Taylor
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Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 5, 2023 5:07:18 GMT 9
It struck Taylor as seriously cute that the tutorial missions were all themed around the typical tasks that started off the older mainline games. It felt meta to see such self-aware references and she couldn’t help but giggle as she read through the description for the second of the four tutorials. Grinning, she hit launch.
After a few moments of loading, the environment loaded in. It looked to be the same location as was used for the starter lab – yep, there was the field tent! This time there was no Professor Ash in sight though. Rather, there was a different NPC standing just outside the entrance of the structure. Presumably some sort of aide to the Professor and the character to approach for the tutorial mission.
Once again though, the tutorial description had been quite clear that two players were required for this task. So once more, Taylor settled in to wait. Hopefully she’d be lucky and someone else would show up soon, looking to work through the mission! |
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Morpheus
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Heart and Sol
Player Character
Posts: 193
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Shiro Kuroda
OOC Username: Spinner
Arena Points: 30
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Post by Morpheus on Apr 18, 2023 3:12:27 GMT 9
Of all quests he played in many games so far, delivery quests were Morpheus's least favorite type of quest he could deal with. Either way, this was his second tutorial quest and he might as well do it if he wanted to get used to the movement controls for this game. Or rather, getting used to his adult avatar body. Not to mention this quest required two players to finish it, so probably another way to meet another whether he wanted to or not.
Once he got the package he was supposed to deliver for this quest, all that was left was to follow the directions his minimap provided so he could start it along with his randomized partner. Eventually, he found a woman waiting in front of the field tent where Professor Ash was supposed to be. According to his UI, his partner is someone named Taylor, so he couldn't tell what gender they were. But just in case...
"Hello. Are you Taylor?" |
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Taylor
•
Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
|
Post by Taylor on Apr 24, 2023 0:08:05 GMT 9
It took longer than she was used to for someone to turn up – it seemed she was playing at a busy time of day. Long enough at least that Taylor found herself in a light doze, face tipped up to the sky as she enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her face. So it was that her name being called out in a stranger’s voice made her jump and she straightened, blinking around until she found the speaker.
“Hi!” She grinned, confused momentarily as to how he knew her name, before the nametag floating over his head made her mentally facepalm. Of course. Most people she’d met so far had the setting disabled so relied on introductions rather than nametags. “Yeah! Nice to meetcha, Morpheus. You here for the parcel delivery tutorial?” |
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Morpheus
•
Heart and Sol
Player Character
Posts: 193
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiro Kuroda
OOC Username: Spinner
Arena Points: 30
|
Post by Morpheus on Apr 24, 2023 1:52:32 GMT 9
While this was Morpheus's first VRMMO, this wasn't the first online game he ever played. Although the ones he played were first-person shooters, so he had to keep the nametags on since he was so used to them whenever he has some random players joining his team for a session. Sure, it might be rude, but he wanted to cut to the chase so they could finish the tutorial.
"Yes. This is actually my first day here and I'm hoping I complete all of them before I can go out into the world. Are you new, too, Taylor?" Morpheus looked at the tag pasted on the package. "Says here we're supposed to deliver this to someone in a town called Briarbane Settlement. Huh... Wonder where it is?"
He then looked at the path ahead. It seemed like it should be a straight path ahead, yet he couldn't help but wonder what lies ahead for this tutorial. |
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Taylor
•
Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 25, 2023 21:05:47 GMT 9
“Good idea!” She grinned. “Yeah, pretty new, but I got impatient and went off to do a few things here and there before getting them all completed.” The intention to do the tutorials first had been there, but not necessarily the follow-through! “This is the last one I had pending though!” It would feel good to not be seeing those popups anymore, once this was sorted!
As Morpheus pulled out the package and had a look at the tag, she grinned. “Oh! You already picked it up – nice!” She really must have been zoned out! She did find that the sun tended to do that to her. Maybe she should have been given a grass-type as a starter instead, but she couldn’t bring herself to regret being matched with Mumble!
“Oh, Briarbane’s this way!” She grinned, gesturing and turning to start down the path. “We might as well make a start heading there, huh?” Provided the other player fell into step beside her, she began walking. “I wonder what the obstacles will be," she mused, absently. "There’s supposed to be three, and I think the description said they’d be fairly simple.” |
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Morpheus
•
Heart and Sol
Player Character
Posts: 193
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiro Kuroda
OOC Username: Spinner
Arena Points: 30
|
Post by Morpheus on Apr 26, 2023 5:18:48 GMT 9
Huh... Morpheus didn't know that. Yet he was a completionist at heart, so he wanted to finish the tutorials before he truly start the game. "Well, let's not beat around the bush and complete this by sundown."
