fandoms 31 and 32
31.
Title: Table for Two
Fandom: StreetPass games
Rating: T (mild implied King!Mii/Ultimate Ghost)
Word Count: 734
Summary: The newly opened restaurant has some distinguished visitors.
"I do apologise for our particular tastes," said the young man in the green velvet cloak. His features were delicate, his fine blonde hair tucked into a cowl, and the chef swore he recognised the man from somewhere. He was clearly trying to hide his appearance.
The seven foot tall, purple, glowing, semi-transparent wraith with large horns and sharp teeth was a little more distinctive. If the pair of them weren't paying so much money, the chef would probably have barred them and closed up the cafe by now - or, more realistically, ran away screaming.
"We are proud to cater for every dietary requirement, sir," the chef replied, "I understand that the gentleman wishes the ectoplasm to be prepared strictly separately to the lobster in wine sauce?"
The ghost nodded, "My food would be lethal if consumed by the living, I'm afraid, as disappointed I am not to be able to share such a delicacy."
"Eugene, you are embarrassing me!" the young man retreated further under his cloak, staring down at his crystal goblet of fine wine to avoid having to look the chef in the eye.
"There is no need to be ashamed of having a refined palate," said the ghost, "We so rarely have a chance to eat out in the town. I booked the newly opened restaurant privately for us, so relax!"
"Believe me, we have been forced to deal with much more unusual requests at much shorter notice," the chef reassured the man, "This is nothing compared to the gentleman with the plants."
"Plants?" asked the ghost.
"The customer insisted that, not only was he a very strict vegan, he only ate a certain list of plants, none of which we had heard of. After being shocked that we had none in stock, he gifted us with a seed sample from his own gardens. I am afraid to say that we did not understand the rather complicated and unusual growing instructions, and now one of the plants has, ahem, eaten all the others."
"You're talking about Mr. Mendel. I thought so. I've met him," said the ghost, frowning, "You should not anger him, but nor should you encourage him to frequent this establishment. He is not the pleasant man he appears to be."
"Thank you for the advice, sir. I also had a bad feeling about him," said the chef, "The space pirate fellows we had in last week were rather awkward to cater for, too. I don't think any of the food they requested was actually obtainable on this planet. Then they attempted to loot and burn down the restaurant. Fortunately, this establishment is usually full of high-ranking adventurers."
"I would keep my guard up around the adventurers as well, if I were you," advised the ghost, "They are not adverse to partaking in looting and burning of their own."
"I'm surprised we had no adventurers all day, come to think of it," said the chef, "I heard the oddest rumour... that the local dungeon was closed for business because the final boss was taking the day off!"
"Final bosses need breaks too," said the ghost, "That is, if the management does not wish to get on the wrong side of the Union."
"The final boss is not the management?" the chef frowned, confused.
"No, sir, they are only the equivalent of shop managers. There are also branch managers, area managers, shareholders..."
"You seem knowledgeable on the subject, sir," said the chef, "If it is not impolite to ask...?"
"Yes, I am the Ultimate Ghost," he admitted.
"And your companion...?"
"Would like another bottle of wine."
"Understood, sir. The gentleman's business is his own," the chef bowed, then signalled for a waiter to come and clear the plates while another ran for the bottle of wine, "Would either of you like anything else?"
"Another cup of souls, please," requested the Ultimate Ghost.
After the two of them had finished their plates, the ghost invited the man back to the final floor of the dungeon with him - he seemed unwilling to return to his own home. The couple left two official-looking scrolls behind on a plate along with a generous tip. One of the documents was a Royal Warrant of Appointment, the other was a certificate of partnership with the Worshipful Association of Labyrinth Guardians.
The Mii Plaza was an odd place, noted the chef. Profitable, but odd.
32.
Title: The End of the Galaxy
Fandom: EVE Online/.hack//Sign
Rating: K+ (RPF, spoilers for .hack//Sign)
Word Count: 658
Summary: EVE was always real. This doesn't change a thing.
When the first few EVE players collapsed into comas at their computers, their accounts impossible to delete or log out of, still showing signs of activity that featured data not obtainable in the game even by the developers, the entire online game was almost shut down permanently by Iceland's Government. However, it soon became apparent that nobody actually knew how to bring the victims of the mysterious incident back out of their comas without the help of CCP, who would need the game to be functioning, at least on the test servers, in order to make any detailed investigations.
