forum Looking for a O/O :) || CLOSED

Started January 20, 2021 by @Cloudy_is_trying_her_best

tune

I like him! I'll work on a starter, should be able to have it up in a few hours at the latest

Okay! I'm glad you like him! Credits to the artist are in his profile, by the way!

(Here we go!)

The forest was dark and imposing, with a few scattered patches of sunlight filtering through the leaves. In another time, Karrina would have loved such a place. So many secrets just waiting to be uncovered, things to learn, and maybe even a treasure or two to find! The possibilities were endless! Now, though, the woods seemed much less exciting. The shadows threatened to suffocate her, and she checked frequently to make sure that she wasn't becoming lost. The slightest rustling of a bush nearly startled her out of her skin.

And of course, there was that voice. Go back to the village, burn it to the ground. Kill them all, it urged. Karrina's hand went up to her scarf, fingers tightening around the soft, familiar material. It calmed her, just a little bit.

"We are not doing that. No," she replied, firmly but quietly. She wouldn't, despite the voice in her head.

You bore me, vessel. Why, pray tell, do you refuse to use the power you now possess?

"Because it's wrong."

Hmm. We'll get past your morals some day, vessel.

Karrina didn't have time to reply before something changed. Her eyes widened as the ground suddenly gave out underneath her. She shouted in surprise as she fell into some kind of dark abyss. It was cold and Karrina couldn't see anything. There was no sound in this void, nothing to make a sound other than the terrified young woman that found herself here.

Then, as soon as she'd fallen in, Karrina fell out of the void. She landed hard, but thankfully not hard enough to break anything. After getting up and dusting herself off, Karrina looked around at her surroundings. She'd landed on one of a series of grey, square slabs. The ground on her right side was covered in grass with odd-looking… buildings? The other side was some kind of black rock, with white lines painted on it. "What… where am I…?"

(Aaagh sorry it's so long, I tend to go overboard with starters. Dw, you don't need to make yours nearly this long lol)

(And I'm here! It's lunch, so I've got a while.)

Jay had just left his house when Karrina had hit the ground. He was heading to the park as a source of inspiration for his drawings. Not even realizing that Karrina was standing on the sidewalk, having been slightly lost in his own thoughts, he accidentally walked into her.

"I-I'm sorry…!" He said before beginning to bolt off. Even though Karrina looked nothing like anyone he knew, his reputation spread quickly, so he wanted to flee the scene before it could become worse. Oh, how he really hated the town he lived in sometimes.

Due to running off, he never realized that his sketchbook had fallen out of his slightly opened bag. While he had put who it belonged to, his contact information, and places that he could be found, he already knew that almost no one in the area would return it. Knowing them, he assumed they'd just burn it, but he put it there just in case. Even so, upon arriving at the park, he couldn't help but internally scold himself for dropping the sketchbook after making a bad first impression.

"New person in town and I already messed up…" He sighed to himself. "And I lost my sketchbook! Seriously?!"

While usually laid-back, losing the few things he cared about did upset him greatly. He wanted to fix his reputation through his creativity, and yet, no one cared about him, and he lost the one thing he had to show the world. Trying to calm down, he sat underneath his favorite tree at the park, away from everyone, where he could shield himself from the harsh reality he lived in. It was the one place he could go to whenever anything was wrong, when something was on his mind. It was his happy place, a place of peace and comfort. One where no one could bother him, where he could be himself. Even so, it would take a while for him to get over his mistakes.

Karrina was surprised at being bumped into, and the voice had plenty to say about that, but she watched as he ran off, mostly just in shock about the whole situation. Kill him, bathe in his blood–

"Absolutely not, he only bumped into me. It was an accident." He was… certainly oddly-dressed, though…

That is irrelevant, obliterate him!!

As Karrina tried to ignore the voice throwing a tantrum in her mind and the sudden burst of energy that followed, she noticed that the man had dropped his… something. It looked like some kind of odd book with a spiral, metal binding. "Strange… Hey! You dropped this!" she shouted, but if the stranger heard her, he didn't respond. "Maybe he can help…?"

