Sp-f01 Professional Courtesy

[Sinnamon 0]

“If you’re broke, just say that.”

The words came out in a breathy whisper, barely audible over the sounds of the bar. Raven locks framed her face, yellow eyes piercing through the darks like golden javelins. A smirk played at her lips as she leaned back in her chair, bringing her glass up to her mouth. Her tongue lolled out slowly, coiling around the thin straw and bringing it into her mouth. Lips pursed around the straw as she crossed her legs. The woman left little to the imagination.

But the man in front of her didn’t want to simply imagine.

“I’m not broke but -”

There was indignation in his voice. Expected. Wanted, even. This was her game, after all. Sin had yet to find an equal player. Men were just so damn easy. Flash a little skin, make a vague innuendo. Okay, more than vague. Get ‘em going, make ‘em dream.

“Listen,” she said suddenly, voice cutting through the din like a blade. She leaned forward, expression suddenly serious as she placed her drink down on the table. “I will change your fucking life -” Sin leaned closer, arms moving in ever so slightly and pressing her breasts together. Her lips were almost touching his ear. He wasn’t paying attention. His head tilted downward. A smile played at her lips.

 

 

Spoiler

"Name: Sinnamon
True Tier: 1
Level: 1
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 20/20
EN: 20/20

Stats:
Damage: 1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - 
Armor/Trinket: 
  - 
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - 

Combat Mastery:
  - 

Combat Shift:
  - 

Familiar Skill:
  - 

Custom Skill:
  - 

Skills:

Extra Skills:

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:

Mods:

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:

Gathering Profession:
"                                                                                                                            

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Oscar

[Sinnamon 0]

That’s right. The girls are down here.

“I’ll suck your goddamn soul out,” she whispered softly. In the next moment, she was settling back in her seat, drink back in her hand. “But you can’t change your life for free. This ass costs,” she said. “Up front.”

It was almost cute how his hands fumbled with his menus. Sin watched patiently as he navigated to his Col wallet, eyes lighting up as seven figures populated her own wallet suddenly. Her smirk morphed into a wide grin.

“Good boy. Now finish your drink,” she rose from her seat, stepping behind him. Her arms wrapped around his frame, her hands playing at his collar and chest. She was a woman of her word, after all. She nipped his jaw, letting out a small giggle as she did. “Just relax baby, let me take care of you.”

—

Sin totally was not a woman of her word.

 

[Sinnamon 0]

Who would actually think they’d be so lucky? That they could pay for it? She’d been honest though. Her ass was life-changing. Just, perhaps not in the way he’d thought. Sin sat at the edge of the bed, watching the sun rise as her latest victim snored loudly behind him. There were, perhaps, more honest ways for a girl to make money. But when a man’s been eye-fucking you for hours and you’re just trying to have a couple drinks - sometimes that man needs to just go ahead and be made to pay for the privilege. 

There wasn’t enough Col on Aincrad to make Sin give it up to dudes like that.

And it was so fucking funny how with just the right touch, you could make a man drink enough to kill an elephant. That On the House quest had really made it easier on her.

Sin heard him stir. She quickly adjusted her clothes. Moving her top around so that the moment his eyes opened, they would feast. Only for a moment before her assets were hidden - barely - once again. She wouldn’t let him hit, but she had no problems with him looking for just a second. He clutched his probably pounding head. She wouldn’t let him get himself put back together. She leaned over, pressing her body against his.

 

[Sinnamon 0]

“Aw, babe,” she crooned as her fingers gently played with his hair. “I didn’t mean to wear you out like that.”

He let out a tired groan. “I don’t -”

Sin pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh. Rest up. You were such a fucking stud last night.” She let her hand trail down his face, softly and tenderly. Over his neck and down his chest. “I gotta dash but maybe next time I won’t charge. A-plus dick game, baby.” Sin planted a soft kiss on his cheek, leaving him splayed out on the bed as she quickly disappeared out the door. 

This part came easy. And it was a mercy. There was some part of her that couldn’t help but take pity on these turbo virgins. Maybe once they thought they cashed in their V-card, they might mellow out a little. Develop a personality. Become actually fuckable instead of trying to buy it. The right conditions and a little stroking of the ego would do far more good than harm, she thought. It was harmless, in her opinion. They thought they got lucky and she got paid.

And besides, full-dive VR game or not, every man wants to fuck a stripper.

 

[Sinnamon 0]

Sin left the seedy inn she’d brought them to, blasting out of the back door and stepping out onto the alley. It was around this time that she might have stopped to relish her victory. Fan herself with bills and all that stuff. But she had places to be and people to see. A lunch date with the girls, specifically. She took off running, dancing around discarded crates and bins.

