OASIS

I'd come to see my rig for what it was: an elaborate contraption for deceiving my senses, to allow me to live in a world that didn't exist.

[readywade]

pearlsandhermes‌

Even though graduation was something Veronica knew that she would be faced with she wasn’t sure how she was going to react when the moment finally came. But this definitely wasn’t what she imagined. She was at a party being thrown by one of the kids at school and instead of enjoying herself like she probably should have been she was moping by herself. Her legs hung over the side of the pool and feet kicked lazily at the water. She had been in a daze until she heard someone approaching and looked up toward them. “Do you want some?” She held up her half empty red plastic cup to them as an offering. “You can finish off the rest and I’ll even let you drink from my flask if you sit down and be miserable with me.”

Wade had needed to get out of the house, but this wasn’t exactly his first choice. He wasn’t sure what had convinced him to come here in the first place and he was regretting that decision more and more, especially since it was cutting into his time spent with Max and his friends. He stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, walking up to the pool to stare into it when he heard the other speak up. He let out a soft laugh and shook his head. “Nah I’m good. I don’t really drink. Thats probably part of my problems,” he joked as he squatted down next to her. “Aren’t you one of the popular girls? Where’s your girl gang?” He asked, referencing all the knowledge he knew about girls from movies.

[readywade]

bloodboundfates‌

“happy pride!” joy called out, all smiles and rainbows as she stood at the street corner. she held a small clipboard as she attempted to stop passersby. “we’re such a small town, but we have so many diverse people – it’s such a shame we don’t have our own tiny pride parade! it would be so fun and we could make it like a little beginning of summer bash while celebrating everyone and who we are. if you wanted to, maybe you could help out with that? you could be part of the parade, or help out with it, or just support it? i even have some,” she said, reaching into her pocket. “some fun little stickers. would you like one?” she asked, holding out several stickers of different pride flags.

Wade stopped as the other spoke out to listen. Normally, he’d keep walking, but there was nothing malicious about the girl. “Wait? We don’t?” He asked, genuinely surprised considering the town seemed to make an excuse to throw one even or another. “I don’t think I can be in the parade or anything like that, but I’ll definitely support it,” he said, reaching out to take one of the stickers. “I don’t feel like I deserve one of these,” he admitted awkwardly. “I hope this works out or else we might be able to sue the town,” he joked.

[readywade]

garcdenflower‌

Alice had naturally found herself enjoying the dance, loving both the atmosphere and the fact that she got to wear a cute vintage dress. The blonde had mostly kept to herself for most of the dance not being able to find the courage to approach anyone and ask for a dance. Although it would have been a lie to say that she had been wanting to dance with someone. Her blue eyes had wondered around the room, not really focusing on anything in particular, until she noticed someone had approached her. She had only caught part of what they were saying causing her to smile shyly. “ I’m sorry, I was slightly distracted but were you asking me to dance? “ She questioned, her big blue eyes blinking innocently up at them. 

Wade may have looked like a greaser, but he wasn’t really feeling like one. Greasers weren’t supposed to feel unsure and mopey that their online crushes weren’t present. So, to get more into character, he decided to push himself into asking someone so dance with him. He cleared his throat and nodded. “I was. But, um, if you didn’t want to, that’s alright. I figured if you were bored, maybe i could give you at least a little bit of entertainment. I’m not a good dancer, like at all, but watching me fumble would be pretty funny,” he joked with a laugh.

[readywade]

cyberxfriend‌

Azula stood up. A bowl of mostly eaten noodles in hand. The worst part of the restaurant were the annoying peasants standing around in the girl’s way. “ Do you mind getting out of the way, there are important people who have better things to do then wait for you. Besides you might wanna save some food for others, you could break the chair.”

Wade had always been quite touchy about his weight, even after he’d started to work out and look after himself. So, when the other made the off hand comment, whether it had meaning to it or not, it still struck him to the core. “Maybe you could, I don’t know, walk around me? I’m honestly not that big, so there’s plenty of room for you.”

[wo0n]

[readywade]

ofbrightstars‌

Ajay was startled by the sudden grumbling sound of a stomach, at first questioning if it came from his own stomach. But the moment he heard the boy’s voice, that thought was chased away. “Aliens, huh? Never heard that excuse before.” He commented, a hint of indifference in his voice. As he watched the kid look through his wallet, there was a part of him that felt the crushing weight of sympathy. It reminded him of when his mother was going through her chemotherapy treatments and he couldn’t afford to eat lunch some days. “Probably some corn nuts at the gas station.” He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “But I have a feeling that’s not going to satisfy the aliens, so let me buy you a real meal. I’m starving too.”