So she followed him, attempting to get his attention. He didn't react at all. As they made their way to whatever his destination was, Karrina noticed that he wasn't the only oddly-dressed person in this place. It made her feel a bit self-conscious, actually. Was this normal, and was she the one that was dressed weirdly? Eventually, the man went to sit under a tree. Oh, thank Hylia–that makes this so much easier. Plus, the voice had calmed down a bit. Karrina approached the stranger, book in hand. "Excuse me, um… I think you dropped this?"

(Sorry! I had a drama club meeting!)

It took a moment for Jay to respond. He had been in his own world once again, nothing in reality existing to him. His thoughts were what he could see, what he could feel. He had escaped reality for a bit, bringing him a bit of happiness after everything that had happened. He existed in his own world rather than reality quite often, but only rarely would it be so long before he would acknowledge it, as he would usually turn his surroundings into a fantasy location to draw rather than completely ignore it. He only did that when emotional, just like now.

After a bit, he finally came back to reality to find Karrina in front of him, holding his sketchbook. He was definitely surprised that it was returned and in seemingly good condition, as if it wasn't harmed like he was expecting it to be if he got it back. Even though he knew Karrina was new to the area, he still thought his reputation might've spread or that bumping into someone was very bad where she was from. He was glad that it was unharmed, but surprised nonetheless.

"Oh…thanks…" The surprise was more than obvious in his voice as he took the sketchbook from Karrina. "You must be new here. I guess you don't know me, thankfully… I'm Jay… Don't tell anyone we met, and never mention me… They'll just turn you against me…" He didn't think anything bad of her, but he knew how things ended up when others that were new to the area or even visiting met him. "Oh…and I'm incredibly sorry about bumping into you… I was lost in my thoughts."

(You're good! I'm not sure if you noticed, but I'm not able to constantly be on and get speedy replies out either haha. It's all good)

Karrina's ears twitched a little bit in confusion. Why is he worried about other people finding out about us meeting…? she wondered. "It's alright, really. I'm Karrina, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you. And…well, to be completely honest, I'm not really sure where in Hyrule I am or how I got here," she admitted, nervously fiddling with one of the pouches on her belt.

(It's fine! I have a math bowl meeting tomorrow and every Friday at the end of the school day, so on Thursdays and Fridays I won't be on then.)

"Hyrule?" Jay asked curiously. "As in Hyrule from the Zelda games? That explains your attire, but you aren't in Hyrule… You're in America now. It's the year 2021, and people in this city are judgemental as all heck… I do warn you about that…" He never questioned her statements, being someone who believes in alternate realities, the proof making him slightly happy. "I suggest we maybe find some clothes for you. It's not the right weather for that… I can help you. Heck, you can stay with me until we find a way to get you back to Hyrule."

(It's all good! I'm sure you've noticed that I can't always get a speedy reply up either lol.)

Karrina was… surprised, to say the least, by what Jay said. There was a lot to unpack there. America? 2021? And what did the Princess have to do with any of this?! Though she could probably ask those questions later, what mattered now was burning this place to the ground– no, what mattered was figuring things out that mattered immediately. Shelter, clothes, food, water source, that kind of thing. The rest could wait. "That's… a lot, but thank you. I think clothes would probably be a good place to start."

(It's really fine!!)

"I know where we can go. It's one of the few places I'm not unrightfully banned from," Jay said, standing up. "Again…this town hates me… They think I'm evil. The bans, however, is just because the family of the person who started it all runs this town, so they put them all in place… I'm still allowed here and at a few stores to buy essential stuff such as food and clothes, but that's it. I wanna move…and I've considered…but they've banned me from leaving the town… I'm not even a criminal or anything. Just a nineteen-year-old trying to get into college with a love of art and helping others. However, I can't. I'm not even allowed to have the internet or a phone that lets me access it. I don't understand… Anyways…enough about me… Let's go."

(Why do I make the weirdest stuff with Jay? I apologize.)

