Record Break

[FlockOfHens]

(MAR. ##, 2022)

As the winter season ends with the start of March, the Virtual Valley Fair is often filled with many avatars. Many go out of their way to shop for various deals on clothes, skins, and virtual pets. Others are just there to hang out with those close to them. Some with their parents, siblings, and relatives, others with their friends, dates, or partners. Everyone was enjoying their time with the ones they loved dearly, spending time on their hobbies, or just enjoying the scenery the public server offered.

All except one.

Walking around the virtual mall, a fairly tall avatar stood out, with two sets of demonic horns, reddish fur, light pink skin, big animalistic ears, a long tail, and cloven hooves that dawned an otherworldly attire. Rikario had just got out of his part-time job to take a break. Normally, he would stay inside the record store listening to music, but instead, his employer wanted him to look around the mall. Honestly, Rikario had gotten the sense that his co-workers never wanted him there. It could be because he's still young to be working, or that he's... Well...

Looking at the store windows, he could identify his avatar further. The horns, ears, hooves, and tail were all gathered from the Baldur’s Gate 3 skin pack, while his clothes were from the Mass Effect clothing pack. He changed his skin and hair into more vibrant colors while his pupils were shaped into "X’s," suiting his forever saddened expression. As he continued walking, he couldn’t help but feel that he was out of place, even though he passed by a couple with different animation styles and a few Woodies here and there. He could only sigh as he kept waking.

[NoLife42069]

Ángel wished he was programming. Sure, the virtue of being in cyberspace made the whole ordeal more palatable to him, yet Ángel still hadn't got rid of the nagging feeling of not being "Productive." and While yes, most would say that if you define spending time with your Significant Other as "Not productive." then you really shouldn't be in a relationship, Ángel would agree then tell you the heart is a cruel bastard.

Ángel walked and turned heads. It wasn't every day you see someone incorporate bugs into their Avatar. It was a similar model to the one he made for CyberTag. Moth antennae on his head that occasionally twitch, Mandibles on his face that sometimes chitter and snap(Yes, he was well aware that moths didn't have mandibles), The wings that hugged his back, and a new addition, Four insectoid arms sprouting from his midback. While programming and controlling them was a bitch and a half he was quite proud of his work.

Regardless of the stares and double takes, Ángel walked forward like a man on a mission. Being early is on time, and being on time is late after all. Inhuman, animal eyes glazed over as Ángel receded into his mind. 'Vicky needs help with a project... The code shouldn't be too hard, but her's is always spaghetti... Maybe I should get Bryan to demuck it for m-'

Ángel's train of thought was derailed as he bumped into someone. "Ah, sorry that's my bad." Ángel refocused and looked to the person in front of him. "Sorry but... Do I know you? You seem familiar..." Though the person in front of him was a good ol' fashion teifling, and school would never let that slide. People tended to keep their faces across Avatars. "You go to Sycamore, right?"

[FlockOfHens]

Rikario was too busy looking around at the people passing him, lost in thought. The diverse selection of monsters and humanoids had always surprised him. He passed by a man changing from a werewolf to a vampire avatar, a cyborg mistaking a woodie for a bench, and, surprisingly, a ton of avatars from Fortnite. If he created a different skin, he could look awesome like everyone else. He could probably dabble in different aesthetics that nobody's heard of, like Solarpunk or-

"ah-!" Rikario suddenly felt his hand get caught with someone else's arm, or in this case, multiple arms. It was a weird sensation; one of the arms felt sharp and scaley. Rubbing his hand, he turns to see a slightly shorter insectoid figure. Their mandibles twitched as they apologized. "Y-y-yeah... i-i-it... i-its all-"

Wait... That voice... Is he..? Rikario focused his attention on the moth, getting a clear look on his face.

Yup, no mistaking it. He bumped into Angel.

"...A-a-ange..."

Oh god, why the heck was he freezing up? He knows Angel; they've been friends ever since middle school! Or, at least, they were. Wait, were they still friends? When was the last time they talked? Does he still watch anime? Rikario tried to answer Angel's question, afraid he'd act like an idiot.

"Y-y-y-ye-es-s..?"

[NoLife42069]

The glaze left Ángel's eyes. The voice got him, and Ángel looked at the person in front of him. Really looked.

He was an idiot.

"Ah." Ángel said as the memories came flooding back. Why had it taken him this long to realize it was Rikairo? Maybe because he was so caught up in his own mind.

But a more pressing matter looked Ángel in the eyes. How would he play this? Ángel wasn't good with dealing with others at the best of times but for something as delicate as this? He couldn't fuck this up.

"I'm... I'm sorry Rikario... I... I didn't recognize it was you..." Rikario was quiet and sounded nervous. He couldn't blame him, the two hadn't talked in a long while. Ángel regretted that a friend was hurting, and alone, and yet Ángel still didn't talk to him. The additional arms hugged Ángel's torso, as his mandibles clicked. "It's... Um, it's been a while. How have you been? Checking out the fair?" Ángel hated how bad he was at this, hated how he struggled to navigate this.

