Subject: Questions [watersprite] 919 views

[ronin47]

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px, bTable][STYLE= font: 100pt verdana; text-align: center; color: #111; margin-bottom: -5px; text-transform: lowercase; letter-spacing: 5px;]HOWL

[/div][STYLE=font: 10pt arial narrow; text-shadow: 1px 0px 0px #d1d1d1, 1px 1px 0px #d1d1d1, -1px 0px 0px #d1d1d1, 0px 1px 0px #d1d1d1, -1px 1px 0px #d1d1d1, 0px -1px 0px #d1d1d1; color: #111; margin-top: -35px; text-align: center;]You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to[/div][/td][/tr][/table]

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -10px, bTable][STYLE= font: 8.5pt arial; line-height: 13px; color: #000; text-align: justify; text-transform: lowercase; padding: 5px;]Ronin idly sat around the blankets of grass in Central Park. He didn't always sit around doing nothing but wasn't that what one did when playing Digimon Online? Walking felt like he was doing exercise but that was all in his head and right now, the less information went through there, the better. Ronin did not feel like processing too much at the moment. School was more than enough. Quizzes, projects, exams. All in the work before the holidays. School wasn't the only one beginning to end. The game for Ronin may just as well. He glanced at his Digimon, Strabimon, who knew nothing of rest and meditation. Strabimon constantly observed the small or big activities around them even when he was already overly-familiarized. He had been very helpful. Ronin couldn't feel anymore grateful for Strabimon. He wouldn't have him replaced for anything else. If Ronin ever decided to come back and play again, would Strabimon be the same? Ronin closed his eyes. He was already thinking of the possibilities. Was it cruel for him not to consider it earlier? What was going to happen to Strabimon and how would he react when Ronin tells him he was about to resign from the staff and give up Digimon Online? He never thought Strabimon was supposed to impact him somehow. He was still just a program, wasn't he? Ronin only played the game to earn enough money to pay his parents back and that money have accumulated for the past months with his careful allowance planning. All good things have to come to an end at some point. Yes, Strabimon...the game was a good thing. He should spend the last days properly. It was the least he could do. Without saying a word, Ronin stood up and began walking, knowing Strabimon would follow him behind without asking. Maybe he should say something but that wasn't Ronin's image. Strabimon might realize something was up. Ronin wanted this to be as ordinary as any day so nothing else would be missed.

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[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -15px, bTable][STYLE=font: 8pt arial narrow; color: #111; width: 400px;]WORDS: 339 ;; TAGS: Watersprite ;; NOTES: Yeah, I set this before the holidays. Hope you don't mind. made by prism.

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[watersprite]

It always caused such a large disconnect for watersprite logging on to DO. Off line it was snowy and cold, but here you could see the brilliant emerald grass waving in the slight breeze. This only served to remind her how fake the entire game was. After all, things were constantly changing in real life.

The holidays were coming up, exams looming as well. Not that watersprite was particularly worried about her performance. She may be devoting some of her study time to “playing” Digimon Online, but unlike some of her classmates, it didn’t consume her entire life. Sure the first time she came to play she was shocked that many of her fellow students wasted their time on such trivial pursuits, but many of them weren’t playing this close to finals. The fact that their priorities were straight made watersprite happy.

Aware that she was lost in thought, watersprite refocused on her surroundings. She had been to various parts of DO other than Central Park, but despite all the knowledge she had gained, watersprite still felt like she was woefully unprepared. That was the reason why watersprite had come here. From all her reading watersprite knew that many guides stayed in this area to help people who many players called “n00bs”. She hoped that these guides would be able to show her everything there was to know about DO.

Lifting her eyes watersprite looked around expectantly. If only she could catch sight of the tell-tale signs of a red satellite and matching arm band. After a few seconds of fruitless searching, watersprite noticed that her Tentomon seemed to be looking steadily in one direction. This was odd considering Tentomon was usually whizzing around and looking in every conceivable direction at once. As she followed its gaze she noticed that there was a boy with a red armband and satellite. Immediately, watersprite began walking purposefully towards him, with Tentomon following close behind. Undoubtedly he would turn around soon and notice her, so watersprite had to think of what she was going to say and quick!