And with that, Morpheus started walking as soon as Taylor did the same first. As if it answered her question, both players found themselves faced with a fallen tree blocking the path. It was not too big for them to jump over, but looking at how wide the log was along with the rocks and bushes at each end, there was no way around it.
"I'm guessing this is one of the three obstacles they mentioned," Morpheus guessed. "This must be how we're going to learn how to jump. Let me try it first."
Morpheus approached the log. Since this was VR and he was using all of his senses to control his character, he guessed that he simply has to jump over it to move forward. He wasn't much of an athlete, but he hopped in one bound without dropping the package. Again, it wasn't too big. But he was relieved that he managed to complete the first obstacle without any issues.
"Alright. It's your turn, Taylor," Morpheus called out. |
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Taylor
•
Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on Apr 26, 2023 22:25:20 GMT 9
“Well, that was fast,” Taylor laughed as they swiftly drew up to a fallen tree. “I guess that answers my question, aye!” She nodded in acceptance as Morpheus suggested that he go first, stepping back and crossing her arms to watch. She could only imagine jumping in deep dive VR must look pretty funny, and she was looking forward to seeing this!
She grinned as he glanced back at her from the other side, announcing that it was her turn. Taking a moment, she considered the obstacle. Sure, she could just hop or scramble over it sensibly, but where would be the fun in that?
Pacing a few steps backwards, she crouched slightly with a gleeful grin, before sprinting towards the fallen tree. Both hands gripped the long staff her avatar was forever equipped with, and upon reaching the obstacle she planted one end of it into the ground. Pushing off, she aimed to use it like a pole vaulter, launching her body into the air and hopefully landing in one piece on the other side!
Now, whether it would work or not was another thing!
Completely unnecessary rolling because it makes me laugh to give Taylor the chance to wipe out and land on her face~
1 - Wipes the heck out, lands on her face, breaks her nose or some shit.
2-5 - Failure...
6-9 - Success!
10 - Flawless execution.
7evKt7Pj1-10
1-10 |
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Morpheus
•
Heart and Sol
Player Character
Posts: 193
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiro Kuroda
OOC Username: Spinner
Arena Points: 30
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Post by Morpheus on Apr 30, 2023 13:27:50 GMT 9
Looking at Taylor, Morpheus was expecting her to be a tomboyish athlete of sorts as he watched her about to jump up the log. He was expecting her to be better than him. But his first impression ended the moment she made the jump. Namely, she suddenly tripped onto the log and landed on the ground face-first. Morpheus briefly winced when he saw this. But luckily for Taylor, it wasn't the worse fall she had. All she has was a crick in the neck thanks to her Pain Threshold. So much for his tomboy athlete impression.
He quickly rushed to her side and offer his hand to her. "Are you okay? That looked like a nasty fall."
If Taylor looked above her, she may see Morpheus seemingly shining in front of the sun with his black hair waving in the wind, his eyes shining, and his smile...
Yeah, he might have enhanced his character's look a bit too much... Though, it's up to Taylor if she was charmed or not... |
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Taylor
•
Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
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Post by Taylor on May 4, 2023 5:19:59 GMT 9
Taylor was already giggling at her own failure when Morpheus rushed over. She rolled over onto her back to avoid inhaling dirt, and so promptly found herself looking up at the other trainer as he offered out a hand.
Perhaps if her situation outside of the game had not been what it was, she might have noticed the charming, good looks of this avatar and considered flirting a little. As it was though, all she saw was a man looming over her. The scene blurred, flashbacks from recent memory overlaying the truth of what her eyes were actually seeing, and making it difficult to discern trauma from reality.
The outstretched hand flcikered into a closed fist.
The smile melted into an angry grimace.
The dark hair faded to a lighter brown and the eyes lightened to an icy blue.
She cringed, hands shoving at the ground to scramble backwards away from the man. Her head ducked and one arm lifted as though to shield the face from an oncoming blow. Fortunately, that break in eye contact shattered the illusion, and she realised abruptly what had happened. Instantly her cheeks flamed and her breath sped. Shit. She pushed back up to her feet.
“Oh! Y-yeah, I’m fine!” She finally replied, grateful beyond belief that she’d managed to recall what the other trainer had asked. She grinned, recovering a good amount of the bravado she’d appeared to have previously, though her eyes made a valiant effort to land anywhere except on Morpeus’s own. “Psh, w-what, you’ve never seen a summersaulting faceplant before? That was textbook, and it went perfectly according to plan!” Her breathing steadied as she fell into the jest, slipping that extroverted, happy-go-lucky mask back on. It was paperthin at the moment, but the shift was a practiced one.
