Aeon - The Odyssey

[Sarki Soliloquy]

"Here for another round, sir?" The barista said as Makala leaned his elbow onto the chromatic-film counter.

"Yessss, one Jovian Jolt," Makala's eyes darted to Mewlanie's new position at the table. Turns out it was adjacent to the counter ledge. "P-Put it on my... tab."

"Hmmmmph" The barista's eyes curdled as he glanced sidelong, curling his lips. Turning around, he directed the hologram service screen of the premium brand vending machine to dispense the beverage.

"Here you go, sir." Turning back, he felt the chill snatched from his hands faster than he could hand it out. Makala was quick to wrest the can, the frost melting to the print of his feverish grip. He shuffled the crumpled Credits from his pocket, spilling them over the counter.

"Th-Thank you..." Makala scuttled away from the counter, holding the Jovian Jolt to his chest. His throat constricted with each step towards Mewlanie. He fixated on her ears, folded back. He swore the strands of her auburn locks behind her neck stood.

Hello there, Mewlanie! Busy seeing you here, mind if I have a seat!? I saw you were feeling down so I got your favorite drink! I know because I'm M3W CR3W M00kz33z! From the stream! So that's Team Odyssey over there!? Doesn't it feel big being next to such legends!? Like that Silver Bullet guy!? So did you bring your redhead & blonde friends here!? Scrolling for the perfect icebreaker, he hovered at the left of her chair. Now she just had to notice him.

Edited December 17, 2018 by Sarki Soliloquy

[Nanami Touko]

Melanie went about unzipping her hoodie, the cafe was much warmer than outside simply because of all the people. Leaning back in her chair, she glanced back over at the line to see... Some small child, cut in line, and spew out something? Before hopping away again... What the heck? What was that about? Weird... And I am already weird. Just 'ow many kinds of people play zis game, eh? Probably nothing to worry about, still seemed Monika was next... Karina had poofed off to somewhere. "Hahhh..." Another sigh, the waiting was going to get to her...

... And who was this supposed to be? Some shaky boy had walked his way over, staring at her... Had one of her fans finally found her? Why else would he be having trouble saying anything? Hopefully, if that was the case, he wasn't one of the creepy ones... She sat up and tried her best to smile, waving lightly. "Bonjour... Can I 'elp you?"

[Ether]

And with that, Melanie's interview seemed to be over and done with, but the mischievous streamer hadn't departed without a parting shot. Specifically, namedropping her. Gods, if these folk reacted in any way like Melanie and Karina had...? Monika froze in place momentarily, brought out of her stupor by a small girl rocketing to the front, sitting down, and stammering out an unintelligible introduction before leaving, all in what must have been in the span of a few seconds, tops.

Which only lead to Monika continuing to stand there, the look on her face transitioning from mortified to confused...

[Sarki Soliloquy]

A tingle surged down through Makala. Wasn't sure if it was his excitement or sweat pores. He faked his best Duchenne.

"Uhmm... you looked to beeee," he inhaled deeply, limbering his spine forth to the puffing of his chest, "...having a hard time speaking up there. So I just hope this Jovian Jolt makes you feel better."

He scoots the soda can onto the table, pushing it further towards Melanie with his index. He swore he saw wisps of steam radiate off the cast of his hand. Best served cold?

"Hope you enjoy how your fac- er, l-like how it... tastes."

[Nanami Touko]

"Uhm... Merci?" It was probably the best thing to have, walking around and having to deal with people... But who was this guy? The can seemed fine... Didn't look tampered with. Was he just trying to flirt, or something? Maybe. I do not mind a free drink, donc... She cracked it open and took a sip, shivering gently at the sudden sparkle of the carbonated beverage. "Well, ehm... Eh, sank you. You can sit down, eef you want... Did you, want to talk, about somesing? I... I assume you know 'oo I am, zen."

