[F1-PP] Balanced Beginnings

[Rebekka 0]

It had been quite some time since That Day. The day when the sky turned blood red, and they were not only all trapped, and threatened with sudden death, but also forced to become their real selves. 

Everyone else had more or less swiftly started adventuring, building themselves up with higher and higher armors, weapons and such. Not Rebekka, unfortunately. He had hoped that this virtual world would be a regular escape from the consecutive stacking of mounting gender dysphoria and depression, the kind of relentlessly gnawing sensation that would drive one mad.... 

For a time, Rebekka did indeed go crazy, but, in due time, he adjusted, little by little, while also wandering to and fro, still equipped in the Basic Starting Gear; pants, brown leather vest, leather strappy boots, dagger. He did minor tasks like chopping down trees as they regenerated, or picking herb flowers, and the like. Tasks which didn't earn him any XP, but which  made decent money, given the sheer amount of time spent at doing them.

He was still unsteady, but, also decently capable. Currently, he was at a cantina in the Town of Beginnings, having finished up a final 'fetch' task.

And then, it happened again. someone called out "Hey, you. Tall boy." and Rebekka turned around, just in time to catch a face full of drink. It was Kaleed, a member of one of the more unsavory sorts of players. Not so bad as to take to murdering others and going Full Orange, but he was definitely someone who was no fun to be around, unless you were enough like him that it would be fun for you to be nasty as a way to amuse yourself.

"I insist that you stop sloshing me." Rebekka said, an unsteady scowl on his face as the wine dripped off of his cheeks and chin. Kaleed shot back "Or you WHAT ? Huh ? You ain't got the levels ta face off wit' ME, Nancy !" and derisively laughed in Rebekka's face. 

Seeing no other choice, Rebekka turned on a heel, and made to stride away past a shorter man, who had sort of reddish pink hair, trying to keep the tears in just long enough to not cry in front of Kaleed. Unsurprisingly, this caused the other man to renew mocking Rebekka. 

Edited January 3, 2018 by Rebekka

[Ryo 0]

Another day, another pile of money. Ryo hated himself because of what he did, but it was too late for him now. There was no redemption, no saving, and no hope for him. He was a monster, and that's all he was. He gained trust, he gained 'friends' only to watch them scream to him for help as they were carried away to the facility on floor four. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He needed  a drink.

Instead of a bar, or pub Ryo decided to mix things up visit a cantina for a change. Perhaps some music or a show would help his failing mood. Entering the cantina he was met with an unsavory set of smells. Ryo would call this place a wrecthes hive of scum and villany If it mattered to anyone. He sat down, keeping an eye out for potential targets to befriend, and then sell off into slavery, when his drink was interrupted. Wanting to leave before things got out of hand, Ryo made his way towards the door.

Coming back inside, after remembering that he at least had to pay his tab or else he'd risk getting an ingame bounty and getting a temp orange tag for stealing, he walked into another infavourable situation. A drink was poured onto another, insults were thrown and threats were shared. The now grog soaked man tried to walk past Ryo, but Ryo wouldn't allow him. He held a hand up, catching the man in the chest. "Wait here." Was all Ryo said before stepping up to the man. Ryo ordered a drink, paid for his tab, raised his cup to the insulting man, and tossed it in his direction.

[Rebekka 0]

Rebekka stopped short at 'Mr. pink-haired's stopping him. "Wait here." was all he said. Rebekka's curiosity was piqued, and so he stood more or less where he was at, turning to see what was going to happen. Bekka wasn't disappointed; the pink-haired one bought a drink, just to salute Kaleed's face with it, who reacted by falling backwards out of his tall bar chair, yelping like the dog he was.

Rebekka couldn't help but to giggle in a most girly manner. Other people also laughed at the suddenly-put-out Kaleed. Unsavory Turn-about is indeed fair play. Rebekka spoke as Kaleed managed to angrily scrape himself back together. "It seems that we Both wear the grog quite well, No ?" he said, in a dryly mocking manner, wiping a fingerful of the sticky grog off of his own face, and flicking it in Kaleed's general direction. 

