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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Mar 24, 2020 11:53:59 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","kcontain"]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","team2"] IGN: LYKOS / ABILITY: LONG REACH / TYPE: GHOST

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","orion"]

Just as in real life, the beach was a nice place to take a breather. There was an added absence of wingull shit and screaming children in the virtual reality version, though the game's ambient soundtrack did a great job of reproducing the steady crash of waves upon the sand.[break][break]

When the few friends he'd made in-game had all gone offline or partied up for dungeon runs, the ranger set up a campfire on the beach to recharge after a day of grinding.[break][break]

He looks up when he hears someone else, grimacing when he recognizes the figure. Great. Thankfully, this isn't Avia, and Orion's not in the middle of an important quest in a PK-zone.[break][break]

"No free kill today, sorry."[break][break]

Though his tone is dry, it's edged with a hint of humour; he's not horribly upset about the death. It's just a game, after all. Some people took things way too seriously.

[break][break]

[attr="class,"divide"]

[break]

[attr="class","notes"]notes: ...

[attr="class","tag"]kyle lopez

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[newclass=.kheader]width:350px;height:160px;overflow-x:hidden;overflow-y:hidden;border-bottom:solid 1px #1a1a1a;overflow:hidden;text-align:left;[/newclass]
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[newclass=.faction b]font-weight:bold;color:#4d72a0;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rocket b]font-weight:bold;color:#716075;[/newclass]
[newclass=.orion b]font-weight:bold;color:#84a35f;[/newclass]
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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2020 1:54:50 GMT

while kyle notices a recent victim from afar, it wasn't him that reacts to the encounter first.

he pulls the string of his bow and fires an arrow to orion's direction. "kapow!" it flies all the way to him, but the projectile bounces off with a disappointing thud as soon as it collides with an invisible field.

"oh well."

kyle walks over by his fire, standing just enough to get in range of the heat to take advantage of the passive bonfires give.

"you don't sound upset. did you not lose anything back then?"

not that kyle had any clue. it was fernando that handles their guild's logistics job and takes the loot for every run they go for. it also meant that he gets the dibs on most ranger gears, orion's included.

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thorn

orion

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august 9th

lilycove

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ranger

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2020 7:48:49 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","kcontain"]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","team2"] IGN: LYKOS / ABILITY: LONG REACH / TYPE: GHOST

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","orion"]

Orion blinks at the projectile as it bounces off the invisible protective field, amused.[break][break]

Apparently this guy expected him to be upset, which... all right, fair enough, it had been an annoying situation and he'd been irked at the time, but weren't video games about having fun? It wouldn't be much fun if he held grudges.[break][break]

"No, I did," he shrugs. "EXP, metal coats, the egg mission. But we just went back later and finished it when less people were around."
[break][break]
As for the EXP and loot, well, Orion didn't care too much about that. Sure, it was annoying to have to grind back up to where he'd been before, but it's not like it was the end of the world.[break][break]

Something about this guy's voice sounds familiar, but he's unable to place it yet. He's met a lot of people, it's not surprising.
[break][break]
"Anyway, I don't hold a grudge. No point."

[break][break]

[attr="class,"divide"]

[break]

[attr="class","notes"]notes: ...

[attr="class","tag"]kyle lopez

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2020 10:35:48 GMT

"oh. good." kyle sighs of relief upon hearing orion. "most of the blame should be shouldered by my friend after all."

he finally sits down by the fire, trying to recuperate from a day's worth of grinding, not unlike orion. he'd take a break in real life, but that does not regenerate his health in the game.

kyle turns his head as he finally takes the time to look at the other's avatar better. white hair and the eyepatch point to a child trying to look edgy, but his personality says otherwise. he wonders if he's really like that if he's with people he's comfortable with.

"so, what'cha up to..." kyle squints as he tries to read the name on top of his avatar. "ly... kos. are you really orion? or a family member? fan?"

he didn't catch his name during their first encounter. he supposed it matters more importantly than he would have thought.