OOC: Many apologies Tanz, mistress of mangos, please forgive me. (Also I’ll make this pretty later.)
Word count: 345

[ronin47]

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px, bTable] HOWL You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -10px, bTable] Strabimon was the first to break their silence. Ronin read his gesture automatically and followed the direction of his gaze. A young woman with a wave of ocean blue hair flowing behind her back was coming toward him. He stopped his aimless walking and waited. Strabimon too took his mind back from wherever it was wandering to the approaching player. This was another routine for the two of them. They would walk in silence with their own thoughts, not minding the other unless something came up. They were both intellectual and could keep to themselves for more than five minutes without having to utter a single word. Strabimon was sociable but it didn't mean he was talkative. Ronin was neither and would only respond when needed. Besides the unspoken attention they were giving, they gave no other hint such as a vibe that they were indeed staff members. Without the satellite and the armband, they would pass as one of the million players strolling around. Ronin stood on one leg with his hands stowed at his pockets; his shoulders were uneven and slacking and there was almost a dull shade of disinterest in his eyes, like a clerk bored out of his mind behind the counter. No hospitality, no greetings, no initiatives. He only waited.

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -15px, bTable] WORDS: 215 ;; TAGS: Watersprite ;; NOTES: The queen of mangoes does not forgive. Off with your hair. made by prism.

[watersprite]

Watersprite noticed that the staff member didn’t seem to be moving from his spot. It was almost like there was a desk that he couldn’t move past. This seemed weird to her because he had previously looked like he was getting ready to go somewhere. Suddenly, it dawned on watersprite that the guides might have rotations and that she might have stopped him from going to his next location. Maybe it was even worse, maybe she had prevented him from getting his break; his body language seemed to convey as much. He was at least still standing there so maybe she was just over interpreting things.

When she was within earshot watersprite decided it was time to begin. “Hello, I’ve been resear- err playing for a couple of months, but I feel like there is still so much I don’t know. I was wondering if there was any way I could set up a time with you or any of the other guides for an in-depth tour. Like I said, there is so much I don’t know and I would really appreciate it.”

That should be good enough, right? It was just like any other call she made to a museum or laboratory. How different was this really? Well, watersprite could think of one way they were different, museums and research labs were much better sources of entertainment than mere video games, but that didn’t really apply to this train of thought. Out of habit watersprite cocked her head slightly to the left, she always did this when she processed information, and kept a pleasant look on her face as she waited for a response.


OOC: Noooooooooooooooo! I like my hair. "OTZ
Word count: 275

[ronin47]

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px, bTable] HOWL You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -10px, bTable] Awkwardness was also part of the routine but Ronin didn't try and hurt himself too much about it. The sooner he got over it, the faster it would be done. So he waited and let her initial hesitation pass. He gave no social cues to encourage her...he should probably work on that. He was going to greet her but the player - watersprite - had gone ahead of him and went straight to the point. Her question sounded longer than Ronin thought and definitely different from the standard ones. An...in-depth tour and a schedule? She had his full attention now. He frowned, pondering on her question. He wasn't quite sure what she meant but he didn't want to be rude or unwittingly embarrass her. "What don't you know exactly?" he slowly asked. There were a number of things she mentioned that concerned him but he would try and get it to one at a time. "Which part of the game confuses you?"

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -15px, bTable] WORDS: 162 ;; TAGS: Watersprite ;; NOTES: Exactly. I want that hair as my towel. made by prism.

[watersprite]

Instead of answering her request right away ronin47, as he was called, had frowned and decided to ask her some questions, two in fact. Naturally, watersprite was confused, she had assumed that everyone knew that it was hard to ask questions when you didn’t know what to ask about.

“Well. . .” watersprite began before trailing off. In her head she reviewed the reasons for coming here, what were her main concerns? After a short time she returned her attention back to ronin. “Specifically, I’m afraid of making a fool of myself in front of the other players. I’ve looked up every guide there is, but that still doesn’t tell me about any social norms in online games. I wouldn’t know anything about those because DO is the first game I’ve ever played.”

As soon as she said it, watersprite knew it was true, but why would she care about what other players thought? She tried to tell herself that she wanted their respect so they would be willing to share their thoughts on DO with her, but really she just liked being smart and perfect. At school all her peers knew who she was, so watersprite didn’t worry about making a bad impression and seeming like an idiot. Here it was different, she had nothing to hide behind.