Wade shrugged, trying to not call much attention to the ‘aliens’ in his stomach, but the mention of a real meal over corn nuts had him practically drooling. “You’d actually buy?” He asked, surprised someone was so willing to pay for a stranger rather than chastise him for spending his money at the arcade instead of saving it for money. But, if he were honest. the games he played made him happier than anything else, so he did feel his choices were justified. “Not that I’m trying to stop you from doing so or anything. If you want to, I’m not here to dictate what you should do with your money and I’m sure as hell not going to let food go to waste. You could offer me the leftovers of your food and I’d still be happy.”

[readywade]

moonpvwers‌

Ginny was no stranger to living on a budget, and while usually she could scrape together more than three dollars for a meal she did know some very cheap places for when times were desperate. “I think there’s a 7-11 a block or two away. It’s not the best but it’s the only place I can think of where you can get hot food for less than two dollars. You could probably get some food and a drink if you look hard enough.” She contributed the idea easily, not needing to sit and think for too long. “If you’re lucky I’ll consider contributing for a bag of chips to eat.” She could go for a snack now that she was thinking about food anyways.

The 7-11. Honestly, Wade didn’t know how he could forget the cheap food haven. He blamed the hunger that was probably starting to consume not only the lining of his stomach, but also his brain as well. “Why spend money on a drink when you can get free water and more food?” He bartered with a smile. “Alright, a bag of chips for you and maybe two questionable hotdogs for me. Or maybe two slices of pizza. I’m not sure which would be more filling, but I would eat either in a heart beat,” he said, already on his way out the door and toward the store.

[readywade]

garcdenflower‌

Kory was slightly taken aback by the noise that that came from the guy’s stomach and blinked in his direction at his question. “ I don’t know anywhere that such an amount would go very far… “ she confessed chewing on her bottom lip. “ But perhaps this might help. “ she offered, holding out a ten dollar bill. 

Wade was willing to call it and go home on an empty stomach, but was stopped at the sight of the offered bill. “What? Oh, no. It’s fine. Really. I can probably get something out of the vending machine over there. But, thank you, I appreciate it. You probably worked hard to earn that, so you should be the one to spend it.”

[readywade]

Wade hated his home life -- hence why he avoided it as much as possible. But, it was hard to do so when that’s where you needed to sleep, eat, and kept most of your consoles. Most of his money went into the arcade to stay away as long as possible, but that didn’t leave any money for much else. So, it was no surprise when his stomach growled loud enough for anyone close by to hear. An awkward chuckle escaped him as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Man, those aliens really sound like they’d growling, huh?” He joked. “Where do you think I can get the biggest meal for,” he said, pausing for a moment to glance down into his wallet. “Two dollars and seventy five cents?”

[readywade]

moonpvwers‌

“okay so.” mabel hummed, doing her best to not chew on the pen she was holding. “mothman or the loch ness monster, which would you rather date?” she had been doing this for a little while now, pitting two cryptids against each other for which would be better for dates. there were notes scrawled through her journal, as well as a semi-functional chart listing the two that had gone up against each other and ultimately which one had won. ultimately there were a lot of ties, because as hard as mabel tried how could she commit to just one? “they’d both be great obviously, but mothman might be harder to find, making frequent dates hard.” she moved down, as if to mark that mothman had won, before changing her mind and looking back up. “but on the other hand nessie seems like she’d have a lot of expectations and needs and i just don’t know if you could provide. what would you go with?”

Wade groaned slightly, the hypothetical situation giving his slight stress. It was fake, but for some reason it felt important to think over. “Listen, listen, you got this all wrong,” he said, hand dismissively waving. “It’s all about your type. Nessie is thicc and graceful. She’s going to require someone who can hold a conversation and knows what they want considering she doesn’t have the time to mess around. Mothman’s more of a one night stand kind of guy. It’s going to take work for him to commit. He’s a skinny legend, but is definitely more pessimistic. Personally, I think I’d go after Nessie in the end, but Mothman is the guy who’s after my heart and will break it.”

