Jun 4, 2017 14:21:24 GMT -5
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Jun 4, 2017 14:09:51 GMT -5
Post by index on Jun 4, 2017 14:09:51 GMT -5
He wasn't sure when the frostfall areas had opened up for the players, but Index found himself within the town of snowstead. The idea seemed foolish at first, considering none of his armor protected him from the cold, but that was not enough to force Index away from the place. The place had a homey atmosphere in his opinion, though he certainly could use less snow on his feet as he trudged along town.
He didn't say anything about balls of snow on his opponents face though.
Before he knew it, he had unknowingly accepted some sort of quest and joined a snowball fight. The idea of finally being on foot with other players, especially those of the attacker roles, sounded nice for once. Without the chains of his role as a tank with nothing but supportive spells, he can finally have a chance to wreck havoc upon others on his own terms... or at least that's how it sounded in his head. A game wasn't enough for him to go out of his character.
Snowball fights happen daily in snowstead apparently, and Index just happened to be in the place just before preparations for this day's match to conclude. The paladin sat nicely behind a snow fort, creating his stockpile of ammo as he waited for the round to start. He thought about hiding pebbles inside the snowballs to get an unfair advantage, but regressed from doing so.
catharsis
// quest
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Jun 4, 2017 18:26:02 GMT -5
Post by catharsis on Jun 4, 2017 18:26:02 GMT -5
 GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY Catharsis couldn't remember the last time a quest had simply been fun. Needless to say, he'd been suspicious of the one that had popped up on his screen while traveling through Snowstead. He'd read the description closely, looking for any twist in the language or fine print. No, it seemed like it was honestly just ... a fun thread. The worst that could happen was getting knocked over if you got hit enough times, not even any damage or death or losing out on the quest. That seemed ... genuinely kind of fun. Right about now, that was something Cat could use, even if it sounded childish. Between the NPCs and even the players, people seemed to genuinely enjoy even just setting up for it. Cat accepted the quest, finally. Unfortunately, the time it had taken for him to accept the quest as something that wasn't out to get him meant he had far less time to prepare than others had. Running for the first cover in sight, he stopped short when he saw someone was (predictably) already there. He blinked at the sight of the familiar face, pausing for a moment as he looked at the man who had helped him with the bounty. "Uh," He started, uncertain and taut like a spring, "Alliance?" He offered, short and sweet. This could really only go one of two ways, after all.
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Jun 5, 2017 7:12:40 GMT -5
Post by index on Jun 5, 2017 7:12:40 GMT -5
Index huddled nicely behind his fort, shaping the snow quietly until someone else decided to join him on his spot. It wasn't always that Index met familiar faces, unless it was during a raid, so he hasn't taken any effort to acquaint himself with those he either quested or partied with. He stared as the familiar healer asked, taking a glance at the snowball within his hand before turning back to him and replying with a tone similar to his. "Er, sure." There shouldn't be no harm done with teaming up with someone he knew, right?
He continued doing what he did, stopping only once he finished the pyramid of snowballs beside him. He took a peak from their hiding place, scanning the area beyond their safety zone. "Say, has the game started yet?" A snowball was on his hand, ready to fling it at the first soul he sees. His face had all sorts of seriousness in it, but judging from the preparations that he made for the game, it was obvious that Index was one of the most excited players for the snowball fight.
catharsis
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Jun 6, 2017 10:42:45 GMT -5
Post by catharsis on Jun 6, 2017 10:42:45 GMT -5
GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY However awkward, Index had agreed to at least not attack him. Catharsis relaxed, keeping an eye on the defender as he decided that he probably wasn't going to get stabbed in the back here. At least, not now and not yet. Catharsis bunkered down next to him, glancing at the defender. It was, of course, very likely that he wasn't recognized. The blank stare kind of gave it away. "Thanks for helping me back there with Ragnarok," He chimed, "I probably would have been waiting forever otherwise."He leaned forward to grab a snowball, blinking as the guy asked if the game as started. When he turned around, he noticed that everything was suddenly quiet, most of the people playing either out of sight or scrambling for cover. "Looks like it's about-" He started to offer, before a snowball flew right by his face and he ducked down with a short laugh.
