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Dreams are just a reality away from memories.
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I see you like stalking too eh? Just know that while you're reading this, I'm reading all your posts from 5 months ago and silently judging your taste. Ha Ha. Or not.
Yeah I'm making a character that contributes nothing to society. Ignore all the unfilled pictures, I'll get around to it at some point.
Let's all blame January for now.
❈ 𝖧𝖴𝖬𝖠𝖭 ❈
》 𝖡𝖠𝖲𝖨𝖢𝖲: Matthew Bradshaw || 20 || Male
"C'mon, let's have a little fun!"
» 𝖨𝖭𝖳𝖤𝖫𝖫𝖨𝖦𝖤𝖭𝖢𝖤
» 𝖢𝖱𝖤𝖠𝖳𝖨𝖵𝖨𝖳𝖸
» 𝖢𝖮𝖭𝖥𝖨𝖣𝖤𝖭𝖢𝖤
» 𝖧𝖴𝖬𝖮𝖱
» 𝖢𝖧𝖠𝖱𝖨𝖲𝖬𝖠
» 𝖤𝖬𝖯𝖠𝖳𝖧𝖸
★★★☆☆
★★★★☆
★★☆☆☆
★★★☆☆
★★★★★
★☆☆☆☆
》 𝖠𝖯𝖯𝖤𝖠𝖱𝖠𝖭𝖢𝖤: 178 cm || 75 kg || green eyes || brown hair
Pretty enough to be a girl, Matthew, or Matt as he usually prefers, is not at all shy when it comes to flaunting his god given looks. With exotic emerald eyes and curly hair as soft as they look, further accentuate by an expensive yet not always sensible wardrobe, he both revels and flourishes at the center of attention. His frame is lithe yet fit; the gym is just about the only place he frequents with a reliable schedule, though only because cardio helps with hangovers. So it comes as no surprise when the younger Bradshaw prefers the prolific nightlife with its colorful characters to his school and work commitments.
》 𝖯𝖤𝖱𝖲𝖮𝖭𝖠𝖫𝖨𝖳𝖸
Matt is good at first impression. He is rich, good-looking and knows his way around a conversation just enough to be pleasant. But once you dig deeper, there isn't much to Matt Bradshaw beyond the pretty varnish. At his core, he is selfish and indulgent to a fault, and pretty unrepentant about that too. His friend circle is huge but constantly changing, much like his hobbies and goals. He holds nothing dear, nothing sacred; he doesn't dare to. He has his fun, then he moves on quickly enough before the icky feelings set in. Matt likes to enjoy the good things in life, and not much else.
» 𝖫𝖨𝖪𝖤𝖲
» 𝖣𝖨𝖲𝖫𝖨𝖪𝖤𝖲
Alcohol
Artisan cured ham
Drawing
Ugly sweaters
Deadlines
His sister
Hangovers
The stench of stale beer
》 𝖧𝖨𝖲𝖳𝖮𝖱𝖸
The Bradshaws are old money, and it shows. Matt grew up in the family mansion in California, before moving to Bloomfield Bay a few years back, though not by his own choice. His sister wanted to keep a closer eye on him, and he really couldn't muster up a valid excuse to refuse her. Matt barely made it through highschool. He was not stupid by any means; he just occupied his time with things other than schoolwork. Things such as weekday parties, strong alcohol and a rotating roster of partners. He tried to get things done, mostly, putting in applications for college and signing up for a bachelor program. His sister seemed to be satisfied with his progress, so that was enough. Then the Whisper had to ruin everything. He found himself in an empty world, later, with a strange humming. The monster that came along almost killed him, if not for the rifle that appeared in his hands right at an opportune moment. Matt had never so much touched a gun before, but for that moment, he knew enough to turn and shoot. And kill. Even after, he kept seeing things. Hearing things. It has been a week. Matt had not been entire sober since.
✣
❅ 𝖢𝖱𝖮𝖶𝖭𝖤𝖣 ❅
❖ 𝖬𝖠𝖦𝖨𝖢
CROWN OF DREAD
» 𝖲𝖳𝖱𝖤𝖭𝖦𝖳𝖧
» 𝖲𝖴𝖯𝖯𝖮𝖱𝖳
» 𝖣𝖤𝖷𝖳𝖤𝖱𝖨𝖳𝖸
» 𝖣𝖤𝖥𝖤𝖭𝖲𝖤
» 𝖬𝖠𝖦𝖨𝖢𝖠𝖫 𝖤𝖭𝖤𝖱𝖦𝖸
★★★★★
☆☆☆☆☆
★★★☆☆
★☆☆☆☆
★★★★☆
Matt's crown gives him a massive and intimidating sniper rifle to wield. Matt, meanwhile, swears that he had never so much touched a nerf gun, but his body seemed to know what to do, most of the time.
SHOOT YA IN THE HEAD: A powerful piercing shot that takes ages to charge up, but fires off with deadly accuracy
GIVE ME A SECOND: A short range teleportation that can take Matt to wherever in his line of sight. Also requires a moderate charge up.
STAY AWAY FROM ME: A burst of shots with moderate strength. Fairly accurate, but has a cooldown period.
DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT: Matt goes invisible. He will remain so until he attacks.
❖ 𝖳𝖱𝖠𝖭𝖲𝖥𝖮𝖱𝖬𝖤𝖣 𝖠𝖯𝖯𝖤𝖠𝖱𝖠𝖭𝖢𝖤
Matt takes on a faceless mask and tattered body suit during his transformation. The mask is his crown, just a plain black surface broken by hexagonal shapes. He believes he has drawn the short straw in this department, though, because he claims he looks homeless. Despite the shape of the mask, Matt still has perfect vision. He is quite impressed at that, if nothing else.
The fight began and concluded soon enough and as expected, Matt didn’t really need to participate. He didn’t want to anyway. Combat was never the drawing point of this game for him and he rationalized that he would need to learn how the enemies worked here first, before charging. He had advised Darren to do the same. The merman agreed, easily, so they watched together.
Afterward, they had gained a week of free time until the next event, which Matt accepted with a yawn before logging off to bed.
