[ti]private[/ti]001: What Moms Do

This was a game, and the game was all-seeing.

A knock on the door made him jump a little; he had just taken a few steps in the house, after all, and the entrance was right behind him. The person that appeared was tall--that was his first thought--entering with a smile and an extended hand. Idly, Killian thought that his outfit looked like a VTuber. He wouldn't be surprised if he was one, but it didn't mean he would be able to recognize him. No matter where one went, so long as one was involved with internet culture in some way, it would be impossible not to have seen or know about VTuber culture at this point. He had to sit through some channels in order to learn more about the current competitive meta, and while he did not mind it, well, the more accurate term was that he was rather ambivalent about the whole thing. People enjoy what they enjoy, he supposed.

Anyway, that was not a question he was going to ask outright. Instead, he was caught off guard by how quickly the other trainer adapted. Definitely did not feel like a newbie--he supposed it was entirely possible to skip the tutorial quest if one wished (they could find shoes elsewhere?) but then it made him wonder why this man was here now.

He was about to speak before MOM cut in, and the game changed the 'friend' to 'brother', perhaps recognizing that a mentorship could form between the two. Smooth, Killian thought, and maybe an unexpected boon. What was his name again? Sounded like one of those isekai manhwas he had been reading. Perhaps the game picked up on that as well. The new trainer also caught a glimpse of MOM, who just so happened to have black hair with purple highlights--a mix of both their hair colors? The game didn't have to go that far to sell their sibling status. At least it made the whole thing feel less real to him, which was much welcomed. He needed a bit of reality grounding right now.

It seemed that this man was used to monologuing (or was really convincing with his acting) and did not spare him much of a glance as he followed the NPC to the kitchen. Unsure of what to do at first, Killian would notice the little message notification in his vision.

❝Did a PR person decide to tail me?❞ he muttered, but followed the instructions anyway, seeing the reply button for the message.

Killian said:

Thank you, Big Brother Lordship. Care to tell me what someone like you is doing in MOM'S house?

After typing his message, he too made his way to the kitchen, peeking by the entrance while smelling the pie cooking in the oven. Was this lunch, a snack, or dinner? Hard to tell, he hadn't quite confirmed on how the passage of time worked here yet.

Oh, so he was here to play mysterious. Killian narrowed his eyes at the other man, but he supposed he shouldn't be surprised. This might be just some guy who was just as new as him but was trying to hide it (though doubtful, it seemed he was much more comfortable in the space already than he) or someone who really just decided to skip this tutorial. And skip running. Which he found pretty weird.

Mother. Right, siblings. Okay. He wasn't sure if the game was going to give them a random backstory if they were going to prompt her, so he observed what the other player and NPC were going to do next. He couldn't refuse an offer to sit down (this was his Mom after all), but he had already thought about not eating, even if the food in front of him looked perfectly fine and even smelled like...whatever was in those sandwiches. He couldn't help but shoot a glare at Big Brother Lordship for not eating, because that meant things were going to be awkward at the table. Unless...this was part of the plot?

He froze when he had been addressed to. Uh, now what. He really didn't feel like eating either, and even if all of this was just code, he could already hear his own mom at the back of his head going, What about the starving children in Africa?? It had been ingrained in him not to waste food, though he was still working on his ability to become a leftover trashcan. Well...this was just a game, and to clear this quest, all he had to do was get her to spill their backstory, right?

❝Mother, I...❞ he fidgeted, getting into the role of the younger brother even if in real life he was the eldest. ❝I know you're trying, but things aren't the same anymore. Not since..❞ he looked at one of the empty chairs for extra effect, ❝Father left us.❞

Was that leaning a little too hard on his reading habits? But amusingly for him, the game was here to adjust, and even if he couldn't get tears to spring from his eyes on command, it did make Mom cry a bit. He felt bad about it, actually.

❝Oh, my sons, I am so sorry!❞

Killian raised a brow at the slight language shift. The game adjusted really quickly. She then started talking about how her upbringing had always been rough (it didn't even start with marriage, it went straight to her childhood). She seemed to be talking about something her mom did (their grandmother?) that sounded pretty yikes. She seemed to be absorbed in her own world for a bit, so Killian took the opportunity to practice what he had just learned earlier and opened up the UI.

Killian said:

You may need to do some more acting if in case she starts slowing down with the backstory dumping.