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AURIEL'S HOME - AFTERNOON
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Auriel returns to the house carrying the last of the boxes, a somewhat sizeable stack she carries with ease. Between her strength and Lei's, carrying all of the AI's meager possessions wasn't a terribly long process for the pair. She carries them in past the kitchen to the living room where they've gathered most everything for now. "This is the last of it, Lei."
Lei looks up and around with a smile from next to the large television set that likely was the bulkiest of her items at the apartment, a bunch of cables and wires all partially plugged into the main unit and various game systems that constituted the majority of her possessions. "Awesome, Auri! You can just plop them down right over by the others, I can get 'em unpacked later." She grins as she continues to get things set up, "Thanks again so much for the offer to move in here!"
Auriel sets the boxes down carefully. She's dressed a little more causally today, but still looks rather tidy and professional somehow. She walks over next to the sofa to look down at the mess of wires. "There's plenty of room for you up here, so feel free to use the space as much as you want. Consider any of the furniture up here yours." She watches as Lei sets everything up, "What... is all of this, then?"
Lei tilts her head a bit as she goes about gathering the cords into neat and orderly bundles once they're plugged in and otherwise sorted out. "All of these? They're game systems! You know, for playing video games and such!"
Auriel nods slowly, clearly not fully knowing any of these systems, "Ahh yes, of course... These are all the games you talk about with Yushiko."
Lei nods happily. "Mmhm! Well, most of them. A bunch are on my computer, too, but that's still packed away for the moment." She dusts her hands as she finishes plugging the last of the cords into their respective spots, then smiles over at Auriel, "Wanna try and play something? I've got a few new ones that are pretty good!"
Auriel tilts her head, eyeing the machines suspiciously, "Err... I'm... no. No, that's alright. I wouldn't want to... break anything?"
Lei laughs a bit and fishes out a good-sized controller for one of the systems and passes it to Auriel. "Oh, don't worry about that, Auri. These things are sturdy, just like me! Here, feel!"
Auriel awkwardly takes the controller in one hand, her palm underneath and rests her thumb on top. "Err.. like... this?"
Lei giggles and takes a moment to boot up the system, then goes to join Auriel at the sofa. "Both hands, actually." She reaches over and takes Auriel's free hand, then shows her how to hold the controller a bit more properly, "Something like this, but everyone has a comfortable way of holding them while playing games."
Auriel settles down on the sofa alongside Lei, her tail idly caressing Lei's leg. She lets her rearrange her hands around the controller, then takes a moment to get a more comfortable grip. "I'm... not entirely sure games are my 'thing'." She glances over at Lei and shrugs, "Can't hurt to try, I suppose? At least to see what it's all about."
Lei chuckles as she settles in beside Auriel with a smile. "Maybe not, but I think you might like some of the subjects. Like..." She grins as the intro of the dating sim game she'd been playing as of late starts up on the TV screen, "...this one! It's a visual novel sort of game, where all of the folks you can interact with are Demis, and they're portrayed pretty accurately, I think!"
Auriel raises an eyebrow as she watches the start of the game, a cutscene showing a showcase of various demi-humans posing and smiling at the camera. "Visual... novel? I thought this was a game? Like the one with the paddles, and the little jumping adventurer?"
Lei blinks, then gives Auriel a curious look. "You mean... Pong and Pitfall? Oh, well, if you want to try more action-y games, I've got plenty of those! Visual novels are kind of a newer-ish genre of games, though. Interactive storytelling and focuses on storylines and personal topics more than grand adventuring."
Auriel seems very out of her depth, "Pong... I think that's the one I played..." She watches as the menu comes up with the game title, waiting for what to do next. "I'm fine trying whatever you recommend, I suppose?"
Lei giggles and nods. "Well, if it's been a while since you've last played any games, then this VN might be a good starting point, since it lets you take your time making choices, unlike action or adventure games." She nods at the controller once the title screen pops up, "Go ahead and press that button just right of the middle. That's the "start" button, and games use it for pausing and unpausing things, and also for opening up options and such."