He logged back on the day after and made his way toward the flower field where Darren said he wanted to explore. As if on cue, the vibrating book at his hips told him that his friend was logging back online. He smiled, sending Darren a quick message and his location. The sound of sloshing water accompanied the teleport and Darren soon floated his way over, yawning and blinking slowly.
"Hey." -Matt waved enthusiastically -"Ready for some fun?"
Slow nods. And for a moment it looked like nodding off.
"Well, you don't look ready."
"I'm just...a little sleepy. Work, you know?" Darren gave a half-smile, trying to wave off the fatigue as a passing issue.
"Mkay." -Matt raised an eyebrow, but he decided the drop the issue, curiosity and promise of loot overpowering any other concerns -"Let's go then."
Without much hesitation or caution, Matt turned and walked into the flower field, assured at the sound of water slowly following him.
The sun was already low by the time they arrived there, bathing the place with a gentle warm glow of early dusk. The sky, sullied not by pollution, a painter's pallete, swirls of brilliant colours, red, orange and blue, complementing the yellow and green of the sunflower fields. Sunflowers, true to the name, dominated the area, but there are gentle rolling plains of green and smaller flowers, upon which their only path lay, unless they saw fit to crash through the sunflowers, which grew tall and large, trying to outgrow their neighbors for sunlight. Their peaceful walk was only interupted by the fairies playing, laughing and flitting amongsts the flowers, moving through them without even disturbing so much as a leaf or a stalk. A few had already taken interest in them, gawking at their strange attire, with one trying to swim in the ball of water Myosotis generated.
In the distance, a small farmhouse was the only noticable thing amongst the sunflowers, though there was a path that lead up to a tall hill as well.
Darren laughed at the small fae splashing in his water orb, moving aside to make a bit more room while the creature paddled happily along the surface. Matt, meanwhile, was examining the flowers. He reached out for one, but eventually decided against picking any. No need to burden himself with useless junks. He turned to the farmhouse in the distance.
"I'm checking it out." -He called back to Darren, then moved toward the building.
"Hang on, I'll take the lead. You don't have very good damage," the merman argued, swimming quickly ahead of Matt and gliding towards the building.
The farmhouse in question, was undeniably truly a farmhouse, with several chickens roaming the yard. A small field had been tilled by hand it seemed, with long stakes for whatever that was planted there. The owner of the place wasn't too hard to identify either, considering she was the only one there, sitting on an outdoors table having her tea. A well built woman, with short wavy green hair, wearing red striped long pants and a simple white blouse accented by a small yellow scarf. Her eyes were blood red, but her expression was friendly as she looked towards the newcomers.
"Ah, good evening." She looked towards the spread on her table, a small bowl of tea biscuits, a teapot, but only one teacup. "I apologize, but I was not expecting visitors."
The woman paused for a moment, her eyes lingering a bit too long upon both of them. "The free spirits that... took over that shopkeeper's place, yes? Would you like to join me for tea?"
"...I'd rather you just tell us about the location," Darren replied, staring back at her.
"I wouldn't mind tea." -Next to him, Matt only grinned -"Miss...?"
A shadow flitted across her face for a moment as Darren replied, but only for a moment. "Yuuka Kazami. Yuuka is fine. Please, have a seat. I'll get more teacups for you two."
She stood up, dusting herself off, then went back into the house, presumably to get more teacups for the two of them.
"Well, what do you think?" -Matt dropped down onto a nearby chair, picking up a biscuit and examining it closely.
"She never answered my question. So I don't think she's all that welcoming." Water dropped around the small table, hiding in the grass as Darren squinted suspiciously at the food. "Wish we had something to test the food on. Don't want to be taking weird DoT damage if she turns out to be an enemy NPC."
"Let me talk first. Maybe we can bypass this encounter or whatever." -Matt crumpled the biscuit in his hand, tossing the pieces toward the roaming chickens.
The chickens swarmed greedily towards the biscuit crumbs, jostling each other while trying to eat as much as they could. Yuuka returned at that point, shooing the chickens away gently as she brought two more teacups to the table, before filling them both up and offering them to the two. Filling her own cup, she started eating one of the tea biscuits, before sipping from her own cup.
"So, to what do I owe this visit?"
"We--" Darren half-started before shutting up and letting Matt take the lead. It didn't sit well with him to actually play along with the in-story behaviors of the NPCs and usually he had no inclination to, but Matt had hung around longer than anyone else had and he didn't want to burn another bridge that had just formed recently. "Sorry," he mumbled, backing away from the table and into his bubble.
Matt glanced briefly at his friend, but he refrained. There would time for that later.
"We were just passing by, really. The field is very... scenic." -He turned back to the NPC with his brightest smile -"As you know, some of our companions have just recently 'taken over' a place nearby. We did not take part in that ugly bussiness, and frankly, we do not plan to. Just getting that out of the way."
"Oh? Is that so?" Yuuka took another sip at her tea. "Will you not drink the tea? Or perhaps, some of the biscuits? Do not worry on my account, I have plenty more to go around."
"Sure." -Matt agreed easily, sipping from his cup and reaching out for another biscuit. This time, he devoured the whole thing in one bite -"Excuse my friend, though. He is...well...in a bubble. And half fish."
Nodding approvingly, Yuuka finished hers. "I've not heard the details, only what that bird told me. But I find that hard to believe, especially with the fish's rather rude first demand. Even if you say you did not take part of the incident yesterday, you did allow your companions to do so. Now.."
There was a slight crinkle under her right eye as she paused. "Tell me what you are doing here, again."
"Flowers. Prettiest things I have seen in a while." -Matt stayed put, showing no sign that he was readying for combat -"Like I said before, just sightseeing."
Yuuka closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "Finish your tea and go home. I will not suffer fools and liars in my home."
"I'm sorry to have spoiled your evening, Miss Yuuka." -Matt looked genuinely apologetic as he lifted the cup and finished off his tea -"We will take our leave."
As he stood up, however, he squinted into the distance behind Yuuka, then his expression was a look of pure horror -"No." -He mumbled in disbelief -"They're here!"
Whipping her head around, she turned towards where he was looking, starting up from her chair. "What!?"