OOC: I'm not sure I have enough hair for that.
Word count: 219

[ronin47]

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px, bTable] HOWL You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -10px, bTable] Something about the player's unabashed frankness and use of semi-formal expression was very familiar. He glanced at Strabimon, slightly smirking, before turning back to watersprite. He had a lot of new players coming up to him for questions. Most of them were either shy, embarrassed or too hyperactive for their own good. But none of them ever asked about social norms. That was a lesson you learn the hard way...ironically, it was somewhat what was being taught right now. "A lot of players in this world are new to gaming," said Strabimon, speaking for the first time. "Don't worry about it too much." "Yeah," agreed Ronin. Thinking the player was having self-esteem issues, he gave out a typical advice. "Just be as polite as you would be outside the game." "And you could always turn to your Digimon for conversations," added Strabimon, gesturing to watersprite's Tentomon. "You don't have to concern yourself with social norms too much." Or maybe Ronin was just the wrong person to ask. "The point of playing the game is to enjoy it, isn't it?"

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -15px, bTable] WORDS: 179 ;; TAGS: Watersprite ;; NOTES: I feel like I've seen their conversation in a cbox before. made by prism.

[watersprite]

This was just too much. Watersprite scrunched up her nose as she processed the advice being given to her. Were they literally suggesting that she run blindly into interaction with the other players, just because everyone else was new as well? Why would she do that? Watersprite found it infinitely easier to learn from the mistakes of others than make her own. And wait, were there seriously a lot of new players in DO?

“You say there are a lot of players who are new to video games, but that wouldn’t include staff members, correct?” remarked watersprite querying Strabimon.

At the mention of talking to her digimon, Tentomon gave watersprite what she thought was the digimon equivalent of an awkward smile. She smiled back and refocused on ronin.

“Hmm. . .” watersprite mused, “Yes, video games are generally categorized as ‘Entertainment’ so I’m sure there are those who think of it as ‘enjoyable’.” Then a thought occurred to her. “Is that the reason why people play video games, to have fun? That can’t be the only thing that people want out of it. Is it?”


OOC: It's quite possible. I'm sure there are people out there who have similar concerns.
Word count: 185

[ronin47]

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px, bTable] HOWL You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -10px, bTable] Ronin nodded slowly at Watersprite. Yeah, most likely the staff aren't new to video gaming. So what? He wasn't sure where she was getting at exactly and her language was sounding somewhat aggressive to him. Ronin's confusion escalated in a short amount of time. He was no longer sure whether the player was serious about her "questions" or was trolling him. He hoped it wasn't the latter because he didn't find them amusing one bit. "Probably," Ronin replied, eying at her with scrutiny. Should he entertain her line of thought or should he go straight to the point? What exactly was she trying to ask? "Don't you play to have fun?"

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -15px, bTable] WORDS: 111 ;; TAGS: Watersprite ;; made by prism.

[watersprite]

She hadn’t meant to sound aggressive, watersprite was just . . . surprised. Whenever she wanted to take on a task watersprite always made sure that her knowledge was as near to perfection as possible. It seemed weird to her that others would jump in to give advice when they might not know what they were talking about. So of course she would be incredulous.

“Do I play for fun? Isn’t that a bit rhetorical? Play seems to indicate that you are doing something for entertainment.” After a brief pause watersprite realized that ronin wasn’t asking about playing in general, but about playing in regards to DO, so she quickly amended her statement. “In regards to DO, no, I am not playing for fun. It is purely business. I was merely wondering if entertainment was the primary reason for people to play, or if there are other reasons. For example, I only play because I feel obligated to.”

Suddenly, watersprite cocked her head to the side, as she realized something. “Do you at times feel the same way? Obligated to play and advance because it’s your job?”


Word count: 187

[ronin47]

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px, bTable] HOWL You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -10px, bTable] She was losing him. Fast. Amidst this strange conversation, both Ronin and Strabimon were sharing a relatively deep frown. But Strabimon seemed to be deep in thought about something else while Ronin was just trying to figure out why the hell they were even talking about this. "It's my job," he answered promptly. "Playing is part of the work. So, what was it that you wanted to ask? I caught some things you said - something about entertainment - er, and a tour? Not sure how they're related so could you get straight to the point?" The bluntness came out of nowhere before Ronin could stop himself. It wasn't his fault. He was doing them both a favor if the player would just get to what she really needed Ronin for. Why she had to counter everything Ronin said was beyond him but it was starting to grate his nerves. It wasn't that he was a busy man but he didn't decide to play the game to be a social entertainer. Strabimon looked up, having been listening to Waterpsprite intently. "I believe she's trying to find the purpose of the game aside from its entertainment value. In order to be enlightened, she has asked for your services." Ronin's frown went deeper. Really?

