[closed] begin at the beginning

[cyberfly]

Who: Nagi and Niles
What: Otaku help
When: June 30
Where: Near Shore
Warnings: Probably not?


[ There's a wildly popular JRPG known as Embers of Endymion: Destiny or EDes ('ee desu') if you're hip to the fandom. Nagi has tinkered with it on and off since his arrival at the Far Shore. Gaming is a lot more advanced than what Nagi was familiar with before. Don't ask him how he knows this; he just does. The premise is very much in line with a lot of these grand fantasy roleplaying games. You play a customizable avatar who finds him or herself thrust in the middle of an end-of-days clash between the gods of the old world and the rebelling class of humanity who would take the world back for themselves. As your avatar was born half god half human, you get to decide which side to take. Maybe the choice seems quite obvious at first glance, but as with all such stories, there are always complications you didn't expect. Humans, after all, are the same wherever you are: real world or fantasy world, they build and expand and destroy the lands they inhabit. Even if they manage to smite down their divine oppressors, what kind of world will they create? Is the world a better place with gods or humans in charge? That's the dilemma of the avatar and his/her many allies.

So what does any of this have to do with the mission at hand? A lot, actually. (Aside from the strange overlap of divine intervention themes, anyway). Today Nagi and Niles (whom he has yet to meet) will be sent out into the Near Shore to assist someone in obtaining a secret rare amiibo of an EDes character by the name of Astrid. She's one of the first characters you avatar meets in the game, and it turns out she has a terrible secret that will change the course of your story, depending on how close your characters become through the gameplay. But in order to access this part of the story, you have to buy the amiibo. Only a few hundred of them have been put out there, and its rarity has reached legendary proportions.

In any case, the prayer they received is from a die-hard fan of EDes, who has tried in vain to obtain this coveted item. Nagi has a few ideas already, and is quite certain he can handle this sort of thing all on his own. But the gods have sent him an assistant anyway.

He waits for him now, at the designated spot on the Near Shore: a shrine that's commonly used to go back and forth between this world and the Far Shore. He stands there with messenger bag across his shoulder, waiting patiently. ]

Comments

[deniles]

[This is one of those things that Niles may not ever understand. Why is something like that so rare? Especially if it's required for something. He decides asking questions is only going to make his head hurt. So he just agrees to meet this other person, and that's the end of that. He sighs, and shakes his head.

Nope. Never gonna ever do this sort of shit again.

But a prayer is a prayer, and it'll look good to Leo if he can play nice. So, he's playing assistant. It's a role he's good at, according to his new found memories.

In one of his new outfits, he meets where he's told to meet Nagi. Just in case, because he hates being unprepared, he spins a dagger in his fingers as he gets closer. No one says he'll need it, but it makes him feel better anyways.]

Nagi, I presume. [He chuckles, slipping the dagger up his sleeve.] Niles. Let's do this together.

[cyberfly]

[ He stares at the newcomer with some scrutiny. After all, this guy is supposed to work with him, and Nagi doesn't need any dead weight. This 'Niles' looks a bit like a mage wannabe in his flapping cape and puffy pants. He looks more like he belongs in a cosplay convention. The dagger is actually a little more promising. ]

Let's go, then.

[ He turns and starts walking without waiting for a response. ]

We'll start at the con. There's one happening in Shibuya today.

[deniles]

[At least he'll, somewhat, blend in if necessary. Which, hopefully it won't be. He slips the dagger into his pants, where it clinks with another. Yes, he is prepared. Don't doubt him.]

Fine by me. How fast can we get there?

[He knows a few path ways. But perhaps this man knows more than he does.]

[cyberfly]

[ They don't have a god to teleport them, so it'll take longer than a second. That said, Nagi has already researched the quickest route on the train. ]

10 minutes.

[ He nods toward the station a block down the street. The trains run much like Nagi does: efficiently and on-time. ]

Do you know what it is we're looking for?

[ Given that the guy looks like he belongs at an anime con, maybe he has some understanding of fandom things. ]

[deniles]

Some toy some collector wants.

[If you thought he knew it, you'd be heavily mistaken there. He doesn't have the time or energy to deal with such foolish matters himself, thank you very much.]

It's not important. You know, right? I'll take care of the grunt work.

[It's implied here that he doesn't think Nagi can, but he doesn't say that outloud as they move towards the station.]

[cyberfly]

Hmph.

[ Is all he says to that. Nagi can do the work, he knows it. It doesn't really matter what Niles thinks he can or cannot do. Besides, the practical side of himself says that if his partner wants to do the work, he's more than welcome to it. Just as long as he's efficient at it.

They reach the station in quick time. Nagi has already studied the schedule and knows precisely which platform to go to. He heads for there now, without bothering to buy a metro pass. He simply walks through the gates, and they open for him. He'll open them for Niles too, unless he's a more upstanding guy and got a pass of his own. ]

[deniles]

[Niles is everything except upstanding. He's the last man in the world to ever need to be upstanding. Instead, he climbs over the gates and moves to stand beside him.]

Cranky, are we?

[Don't Hmph at him.]

[cyberfly]

No.

[ Not cranky. But he'll hmph at you if he wants to hmph at you. Nagi might act like an old man sometimes, but he's still a teenager (probably). He might even roll his eyes at Niles in that bored sort of way that's so typical of his generation. ]

I don't like crowds, [ he says instead. It's true enough. This platform is always busy, even in off-peak hours. Teleporting would be a handy skill to have right about now. ]

[deniles]

[Hmph all you want, you cranky brat. Niles will continue to tease you. He shakes his head, sighing.]

Well that's unfortunate. [Not that he really cares. He'll do what he's asked.] Hope you can handle them well enough. Or we're gonna have a problem.