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thorn

orion

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lilycove

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ranger

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2020 10:47:09 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","kcontain"]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","team2"] IGN: LYKOS / ABILITY: LONG REACH / TYPE: GHOST

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","orion"]

Orion's laughter is sharp with surprise over the mic.[break][break]

"Like I have fans! That'll be the day." Hell, he barely even had friends thanks to his tendency to socially isolate. His friends list had been slowly blossoming along with his confidence, but fans? He shakes his head, but he's smiling. "Naw, it's really me. Got dragged into this by a friend."[break][break]

'Dragged into' might imply he's reluctant or not enjoying himself, but his level and the fact that he was still playing without said friend and after having been murdered by this guy and his friend, well, that spoke for itself.[break][break]

"You sound familiar. Pretty sure we've met, but your username isn't exactly telling." He chuckles. "Interesting choice."

[break][break]

[attr="class,"divide"]

[break]

[attr="class","notes"]notes: ...

[attr="class","tag"]kyle lopez

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2020 11:03:31 GMT

he contemplates on telling fernando that they ganked his colleague before, but he knows he's only going to relish in that fact and not feel any shred of remorse for him.

the temptation is there though, if only to get a reaction from him.

"that's a mood, except, well, i'm the friend this time."

usually, it's the other way around.

this was one of the things he was passionate about, and it was only natural for him to rope in some of his friends to celebrate a momentous occasion of the vrmmorpg release with them by forcing them to play the game with him.

"i sound like a lot of people. are you sure you're not mistaken? council peeps meet a lot of people, right?"

kyle tries his best to fend off the suspicion.

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thorn

orion

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thirty

august 9th

lilycove

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2020 11:10:39 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","kcontain"]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","team2"] IGN: LYKOS / ABILITY: LONG REACH / TYPE: GHOST

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","orion"]

"How many people have you dragged in?"

He wonders if there's some kind of friend-referral program in the MMO, like he knows a lot of phone games tend to have. Even if there was, it's not like Orion knows enough people well enough to capitalize on it. He has a lot of acquaintances and few deeper relationships.[break][break]

So, when the other asks about his certainty, Orion shakes his head.[break][break]

"Exactly; I meet a lot of people, so usually it's only the ones I see around a lot I'd recognize."[break][break]

The other ranger's words suggest that maybe the guy doesn't know him, though? That makes things more complicated. His avatar tents his fingers, then reaches up to remove the eye-patch.[break][break]

"Not a lot of people I know are gamers, though," he muses, then laughs. "Least not good ones."

[break][break]

[attr="class,"divide"]

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[attr="class","notes"]notes: ...

[attr="class","tag"]kyle lopez

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2020 14:17:04 GMT

he tries to think of a number, but on hindsight, most of them already had plans on playing the game even before he had asked them. there were names he'd wanted to play the game with, but cannot because of certain circumstances.

"well, there's only one for now."

when kyle catches orion limit the amount of people in his head, he cannot help but try to filter out more from his list. he pushes the conversation to that direction, unsure of what's going to happen next.

"how many are really good though? anyone that stands out in particular?" he quickly adds a follow up when he starts to think his own words were bait-ish. "didn't know the councilman was a gamer that had gamer friends too."

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thorn

orion

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thirty

august 9th

lilycove

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ranger

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2020 15:40:13 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","kcontain"]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","team2"] IGN: LYKOS / ABILITY: LONG REACH / TYPE: GHOST

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","orion"]

Only one? It's surprising at first, but after giving it a little bit of thought Orion supposes most gamers make friends with like-minded folks. It was a bit hard to refer someone who was already playing.[break][break]

The other ranger leads his thoughts in a certain direction with his question, and Orion frowns against his mic in thought.[break][break]

"Only one stands out," he admits, thinking of a chilly new year's night at the top of a mountain. There's a notable pause as it clicks. "... Kyle Lopez. I'm sure you've heard of him."[break][break]

The humour in his voice gives away the joke, the fact that it's more than an off-hand comment and more of an accusation. It would explain why he recognized the voice: they might not have interacted too much directly, but he saw the Elite Four at the office in passing. More often than not, lately, if he thinks hard on it.

[break][break]

[attr="class,"divide"]

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[attr="class","notes"]notes: ...