[Ursali]

"Oh it's fine, don't worry about it," Zeke replied casually as he waited in line. It was inevitable that people would end up colliding in such close quarters. He would have liked it if the encounter ended there, but, of course, he wouldn't be so lucky. As soon as he'd been recognized he began dreading the inevitable question about the team's state, or something similar in nature; however, that question never came, much to his relief. "A-Ah, thanks! It's always nice to hear that people like watching us play. And it's nice to meet you Venitus. You're the roaming team player, right? I've seen you in action a couple of times and, I've got to say, you do good work."

What was taking the line so long? He needed an out of this conversation before the topic shifted from him to the team as a whole. The girl in front of him seemed pretty out of it, was she really Keizerin? She definitely wasn't matching what he thought the player Keizerin was like outside of the game; he had expected someone confident and perhaps a bit arrogant, but she seemed to be introverted more than anything else. Maybe it was just the crowd situation and worrying about being harassed by potential fans or rivals. He couldn't well leave Venitus hanging, but he could at least make sure that the line was moving. "Excuse me for a second."

"Hey," he called out to her. "You doin' alright there, Keizerin? If you keep standing there the rest of the line will pass you by before you know it. I'm sure people would prefer that the #1 solo player didn't apply and worsen their chances, but you seem to have someone counting on you. Best to give it your all and get it over with than languish in uncertainty, right?" Now if only he could practice what he preached... 

Edited December 20, 2018 by Ursali

[Ether]

Ugh... well it seemed that she was pretty well roped into this now, wasn't she? Looking over at the man who had called to her, she gave him a small smile.

"I suppose I do, don't I? Thank you for your concern." The redhead noted, before pulling out the chair across from Hitomi slightly, and sitting down. Well, if they were looking for professionalism, that might discount her entirely... she had nothing prepared, after all.

"Well, my name is Monika. Monika Van Damme... and as Melanie said, my tag is Keizerin... I wasn't sure if I was going to apply or not, so I don't really have anything prepared, uhm... I'm a solo queue player, currently in Aeon tier, 1286 LP, rank... one. I uhh... think I was on the highlight reel they played earlier, but uhm... I suppose all I can really add is that uhh, I can do try outs, and all that." The aforementioned redhead noted, giving herself a rather sheepish introduction.

Edited December 21, 2018 by Ether

[DarthR0xas]

"Oh thank you, you're too kind. Say, wh-" Venitus couldn't get to ask his next question as Sirius seemed focused on the person in front of them, and excused himself to talk to her. Oh well, not like I'm in any rush, this is actually a good time to look him up and find his actual name, since Sirius is obviously a screen-name. After a quick search online, he found the statistics he was looking for. So his real name is Ezekiel, good to know. Wonder if he goes by Zeke, I'll call him that and see if he has any objections. Speaking of Zeke, he was still talking to Keizerin, trying to motivate/cheer her up. It seemed to do the trick, or at least the meek smile on her face gave that impression. It was at this point that Venitus became acutely aware that he had just cut the line, although most people didn't really seem to mind. Despite his stature, Venitus was easily able to go unnoticed in the chaos that was this line. He wanted to keep talking to Zeke, plus now he was incredibly close to the applications desk. He had sent Hitomi a message, but it would probably help his chances to talk to her in person. Well, it's a tad rude to do this, but if this can improve my chances then I think I'll just stay right here. In the meantime, maybe I can finally ask Zeke why he's in this line. He's on a team, why would he need to join another one? Asking this might be a terrible idea, but I've gotta know. With that, he tapped Zeke on the shoulder. And right as he was about to say something he got interrupted 

Edited December 23, 2018 by DarthR0xas

[Phoenix]

Hitomi figured Motherloader had enough self assurance that he wouldn't be put off by Melanie's comment ...

"Good enough? Wee wee, Madame Kitty," Motherloader playfully shot back.

... she didn't expect his rebuttal to be so silly, though. As for this Keizerin, Hitomi only vaguely recognized the name, but couldn't pair it with anything she remembered. The day Felix ended his stint as a lone wolf was also the day Hitomi stopped paying attention to the solo ladder. This clearly wasn't the case for Motherloader and other people in the cafe. In fact, Motherloader got to searching for something right there on the spot, occasionally sparing Monika a curious glance as he skimmed a dozen video clips.

