TWINBLADE, murmur

[MURMUR]

SUMMARY

I LOOK OUT AND EVERYTHING'S TOO FAST FOR ME AND I FEEL THERE MUST BE MORE.
EVERY DAY I DREAM OF WHERE I'VE COME FROM NOW I KNOW I'M JUST AN EMULATION.

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][cs=2][atrb=style, width: 400px; border-top: 7px solid #eee; border-bottom: 7px solid #eee;, bTable; ][atrb=style, padding: -5px; height: 400px;] MURMUR has guy chick / tom boy / androgeny written--coded all over her. Willowy or lanky virtual form. Serious face template with nothing cutesy on it. Red eyes. Husky, nearly sullen user-interface voice. It's easy to mistake her for a male character from afar. She's an endgamer in the making. She likes to play and play hard. And she likes earning her own way. Torn between using a male character in game and just going ahead on a female, she has a problem with characters who try to give her things or coddle her. She's chosen twinblade because she enjoys being a jack of all trades and comes up with sometimes clever ways of soloing most tasks when she could just ask for help. She's the sort you'll find in mismatched gear because of the stats. She really doesn't care what she looks like. She'll bypass the princess dresses for something - anything - with pants or similar mobility and function of design. In other games, she's been known to 'skin' equipment from beautiful feminine frills into basic level one pants. Her habits in this regard have made people nerdrage. Spending time with MURMUR is much like trying to have a meaningful conversation with an errand boy on over-time. Conversations continue, dragged out onto the field, as she is a notorious trainer. She will spend countless hours a-field for just the right drops, also to cap out all her skills and abilities before moving to the next level or area of difficulty. She's a completionist and socially dysfunctional. When people come along for the ride they are quickly bored, or feel she's only half paying attention to anything they start talking about in any really deep or meaningful way. She's too busy trying to get that last item to complete a full stack, or finding the best drop with the right stat mods. A theoretical example of this: Friendly party member: "But I don't know if he likes me. I mean, he let me go out with him when he warped into that one area." MURMUR: "That's eleven. I just need one more wild onion for my stack." Friendly party member: "And we talked a lot. But then he really didn't say goodbye when he left." MURMUR: "Keep your eyes open for any goblins." Friendly party member: "Maybe he disconnected..." MURMUR: "I prefer thugs because weavers just don't drop them. At least I've never found them to drop them." Friendly party member: "Huh? Oh, I guess neither have I...." The reality is that she really is listening. After all, it's coming through her headset or on her log and she never lets anything slip by. But she never knows what to say to conversations like this. If she was good with people she wouldn't be attracted to the allure of pixels in the first place. Somewhere in that steely heart and beneath her stoic features, she probably cares. Unless you're a really unsympathetic character by default. The way she shows that she cares is by taking you out in the field again. MURMUR has player-killing enabled because she doesn't want to be laughed at. But she's not a player-killer. It's also active because if it nets a player experience she'll use it. But she is a natural PvE gamer. She enjoys adventuring, exploring and unlocking the world. MURMUR on making friends: One day, somewhere in the back of her mind, it would probably occur to her that she has friends through her repeat exposure to certain players who enjoy going out into the field with her to get items and experience. It will really be driven home to her at certain critical times when things get ugly. When people game with MURMUR she will always look out for their health points and make sure they can withstand the experience in one piece. She is competent and her generosity with that Repth spell is, in her own special way, a tacit form of friendship. MURMUR on making enemies: It's hard to get on her bad side. It takes a lot to get MURMUR to rise to any kind of baiting. She tends to see even player-killers as part of the interface. Unfortunately the fact that she considers a player-killer as nothing more than an intelligent NPC that aggroed her in the field might rub against some egos.

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made by prism of btn and ls~

[GALE]

Okay, so I don't have a plot page yet because I'm too overcome with languor, but I figured I'd post in your plot page regardless as I see our characters being quite similarly opposite. I play Gale, an Adept Rogue who like MURMUR is not yet affiliated to any guild and prefers creative soloing than company; however, he does have specific players he'll come to game with more often than others if they can get past his caustic edge. With his avatar being effeminate, he foils MURMUR's tomboyish look though his interface voice kind of leaves him androgynous when he actually cares to craft conversation with someone. MURMUR and Gale both seem like stoics and aren't there to abuse the social functions of The World. Instead, I think they'd both keep meaningless conversation to a minimum and rather team up to loot, level up, excavate dungeons, and set monsters to ruin. With a casual roll of his shoulders, Gale honestly wouldn't care if he received her attention or not because more than likely he is only giving her a quarter of his attention. Although, I assume they are geared towards the same aspirations they might be more attuned to one another over time and generally become accustom to paying heed to each others presence involuntarily? I'm rambling here. Tell me what you think.

[MURMUR]

Thanks for your post!

I think that sounds great really. It's like looking in a mirror. She enjoys similar-minded company on dungeon crawls and enjoys teaming up for monster hunts. And I think that over time they certainly would begin to mesh as a team if they continue in each other's company.