Their first guess was a particularly nasty virus being spread by hackers, maybe something that spread some sort of sensory information to trigger seizures. However, the doctors would have known how to treat such an attack on the brain, and when the security team took the game's logs apart, all the unusual data at the time was related to transmissions from previously locked parts of the game's programming. None of the incidents had anything to do with outside interference. An inside job was suspected but none of the data had even been changed recently by CCP - the subroutines that had been triggered all related to a time before the first few beta tests of EVE Online, almost fifteen years ago.
Meanwhile, all sorts of rumours were being spread among the fans, conspiracy theories that the Drifters and/or Sleepers were real all along, or at least represented some awful Government secret to do with everyone's minds being in virtual reality, alien takeovers or psychological experiments, or a combination of all of the above. A lot of the players immediately began to play the game even more, exploring the world as much as possible, even trying to replicate the incident deliberately, all the while threatening to unsubscribe.
It was one of these players, not one of the devs, who first found the Sleeper supercapital ship called 'Morganna', surrounded by a huge fleet, each wing led by a capital ship named 'Phase of the Wave' followed by a name such as 'Skeith' or 'Fidchell'. Despite rigorous interrogation, none of CCP's senior staff had ever heard these names before, until the CEO managed to dig out some ancient data from the most secure archives, something about the original creators and an abandoned plan for a more living, growing, learning AI for the entirety of New Eden.
The prototype had been abandoned because of how potentially dangerous it was for the entirety of humanity. It had been thought deleted; it had always been designed for resilience and capacity to spread, like an invasive weed that strangled the other plants in its path.
CCP Guard was the leader of the brave team of devs who sent a Polaris squadron into the rapidly expanding occupied sector of New Eden. The players all insisted on helping, of course, despite the fact that they had none of the same safeguards - not that it mattered, as the Morganna fleet could disable all the safeguards, making devs as vulnerable as regular players.
Still, EVE players always found a way. No matter how impossible it was, they could find enough resources and enthusiasm and sheer cunning ingenuity to break whatever it was that nobody else had found a way to break yet.
As she watched the biggest, most crucial battle in New Eden rage, setting fire to the skies of an entire galaxy, producing lag that no amount of time dilation could counter but nobody cared, they were enjoying themselves so much, even as they screamed in frustration and some of them collapsed into comas with their minds stolen, Aura realised why she still found so humans so fascinating, why she couldn't quite bring herself to hate, fear and seal herself away from them as her mother commanded.
She was especially flattered at how many of them fell in love with her every day after only hearing her voice.
Title: Table for Two
Fandom: StreetPass games
Rating: T (mild implied King!Mii/Ultimate Ghost)
Word Count: 734
Summary: The newly opened restaurant has some distinguished visitors.
"I do apologise for our particular tastes," said the young man in the green velvet cloak. His features were delicate, his fine blonde hair tucked into a cowl, and the chef swore he recognised the man from somewhere. He was clearly trying to hide his appearance.
The seven foot tall, purple, glowing, semi-transparent wraith with large horns and sharp teeth was a little more distinctive. If the pair of them weren't paying so much money, the chef would probably have barred them and closed up the cafe by now - or, more realistically, ran away screaming.
"We are proud to cater for every dietary requirement, sir," the chef replied, "I understand that the gentleman wishes the ectoplasm to be prepared strictly separately to the lobster in wine sauce?"
The ghost nodded, "My food would be lethal if consumed by the living, I'm afraid, as disappointed I am not to be able to share such a delicacy."
"Eugene, you are embarrassing me!" the young man retreated further under his cloak, staring down at his crystal goblet of fine wine to avoid having to look the chef in the eye.
"There is no need to be ashamed of having a refined palate," said the ghost, "We so rarely have a chance to eat out in the town. I booked the newly opened restaurant privately for us, so relax!"
"Believe me, we have been forced to deal with much more unusual requests at much shorter notice," the chef reassured the man, "This is nothing compared to the gentleman with the plants."
"Plants?" asked the ghost.
"The customer insisted that, not only was he a very strict vegan, he only ate a certain list of plants, none of which we had heard of. After being shocked that we had none in stock, he gifted us with a seed sample from his own gardens. I am afraid to say that we did not understand the rather complicated and unusual growing instructions, and now one of the plants has, ahem, eaten all the others."
"You're talking about Mr. Mendel. I thought so. I've met him," said the ghost, frowning, "You should not anger him, but nor should you encourage him to frequent this establishment. He is not the pleasant man he appears to be."
"Thank you for the advice, sir. I also had a bad feeling about him," said the chef, "The space pirate fellows we had in last week were rather awkward to cater for, too. I don't think any of the food they requested was actually obtainable on this planet. Then they attempted to loot and burn down the restaurant. Fortunately, this establishment is usually full of high-ranking adventurers."