Ángel's hand came to rest on the back of his neck. "I didn't take you for a DnD fan... Teiflings are great though..." Ángel's mind was once again whirling as he tried to think of what to say.

[FlockOfHens]

It indeed has been a while since they've talked.

"I-I-I-I'm... I-I-I've b-been ok..."

As he listened to Angel talk, he could sense the awkwardness in his voice. Rikario felt that Angel was trying to figure out what to say but was having trouble. He could even tell by his posture that the atmosphere around them was getting uncomfortable. In a weird sense, it reminded him of his friends in elementary school. Sometimes, they would make up an excuse to leave him, while other times, they ignore him entirely. Most of it was always because they didn't want to help out someone with mental issues. Maybe the same thing is happening with him and Angel.

Honestly, he didn't mind it. It was okay if they didn't want to help him, but what frustrated him was that they always made things difficult for him and themselves. But if anything, Rikario should be lucky he's talking with a friend like Angel; his parents always wanted him to "socialize more." He nodded to Angel's thoughts about his avatar skin as he fixed his sluggish posture.

"I didn't... d-d-didn't... e-e-ex-pect... to... to s-see you... h-here..."

[NoLife42069]

"That's good. Being okay is something to strive for... Lot of uh people can't get to that." Why did he say that?! There was a tension between the two, both were...

No, the two just weren't talking about the elephant in the room. That Ángel and Rikario had drifted apart. It wasn't anyone's fault, shit happens. But what was Ángel's fault was that he abandoned him. Rikario was alone, and clearly struggling with things. Yet, Ángel was so caught up in his own shit that he couldn't even spare the time to say hi. He always struggled with relationships with others, but Rikario stood as proof of his fuck ups.

"I... I honestly wouldn't have been here. Too many people, sometimes I-..." Ángel stopped himself, now wasn't the time to talk about his issues. "I was coming here for a date you know? They um... They wanted to meet up, walk around the fair, and all that. I happened to have a free slot in my schedule and... The rest is history."

Ángel dryly chuckled. He was arguing with himself, one part of him wanted to call out the tension between the two and the other wanted to keep the status quo. The time between chitters decreased, like a metronome Ángel's mandibles clicked. One of his extra appendages began to tap on his side. "Why did you come? No offense but neither of us are the kind of people to come to these..." There was a beat before Ángel realized his words. "N-Not to assume anything about you. Just from... From back in middle school..." Ángel's mind was beginning to sound like the current humor of the internet, ie loud screaming.

"Want to... Talk for a bit?" It came out with all the nervous energy he felt inside. A bit forced, with a hint of fear.

[JacobAllTradez]

While Angel and Rikardo were only starting their conversation, another figure was on the verge of ending theirs. "Okay, thanks, bye!" Soledad called out, rushing out of whatever area she had been a part of the Virtual Valley Fair with her virtual bags, mainly of skins and avatars to try out. Soledad had, admittedly, never bothered to make her avatar any different from how she looked in real life, so this was more of a chance to try something different than the norm. She kept on the trail for a few minutes before finally, her eyes came upon Rikardo and Angel. "Oh, hey guys!" Soledad said, walking up to them. "About time I saw some people here I actually knew. How's the fair treatin' ya?"

[FlockOfHens]

Rikario could tell that Angel was trying so hard to avoid the tension between the two, from the changes between his voice and choice of words to the minor fidgeting with his extra hands. Even the nervous chuckling was a dead giveaway. He was expecting him to make a quick exit but was surprised when he offered to spend time with him. He was about to accept the invitation but caught himself before he could answer. What would they even talk about, school? Did they even still have the same hobbies? It's obvious the two were in different worlds, and it would be problematic if they both collided. Besides, Angel had his agenda, and so did Rikario. But it would still be nice to catch up. There's gotta be a lot of stories from Angel. He even stated that he was on a date.

"Uh-uhhh..."

And as if the heavens parted ways to finally lighten the tension between Angel & Rikario, somebody else joins in their conversation. And out of anyone from his class, Rikario was surprised to see Soledad. Her cheerful demeanor shined brighter than the Fair's indoor lighting as she approached the two. And if it weren't evident from the tons of shopping bags, Sol was spending her time shopping.

"H-h-h-hi Sol... W-w-we were... w-were... I was... j-just... h-h-hang... ing..."

[NoLife42069]

Never before had Ángel been so happy to see Sol. It was obvious that the two boys were fucking awful at communicating, and Ángel hoped that the presence of Sol could help facilitate their discourse.

At the very least it would stop things from getting more awkward.

"Well, I'd say... I got a chance to talk with an old friend. Though I would prefer not to accidentally sit on people. It's honestly admirable how committed some woodies are." It was easier to talk to Sol, there wasn't any of the tension that seemed to choke his conversation(Could you even call it that?) with Rikario. "I was asking Rikario if he wanted to talk for a bit... Would you li-" Ángel stopped suddenly, as his eyes widened. "One sec." He said as he took a step away.