Matt quickly grabbed the teapot on the table and swung it at her head with all the strength he could muster. Ready to fight since the start, Darren poisoned the water he had settled around the table, pulling Matt backwards as the toxic green vapor rose around the woman.
"Move somewhere else!" he shouted, shoving Matt out of his path as he readied to spread more poison in the nearby water.
The teapot crashed against her head, with barely any effect. Poison vapours rose around her, and yet, she seemed unaffected even as the damage ticked upon her healthbar.
"You come into my home, drink my tea, lie to my face, and now you have the audacity to use this sort of tactic on me?"
Yuuka had not moved, but even as Matt moved out of range, a hand grabbed his arm in a vise grip, putting an uncomfortable amount of pressure on it with the battlesytem on. If this had not been in VR, he would have this feeling he would be screaming blue murder right now. Another Yuuka, similar in all ways to the one standing in the poison vapours, having an expression of not hate, but disgust. With alarming ease, her grip broke his arm, sending the limb into that red fuzzy state to indicate injury, before she threw him to the ground like a ragdoll. Both of the Yuukas pointed towards the merman, a small beam of light shining upon his chest as they did so.
He'd figured the enemies in the new zone would be high level, and he hated being right about that as he watched a chunk of Matt's health bar disappear in one attack. Darren threw water from his orb directly onto the women and fled backwards, poisoning more of the water as he did so and hoping their attacks wouldn't kill him immediately. Respawning was such a massive pain.
Meanwhile, Matt quickly got back to his feet, the broken arm was useless at his side as he rushed toward with the intention to tackle the Yuuka that broke it.
Even Matt's entire weight did not move her, with her only reaction was to point towards his face instead of Darren's chest. Considering both was in a bad position, they both would perish in a gigantic beam of light, Matt from point blank range, and Darren from midrange, due to moving backwards.
But....
Instead of finishing her channeling, and casting the massive beam, both of the Yuuka flipped upside down suddenly, identical yelps as they hit their heads on the ground. A small figure jumped in, grabbing Matt and Darren in both her arms, before flying quickly away.
"Ahaha~ You two are crazy, challenging Yuuka like that. From that new phantom group, aintcha?"
A girl in white, with black, red streaked hair, grinning wildly as she shifted their weight.
As a merman, Darren had never experienced VR flight aside from system travel and the strange sensation of being lifted from his bubble and soaring through the skies left him quiet enough that he didn’t protest the stranger who had saved them. For the moment. Whatever event they had triggered at least saved them the respawn trip.
"Yeah." -Matt grumbled, still trying to get his bearing -"It's a game. You gotta play like you wanna win." -He glanced at the rapidly shrinking terrain beneath them, the sudden height made his stomach uneasy.
"Who are you again?"
"A game huh? I like that. Gotta win all the time."
She started slowing down, once she was sure Yuuka wasn't pursuing them. From up here, they had a good view of the flowerfield behind them, as well as the large sprawling Forest of Magic. There was a small speck of a flag in it, though just barely recognizable as their flag. To the north was a large mountaineous region, and on its feet further away from the forest, they could see the human village, seemingly busy from the specks moving about it.
"Seija Kijin. Who are you two?"
"Tourists." -Matt mumbled, trying very hard not to look down -"I'm Matt. Fish man is Darren."
"Thanks for saving us, I suppose. Why though?"
She guffawed unellegantly at that. "Still trying to keep that up huh? I heard. Well, most everyone heard by now due to that bird, but I also heard. A buncha free spirits up and ousted that fake youkai from the Forest of Magic. Sounds like my kinda thing. If you're going up against them I want to join in too. 'Spect more people will be frowning on you more too after that last one. Man that was good, you done cracked her own pot on her head. Hahaha~!"
"I'm just trying to get a piece of that bitch for my friend here." -Matt admitted, frowning slightly at the memory. Not his best idea, the teapot. They could have just stolen a chicken or two -"Wait, what do you mean 'them'? There are sides?"
"Course there are! Whole of Gensokyo is in an uproar after what you lot pulled off yesterday. Fractured to bits with all the little factions." She landed neatly in the clearing where their flag was. "Oh jeez its empty. So this' your place, huh? Ain't much to look at."
"Whose side are you on?" -Matt raised an eyebrow as he staggered on his feet, grateful to be on firm ground once again. His arm was still useless though. He should have taken a healing spell.
"No one. Well, yours hopefully. I wanna join." Seija hovered a little as she prepared to fly once more. "Well, call me if you need me alright? Don't leave me out of any future plans. I'll go and do what I do best."
With that, she flew away, leaving Darren and Matt alone in the clearing.
"Hey! How are we going to call you?" -Matt called after the disappearing figure in vain. Knowing that he would never get the answer, he sighed, turning back to Darren -"Well, that was a hot mess."
“Yeah—hey, um, I gotta log out. Just, uh, something came up, sorry.” The merman‘s head looked elsewhere, pausing a moment before the avatar disappeared.
"Fuck." -Matt swore at where his friend used to stand. There went his plans for the evening. He then sighed, patting at his pockets to find the pipe. Maybe he would log off soon, too. Pointless to do anything without Darren here.
Darren dropped back into his room once he returned from cleaning the small trailer home, tucking his feet into the space that was barely large enough for a twin-sized bed and its bedside nightstand which pressed up against the sliding door. His mother had jolted him out of the semi-sleep state of VR and demanded his help with chores, though he could have sworn the house was clean and the sink clear when he had returned earlier. Still, he didn't have much right to protest so Darren had, as always, dropped everything he was doing to attend to his mother's wishes. He felt like he owed her that much for being the failure she had never wanted.
Settled at last into bed, he pulled out the hand-me-down smartphone that his friend at the local electronics store had managed to snag for the small price of 50 dollars, offering it to Darren for free and refusing to hear otherwise.
The messaging app was clear of notifications, his only correspondence either from work or Matt, recently.
Tapping into the previous conversation, Darren quickly poked out an apology.
>sorry for leaving you hanging i know we had plans to check out the new place but i had to do a few things really sorry
A reponse came almost instantaneously.
