open;

[notfunny]

Who ⚡ Cyno and co.
What ⚡ Event stuff, dungeon stuff
When ⚡ August
Where ⚡ Mac Anu & Lumina Cloth
Content Warnings ⚡ Will warn if needed

[ for reference, plotting post is here

see prompts below in comments!!!

can also PM me for stuff or leave something separately... myaa ]

Comments

grunties my beloveds...

[notfunny]

[ they're pretty darn cute, huh? somehow cyno can't help but fall in love with the babies, exposing a tender heart in the face of drooling mouths and wet noses. as it stands, cyno's been relatively fortunate to have found some of those strange vegetables while in the various areas he's been in. one of which happens to be in the shape of a weird... turnipy... root vegetable thing? he wouldn't know. the worst part about them is how they say their names.

but before he starts to feed one, he has to find the right one.

standing in the grunty ranch, cyno wipes his brow. it's unforgivably hot but he'll deal for now. he has no other choice.

as one approaches his ankles, he bends down to pat the grunty's head. ]

[regressive]

Don't think that you're here to choose the Grunty, it will choose you.

[ The words of wisdom come from a man wearing black and sitting on the ground with his Grunty napping after eating Bear Cat Eggs. That's for the best, really, considering how the item kept repeating its name in 30 second intervals. Joonghyuk notices the vegetable in Cyno's hand that's definitely not edible for them, but the Grunties might like it. ]

But you came well prepared, that's commendable.

[notfunny]

Of course.

[ cyno is anything but well-prepared at any given time. it was his intention to gather useful or useful-adjacent items while in the fields, despite how much pain he might've been at the time. ]

Yours looks... really happy.

[ napping is happiness. ]

How much food did you give it?

[regressive]

Does he?

[ His expression softens as he gazes at the sleeping grunty. ]

Just one food item so far. Then he fell asleep like this. I'm not sure if that always happens, though.

[ For a moment here, Joonghyuk's eyes shift from the grunty sleeping on the ground to the one standing close to Cyno. ]

Are you going to pick this one?

[notfunny]

[ it certainly looks cute, snoozing near this man. it makes cyno wonder if all of these grunties are similar in this regard--- other than diet, will they all end up being lumps that eat and then immediately pass out?

sounds like a good life to him. ]

Maybe. It's the only one that's been curious about this food...

[ the aforenamed 'root vegetable', which won't shut up. getting down to one knee, cyno holds it out towards the grunty which curiously noses it. ]

... never thought I could have a pet.

[regressive]

Anyone who's responsible can. [ A pause. ] Which probably mean that half of this beta's playerbase shouldn't. But you seem serious about this.

[ He winces at the vegetable. ]

I've never heard about pets that are quieter than their food. That's a weird twist.

[notfunny]

You really think?

[ truth be told, the number of players he's encountered would say otherwise--- only one has been a real issue, but even cyno thinks troublemakers can be eventually turned in the right direction. even if their intentions are the same, the methods can't be anything but legitimate. ]

Honestly, it makes me glad our food doesn't talk to us. [ a beat, then: ] It'd be like having commercials non-stop going on in the fridge and freezer...

[ the grunty is undeterred by talking food and immediately begins to chomp. big bites. nothing remains after a moment or two. it's kinda... gross... ]

Did you name yours yet?

[regressive]

Was that a joke...?

[ This socially stunted man raises an eyebrow wondering if the conclusion he drew about what Cyno said about commercials was a joke or not. ]

Gru. [ You know, Gru the Grunty. Very original. ] I really like that name. If you need help with naming yours, I can give you a hand.

[ Don't do this to yourself, Cyno. ]

[notfunny]

Honestly? No.

[ me reading 'gru' and thinking something cursed ]

... sure. I'd love to hear your suggestion.

[ he's doing this to himself. he's making the executive decision to put fate in another person's hands. ]

dunk or be dunked

[notfunny]

[ standing in front of the tank, cyno has both hands on his hips. it would to be refreshing to get dropped into the water, but it would also be refreshing to send someone into the water if they deserve it--- and who doesn't?

holding a baseball in one hand, he flicks it up into the air with some level of authority despite never playing a sport in his life. ]

It's either you or me.

[ a friendly smile on his face, he tilts his head in the direction of said dunk tank. ]

fair fare foods

[notfunny]

[ when was the last time cyno was at a fair or carnival? he can't remember. why the hell would he leave the safety of his room when he could just... not do that and be happy with whatever he was interested in at the time? it's not the fact he didn't have too many friends or anything. no. he was busy.

so he's, again, loaded up on all the classics. a corn dog, a funnel cake, there's even a deep fried oreo on his plate? at least, he THINKS it's a deep fried oreo.

while he walks past the foods talls, he'll happily munch on them... ]

[tinged]

[ fellow foodie hani spots him from a nearby stall. ]

Oh, hey! j4ck4l-kun.

