wimbledon
Stand back, I'm beginning to VRMMO *starts vrmmo'ing all over the story*
[collapse]
[“O’ wanderer, traveler from a distant star…”] When Ferris logged into the game, a woman’s voice resounded in his head as the familiar white light began to surround him.
[“Thou art the arbiter of thine own path. Where those before you faltered, stand unabated; where those before you did not tread, explore in their stead. Fear not the unknown, for all that you find shall become your strength; walk freely, for thy footsteps shall lead those who come after you. May you find joy in the world’s myriad of unknowns…”]
Embraced in serene whiteness, She gave her final words—
[“This, I pray for you…”]
—before the light gradually shed away, revealing the interior of a small, covered wagon. It rattled along the dirt road on its approach to the city gates.
Ferris, or rather Fenris, was seated next to three others—presumably three other players, as they were also very thoroughly examining their hands, turning them over to look at different angles.
“Oh man, this is crazy realistic…!” The young man next to Fenris breathed out as he flexed his fingers, his eyes sparkling from behind dark pince-nez sunglasses. He appeared to be in his late teens, about the same age as Fenris himself, and his blonde hair was swept back.
The slightly-younger girl across from him had a much quieter impression (as most people would), with light ash-brown hair and downturned eyes that were looking at the scalekin next to her.
“Excuse me… Could I try touching your scales?” the girl asked.
The skink-like scalekin smiled(?) and replied “Certainly,” before meeting eyes with Fenris. There was a strange sense of kinship between them as people with trouble showing expressions on their faces.
The loud man, seeing the girl excitedly feeling the scales on the scalekin’s hands, also began exploring his surroundings: touching the cloth roof, the wooden seats, and, eventually, accidentally giving Fenris’s tail a firm squeeze.
Fenris visibly jumped a few inches out of his seat before blinking a few times.
“... I’ve never… felt something like that before…” he mumbled, visibly dazed.
“Ara… You’ve taken his first…” the scalekin put one hand to her cheek, shaking her head in disappointment.
“Brute. Pervert.”
“Why are you phrasing it like that?!” the loud man cried out. He cleared his throat. “A-anyways, sorry ‘bout that. The name’s Louis.”
“Gen,” the scalekin replied coolly.
“I’m Lily,” said the girl.
“... Fenris.” He was leaning away from Louis slightly.
“Seriously, I didn't mean to start us off on the wrong foot,” Louis sighed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “Forgive me?”
“... Sure, Loud-ass— uh, Louis.”
Louis fell out of his chair.
“You alright back there?” The coachman called out.
“Fantastic,” Louis groaned.
“That's good… Take a look outside—we’re about to reach the city gates.”
Flanked by curved granite walls, the massive doors of the gate stood open to the lines of travelers heading in and out of the city. The coachman held up some kind of pass as they approached the gates, causing the guards to wave him through without stopping.
The streets were remarkably lively, with dozens of people gathered around the stalls along the main road, and many more heading towards the gate.
“This here’s the Southern District,” the coachman explained. “Most of the business goes on in this side of the city, so you’ll find near all of your adventuring goods ‘round here. For you beginners, you’ll also be using the south gate fer most of the jobs you get.”
“It's surprisingly easy to tell who the other players are…” Lily noted.
Most of the people were still in their starting clothing, making it look like a uniform of sorts. However, a surprising number of them went through the effort of dyeing their garments, instead of the more practical option of just upgrading their equipment to actual armor.
“Is that… fun?” Fenris didn't really understand what was so great about making their clothes so brightly colored. Gen and Louis both put a hand to their heads and sighed, as though agonized.
“You’re new to these sorts of games, aren't you?”
“You’ll learn eventually, but let us make it clear…”
With a flourish, they shouted together.
““Fashion is the most important thing in MMOs!””
Unsure of how to respond to this scene, Lily started applauding.
“I see,” Fenris replied, not getting it at all.
While the air in the Southern District was lively with trade and players preparing to leave the city, the central plaza had a distinct sense of calm; people were having idle chatter as they loitered around the fountain in the middle of the square. However, there was another, much more notable difference between the players in the plaza and those in the Southern District.
“They have fully tailored outfits already?” asked Lily. “Hasn't it only been a few hours since launch?”
