Cranky blonde catchall

[miracle_miruca]

⭐ Who::  Miruca and cool people. Are you cool? PROVE IT.
⭐ When: Throughout October
⭐ Where:  Places. And more places
⭐ What:  Miruca does things.
⭐ Warnings: None expected

A: Queen of the arcade:

It was not common that Miruca had much money to indulge in one of her hobbies, but after large amounts of work over summer break, she actually had a little bit of money left over. After taking care of the essentials, and finding herself with both time and money, she made for somewhere she didn't get to go often, the arcade.

Not that she seemed to need a lot of money. Every game she sat down at, she seemed to thoroughly dominate. Dressed in a black, frilly gothic lolita dress, she looked positively bored with the game she was currently playing. The character on screen, a large, muscular man with an entirely too large sword, looked like he was having the time of his life. Wave after wave of generic fantasy monsters fell before his blade. Pixelated blood and gore flew everywhere, and none of the vile monsters came anywhere near hurting him. But the girl controlling him looked like she was watching paint dry. She wore such an emotionless look on her face that the only reason it was obvious she wasn't asleep was the rapid movements of her hands and of course the fact her eyes were open. She's so focused on the game she might not even notice if someone approached her.

B: Spooky Maids:
At the maid cafe 'Loyal Angels', it was officially the season for ghosts and ghouls to come out and play. There seemed to no actual angels to be seen, the whole place embraced the spirit of Halloween. The girls all found ways to make their outfits a little bit more creepy. One wore a witch hat, another had her face made up like a zombie, but the third, a petite blonde, seemed to go all out. She was dressed in a full on stereotypical vampire costume, a flowing cape dragging behind her, her maid outfit partially obscured by its flow. Fake pointed teeth are on display whenever she opens her mouth. But she doesn't seem too happy about it. To anyone that enters, she places a menu in front of them, one with the normal adorable angel motif replaced by a zombie angel. "If you're expecting me to do a funny Dracula voice, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."  

C. Training Montage:

Despite being a Dreamer, Miruca had spent little time in the Dream Sphere. It was not out of some sense of fear, she simply did not seem to find it the thrill some others did. If anything, she seemed to actively dislike the place. Dislike or not, however, it was a part of her life and it was high time she stopped trying to avoid it. She barely knew the extent of her own power, after all, and if she didn't learn that, she'd be forever helpless in this place.

This was why the girl had decided to go and do a little bit of learning. What she needed to learn was not the sort of thing you could easily pick up from a book. While in this day and age there were surely plenty of books about Dream Sphere magic, everyone's worked a bit different, and the only way to figure out what hers did was to just use it. This was why she was on the exterior edges of the Necropolis. She wasn't foolish enough to venture deep into its depths on her own. She was confident in her ability to grow strong, but she also was very much aware she currently was NOT strong.

You'd never know it observing her, though. She seemed to be using the torment's own techniques against them, stalking them like some sort of extremely small magical ninja She moved as quietly as possible, and when she hears something around a corner, begins to charge  her magic. But is that a torment around the corner, or is it another Dreamer? Whatever it is, it has quite a sight to behold as a small, angry blonde points hands that look wreathed in electricity at it!
 

Comments

A

[hgs]

Shinsha certainly wouldn't have considered themself a "gamer," but the orphanage they grew up in had a collection of dusty secondhand games... so there was something comfortable and familiar about the arcade. It was a place where conversations were quiet and no one made eye contact, where an awkwardly tall and thin teenager in an oversized hoodie could simply blend into the shadows. After last month's Disturbance in the Dream Sphere brought far more attention than they were comfortable enduring, Shinsha was eager to disappear.

...There was already someone at one of their usual games, though - a girl with the blonde curls, frilly dress and glassy, dead-eyed gaze of a porcelain doll. Normally, Shinsha would simply move to another game without a second glance, but it was imposible not to stare. Unusual appearance aside, the girl was good. Very good. The pixelated hero on screen effortlessly hacked and slashed his way through a level that had taken Shinsha forever to beat...

And so they paused to watch, surprise giving way to an almost equally emotionless stare as they studied the girl's technique. Yes, that was it, it was all a matter of timing jumps to avoid the undead dragon's ice beams while setting up an attack on its weak point... and then a precisely executed combo right in the moment before the dragon charged its next blast.

"I should have thought of that..." they murmured, transfixed.

[miracle_miruca]

Miruca would likely not call herself a gamer either, if asked. To be a 'gamer' she wluld need to play more then then she did, it would need to be her primary hobby, and she just couldn't afford that. Having the money for it was a rare treat for her. She had to make every yen count, she didn't have fistfuls of it to dump into her entertainment.