[ they say it with the 4s, of course. ]

[notfunny]

[ he is happy that hani uses the 4s... it makes it a little wordier than it probably needs to be, but he'd be happy nonetheless. ]

Hey Tabibito.

[ raising a hand, the other one holds onto a corn dog in between two fingers. ]

How's it going? You holding up okay?

[tinged]

It's been great!

[ wait. ]

Oh, um. Most of it has been great. Some of it was quite terrible. Well, I say quite, but I'm not sure of the actual gauge myself. What would you consider "quite terrible" to be?

[notfunny]

[ that's a good question and cyno struggles to think of what 'quite terrible' would be to him. ]

Uh... inconvenient to the point where it'd take a lot of effort to take care of?

[ like. waking up and having to go outside? drive around in the city?? ]

Or I guess something painful. Tedious. Annoying.

[ ok now he's just thinking about chores ]

the pvp option

[notfunny]

[ there's an open area that's clearly meant for something, and with the opportunity to earn one of those interesting cosmetics... if it means cyno has another chance to figure out how to maneuver against other classes? it's not unwelcome. he doesn't like the idea of PKing though. something about desensitization against death? it's different when there's a level of distance between the activity and doing it. but here, he might as well be holding the weapon because he literally is.

in the meantime, he can swing around his scythe. continue to get used to it. not expend any of that precious SP. he might need it soon! ]

closed to vogel

[notfunny]

[ results here ]

---

Not again...

[ cyno raises a hand to cover his face, though he does nothing to conceal the amount of disappointment in his voice. it feels like a joke by now--- every area that he's explored has somehow begun in a rocky desert. is it going to play out the same way every time?

well. he can consider himself pretty well traversed when it comes to these areas... ]

... you going to be okay in this heat?

[insinning]

[ Vogel is in fur lined armor. Heavy armor. The heat beats down on him and he tries not to slump a little. Can he have frozen tundras, please?]

...It'll be okay. At least it's not a volcano this time.

[But for real, how is this connected to the keywords at all?]

[notfunny]

[ both eyes widen. ]

Inside your armor? You could've steamed alive while you were in a volcano!

[ he cannot imagine how they'd program THAT feeling... ]

But we'll try to get into the dungeon as quickly as possible. [ a beat, then: ] Um. Well, as fast as you can go...

[insinning]

Right?

[Grumble, grumble. Cyno makes it easy to complain about things he'd normally bottle up.]

...aha...it's okay. I don't think my actual travel speed is affected by my class.

[Maybe?]

[notfunny]

Okay. Not like we need to rush or anything, you know?

[ and besides--- they shouldn't be in any danger. the two of them should be able to handle whatever might come try to attack them. then again, their actual synergies might make things a little difficult, but...

... something's approaching. quickly. ]

Yikes!

[ slithering and dark, cyno barely manages to smack away a hand that comes for his face. ]

We're surrounded!

[ 3 of them. that's like, 6 heads??? ]

[insinning]

[Sinclair swings his lance around, aiming to pierce through the body]

I'll cover your back!

[notfunny]

[ there's no one else he trusts more than emil right now. if he can wear out the ones that approach, then cyno can repel the ones in front of him.

should be easy, right? ]

Least there's only a few!

[ the closest lamia assassin leans in for another strike, only for cyno's scythe to catch it in the chest, knocking it away. ]

I think as long as we work on separate targets, we'll be fine.

[ and then the one that got pierced lunges again, hoping to strike emil with its blunt and fat tail. ]

[insinning]

[He can't dodge that without putting Cyno in danger so he lets it hit, wincing as his headset vibrates and his HP bar goes down a slither. That's fine. That puts it in close proximity again for Sinclair to ram his lance into its face, and then again until its down]

Haah...these are pretty strong compared to other monsters I've fought in these dungeons.

[notfunny]

[ emil's a smart egg. when cyno's too slow to react to a sudden slap to the face, the sensation sends a sting all the way to his ears. the pain receptors being maxxed out is probably a bad idea, but it's feels really real!

like. probably too real. ]

Really? [ he growls as he swings again, sending his attacker backward. ] You must've seen some pretty scary ones.

[ so far it's been weird knives, thicc bugs, and... now these. ]