Auriel looks down at the controller. "X, Y, B... this one in the center, hm?" She presses it, and the game begins. She leans in, expecting to have to move the bar or character or whatever the game gives her. "How do I win?"
Lei grins as the game loads into the start of a fresh save. "That's the fun part! You win by interacting with the characters in various ways, and you eventually win by maybe finding someone special among all the Demis you can date and interact with!"
Auriel tilts her head towards Lei to give her a dubious look, then shakes her head and looks back at the screen. "They're not just about moving to the right anymore, eh?" She reads the first bit of screen dialogue, introducing 'you', the generic pc character. "My first day in a new town?"
Lei nods at both questions. "Yup! Games are a lot more varied nowadays! A lot of games even let you move in full three dimensions as a sort of development standard, too." She smiles, "Your character's first day in town, yup. A new face, with lots of new folks to meet!"
Auriel nods, looking down at the controller again to make sure she's pressing the right button to progress the game. "Huh... it's not what I expected from games." She continues to read as the game starts to introduce the other characters. Once it becomes clear she's not going to be doing much else at the moment, she leans back into the couch to get comfortable.
Lei chuckles a bit as she gets cozy beside Auriel. "I think you might like how the Demis are portrayed here, since we both work at AD-HOC. They're all charming folks, in their own ways, too. Story development has come a long way from "move to the right, dodge enemies, rescue the princess"."
Auriel snorts. "Dragons abducting Princesses was just a myth you know..." She pauses when the game introduces the dragon character, a large female dragon with deep purple scales and black claws. She eyes Lei again, "...finding someone special hm? Which character did you interact with the most in this game?"
Lei grins. "I've got two saves, actually. One is just a completionist save, where I completed it 100%, saw all the endings, interacted with everyone as best as I could, things like that." She pauses, then her grin shifts to a smirk as she glances at the dragon Demi on the screen, "The second save is just interacting with her."
Auriel smirks, then turns her attention back to the screen. "Figures." She continues through, until the game reaches the end of the introductions, prompting her to make a choice of where to spend her day. "Err... what now. I can make a choice? What do they mean?"
Lei chuckles. "Every character has a personal schedule they keep, so day by day, you can explore the town and run into various Demis going about their business. Most of the time, you can spend a bit of time chatting with whoever you run into and maybe deepen friendships a bit. Sometimes, you can even trigger special events for certain characters if you learn about them enough and figure out where you could go that might be significant to them."
Auriel takes a hand off the controller to set her chin upon and think, "Well the hellhound mentioned working out, so that could be the park. But that could be the kitsune as well? Though she mentioned the shrine too, didn't she?" She seems to be thinking through the options in detail, trying to overanalyze it. "Well... if it were me, I suppose... the library?" She makes the choice.
Lei hums and nods, already knowing that one of the Demis works at the library, and an early encounter with them there makes for an adorably awkward scene. "Ahh, good choice. Who are you going for, specifically, though?"
Auriel hmphs, shrugging, "I don't know... I don't really have much interest in pursuing a 'relationship' in that sense... ahhh the kobold. She works at the libary?"
Lei nods happily. "Mmhm! She's a cute one, but a little skittish." She chuckles and playfully nudges Auriel's shoulder, "Hey, not knowing is half the fun of a first playthrough! Everything is still fresh and new to experience."
Auriel proceeds through the options, until the Kobold, blushing, runs off, making Auriel frown. "Ah! What did I do wrong?"
Lei chuckles. "Like I said, she's a bit skittish. You left a good impression on her, but she's probably going to need a day or two to calm down again." She smiles brightly, "You could try and see if you can guess where she might have gone to unwind, or you could continue to explore the city. The day's split into four sections: Morning, Day, Afternoon and Evening, and you just wrapped up a morning interaction, which puts you sometime around midday, now."
Auriel sighs as the game returns to the map menu awaiting a new selection, "Well, she seems nice. Let's see who I meet at the park... I can see why you might enjoy this, Lei."
Lei nods happily. "It's a fun game to just sit back and enjoy! It's a lot more laid back than adventure games or looter-shooters, or even tactics games."
