Oscar

It was the pounding of the bass that drew his attention. Oscar turned his head, craning his neck up to peer off into the distance. He didn't have to, mind you. The only person on the beach as tall as him was Belregor. Which was weird and he hated it. Was that... singing? Who the -? More importantly, why the-. And also when the-. Blue eyes flashed yellow as he activated his Searching skill. The landscape zoomed in, like a pair of invisible binoculars. He focused on the stage and the performance. And that little red-haired idiot in the corner busy flinging oil onto a pot of wood. And d

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"Well tell your new guy to keep fuckin' up because I really do enjoy suffering his consequences," Oscar said brightly as he plated his own omelette. Most men might have felt some type of way about being Plan B. Something about wanting to be the first to stake their claim or plant their flag or some other such nonsense. Oscar, on the other hand, didn't mind one bit. Especially not if it led to activities such as the ones they'd engaged in the night prior. He sank his fork into his omelette, bringing it up to his mouth as Mari spoke. Even as the topic veered off towards potentially uncomfor

Gears upshifted in less than the time it took him to blink. Oscar was forced backward, caught in Terra Firma’s jaws like a wounded doe. He felt his back collide with something hard, looked up to see an entire sand dune blown into the air. Sand struck his body in thick globs, feeling more as bullets than as sand. He finally wrenched himself free, rolling and skidding over the sand like he’d just thrown himself from a car. It was disorienting. Everything was a blur, blues and golds flashing across his vision almost instantly. Nearly simultaneously. Somehow, he managed to get his feet u

Abellio being awestruck did little to help soothe Oscar's ego. He should have seen that maneuver coming - handled it before things even got so close. It wasn't enough that she was out of harm's way. It should have never been a question of safety in the first place. Mentally, he kicked himself. Self-flagellated over his own stupidity, his lack of care or attention. He had promised a perfectly safe engagement once before and had been made the liar then. So why did he expect that this would be any different? And then he met Lysette's gaze. And there was something in that moment of weakness, where

Oscar's reprisal came swiftly. Holding Lysette in one hand, he dropped his sword into the sand. The blade stuck fast, standing straight up as Oscar cocked back his fist. Before the boss even had the chance to dive back underground, Oscar delivered a sharp downward spike with his hand. He landed a telling blow, slamming the beast into the ground with enough force to cause the sand to tremble. The burst of dust and sand caused his weapon to shoot upward into the air. In one fluid motion, he caught the weapon. Spinning it over the back of his hand, he released Lysette and took a step back. If he

Oscar brought his hand up to his shoulder after he'd kicked Terra Firma away and dusted his leathers off with the back of his hand. He could only shrug at Abellio's question. He remembered that when he'd first got started, he was much the same. Terrified until the rush kicked in. He would refrain from commenting on what he thought. It was a heavy thing, having parents that didn't care about you. Or, only cared about parts of you. They would emphasize those, neglect the whole. And it would fuck you up for years, well into adulthood. "I can speculate," Oscar said with a shrug. "But out of r

Oscar had, generally, the same mind as Abellio. The look the two exchanged said it all. Whatever Lysette had weighing on her, running the ones was definitely helping. Or, at least, providing some much-needed catharsis. Besides, they needed to wait for the boss to do the thing before Oscar could do anything to it. So Lysette was free to do as she pleased as far as using the creature as a punching bag was concerned. Besides, it was a thing of beauty to behold. She must have had some real life experience because there was no way a new player could move like that without it. The elegance made more

The quality of the newbies was certainly impressive nowadays. Lysette had some moves and he would need to make a point to figure out just where she had got them from. Oscar prided himself on sweating grace and pissing excellence, but by god this girl had the potential to put him to shame. Terra Firma wheeled around, sinking its teeth into his shoulder. As per usual, Oscar shrugged it off and drove his sword straight through the beast's flank. A jagged red gash was left in the boss' model as he retreated from the pain. It gave him a moment to get his bearings. "Hold what ya got! We don't n

They didn't have to travel very far. This was at least the third time that Oscar had come here. Every time, he was hoping that the boss would be cooperative and it just wasn't. It was a seemingly dead patch of desert. Some rocks scattered about, but nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing except for the bloodstains soaking into the sand. He stopped short, holding up a hand towards Lysette and Abellio. He listened to the wind, waiting patiently. The sands began to shift and a fin appeared out from beneath the golden grains. It made a beeline towards them. More specifically, towards Lysette. The cr

