Nero
•
Rival
Player Character
Posts: 153
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Jack Montague
OOC Username: Vay
Arena Points: 28
|
Post by Nero on Dec 30, 2023 5:40:09 GMT 9
It had been a few days since Nero had logged into the game, having been sucked into all of the festivities that this time of year brought with it. It was strange really: across his life, this had gone from his favourite time of year, to his least favourite to one that brought very mixed feelings with it. From big family gatherings, to being cut off from them entirely, to finally being reunited with them far too close to a tragedy that flipped everything on its head. While he enjoyed the family time and the general mood of it all, and while his family were the best people in the world at making him feel normal and included and not restricted in what he could do, even they couldn't change the truth.
So, after a few days, he'd found himself retreating back into his room for time on his own, the same grumpy attitude taking over him so that he snapped at anyone who tried to coax him back out again. His aunt brought him little plates of food every now and again, always asking him if he'd like to get in his chair so that he could join them again, but it was no good. And with spending so much time alone again, it wasn't long before he was reaching for the WorldScreen.
Back in the game, he had taken a moment to orientate himself, before seeking out the nearest quest marker that he could find. He'd gotten through all the tutorials by now and explored part of the local area, but he wanted to find something he could throw himself into for a while, and a proper quest should be a good enough distraction. After a little fumbling, he managed to open up the prompt on his overlay and accept the quest, transporting himself off to the starting location.
... Which turned out to be a carriage of some sort. Nero found himself seated across from another player surrounded by black leather seats that jostled up and down with the movement of what he presumed must have been horses pulling it from the front. There were trees with autumnal leaves visible through the window, but Nero's eyes were fixed on the player opposite him... one with a very familiar name tag.
"You have got to be kidding me."
|
|
|
Will
•
Player Character
Posts: 95
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: William Gray
OOC Username: Mothimistic
Arena Points: 8
|
Post by Will on Jan 4, 2024 2:08:50 GMT 9
It was the second time William had to spend Christmas and New Year alone; his mother, wife and child were all gone and with his leave from work and intentional self-isolation, it meant that he was not invited to spend the holidays with anyone in particular. The few Christmas cards that did make their way to his mailbox were from distant relatives unaware of his situation, wishing happy holidays to both him and Lucy. Every single one of these cards had simply crushed the man, he'd fallen to the ground and wailed like an injured animal, all the pain and hurt rushing back over him as fresh as the day he'd lost his daughter.
Defeated and exhausted, William had eventually dragged himself into Lucy's old room where he'd lay on the ground with the WorldScreen. He'd spent hours just wandering the area, wondering what kind of things his daughter had enjoyed in the game. He wondered if it was possible to contact support to ask; her account was still on the device even if he was unable to log into it. Maybe someone could tell him of her time in the game. Would it bring him closure to know how she'd spent her time when he'd been at work? Were there people she'd met in the game who hadn't heard from her and had simply assumed she'd stopped playing? As he shook his head to clear his thoughts, William found himself accidentally stumbling into a quest. He'd meant to finish the remaining tutorials first, but admittedly he really needed a distraction, so perhaps there would be no harm in partaking in what the game had to offer.
William wondered if he'd ever grow accustomed to how it felt to be teleported around inside the game. His eyes took in the view outside the window, a beautiful autumn scenery unfitting for the current date in the real world. Only when the other player spoke did William realize he was, in fact, not alone; his eyes snapped from the window to the familiar-looking figure sitting across him. It was rather obvious he'd been startled as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Nero," he greeted with a smile once he'd collected himself, "it appears we meet again. How pleasant to see a familiar face."
|
|
|
Nero
•
Rival
Player Character
Posts: 153
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Jack Montague
OOC Username: Vay
Arena Points: 28
|
Post by Nero on Jan 15, 2024 3:21:35 GMT 9
"Are you like, following me? How are you even doing that?" Despite the pleasant greeting from the other player, Nero had immediately launched into accusations, though he was surprised to find they lacked heat. He'd expected his anger to blow up at having this lame-ass drag him down again, had been ready to jump to his feet and yell at him, to punch at the carriage seats, to intimidate this poor innocent other player at Christmastime, because that was how he seemed to react to most things these days. But while he could feel all the usual emotion churning in his chest, leaving him unsettled and uncomfortable within his own skin, there was no flame lit behind his voice. He sounded annoyed, sure, grumpy even, but not angry.