Auriel frowns, managing her talks with the Hellhound jogging in the park. "Hmph. I'm not so sure I'd enjoy a 'shooter'."
Lei hums. "It's not for everyone, really. It's an interesting way to test reflexes from visual and audio stimuli, though." She blinks, then perks up upon seeing the Hellhound, "Oh! She's another fun one to interact with. Her attitude might even seem a bit familiar to a couple of folks around AD-HOC."
Auriel reads a bit of the Hellhound's dialogue, nodding. "I can see that. Perhaps a bit like Nawa... perhaps a bit like... me? Hmm?"
Lei smiles. "Something like that, I think! Maybe a little prickly here and there, but really a good person all around."
Auriel hmphs, and continues through the Hellhound's dialogue until the game moves back to the map. "I'm sure she has her reasons for acting like that."
Lei gives a mysterious smile. "Probably! If you spend enough time with her, you can probably find out why she's like that. So! Where to next for the afternoon bit?"
Auriel gives Lei another sidelong glance, but otherwise keeps her attention on the game. Her tail caresses along Lei's leg. "The movies? Or perhaps, that should be the evening. Where would you go?"
Lei giggles slightly as Auriel's tail shifts against her leg, and she lightly rests a hand upon the smooth scales of the flexible limb. "Well, the afternoon is busy with a lot of folks getting off of work. You could probably find one or two folks to chat with at the local cafe!"
Auriel nods, "Cafe it is then." A satyr girl appears on screen, cheerfully greeting the player. As Auriel goes through the dialogue, she does nod faintly. "This game... it is good. You're right, these are good representations of real people, who just happen to be Demi-humans on the outside. It's... good. I'm glad things like this exist."
Lei grins at how Auriel seems to be slowly getting into the game. "Yeah, the developers for this game are pretty well known for visual novel stuff. I think there are already rumors that they've got a sequel to this one in the planning already."
Auriel watches an event play out, where the Satyr coffee clerk interacts with a cranky Imp, who just wants a plain coffee. She ends up siding with the imp, "It's valuable... I'll tell you, Lei, I have been on this world a long time by most beings consideration... I have seen humans change the world around them... but they struggle to change themselves to accept things they find unfamiliar."
Lei nods. "It's partly why I want to try and learn how to be a human, myself. They're agents of change, but the more they change in the world, the less they want to change about themselves. It's an odd sort of... contradiction that really makes me wonder about them. I've seen it in some Demis as well, but nowhere near as often as in humans."
Auriel advances to the night, picking the movies as she said, "It is odd, but powerful. I spent a long time trying to be one of them as well..." she stops reading the dialogue, getting a bit of a distant look as she thinks back. "Learning how to be a human."
Lei smiles and leans a bit more against Auriel as she gives the dragon a gentle hug from the side. "Nowadays, it's a lot easier, I think, compared to what I know of back then. People had such rigid thinking that I almost want to say that humans are changing themselves... just way slower."
Auriel takes a hand off the controller to reach over and give Lei a snug in turn, "It is easier, yes. Those old days, there was no hope of change. Now...?" She nods back to the game, "Now there are things like this, and people fighting to make this game reflect reality all the more."
Lei winks with a cheeky smile. "And a fun thing about it is, stuff like this makes it easier to reach out to the general public. Not everything needs to be done from the top down, though starting at the top makes it easier to work lower afterwards. Kind of shows that facilities like AD-HOC are doing a very good job, even if the news won't always report on the good things, hm?"
Auriel smiles. "This does make our efforts seem more worthwhile... strangely. I did not expect it from a game."
Lei giggles. "Games have turned into a pretty big angle for media representation nowadays, almost on par with movies, videos, music and books." She glances at the TV, then smiles at Auriel, "And, hey, looks like someone you met earlier in the day is also at the movies!"
Auriel leans in, "Ahh, the Kobold... I hope I don't scare her off this time..." She carefully considers her options before choosing.
Lei laughs a little. "You'll do fine, I think. Just remember how she is as a person, and that she's a bit skittish."
