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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2023 23:07:33 GMT 9
Work was not kind to Killian today, summarized as something along the lines of getting chewed out along with his teammates for a supposedly shoddy performance on a project. He logged into UNOVR to blow off some steam, but those tutorial pop-ups were starting to be real irksome today, so he decided that he might as well try to make some more head way today. Spotting what looked like a large area clump of tall grass, he walked into it to trigger the quest. Sure enough, the notification popped up immediately, along with Mom, who he swore was at the house. How did she appear here so quickly? Why did her eyes look so dead??
❝Welcome to the catching tutorial!❞
Where was Big Brother Lordship when he needed him? But he decided to be a good boy and listen, even if his arms were crossed and his face a little bit more of a scowl this time. For some reason though, the catching tutorial went on and on, even taking a while to load a sample Pokemon into the fray for Mom to catch (really, why was it Mom and not Professor Ash?)
[tangent=Oh come on...]❝Ano ba yan...❞[/tangent] he muttered, ❝Can we hurry this along?❞
But he was happily ignored, and the Pokemon even took their time to attack each other! He let out an exasperated noise, forgetting that the server he was in was in full English. If Killian got too engrossed at work or had to talk with his coworkers more often than usual, sometimes he would forget to switch out of Taglish mode (though really, it was just a tiny sprinkling of filler words; his vocabulary was comparable to a toddler's).
Eventually, the catching tutorial ended, and Mom was being all gleeful about him trying it. Oh, but where's your friend, did they wander off? Killian furrowed his brows at this. There was supposed to be someone else? But he wasn't with anyone when he stepped in the grass? TUTORIAL SPAWN ATTACHED |
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Saint
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Weekend Warrior
Round 2
Posts: 386
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Angelo Alvarez
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 10
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Post by Saint on Jun 6, 2023 18:14:43 GMT 9
Another day in UNOVR. Saint yawns, rubbing his eyes. He honestly should still be asleep by now, but cramming and dreading over work had kept his mind from relaxing. He’ll need to transfer soon, maybe. The bookstore just didn’t pay enough, but openings that didn’t damage his school schedule were thin. But if he didn’t find a better one soon, he’d have to take a chunk out of the monthly he sent back to his parents, or he’d have to ask Argent to cover his half of the bills, or—shit, how much food could he cut back? He really shouldn’t have paid those inflated prices for this game.
He shakes his head. He can stress over all that later. Right now, he’s wandering the tutorial area with his popplio cradled in his arms. Right now, he’s not Angelo, but Saint, and in the corner of his UI lists a few quests that require attention.
He can see someone out in a patch of tall grass, the impatience clear in their face. Maybe they were doing a tutorial? The catching tutorial, by the looks of it. Saint’s mouth curls as he debates on jumping in; weren’t these supposed to be done in pairs at least?
But he didn’t want to intrude. He pivots, deciding to try asking someone who didn’t seem busy, only for his ear to pick up a faint string of words that might as well have been the sounds of heaven’s call.
[tangent=YOU!]“IKAW!”[/tangent] The word explodes out of him, as if having built up in his throat. With quick steps, he enters the tall grass, Gumball hugged tight to his chest.
Mom delights, hands clapping together. “Oh, wonderful! Now we can continue with our little demonstration. Let’s move on to the basics: The application of Quantum Poke-Molecular Theory!”
But Saint doesn’t hear her, skidding to a stop in front of the other player—@killian, by the name that hovers over the stranger’s head. His cone-like collar obscures his mouth, but his delight is clear from the shine in his eyes. [tangent=You can speak Tagalog? Are you Filipino?]“Nagsasalita ka ng Tagalog? Pinoy ka ba?”[/tangent] He can barely contain his excitement. It feels like ages since he’s been able to speak with someone other than his family in anything other than English.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2023 22:56:14 GMT 9
The voice had been so loud that Killian let out a yelp in surprise. Mom, on the other hand, didn't look fazed in the slightest. The young man spun around to see who had shouted, only for the NPC to acknowledge the newcomer first. Quantum Poke-what now? he would think, picking up the character's words in the periphery, but he was also no longer paying attention to Mom who was happily in her own world. Instead, there was another player here (Saint was what the display name said) who looked like he really, really wanted to talk to him.
Somehow it didn't quite sink in that he was speaking in Tagalog at first. It was only when he asked and heard the titular [tangent=Are you Filipino?]Pinoy ka ba?[/tangent] that he let out an ❝oh...oh?!❞ ❝Oh, yeah! I am, yes. Sorry, I just...American server and all.❞ he didn't need to return the question; the accent was fluent, Killian guessed that if he was living in the US, he must've migrated there at some point. He couldn't help but be nervous though--Tagalog was never a language he had properly picked up, and there was a reason why he almost fainted in high school from speaking in front of a crowd in Filipino, and not to mention that he was unceremoniously (but unsurprisingly) shuffled into the basic Filipino class back in university.