She also almost chose Adept Rogue as her class so his way of interacting in the game would be a big interest to her. There are some topics which she could speak about for hours comfortably. Mostly game mechanics and game strategies and socially neutral topics that don't involve a lot of feelings and speculation.

She's more of a listener than one to talk. Unless she has direct experience in something and then you can crack her open into a discussion. What do you think? Tossing the ball back to you.

[GALE]

No problem! Your plot page looked lonely.

Okay, perfect. I imagine they would have this awkward, but working relationship -- like you mentioned looking into a mirror: I say awkward because both of their avatars seem like they encompass the opposite gender and I suppose they compensate by teaming up with one another and probably snicker inwardly at other players casting dumbfounded or bewildered looks their way attempting to classify them. C: Fun times. Anyways, I think it would benefit both of them to share in one anothers company and possibly form some sort of effort at communication even between themselves (other players be forever overshadowed). Gale takes the appearance of the wave master class; however, he was close to choosing twin blade and does possess one of that class's skills in his arsenal. Even though he wields a staff, he doesn't know any spells...which can be a little confounding as well as frustrating if he doesn't state his class and gives other players a false impression. As much as MURMUR could use Gale, I think Gale would be delighted with her chosen class since they both enjoy the elements of both classes. Truth be told, Gale isn't a strategist at heart, although he is a sly one when he chooses to be. All the wishy-washy conversation, can be left offline in his regard, neutral issues or gaming mechanics sound fine to him even if he isn't as bright on the subject as she is so he certainly doesn't mind learning. Gale just doesn't talk all that much unless it's injected with sarcasm, mocking or general disfavor. That doesn't mean he can't be friendly he just prefers to listen as well unless it's something technical; he doesn't do personal. I'm sorry he's such a unsocial fiend. Throwing it on you again.

[MURMUR]

Yes indeed I could see all of this come to pass. And it would make me chuckle. Murmur is a good friend for the sarcastic or aloof types. She doesn't mind if someone turns biting around her in conversation. She's my 'bad boy with a heart of gold' occasionally, only obviously, it's a female player, and I like portraying archetypes cross-gender like that. A little bit of that Revolutionary Girl in her at times.

Every now and again, I see a sportsmanship edge of competition rising unknowingly between them because each has a complimentary angle on the other's class. That mid-battle or mid-danger grin-and-bear-it expression or moment as they both either realize they could do somewhat the same thing, or do something different that would watch each other's backs respectively.

I like your ideas and I'd like to see it play out. Thanks for coming to keep my plot page company.

I was thinking of jumping into that open thread in Mac-Anu started by VII as soon as I can get my posting template and sig file settled. Would you be interested in that?

[ORCHID]

wow. i honestly think orchid would love murmur to death. and if you knew anything about orchid, like.. that's really saying something. people piss her off pretty easily. ;e;

murmur just seems like.. business. like she's here to get things done and really nothing else. i know there's more to that since i read the whole plot page, but that's how she comes off and that's how orchid would receive her. but orchid would not have a problem with that; when she's out exploring, she hates it when she has teammates that just slow her down and a party member like murmur would be like a breath of fresh air. she wouldn't even unfairly pk her (she's the guild master of demise in hindsight -- the pking guild -- by the way). if they ever fought, it would be a fair duel simply because orchid would feel that this was the kind of battle that murmur deserved (and ultimately the kind of battle she would want out of murmur as well).

it's weird. orchid and murmur would actually have, like.. a degree of respect between them, maybe.

of course, orchid is a huge bitch. and all of the aforementioned would only apply if murmur didn't rip her hair out after being in her company for more than five seconds. like, orchid's a huge bitch and says whatever the hell she wants to say and doesn't care who likes it and who doesn't.

so, you know. if they could get past that initial point (either by murmur ignoring orchid or by orchid simply not being annoyed by murmur enough to say something rude), then i think they would be some amazing, like. training buddies. and then training buddies eventually would possibly evolve into an actual friendship. or something. ~o~

[MURMUR]

grinning...

Thanks, ORCHID! I laughed and nodded several times when I read this post. "All business." Great way to sum up MURMUR at-a-glance.

Yes, it would be a strange sort of relationship of mutual respect. Obviously MURMUR is going to respect that ORCHID wields a lot of power as the leader of the PK-guild. On the one hand PK obviously nets some experience points and is encouraged so it is a way to advance a character through the game. On the other hand MURMUR would find any low-level PK obviously not challenging enough for her tastes as a would-be endgamer.What other characters do with their paid game time though is their choice and she's not one to slow down her own level grind to have a philosophical debate over another player's habits.

And at the same time she's not apathetic about it really. Players would start to push her limits if they got in her way while trying to clear a dungeon with irresponsible PK or stuff like that. You know, anything that interrupts business. grins

I can see her possibly being that third element for you? The player that's asked to go in on the hard missions to get stuff done. Over time, as you say, I completely see 'training buddies that don't admit to friends.'