Auriel smiles, "Only because I'm a dragon, I'm sure. Still, I wouldn't want to make her uncomfortable." She picks a more cautious option, instead of the direct approach, and it seems to get a good reaction.
Lei hums a bit and nods. "It's almost like interacting with Paige, really. Poor girl's still really jumpy, even though she's been with us for a good while." She chuckles at the cheerful response Auriel gets from the kobold, "Good choice, Auri!"
Auriel hms, looking down at the controller again, "It says I can give her a gift? How do I do that?"
Lei gestures at the screen, at a tab near the far right of the game's info bar. "See the little prompt there, right under the "Items" tab? Press that one, and it'll bring up what you've got on hand. It's only the first day, so you don't have a lot on hand, but you can still pick one of a couple of things you do have on hand to give to her. Later days, you can buy more varied gifts that are a bit more tailored to each character, if you know their likes and dislikes."
Auriel nods, following the prompts at Lei's direction until she gives the Kobold one of the starter gifts, which gives a small increase in affection, and a couple hints about the Kobold's tastes. "Okay, good. Perhaps I shall attempt to get to know the kobold. Surely that's not too cliche, hm?"
Lei giggles and shakes her head. "Not at all, Auri. All of the characters are interesting in their own ways, but she's particularly endearing, I think." Lei nods, "And now that you know a little more about her, you can start getting to know her better day by day. Of course, the characters might know each other to a degree, so sometimes, you might catch hints from acquaintances!"
Auriel finishes reading out the first day, and the menus transitions to a night screen, with some recap of the days events. "Curious. How long does a full game take?"
Lei takes a moment to think. "If I recall, I think it's fourteen days in-game? The days pass pretty quickly, though, but you get a major event if you've gained someone's trust by the seventh day, and whoever you have the highest affection with at the end of the fourteenth day is the one you end the story with." She pauses, then adds in, "Of course, it's also entirely possible to finish the game with no one, but that's a really hard challenge."
Auriel nods, advancing to day 2, "Well... I wouldn't want that... help me ensure that I'm not alone in the end, yes?"
Lei smiles up at Auriel. "I'd say you're already on a good track with the kobold girl. If you're sure you want to stick with her, I can help make sure you get a good ending!"
Auriel smiles, "Just a few hints to make sure I get it, yes."
Lei chuckles. "Of course. I wouldn't want to ruin the experience by just giving away all the answers." She shifts a little, her hand now lightly teasing along the scales of Auriel's tail without really paying attention to doing so, "So, it's the second day. What's the plan?"
Auriel progresses through the game, continuing through the next five days with choices that lean towards the Kobold girl, building up affection with her. As she starts Day 7, she finds her usual options missing, as the day starts, then seems to direct her straight to the cafe. "Hmm? What's this then?"
Lei grins, having helped nudge Auriel along a good story path with the kobold girl. "Remember, the seventh day has a big plot point if you worked up enough affection with a character. This must be it for her!"
Auriel nods, though she suddenly tenses up, her tail squeezing Lei's leg gently, both sure signs she's pretty invested in the game at this point, "Right... Ahhh. Seventh day already..."
Lei chuckles and nods. "Time flies, doesn't it? Still, seems like you've got something brewing that you could probably help her with. Let's see what's going on!"
Auriel progresses the story, coming in on the imp who was arguing much earlier with the satyr now arguing with the kobold. She's quick to defend the kobold, but entering into the argument only serves to drive the kobold off, causing Auriel to frown. "I thought that..." but the game presents an option to pursue the Kobold, and Auriel takes it.
Lei hums, knowing how the story goes. "Character reactions aren't always hinging on you just showing up. In the moment, they can react like anyone else in stress could. In her case, she bails on the situation." She smirks a bit as Auriel opts to pursue, but refrains from saying she'd made a good choice.
Auriel nods, listening to Lei's advice but remaining focused on the screen, as her character pursues the kobold back to where she feels safe, the Library. There, the shy kobold is crying quietly, and Auriel picks the options to sit with and support her, reading intently as the kobold talks about her past, her difficulties talking to others, and her fears of conflict. It's a strong story, and Auriel sighs, "This is almost too real..."