Hitomi tried to just stay focused on this next introduction. Before they could really get started however, another girl swooped in and blurted out something--presumably about herself--before quickly vacating, again. Hitomi only really had enough time to blink before it was over, and she wasn't sure what she'd heard or what to do about it. She supposed it was best to just ... try and focus on the micro-interview. She could worry about the nano-interview once things calmed down, more. Thankfully she had enough to work with; Aeon tier was a big deal. It was definitely big enough to make a fuss over. "Aww, you're not even going to offer any fun 1v1 lessons to sweeten the deal?"

"Hey Beebs, check this out," Motherloader said, putting a video clip directly onto the surface of the table.

Beebs, now? "I swear to--oh, frame assassin!" Now Hitomi knew exactly how to pay back Motherloader for being so annoying and pushy. BB see, BB do. I'll run you through. That's what I'll do~

[Sarki Soliloquy]

The butterflies in Makala's stomach were pushing through its membrane by now. He scooted back into the opposite chair.

"Oooooh, thank you," Staring into Melanie's heterochromatic eyes entranced him, "Uuhhh, yes, of course, you're Mewlanie, the neko AetherSync streamer! I'm a huge fan! Very long time, you dunno how excited I am to finally meet you IRL." Makala glanced sidelong, twiddling his thumbs.

"Do you remember me? I am, I'm uh... (M3W CR3W M00kz33z!) Doctor_Flambre! Hyes, I'm, hoooooh... hoooh..." Makala's summoned his best Chicano. "Si, solo que player, el Gold quarto! Mis a mi love to chat very much."

[Nanami Touko]

"Well, I am glad to entertain." He seemed alright. She'd expected the 'I'm so happy to meet you!' bit from someone much worse, so this was comforting. I guess zat, even ma fans can be normal people. "Ehhh, I do not remember zat username... Ben, aussi, je parle seulement français et anglais. Donc, I 'ave no idea what you said, but... Heh, I am juste, glad to 'ave met a normal fan." She leaned back and relaxed a bit, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Zere are so many gross comments on ma stream... I mean, I suppose zat, I invite some of zem, I dress like zis on purpose. And zere ees zis one donator, 'oo keeps srowing in zis ridiculous amount of money, I always worry, eef I ever met 'im, zat 'e would sink I owe 'im somesing... Zat, ees why I always avoid going out een publique, you see? So... Sank you, Monsieur Flambre. I did not mean to ramble, ahah... Ehm..." A faint blush slid onto her cheeks, nervous hands gripping that jolt a bit tighter.

"I guess I was juste, so anxious, zat eet was nice to get eet out of ma system. Ma apologies, eef zat was, obnoxious, or, you did not want to 'ear any of zat."

Edited December 23, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Afterglimmer]

Well, the other applicants are…interesting to say the least.  Friedrich wasn’t able to catch what anything the girl who had quickly slipped in and out said, but more importantly, Keizerin was a name he definitely recognized from the solo queue leaderboard.  It was hard to believe that this was the same person who held the number one spot.  He would have to move the news of Keizerin’s appearance to back of his mind as his attention was more directed to the two familiar names that were dropped directly in front of him.  He could understand why Venitus was here, but Sirius as well?  He remembered seeing his name on the Sable Order’s roster from today's unsuccessful investigation.  Now, his curiosity was piqued.  A chance to test his voice changer before the interview had revealed itself.  Besides, it was rare to have two Frame Ops team players to talk to in person.

“Excuse me,” Friedrich lowered his voice so that only those two would hear him.  It came out a little deeper than he would have liked, but there was no immediate issues otherwise.  “You two wouldn’t happen to be Sirius and Venitus, right?"

[Ether]

"Oh uhh... I suppose I could do that, if you wanted... I hadn't really thought of it." Monika replied, noticing the glances she was getting from several people in the room, one of whom put a video on the table's display after a few moments. Hitomi immediately took notice of the machine she had been using... her Zabaniyya Nacht, a Babylonian Assassin class G-Frame. There were a few non-standard variations at play, but the basic form was readily recognizable.