Weird.
Anyway, there was no point dwelling on missing emotion - it was probably a good thing that he was getting a hold of his anger. He knew his uncle had been talking about getting him a therapist, and he didn't particularly want 'anger management issues' added to the presumably long list of things they'd make him talk about there. Better to focus on the game then - that was what he was here for, wasn't it?
"I guess you're doing the stupid introduction quest too, huh?" It hadn't said anything about needing a partner for this one so this was probably coincidence rather than necessity. That meant that if Will got too much to handle, Nero could just bolt and carry on on his own without him. That was comforting. "All we have to do is get to that spot on the map. And we're in a carriage so that should be pretty quick too." Which was... suspicious, wasn't it? Surely you'd expect a quest to be a little more complex than that... "... So something's probably going to go wrong. Keep an eye out."
|
|
|
Will
•
Player Character
Posts: 95
Trainer Class:
Player Name: William Gray
OOC Username: Mothimistic
Arena Points: 8
|
Post by Will on Jan 18, 2024 19:51:37 GMT 9
William for his part seemed quite surprised by the accusation. Honestly, his mind couldn't even comprehend why anyone would try to follow around another player in an online game. It seemed like a pointless endeavour if he was honest about it, though from what he'd gathered from his earlier run-ins with the younger player, he knew to assume it was just something thrown at him for Nero to boost his own ego or to try and sound cool, or hip, or whatever the kids were using these days. He just sheepishly sighed and shook his head. "No such thing. Just wanted to play the game to pass the time," he said honestly, "I'm still quite bad at it if I'm being honest."
"It does seem to be a common occurrence in games to have obstacles amongst one's journey," William agreed as he once more turned his head to look at the passing scenery. He couldn't see anything suspicious yet, but he too was rather sure something would go 'wrong' sooner or later. Since there didn't seem to be any immediate issues needing attention, the older man turned his head back to the other player and smiled. "I suppose the holidays must be quite boring for you too, seeing that you'd rather play a game than do something else. I must admit such a real feeling game makes for a wonderful little dash of escapism even for an old man like me. As a kid, the best I could do is go outside and build snowmen or find a quiet nook to read in." |
|
|
Nero
•
Rival
Player Character
Posts: 153
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Jack Montague
OOC Username: Vay
Arena Points: 28
|
Post by Nero on Jan 20, 2024 19:50:54 GMT 9
Will admitting that he was still bad at the game had probably been an attempt to bond, a reminder that they were both beginners here together and that there was nothing nefarious about wanting to play again. But Nero heard it slightly differently. He heard the other player admitting to being a burden, to being someone who would hold him back and slow him down, someone he would have to carry even while he was still figuring things out for himself. It was frustrating to listen to, and like a child he kicked at the opposing seat with a pout on his lips, but he at least didn't seem to have any grander reaction bubbling up to follow it. Again, the annoyance was clear, but beyond that? His anger seemed to be simmering at most.
The coach ride had been rather ordinary so far, even as Nero took out a Pokeball and held it loosely in his hand, tapping his fingers restlessly over the surface of it. At least he'd be ready whenever something happened, even if Will seemed more interested in chatter.
Chatter on not the best topic for right now actually. "They're not boring, shut up," Nero snapped - a very odd thing to get defensive about. "There's loads of stuff going on." But that was exactly the problem - so much happening and yet Nero could barely join in. Or he could but it felt wrong, or he could but everyone kept looking at him with those 'sympathetic' eyes that made him want to gag. He'd feel better if it was boring and this was his only option for entertainment. But no, he'd resorted to this out of desperation because he felt so locked out of everything else.
His voice dropped to a mutter as he distracted himself by looking down at the 'ball in his hands, a constant stream of "Stupid old man talking about the 'olden days' when they hadn't invented electricity yet," and the like being mumbled to himself like some soothing mantra, putting down Will for the sake of building himself back up.