Edited January 2, 2018 by Rebekka

[Ryo 0]

Ryo thought the action would give him some sort of feeling, something of pride or joy. But no. Here he was, taking revenge for someone too weak to get it themselves, and at the expense of another person. Just how low would he sink? How much further could he fall? Ryo stared at the man on the ground, not in discontent, or even in an apologetic way, but as a child would when they had broken something they had not meant to. Whatever the answer was, it was obvious what he longed for wasn't going to be found here. Ryo turned, and left not so much as giving the man a glance.

Ryo stopped for a full second in front of the stranger whom, he had 'helped'. He didn't say anything, nothing came to mind immediately, so Ryo left. As he stepped outside it was different, there was a flavor in the air that was different from just a few moments before. As if the weather changed suddenly, or something ominous was lurking. Ryo shrugged it off and began to walk, eager to get back to his inn of choice to rest for the evening.

[Rebekka 0]

Rebekka watched as the pink haired man apparently suddenly walked out.

Torn between wanting to follow him, and going to see about starting up some other chain of tasks, Rebekka strided away, casting one last glance at Kaleed. The unsavory big man had a message panel open.

Quote

[elam retrohS .deriah kniP .oyR]

 

Glimpsing the message screen, Rebekka didn't recognise the backwards letters, so he paid it no mind and did his best to vanish, before Kaleed could start up again with being Not-Nice. Walking down the street, he was still torn between thanking the pink-haired one, and just letting it go, but something was ambiently..... Off. Even though it was a videogame, and had set parameters, there was still something which was out of place. Rebekka had a bad feeling about .. Something.

He had gone several blocks, and was near the edge of the town when he realized ! kniP was Pink, backwards ! Kaleed was siccing his much more lethal friends onto Ryo, describing him for them ! Rebekka had to do something !

Sprinting back the way he had come, he passed the cantina, pausing only to draw up the town map, and zoomed in on Ryo, who was surrounded by 6 other dots, not far from where Rebekaa was. Running again, Rebekka rand the rest of the block, and turned the corner, seeing Ryo again, and 6 scary looking folks. Pushing himself onward, Bekka hopped up onto a stack of crates, and then leaped, landing next to Ryo in a 3-point superhero landing. Still crouched, he held out his hand to the pink-haired man, and spoke a movie line "Come with me if you want to live." Rebekka smiled at his own cheesy ham-ness, in spite of himself, but it isn't every day that he had the opportunity to possibly save a cute boy from (dun-dun dunnnn) Certain Death.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo looked at the men around him. "Well. What's the plan then? Cart me off to the wilderness, so that combat's allowed, and you all gang on me?" Ryo asked the group of thugs surrounding him. He knew why they were, nor did he care. They were here to kill him because he embarrassed a man inside the tavern. Ryo ran a hand through his hair and laughed. "So, that man was too weak to even kill me himself. I should've figured as much." Ryo said, equipping his Katana. "Well then? As soon as one of you makes the first move and goes orange, we have around forty-five seconds before NPC guards show up to arrest all of the orange cursors." He threatened, lowering his stance and hovering over his blade. "And trust me when I say, all I'm gonna need is those forty-five seconds to ki-" He was about to say before he was interpreted. The man from the bar earlier had shoved a few of the thugs aside, climbed onto some boxes, and took to the air landing beside him in a comical pose. Ryo kept a straight face and looked at the name of his 'rescuer'. Rebekka. Wait, wasn't that a woman's name? Causing Ryo to double back some. "Alright," Ryo said plainly taking the mans hand. "Now, what's the plan?" He asked.

[Rebekka 0]

"Alright," Ryo said plainly taking the man's hand. "Now, what's the plan?" He asked.

"Simple, We Run." and with that, Rebekka took off, trying to lead Ryo by the hand up on the stair-like arrangement of crates, and onto the roof ways, like a ninja in a movie. Rebekka paused only to kick over the crates, so that the gang of would-be oranger's didn't follow too easily, before running across the rooftops, hopefully with Ryo alongside him. 

 

(incomplete post)

 

Edited January 5, 2018 by Rebekka