HokumPocus

Enter: Into an Isekai World

Duster’s Odyssey (A Space Western) (Interest Gathering and Discussion)

interested OwO

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Location: The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Alex trailed behind Alja, lagging behind as he ruminated on her ideas. He expected his guesswork was going to be completely off the mark. Still, it was a bummer to have been shot down so fast. She was right, there were just too many bizarre things happening all at once in order for this to have been some glitch. Glitches were like... going through a wall, some weapon not working, individual things that were self-contained like that. He hated to think about this like some sort of conspiracy theorist, but such a complicated series of events triggering made a lot more sense if it was intentional, the more he thought about it.

He took a seat near the others with none of the neat and awkward behavior he'd shown when they first met. Instead, he alternated between being splayed out to bouncing a leg whenever an interesting suggestion would come up. He wasn't familiar with the intricacies of dreaming, rather it was the possible chance at getting answers that perked him up.

"Well..." he started, All we can do now is survive.

He stopped before the words left his mouth. They weren't developers or moderators or anyone with any power above being just another player. Their insights, at the end of the day, weren't going to differ much, both among themselves and every other wayfarer they would cross paths with. It felt wrong to give in so quickly, however. His newfound courage wouldn't allow it.

"There's gotta be some people who worked on this game logged on. There just has be. People like that one guy who gave alerts when this first started knew about this before we did," he paused for a moment, as if he was trying to convince himself just as much as everyone else, "They could help us out."

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Location: The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

As the wayfarers discussed the new behavior exhibited by the denizens, Alex's mind crackled with new ideas, none of them constructive. It was as if he was subconsciously in some stage of denial, one in which he refused to come to terms with the gravity of their situation. He thought back to the "tech demo" theory of his he'd shared back when they had no idea what was happening. What if it was one? Their reactions could have been recorded somehow, as part of some messed up way to advertise how believable their new update was. It could've been like one of those prank shows where a camera crew would pop out at the last possible second to inform they had all been tricked.

Tempting to believe. But no, it wasn't the truth.

He wanted to sigh loudly, slap his arms on the table, do something to get the frustration out of him. But a strange new inhibition gripped at him. This was basically the real world now, so doing something like that would have been rude. It was a weird new feeling.

"Could've just been the game not working," he interjected, his voice not matching the more hushed tones the rest had started with. If a lifetime of growing up around people who were obsessed with videogames had taught him anything, it was that the only thing they loved more than videogames was complaining about them. Deadlines, microtransactions, botched sequels, rushed ports, he was vaguely aware of all of the ways a complex thing made of thousands of tiny lines of code could keel over and explode. He wanted to avoid speaking out due to his inexperience with technology, but the idea seemed too obvious not to blurt out.

"Games take years to make, and even after all they go through there's still glitches or whatever. Who's to say this isn't one? This game's a lot more ambitious than a regular one too." He avoided eye contact with the denizens. He wasn't sure if it was rude or not, but he reasoned he'd find it uncomfortable if the people he was making pancakes for were questioning his existence.

The Voyagers of Duonia: A Medieval Fantasy RP

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Ludith said nothing, content to let the more talkative members of their group determine their overall strategy. She had come to the conclusion that Entyrea's appearance would be a liability earlier, but assumed it wouldn't be an issue given their collective strength. It was an animalistic sort of mindset, in truth. Huddled together they were strong and had much blades and magic between them. Anyone who wanted to disrespect them would have to be bigger and stronger. It wasn't impossible, but it wasn't probable either, so she simply didn't worry about it.

"There are a lot of us. Too large of a risk if anyone tried to fight us as a group." The faintest smirk took shape across her face. All talk, no action. Planning was a necessary step she never shirked, but that didn't make it any less aggravating to stay cooped up in civilization as whatever creature of the night she was up against spilled more innocent blood. The mystery surrounding their mission made it bearable to pass through these calmer moments, at least.

"Our appearance," she told Dular. She gave the rest of the party a hardened look of approval. "Folks from all over. Attracts attention, but helps. Any trouble will have a hard time with us." It wasn't just gathering information she had been thinking about. Having such a variety of skillsets would be invaluable against any threat they weren't familiar with.

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Location: The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

"Wait, armor?"