"I would keep my guard up around the adventurers as well, if I were you," advised the ghost, "They are not adverse to partaking in looting and burning of their own."
"I'm surprised we had no adventurers all day, come to think of it," said the chef, "I heard the oddest rumour... that the local dungeon was closed for business because the final boss was taking the day off!"
"Final bosses need breaks too," said the ghost, "That is, if the management does not wish to get on the wrong side of the Union."
"The final boss is not the management?" the chef frowned, confused.
"No, sir, they are only the equivalent of shop managers. There are also branch managers, area managers, shareholders..."
"You seem knowledgeable on the subject, sir," said the chef, "If it is not impolite to ask...?"
"Yes, I am the Ultimate Ghost," he admitted.
"And your companion...?"
"Would like another bottle of wine."
"Understood, sir. The gentleman's business is his own," the chef bowed, then signalled for a waiter to come and clear the plates while another ran for the bottle of wine, "Would either of you like anything else?"
"Another cup of souls, please," requested the Ultimate Ghost.
After the two of them had finished their plates, the ghost invited the man back to the final floor of the dungeon with him - he seemed unwilling to return to his own home. The couple left two official-looking scrolls behind on a plate along with a generous tip. One of the documents was a Royal Warrant of Appointment, the other was a certificate of partnership with the Worshipful Association of Labyrinth Guardians.
The Mii Plaza was an odd place, noted the chef. Profitable, but odd.
32.
Title: The End of the Galaxy
Fandom: EVE Online/.hack//Sign
Rating: K+ (RPF, spoilers for .hack//Sign)
Word Count: 658
Summary: EVE was always real. This doesn't change a thing.
When the first few EVE players collapsed into comas at their computers, their accounts impossible to delete or log out of, still showing signs of activity that featured data not obtainable in the game even by the developers, the entire online game was almost shut down permanently by Iceland's Government. However, it soon became apparent that nobody actually knew how to bring the victims of the mysterious incident back out of their comas without the help of CCP, who would need the game to be functioning, at least on the test servers, in order to make any detailed investigations.
Their first guess was a particularly nasty virus being spread by hackers, maybe something that spread some sort of sensory information to trigger seizures. However, the doctors would have known how to treat such an attack on the brain, and when the security team took the game's logs apart, all the unusual data at the time was related to transmissions from previously locked parts of the game's programming. None of the incidents had anything to do with outside interference. An inside job was suspected but none of the data had even been changed recently by CCP - the subroutines that had been triggered all related to a time before the first few beta tests of EVE Online, almost fifteen years ago.
Meanwhile, all sorts of rumours were being spread among the fans, conspiracy theories that the Drifters and/or Sleepers were real all along, or at least represented some awful Government secret to do with everyone's minds being in virtual reality, alien takeovers or psychological experiments, or a combination of all of the above. A lot of the players immediately began to play the game even more, exploring the world as much as possible, even trying to replicate the incident deliberately, all the while threatening to unsubscribe.
It was one of these players, not one of the devs, who first found the Sleeper supercapital ship called 'Morganna', surrounded by a huge fleet, each wing led by a capital ship named 'Phase of the Wave' followed by a name such as 'Skeith' or 'Fidchell'. Despite rigorous interrogation, none of CCP's senior staff had ever heard these names before, until the CEO managed to dig out some ancient data from the most secure archives, something about the original creators and an abandoned plan for a more living, growing, learning AI for the entirety of New Eden.
The prototype had been abandoned because of how potentially dangerous it was for the entirety of humanity. It had been thought deleted; it had always been designed for resilience and capacity to spread, like an invasive weed that strangled the other plants in its path.
CCP Guard was the leader of the brave team of devs who sent a Polaris squadron into the rapidly expanding occupied sector of New Eden. The players all insisted on helping, of course, despite the fact that they had none of the same safeguards - not that it mattered, as the Morganna fleet could disable all the safeguards, making devs as vulnerable as regular players.
Still, EVE players always found a way. No matter how impossible it was, they could find enough resources and enthusiasm and sheer cunning ingenuity to break whatever it was that nobody else had found a way to break yet.
As she watched the biggest, most crucial battle in New Eden rage, setting fire to the skies of an entire galaxy, producing lag that no amount of time dilation could counter but nobody cared, they were enjoying themselves so much, even as they screamed in frustration and some of them collapsed into comas with their minds stolen, Aura realised why she still found so humans so fascinating, why she couldn't quite bring herself to hate, fear and seal herself away from them as her mother commanded.
She was especially flattered at how many of them fell in love with her every day after only hearing her voice.