He muttered a little to himself, as his extra arms did things. two began to pet at his furled wings, and his other two went to his hips. His human arms just crossed themselves. After a bit, Ángel returned to the two.

"Well there's been a change of plans, my partner had to call off so I guess I no longer have a place to be..." While a bit frustrated the situation wasn't all bad, this gave him an opportunity to talk with Rikario. "Are the two of you busy? We could... I don't know get something to eat or something... My treat of course." It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad how much the presence of Sol made this easier. Ángel threw a glance at Rikario. "Catch up and whatnot..."

[JacobAllTradez]

“Yooo we going out to eat?” Soledad asked, having only jumped into the latter parts of the ‘conversation’. Unlike Angel and Rikario, Soledad was far more of the life of the party when it came to conversations. She could talk hours upon hours about whatever subject came to mind.

Where Soledad really struggled was in social cues.

“So how many types of skin have you bought from the virtual black market?” Soledad asked.

[FlockOfHens]

Now that he thought of it, it was as if the world was cringing at Angel and Rikario's conversation and decided to give them a hand. Sol just happened to pop out of nowhere, whether by coincidence or timing. While Angel walked off to take care of something, Rikario took a glance at Sol while she was distracted. Even after school, there's never been a time where he's seen Sol not smiling. Despite her name, it felt that there was light radiating off of her. The happiest standing next to him, the sorrowful kid in school. It was somewhat ironic...

Angel returned with his change of plans of getting food, although Rikario felt unsettled when he glanced over at him. He felt skeptical about the whole idea, even when they might not have everything in common to talk about. But since Sol is here, they might find some common ground or revisit old memories from their middle school.

"I-I'm... down..."

Sure, he might have to work again in a few minutes, but reconnecting with his friends was more important, so he didn't care. What caught him off-guard was Sol's joke about the dark web.

[NoLife42069]

There was general agreement, great. Eating food in Cyberspace is like peeling dry glue off your hands, you don't have to so you only do it because you want to.

Ángel began to scan the area for food places when Sol pulled a Sol. Incredibly intelligent, sociable, and nice person. She just sucked at keeping her stream of consciousness under control.

Ángel fell into a quick chuckling fit at her words. Truly, a very Sol thing to say. "None actually, I don't tend to buy models or skins. I make them myself, besides no one wants to go through the hassle of modeling all the extra appendages I have." Ángel shook his head lightly as one of his insect arms did a "come on" motion.

"let's look around, see if anything interests any of you. Also, don't call it a black market. You make it sound like we sell organs or something." Ángel began to walk as he plotted how he would talk with his old friend.

[JacobAllTradez]

Soledad blinked, glancing at Angel with a hint of confusion. "Why would we be doing that? All we have is some skin from the avatar store." Soledad could only shrug it off. "Oh well, it ain't worth bringing up in great detail. I'm only buying them so I can mess around with them on weekends."

Soledad then turned her focus on Rikario, unable to hear his timid voice. "You're...you're what?" She asked. "Did you say you were done or something?" Soledad looked at Angel. "I dunno, Angel, something tells me he wants to go home."

...

"Or maybe his mic broke or something, I dunno."

[FlockOfHens]

"O-oh... Umm... I-I-I..."

Of course, it happened again. It wasn't new for Rikario to be misunderstood, but it still bothered him. Whenever he talks to others, it takes five times to make them understand. But if he was lucky enough, it'll take him three times. Now he knows why his parents always complained to him to speak up, to avoid these situations.

"No, I... I-I-I m-meant... I c-c-can go... L-like, go... o-out... o-o-out eat... ing..."

How hard is he going to make this? He's supposed to make things less complicated than they already are. He felt the eyes of Sol & Angel staring at him, almost as if they were judging him. He blushed in embarrassment as his avatar showed brighter shades of pink. All he has to say is, "I like to hang out! I've wanted to try out the ice cream parlor they've just opened up," what more can it get from that?

"I-I-I-I'd like... t-t-to h-hang... out... w-with... you g-g-guys... and e-eat..."

"..."

Lord help this child...

[NoLife42069]

Ángel gave a nod to Sol. He hadn't bought a skin in quite a while, tending to make all of his. The last time was about a year ago and even then he was just using it as a basis.

Ángel shook his head. "No, no, Rikario just tends to talk quietly. Like me, he can be a bit awkward at times. Though mine tends to pop up in not knowing what to say, he just speaks quietly." Funny, because as the words left his mouth he began to regret them. Thoughts about how he 'Assumed details about him!' and 'Insulted him!'

Rikario made his sentiment of wanting to spend time with the two. Ángel nodded. "Got anywhere you want to go in mind? I have a feeling the two of you have spent more time here than I have. Oh, and don't worry about the price. I recently got my last paycheck so I'm doing pretty good on money..." Ángel hesitated for a moment.

"Speaking of, do either of you work?" 'Yeah, that should be good. The only way this could fail is if Sol says something strange...'