#sylvia mostly specializes in pokemon who were traumatized

[sylviareviar]

"You're... certainly an odd one," Sylvia conceded. "For a Rocket grunt, your Pokemon are awfully attached to you. I didn't expect that, quite frankly. But... if your Pokemon are willing to follow you, then... I'll put my trust in them."

Pokemon weren't inherently good or bad. They could be manipulated in all sorts of ways, and even manipulative, like Inkay had the potential to be. In fact, Pokemon and people really weren't all that different, as they shared the same ability: the ability of choice.

"Honestly, my line of work is actually pretty dangerous. Some might call it exciting, sure, but often I see sides of Pokemon no one wants to see. And I see the impact humans have on their mental state. Things that can drive Pokemon to madness, closing the door to their hearts, driving them wild to a point they can't distinguish friend from foe. Some even tried to end their own lives in despair. My job is to keep them safe from organizations like yours, that steal them, manipulate them, and experiment on them until they become little more than unfeeling war machines."

She patted the side of Umber's neck. Umber, still feeling tense, huffed through his nostrils and lowered his head to nuzzle against her cheek. Pip wound up and leapt onto Umber's back with his impressive jumping skill, patting him down from behind, while Fluffy landed behind him and started to preen his back.

Sylvia's other Pokemon grew anxious too. Diana floated just a little bit away, sensitive to the feelings of her friends, and Saffron glanced up from her Light Ball, looking worried. Spore gave Umber his space, but left an arm on Sylvia's wrist just in case she needed the support.

Telling this stuff to a Rocket grunt was probably not smart, but she and James were at a ceasefire. He fell into his own trap, and his Pokemon were loyal to him. She had no idea how he treated other Pokemon besides his own. This could very well be a trap. Although, if it was, they did have their Pokemon out now. They were staring one another down, trying to feel each other out. Trying to see if they were opposing threats or potential allies.

She took a deep breath and went on. "Umber... was the first such victim I've encountered. His situation, and m-my abilities... made it possible for me to save Pokemon whose hearts were artificially closed by humans. And these Pokemon... have been traded around underground rings for a while. Even Team Rocket has them. I've been used by organizations such as Team Galactic for nefarious means, including having my research and... even my own free will stolen from me. Hence, I get cautious now. Team Rocket, Team Galactic, Team Flare, and even Team Plasma... I consider them all not only public enemies, but personal ones as well. I'm... sorry if I was harsh to you, Mr. James."

After his happy little group finally calmed down their excitement to see him, James was able to sit up. Growlie sat next to him at his side while Mareanie happily planted herself in his lap.

One by one, he watched as Sylvia released and introduced each of her Pokemon. Fascinated by them all, even the Rapidash who didn't look immediately fond of him. Not that he blamed them in the least given what Sylvia he been through.

James noticed his Growlithe eyeing cautiously. Even Inkay hovered over him closely. "Hey, it's ok. They're not a threat to us." He tells them. Even reaching out to pet Growlie reassuringly.

"Oh um..." He began once she completed her introductions. "So... These two above me are my Chimecho and Inkay." He gestured to them. Both of whom gave their respective chimes and chirps.

"Over here is Mime Jr." Glancing to his left was the smaller said Pokemon sitting next to him. Giving a happy little "Mime Mime!", while mimicking James every step of the way.

"We have Mareanie here." Glancing down at her, who was simply watching everyone curiously, but also just happy she claimed James' lap first.

"And last but not least, this is Growlie." He said, looking to his longtime friend to his right, who gave a friendly greeting of it's name.

"I'm Kojiro James Morgan. Mostly known by James." The lavender haired man added as he looked back at Sylvia and her crew. "And uh... I'm just some Rocket grunt who can't even dig his way out of a hole, apparently." He added the last bit somewhat light-heartedly, but sadly true to some extent. "Definitely not as interesting as what you do by any means."