Not that the clip was very long. Appearing from a cloaked state and catching an enemy sniper unawares, within moments the poor mech had been impaled with a harpoon, dragged into melee range with a vicious tug, and had it's cockpit crumple like a piece of paper as it was smashed open by a readied HEAT Stake. And just like that, the mangled remains were tossed aside as the Zabaniyya's cloaking device kicked back in, the black mech melting away into the darkness of space. Monika couldn't remember what game it was from... it was a fairly standard stealth takedown as far as she was concerned, but someone had felt it worth clipping.

"That's right, it's an Assassin G-Frame.  I've always been better up close, so it seemed like the best choice to get me there."

[DarthR0xas]

Well, guess I'll ask the question later. Someone who looks kinda familiar is asking about my personage, and it would be rude to just ignore them. "Why yes, I would happen to be Venitus. As for this guy, well, he might be a tad Sirius, if you catch my drift." Venitus gave the gent a cheeky grin as he gave Zeke a mocking poke with his elbow. That joke was awful, I'll need to use it more often. I'm sure Zeke is going to love that. "Oh, how rude of me, making puns before asking names, what would yours be?" As Venitus asked this he stuck out his arm for a handshake, partially as a friendly gesture, but also as a distraction for his optic eye to start doing its thing.  The second he got any info on this guy he was looking his name up, if he was in this line then he was bound to be in the database somewhere.

[Balcerzak]

Okay, Motherloader either didn't know how to take a hint, or didn't care.

Turning a sharp glare to the man, still acting like he was in charge and offering to take and interview people himself, Linus shot off a quick, "Who are you again, exactly?" But quickly he decided more engagement would only make things worse, not better, so he swiftly moved onto, "No, nevermind. Just, wait your turn like everybody else."

The cat joined in with much the same opinion, and seemed to have regained a bit of confidence in doing so. Good, good. When she introduced the friend she'd brought along, maybe for moral support, Linus couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Yes, that moniker certainly did ring bells, though the woman herself seemed shy and afraid of owning up to it. Maybe it had been a brief brag that had taken life of its own, and now she was caught in a web of lies. Or maybe...

But not much time to think on that right now, everyone seemed to be eager to slide in and try to speak with Hitomi directly, one completely bypassing 'Keizerin' at the front of the line. The fact that most of the poeple seemed to be ignoring him was a bit hurtful, but even Linus had to admit it was completely natural. After all, his partner had been the one called up onto stage, witnessed in front of everyone, and so her continuing to be the main point of hope and contact for all the newcomers was only an expected extension of that.

Yeah, there was no arguing with facts. Splitting the line in two and just taking half of them was looking like it wasn't going to be satisfactory. In that case, he'd just have to let everyone get their stop in with Hitomi, and start processing those who've already sat their turn with her.

"Mmm, well you're the big star of today, I wouldn't want to take meeting you away from anyone," Linus grinned and gave Hitomi a playful nudge with his elbow. "So maybe that kind of split is a no go after all, I've got a bit of a different idea though."

Loathe though Linus was to admit it, even to himself, Motherloader pulling up some Keizerin gameplay was a pretty good idea. Even if they waited for the team-based, hands-on experience at the arcade later, they could certainly still get a glimpse into people's solo career and a general feel for their strengths and relative comfort zones.

"How about this. For everyone that wants, after they've had a sit-down with Hitomi here, they can slide on over to me, show off any VOD, highlight reel, or game replay they're particularly proud of. Tryouts can be understandably hard on the nerves, so getting a chance to see you at what you feel is your best is important to us too. Of course, we're still gonna weigh how you perform under pressure, so don't let this get you too relaxed." Linus paused here and made a bit of waving motion to invite people to come on over, then continued with idea number two.

"And for those who don't have anything like that lined up, or easily accessible I've got a neat little exercise that ought show how you can think on your feet, and give a glimpse of your knack for planning and insight. I'll show you a squad of four, each with their frame setup already locked in, then ask you how you'd gear up and load yourself out to best suit that team."