Shaking out her limbs to make sure nothing was injured, she nodded to the path ahead. “Come on, I think I see the next obstacle!” A complete lie, but if Morpheus played along and fell into step beside her, he’d find they’d soon encounter a large boulder blocking the path. Perhaps they needed to push this to clear it out of the way? |
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Morpheus
•
Heart and Sol
Player Character
Posts: 193
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiro Kuroda
OOC Username: Spinner
Arena Points: 30
|
Post by Morpheus on May 9, 2023 15:24:45 GMT 9
Morpheus was quickly taken aback at Taylor's sudden, yet brief hostility. He was worried that he might have charmed her by accident. But he didn't expect her to be startled in horror instead. The realization was enough for him to back away a few feet to give her space to calm down. Despite the assurance that she was okay, he wasn't falling for her smile that easily. But he has no right to pry into her real-life privacy, so he shrugged it off and said, "Alright? I don't know if we trainers get injured or not, but please be careful next time, okay?"
Despite falling for Taylor's lie, it wasn't long until they encounter a boulder blocking the path, the second obstacle for their tutorial.
"Yeah. Even if this is a game, I have a D in PE recently," Morpheus admitted. "Can you help me push it away?"
Morpheus walked to the boulder and prepared himself to push it once Taylor was willing to join him. |
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Taylor
•
Lone Wolf
Mythstar
Posts: 491
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Taylor Finch
OOC Username: Lea
Arena Points: 72
|
Post by Taylor on May 16, 2023 20:41:26 GMT 9
To say that she was relieved that Morpheus didn’t confront her on the clear trauma response would be underselling things. “Yep!” She replied sunnily, forcing the brightness into her tone that normally came so naturally in this space. “I’m fine! Just need to work on my acrobatics, I think!” The words came out with an awkward laugh, but were followed by a genuine sigh of relief when they moved on easily enough.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! The thought circled in her head as she moved along the path. That could have been bad. I need to do better! It clearly wasn’t the fall she was referring to; she couldn’t care less about that; why couldn’t she just seem normal?
Eventually, they reached the boulder, and Taylor started to laugh at the words, before blanching upon realising they might not be a joke. “PE?” She asked, eyes a little wide as she approached and positioned herself beside Morpheus, ready to help push the boulder. “God, how old are you? You’re still in school? You’re making me feel ancient over here, kid!” If she’d thought about it, she would have realised that there were plenty of kids running around UNOVR, but Morpheus’ avatar was a grown-ass man! With a heave, she shoved at the boulder. |
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Morpheus
•
Heart and Sol
Player Character
Posts: 193
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Shiro Kuroda
OOC Username: Spinner
Arena Points: 30
|
Post by Morpheus on May 17, 2023 2:27:40 GMT 9
Morpheus sheepishly chuckled. He should have kept his mouth shut about it. On the other hand, he didn't want to make any misunderstandings due to his avatar. So you could say it was inevitable for him to partially reveal his age before it was too late.
"I can't say much except I'm one year away till I graduate from high school," Morpheus explained. "I'm sorry about that initial impression. But I have a good reason why I had to go with this avatar. Namely how generic I look in real life."
Before he could finish, he started to push the boulder with Taylor's help. Alone, he would have some difficulties pushing it with his current strength. But thanks to some help, they were to push it with a bit of difficulty. It took a few seconds for him to catch his breath. Yeah, he wasn't kidding about his D on his PE.
"That's two obstacles down. Shall we move on?"
The last obstacle wasn't much eventful for him and Taylor.
The last one was a bunch of Stunfisk sleeping on the road. With their bodies resembling spring traps, this required them to go around by tiptoeing through the path. Morpheus wasn't much of a nimble-type player, so he had trouble retaining his balance to make sure he wouldn't fall into one of the Stunfisk. Thankfully, one of his positive traits was his patience, so he took the time to calm his mind before getting through the swarm with little difficulty.
Eventually, they arrived at their destination with the package still in hand. Despite the issues on the road, Morpheus and his party mate finished the tutorial as he handed the package to Professor Ash.
"Thank you for the package, trainers. I hope your travels weren't as difficult as you expected."
You have completed the second tutorial.
Mission accomplished, he thought. With that done, he knew the controls for this game. He thanked his partner for their help before heading off to do other stuff for the rest of the game. |
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