>it's fine
>what are you doing
>just chilling now, i can make it up to you tomorrow i don't have work
>tomorrow, huh?
>you know what, fuck it
>i'll stay at home on a weekend
>just for you
>oh if you have plans its okay i can just craft
>i never have plans
>i mean if you want to go out im sure you have more fun things to do on a weekend
>habits
>not really fun, when you just do something over and over again
>or someone
>don't fret, you didn't pull me from something terribly important
>just got a performance at Voyeur, but it's not that important
>or interesting
>i bet they let me on stage just cus i got a pretty face
>you have a Voyeur where you live too? i didn't know it was a chain
>no it's not
>pretty sure it's the only place
>oh...just coincidence maybe? lots of places can be named that
>well, my Voyeur does a pretty mean hemingway and has a really shitty neon sign that should have been torn down ages ago
>holy shit
>does the sign have a broken V?
>it does
>lol
>dont fucking tell me
>...opens 5 - 4 in the morning and on the corner of hampshire and mckaw?
>fuck
>yes
>omg
>well, don't drink the manhattan
>i'm pretty sure they water down the bourbon
>ive never been there but sure thanks
>lol
>come by some time then
>i'll buy you a drink
>i'm serious, the hemingway is to die for
>i cant id probably look weird there
>its like the prime hotspot around here
>no it's not it just likes to pretend that it is
>but like, if youre some 40 year old neckbeard
>i won't judge
>promise
>im 22 so no worries but
>you know
>i dont think id fit in
>i dont really look like
>nightlife type
>nobody cares, darren
>i sure don't
>come on
>i dont know
>im bad with people you know
>like awkward and shit
>srsly, darren
>i dont care about that
>come
>my next show is two weeks from today
>i dont want to disappoint you you know
>like if you were expecting something better and I show up
>i'm not expecting anything
>don't overthink
>just come
>free drink
>...i dont know what to wear i just have sweaters mostly
Matt’s roving gaze came to a stop on a pair of players. Swordsman and archer, by the looks of their equipment. Just what he needed. And they seemed to be chatting too, probably already in a party. Even better. He knew he should get to them before anyone else could.
He beckoned Darren to follow, then walked briskly over.
“Hey guys.” -He greeted as he approached, an easy grin on his lips –“What’s up?”
Wendel froze. She hadn't anticipated on getting approached like this. Talking to one person had been more than enough but now?
Her eyes caught sight of a merman behind the demon. Oh no, another one. The swordsman remained silent, looking to Sunny to answer for their party.
"They don’t look like they want to join. Maybe a different group?” Darren offered, looking around when Wendel only stared blankly at them.
Sunny grinned, giving the newcomers a half wave, “Heeeey! Just hangin’ out! Waiting for this thing to get goin', y’know.” she glanced towards the merman, giving him a curious look, “Woooooooah, neat bubble. What’re we joining?”
"Thanks,” came the reply with a quick flick of underwater tail. A bit of the water splashed onto the ground at the movement, though the quantity in the half-bubble remained the same.
"Yeah, thought you guys wanted a group? New campaign and all, ya know?" -Matt just shrugged, glancing briefly at the quiet Wendel before focusing on their more talkative friend -"So, do you? Me and Darren here are looking."
Sunny nodded to herself, giving them both a glance. “Not a bad idea.” she gave her newfound ‘partner’ a side-eyed glance and half-smile, “Whatd’ya think, Wen?” she said, a little bit surprised by her sudden decision to start calling him ‘Wen’.
Wendel regarded them with a wary look, then immediately felt guilty for it. Come on, she was meant to talk to people now. Plus, Sunny seemed eager to join this pair. No good reason to refuse. Unfortunately.
"I think that sounds okay," she replied after some deliberation. Remembering Joy's advice, she also tried to muster a smile.
"Well, if Wendel's in I'm in!" Sunny exclaimed, looking between the two. She pulled out her pocketbook, sending the pair an invite to their party.
"Perfect!" -Matt accepted with a wide grin and pocketed his book -"I suppose we should get introduced. Name's Carcinogen, but that's just edgy. Call me Matt. I'm running Acolyte"
He gestured to the mermen next to him -"This here is my friend, mister...Miso-tee?" -He mangled the spelling, half on purpose to watch Darren huff a small breath of annoyance. "Darren," he corrected, doing away with the cumbersome username.
Sunny stuck out her hand towards Matt, giving a grin, "And I'm Sunny! Alongside my friend Wendel." she said, tilting her head towards him.
Matt took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss against the back of her hand -"Pleased to meet you, Sunny." Unaffected by Matt's usual display of overbearing greetings, Darren waved at her from behind him.
Wendel blinked, then widened her eyes in abject horror. Oh god. Was he going to kiss her too?
Her hand, which had initially been raised like Sunny's for a handshake, whipped towards the merman instead.
"Pleased to meet you!" she parroted with a hint of panic. Darren hesitated, then took the hand with a quick shake before letting go. "Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you," he repeated, retreating into the center of his water field instinctively. First the one didn't want to talk to them now Matt had them both freaking out. Perfect.
Sunny suppressed a grimace, maintaining her smile without missing a beat. Oh god, that was weird. “Y-yeah, you too.” she stammered a little, giving Wendel a glance with the corner of her eyes.
The awkward reactions didn't seem to faze Matt in the slightest. Quite the contrary, in fact, as the demon's grin only grew wider, clearly amused by his own antics.
"Are you guys sure you wouldn't rather, uh..." he wondered how to put it that wouldn't be offputting, then decided it didn't matter. It wasn't like he lived with them or anything. "If we make you uncomfortable you can always leave party."
"I mean, that goes without saying, Derry." -Matt raised an eyebrow at Darren, but he quickly schooled his expression back into neutrality. He turned back to their new teammates -"My friend here got some pretty ballin' DPS, but I'm shit. Like, I didn't even bring heals or anything, so yeah. Just putting your options out there."
Shouldn't they have mentioned this stuff before accepting the invite? Wendel looked to Sunny again as she wiped the residual moisture off her hand.