[attr="class","tag"]kyle lopez

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2020 16:34:45 GMT

the responce elicits a chuckle from kyle. orion homed in too quickly with it. he wonders if he should have left the topic drift off to another one instead on staying in there.

"yeah. is he that good? how god of a gamer is he?"

at this point, kyle is simply fishing from compliments from the councilman, which would normally be uncharacteristic of kyle. what differs is the intent, and kyle's was to get the councilman to ask him if he was really him first.

he pries further, his clues getting more and more obvious.

"i heard he has beaten you good on mario kart." he raises a brow with an impish smirk, teasing further.

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thorn

orion

he/him

thirty

august 9th

lilycove

homosexual

ranger

elite

'cause baby i can burn you if you get too close to me

437 height

i'll wreck this if i have to; tell me, what good would that do?

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2020 17:00:39 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","kcontain"]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","team2"] IGN: LYKOS / ABILITY: LONG REACH / TYPE: GHOST

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","orion"]

Orion can't help his laughter at Kyle's question, almost certainly confirming that it was him.[break][break]

"Oh, he's really good, but he can be a bit arrogant about it," Orion jokes, hoping Kyle realises he doesn't actually mean that. Kyle was actually one of the more humble people that the ranger had met, and certainly among the Elite Four. "You must be a big fan, to know such intimate details of his gaming history."[break][break]

Orion's smiling in reality, and his in-game avatar emotes with a cheeky smirk.

[break][break]

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[attr="class","notes"]notes: ...

[attr="class","tag"]kyle lopez

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dog boy

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Mar 26, 2020 14:48:41 GMT

kyle retaliates with his own playful jab.

"yeah. i also heard he still wants his cut from placing first in that illegal drag race he helped you with."

it was only then that kyle realizes that he may have been a little too friendly with the councilman compared to the others. he supposed the same can be said with fernando, who he mostly hung out with due to the nature of their relationship, being directly endorsed by him for his position.

"actually, can you work from home until the whole fad dies out? i heard almost everyone in the higher ranks of the league is too busy playing the game anyways."

while he wasn't in the league headquarters this day, he'd be back tomorrow. chances of him meeting orion was high. he's not quite sure how awkward it would be to discuss killing him mercilessly in game.

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thorn

orion

he/him

thirty

august 9th

lilycove

homosexual

ranger

elite

'cause baby i can burn you if you get too close to me

437 height

i'll wreck this if i have to; tell me, what good would that do?

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Mar 26, 2020 16:28:19 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","kcontain"]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","team2"] IGN: LYKOS / ABILITY: LONG REACH / TYPE: GHOST

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","orion"]

Had this been reality, Orion might've placed his hand over his heart in a wounded gesture. Instead, all Kyle gets is a muffled chuckle over the mic.
[break][break]
"And here I thought the honour of taking out an important criminal would be enough for the esteemed Kyle Lopez." That had been a fun day, if rather stressful. Even more satisfying had been ambushing their meet later and revealing that they'd been league officials all along. "For real though, I had to surrender that to the league. Ill-gotten gains and all that."
[break][break]
Still, it had been well worth the rush of league-sanctioned law-breaking.
[break][break]
"I could," he says, the shrug heard in his voice, "but we've got better internet at the office than my place in Fortree anyway. Too much foliage, it messes with my signal."
[break][break]
He's bad enough at the game without having to deal with a shoddy connection and the lag that came with it.

[break][break]

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Mar 26, 2020 17:48:50 GMT

at least it's not only them that plays in the league headquarters. it also explains why fernando risks having bailey in his office just to make sure she doesn't lag or anything.

"wait, really?"

the only time he has used the league wifi is when he needs to be there, which doesn't happen usually. he only uses it to browse reddit or something that doesn't need good connection as well. "i should really be abusing that for my larger downloads." kyle scratches his head as he thinks of the possibilities.

"why do you live in fortree anyways? that place is like... all nature."

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thorn

orion

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thirty

august 9th

lilycove

homosexual

ranger

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'cause baby i can burn you if you get too close to me

437 height

i'll wreck this if i have to; tell me, what good would that do?

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TAG WITH @orion