(You're fine lol)

Karrina would have asked why or how Jay was banned from everything in town and not even allowed to leave, but it didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it. "Should I know what the internet is? Or a phone?" she asked instead. Not knowing about things that sounded like they were common frustrated and kind of scared her a little. A part of her wondered how he would have reacted if he was dropped into Hyrule. Would he have been terrified at the unfamiliarity of it all, or would he have been relieved to finally be allowed to do things?

"Well, I can't do much explaining… I was never really allowed to have those things…" Jay sighed. "I'm sure that someone in this area could explain it to you, but I wouldn't be much of a help. It's hard to explain, and I definitely can't demonstrate it. Anyways, we really need to get going. Aside from getting you clothes, I need to get some food, and I'm not even allowed out after a certain time… For being nothing more than an average nineteen-year-old…I'm treated as if I'm someone who plans on destroying this very universe and could if I got the right resources…hence why I'm banned from almost everywhere and everything… I hate it here…!" He took a deep breath before he could get too angry. "Sorry, sorry… I didn't mean to get angry."

"That's alright, I… probably shouldn't have brought it up, sorry…" Karrina apologized. "Where is this place that we need to go?" Meanwhile, the Deity laughed. This one, he's got something I could use! he remarked. Truly a shame that he could not have come upon me before you. Despite her efforts not to show any outward reaction to the voice, Karrina's pointed ears twitched a little bit in annoyance. She was far from fond of hearing constant suggestions to do violent things, but she wouldn't wish it on anyone else–especially not someone in a situation like Jay's.

"No, it's okay, really. I tend to be laid-back, but honestly, I'm just hiding my emotions from a reality that wishes for nothing more than for me to perish from it. Why give it another reason? Men around here aren't supposed to like art or dye their hair. They aren't supposed to be caring and smart. Heck, that's why they think I could take over the world. They think the caring side is fake and everything else could lead to a world domination scheme…" Jay started walking, sighing once again. "Anyways, as for where we need to go, I'll take you there, help you find clothes, and then get food. Hopefully you don't mind that."

"Not at all," Karrina replied. She let Jay lead the way, since she had no idea where this mystery tailor was. In the meantime, her eyes wandered around the area; in the distance, she could see the odd black rock again, with odd-looking, shiny things moving on it. They looked to be moving pretty fast, too. Closer by were what appeared to be some kind of sign, but Karrina couldn't make heads or tails of the symbols on it. "Huh… I guess our written languages are different," she commented as they walked by. That… could be a problem. At least they could understand each other when speaking, though.

"I guess so." Jay nodded in response to her comment as they came up to the only clothing store that he was allowed into. "Anyways, we're at the store now. I'm guessing that you don't have premade clothing and sizes back in Hyrule… I know little about your world…though knowing realities thought to be only video games exist is cool…but I can only assume… Anyways, even with that, we should be able to find your size and some clothes that you like. They won't look anything like your traditional attire, but that shouldn't stop you from finding some stuff that you'd want to wear." They walked inside as he spoke, going towards where clothes Karrina could wear would be. "Feel free to look through everything."

(Sorry for not responding earlier, life got hectic ^^' but I'm back now!)

Once again, Karrina held back from asking probably-unnecessary questions. "Thank you," she said, and began looking around the store. The way it was set up was… different, and the clothes displayed were no less strange to the Hylian. Jay had been right about them not looking anything like her traditional attire. Eventually, she was able to find a couple of outfits. One was a red dress with straps, paired with a black-and-white striped shirt and white tights, since the dress was a bit shorter than what she was used to. The other was a shirt made of yellow material and had long sleeves, plus a white skirt that tied with a black ribbon at the waist. "Should I try these on?" she asked. Everything should fit, if Karrina had measured them in comparison to herself right, but maybe trying them on would be a good idea.