Sunny laughed uncomfortably. This was more awkward than what she was used to. "I mean, uh, we're noobs too so..." she gave Wendel a glance again, looking for backup. Was it too much to hope that he'd tell the skeevy dude to back off? Probably. "It's no big deal."
'No big deal'? Really? Wendel felt a tinge of despair.
"Yes, we're quite new so," she tried a casual shrug, "Your options are also...out there."
"Oh, I'm sure you guys will do just fine. You totally have that...badass thing going on." -Matt didn't hide the way his gaze flicker over Wendel's armored form. Needless to say, he approved -"And don't worry. I'll figure out a way to earn my keep." -He winked at Sunny, obviously implying something indecent with a broad grin.
"He has a passive luck bonus," Darren explained, shifting his tail so the water swirled lazily around him. "We'll probably get good drops earlier than most."
Sunny's smile dropped with Matt's wink. She could almost feel her stomach turn, mild regret already setting in. It probably would've been a lot more fun with just her and Wendel, but now she felt obligated to stick around. "Yeah. Sounds handy," she agreed reluctantly.
Wendel regarded Sunny's expression curiously but nodded anyway. "Handy."
Matt only chuckled at the comment, his gaze had already turned elsewhere as he reached for his pipe again -"I'm gonna go take a closer look at the gate. Coming?"
"What's there to see? The other two already bounced off. Just wait for the NPC to open it." Despite what he said, Darren still fell into step--or hover--behind Matt, though he seemed uninterested in the surroundings now that the novelty had worn off. The player book popped into existence near him and Darren opened the crafting tab briefly before checking the inventory window for materials, already summing up what he would need to buy and what he could feasibly farm in a separate set of notes for later visits to the auction house.
Sunny gave a look to Wendel. "Uh, sure, go check it out. We'll uh, just be over here." as the duo left towards the gate Sunny let out a quiet sigh, turning fully towards Wendel. “I… really don’t like that guy.” she said lowly, eyeing Matt with a sour look on her face. “Like, total creep, right?”
Wendel, who had been watching them leave, whipped her head back to Sunny. "Huh? You didn't like...?"
“You kidding me?” Sunny let out an exaggerated huff, “The whole kiss on the hand? And the wink? C’mon, only goobers go for stuff like that. Soooo awkward.”
"Goobers?" The word brought a smile to Wendel's lips before she realised exactly what she'd missed in that whole direction. A frustrated expression took its place.
"Sorry." Damn it. It happened again. "I didnt--I mean... I couldn't tell."
Sunny gave him a half smile, “Oh… it’s… it’s fine, I was trying to be polite…. so, I guess it’s good you couldn’t tell, right?” she ran an idle hand through her hair, sighing.
Was it good? They were stuck with some strange fellow and his friend now.
"I guess," Wendel said. A thoughtful pause before she spoke again. "You're a nice person."
Urgh, that sounded out of line.
Sunny smiled. Wendel was kind of awkward… but it was also almost kind of cute, in a way. She let out a little chuckle, “T-thanks.”
…
“Uh, you’re nice too.” and she was fully aware that she was being the awkward one now, but at least they were both being awkward.
The swordsman nodded, trying not to dwell on if that sounded forced or not. She didn't say anything more.
Sunny smiled a little more even if the pause was a little awkward. “Definitely a lot nicer than that guy, at least.” she said, giving him a light punch on the shoulder.
Wendel leaned on one foot, swaying to the side as if the punch had been much stronger, before bobbing back into place. Something she and Lucas did a lot.
"Yes, Matt seems like a...stranger kind of nice."
"Yeah, if by that you mean 'sleazy'. I dunno, maybe people act different in games but... y'know, I know his type." Sunny shrugged, "Or maybe he's a nice guy. I dunno. Didn't seem like one, but I could be wrong."
Sleazy. That definitely wasn't a good word. It was a shame that Sunny was apparently familiar with it.
"It's only been one conversation. Who knows?" Wendel's gaze drifted off somewhere. "...You could be right too."
“N-no, don’t get me wrong, you’re right. It’s not like I…” oh geez, she didn’t want to look bitchy, “Just… in my experience there’s only a certain type that does stuff like that. And I don’t… particularly like that type. But I’m not judging him.”
Wendel turned to look at another piece of scenery, but it was mostly so Sunny wouldn't see the frown growing on her face. She wasn't good at this stuff, the back-talking and figuring out double appearances. So she did what she always did with Joy. Topic change.
"Do you meet a lot of 'types' at work?" she tried with a small smile, "You said your place was hipster-y, right? There must be some interesting people who pass through."
Sunny laughed, “Yeah. There are a lot of characters.”she let out a little cough, “And a lot of guys that try to hit on me.” she added quickly with a smirk.
"Try to? What makes them fail?"
Sunny blushed a little. “Well, uh…” she hesitated for a moment, but it wasn’t exactly like it was a secret, “I like girls, for one.” she said nonchalantly.
Oh. Ohhhhhhhhh. God, Wendel had been thinking something along the lines of guys coming in with ugly flowers. Or in the middle of a lunch rush. Wendy briefly entertained the thought of telling...but nah.
"That's nice." Argh, did that sound forced? "My sister dated a girl once. My brother too. Not the same girl."
Sunny laughed, “Well, I’d sure hope not. That’d probably be awkward.” she paused for a moment, thinking, “But characters, though. There’s this one dude that comes in every single morning, without fail, and he’s always got this big white bird on his shoulder. Like some kinda parrot. Of course, you can’t have a bird in a place that serves food, so he always has it wait outside and it always does. He’ll get his drink – flat white every time, head back outside, and the bird will just fly right back to him. Pretty crazy, huh?” Sunny said with a smirk, well satisfied with her story.
Wendel giggled at the mental image of an armor-clad Sunny making coffee while a bird stared menacingly from the outside.
"Yeah, that's..." she chuckled some more, "How long do you think it took to train it like that?"
The conversation shifted comfortably to Sunny's work once again, with Wendel more than happy to listen and laugh along.
Meanwhile, Matt chewed on his pipe thoughtfully, once again abusing the examine command on other people. He stopped a bit away from the unopened gate, just enough to be out of earshot from most people around them. As Darren was still immersed in his crafting calculations, Matt left him alone, humming a quiet tune to himself.