Lei nods along. "The developers are known for VNs because they're really good at telling engaging stories like this. All of the characters have some good depth to their lives." She smiles up at Auriel, "I'd even say it's more engaging than a good book, at times."
Auriel chuckles, "I think I can see the appeal now... it's certainly just as engaging as a good book.." She carefully selects her options, and the scene transitions to a close-up of the kobold, as she begins to confess her feelings for the player. The option comes up to accept her feelings, or to remain friends, and Auriel looks over at Lei. "Er... should I?"
Lei looks up at Auriel and shrugs with a grin. "I don't know, do you want to? Remember, you're the one playing, and you did say you wanted to pursue the relationship with her, right?" She nods at the screen, "The game does like to throw occasional curveballs, but these scenes are pretty straightforward in what to expect for the upcoming week: stay friends, or see if you can spark something bigger~?"
Auriel looks back to the game, clearly struggling a bit. "It's... it's not an easy thing to just accept like that. I suppose I know it's just a game, but it's still strangely hard. I also... I suppose I want to be sure you're okay with it?"
Lei giggles and nudges Auriel. "Okay with me? Oh, Auri, c'mon, it's a game! It's not so serious like what we've been getting up to. That's all still fictitious!"
Auriel frowns, taking a moment to consider the screen. Her tail gives Lei's leg another squeeze before she accepts the kobold's feelings in the game. "Ahh. Right. It is just a game I suppose."
Lei simply leans against Auriel with a happy little hum. "None of the characters are real, and a new save just starts from the beginning." She giggles, "I can tell you're getting into the storytelling, though!"
Auriel's facade falls back into place, as she continues the story, the options now changing to focus more upon the kobold, selecting more direct interactions and dating choices with her, "Hmph. Well, it is well written, as you said."
Lei shifts a bit again and lets Auriel focus on the game once more. "So, now that things are going well with her, what's the plan for day eight? You've got a lot of different options now, and you know more about her than before, too!"
Auriel nods, "I know her schedule, and her likes and dislikes... and I can ask her out now? So it seems I can spend the morning and afternoon as usual, but then invite her out to dates in the evening? I suppose I should buy her a gift as well."
Lei nods. "Yup! You can tailor things to spend more time with her, and deepen the relationship further. Of course, the game isn't just going to make it too easy straight away for the second week, and there might be some events here and there that the two of you can tackle together that might change up things a little."
Auriel heads to the shop in the afternoon to pick out a few gifts, books and classical music related items that match the kobold's preferences. "It's a little strange, making dating so... mechanical like this. Still, I am enjoying the story."
Lei chuckles. "Yeah, they do have to sort of truncate a lot of the fluid angles to things like this, and obviously we're not normally going to be getting into a full romance in a week or two in real life. I like to think of it as more just slicing out the details that aren't necessary for the tales being told." She pauses, then perks up, "In fact, I think the trope is called the "Law of Conservation of Detail" or something like that!"
Auriel chuckles, "You know more about that then I do. I suppose seven days to reach this point in any relationship would be a red flag, to say the least."
Lei nods. "It's just a writing convention to keep the pacing of a story interesting and consistent. A lot of folks prefer skimming over spots of "and then I got home, did a bit of taxes, then went to bed" and other mundane stuff."
Auriel smirks, "Implying it's not fun to sit down and work through spreadsheets for the evening, hm? Ah, but perhaps that is too much reality for most folks. Are there any games which actually do simulate that degree of things, hm? Vitual Tax games."
Lei tilts her head in thought, then nods after a few moments. "Actually, yes! Management sims have been getting pretty popular as of late, too. Sports team management, business management, things like that."
Auriel tilts her head towards Lei, quirking an eyebrow. "Really? Huh. I suppose games really have changed since back when I first looked at them." She moves on to the evening, giving the kobold a gift and inviting her out, moving the game to its first dating scene.
Lei happily grins. "Oh yeah, it's come a long way. If you can think of an activity, chances are there's a genre for it, or it's at least a facet of other game genres." She looks over at the screen and nods, "Oh, you might like the first date a lot. She's adorable!"