Alja vanished from the bar, leaving him with a set of armor that probably weighed as much as he did. He plopped back on the tavern's seat and let out a sigh, not even trying to save face near Siegfried or Kalie. "Aw, man," he said. His vision throbbed for a bit.

Left to guard duty. He was bummed about it at first, until the fresh sting of Kazuki's departure flashed across his mind. Alex had already known he was awful when it came to making friends, even just talking to people in general, but that interaction had solidified it. He didn't know why, but a part of him had been expecting that flaw to be less apparent within Pariah. Even in a completely different world with an appearance custom-tailored to make every physical insecurity vanish, he still made the same mistakes. It was an interesting observation. A disappointing one, too. It was for the best if he stayed.

He supposed he could've intruded on whatever conversation Siegfried and Kalie were having, but even he had an idea as to the atmosphere going on over there was like. Some gesticulations coming from Siegfried, gentle movements from Kalie. He could already imagine the other man's reaction to having his mission thwarted by captain oblivious. The snark from his sister Sif would be hilarous, though. Or was that what the alcohol was whispering in his ear?

Alex's reverie stretched for a blurry amount of time until a certain pair of people returned. Alja had been successful, and brought Benkei with her. He started talking, and it took him a moment to realize he was supposed to listen. An introduction. A warped one, the one you could only have on the internet, yet different from that as well. The one you could only have on the internet after circumstances had made it a matter of life or death. He wanted to interrupt him to point out how amusingly odd the whole situation was, but kept his mouth shut. Until Benkei did too.

Well, he failed at saying the right words to strangers the first time around before the dungeon, and he certainly made that mistake again. If the others weren't going to follow up, then he'd do it. Third time's the charm.

"'This group' huh... so it's official, more or less." He stopped for a moment, performing the agonizing process of thinking before speaking. "Don't worry too much about emotions. We're going through a total mess no one in the history of the world has ever gone through. Even older people probably wouldn't get it if you tried explaining what the hell was happening here to them. Nothing about this is normal, so you shouldn't try to act normally." From the corner of his eye, he saw a faint stain caused by the tankard he had been drinking out of. Acting differently could be bad in excess, fine, whatever.

"My name is Alex, in real life too pretty much. I'm twenty years old, a freelance artist that juggles projects a lot. I get bored of just doing one thing, really." It was hard to think of anything else, given that he hadn't made much of an impact both within the game in general and throughout their conflicts. He did have one thing he wanted to clear up.

"I... hope your brother comes back though." He cleared his throat, leaving an awkward pause in the room.

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Location: The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

The commotion in the tavern deflated as the bulk of its quarreling patrons left. Alex deflated too, letting out a large breath that made his shoulders sag. Their plans of being reunited had been all but extinguished, with Alex unable to have even protested Kazuki removing his hand. Him, Graves, Benkei, Seele. All of them had left the Laughing Worg in some form of discontent or another.

Alex stood in place, slowly taking in the now empty seats before him. He wondered if this was the eventual fate of every group in Pariah, players prioritizing their own survival so much that they pushed everyone else away in the process. It was a sad thought, as it painted their situation in a far more depressing light; It made it seem less like a possibly deadly prolonged stay in a game and more like an apocalypse or something, where people hoarded resources and spent every waking moment thinking death was just around the corner. And with the denizens beginning to display remarkable feats of power, it was all too much. He cursed at himself for having tried to drink his anxiousness away. He needed his mind for too many things right now.

A sudden noise made his head spin, for a tad longer than usual given his current state. Alja.

"Er," he shook his head, trying to focus, "Graves, Kazuki, Benkei, Seele. All of them left." He supported his temple with the palm of his hand. "Things got bad real quick. No real fighting 'cause of the NPCs, but the stuff some of them said to each other was probably worse." The urgency in her tone was undeniable, and he was unsatisfied after only one shot at getting everyone back together. The idea that popped into his head was obvious, then.

"We might've drunken too much, but damn it, we've gotta go find them!"

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Location: The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

One by one the dominoes that composed the Laughing Worg fell around them, bringing more chaos with every successive crash of words. What Logan's brother had once told him rang in his mind again, about games bringing out the worst in people. This wasn't a game anymore, though, and Alex didn't want to think about the possible repercussions in a true fight between players.