"I think they are nice." -He commented offhandedly, exhaling a puff of smoke.
"Mm," was the noncommittal response as Darren expanded his warehouse tab, immersed in perusing his material storage.
"You like them?"
"I don't know them enough to like or dislike them." The merman avatar settled into the water, submerging up to his chest. "But I don't think they like you much."
"What gives?" -Matt played dumb.
"You know what."
"Maybe I don't." -Matt chuckled, watching his friend through the corner of his eyes.
Darren sighed, closing his screen and looking over. "Maybe you should stick to flirting outside of the game. No one really seems to bite here."
"It's fun to try. That's also not how I flirt in real life, by the way." -Matt clarified, raising an eyebrow at his own defensiveness -"Anyway, yes. She looks creeped out. And I have seen girls falling over themselves when guys kiss their hands though. Strange world. Or maybe they were just that drunk."
"I just don't want anyone filing any harassment charges against you. Those are no fun. Trust me." Darren pulled up the inventory tab again, pretending to look busy instead of upset.
"Only count as harassment if I actually bust out the lewd words. Or get physical. I won't." -The look on his friend's face did concern Matt, though, so he drifted closer, or as close as the water bubble permitted -"Thanks for the concern, Derry. I appreciate it."
"That one didn't look too happy about you kissing their hand. Might have been a guy for all you know. If they report you, you'd be in trouble." He eyed Matt, worry on his brow, though the look vanished quickly enough. "Just don't get in trouble you know."
Matt paused at that, eyes slightly widened in a split second. Then he recovered, but his face lit up in a warm smile, the happy expression translated surprisingly well due to his pricey VR set.
"Yeah. I'll play it safe." -He suddenly reached toward Darren again, combing through the dark hair affectionately -"Don't report me, okay?"
A small smile answered him, though Matt wanted to believe it might have been a bit bigger than that and Darren's low-quality VR set was simply bad at picking up the movements of facial muscles.
"I would never, unless you really went nuts."
"Define nuts." -Matt took hold of one of Darren's long, rabbit-like lop ears now, rubbing his fingers on it gently.
"Like if you tried to eat someone in VR or got really handsy and they didn't want it." He had forgotten that his VR body processed sensations differently and the long ears translated the touch with high fidelity. His actual ear twitched and the headset picked up the motion, moving his avatar's ears in a similar gesture as well. "VR is nuts," he mumbled, briefly awed despite months of use and calibrating. It still never ceased to amaze him.
"Oh, it is." -Matt grinned, almost impish now as he scratched a spot behind the mermen's floppy ear -"But yeah. I'm an upstanding guy. I won't molest people, even in VR. Probably."
There was tail movement in response, and Darren watched the water shift around him again, displaced by the large fin. "I dunno. Some of the stories you tell..." A half-smile joked back at him as Darren pulled at this memories for evidence. "Even I haven't tried some of that stuff in VR, the one you need age verification for in the custom restricted instances. It's kind of...crazy there right?"
"It ain't that crazy, once you realize we're all here for the same thing: to feel good." -Matt shrugged, though he did chuckle at some of the memories Darren's comment triggered -"Like, I can look at those PvP nuts and tell them they are crazy, you know? Cause I'm not gonna spend like 30 hours a day to farm for some knife, okay? It's the same thing. Only thing is they don't get reported for having their fun."
"But the game doesn't actually let you feel good, right? It just processes regular touch sensations?"
"Eh. This game is shit anyway. I played a lot of others."
"Wow. Aren't the nicer VR games really expensive?"
"Yeah. But I work and stuff."
"Yeah, that's--" Darren wasn't sure what he would have said to that--certainly nothing about himself in real life--but luckily he had default phrases to fall back on. Vapid nonsense that kept him, the person, away from Myosotis, the avatar "--that's pretty cool. I should try them sometimes."
"Tell me when you do. I have a couple of things I can show you." -Matt missed the sudden melancholy, so he just grinned and gave his friend a few pats to go along with the promise -"I'm sure you will love it."
He turned away then, sticking the pipe back between his lips and watching the gate intently, hoping it would open up soon.
Matt took a few tentative steps into the clearing, observing the changes in the environment. Obviously Eastern, obviously foreign compared to the medieval fantasy world of World’s End Online, and definitely…glitchy. Like it was incomplete, somehow. Like they stumbled into a dev’s test realm of some sort. He were here before, accidentally clicking an empty space in the teleportation window. And yet, once he tried again, on purpose this time around, the command still worked.
A flash of light, a loading screen, and here they were. Only this time, they weren’t alone. There were other players here, surrounding some NPC, who eventually introduced them to some crazy new adventure ahead.
Matt scratched his head, glancing at the scroll in front of him, then back at the AFK avatar of his friend, Darren, snoozing in its terrestrial travel water bubble. The prospect of a new adventure was most certainly exciting. Why not? He hadn’t seen anything about a hidden DLC of sort in this game so it would be amazing if this turned out to be some easter egg no one had discovered. It all came down to satisfying his curiosity, in the end.
Yet, he was hesitant to tick the ‘accept’ box. He needed to see what Darren would do, given his friend’s single minded interest in crafting material. Maybe the guy wouldn’t join, and Matt wasn’t really keen on doing quests alone.
As he waited for Darren, Matt took out his pipe and stuffed in a pinch of tobacco. VR tech was useful in this aspect as well, giving him the full taste and sensation of smoking, without the negative side effects. Best kind of e-cigarette there was, if anyone asked Matt.
After a quick moment, the lop-eared merman stirred, opening his eyes and dismissing most of the water orb until the aquatic body was half-submerged in an upside down dome of clear water floating several feet off the ground. He looked around, pulling up the map to check their location before finally floating towards Matt, looking confused.
“Yes. I don’t know where we are either.” -As if sensing his friend’s question, Matt simply shrugged, digging through the pouches on his belt for matches. His voice came out soft and smooth and perfectly human, despite the demonic appearance of his avatar -”Some DLC, I think.”