These pair of tasks were going to have to be the next best thing to watching them perform in a solo botmatch, prior to the team-based tryout at the arcade later. Maybe if he'd brought a laptop or something, that might have been possible, but Linus wasn't going to subject anyone to trying to play FO on the small tablet he had available. Third party loadout editor apps and the like of course could be easily managed, so that made this path the obvious choice.

For now, he just waited to see if any of the people that had already been processed were ready to volunteer themselves, but failing that, he did have his eye on one that he planned on calling out. The one that had perhaps given Hitomi the least to work with so far...

[Ursali]

Zeke smiled a little bit as Keizerin sat down, glad to have given her the last little nudge she needed. However, It seemed he'd be missing her interview. Venitus had tapped him on the shoulder; there was yet another newcomer joining the conversation, but that didn't seem to have been what Venitus had been trying to get his attention for. He'd ask later, maybe. He laughed at the pun on his former username though. "Haha, yeah I'm Sirius alright." A bit more than I'd like to be, though. "You look kinda familiar but I can't quite place your name. You'd think it'd be easy with the mask though, haha." He was trying to keep the mood light; maybe it would discourage any Sirius discussion. 

[Xinnidy]

"...You're welcome." Karina didn't expect Mewlanie's mood to mellow so quickly... perhaps it was Kirara's appearance? Well, it didn't matter too much at that point. While Mewlanie seemed into the idea off hitting up Team Odyssey's meeting point immediately, Karina had a few things to pack first. She couldn't really do with leaving her booked table unattended for so long.

---

The hustle and bustle of the con had mostly died down at that point. In social media, many balance critics were already trying to assess the damage of battleships on the metagame, while most pro-players remained silent. Understandable, with the still considerable gaps in how much battleships would influence team and solo play... Karina personally hoped she wouldn't need to spend that much money on a battleship ever, but, well, there was only one way to ensure that.

The appointed café for the tryouts was a different one than the place she had booked, which took Karina some further walking, not that she minded it terribly. At this point, it one knew they weren't going to be among the first, there was no point trying to struggle through a chaotic line --she'd simply go to the end of the line and enjoy some music until it was her time--. Entering the café, Karina was displeased to know, even with her slow pace, the line was only growing. Great, I'm going to be here forever... Karina could at least assess the competition, though Keizerin being there already raised the bar immensely. Wait... where's Mew? Oh, over there, sitting at a table with... some dude Karina had never seen before. It seemed the catgirl was already interviewed, either that or decided to wuss out at the last minute --an unlikely story--. Can I even stand up against Keizerin? I hope so... Confidence was easily waning, after all, as a Plasma-tier player, her competition over here was potentially Aeon, still, she had to press forward. Karina would just need to prove herself harder, head held high. Confidence sells.

[Afterglimmer]

I’m surprised they’d be so….welcoming.  “It’s always nice to meet a pair of professionals.  Of course, where are my manners?  A showman should always properly introduce himself,” Friedrich extended his arm and shook Venitus’ hand.  “I am Aska.  I may not be as well-known as you two, but I’m certain you’ve seen a few clips of me floating around from the solo queue showcase.”  The masked man gave a small laugh as he finished his introduction before turning his head towards Sirius.  “Perhaps you met me at last year’s BatCon?  I don’t blame you if you can't remember.  It was the first time I attended a Frame Ops and I wasn't completely.....accustomed, shall we say.  Though I will admit, I am surprised to see both of you here.  Are you here to check up on the competition or are you planning to sign up as well?”