Will <3 | [Prompt]ShoU0smI1d100 1d100 |
|
|
Will
•
Player Character
Posts: 95
Trainer Class:
Player Name: William Gray
OOC Username: Mothimistic
Arena Points: 8
|
Post by Will on Jan 30, 2024 21:04:48 GMT 9
It didn't take a genius to realize that Nero wasn't happy about William's presence, or his ramblings. It admittedly made the man feel a little embarrassed; outside the game, it would have been seen as downright creepy had he tried to talk to a teenager like this. Was that why Nero was so defensive? Did he think William was a creep? His heart dropped at the thought and he stopped trying to make conversation even when the other player made some childish comments about his age.
The sudden noise caused by several bird Pokemon chirping in panic was enough to bring William slightly out of it. Leaning his head outside the window, he looked up into the trees. The leaves varying in colour from bright yellow to muted brown obscured most of what was happening, but somewhere higher up William could make out the outline of several different bird Pokemon diving down into the leaves; something larger than most of the flying types was making its way up the tree and no doubt towards the many nests hidden there. His mind defaulted to assuming it would be some sort of a feline, but it did also occur to him that there were several other types of animals, such as lizards and snakes, that would gladly make a meal out of an egg. It felt a little strange for things such as Pokemon feeding on each other to be coded into the game, but he supposed it really did add to the realism.
"I believe something is climbing up the tree, probably to get to the nests and the eggs," he said, turning his attention back to Nero, "do you want to stop the carriage and go take a look?" |
|
|
Nero
•
Rival
Player Character
Posts: 153
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Jack Montague
OOC Username: Vay
Arena Points: 28
|
Post by Nero on Feb 1, 2024 0:08:14 GMT 9
Though the noise had caught Nero's attention too, he hadn't been able to spot the exact cause of it. He'd seen the birds, some abandoning their perches and flying as far away from the vicinity as possible, while one or two others (the ones making the most noise) seemed to be diving directly towards the spot that the others were vacating. A little critical thinking might have helped him work out why even without being able to see it for himself, but Will explained the situation to him before he needed to do that anyway.
In most of the other games that he'd played, you had one main quest and then lots of little side ones that you could do at your own pace. They often brought rewards and experience that would help you complete the main one, and sometimes so much so that you needed to stop and grind a few of them if you wanted to progress. Despite knowing very little about how this all worked within UNOVR, this distraction felt to Nero like a side quest of sorts. They could stay in the carriage and ignore it, continue on to their goal undeterred, or they could stop and maybe profit from this additional activity that they'd been presented along the way...
Usually, laziness would have him sticking to the main quest, but this didn't seem like it would be too hard to deal with as a detour. "What, do we just have to fight it or something?" he asked, as though Will would somehow have more information about it than he did. "Sure, that's easy right. Just one wild Pokemon in an early route?" He had several other team members now after all, and Will had that grass one that could heal him if he needed it too. "Alright, sure, let's go kill some birds."
He might have slightly missed the point of what they were doing.
|
|
|
Will
•
Player Character
Posts: 95
Trainer Class:
Player Name: William Gray
OOC Username: Mothimistic
Arena Points: 8
|
Post by Will on Feb 1, 2024 3:34:22 GMT 9
William wondered how on earth they were supposed to spot the cart, but as soon as he reached for the door handle, the Pokemon pulling them along slowed down and then stopped. Ah, well that was convenient, he thought, pleased as he opened the door.
"We, uh, we're probably going to battle whatever is bothering the birds and not the birds themselves," he corrected sheepishly. Normally a misunderstanding such as that would have earned a little chuckle from him, but he could only assume the young man would take it the wrong way and take it as him making fun of him. He too remembered being young and feeling like adults always acted like they knew better. Usually, they did, of course, but knowing that came with age and it wasn't his place to try and teach the other player.