”Did you want to do quests here?” Darren asked, hovering closer and equipping his crafted ironwood staff.
“I mean, yeah. This place looks pretty cool. Very…anime.” -Matt lit his pipe and inhaled, waving the EULA scroll in his free hand -”You’re in?”
Darren picked up his own copy of the EULA, staring at it blankly. “Sure. I guess. New mats are always cool.”
“Awesome.” -Matt smiled, checking the box and dismissing the scroll with a flick of his hand. He looked around to examine the gathered players then, noting their low levels. A new player area, perhaps? -”You think this place is weird? Or is it just my buggy screen?”
“It looks weird, yeah.” A tail fin flicked against Matt’s arm in idle animation and Darren glanced quickly for a reaction, a hasty apology ready. There had been enough mishaps and angry players reporting him for unwanted physical contact in retaliation for more social crimes. It had taken weeks for one serious case to clear up when an entire party had sent in reports—their revenge for his noncompliance in a dungeon and for pushing their tank aside to get at the room everyone else had been trying to skip.
He was wary now, careful to keep his feathers and fins to himself, even around Matt.
“My bad,” he mumbled anyway, shifting further away.
“It’s fine.” -Matt turned at the unexpected contact, red eyes scanning Darren’s face carefully. He took a moment to choose his words -”You’re fine.” -Eventually, his lips stretched out into a toothy grin, gleaming with unknown intentions. He exhaled a puff of smoke and turned back to observing the players around them.
“Hurry up and sign that. Man, don’t tell me you read that shit?”
“I wouldn’t understand much of it anyway,” Darren shrugged, accepting the terms and letting the sheet disappear. “But I’m not really good with new content the first time, just so you know,” he added, checking Matt’s reaction with a brief glance.
“Derry, you literally just watched me stand in a corner for 50 minutes last night during our dungeon run.” -Matt answered with another grin -”It doesn’t get better than that.”
“I just mean I’m a bit slow on the uptake for these sorts of things. It’s why I prefer crafting.” He curled the fish tail towards his chest, fiddling with the ornate fin at the end as he tried to look busy in the glitchy waiting area.
“I’m sure you will do alright.” -Matt brushed it off, reaching out to ruffle the feathers on the mermen’s head and tousling the dark hair -”I will be right here. Not helping, but here. I’ll keep you entertained while we wait for rez, yeah?”
A quiet laugh followed, but Darren didn’t move the hand still patting his head.
“You’ll have to entertain a lot. My gear’s outdated.”
“I have no gear, Derry.” -Satisfied, Matt stepped back to puff another cloud of smoke. They kept to themselves afterward, mostly just quiet banters and idle glances at the people milling around the area.
Tall, wiry and pretty enough to be a girl, it can be said that Matt has it going on. Dark brown hair cascading down around his face, slightly curly and silky, just tousled enough to look natural. His eyes are a bright shade of green, twinkle even with forced smiles. Mostly a homebody since his youth, with even most of the sports he participated in were indoors, Matt has a pale complexion that only further accents his features, rather than making them appear unhealthy. There is a faded scar on his left cheekbone, a reminder of childhood mischiefs.
Personality Natural charisma coupled with easy confident and a smart mouth, Matt finds it easy to hold attention and he revels it in. He likes talking, he likes meeting new people and he likes to know about people. A bit of a sensation seeker, he sometimes finds himself rushing through life too fast, leaving behind lovers and clothes and hobbies as soon as his interest fades.
Background He had his life figure out. His family had money, his sister got him a designer job at the local magazine right out of grad school, his mother made him quit smoking, and the rest was history. He went to work at 9 every morning, headed back around 4 and rushed through chores in his cosy flat before spending the evening to himself. Twice a month, he sang at a nearby club, The Voyeur. Sometimes he called his mom. He kept things constant, he kept himself grounded. World’s End Online was just another item in his ever growing list of temporary hobbies. Yet, it managed to keep his interest somehow, and he found himself returning to it.
Ingame Name Carcinogen
Ingame Appearance Goat person Horned, ashen skin, cloaked in furs and greaves, Matt’s avatar is a far cry from his polished appearance in real life.
Class Acolyte
Notable Skills
For I have sinned : He can pacify one or a group of aggressors. The fewer, the more potent this skill is.
Luck of the devil : He’s just naturally very lucky.
Number of the beast : Grants him a burst of vitality that allows for survival in otherwise hopeless situation.
Tall, wiry and pretty enough to be a girl, it can be said that Matt has it going on. Dark brown hair cascading down around his face, slightly curly and silky, just tousled enough to look natural. His eyes are a bright shade of green, twinkle even with force smiles. Mostly a homebody since his youth, even most of the sports he participated in were indoors, Matt has a pale complexion that only further accents his features, rather than making them appear unhealthy. There is a faded scar on his left cheekbone, a reminder of childhood mischiefs.
Personality Natural charisma coupled with easy confident and a smart mouth, Matt finds it easy to hold attention and he revels it in. He likes talking, he likes meeting new people and he likes to know about people. A bit of a sensation seeker, he sometimes finds himself rushing through life too fast, leaving behind lovers and clothes and hobbies as soon as his interest fades.
Background He had his life figure out. His family had money, his sister got him a designer job at the local magazine right out of grad school, his mother made him quit smoking, and the rest was history. He went to work at 9 every morning, headed back around 4 and rushed through chores in his cosy flat before spending the evening to himself. Twice a month, he sang at a nearby club, The Voyeur. Sometimes he called his mom. He kept things constant, he kept himself grounded. World’s End Online was just another item in his ever growing list of temporary hobbies. Yet, it managed to keep his interest somehow, and he found himself returning to it.
Ingame Name Carcinogen
Ingame Appearance Goat person Horned, ashen skin, cloaked in furs and greaves, Matt’s avatar is a far cry from his polished appearance in real life.
Class Acolyte
Notable Skills
For I have sinned : He can pacify one or a group of aggressors. The fewer, the more potent this skill is.
Luck of the devil : He’s just naturally very lucky.
Number of the beast : Grants him a burst of vitality that allows for survival in otherwise hopeless situation.