“That was inspired.”

The voice cut through the air behind her. Sin skidded to a halt, wheeling around. A man stood at the end of the alley, just to the left of the door she’d just come from. She knew for a fact that he hadn’t been there when she left. Dark eyes locked onto hers. He looked bored. No. At ease. Hands shoved in pockets, posture completely relaxed. Sin wasn’t used to that. She’d grown accustomed to the greed and the hunger. And why shouldn’t she? Had he seen her?

She’d seen him. Him and that yellow cursor. Sin watched him warily. Just waiting for him to make a move, Safe Zone be damned.

 

[Sinnamon 0]

“If only I could master that kind of finesse,” he said with a heavy sigh. A smirk played at his face as he began to pull his hand from his pocket.

Showtime.

Sin blitzed forward, a dark blur as she pulled her weapon from her inventory. She swung her weapon with deadly speed from over her back, weapon slamming into the stones beneath the man’s feet. She didn’t need the dust to settle to know that she missed. She heard that metallic scraping off to the side and pivoted her weapon in that direction. Her blade was stopped at the apex of its arc, repelled backward with a metallic clang. 

“Calm down,” the voice said. His dagger remained at the ready, but he was just as calm. Just as relaxed. That was fucking infuriating. How the FUCK did he parry her with that tiny little knife? She was about to swing again when the man dropped his weapon. He faced her - palm open - as the dagger fell toward the ground and disappeared in a flash of light.

 

[Sinnamon 0]

Her fist connected with his jaw in the next moment, sending him flying off to the side.

“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down!”

Sin took a step forward, hefting her weapon over her shoulder to bring it down upon the reeling man. It stopped cold, held by some unseen force. She looked back, her vision blocked by a large chest. She looked upward. Then upward some more until she locked eyes with another set of baby blues. Sandy brown hair tied up in a bun and impossibly tall. He held her weapon still between his thumb and index finger. So infuriatingly casually.

“I told you this was a bad idea. You can’t just send a random orange player to deliver messages to people,” the man said as he rubbed his jaw. He rose to his full height, rolling his shoulders as he did.

“I should have listened, Ascalon. Apologies,” the newcomer said.

“Yeah whatever, Oscar. You got it.”

And the man - Ascalon - was gone.

 

[Sinnamon 0]

The other name - Oscar - rang a bell. Wasn’t he that dude with the hot dog stand? The guy that helped out the orphanage? She ripped her weapon out from between his fingers, stepping back to turn around and face him. She wasn’t short, but he was too fucking tall. And Sin had several questions. She couldn’t decide which was more important:

Why was an orange player taking orders from him?

And what the fuck did he want with her?

“You are a stripper right? At least a former one. It’s the name, if you’re curious,” Oscar said quickly. “It’s either real or a meme and I’m just chasin’ a hunch.”

“Real,” Sin spat. Though she really didn’t want to. It just fell out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop it.

“Glorious,” Oscar said, his neutral expression morphing into a grin. “Then I have a job offer. I’m opening a nightclub here on Floor One and-”

 

[Sinnamon 0]

“I ain’t hoppin’ back on that pole. Haven’t had to take my fuckin’ clothes off for anyone I didn’t want to since I got here. Not starting now,” she interjected. She tried to come up with some insult to throw at him, but she simply couldn’t make the words come out.

Oscar simply blinked.

“And,” he emphasized. “I don’t know how to do things I don’t know how to do. I was hoping skills might translate. Or at least you’d be in a better position to figure it out than I would.”

Wait what.

The whole interaction had her on the back foot, but this job offer most definitely came out of left field. And she wasn’t used to it. No one who looked like that gave a shit about what was rolling around in her skull. She was only ever one thing to people like him. And yet, the reality was he hadn’t even tried to slaver over her. She tilted her head to the side, plunging her sword into the ground and leaning against it. Her eyes searched his face, looking for any sign of duplicity in his expression.

[Sinnamon 0]

“So you’re asking a stripper if she knows how to run a nightclub. That’s so fucking stupid,” she said. “And how do you even know about me? Or do you send your little shadow after all the pretty girls?”

Oscar just shrugged. “Yeah, probably. But it’s better than my dumb ass trying to figure it out. Candidate pool isn’t really comprehensive. And as far as how I know about you, we have mutual friends. Lisa and Ash.”

Sin’s eyes narrowed. Maybe he’d seen her around with them sometime? Though she wondered how she could have possibly overlooked him. He was definitely the type of guy to stand out in a crowd. She was about to speak when Oscar cut in again.

