1st Bite [Online/Video/Open]

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

[Who knows if he’s even doing this right? He had gleaned some information from random humans passing by, but if they were too stupid to know what they were saying, then he just wasted his time on them. He would much rather use his battle prowess to get his way, but there seems to be some kind of strange blockage preventing access to his magical abilities. He is not happy about that at all.

Duzell looks down at the small screen with a bored expression as he tinkers with the foreign item. How did he get a hold of this PDA? …Don’t ask.]

Whatever idiot is running this thing, call off the stupid game. Find someone else to play with.

Comments

[fracturedsoul]

Congratulations. You have solved the mystery of Rakuen. All it takes to get the puppetmasters to cut our strings is one angry newbie demanding that they cease and desist. How did we ever make it this far without figuring that one out?

((Orange text okay? I can ditch it if not.))

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

[Impudent smart ass. Even more reason for him to hate humans. So pathetically weak, and yet they somehow have the nerve to run their mouths off.]

If you’re going to keep being useless, don’t bother.

(Yeah, no problem!)

[fracturedsoul]

That stings. I wouldn't exactly call my little admonishment "useless". Hidden beneath that crunchy sarcastic exterior is a nugget of information that you would do well to digest. Can you find it?

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

Then what would you call it.

You have information on the puppet masters? [His tone sounds doubtful.] Where are they?

[fracturedsoul]

Of fucking course I don't. That was the entire point of what I said. People have been showing up for eight goddamn weeks and not a single person has been able to decipher this ontological clusterfuck of a city. If you believe what the staff have to say, they went through a previous cycle of the exact same slave ownership deep-immersion MMO we're all playing right now, and they don't even know who's ultimately responsible.

Ain't no way to contact whoever brought us here, and ain't no way off this island but to play this little game, or so they say.

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

[A thin eyebrow lifts.] Eight weeks? [So there have been quite a few people coming here. He wonders if anyone else from Pheliosta was dumped into this stupid game, like…

A scowl deepens his brows.] I’m no one’s slave.

So you’ve played the game already. What did you do, win with your bare hands? [He doesn’t get all the terminology from the manual. Pheliosta is technologically behind this place.]

[fracturedsoul]

Matter of fact, you are. Either that you're what they call a Discard, which is apparently even worse.

No, man, I'm in the process of playing right now, just like you. You could talk to the staff if you want, but they are so unhelpful you gotta wonder why they're even here.

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

[His scowl darkens. Someone is going to die for this. He just hasn’t decided who, yet.] What is a Discard? [Duzell assumes he is a Player. If he is a Weapon, then someone else would be trying to control him, and that wasn’t going to happen.]

Maybe to piss off the Players. When do they fight?

Everyone here must be a moron. Once they get their hands on weapons, what do they do, just roll over and keep getting strung along?

[fracturedsoul]

You do realize there's an instruction manual.

[ He'd be sounding pretty exasperated if this wasn't text. ]

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

And they just expect me to just believe everything.

Everything in this comment is a lie. I'm very sorry.

[fracturedsoul]

Do you hear that? It's the sound of me sighing loud enough to brew up gale-force winds.

But you're new. I was in that boat not too long ago myself, and now that I've docked and gone ashore I may as well just help you out. This is a one-time deal, though.

D.S.'s Unofficial, Unauthorized, and Unwarranted Guide to Exaclan & You

First of all I think you need a basic course on how this game just plain works, because you seem confused. The basic concept is, you're either a teacher or a student. A Discard is a student who cuts class to avoid the flat-out arduous and grueling game that is Exaclan, and I gotta tell you, you don't want to be a Discard. The only weapons involved are the ones teachers may or may not choose, at their own cruel discretion, to hand out to their students for the death matches that take place every day during class.

What teachers gotta do is rile up their students into a balls-out cut-throat battle royale at fucking least once a week. If they don't, they get demoted to student and thrown into the lion's den to do battle themselves. Get those kiddies fighting until only one is left standing. At the end of the session, the students who won the most battles for each school go toe to toe with each other, and the victor of that battle is declared the consummate winner of all of Exaclan.

audio

[xroyal_bratx]

DUZIE!

Bad Dirk. :(

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

[Duzell just waves his hand carelessly. Like he really cares about the other’s opinion of him. He isn’t here to make friends. But he does read the explanation, just in case there is actual useful information somewhere in there. He will, of course, match what is said with the manual, and also see if other people really interact this way.

He responds with dark humor.] There should be more dead bodies littering the ground, or many plots of graves. [The prospect of fighting does, however, interest him.] You sound like you know a lot, for someone that hasn’t even fought yet.

audio

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

[He’s taken back for maybe a second.]

Ishtar?

[Looking down at the weird thing; he can hear her voice, but he can’t see her.]

audio

[xroyal_bratx]

Seriously is that you?

[ Because that face and voice can't be anyone else's ]

That thing.....whatever is....I'm calling from there.

He's a helper.

[fracturedsoul]

You'd think. No one knows what happens to the bodies. Though it was mighty suspicious how after this one guy with a serious brain tissue illness was killed, everyone started coming down with food poisoning. That was a couple weeks ago, or so I hear.

Oh, I've fought. My hands are stained with the blood of countless victims. I will never again be clean.

audio

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

[Sarcastically.] Who else were you expecting? [Maybe Lover Boy or one of her relatives.]

Someone called this thing a PDA. [Stupid piece of crap that he still hasn’t fully figured out how to use.] Where did you get dumped?

audio

[xroyal_bratx]

Aren't you a ball of sunshine Duzie.

[ She sighs. ]

I wasn't expecting anyone to be honest....seeing it didn't sound like anyone from home would be here.

I don't care what it's called, it's annoying and confusing.

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

I’m sure they just vanish into thin air. [Despite acting flippant, he is listening, and processing the information.

Up goes that eyebrow again.] Then toughen up, or get killed. Unless you want to be stuck here forever.

audio

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

If I was, I’d burn whoever the hell is running this stupid game. [He is in such, such a good mood ever since coming here.]

No one else is there?

[Wryly.] It wouldn’t kill you to pick up a book once in a while. [Although the manual is kind of long…] Don’t fall for this crap. Just figure out a way to go back.

[fracturedsoul]

Will do. I sure was a quivering ball of blubbering and tears until you came along and told me to grow a pair. Thanks to your completely necessary advice I am now over the trauma that I was absolutely experiencing. Gonna make a damn Lifetime movie out of that shit.

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

[And here he was almost thinking this human might be somewhat useful. Until he opened his mouth again.]

You never run out of smart ass comments, do you. Try exercising your brain more, instead of your mouth.

[With that, he clicks off the PDA.]

[fracturedsoul]

[ Well, that was productive.

Dirk has no sympathy for people who haven't read the manual. None. ]

audio

[xroyal_bratx]

It wasn't literal...jeez you ancients and your literal take on everything. You okay though? Where are you? [ Yeah she can soooooo feel his good mood!! ]

Not that I know of.

.....Yes it wold....jeez you know how I hate those things.... [ Yeah it is super long confusing and boring. ] Yeah been tryin' so far no luck.

audio

[sanguine_corruptio_lamia]

[Sounding completely serious.] Who said I was joking.

Fine. One less hassle to deal with. [Not like any of them would be useful or anything. They would probably end up driving him crazy.]

The foreign terms are probably there to confuse people. [Not that he would admit to being confused, of course. :C Why, he knows everything.] As much as you like games, Ishtar, this isn't something you should play.

[Hate. Humans. Annoying little insects. He would rather just squish them than have to deal with them.]