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Jun 7, 2017 12:34:59 GMT -5
Post by index on Jun 7, 2017 12:34:59 GMT -5
He took a look back at Catharsis as he thanked him. As someone who wasn't used with dealing with the sudden appreciation, Index couldn't maintain eye contact and went back to peeking from their fort. "It's no big deal. I, um, probably wouldn't be able to deal with it alone either." He did not think much of it considering that there was a possibility that Index wasn't the only one looking for someone else to tackle the bounty, though the feeling was still nice.
The next thing he knew was that the empath already ducked for their cover. Another snowball went just above his head, prompting him to follow Catharsis below. Grinning without him noticing, he started to find his pulse rising. A snowball fight was no where near as exhilarating as a raid, but that did not mean that the paladin did not get excited with it. Although they were living in a different reality at the moment, games like these felt more real compared to monster hunting.
As soon as the attacks stopped coming, Index stood out of their fort and spotted a figure ahead of them. She seemed young enough to be considered a child, though the snowball on her hand convinced Index that she had been the assailant. "There!" Without any warning, he threw the snowball in his hand at her, missing her by a margin and alerting her of his presence. She started moving towards her own cover, with Index missing everything he had thrown so far.
catharsis
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Jun 8, 2017 14:49:09 GMT -5
Post by catharsis on Jun 8, 2017 14:49:09 GMT -5
GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY Had it been aimed anywhere but his face, honestly, Catharsis probably wouldn't have minded taking it. But, in all honesty, his looks were probably the only genuinely good thing he had going. Even if any damage taken would have just fallen away into pixels, which he was pretty sure wouldn't happen here, it was an instinctual will to duck away from that. Still, he was left feeling a bit better when Index joined him below, even finding his smile a bit contagious. Seemed like he was here because he was looking for a genuinely good time, too. It would be a good break from the constant onslaught of monsters that could actually kill you. When Index popped back up and shouted, Catharsis laughed and picked up an extra snowball for his free hand on his way up. It was easy to lock on to who he was shouting at, and Catharsis reeled an arm to retaliate at the girl with a snowball. It hit her square in the back, but she only stumbled before continuing on. Oh, right. They needed to hit them three times. He tossed the other snowball back into his now free left hand, raising it only to get hit square in the face by someone trying to provide his target some cover, ducking back as he wiped the biting ice away from his eyes.
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Jun 9, 2017 9:56:53 GMT -5
Post by index on Jun 9, 2017 9:56:53 GMT -5
Index cheered when he saw one of Catharsis' shots made it all the way to the girl. It was relieving to know that at least he teamed up with someone who could aim when he couldn't hit one worth his efforts. An idea came to mind, though he couldn't say if the empath would approve of this. One by one, he started gathering most of the snowballs he could manage and carried the pile with his left arm. It was cold without any heat insulation from his armor, but his adrenaline from playing the game kept him enough to ignore the issue.
He finished just in time to see the moment that the snowball hit Catharsis' face. He tried to hide his chuckling with his right hand, but to no avail. The reason was childish enough, but laughing at it wasn't unreasonable. Once he finished, he motioned his hand to the pile of snowballs on his arm before pointing the other group's hideout with his thumb. "Hey, hey. Wanna rush those kids?" It wasn't the smartest idea, but who needed tactics in a simple game of snowball fight anyways?
catharsis
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Jun 11, 2017 13:42:04 GMT -5
Post by catharsis on Jun 11, 2017 13:42:04 GMT -5
GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY Well, that just hurt. Cat winced as he brushed the snow out of his eyes and then the rest of his face, hating the wet feeling left behind that the chill air bit into. He could hear Index laughing at him, but too be fair, he knew if they'd switched places he would've done the same. His face was probably a bit red from a mix of the cold and adrenaline, but he wasn't angry. As soon as he could, he looked over to see Index with his arms full of snowballs, and he laughed too. This guy was ready. He followed the way the defender's thumb pointed, expression blank for a second as he said, "That's a really bad idea." Immediately, he broke into a toothy grin. "Which is exactly why we should do it." He continued, eyes lighting up a little as he looked at Index. After all, when was going to be the next time they could get away with making a mistake like this without dying? He was ready, leaning over to grab as many snowballs as he could. "I'm in. You want to order the charge?"
