciates the business they bring, though he has no trouble paying his bills without the influx.

Along with Rockwell’s, the other sole restaurant is a diner setting. ‘Lanolin’s Diner’, it’s named. Elders will tell you that the owner’s wife was named Lanolin, who was named after the town. The owners have long since died, but the diner still remains a popular spot. The diner has a friendly atmosphere like Rockwell’s, but like the gas station it’s more retro-esq. Good burgers, good milkshakes and great coffee for the ever studious exam taker. They also possess a jukebox, but it is older than the one found at Rockwell’s and has little to no modern tunes.

Not in the main ‘hustle and bustle’, (which should be used loosely) but not quite out of town limits either, there is a rock quarry. They were going to use the rocks and gravel here for something-- no one can ever agree on what-- but whatever project it was got scrapped and the place is supposed to be shut off from the public. That doesn’t stop most people, teens in particular, from going there to hang out. It’s also a popular spot for young trainers to test their skills and battle (as is the empty parking lot). Geodude can be found here, and if you’re lucky, you may even find a Graveler. The quarry isn’t checked up on by law enforcement-- they all know what goes on down there anyway. It’s blocked off by a sad little chain that is easily walked over, but if they truly need to block it off they will have barricades. This has happened before, particularly during dangerous storms that could flood it.

Somewhat close to the quarry is a small antique shop. It’s only ever open on Tuesdays, which makes school kids wonder what actually is sold there, but the kids known for skipping class often come here (or, at least go once or twice) and browse during the open hours. The reason it’s only open once during a week is because the owner, a little old lady, goes out the other six days and acquires her unique goods. She also makes some damn good cookies, which is by far her best seller. No one else works here but her and she is guarded by a large Arcanine, if anyone thinks they can get past her with some nonsense.

Along the highway, if you’re approaching Lanolin Heights you will be able to see a water tower with faded letters that say, in cursive, ‘Lanolin Heights’. Some abandoned and boarded up houses and, what appear to have been businesses along the country routes that go through and close to Lanolin Heights suggests that this place used to be busier than it currently is. However with the addition of Rustboro, it would seem most people left Lanolin and went there. A lot of the elders could tell you that statement is true, some of them even having been some of the people who left when Rustboro was established.

Because it is a small town, the students and even the adults get really excited over their school sports teams, which are oddly good. The rallies are always booming with life and for the time the event goes on, all other worries seem dropped and left behind. It’s common for adults no longer in school to come to them still if they can, for the food is delicious but the nostalgia they hold for most is even sweeter than the funnel cake. Usually the community comes together as a whole to donate money to rallies and games, as well as clean up the mess once it’s all said and done. Pokemon help with this as well.

As Rustboro has a gym, there are classes in the schools dedicated to Pokemon battling, type match-ups and status aliments (basically, a basic trainer’s school course) but nothing goes into too many specifics. Most kids find out from adults or elders what they need to do in battles, or by trial and error. Once every two months, Professor Birch will visit the town and hand out starter Pokemon to eligible children. Usually these children are the ones who’ve done good in school, but he always brings a few extras to hand out to some other children as he believes they all deserve a chance to raise one of the starters of Hoenn.

And that’s about it! The most important landmarks in Lanolin Heights. Later on I’ll make a post explaining Katherine and what she does in this small town, but for now this will have to do. As I said before, this is open for anyone to take part in, it’s just a fun little “slice of life AU” for peeps. Set in the 80s-90s? Something like that.