Once outside William let Sniby out of his pokeball; the grass starter was still the only Pokemon he had and he hadn't even had the heart to evolve it despite having done his best to upgrade the skill tree for healers. He hoped it would turn out to be helpful and that he and Nero would fare better this time around. He still remembered how anxious he'd felt when Sniby had been knocked out by the rival. A sudden, loud hiss and the sound of a snapping branch had William jumping slightly, startled by the suddenness of it. Not a moment later did a purple leopard fall to the ground, gracefully landing on its feet with another annoyed hiss directed at the birds above. |
|
|
Nero
•
Rival
Player Character
Posts: 153
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Jack Montague
OOC Username: Vay
Arena Points: 28
|
Post by Nero on Feb 11, 2024 20:09:38 GMT 9
"... Whatever, Boomer." Will had been spot on - Nero didn't like being corrected by the older man. But when he'd spoken and his words had made far more sense than what Nero had said, it had been obvious that he couldn't actually argue with him. He'd clearly misspoken, and even trying to claim that he already knew that wouldn't really help him to look much better here. In fact, there was next to nothing that he could say to recover from his obvious mistake, but silence felt wrong too, like an admission of defeat, like he was letting himself be talked down to by this man.
So a silly little minor insult and a dismissal had seemed like the best way to go.
It was Quilava that joined Nero as he jumped down from the carriage to the ground a little more animatedly than was probably necessary. He was still trying to get a complete handle on the moving mechanics of the game after what Laguna had taught him, so sue him for being a little over the top still. The fire type starter had been evolved almost immediately after his last interaction with Will, when an embarrassed Nero had desperately upgraded everything that he could to try and ensure he wouldn't lose the next battle he was a part of. The Quilava looked over at the Snivy as his trainer stepped forwards, looking a little smug about his own evolution - or was that just genuine pride, and the proximity to Nero was what made it seem a little haughty?
Whatever the case, he paced after Nero as the trainer peered towards the tree, only for them both to leap backwards as the Pokemon jumped down in front of them. "Oh! The call was in surprise at what exactly it was that was the problem here. A Liepard! He had an unevolved one of those already. And damn, they looked pretty awesome in this game didn't they? He'd have to evolve his very soon to get one of those sleek monsters in his arsenal.
Instinctively (and he'd kick off if anyone called him out on it), he looked towards Will for guidance, ready and itching to launch an attack but just the slightest bit unsure about whether that was the right thing to do here. They were all in position though, flames burning bright on Quilava's back. They just needed the word...
|
|
|
Will
•
Player Character
Posts: 95
Trainer Class:
Player Name: William Gray
OOC Username: Mothimistic
Arena Points: 8
|
Post by Will on Feb 21, 2024 4:44:44 GMT 9
Will sighed a little when Nero called him a boomer. Again. Were all teens like this he wondered; competitive and rather disrespectful of the older generation? He couldn't remember his daughter having been anything of the sort, she'd always been a quiet, hard-working kid who liked to immerse herself in her hobbies no matter what. Though he supposed some amount of teens would always be more on the rebellious side; from what he'd seen in his own childhood it really did tend to be the boys more than the girls that went through said stage so clearly it was almost impossible to miss. Regardless, Will decided to not take it to heart.
"I've stuck to the supporting role for Sniby, but I'll do my best to be more useful this time," William promised sheepishly as he returned his attention to the strangely coloured leopard. Since Nero seemed to be waiting for him to take the initiative this time, he quickly flipped through the UI to locate his Pokemons moves before deciding what to do. Luckily the other Pokemon seemed to be mostly ignoring them for now; clearly more focused on climbing back up to bother the bird Pokemon once more.
"Sniby, use leaf blade," he said, rather politely. With a small, affectionate push against Williams's leg, the little lizard waddled forward before suddenly picking up speed and rushing at the much larger Pokemon. Jumping into the air, William watched it use the three leaves of its tail as blades to strike at the unassuming liepoard.