“Look, you don’t gotta take me at my word. Just ask about me. Get a feel for what I’m about. If you fuck with it, great. If you don’t, you won’t hear from me again. But,” Oscar turned to leave. “If you do like what you hear, find me at the Blackbook. Big black building right off the plaza. Can’t miss it.”

 

[Sinnamon 0]

He gave her a polite wave and then rounded the corner. Sin blinked, resting her arm against the crossguard of her sword as she tried to catch up with how quickly the interaction had played out. But she didn’t have much time to think as her thoughts turned to her friends. And then to the time of day. She muttered a curse under her breath and then took off like a bolt around the opposite corner. Rushing through the streets was difficult. It was lunch time. So people were taking to the main strip and its many cafes and bistros. In the distance loomed a tall black building that had only recently appeared. She’d originally thought that it was a new update from Cardinal. Now, she knew otherwise.

Her feet carried her to her normal haunt. A cute little brunch spot nestled in between a bakery and a flower shop. Two women, a blonde and a brunette saw her. Their eyes lit up as they waved her over. All of the stress from her interaction with Ascalon and Oscar melted away as she saw them. A bright smile rose to her features as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Sitting down, she noticed a tall glass of orange juice sitting in front of her.

 

[Sinnamon 0]

“Hey girl! You’re never late? What’s up?” The blonde - Ash - asked.

“Probably out playing a dude,” Lisa chimed in with a slight smirk.

“Yeah,” Sin replied. “My bad. I had the weirdest thing happen.”

Both girls leaned forward in their seats, clearly waiting for Sin to continue. And she obliged.

“I was playing a dude. But then I was on my way here and some Orange Player just appeared out of nowhere. Obviously, I squared up. But then some guy named Oscar stopped me. Offered me a job. Said he knew you two,” Sin explained briefly. She sounded as if she couldn’t really believe that it had all happened. Really, it had been such an odd whirlwind that she thought she sounded crazy just explaining it.

But then she saw her friends’ reactions.

Ash nearly spat out her drink when Sin mentioned Oscar’s name. The two exchanged looks. She knew that look. Equal parts guilt, equal parts bashful.

 

[Sinnamon 0]

“Yeah,” Lisa said, drawing out her response. “We know Oscar…”

“Very well,” Ash chimed in as she set her glass down. A smile played at her face. Sin knew that smile too.

“Oh my God, please don’t tell me you’re fucking him,” Sin said, absolutely exasperated.

“Well I wouldn’t call it fucking,” Ash replied.

“More…,” Lisa added, clearly trying to think of the word. “Getting absolutely fucking rocked.”

“Disrespected?”

“Disrespected,” Lisa agreed. Her hands splayed out on the table for emphasis. “Respectfully.”

“Like the other night?”

“When you-”

“And then he-”

“God I felt him in my throat.”

“LADIES!” Sin slammed her hands down on the table, their plates and cutlery rattling from the impact. She brought both hands up to her face, palms facing one another before chopping forward in the air. “Focus.”

Both women suddenly sat up straight. Ash cleared her throat while Lisa fussed with a lock of hair. Both tried to look innocent, both failed. Finally Ash broke the silence.

 

[Sinnamon 0]

“Oscar’s a great guy,” she said. “Little odd but… nice. When he’s not-”

“Ash! Shut up!” Lisa said with a laugh as she gave her friend a playful jab. She turned her attention back to Sin. “So what was the job?”

Sin groaned and rested her chin on the table. “Wants me to run his new nightclub. Thinks because I’m a stripper that I know how to do it. Said you two would vouch for him. But I dunno. Kinda feels like a big ol’ scam to get me on my back.”

“Nah,” Ash said dismissively. “He’s not like that. You’ve seen him. You really think he needs to be?”

“Yeah! He used to come to the flower shop every so often. He spit his game, don’t get me wrong. But he didn’t like… insist upon himself. I dunno, he just felt safe I guess?”

“Safe,” Ash agreed. “And he didn’t make it complicated.”

 

[Sinnamon 0]

“But all this to say that if he offered you a job, he’s serious about it. He’s not gonna do some big crazy plot to try to get in a girl’s pants. There’s plenty willing,” Lisa said.

“So willing. And you know, if you ever feel the urge. There’s way worse people to throw down with.”

“Oh shut it, Ash,” Sin said, her face contorting into a scowl.

Ash threw up her hands and shook her head, smiling. “Hey I’m just saying.”

The rest of the conversation wasn’t centered around Oscar. It was about their lives and new stories and new sights. Fucking. Life. And Sin loved every moment of it. She loved her friends - a fire burning in her chest so hot it fucking hurt. She hung on every word. Laughing with them at their jokes. She lived for times like this. Just enjoying the moment and with the people she loved. She would kill for them, if she had to. And she really fucking hoped that they knew it. But all good things come to an end. The sun was setting - they had talked for hours. And as it wound down -

 

[Sinnamon 0]

“So, night club, huh?” Ash looked at Sin with a raised eyebrow. “You think you’re gonna at least hear him out? It sounds so fun.”

