occāsus

[thaeher]

kaliloggingon‌:

location: uh you know, somewhere

players: open

so she wasn’t necessarily avoiding anyone specifically, but she wasn’t going out of her way to find anyone either. given all the guild drama she had just caused, she decided to try and lay low and get everything situated while catalyst cooled down. 

kali was giving herself, maybe an hour max break for lunch in between learning things about how blood oath worked. she sat outside on the ground book open in her lap, absentmindedly snacking on pretzels that were in the bowl next to her. through her peripheral, she noticed a shadow blocking the sun. picking her head up, she followed their legs up towards their face, greeting them, “fancy seeing you here.” 

Rae wasn’t sure quite why seeing Kali across the mostly barren field felt like a breath of fresh air, but it did. She was battle-worn, with aching muscles, a low health gauge, and a scant change in experience to show for it.

For a few moments, Rae just stood above Kali in complete silence, unsure of what she was even intending to say or do. After some time passed, she sat down in the grass as well. A hint of a smile appeared in return to the greeting. “How’s your day going?”

[thaeher]

zcndi‌:

Jal smiled at Fletch when Rae pulled away, knowing the lizard was always ripe to get jealous over any and all attention Rae gave Trouble. Putting out a free finger to scratch under his chin in acknowledgement, the mage sighed. “I’m always ready to explore,” they said, their gaze shifting from Fletch to their girlfriend. “You haven’t been there yet, have you? It’s really muggy.”

Fletch made a high-pitched squeal in response to Jal’s affection, a noise one might mistake for an agonized wail if they didn’t know any better. For Fletch, it meant he was overjoyed, his blue tail curled, then he scuttled back into Rae’s backpack. “No time like the present.” Rae searched her inventory for teleport crystals, finally pulling two out and passing on to them. “A little humidity never hurt anyone, did it?”

[thaeher]

playercharon‌:

“Well, maybe it could scare out some of the little monsters that were hiding under the leafs,” he mumbled, though he didn’t really believe that himself and, anyway, the second she looked at him, he ended up flushing and looking away, pretending to fiddle with something on his staff–as if it had buttons or settings or anything but a piece of stick that he was supposed to will power into. 

He took a deep breath and tried again, and this time, the littlest monster of the bunch that was hiding away in the same bush, was hit straight in the chest and keeled over. “Yes, yes!” Charon cheered. But then he saw the creature fall, looking sad and pitiful, and he frowned. “Does it ever feel less crappy?” he asked. 

He put his staff down and came a little closer, putting his hand out in a silent ask to see her bow. “Can I?” 

Rae squinted skeptically, then playfully rolled her eyes at him. She clearly didn’t believe that was his intention. A happy accident? Maybe. Rae clapped Charon on the shoulder, her attempt at reassuring him that she was just joking around with him without actually verbalizing it. “You might’ve burnt a few caterpillars to a crisp,” she offered, with a shrug of her shoulders.

As soon as she heard the ruffle of leaves, Rae turned expectantly to Charon. She’d kill the monster camouflaged within the bushes if he didn’t want to, of course, but soon enough he took the reigns himself. Rae raised her eyebrows. In some strange way, she felt proud of him. “Nice job,” she responded first, then put an arm around his shoulder. “It has for me. Stop thinking about them as live creatures, they’re nothing more than code. It’s when you hurt another player that the guilt should set in.” Rae had killed another player once, her cursor was orange for a long time, the Vixens were the only ones that’d ever seen it as anything but the green hue it was now. She hadn’t done it because she wanted to. She did it because she had to. Because it was him or her.

Her gaze went vacant when she thought about it, but his question reattracted her focus. She nodded in response, and held her bow out to him. It sometimes felt like an extension of herself, handing it to someone else felt foreign.

[thaeher]

zcndi‌:

Jal’s eyes fluttered shut when Rae leaned in to kiss them, and their lips involuntarily turned upward. “Not every floor can be the penthouse suite at the hotel,” they replied, pecking her back.

Trouble stretched out between the two players, butting her head against Rae for attention. The two had really seemed to bond now that they were no longer living the nomadic tent lifestyle. ( Not that she wasn’t fond of Rae before - she always made room in bed for her, even when the archer first started sharing the tent with Jal. )

“But maybe it’s a new dungeon that will unlock a random floor,” they said, genuine hope in their voice.

Rae was the only one Jal could confess how much this game was just… ruining them. The longer the two were there, the longer it’d take for them to be together in real life. Though they knew it, in their heart, not to be true, they went through moments of doubt; what if Rae doesn’t love her irl? What if they don’t remember each other? What if they die before they meet, before they can live together in real life, with real jobs, and real friends?