[sylviareviar]

Curious but how did you come up with your OC? Is she her own fandomless OC you have verses for, or has she always been one in the Persona universe?

Truth be told, Sylvia is a self-insert OC. I have other verses of her, and her background is usually different in every one, to better explain her circumstances. It's just, her Persona verse is the most active one I have on Tumblr. I came up with her in middle school, when I was at my lowest point, and Sylvia became my go-to comfort character ever since, because... she helped me escape.

But the truth is, I have lots of verses for her. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's is one (which I don't actually use on here since I don't have any 5D's moots, but I am writing a fic about it on Wattpad-- it's the kind of fic that I'm not really proud to have, but I'm too attached not to write it, so into the trash bin it goes, I guess). I also have verses like Pokemon, in which she only accumulates her trauma after going out on a Pokemon journey, or Fire Emblem, where she's a glass cannon mage tasked with defending her lord (and maybe falls a little ill because of all the magic she's got inside her).

There are others, of course, but at the moment I can't think of many, since right now I'm hyperfixated on the Persona series, but if there are any other fandoms I like that I want Sylvia to be a part of, chances are she's there, with at least a basic background that I can build on if I start focusing on it again (like My Hero Academia). Oh, but I don't actually watch popular anime like One Piece, Bleach, Death Note, or Demon Slayer. Especially not Fullmetal Alchemist; I watched it when I was younger and got traumatized by the chimera dog. It's a little bit tricky, but I mostly find myself attracted by JRPGs, which is when I start to wonder, "I wonder what it would be like for Sylvia here? What kind of background would she have? How would she interact with the characters?" Building her up from there, coming up with funny scenarios with other characters, creating mischief and angst and blending the two into a believable character... It's all a lot of fun for me.

Sylvia being a self-insert doesn't mean that I take everything personally when I RP. Instead, the way I act with her feels more like she's a "doll" or an act that I play with. If other characters have personally hurt her, that's not an attack on me, nor is it an attack on her. It is an in-character interaction, much like how two actors who act out characters on stage that fight one another doesn't mean that the actors themselves are fighting.

The way she looks and is as a character is built in ways I can relate to, and it helps me to cope with the real world and real traumas I have. In a way, Sylvia could actually be my own personal Persona-- a mask I wear to get through the real world.

Sylvia's appearance is based purely on what I would find ideal on myself, and is sorta like what I think my personality looks like if it were a person. Her background, though, is something I have fun playing around with and building with the world, and I do my best not to break the boundaries of whatever world she's in, but bend them a little bit to make her seem unique without trying to take attention away from other, more important characters.

I guess you could call Sylvia almost a "trauma response," but I prefer to think of her more as a "special interest," because through her, I can learn better how to write, how to behave myself, and simply have fun interacting with canon characters.

Also, exhibiting some of my own personal habits through her helps me identify my faults as a person, and figure out things that I need to work on versus what things may be cute or fun in an objective sense, which I could leave alone after a bit of moderation. Such as...

...m-my habit of rambling. Or my dislike of loud noises.

But not everything Sylvia does is the same as me! For example, I don't actually live on a farm like Sylvia does in both the Pokemon and Persona 5 verses. My home is actually in a suburban area. Sylvia's location also isn't exactly the same as mine, and depending on the verse, her skillset isn't the same as mine either-- the only things that remain the same are her like of drawing, singing, and writing. Sometimes it isn't possible for her to play a flute, or to play video games, or even to just ride a bike. So really, how close she is in depiction to the actual me depends on the verse, but all of it is simply to have fun.

I hope that explained Sylvia as a concept sufficiently. I know a lot of people are uncomfortable RPing with self-inserts, so I'm already very grateful for the people who are willing to RP with her, and who haven't dismissed her as cringe or disgusting. Believe me, I've tried to let her go years ago, but every time, it never worked. So I'm sort of stuck. But I think if I practice with Sylvia long enough, I could start writing other characters with their own silly nuances and overly specific habits too.