His companion had continued until well past nightfall, the man only relenting for the love of sleep before another day of hard labor. Iris had cleaned himself up and slipped away quietly, careful to leave the innkeeper with enough coin to pay both board and breakfast for his willing partner in the morning. He stumbled back to the estate, hips still aching and legs more unsteady than he would have liked. He didn't mind rough partners, but walking immediately after the act was becoming more and more of a bad idea. Surely he could have returned in the morning, but he hated parting ways with his bedfellows while they remained awake. For all that he watched people come and go, Iris had always hated partings. Even with the Violet Widow, he found the time to leave before his partners ever woke, sparing both of them the unpleasant formalities of a drunkard's morning regrets or cloying affections beyond the services rendered.
He was aware his clothes remained unfastened, that they remained on his shoulders by some miracle, but it was late and no one was about. Safe enough that he needn't care about appearances as he finally stumbled towards the estate entrance. A lone figure stood below the dim torches perched atop the main gate's pillars, and Iris stopped a safe distance away, squinting to discern the person though the armor soon identified the knight.
Before him was Ganth the Inquisitor, who had taken upon himself to stand guard in front of the mansion's gate. Even in the dead of the night, he stood tall, the dull glimmer of his breastplate took on an golden glow from the nearby torches. Piercing grey eyes stared off into the night, awake and alerted despite the bags that had began to form beneath. He noticed the courtesan soon enough, the man's clothing was hardly inconspicuous.
"You have returned." -Ganth nodded a greeting, once Iris had come into hearing range.
"...Inquisitor," Iris greeted with as much liveliness as he could muster. His voice was barely hoarse, just on the fringes, the byproduct of conspicuously loud and recent activities.
"It is late." -Grey eyes gave Iris a subtle onceover, but he did not comment on the courtesan's appearance.
"It is."
"You should head to bed." -Ganth lifted his mace and clamped it back on his belt -"I'll escort you to your chamber."
"...As you like, Inquisitor," Iris agreed, straightening his gait and moving past Ganth. With a stress-relieving activity behind him, he didn't feel as much ire as he did for the Inquisitor's lost first impression, but he remained wary all the same. The problem--as it had always been--was that he trusted his gut instinct too quickly, used to the brief durations of conversations and time spent together that was customary of one-offs and even regulars. He had only ever needed to guess how someone would behave for the night. It was much more difficult to discern how someone would act for much longer than that.
Ganth was silent afterward, shadowing Iris back to his assigned room. His only intention was to discuss his recent findings with someone more knowledgeable than him on the topic. Yet, he found his gaze lingering a bit too long on the courtesan's bare shoulders. Immediately, he rectified the situation by brushing past Iris and taking the lead, keeping the shorter man out of his field of vision entirely. It was a disadvantage, his training and experience screamed; he needed to keep his target in sight at all times. But he would much prefer to keep his sanity intact.
Upon arrival, Ganth stood aside for Iris to unlock the door, before following him inside, closing the door behind him.
There was momentary surprise on Iris's face as he heard the door click shut behind him, but the sound of armor still clinking clearly inside the room. He made no comment on it, instead curling up onto the bed and sighing, already missing the sensation of warmth near him and arms around him. Muscle memory had his fingers sliding into the embroidered silk stockings, carefully removing them from his legs as he readied for another sleepless night where his body had been primed for more activities, only to be left wanting.
"I don't wish to disturb your rest, Iris. But there is something we need discuss." -Ganth chose that exact moment to raise his voice, crossing his arms and leaning against the door.
"I figured that much at least, since you're clearly not here for anything else," Iris replied, slipping out of the light material that made up the top half of his outfit before deftly removing the flower-like sleeves. Naked now, he reclined on the bed in his favorite position, regarding Ganth coolly. "How can I be of service, Lord Inquisitor?"
Ganth cleared his throat, suddenly finding one of the decorative vases in the room fascinating.
"I saw you sing earlier. At the tavern. What for?"
"I heard music. And I know music," the courtesan answered, a small spark in his eyes. "The bugs were moving in sync. And I wondered if I could do the same."
"Were they...controlled?"
”They were.” He shifted on the bed, crossing and recrossing his bare legs.
Ganth fell silent once more, clearly concerned about the new information; that fact made obvious by the way his brows knitted together. It confirmed his suspicion. The attack was planned, filled with malevolent intents. But who was those Stirges for? Tomomi, Iris and himself was present at the time, so it was likely for them. Yet, stirges were simple critters, so perhaps this was just a warning? Or test? Both possibilities were equally disturbing.
Many things were still unclear, but Ganth was certain that he would need to find new leads, and fast.
"Say, was the music from a flute, by any chance?"
"No, not that I could tell. Ethereal, and it masked the instrument." He settled down into the bed, laying on his stomach with his head pillowed by slender forearms. "That's all I can provide, unfortunately."
"I'll leave you to it then." -Ganth picked up the hint easily enough -"Thank you for the information. I wish you a good night's rest."
With that, Ganth left quickly, the clattering of his armor soon faded after the door clicked shut once more.
Breathing out a disappointed breath, Iris closed his eyes, hoping sleep would come on its own, unbidden, while he replayed the more enjoyable events of the evening in his head. Ganth was his type, it was true, but there was no redeeming the Inquisitor's mentality and Iris didn't care enough to press further, especially not when bitten repeatedly by rejection. Twice shy, even he had his limits and while an insubstantial hope had followed Ganth into the room, it had faded just as quickly when the Inquisitor opened his mouth. All business. Of course. And the disappointment was almost as vivid as a slap to the face. He hummed a quiet tune to himself, an old children's song he liked hoping the cheery tune would drive the midnight thoughts away. It helped, vaguely, but more importantly by the time the supernaturally imbued song had faded away Iris had fallen fast asleep, tired enough to feel it but not enough to realize how ready he had been for rest.
I see you like stalking too eh? Just know that while you're reading this, I'm reading all your posts from 5 months ago and silently judging your taste. Ha Ha. Or not.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I see you like stalking too eh? Just know that while you're reading this, I'm reading all your posts from 5 months ago and silently judging your taste. Ha Ha. Or not.</div>
Punished GN