Rae stayed close to them for moments after the kiss, her forehead pressed to theirs for a few seconds. “Dick Aspens might be just skeezy enough to make every floor the penthouse suite, though.” At the mention of him, Rae raised her middle finger above their heads, a common gesture from Rae to the man that had trapped them here.

When Rae brought her hand back down, she immediately began gently scratching between Trouble’s ears. The act was rewarded with quiet, content purring. As if fueled by his jealousy, Rae felt Fletch move within her rucksack, a sure sign that he had awoken from a short slumber. Before she knew it, he scurried onto her shoulder.

Rae smiled about the possibility of a new level unlock. Unlikely, but anything was possible. And Rae would take any opportunity to get closer to freedom. Anything to be actually with Jal.

Finally, Rae pulled back. Her hand intertwined with Jal’s, the other still petting Trouble. “I’m ready to explore if you are.”

[thaeher]

playeralchemy‌:

          “yeah, i know what you mean.” alchemy actually didn’t; not entirely, at least, and not in the way that rae most likely meant it. but she knew what it felt like to be off in regards to the game, even if it was in an entirely different matter, so that had to count for at least something, right? her eyes merely followed rae’s movements as she shot the monster with a sort of nonchalantness, but not without respect. lord knows those bows aren’t easy to handle. “what were you thinking of changing? new bow, arrows, or what?”

Rae wished she understood what was going on with her, but something just hadn’t felt quite right for the past few months. If she had to pinpoint an exact time, she’d place it somewhere around the time the Vixens were massacred. She went through bouts of normalcy, but it was always so fleeting. “If I knew, I would’ve changed it by now.” Rae didn’t mean it to come out as sharp as it did, so she tried once more. “Sorry. I’m really not sure, I might just have to try a bunch of things until something sticks.”

[thaeher]

radishyes‌:

“here’s a thinker for ya—you probably feel stuck because we are literally stuck. take that, metaphors.” he leaned against a tree nearby, ignoring the small add-on creatures she was grinding on. he was, as they say, over it. “but you know some wise dude once told me that the best way to get unstuck was to do something spontaneous…” radish paused for a minute and then snorted. “but he’s fuckin’ dead as shit now, so what the fuck did he know, right?”

The real reasoning behind her feelings wasn’t lost on her, but she tried to ignore it. There was nothing she could do about it, except exhaust herself progressing through the game. “Sorry for your loss,” she responded, dropping her bow into the dirt. “If it’s a sensitive subject you don’t have to answer, but did he die because of his spontaneity or was it unrelated?” 

[thaeher]

zcndi‌:

Jal was sitting on the remains on a tree trunk, one too fresh to rot away but down long enough to have its bark chipped where the wind may have knocked it over. With Trouble in their lap, they watched Rae work, leaving kisses atop their cat’s head as she lifted up to watch the monster fall away.

“Well,” they started, a bit hesitant. “Maybe you could start offering your services as an archer for people who have a harder time hunting, like as a job or something? Explore some of the newer floors? There’s a waterfall on one of them, I really want to know what’s behind it. They can’t just make a waterfall and have nothing hiding there.”

Rae released a huff of frustration while watching the miniscule difference the monster made on her experience gauge. This was a waste of time. She turned back to Jal, and crossed the small clearing toward them. Rae immediately dropped onto the tree stump, her back against Jal’s arm. Their presence kept her at peace, even when the ‘world’ tried her patience.

She set her bow down, letting it rest against her thigh, and leaned in to kiss them. “That might make a difference, at the very least the extra money would be nice.” In terms of the new floors, her interest was definitely piqued. Her head tilted subconsciously. “Maybe it's hiding some extravagant, romantic getaway.”

[thaeher]

playercharon‌:

Charon’s face crumpled, partially in disgust, partially in sympathy as the little monster keeled over, shrieking, and then went silent for good. He’d never killed before. Not a player. Not an NPC. Not a monster. Nothing. For the first two years of the game, he wasn’t allowed anywhere near the battles; after that, with only a few months of training under his belt, he just wasn’t that much help. Yet. 

That was why he was out here, his staff raised, aiming for a tree as he shot a blast of fire–and missed entirely, setting a nearby shrub ablaze instead. 

He turned back to the former Vixen. “I could make you a new bow,” he offered. Fighting he might be bad at, but making things? He had that very well under control. 