"I was having such a good dream," Oscar murmured. His arm lay across her back, his hand settled on her waist. His explosive reaction had been like a flash in the pan, a quick burst of exertion to lull him back to sleep. Truth be told, he hadn't expected that from himself. Were it not for her reciprocation, he might have thought that he'd done the wrong thing. Passion devoid of emotion felt as wrong now as it felt right in the moment. But he hadn't the wherewithal to express that. He was too tired. And it was her fault. They were both falling asleep, basking in that afterglow and dragged down b

“Well let’s get moving then,” Oscar said with a grin. Lydia blinked, continuing to wipe her eyes on her sleeve. It was like he didn’t care that she had spent the past couple of minutes crying. She could feel both of their eyes upon her as she composed herself. Sniffling, she dried her eyes. First the right, then the left. Finally, she sat up straight and folded her hands in her lap. She inhaled sharply, then exhaled heavily. A picture of poise and grace, if perhaps a little rosy-cheeked. But hey, at least her makeup didn’t run here. “Let’s get moving,” she agreed, doing her best

“Oh?” Lydia’s voice came out suddenly, a surprised chirp in response to Oscar’s words. She’d thought Abellio had some idea of what he wanted to do. But given that the red-haired man was busy horking down his food without objection, Lydia figured she’d hear Oscar out. He busied himself with opening his menu, consuming several strange objects in quick succession. “Pretty easy quest boss on Floor Five. I’ve been trying to unlock a skill from it for a minute and haven’t been able to get it done. Figured I could give it another go. Get you guys some experience and, if we’re lucky, unlock

Despite her misgivings, Lydia took a seat at the counter. Abellio followed suit, bouncing in his seat like a hyperactive puppy. She took a look around the diner, at the chrome trim and how meticulously clean everything was kept. Through the window, she could see Oscar hard at work manning the fryer. Even those vats of boiling oil were clean and sanitized. There were so many contradictions that she didn’t know what to make of the man now. He was brazenly open about his conquests. But at the same time, everything about his restaurant was so meticulously kept. Wouldn’t a skeezeball be consis

Lydia didn’t even have time to protest. She merely clung to her days earnings as Abellio took them down a labyrinth of streets and alleys. She had never been to this side of town before. It seemed incredibly sketchy. Were she wandering the streets alone, she would have definitely given this area a wide berth. Wouldn’t even have looked at it. There were too many blind turns. Too many crevices to hide people with ill intent. But Abellio didn’t seem bothered. He wasn’t… stupid was he? But a man like him could probably handle most bad actors. He didn’t strike her as the violent sort, bu

What was it they said about running from monsters? Something something, you're just gonna die tired? That was about how Oscar felt rolling up to the raid. The previous hours spent dashing around the floor, fighting knights. Babysitting. It had all taken its toll. The rain had soaked through his leathers, making them stick to his frame. Chilling him to the bone. He didn't know if it was the stress. Or if it was the constant focus. But he was too exhausted to care. Shoulders slumped forward, he took his position with the comrades that had been selected for him. It was a major departure

Approved. Welcome to SAO-RPG!

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It was late. Oscar had gone to sleep hours prior. He slumbered peacefully in his bed, dreaming of nothing in particular. The best kind of sleep. The one that transports you from dusk to dawn. The closest thing to time travel that humanity would ever achieve. And it came to him so very rarely. So when it was shattered by the loud drumming on his front door, he had to take a moment to look up at the ceiling. Each second that ticked away flared his temper. Each loud thud against his door crushed those broken echoes of slumber into a fine dust. Oscar had to take a moment to contain himself. Calm h

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Crafting 7/6/25

The tides had retreated as quickly as they had drowned the Players in their deluge. Where there was once chaos, there was now simply the ever-present torrential rain. Rain and the chime of a message received. A summons. To the Edge of the Black. Oscar looked skyward, slicking back his hair as the rain fell upon his face in stinging drops. He was tired. And it was likely the rest of the raiders were too. Physical exhaustion was not something that could reach them here while they had bodies of data and code. But mental fatigue? It felt more profound. Trills of sensations rippled up his body as a