The liepard fell from the tree once more upon the snivys attack making contact. Landing gracefully on its feet, the feline turned towards the players and let out a low growl. In an instant, it had once more closed the distance between itself and snivy, its sharp, pointed claws making contact as it scratched the smaller creature with such force Snivy flew backwards and stumbled on the ground before its trainer. William immediately felt like perhaps fighting the feline had been a bad idea. |
|
|
Nero
•
Rival
Player Character
Posts: 153
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Jack Montague
OOC Username: Vay
Arena Points: 28
|
Post by Nero on Mar 30, 2024 1:41:33 GMT 9
Despite the fact Nero had been very clearly waiting for Will to make the first move, he seemed annoyed when the other man actually took the first attack. His expression shifted into something of a grumpy pout as he watched the Snivy get in the first hit. It was fine, it wasn't even a real attack anyway, it was just knocking the cat back down to the ground. Nero and Quill would be the ones doing the real damage. In fact, Snivy seemed to be acting a bait now, drawing the Liepard towards it and encouraging it to walk past where the Quilava stood waiting. Perfect.
"Flame wheel, let's show it some speed," Nero said to his partner as the Quilava's flames revved up into a full circle around it. The fire type raced forwards, diving into a roll as it approached the Liepard at quite some pace, crashing into its side and then flying over it as it stumbled to land confidently a little way away. He looked very proud of himself as he glanced back towards Nero for praise, getting a nod from his trainer that seemed to be more than enough for him. "Why don't you leave the actual fight to us, old man?" Nero teased, as though that little display was all Will needed to see to understand why. "You two can protect the nest itself, make sure it doesn't get too close, yeah?" Not that Nero was going to let it get far enough away from them anyway, but at least Will would feel like he was doing something.
And yeah, healing would be good too as the Liepard got ready to launch another scratch attack in Quill's direction now, but not any time soon. With all the upgrades, the Quilava had a decent chance of being able to win this battle without any help - and Nero was desperate to prove that to the person who had seen him fail the last time they'd battled.
|
|
|
Will
•
Player Character
Posts: 95
Trainer Class:
Player Name: William Gray
OOC Username: Mothimistic
Arena Points: 8
|
Post by Will on Apr 7, 2024 23:55:01 GMT 9
Perhaps Nero had said it in jest, or to show off, but William was, in fact, more than happy to leave the rest of the battle to the younger man. It was clear that the other player had taken the game a lot more seriously too; after all the small fire Pokemon he'd seen Nero use last time had seemingly taken on a new form.
"Very well Nero ," he said. He motioned towards the tree and moments later he watched Sniby use vine whip to pull itself up into the lower branches where it could safely keep an eye on the battle without risking getting burned by the other trainer's Pokemon. It seemed unsure of what to do when the liepard retaliated and attacked the quilava; Will wasn't sure if healing it without asking first was smart either. And yet part of him felt that if he offered, Nero might just turn him down out of some inherent need to show off how far he'd come in the game. It was actually almost sweet; it reminded him of how his daughter had used to run up to him to show the progress she'd made in one of her games or a drawing that had turned out particularly well. He smiled slightly.
"Your Pokemon has changed. It's called evolution, right? You sure have improved a lot since we saw, I still haven't felt comfortable changing my own Pokemon you see." |
|
|
Nero
•
Rival
Player Character
Posts: 153
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Jack Montague
OOC Username: Vay
Arena Points: 28
|
Post by Nero on Apr 10, 2024 16:59:24 GMT 9
There was an autobattle setting in the menu (that Nero had flicked on and off several times out of curiosity) that allowed a player's Pokemon to decide its own moves once it was in a battle. The trainer could override it at any point by giving their own command, but it meant that if the player was distracted or just giving a battle part of their attention, it would still progress even without their input. Apparently it was an early game feature, or at least, it turned itself off for boss battle, but it had been useful while training so far.
Apparently, Nero hadn't switched it back off again though, because Quill was soon launching into another Flame Wheel attack without Nero needing to give any such order. That was fine, it was what he would have asked for anyway, and it gave him a chance to look back towards Will and scoff at his question... and the compliment that had followed it. "Yeah but it doesn't do anything in this game," he replied, turning his attention back towards the battle as the Liepard hissed a Growl at his companion. "Just changes their shape, doesn't make them stronger or anything. That's a separate menu here." He was explaining it as though Will had experience with the older games, which he really doubted he did. The man hadn't shown much knowledge of anything yet after all, and if he didn't even know for sure what evolution was, he couldn't possibly have poured any time into the previous installments either.