“Interesting,” Rae hummed. The second arrow she released hummed similarly as it flew through the air, a short lived sound that ended as soon as it hit yet another monster. Her experience bar hardly budged. The monsters were too weak, so much so that their deaths almost felt senseless. They would cause a tremendous boost in Charon’s experience, if only he could actually hit something with a heartbeat.

The blaze he had started cast a glow upon the immediate area, and bathed her in warmth. “Incinerating the foliage doesn’t help anyone.” she smiled, indicating that she meant the comment to be lighthearted. 

“Maybe a new bow is all I need to spice things up.”

[thaeher]

“I need to change something,” Rae commented, moreso to herself than anyone else despite being surrounded by other players. She pulled back the string of a bow to test the draw weight. Every few months, she became fixated on training. There was always one reason or another. Her aim was nearly impeccable, and yet she continued to obsess. In the process, the things that really mattered often fell to the wayside. “I feel stuck, you know? In a rut, or whatever.” A low level monster poked its head out from behind a shrub, and Rae let the air fly. It found its home in the monster’s neck with a noise that used to turn her stomach, now she hardly even noticed it.

[thaeher]

hi, pals! I’m back! For those that don’t know me, my name is Heather, and have been mia for a few months. Because of this, I’m sort of behind on all recent happenings, so if I write any false information please just let me know so I can edit!! also, feel free to message me if you want to plot or chat or anything

[thaeher]

playernoir‌:

players: noir and open. location: floor 61 ; primia.

          it was almost as if rick aspens took note of how squeamish noir became on the maze floor with all the bugs, because now they were in a new floor, with an a bunch of regular sized – but still super gross – bugs. mosquitos as far as the eye could see, and noir wasn’t exactly positive she WOULDN’T get malaria on this floor. that was probably rick aspens’ plan, all along.

          she walked through the brush of the overgrown forest with her sword in one hand, the other free to swat away at the insects that came in her path or landed on her skin. it was too hot to wear anything more than a t-shirt and black shorts, leaving most of her milky pale flesh exposed to the elements and creatures to do what they please. she used her sword to cut through the foliage, swatting away a mosquito that came dangerously close to her face. “ this SUCKS. ” she grumbled to herself, swatting at another that landed on her arm. she pivoted in hopes to make her way towards the lake, but she saw another player in the process. “ don’t suppose you know anyone who could do a bug spray potion or something ?? ”

Rae began to trail behind Noir, mirroring her path to more easily traverse the overgrowth of the jungle as the two of them spoke. She couldn’t exactly chop it down with her bow or pocket knife as she went, like Noir so easily was with her sword. “I could ask Jal if they can come up with something. There has to be an in game version of citronella or lemon and eucalyptus, shouldn’t be too complicated.”

“Might take some trial and error to find something that works, but it’s worth the effort at this point.” Rae had never been the type to squeal or panic at the sight of an insect or arachnid, but the mosquitoes on level 61 were especially incessant. They made it nearly impossible to focus on any task at hand.

[thaeher]

zcndi‌:

They placed the bottle in their lap, twisting the cap absentmindedly and trying to keep themself from blushing when Rae said they were good company. It was easy to change the topic, though, and Jal’s jaw dropped when Rae suggested that Jack was seeing someone.

“No!”

It was… plausible. Likely? No. Plausible? Sure. “I always figured him for the kind of guy to have like… a wife or something irl.”

Rae shrugged. It wasn’t really something she’d ever asked or discussed with him, but she’d caught him catching the attention of a few players from time to time. But, she always figured he was as focused on progressing through the game as she was, and paid little to no attention to that aspect of things- maybe that did mean he had someone important to get back to in the real world.

“For his sake, I hope he doesn’t. That has to be one of the worst possible situations to be in.”

[thaeher]

shenzi-loggedon‌:

location: floor 53 // tempus

players: shenzi & anyone

‘shenzi heard movement outside of the shelter she’d built herself when she’d passed the level. it was rather new, actually - she’d renovated recently and had redone the walls and foundation; all had begun to wear. assuming the movement was that of a passing player, she ignored it, cradling a basket of wet clothes to her waist and making her way outside to her clotheslines. setting the basket down on a stool, shenzi began to hang up her wet clothing. “are you lost?” she asked after a moment, still sensing somebodies presence near her.