In a brazen moment spurred partly by alcohol, Alex stood up from the tavern and took a couple of steps back. "Woah, woah, woah. These aren't fights you can just have anymore." He gazed longingly at his spilled tankard and swallowed the irritation. If someone like... himself... had to be the voice of reason, he'd try his hardest. "Between all of our abilities, it's like all of us are carrying loaded guns at all times, all right? If you're gonna fight, keep it to words."

He felt like that last bit hadn't been the best thing to say. He didn't like the idea of telling someone to be dishonest though, it'd just make him a hypocrite.

"And I'm sorry. I wanted us--all of us--to come together."

Crud. Crap. Fuck. This wasn't good. This was not good.

One of his arms clasped Kazuki's shoulder. From what little he could gather they had both lived very different lives, but Alex knew that question was roiling in his mind. The "what if" that led to a neverending downward spiral of regret and self-loathing. He wasn't going to just stand there and watch another person get dragged into that. "We... don't know how anything here works yet. No one, not even you. Anyone who tells you anything else is lying. We can't reach any answer now, and even if we did down the line? It would never change us not knowing now." It was a microcosm of his life philosophy, running and never looking back.

Eɴᴛᴇʀ — Into an Isekai World

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Kotana

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First horses, now guns. The more Ipharia spoke, the more it seemed like this strange land was the total opposite of Japan. As someone who'd never been around them, the idea of encountering an opponent with one sent a small shiver down his spine. "If it's a newer weapon, it's most likely uncommon, right?" he asked, hopeful. He knew Hiroko was interested in owning one, but his fear of one ending up in an opposing side's hands rather than their own trumped any sort of sympathy from the man. "A weapon that can bypass the need for magic, maybe work even better... such a thing should be a concern for us. Assuming the technology has evolved enough, that is," he said, the last of his words tacked on as he thought about it more. For all he knew, this so called arquebus could have been closer to an ancient rifle, or was even something entirely different.

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Location: The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Alex didn't understand why he was being offered a handkerchief at first, until he saw the state of his letter.

Eh, it was still legible.

He wiped the area around his chin in a hurry, the pang of embarrassment shaking him out of his current state. It was relieving that Kazuki had spoken that directly about wanting to form a team. Alex was thinking of a similar idea, but had gotten so distracted that he was beginning to settle for a partnership with a lower amount of people. Regardless of whatever route he thought was wisest, a healer like Kazuki was indispensable to a frailer player such as himself.

"Banding together, huh. I like the sound of that," he said, tracing his jawline with the cloth. "Does that mean you're trying to band the entire raid party together? I drank a little," he paused and quirked his brows, "okay, more than a little, but even then I know that's gonna be tough to pull off."

The way he saw it, the strong players that tended to be individualists were going to swallow their pride and seek out the strong guilds, who in turn were seeking them out too. A situation like that would probably end up with Alex falling back on his brother's guild, going back to selling light armor to make ends meet. The whole thing felt like crawling back to live in your parents' house after being unable to find a job. And Pariah was supposed to be an escape from the real world.

"How're my two favorite fuck-ups doin' this fine mornin'?"

Both the conversation and his thoughts were crashed by Graves, with all of the bravado he would expect from a person who had no idea their life was at stake. Did he really not care? Alex hadn't known the man well enough to think beyond a surface level, having mentally categorized Graves as "that tank guy who split dog people in half like they were avocados".

"Kazuki's been planning something," he said, folding the note in one of his many pockets of his everyday wear. Now that there were real world consequences to creating clothing, his more utilitarian style of crafting was better suited in comparison to the flashier stuff it seemed like the rest of the playerbase was enamored with. It was a little moment of vindication he'd keep to himself. Kazuki was handling the conversation way better, anyways... but a detail did catch his attention.

"The NPC talked like a player?" he asked. "I was in the drox hall earlier, and this girl there was acting kind of weird. Instead of just giving tips for newbies she started going on about the places factions were located. I mean, still totally useless info, but weird, man." Near him, what looked like an argument between the people he had raided with was brewing.

"Crap," he groaned, reaching for another sip, "this just made our job a whole lot harder."