[readywade]

🗨 PUBLIC CHAT

PARZIVAL: yeah man, i bet max is really cute irl PARZIVAL: sHIT NO PARZIVAL: YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO SEE THIS PARZIVAL: this was supposed to be private and now i’m fdugag PARZIVAL: who’s max idk her

[wo0n]

[readywade]

event starter for @digdugpro

Even though the party was fun and no one knew who he was, Wade did feel a bit nervous about spending time with anyone but Max. He wanted her to be here, to actually be able to dance and touch her. Maybe he could pretend someone was her but he wasn’t too sure how he felt about that. He accidentally bumped into someone, turning to face them. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry. Wow, you look really great. I didn’t mean to bump into you like it was a pick up line or anything, but wow. Are you with anyone right now?”

[readywade]

Wade felt almost invincible behind the mask he wore. It reminded him of when he entered the OASIS -- able to be and act in any way he wished. Though his looks were obscured, the way he behaved was much like how he wished he could in real life. He could be confident and suave, cool almost. He gave his best smile as he walked up to one of the other party-goers. “So, I didn’t think these sort of things actually happened, but I’m not complaining. Who doesn’t like a party regardless of the outfit requirements? You want to dance with me?” He asked casually.

[readywade]

ofbrightstars‌

Sara found herself aimlessly twirling her heart-shaped locket that always hung around her neck as her gaze flickered over the town that was illuminated by little lights. It might have seemed strange to be sitting on top of a roof so late at night but whenever she couldn’t seem to clear her thoughts as she laid in bed and stared at her ceiling, she would come out here. Her legs hung over the ledge, swinging them in a casual manner. Even though she wasn’t really that high up, the view made her think back to her youth spent in India when she would climb onto daring cliffs just to get a better view of the stars. A smile spread across her lips the moment she saw someone standing on the pavement below, deciding to speak aloud and see if a conversation could spark. “Did you know that some people believe stars are actually people? And if you find a where a shooting star lands you’ll find a fallen star, a beautiful individual who will grant you any wish you desire? What would you wish for?” It might have been weird to openly ramble to someone you’ve never met before, but that’s how some of the best friendships began.

Wade would be beyond embarrassed if anyone found out he still played Pokemon Go, so he always went out very late at night when no one would be out. Of course, that’s why he jumped and dropped his phone when he heard a random voice from above. “Shi--” He said, as he ducked down to pick up his phone before looking up at who spoke. He let out a laugh and shook his head. “You scared me,” he said as if it weren’t obvious. “Well, first, I already know a fallen star, I just haven’t actually met her yet. And, if I had to wish for something, I’d ask her to be mine forever.” It was sappy as hell, but he was currently texting Max and he was constantly thinking about her. Especially lately. “The hard part is actually finding her. What about you? Do you actually believe that?”

[readywade]

oasis // parzival ⚔ !

MADMAX: i know we promised each other that we would never talk about our lives outside of here but

MADMAX: i don't really have anyone that i can talk to right now

MADMAX: and honestly it wouldn't matter because you're the only person i feel safe talking to most of the time

MADMAX: can i just... vent to you ??

PARZIVAL: yeah but that promise feels negotiable

PARZIVAL: of course you can

PARZIVAL: i'll always be here, oasis or irl

[readywade]

apricotjvice‌

Unlike most people he knew, Sho was constantly trying to gain weight. Even though he was quite sedentary, he never seemed to be able to keep any of the weight he gained on. So much for developing muscles, right? He was currently trying to have an all-out binge fest: milkshakes, burgers, and fries. When he heard the other speak up, he couldn’t help but raise a brow. “Arcades are kind of lame, dude. I know they’re like nostalgic and stuff – blah, blah, blah. But, they’re kind of a waste of money. I would rather spend my money on things that actually matter.” Like upgrades in the OASIS. “If it’s fresh air you want, go to an oxygen bar.” His gaze shifted back down to his phone. “I’m not really big on multiplayer shit anyway… I’m kind of a lone wolf.” Daito was his only exception.

Wade scoffed, trying to brush off the indirect pain of arcades being called lame. It had always been a dream of his to go to an actual arcade and play the old games instead of inside the OASIS. “They matter! At least... to me they do,” he said before scrunching up his nose. “I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen any oxygen bars around here. Plus, that’s just way too much effort. Like, I’ve gotta force myself outside to get air, putting myself in a bar to get O2 is just an extra step I don’t need. Maybe if I could be in the OASIS and be at the bar, it’d be a different story. Actually, that’s a great idea,” he said to himself as if he was going to actually implement it somehow. “Lone wolf, huh? I mean, me too. But I still have my buddy I play with. It’s different when you play with, like, one other person. I’m not talking a whole group here.”