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Jun 13, 2017 11:16:46 GMT -5
Post by index on Jun 13, 2017 11:16:46 GMT -5
He expected him to disagree for a while, though his grin matched his as he gave Index the affirmative. Index had always been the careful type, but today was the day he was going to make an exception. After all, losing had almost no consequence in this game. "Ready when you are." He already had gotten used to taking in account RPG elements as part of his decision making. To say that it was refreshing to be back on relying in normal human capabilities and not the skill system was not an understatement from Index.
"...And we go!" As soon as Catharsis had finished taking as much snowballs as he could, Index ran out in the open. As soon as he was out of their cover, snowballs were fired at him from all directions. Of course, he had forgotten the possibility that they weren't the only ones playing. Regardless, he kept moving forward, dodging and weaving the ones that were thrown from their side and focused his attention to throwing his snowballs at the little girl that waged war against them, laughing as he spotted her retreating back to their own cover.
catharsis
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Jun 15, 2017 21:10:21 GMT -5
Post by catharsis on Jun 15, 2017 21:10:21 GMT -5
GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY Almost immediately after following Index's lead, Catharsis realized they had, in fact, made a mistake. It was like no man's land, just a lot less gruesome. The moment he went out from behind the safety they'd made, snowballs flew in every direction and Catharsis found himself running like mad. Narrowly, he avoided getting pelted with the majority of them, but still got hit in the back just as they were about to corner the girl back in her own base. He stumbled forward with the force of it, but kept running, shoes slipping through the beaten down slush once or twice. How many times could they get hit before they got knocked down? Eh, didn't matter. Not this time around. Seeing the girl about to escape into some solid escape just before Index's snowball collided with her, Catharsis raised his own and let it fly. Sure enough, it hit her square in the back, and she stumbled to fall flat on her back. Yelling his victory, Catharsis charged right on past the girl. Either he intended to use the cover she was headed for, or take on any allies that were waiting for her. Or both.
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Jun 17, 2017 12:37:38 GMT -5
Post by index on Jun 17, 2017 12:37:38 GMT -5
Index marked the girl as his target and headed straight on towards her. He had not thought much about this strategy, if it can even be called one, and only tried to do one thing everyone does in a snowball fight: throw their snowballs at the first person they see. The one he threw at her pretty much stopped her from moving, Catharsis' shot had her knocked down. Following the empath's hit, Index threw another snowball at the girl as he passed by like some sort of double tapping. It might have been just to spite her for making them their targets, but everything goes in a war.
Hiding behind the cover were two other kids. Siblings perhaps? They were much younger than him, which was somewhere around the age where it was still proper to play around the snow. For a second, he felt bad for breaking a game intended for kids their age. The moment Index had showed himself to them, he was immediately met with two snowballs on the face. It was also the moment when the paladin wanted to take back his earlier thoughts about them. Temporarily blinded by the recent events, both literally and metaphorically, he bunched the rest of the snowballs he had on his left arm and threw it in their direction. Once the deed was done, he turned around to wipe off the ice on his face.
catharsis
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Jun 18, 2017 14:44:34 GMT -5
Post by catharsis on Jun 18, 2017 14:44:34 GMT -5
GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY They actually had made it without incident up the slope - right up until Index got knocked in the face twice over. Catharsis winced in sympathy, but Index seemed to have it handled. Before he could really react, one boy had been knocked down and the other barely standing. Catharsis was able to hit him with the last snowball, knocking him down. It was a victory! "Good job." He said, eyes lit as he turned to Index while he wiped off his face. Adjusting to free an arm, he patted the guy on the shoulder. "You okay there, buddy?" He asked, a laughter slipping under his tone as he spoke. After all, they'd won and there was no need to keep their guard up. Or at least, so he'd thought, up until another snowball narrowly missed the back of his head by a hair. It seemed the girl had gotten up in the time it took for them to take down the boys and was out to avenge their group. Catharsis pushed off of Index, hoping to buy him some space, but instead he wound up getting hit with a snowball himself and knocked back into the cold, wet embrace of the ground underneath him. He stared up at her, unamused at the sacrifice that had in no way been intentional.