And I think she'd enjoy PK duels with Orchid and treat them brutally fair. Especially if she wants to test out a new item or ability, or to test an area for maneuverability and Orchid's wanting some PK.

Sarcasm, bitchery, and any snide comments she tends to treat as 'user-interface.' Plenty of NPCs are programmed to be horribly rude. It's a character glitch for her to see people as just 'part of the environment' like that. Which means that she almost never gets offended by another player mouthing off. As long as she can eventually click OK and move on.

What are your thoughts? Bouncing the ball back to you again.

[ORCHID]

i love how much of the game she treats as "user-interface." like i'm really loving murmur as a character ♥♥

ummm. i think the best way for them to meet is through the bulletin board -- aka i need a party member someone come and the opposing character responds (i don't know if you'd want to do that little bulletin board post [not completely necessary since it doesn't add to our post counts] or if you'd want to just dive right in and have that be the reason why they're in whatever area they're in).

and, yeah. they'd just. adventure with each other and see where that goes.

[MURMUR]

I've been trying to figure out a way in to the bulletin board and that sounds like a great one. I think MURMUR is a closet board junkee because you can learn a bunch of game stuff that way. But she is a real lurker and only posts when she has something to do.

So I'll leave a post and then we can interact there as well as starting up a thread for the dungeon crawl in the world. (I don't mind posting where there aren't skill-ups for posting, it's all part of the experience of .hack for me.)

Thanks for the ramp up to play - I'm looking forward to this a lot. Look for me on the Board!

[CAILLIS]

MURMUR and CAILLIS

Caillis is an insane son of a [insert term for female dog here]who takes enjoyment out of mercilessly killing Players and Murmur is a future endgamer. It think these two would have an interesting relationship. Caillis would respect her for being unlike all the other noobs who are like "OMG THE WORLD IZ AHHSUM" and likely won't try to PK her for that seriousness. Caillis would also try to get her to be not so serious though. He believes that The World serves for the Players to do what they enjoy best, and for Caillis it's screwing with other players. I don't think that he'd believe her to be getting full satisfaction of of her all business attitude so therefore would purposely try to get her to loosen up, albeit in his own special insane filled way.

[MURMUR]

Hello, CAILLIS! I can see their relationship evolving into one of perpetual amused frustration. She wouldn't understand the thrill of player-killing on the level that CAILLIS does. And he wouldn't understand that sometimes business is pleasure. But where they meet in the center, might be ambush PK attacks whenever MURMUR is just hanging out.

She wouldn't care if he ambushed her at certain times because PK is experience. At other times she would be possibly frustrated with him if he got in between her and business. But I see that frustration quickly melting away into the interest of PK dueling as they got into their dynamic. Sort of her saying, 'You're keeping me from my treasure chest, but this is kinda fun...' begrudging acknowledgement.

And strangely their dynamic might evolve into 'there are other ways to enjoy the game, MURMUR, you know like insane PK!' and MURMUR would be like, dry retort, 'If I get any hobbies, it will be crafting...'

What do you think?

[CAILLIS]

I love it. We should of head a thread like yesterday.

[VANN]

So Vann's a pretty sociable friendly PKer, though he'll kindly heal you just before nearing the final stretch of the dungeon and then PK you into virtual oblivion. No hard feelings right? He really has no self-reservation about outing players or personal space for that matter so I can assume he would try to strike up conversation with Murmur whenever she fell silent since he views quiet as unnerving some of the time and well, he always has something to say. With neither of them holding onto grudges I could see them as casual friends or dungeon-crawl comrades; he has an eye for strategy so they could compare notes on that end. Let me know if you have any other ideas. C:

[GALE]

That sounds just dandy because Gale is one of those illusive, corrosive types of players and people though more so virtually than anything. His bark is worse than his bite apparently...well until something aggravates him enough to actually snap at it instead of show them the chip in his cold shoulder. Oh, I love Utena. :'D Yeah, I can also see them becoming quite competitive about playing together maybe even knowingly after a while, but they really keep it between themselves. Or it could work out that they involuntarily strike up this competitive edge, and yet it somehow strengthens their cooperation with one another instead winding up spine-to-spine effectively doing away with the enemy.

I think the Mac Anu thread is full enough by now without a fourth person jumping the wagon. If you wanted to start another thread somewhere I wouldn't oppose. C:

[MURMUR]

Hello, Vann! Naturally no hard feelings. She does come equipped with Repth for moments when the interface turns against her (or, in other words, you!) so regardless of the outcome of the fight, she would just make a mental note of your strategy and adjust her own strategy to preempt you the next time. Which could get brutal. (Read: fun!)

She doesn't have any strategy buddies yet. And even though she's quiet, you get the sense that even if she doesn't directly reply on certain topics she's always always listening. (Beware the quiet ones ... It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for.) Which means you have a pretty good platform to speak your thoughts to your heart's content if you meet up with her out in the field or in a city somewhere.

So strategy buds certainly would work!