[Phoenix]

"It's funny," Hitomi grinned at Monika, "we never had a dedicated melee person-" stealthy or otherwise, "so this could be really effective." As Odyssey's diversion expert and all around nuisance, BB considered high damage units her patrons. Few players even had the presence of mind to hunt for cloaked units when they were already under fire from a visible target. Those that did were easy pickings, even for BB's footloose tank build. "If you're interested, you should definitely come with us to the arcade, Keizerin. We can just brute force our way out of gold this time if Linus doesn't have to do all the oneshotting~"

Motherloader, thinking he'd been the first 'in line' due to his earlier message, and thinking he was practically already on the team due to ... something, scowled only half seriously at Linus when he got called out, again. Feeling a little responsible for not being able to shake the guy off, Hitomi decided to try something. "Motherloader, I need a favor from you, actually ... and it's a big one so you can't say no."

"A big one?"

"Yes! Find the best arcade nearby and get things ready for us. You don't have to reserve a bunch of spots but try and get enough spots for a full team. There isn't anything you could do right now that's bigger or more important than that." Well, it sounded true, at least. Hitomi really couldn't think of anything better for the guy to do, and at least this way he wouldn't be stepping on their toes every five seconds, and could still be useful.

"Huh ... yeah, that's a good idea," Motherloader agreed. "Think I'll warm up too, while I wait for you guys to catch up. Alright, leave everything to me."

"Thank you~" Once Motherloader had gotten up and left, Hitomi sighed. "... sorry again, Linus. I had no idea he'd track me down in the crowd. But yeah, we'll handle things like you said. I'll start off things off and you feel them out some more. Then later we'll have some fun at the arcade."

Now then, back to business. "Alright Kei, you should find the clips you like the most and show them to Linus really quick. I stopped paying attention to solo stuff a few centuries ago, but he might recognize something or even just get some good formation ideas." As simple as cloak and dagger was, Battlenet knew how to come up with team objectives that made kill mongers uneasy, so it couldn't hurt to try and plan ahead a little.

[Sarki Soliloquy]

"Eeehhrm, muchas grassy ass!" Makala's cheeks puffed out to the ripening of his blush, forcing him to retreat his jaw into his sweaty palms. He shuffled deeper into his seat, breaking eye contact.

That comment sunk into him like a molten nickel ball in a Styrofoam cup. Such a stroke of luck that he chose to use his stolen moniker instead of being honest about who he was with her. This issue would boil over the surface eventually, so how close should he really get to her?

"Siiii, siiii, advertencia... u-uh, mi well be right to back, cuidado el portopatto occupado." Makala excused himself from his seat, striding for the restroom. Hopefully his purposely-butchered Spanish didn't sounding like a canned warning label.

[Nanami Touko]

And now he was dipping... Well that was weird. She'd have remembered his username if he was someone like she'd described, that... Mew, crew, whoever, guy, but he wasn't, so... "Er... What eet somesing zat I said? Ma apologies, I am... Not used to being een a place like zis, so I might 'ave said somesing silly. You are free to stay. I... Don't really know what you juste said, anyway, eheh..." Well... At least she'd made one friend, if this fell through. Monika hadn't tried to run away, yet.

[Ether]

Well it seemed that Hitomi was impressed, or at the very least receptive of the prospect. As she sent the man who had gotten the clip ready off to book some arcade spots and directed her to her other teammate, Monika blushed a bit. Rubbing the back of her head, she smiled sheepishly.

"Well... to be honest, I don't really keep any of my own clips. The ones floating around are just highlights taken from other people in my matches... I wouldn't know what's floating around or isn't... but I'll let the next person go ahead." She noted, standing up and moving out of the way, towards this Linus fellow.

"Err, umm... that other guy didn't seem to have much issue finding anything in a search, but like I said, I don't really keep anything like clips on hand. I can answer any questions, if you'd like."

[DarthR0xas]

Aska? Oh right, yeah I remember this guy. He had an insane play, winning that 1 v 3 a while back. I haven't seen much of him since then, although I suppose I haven't really looked around much. Venitus still checked for any other information on this masked fellow, although he came up with nothing. Just the basics, like his username, and the fact that he wore a mask. Geez, nothing on this guy. Suppose it's part of the mystique, with that mask. I should get one, then I too could confuse people in a group. I'm giving him grief, but seriously, I can barely tell which one of us he's addressing. It looks kinda tilted at Zeke, and it would be kinda rude to answer a question directed at him. That said, there's no harm in answering anything, so I might as well. 