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Jun 20, 2017 10:47:10 GMT -5
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Jun 20, 2017 10:44:28 GMT -5
Post by index on Jun 20, 2017 10:44:28 GMT -5
"Y-yeah. I think I'm good." The cold sensation of ice in his face got him wincing. He had taken getting it off of his skin as his priority, temporarily forgetting about the game for the moment. Still, he couldn't help giving off small chuckles as he spoke. The game did remind him of his days as a child after all.
Just as when he had taken out most of the ice from his eyes, Index found himself falling to the ground, meeting the cold, snowy surface with his backside. "H-Hey, what giv-" His complaints were interrupted by the scene that followed. "Pfft..." His laughing had been muffled with a hamd over his mouth.
"Your sacrifice won't be in vain," Index would say, saluting with his free hand while still on his butt on the cold ground. He had been busy trying to hide his chuckles that the girl eventually headshotted him with a snowball. Index fell on the ground once more like a ragdoll, now dying in humiliation.
catharsis
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Jun 23, 2017 23:06:13 GMT -5
Post by catharsis on Jun 23, 2017 23:06:13 GMT -5
GIVE ME ALL YOUR ENERGY
LOVE ME LIKE AN ENEMY Index didn't need to know that his sacrifice hadn't been the least bit on purpose. He rolled his eyes when the guy laughed at him, a smile breaking his face when he was about to make a smart comment just before the guy took a snowball to the face. For a moment, Catharsis stared as he went down like a rock in water, his mind still catching up with what had just happened. Had this been just about anything else in the game, they would've died right about now. A part of him waited for that to still happen, but nothing came. Catharsis laughed. It broke out of him, breathy and hoarse, the same way it came when the door had shut and he'd gotten away scott free with a prank through the work of the worst possible bluff he could have come up with at the time. The sound was born of nothing short of pure relief; they'd made mistakes, and they were still alive. It was inhumane, really, that such a thing had such an immense effect on him. If anything, it was probably a sign that he wasn't going to be okay, not in the long run. Then again, Catharsis mused to himself, hadn't that always felt like the case. He didn't even realize he could move again until he rested the crook of his elbow over his eyes, sitting up then to dust off the snow like nothing had happened. Apparently, his burst of laughter had scared off the group of youngsters. That, or they'd moved on to higher ground. "My sacrifice won't be in vain, huh?" He commented with a sly smile, tilting his head as he glanced back over his shoulder at Index. He honestly didn't care what happened next, a freedom in not really having to. For a moment, just a moment, Catharsis wasn't looking over his shoulder out of paranoia.
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Jun 25, 2017 9:56:27 GMT -5
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Jun 25, 2017 9:52:20 GMT -5
Post by index on Jun 25, 2017 9:52:20 GMT -5
Index felt like laying down on the snow-covered ground forever, which felt as cold and harsh as the humiliation he was feeling at the very moment. To think he'd fall victim to the same thing he laughed at, and right after trying to make fun of the situation too. Still, he couldn't bring himself to frown even after what happened.
His arms pushed against the ground as he gasped for air after getting his head buried from the snow. "Hey, it's not my fault these kids were sharpshooters!" The words were shaky, as if he had been holding in his laughter. He adjusted his back to sit upright and started shoving off shards of ice that clung on his head. "Maybe I shouldn't have honored your noble sacrifice."
Apparently, they were out of the game by the quest description given when they accepted it. Regardless, Index didn't feel like he had lost this time. If anything else, he was rather fine with the conclusion. He wasn't the type to win in these kinds of games anyways.
catharsis
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