Demian

| 20/08/23

| 19/08/23

| 18/08/23

| 17/08/23

(NIGHT alt. put me on the waitlist as contingency. you can bump my order down as needed if you want.)

each store, to him, was a different kind of unassuming. see enough of them, and it was difficult to remember what separated one front from another. this applied for the knight shift, too. but demian was a similar kind of unassuming, so he presumed that was what him and the workshops had in common. he just necessitated never staying in one place all the time. nothing differed about his outfit beyond regular work clothes – all brown, partially muddied. likewise, the blade he left, too, was nothing to consider at a glance. so he stuck the note he received on the cloth it was wrapped around,

he'd received a note in capitalized handwriting, unlike the individuals he knew. was sure it wasn't an order from his employer, but found it difficult to say. but it was in his jurisdiction, and if it was to benefit some other player for the reasons outlined in the missive, it was well worth his position and risk. demian scrambled down the steps of the scarlet line, to an unassuming meeting between jean and bistro. waved as a greeting. asked to check behind the counter to take inventory. it would always be assumed as conjecture, but he meant it, literal. he scrambled out of the

MOONCAKE GIFT BOX (3) SOU PLATTER (3) PEKING DUCK SKIN PLATTER (3) PEKING DUCK TRAY (3) Crafted by: Culinarian | Rank 10 mooncake gift box. | TIERLESS RARE DESSERT FEAST | ACC II lotus paste around a salted yolk. comes in both glazed or layered flaky shell. somehow has taste this time. [30/07/23] | +3 sou platter. | TIERLESS RARE MEAL FEAST | PROTEIN II lotus seed paste in a flaky dry pastry. somehow has taste this time. [30/07/23] | +3 peking duck skin platter. | TIERLESS PERFECT MEAL FEAST | OH III crispy duck skin wrapped in a thin dough, with cut vege

| 01/08/23 #e

| 30/07/23 | #e #l/ou

| 29/07/23 #e l/o: 214318 (p.meal), 214347-3 (r.meal), 214316 (u.meal)

you’re kidding. whoever jumped over him and onto the phoenix had not only done so to, what looked like, steal their kill, but all the same they had decided a single nick wasn’t enough. so it made sense that he was going to get some answers by picking up the fallen body by the cloak they had worn, only– “hey! that’s my hair–” oops. he’d grabbed the wrong thing. and so much for not being responsible, because night was going to get to be off the hook now that he had taken charge in place of bistro. coming face to face with a random girl was the most annoying thing he had to deal with to

at their switch, demian pulled night in, with a growl and a ferocious stare. “i am not responsible for what happens here, no matter what bistro tells you.” and he was certain that night was about to bark back, but in the heat of the moment, he was much more comfortable in losing himself in the fight. in the back, night had stumbled over to basuke, who had rushed over to ask the situation – and hell if demian knew. he was just here to play extra body and slay a beast, and the role of a weapon was the only thing he was familiar with. so he let himself be a warrior of darkness. the

(which was exactly the reason why, despite having the group together, night was also one of the individuals who needed to show up. demian had it figured out, after a brief understanding. their tier four player was bistro’s lucky break.) after a brief introduction with bauske, and upon realizing the truth, he shook his head, discouraged, just as night finally recovered from a brief bout of not-sure-what’s-wrong-with-her-actually. she had glanced towards basuke, and her demeanor seemed to normalize, until she noticed demian staring back at her with an absent motive. that, somehow, made

“why do you have to be here, out of all–” and demian but scowled back. because he hadn’t exactly the time to pick a fight with another player. was the call from bistro a joke? he turned over to what appeared to be their tag along, and whoever the short-stack was but all calm and smiles about the situation. big whoop. “never let yourself be turned in for hire,” he muttered, before shutting up and greeting the stranger with a folded arm and a wave. it was best to maintain courtesy, unlike whoever bistro’s contact was acting like. “what’s up with night?” the boy asked with

[16/07/23] | #e l/o: 213266 (r.dessert)

| 17/06/23 #e

"i'm here for the respites," demian announced, to a shop of nobody present. which was an odd sight, he believed; the info-broker usually seemed to be in, and yet here she was, missing. not that the cook seemed to mind. in fact, all the better that he didn't need to talk to anyone that day. the problem was in tracking down where the respites were stored in, and to leave a message about his pick-up long overdue. after some intrusive rifling, during which bistro still hadn't made it back yet (strange...) he found the stash, and left a calling card. Retrieving Dragon's Breath (108) from

with the final bit of health to chip off, demian figured it would be best to be efficient. he barely gave the other a glance as his sights set upon the dojo's exit, and he walked over the boulder like a stepping stone, making sure to emphasize his strength as he carried himself over the remains. it crushed and fizzled under him with the final impact, damage nowhere near overkill, and felt the gazes of both the stranger and the monk on his back as he left. he wasn't intending to race anyone down the mountain. no, screw that. being around someone who he wasn't used to was hell enough,

perhaps this was the monk's way of trying to make it up to them for having dual trainings instead of a focused effort on an individual student. that, or he was trying to get them to learn how to work together after their inherent showdown from earlier. that's what demian thought a different player would say, and he decided that the notion was foolish as it came to mind. he could see the rock's weak points, as easily as the two of them knew of its health, so he pierced it with a hard stomp at the top of the boulder, once the woman had reeled back enough, careful not to trip on the sli

enough to him was a different tale than enough for the master. somehow, yunxiang must've figured five minutes of meditation would be the most that players could stand, and with a small gong in his hands (cardinal entities had the funniest ways of pulling out random items from their inventory), he would rouse the individuals to pull themselves out from the water for their final task. the stranger seemed not to move. her breathing was ragged. it was as though she was being suppressed by something, but demian wasn't an exorcist, and neither did he believe in ghosts haunting players in t

demian was trying to be patient. slow, the other player, and finally she sat down beside him, the torrent of nature merciless upon their shoulders. he was perplexed by the nature of human hesitance, really, the nerve; but as the master closed his eyes at the far corner of the room, so too did he surrender to an ill-fated, false slumber. there was no way he was going to be able to reap the benefits of meditation. so he sat in the quiet, waiting for the moment to pass. and he thought. it was outside of his nature, to regard and consider others outside of the norms,

if there was tension in the air, demian would swear he couldn't feel it, even though he could spot the signals. now his own eye twitched, too, and he shrugged off his body trying to react in mimicry. micro performances weren't necessary, and neither was the hostility from the woman. yet, quiet, teeth set together as they passed the threshold of light into dark, there was a darker enclave with a ray of sunlight pouring in from the ceiling. the other winced beside him as his eyes adjusted to the contrast. humidity hit him hard, but it must've affected the other much more from her exhal

demian was sure he leapt first, charging into the fight a second or half earlier than the stranger did. his rhythm was mathematical, hits systemic – it was better to block, dodge and apply forces for the rotation of the dummy's parts to wind one way than the other, to ensure it locked sooner. yet, his combat ability wasn't to form, not as it once was, not as he should've been used to despite operating at this strength for quite a while – and his opponent was quick to catch up. linear progression was pitched against a frenzy; impatient, impractical, inefficient, and yet his alternative was solv

demian knew exactly why he was here. but he wasn't exactly aware, either, that there would be another player to be interested in the same trials he was intending to be put through. at the same time he would be undertaking them, no less. not only that, the relatively short woman from across the room was accompanied with a scowl, the bottom lid of one of her eyes twitching just as she spotted the dummies. behind the midpoint of two was an accompanying third, that the monk strutted towards, his hand behind his back. with a gesture, he beckoned them to pay attention, before leaping into