In other words, his Tagalog was shit. Riddled with holes and atrocious grammar, to boot. [tangent=You heard that?]❝Narinig mo pala 'yan?[/tangent] Didn't think anyone would notice.❞ he imagined the situation similar to him being in a foreign airport, and then suddenly in a sea of different languages he would hear Tagalog amongst them. ❝You'll have to forgive me though, I'm better at understanding than speaking, if you get what I mean.❞ it was second nature to declare his shittiness so that it absolved him of the pressure of needing to keep up. The disparity had led to some embarrassing moments in the past, though, like his coworkers explaining something he easily got, he couldn't just reply back to it as smoothly.
❝So! Are you excited to try catching your very first Pokemon?❞
Oh right, Mom. He glanced at her quickly, ❝Uh yeah, sure! Does a spawn just appear in front of us or something?❞
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Saint
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Weekend Warrior
Round 2
Posts: 386
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Angelo Alvarez
OOC Username: Sleepy
Arena Points: 10
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Post by Saint on Jun 15, 2023 20:23:31 GMT 9
It seems to take @killian a minute to register what he’s said, and for those heart-stopping few seconds, Saint internally dreads the thought he’d misheard somehow.
He breathes a sigh of relief as it turns out his guess was right. “No, no, I shouldn’t have jumped at you like that. I just got excited since I didn’t expect to find anyone like me here.“
Killian continues to talk, and though he apologizes for his fluency, the little eye creases that indicate Saint’s smile remain, and he shakes his head. “It’s okay, don’t apologize.” He chuckles quietly. [tangent=A lot of people do code-switching, myself included these days. I've been living abroad for years now.]“Marami naman talagang nagco-conyo— kasama na ako. Ilang taon na kasi akong nakatira abroad.”[/tangent] He’s taken on rust too, but he’s been trying to practice on his own.
For when he returns home.
He blinks. “Wait, are you local? Or did your folks teach you?”
But the discussion is briefly derailed by MOM calling for their attention. Killian answers for them both, and MOM is quick to pounce.
“Spawn? Oh, you kids and your slang,” MOM giggles, waving her hand. “No, dear, all you need to find a pokemon is patience.” She folds her hands in front of her apron. “And the ability to predict a creature’s intended path by triangulating key points in its territory, but that’s a day one lesson, so I’ve already taken care of it for you!”
The grass in front of them shakes violently, before a pokemon comes bursting out to greet them. The patrat chitters at him. Angelo blinks, and then smiles. “That’s good. I’m glad the encounter’s easy—”
@killian SIGNED OUT!
He blinks, and just like that, his tutorial companion is gone.
MOM didn’t appear fazed by this. The AI quickly adapts, her gentle smile permanent as she waves at him as if calling attention from a beloved but absentminded son. “Saint? Focus, dear. You can’t calculate the angle for throwing a pokeball if you don’t look at what you’re capturing!”
“I—” Saint looks around. “But Killian’s—”
“Who?” Mom asks, but Saint isn’t paying attention. He shifts his feet uncomfortably where he stands, the peace of the area now turned into a disheartening silence. Mom attempts to cajole him, but it doesn’t work.
Saint stands there and waits. He waits for five minutes. Then ten. Fifteen.
And all the while, Mom stands patiently, smiling with all the love in her heart. “It’s okay, dear. Take your time.” And the patrat, too, joins in waiting, becoming distracted by a stray berry and remaining there.
It is at this point that Saint realizes he isn’t coming back. It is a cold feeling: less like realization, and more like acceptance.
His cheeks burn, face sinking into his collar as he wonders if it had been because of him— because he’d been too aggressive, too loud, too annoying. He shouldn’t have been so insistent on talking in Filipino. He shouldn’t have butted into someone else’s quest.
(It could have been any number of things, really. More rational things, but that's not what he can think of right now.)
“Are you ready now?” Mom asks, as she has been doing as she cycles through her idle dialogue. This time, Saint nods. “Send out a pokemon, lower its health, and throw a pokeball. I believe in you, dear.”
He sends out Gumball, who makes quick work of the patrat. The popplio grins, turning around, only for his smile to falter as he sees the look on his trainer’s face.
1… 2… 3… Click!
Polite claps fill the air as Mom rejoices. “You did it! Now that wasn’t so bad, was it? All that studying had paid off!” She walks over to him, taking out something shiny from her apron pockets. “Here’s a nice little gift. It’s quite pretty, isn’t it? Maybe the pokemon you capture will appreciate it!”
The golden pokeball is pressed into his hands, and on the shiny metal, Saint sees his reflection.
“Thank you,” he says, quietly, as Gumball moves to press against his leg. |
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