Sin blinked, a bit shocked at the sudden turn of topic. “I don’t know,” she said. “The whole thing got my hair on end. Seems a little too good to be true.”

“I mean, maybe? But maybe you can stop worrying about running these dudes’ pockets?”

“Oh, babe,” Sin scoffed. “That’s just for the love of the game. Not really that expensive to buy an inn room and some food here.”

“Fair. But still, always nice to have a day job. Night job?”

“I guess,” Sin said. 

“You know,” Lisa chimed in. “I really think you would do well. You’re used to the scene. You know how it runs. And Oscar’s not an idiot. He really wouldn’t offer you a job just because you have a stripper name. He’s pretty intuitive. We would know.”

[Sinnamon 0]

Sin could honestly say that it was interesting. And she was thinking about it. But everything she had ever learned was screaming at her that this was a scam. Who the fuck offers people a job like that? But then she remembered how her friends had said he was odd. And they didn’t really have anything bad to say about him. But of course they wouldn’t. He was railing them.

But then again, he was railing them.

Ash and Lisa were of the same mind as her. Totally down, but very selective about who they gave it up to. And if he was a good enough guy to be on their short list, maybe it warranted a leap of faith.

“Alright,” Sin said. “You’ve convinced me. But if this goes sideways, I’m blaming the both of you. Free brunch for life, got it?”

“And if it doesn’t, we get the hook up at the new place right?”

"Deal."

 

[Sinnamon 0]

Sin hadn’t known what to expect when she crossed the threshold into the Blackbook. But it certainly wasn’t what she found. She didn’t expect the place to be so… elegant. Classy. The reds and the blacks. The eye for decor. Never even knew a man could have an eye for interior design like this. Frankly, it was intimidating. Stepping in with the knowledge that Oscar intended for her to run the place, she almost tucked tell and ran back the way she came.

But mama didn’t raise no bitch. Didn’t raise her at all, to be honest.

She made her way into the building, fingers running over dark felt sofas and down the opulent glass decor. She had to give him credit. It was really impressive. She spied him sitting at the bar, books and papers splayed out in front of him, pen moving feverishly across the page. Behind the bar, there was a white-haired man leaning on his elbows, casually puffing away at his cigarette.

“You really think a place like this should smell like stale smoke?”

She blurted the question out suddenly. It just felt so damn out of place. She realized, of course, that this place wouldn’t possibly smell of cigarettes. Full-Dive VR and all that. But the white haired man just smiled and killed his smoke in a nearby ashtray. He leaned forward, speaking softly into Oscar’s ear before making his exit. He strode past her calmly, both hands in his pockets.

“Good call,” he said as he walked past, regarding her with a nod. “That was crazy work with Ascalon by the way. Not a whole lot of people can tag him. Good shit.”

 

[Sinnamon 0]

It was frustrating.

Sin didn’t take compliments well. Especially not from some tall, dark and handsome piece of shit. Her first thought was that she wanted to shove her boot up his ass. Her second was a question:

Were all of Oscar’s friends so damn hot?

She wasn’t blind. Every single one of them that she’d met today were absolutely fuckable. She didn’t think too much on it. Only pausing to lament how long it had been since she’d last tangled the sheets up. She glided across the floor, settling into a bar stool one seat away from Oscar.

“Your friends said good things, then,” he remarked. “I’m glad. Hate to think I left a bad impression.”

“You definitely left an impression. They were gushing about you.”

“Yeah, that tracks. Not the first time.”

“Wow. You’re really fuckin’ vulgar.”

Oscar looked up from his work, turning his head to look at her. “Pot calling the kettle black, no?”

Fuck.

 

[Sinnamon 0]

He totally had her there and there was no way to weasel her way out of it. But she promised herself that it would be the last time. With a heavy sigh, she propped her elbow up on the bar and leaned against her hand.

“You got me,” she said flatly. “So what’s your deal?”

“I-” Oscar had started to speak and then the door opened again. A raven-haired girl carrying a crate of crystals walked in and plopped them down on the bar. And once more, she had to ask herself if all of Oscar’s friends were this hot. She usually needed to be at least three drinks deep before she would get down with girls, but she might make an exception for this one.

Lysette, her name plate said.

“Here’s those songs you asked for,” she said, her words colored with a gorgeous British accent.

Oscar turned in his seat to face her, a bright smile on his face. “Thank you. Where’s Abellio?”