Maybe this was why she took it so seriously. When you only get to play a few games, you have to make each one count. And besides, why would she even bother if she wasn't going to try and be good?

Judging by how easily she defeated Icefiend the Eternal, she had clearly put plenty of practice time on this game. As the dragon's head comes clear off its body, the on-screen character does a little back flip, kicking it away. Now she was just showing off. She probably heard the words muttered behind her. Any doubt of that is cast aside as she glances over her shoulder at her spectator.

"Fan of this one, are you? There's only one level left, I'll be done before you know it."

Her voice is soft, and couldn't exactly be described as friendly, but she was in a decent enough mood so Shinsha doesn't get any attitude from her.

[hgs]

"N-no, it's fine. Please don't rush on my account." Shinsha quickly turns away, embarrassed at having been noticed... but they continue to watch from behind a fringe of long, stringy red hair.

Shinsha can't afford to come here often, either - Sensei sends them a bit of pocket money every month, but the allowance from their estranged grandparents only covers rent, food, school fees and other essentials. At ¥100 per play for most games, gaming is an expensive hobby. Even so, they recognize a lot of the arcade's regulars who play nearly every day. They've never seen Miruca before, though.

Maybe she plays somewhere else, or maybe she's one of those hardcore gamers who has a whole collection of arcade systems at home. She must be practicing somewhere to get so good... right? Shinsha plays games the same way they fight in the Dream Sphere: relying on quick reactions and unconventional techniques to smash their way through enemies while taking heavy damage. Miruca is much more precise, so her character clears the level with nearly a full life bar remaining. It's impressive.

[miracle_miruca]

It'd be nice to have family she could on, estranged or not, but the reason she is in the arcade so rarely was that she had to keep herself off the streets with her own hard work. Video games were, naturally, nowhere near as important as things like rent, food and other things which were actually necessary. But a little bit of fun now and then was good for keeping her sane. So, here she was.

"Rushing is entirely the point, so you need not worry about me doing it on your account. I am trying to see how fast I can complete this game." She, again, speaks without looking away from the screen. "Not that there is any reward for doing so, other then my personal satisfaction."

She continues to speak as her on screen swordsman cuts a path through its enemies. "We're in public, stop acting so scared. I don't own this place or the game I'm playing, you have as much a right to be here as I do. You won't bother me, either, I'm used to people being around when I play. Its an arcade, after all." There's an extremely minor hint of annoyance to her voice. Maybe Shinsha is just skittish, or maybe she had come across more aggressive then she intended? Both are equally as likely.

[hgs]

Shinsha shrinks back, not expecting such an aggressive response. While they're known for their harsh, no-nonsense attitude in the Dream Sphere, in the real world they try to avoid attracting attention. Head down, baggy clothes, eyes averted. As much as they hate being a Dreamer, at least they feel like they have a purpose in the Dream Sphere... here, there's no reason for Shinsha to exist.

Sitll... they can't help but watch Miruca play. She has such a different approach to playing the game than Shinsha does... personal satisfaction? They've never really thought of playing for high scores or speed records, instead just focusing on surviving until the end of the game. Miruca is right, of course, that neither of them own the arcade and that they both have the same right to play... but Shinsha is always worried about inconveniencing others. The main reason they started playing this hack-and-slash game in the first place was that it was less popular, and therefore less busy, than the newer rhythm games and racing games.

"Sorry, I... I don't know much about arcade etiquette. I don't come here very often."

[miracle_miruca]

Miruca herself has a different reason for trying to avoid attention. That reason is simply a sense of annoyance with the average person. It was a definite personality flaw that she needed to work on, particularly since she knew on a logical level that most people hadn't done anything to her to deserve it, but she couldn't help it. It was just who she was.

Said flaw is what brought that tone of annoyance to her voice. She had never met Shinsha, she has no reason to dislike them, but yet there she was acting unfriendly. There's a several second pause before she responds. She needs the time to compose herself, and also make sure she doesn't mess up her speed run. There's no reason to be rude, and there's no reason for her to mess up her game, either. When she speaks again, its with a bit less obvious annoyance in her voice.

"That would explain why I have never seen you in here before. Though I'm not here much, either." She picked a game like this simply because she doesn't have the stamina for a more active game. The rapid movement required for rhythm games would tire her out far too fast, and she had zero interest in racing games.