Louis adjusted his glasses.
“Fashion… is the most important thing.”
Lily felt fear. Fenris’s ears flattened against his skull.
“... I see.” Fenris realized that he and Lily had encountered some kind of eldritch truth; he felt no closer to understanding it, but knew that they had gazed into the depths of this madness.
The wagon pulled up to the large building along the east side of the plaza, behind two other wagons that had arrived earlier. The building’s sign was emblazoned with a sword and a scroll.
“Well, this is yer stop,” the coachman said, stepping out of the driver’s seat to open the rear gate. “Take care, ya hear?”
After hopping out, Fenris offered a hand to Gen and Lily, eliciting an “Ara~” from the former.
A sudden roar caused them to jerk their heads towards the building’s entrance.
“UOOOOOH!”
A group of burly, half-naked men with NPC bucket helmets stood alongside the building, their arms crossed in front of their chests. One of them, standing slightly in front of the rest, shouted,
“WELCOME, NEWBIES, TO A——”
““BRAND! NEW! WORLD!”” They punctuated each word with a bodybuilder pose.
“... I don't want it.” Lily hid behind Louis.
“WE HOPE YOU ENJOY—! YOUR—! EXPERIENCE—!”
““YEAA—AH!””
The machos cheered on the groups as they walked inside. Lily’s gaze was locked firmly on the ground.
“... Having fun?” Fenris asked, tilting his head slightly.
“ARE WE HAVING FUN, LADS?” The leader-like one rallied.
““YEAAAA—AH!!!”” The rest shouted in unison, striking the front double biceps pose and alternatingly flexing their chest muscles.
Louis snickered.
“Take notes, Fen—you can enjoy the game like this, too!”
Fenris took another glance at the bucketheads. The words “A BRAND! NEW! WORLD!” echoed inside his head.
“... I don't think I will.”
———
(EXTRA: While riding through the Southern District…)
“I should dye my stuff, too…!” Louis said, seemingly inspired.
“Pick red,” Gen suggested. “Then you can become the Stampede.”
“We won't be getting guns for a while, so that’ll have to wait.”
wimbledon
Stand back, I'm beginning to VRMMO *starts vrmmo'ing all over the story*
[collapse]
[“O’ wanderer, traveler from a distant star…”] When Ferris logged into the game, a woman’s voice resounded in his head as the familiar white light began to surround him.
[“Thou art the arbiter of thine own path. Where those before you faltered, stand unabated; where those before you did not tread, explore in their stead. Fear not the unknown, for all that you find shall become your strength; walk freely, for thy footsteps shall lead those who come after you. May you find joy in the world’s myriad of unknowns…”]
Embraced in serene whiteness, She gave her final words—
[“This, I pray for you…”]
—before the light gradually shed away, revealing the interior of a small, covered wagon. It rattled along the dirt road on its approach to the city gates.
Ferris, or rather Fenris, was seated next to three others—presumably three other players, as they were also very thoroughly examining their hands, turning them over to look at different angles.
“Oh man, this is crazy realistic…!” The young man next to Fenris breathed out as he flexed his fingers, his eyes sparkling from behind dark pince-nez sunglasses. He appeared to be in his late teens, about the same age as Fenris himself, and his blonde hair was swept back.
The slightly-younger girl across from him had a much quieter impression (as most people would), with light ash-brown hair and downturned eyes that were looking at the scalekin next to her.
“Excuse me… Could I try touching your scales?” the girl asked.
The skink-like scalekin smiled(?) and replied “Certainly,” before meeting eyes with Fenris. There was a strange sense of kinship between them as people with trouble showing expressions on their faces.
The loud man, seeing the girl excitedly feeling the scales on the scalekin’s hands, also began exploring his surroundings: touching the cloth roof, the wooden seats, and, eventually, accidentally giving Fenris’s tail a firm squeeze.
Fenris visibly jumped a few inches out of his seat before blinking a few times.
“... I’ve never… felt something like that before…” he mumbled, visibly dazed.
“Ara… You’ve taken his first…” the scalekin put one hand to her cheek, shaking her head in disappointment.
“Brute. Pervert.”