"Nah, I missed BatCon last year. I was out visiting some old friends, and besides, I could just read up anything interesting that happened there, so nothing major lost. But yeah, I'm here for sign-up. Freelance work hasn't been particularly plentiful as of late, and since I'm not the biggest name around, I've kinda got take whatever opportunity comes my way, you know?"

[Ursali]

...Aska? Zeke repeated mentally as he searched his memory for anything related to the somewhat familiar name. It took him a little bit, but eventually, his eyes flashed in realization. "Wait, Aska as in 'Aska, Soaring Hawk'?" He'd always enjoyed watching Aska's highlights when he found them; the masked player knew how to put on a show. His mystique also reminded Zeke a bit of himself when he was younger, in a nostalgic sense. He was a bit of a secret fan. "Now that you mention it... Yeah, I'm pretty sure we bumped into each other last year. I had... a lot happen that day, so maybe that's why I couldn't remember. But man, I still feel a little bad about not recognizing you." 

The question he'd been hoping to avoid had finally reared itself. He glanced over at the table, the interview seat now empty. He was next up too; no more time left to delay his decision. He needed to make his choice now. He took a deep breath and let out an equally big sigh, lowering his voice. "...Truth be told, I'm here to try and get signed onto this team. As of today... the Sable Order's officially retired." It hurt to say that, but at the same time it was a weight off his shoulders. He managed a smile, his mood a bit lighter."...Anyway, you're both applying too, right? Let's hope we all make it then. It'd be nice to have some familiar faces on the team." 

He gave the two other potentials a miniature wave as he stepped up to the table. Moment of truth Zeke. Don't mess it up now. He sat down across from Hitomi and put on his best business face. "I'm Ezekiel Fuller; my Frame Ops username is Sable, however, that's a recent change. My former username was Sirius, co-founder and three-year team leader of the platinum ranked professional Frame Ops team, 'The Sable Order'." Whew, that was the basics. Now to sweeten the deal. "I have experience as team lead, as well as a general team manager with a bit of PR here and there. I am also capable of bringing over the important team assets as well, Battlenet allowing. In the event that platinum is too high of a rank, I'm still willing to hold onto them until they are useable." He'd played his entire hand; hopefully, it was enough to at least get him considered.

[Phoenix]

Up next was Ezekiel Fuller. Neither of the monikers Sable nor Sirius rung any bells for Hitomi on their own, but the 'Sable Order' sounded vaguely familiar. When it came to the professional teams, she actually cared enough to pay attention to any names or feats that stood out, and she preferred watching gaming broadcasts to other shows. Still, that exposed her to hundreds of different teams and few of them stood out without ridiculous gimmicks. "I'm Hitomi Moto. BB works just fine though--" minus any of Motherloader's cheeky tweaks--"Co-founder of Team Odyssey."

She had to admit that when Ezekiel mentioned his experience as a team lead, it made her slightly nervous again; she thought back to the message Motherloader had sent Odyssey and how 'obnoxious team leady' it read. Although she was a co-founder of the team, Hitomi didn't consider herself much of a leader in practice. Linus had the luxury of actually calling shots since he could fight at any range, but Hitomi was always focused on getting enemy attention. She decided then and there to give their platinum ranked hopeful the benefit of the doubt, especially since he didn't stop at the team lead part. He'd also mentioned team management, which was potentially obnoxious but different from an actual command position, and PR, which might come in handy ... Hitomi doubted her father could keep getting away with shamelessly promoting his daughter's team.

And then there were the team assets. Hitomi could only smile apologetically at first. "Our first season was a little rough and our play time was low, so we only placed gold, but things will be infinitely better this year." The fact that higher ranked players were even lining up in this cafe was enough assurance for her, but even without a lot of interested players, Hitomi planned to improve to the point where Team Odyssey could qualify for and win the championship this year. A tall order, but if the team was willing to shoot that high, then anyone standing in the way was in trouble. "What kind of assets do you have?"