Which in fact led Nero to a question that had been on his mind for a while now. "Why are you even playing this?" he asked after confirming another attack with Quill. It wasn't an accusatory question - or wasn't supposed to be anyway but most things sounded that way in his tone. It was one asked out of genuine interest, since he'd met a few people who'd seemed older than what he'd expected this game's target audience to be. There was no harm in it, but he had found himself wondering what it actually was that was attracting them to this game, and this had seemed like as good a time to ask as any.
|
|
|
Will
•
Player Character
Posts: 95
Trainer Class:
Player Name: William Gray
OOC Username: Mothimistic
Arena Points: 8
|
Post by Will on Apr 14, 2024 6:42:11 GMT 9
William watched the battle continue, quite impressed at how casual Nero 's reaction to the whole thing was. He supposed it made sense, the boy must have had a much better grasp on the fact that it was just a game and the collections of pixels and 3D animals weren't real things that could comprehend and feel pain to the extent a real dog or a cat could. Perhaps William was just a softie.
"I think I saw that. I've looked around the menus before, though they're a bit much sometimes," he admitted with a light chuckle. His gaze drifted upwards into the three where Sniby sat on the branch, ready to assist if necessary. He wondered what shape the small grass type would take upon evolution. In his thoughts, he'd almost, almost missed Nero's question. He almost wished he had as he instinctively shifted his weight around in a nervous manner. It was in no way appropriate to tell a young man that the reason he played the game was to remember his deceased daughter, but William also disliked the act of lying greatly.
"My daughter used to play this game all the time. She stopped a while ago and I suppose I just got curious of why it held her interest. It makes me feel closer to her even though she no longer plays," he explained. It felt like a good middle ground between the truth and keeping the fact that she no longer with them. "Why did you pick it up? Have you been a fan of the franchise for long?" |
|
|
Nero
•
Rival
Player Character
Posts: 153
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Jack Montague
OOC Username: Vay
Arena Points: 28
|
Post by Nero on Apr 16, 2024 4:09:27 GMT 9
Nero snorted in amusement at the fact that Will found the menus to be 'too much'. It was a completely valid complaint, and Nero couldn't honestly say that he knew what all of the menus and buttons and mechanics did himself, but he would never admit that out loud. That would make him look stupid. No, instead he would just click them all randomly and hope for the best, and claim he'd done it all intentionally in the end. That was far better for his image than asking for help or admitting ignorance like Will had just done - but then Will's image had been impossible to save the moment he'd decided to play as an old man.
The battle raged on, Nero tapping buttons and giving orders to Quill as the fire type danced with the Liepard, weakening it gradually with each hit and keeping it well away from the tree and the nest that it had been targeting. That left the floor open for Will to answer his question uninterrupted, Nero too focused on the battle to make snide comments or to interrupt him at all, but paying just enough attention still to to take in his response.
His daughter played, huh? That made sense. Why else would he have had the console and the game just lying around? He didn't seem like a gamer, didn't seem interested in Pokemon or VR specifically, but then why wasn't his daughter playing it now? Had he actually stopped her playing, was this an overprotective dad trying to spy on the game to see if it was dangerous or a bad influence? ... No... no it didn't seem like that. Nero's mouth opened to question Will further, but just at that moment, the warning 'low health' sound started blaring in his ear and he turned toward his Quilava to see him stumbling a little. "Little help here?" he said instead then, glancing across to see that the Liepard seemed tired out too at least. It wasn't going to launch another attack before Snivy could do its healing - hopefully anyway.
As for why Nero had picked this up... obviously he wasn't going to answer that. Will couldn't know that would be his reaction of course, though thankfully he;d provided a secondary question so Nero could answer that without drawing attention to the one that he was dodging. "Played the old ones," he responded with a shrug. "Borrowed them off a friend, the DS ones. They were pretty fun back then but this is really different." Nostalgia was strong, but even so, this game was winning out overall.
|
|
|