Auriel hums, watching the scene play out. "She has been quite charming throughout, I can't imagine what they could do to-" She pauses as the date scene loads, the kobold dressed up quite cutely for the occasion. "Ah... I see."
Lei giggles a bit. "See, doesn't she look absolutely adorable in that outfit?" She smirks at Auriel, "Though you still come across as far more beautiful, whatever you wear, Auri."
Auriel hmphs, but it's paired with a barely concealed smirk and a caress from her tail, "I can see through your flattery, you know."
Lei winks playfully as she strokes her hand along the scales of Auriel's tail. "I know, but that won't stop me from flattering you when the opportunity shows up."
Auriel's tail shivers at Lei's touch, and the dragon dips her head, "Well, I didn't say it wasn't welcome." She takes a hand off the controller to reach out and stroke Lei's hair aside and let her clawed hand brush across Lei's cheek. "You're quite beautiful yourself."
Lei hums happily and leans her head into Auriel's hand. "Thanks, Auri. It really means a lot coming from you~"
Auriel lets her hand linger, then pulls it away, letting the claws gently stroke down before returning her hand to the controller. "Well, can't leave this story unfinished hm. I am curious to see how this relationship evolves."
Lei smiles as she simply snuggles up beside Auriel to watch as she continues diving into the world of visual novel games. "You've got a week to continue deepening the relationship with her, and then we'll see how the last day goes! You're on a good track, so far!"
Auriel continues on through the week, with the relationship with the kobold growing steadily. A few extra events and a few more dates later, they reach the final day of the playthrough.
Lei has been happily encouraging and guiding Auriel through the game, though she's been getting better and better about the choices as the second week has gone on, letting Lei just relax and snuggle against her side while watching and occasionally commenting. Now that the last day as dawned in-game, though, she smiles up at the dragon. "Well, here we are. The last day of the second week!"
Auriel nods, "The end of the game, yes?" She advances into the day, but there's not nearly as many options to select. She navigates through the basics, then starts into what seems to be the ending scenario.
Lei smiles as the ending starts up. "Looks like you've managed to successfully romance her! It's the end of a story, but there's always an epilogue, like any good book." She tries to conceal a smirk as she talks, having 'accidentally forgotten' to mention that the VN they're playing gets a little lewd.
Auriel smiles, "Well, that sounds very sweet. I imagine that they considered a life going forward and..." she trails off as the scene is not quite a 'happily ever after' and more just a 'happy ending', as the Kobold shyly asks you to her bedroom. Slowly, Auriel tilts her head as it dawns on her what kind of scene is about to play out.
Lei chuckles as Auriel gets a look of realization on her face. "Well, that does come later on, but... most romances tend to involve something a little more intimate a bit more immediately, too~" She smirks, "Not quite a storybook romance, and closer to probably what happens in real life, in some ways, you know?"
Auriel settles back a little, unsure how she feels about it as she watches the sex scenes slowly begins to play out. "I suppose so. It's... not what I was expecting, to be certain."
Lei laughs a little as she just lounges next to Auriel, having seen the scenes in her completionist save. "Just from your reaction, I figured as much, Auri. Honestly, VNs have been digging into it ever since guidelines have relaxed a bit on what's considered 'acceptable'."
Auriel nods, shifting a little bit in her seat on the sofa, trying not to disturb Lei too much, though ultimately what this mostly does is pull Lei closer. "Ah, I still struggle with what is acceptable in this day and age. I don't pay attention to the games and culture in that way."
Lei doesn't seem to mind the movement at all as she relaxes, her hand still lightly stroking against Auriel's warm tail. "It's a really neat look into humanity's general morals, I think. I always found it weird how they could find it super acceptable for stuff like fighting wars and going on old-school adventures, but folks throw a fit the moment a single nipple gets shown."
Auriel chuckles. "That's a fairly modern way of thinking. It changes more often than you'd think. Of course, having no nipples, I can't say I truly have much of an opinion on them."
Lei reaches up and lightly pokes Auriel's chest with a finger. "Maybe not, but you're still pretty shapely~"