"You don't have to keep apologizing, I told you its fine." She definitely has her tone under control now. The effort to do so had done nothing to hinder her gameplay, as she casually slashes her way through a flaming skeleton on screen. It crumbles into burning bones, and she offers a quick glance over her shoulder. "Really. I mean it. Besides, having someone watching inspires me to try even harder. I might be able to shave 4 seconds off my time at this rate." It goes to show just how much she'd memorized the game that she's still playing without looking. With her face away from the screen she still takes out the next enemy, a shambling mass of rocks with a face. Perhaps in an effort to come across as a little less unfriendly, she offers a little smile before turning back to her game.

[hgs]

It's not like Shinsha is any stranger to the phenomenon of their words coming out significantly harsher than they intended... so as a fellow loner, they immediately recognize Miruca's abrupt change in attitude as an introvert trying very hard to be friendly.

"In that case... I'll cheer for your success." It's hard to imagine someone with an expression as flat as Shinsha's ever cheering, but they're also trying very hard to navigate socially proscribed expectations of friendliness. Actual cheering might break Miruca's concentration, anyway, even though talking seems to be fine. How is she playing without even watching the screen!?

"You're not here much, but you've already memorized the whole game...? That's incredible..."

[miracle_miruca]

She was an introvert, but one that sort of wished she wasn't. Of course this was something that didn't really change overnight, and would probably require her meeting someone that dragged her around by the arm for her to actually become someone who could be considered social.

"I wish I could claim it was that I was some sort of prodigy." It seems she's going to at least attempt to be humble. "But it is just a matter of practice. I decided this was the game I would be good at. I rarely play anything else when I am here. I suppose eventually I will probably move on to something else, but not until I feel I've ran through all the possibilities with this one." Speaking of running through, she does just that on screen, a generic fantasy monster meeting the business end of her blade. A large metallic gate opens behind it, a massive armored knight stepping out.

"Oh, here we go. Anlinok the Devastator." The metal-clad man lifts a giant axe. "If I can get through this quickly I shall surely beat my old time."

[hgs]

Shinsha, too, would need someone to drag them around by the arm in order to even pretend to be sociable... but even the people that they can maybe-sort-of count as "friends" are mostly fellow introverts. If they weren't all Dreamers, then it's very likely that they never would have met in the first place.

"Anlinok? I barely managed to beat him at all last time..." Miruca seems calm, though, as if the worst that might happen is that she doesn't manage to shave a few seconds off her best score. The armored knight may be slow, but his special moves are enough to deplete more than half the player's life bar in one hit.

Quickly, before Anlinok finishes his introductory cutscene, Shinsha interjects. "...Good luck!" They don't care that they're drawing attention to themself, or that Miruca probably doesn't need their encouragement. It just feels like the right thing to do.

[miracle_miruca]

Predictably, the fight goes in Miruca's favor. She doesn't even stop speaking while she is dismantling the heavily armored fiend.

"Oh, so you HAVE managed to win then? I wonder if any of the other names in the high score list are yours." Her on screen avatar narrowly avoids the massive axe, moving in to deliver a few swats with his sword before the knight can lift the giant blade again.

The battle takes less then a minute. In typical game style, the armored man dies a dramatic death, dropping to his knees as his axe flies up into the air, and comes down on his own neck. It'd be gruesome of the game had better graphics. The on screen warrior steps past the defeated man, and into a room filled with treasures. And the moment the room loads, Miruca pulls back one of the sleeves on her dress, revealing a wristwatch, which she hits a button on.

"17 minutes, and 49 seconds. 3 seconds faster then my previous time. I would have preferred a higher number, but improvement is still improvement." When it comes time to put in her initials, she inputs M followed by an empty space, and then C.
Not surprisingly, hers is the high score.

She then steps away from the game. "As promised, I am now done. Feel free to take over."

[hgs]

"...I have, but I'm in 10th place."

So this is the "M_C" whose initials dominate the rest of the high score list... Shinsha had wondered about that. The letter "C" doesn't exist in Japanese names, so perhaps the top player was of foreign descent, or perhaps it was a nickname? Shinsha may be a solitary introvert, but they often find themself wondering about the nameless, faceless strangers who cross their path every day, just a little bit out of step.

"I'm A_S. Akashi Shinsha. It's... nice to meet you."

They never thought of timing their game before - it isn't even something that the leaderbord tracks - but maybe it would be fun... they doubt that they can beat 17 minutes and 49 seconds, though. Their last victory felt like it took hours, even though it was probably only 30 minutes. Still... it can't hurt to try. Miruca is right: improvement is improvement.

"If you win again, I'll be pushed off the high score list... so I'll have to beat my old score."