(Okay)

"It would be a good idea to try them on, even though they look like they'll fit," Jay said. "Clothes here can occasionally be strange. Along with that, since these are incredibly different than your usual outfits, you might want to make sure that they're comfortable and that you enjoy wearing them. Well, as much as you can for a complete change in style from your normal stuff…" He just wanted her to be happy, so he hoped that she would enjoy both of the outfits that she had selected for herself. "If you're wondering, there is an area for this, and I can take you there so you can try everything on and make sure that you like it. It might sound weird to you, but it is a perfectly normal thing in this dimension, here where I live. Not that I can say too much when I'm banned from so many things for no reason that it's ridiculous…but you know… I still know that trying clothes on is quite normal."

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Karrina said with a slightly awkward smile. Trying clothing on wasn't terribly uncommon for certain shops in Hyrule. Usually, armor shops had premade wares that could quickly be adjusted after the customer tried it on. But for clothing like this, it was much less common–actually, Karrina wasn't sure if she'd ever actually been to a regular clothing store that sold pre-made garments and had a dedicated fitting room.

"Of course. It would be best to know if you fully like those two outfits before you buy them," Jay said as he led Karrina towards the fitting room area. "Now all you have to do is go in there and you can try things on. You can also come out once one of the outfits is on to show me if you want my opinion, seeing as you are new around here. If you do need a reminder that you'll look fine, I'll be here to give it to you. Then if you decide that you like the outfits, we can buy them."

"Alright, thank you," Karrina said with a grateful smile, then dipped inside the fitting room. Once the door was closed behind her, she let out a breath and started changing. She decided to try the dress, shirt, and tights first. Once the Hylian figured out which way was forward and which way was backward, it was easy to pull them on. Karrina could see why people in this world favored clothes like this: not only were they easy to quickly slip on, they were much lighter than what she was used to as well. After re-tying her red bandanna and putting her boots back on, she checked herself in the mirror. It was certainly a new look, but Karrina thought it was nice. But… she turned her arm over with a frown, looking at the teal, white, and red tattoos that extended to her wrists on either side. Even in the summertime back home, she'd intentionally worn long sleeves and gloves to cover them, especially around her family. They didn't need to worry about that, not when her brother was as ill as he'd become…

That, or you simply did not want to face reality. And yet, hiding me did nothing for your case, the voice commented. Karrina could almost picture the Deity smirking at her.

"Quiet, you," she hissed, praying to the Goddesses that Jay hadn't heard. She wasn't sure if he would ask about the tattoos, but he would certainly have questions for her if he overheard her talking to 'herself'. After taking another deep breath, Karrina opened the door and smiled nervously. "It fits nicely, I like how it feels. How does it look?" she asked.

While Jay had overheard what she had said, he didn't question it at all. He knew she was wearing new clothes and simply thought that she might think that it looked weird compared to her usual clothes. He liked her new look a lot, seeing as the outfit suited her quite nicely, despite her insecurities. He smiled once he saw her wearing the outfit, and he had to say something to her.

"You look great, honestly. I like the new look on you!" His smile was completely genuine as he spoke as well. "Why don't you try the other one on to see if you like it? Also, if you are not confident in something or worried about how people will judge you for something, I understand completely. It shouldn't happen, but if it will help there might be accessories to help if you are insecure about something." He was just trying to help her given what she had said, though he would've said the same thing without overhearing it, just knowing the context of the situation.

After saying that, he waited for the other to respond, wondering if they should look for other things or not. He wanted to make sure that she was completely comfortable with what she was wearing. While he rarely ever had someone to consider a friend, in the few times he did, he wanted them to be happy. That is why making sure that Karrina was very happy with her outfit was important to him. Since this stuff was incredibly new to her, he knew that it might be difficult for her to feel comfortable in certain things or with certain things about her, which is why he mentioned accessories and such. He was actually quite fond of making creative outfits for people and helping them out whenever he could, so it what he was doing wasn't even a bother to him. It was just something that he wanted to do out of his own free will and enjoyed doing.

"Oh, and you can try the other outfit on before you make a decision. I thought I should say that," he added to his previous statement. "I'm always here to help you if you need it, okay? If you ever need anything else, just let me know and I'll help you find what you're looking for."