Rae had missed out on exploring a few of the floors when they were first released, and still popular. She had been in a bad headspace back then. Now that she was back on her feet, she was catching up on the things she had missed. Her focus was so centered on the breath-taking world around her that she hadn’t even noticed that she was so close to another player’s home. “Sort of,” she admitted, having lost track of where she was a while ago. “but that’s kind of the point of exploring, isn’t it?” Rae remained where she had been when the player addressed her, in order to avoid further invading her living space. “Don’t suppose you’d be willing to sell me a teleport crystal for when I get tired of wandering?”

[thaeher]

zcndi‌:

Jal’s eyes were heavy as she looked over her friend scooting closer. The air quotes caused her to giggle, leaning over a bit toward Rae before rocking back into place. 

“He keeps scheduling these meetings during our hangouts,” Jal concurred with a shake of their head. “You’d think he was trying to get rid of us.”

After Jal saw Rae for the first time, Jack got an earful of questions from Jal. Who is she? What do you know about her? Can you send me her info? Is it weird if I e-stalk her before logging back in? If I e-stalk her will you judge me? After logging out for the night, they looked her up on Instagram and followed her. Rae had siblings, friends, plans for life - unlike Jal, she had a life that was left behind once they were all trapped here.

Rae lightly bumped her shoulder into theirs when they leaned toward her. “I know! If it helps at all, I think you’re great company and he’s really missing out but hey... it’s his loss, right?” Rae shrugged it off, though she did ponder if it was more than that. Or maybe she was just imagining it.

Admittedly, Rae and Jacks friendship had been rocky for some time after they had lost a mutual friend from the beta test, Goldy. Both of them carried the guilt and placed the blame on themselves, when in reality neither of them faulted one another for what had happened.

It was an early level, they hadn’t learned all of Dick Aspen’s tricks and traps yet.

Out of the blue, Rae gasped and grabbed Jal’s forearm to get their attention. “Maybe he’s dating someone and he just doesn’t want to tell us.”

[thaeher]

dotedotted‌:

location. tempus open to. anyone

the blue sky bled orange and rose, sunset scraping its way across the clouds. fingers itched briefly for something to draw with and instead found purchase in the green grass dot had been sitting in for - she’d lost track of time at some point. her intention had been only to spend a small sliver of the day here but it seemed to her, in that moment, that most of the day has whittled away to nothing. what time was it on the other levels? brow furrowed at the thought for a moment before ignoring the way it gnawed at her. how easy it had become to lose track of time doing so little.

gaze flitted from the sky and the lovely colors splashing across the surface of it to peer across lush green fields, the reflective spots of a lake far off throwing the image of the sky back up at itself. lovely. “…it is so much prettier here than anywhere else i’ve been.”

Rae happened upon Dot by accident, but wasn’t particularly opposed to her company; nor by her general presence. So, as Dot spoke up, Rae slowed to a stop and looked at the surrounding view. It was beautiful. A lot of the floors were, ultimately.

Without even considering that she should ask for permission first, Rae sat down in the grass near Dot with her legs crossed beneath her. “Good ‘ole Dick did a lot of fucked up stuff but... at least he did one thing right.” Rae was referring to the game’s creator, Richard Aspens, who she not so affectionately nicknamed Dick. “I try not to get too caught up in it anymore, though. They do say a golden cage is still a cage, you know?”

[thaeher]

zcndi‌:

Characters: Thanatos & Occasus @loginoccasus​ Location: The tent Time: 2030

“I think he got us drunk on purpose,” Jal declared as soon as the tent shut.  

Jack had just left to go to a guild meeting, something they were not yet used to. He was a big shot now that he’d created the guild, which left all his beta tester friends to fend for themselves. Luckily, though, he’d introduced Jal and Rae.

They were sitting cross-legged on the floor, holding a bottle of moonshine created by an alchemist friend of theirs. Though Jal had just started learning alchemy themself, they definitely weren’t ready to make something for others to drink; not now that they were all walking on pins and needles to make sure they didn’t die.

Rae half-stumbled into the tent, only because of her toe catching the bottom of the tent on her way in. Definitely not because she was drunk. She couldn’t help but to laugh at herself as she settled onto the floor of the tent.

She used the excuse of wanting to be within arms reach of the remaining moonshine to scoot closer to Jal. That was subtle, right? “I think he ‘had’,” Rae used air quotes as she said it, with a roll of her eyes. “to go to his guild meeting on purpose.”

“He’s up to something, I can feel it in my bones.”

[thaeher]

“I need to change something,” Rae commented, moreso to herself than anyone else despite being surrounded by other players. She pulled back the string of a bow to test the draw weight. “I feel stuck, you know? In a rut, or whatever.”