“Why are you phrasing it like that?!” the loud man cried out. He cleared his throat. “A-anyways, sorry ‘bout that. The name’s Louis.”
“Gen,” the scalekin replied coolly.
“I’m Lily,” said the girl.
“... Fenris.” He was leaning away from Louis slightly.
“Seriously, I didn't mean to start us off on the wrong foot,” Louis sighed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “Forgive me?”
“... Sure, Loud-ass— uh, Louis.”
Louis fell out of his chair.
“You alright back there?” The coachman called out.
“Fantastic,” Louis groaned.
“That's good… Take a look outside—we’re about to reach the city gates.”
Flanked by curved granite walls, the massive doors of the gate stood open to the lines of travelers heading in and out of the city. The coachman held up some kind of pass as they approached the gates, causing the guards to wave him through without stopping.
The streets were remarkably lively, with dozens of people gathered around the stalls along the main road, and many more heading towards the gate.
“This here’s the Southern District,” the coachman explained. “Most of the business goes on in this side of the city, so you’ll find near all of your adventuring goods ‘round here. For you beginners, you’ll also be using the south gate fer most of the jobs you get.”
“It's surprisingly easy to tell who the other players are…” Lily noted.
Most of the people were still in their starting clothing, making it look like a uniform of sorts. However, a surprising number of them went through the effort of dyeing their garments, instead of the more practical option of just upgrading their equipment to actual armor.
“Is that… fun?” Fenris didn't really understand what was so great about making their clothes so brightly colored. Gen and Louis both put a hand to their heads and sighed, as though agonized.
“You’re new to these sorts of games, aren't you?”
“You’ll learn eventually, but let us make it clear…”
With a flourish, they shouted together.
““Fashion is the most important thing in MMOs!””
Unsure of how to respond to this scene, Lily started applauding.
“I see,” Fenris replied, not getting it at all.
While the air in the Southern District was lively with trade and players preparing to leave the city, the central plaza had a distinct sense of calm; people were having idle chatter as they loitered around the fountain in the middle of the square. However, there was another, much more notable difference between the players in the plaza and those in the Southern District.
“They have fully tailored outfits already?” asked Lily. “Hasn't it only been a few hours since launch?”
Louis adjusted his glasses.
“Fashion… is the most important thing.”
Lily felt fear. Fenris’s ears flattened against his skull.
“... I see.” Fenris realized that he and Lily had encountered some kind of eldritch truth; he felt no closer to understanding it, but knew that they had gazed into the depths of this madness.
The wagon pulled up to the large building along the east side of the plaza, behind two other wagons that had arrived earlier. The building’s sign was emblazoned with a sword and a scroll.
“Well, this is yer stop,” the coachman said, stepping out of the driver’s seat to open the rear gate. “Take care, ya hear?”
After hopping out, Fenris offered a hand to Gen and Lily, eliciting an “Ara~” from the former.
A sudden roar caused them to jerk their heads towards the building’s entrance.
“UOOOOOH!”
A group of burly, half-naked men with NPC bucket helmets stood alongside the building, their arms crossed in front of their chests. One of them, standing slightly in front of the rest, shouted,
“WELCOME, NEWBIES, TO A——”
““BRAND! NEW! WORLD!”” They punctuated each word with a bodybuilder pose.
“... I don't want it.” Lily hid behind Louis.
“WE HOPE YOU ENJOY—! YOUR—! EXPERIENCE—!”
““YEAA—AH!””
The machos cheered on the groups as they walked inside. Lily’s gaze was locked firmly on the ground.
“... Having fun?” Fenris asked, tilting his head slightly.
“ARE WE HAVING FUN, LADS?” The leader-like one rallied.
““YEAAAA—AH!!!”” The rest shouted in unison, striking the front double biceps pose and alternatingly flexing their chest muscles.
Louis snickered.
“Take notes, Fen—you can enjoy the game like this, too!”
Fenris took another glance at the bucketheads. The words “A BRAND! NEW! WORLD!” echoed inside his head.
“... I don't think I will.”
———
(EXTRA: While riding through the Southern District…)
“I should dye my stuff, too…!” Louis said, seemingly inspired.
“Pick red,” Gen suggested. “Then you can become the Stampede.”
“We won't be getting guns for a while, so that’ll have to wait.”