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -15px, bTable] WORDS: lol ;; TAGS: Watersprite ;; made by prism.

[watersprite]

Still blissfully unaware of any problems, watersprite mulled over ronin’s question. Generally speaking a tour was considered entertainment, but watersprite remembered that ronin did not want a general answer. Watersprite assumed that he wanted to know why she had asked for a tour and then gone on to ask so many questions about entertainment and why people played video games. She silently chastised herself for getting off topic. Thankfully, it would be easy to explain that she had just gone on a related tangent.

“Watersprite, you’re annoying him.” She snapped her mouth shut, not even realizing it had been open. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who the voice in her head was, after all, the owner was a certain red bug flying near her head.

After a brief pause she sighed and whispered back in resignation, “How long?”

“A good while now.”

Well, there was nothing to it; watersprite would just have to apologize. As she came to this conclusion she was suddenly reminded of something ronin had said earlier. Watersprite almost smiled to herself thinking of the irony. Even when she was on her best behavior she still managed to annoy others.

After Strabimon was done speaking, watersprite cleared her throat, and willed her voice chords to change from the formal setting to casual. “Listen, what Strabimon said was right on the nose, but I would still like to apologize. I’m afraid I got out of hand there. Sorry about that.”



Word count: silly Tanz "lol" is an initialism, not a number

[ronin47]

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px, bTable] HOWL You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -10px, bTable] "No, it's fine," he replied hastily but not out of the feeling of guilt. Though he indeed was a little annoyed by the other player's beating around the bush, Ronin was not asking for an apology. He just wanted to know what she really wanted. Strabimon's explanation hadn't done better clearing that up for him. "Look, er - " He glanced back at her username to double-check. " - Watersprite, I think there was a small misunderstanding on both our parts, so if we could step back a little, we could get this out of the way. I mean, get the problem solved already," he amended smoothly, not wanting to add false impressions right after another. They were getting a few curious glances already. How long had they been talking? "You talk and I'll listen. What did you need me for? I kind of understood what Strabimon said but I'm just not sure what it has to do with me. Are you asking my opinion or something?" Back to square one.

[cs=2][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 3px solid #111; margin-top: -15px, bTable] WORDS: ur not the boss of me ;; TAGS: Watersprite ;; NOTES: lmao why is the scrollbar looking so small in this thread. Oh god, these two are really going nowhere. made by prism.

[watersprite]

Watersprite was glad that her apology had been, kind of, accepted. Although it was the usual flow to apologize and then have your apology accepted watersprite hated the entire process, mainly the part about making the mistake in the first place, and suspected that all was not completely forgiven.

“Umm . . . right, well . . .” watersprite decided to stop talking until she could construct sentences like a normal person. As she waited she wondered if ronin might not like some background to the current situation. Maybe that would be a good place to start.

“Well, you see, I hope to work with computer software when I graduate. It is quite possible that I will get a job working on programming a video game so I want to know what people like. Having your opinion on the matter would be great. To start off, what drew you to play video games in the first place?”



Word count: Who says I'm not?
OOC: I know, right? And having to wait 3 weeks for a post makes it go nowhere slow. XD

[ronin47]

Okay, good. Ronin felt himself relax. It was a weird jump from site tour to computer software but this was a major improvement. He would have preferred not to take part in watersprite's interview but what could he do about that now? After having to go through the misunderstanding, it would be beyond rude to say no now and leave, as tempting as it was.

"You mean video games in general?" Ronin asked. "Or this game, Digimon Online? I play games to kill time when I'm stuck indoors and not in the mood for other things. Normally, I wouldn't play a game like DO."

He didn't want to elaborate on his reasons in DO but he knew he would be asked to anyway. He could probably say "it's personal" but it really wasn't. Ronin just thought his reason wasn't going to be helpful for her and by lying, he thought he was being petty to himself. A part of him was forcing the other part to think that it didn't matter. He wanted to ignore the internal conflict going on, embarrassed by his own childish debates.