x
WHY WASN’T HE GETTING the message? Why couldn’t he leave me alone? He was the one who ended the relationship, and admitted to cheating, not me. So why was he still bothering me? What did he want with me?
I saw Vincent’s messages on my phone after they’d interrupted the photoshoot with my friends. I was having so much fun, living in the moment and then he had to go and spoil it. His number was still listed as unknown, I didn’t want to save it in my contacts but I still didn’t have the heart to block him. It hadn’t mattered what he did to me, I just wasn’t that person.
Poppy was the one at my side the second I felt my mental health wavering. She collected my things on my behalf and ushered me back to the cabin, where we changed out of our costumes and huddled up on the sofa sipping hot chocolate as we discussed the situation.
‘So your ex is still contacting you?’ She asked, helping herself to a biscuit. I nodded. ‘Then why haven’t you blocked his number, especially after everything he put you through Bonnie?’
Not even I had the answer to the question, ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘Part of me feels guilty, like my actions or mental health were the driving factor for him to do what he did.’
‘That’s no excuse. Being in a relationship means you’re there for your partner no matter the circumstances. A relationship isn’t a walk in the park, it takes work.’
‘I guess,’ I didn’t really know what else to say. In a way I knew Poppy had a point and I knew she was only looking out for me but why did the situation with Vincent feel like my responsibility?
‘Besides,’ Poppy said, choosing to change the subject. ‘I think you could do much better than that idiot.’ She wore a smug grin and I instantly knew exactly who she was referring to.
I rolled my eyes, ‘I’ve told you, we’re just friends.’
She sipped her hot chocolate, ‘You’re fooling yourself. We can all see it, Bonnie. You’re more than friends, or at least you want to be, just admit it. If you didn’t then what was last night, what was that out there during the shoot.’ She asked.
Poppy was really trying to sell me the tough love act. ‘We both agreed not to talk about it.
‘When was that agreed? Sounds stupid to me.’
‘This morning.’
‘But the way you two were during the photoshoot, I assumed your conversation about last night would’ve been more positive,’ Poppy said, utterly dumbfounded by my admission.
‘I’m sorry to disappoint you,’ I replied. ‘Despite what I might feel for Harley, I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship. Part of me feels I should work on myself first.’
‘But is that because of what happened with your ex?’
‘Partly, but more so for myself.’
‘Only you know what’s right for you.’
[♡]
The next morning, we stood in the living room of the cabin, ready for our first day of Nostalgia Con. Harley and I in our casual costumes, Tristan and Poppy in their cat onesies and Amelia and Jasper in their Lolita street fashion I’d seen in magazines and highly admired. We all wore our patterned lanyards around our necks with our passes attached. All that was left was to go to the convention hall.
Upon entry the security checked all of our passes, and we decided to stick together as we explored. The Eden’s Gate Online panel didn’t start till later in the afternoon and we’d plenty of time to kill. We started with the Artist’s alley, a set-up of independent artists selling both original works and fanart.
I looked amongst the stalls, thinking back to the conversation Harley and I had about me starting my own comic. Perhaps I could get some inspiration from the stalls here, and reconsider his idea. I purchased very little from the artist-own stalls, but Harley insisted we commissioned an artist he liked, who like me, seemed to specialise in magical girl artwork. I agreed on the account I love the style she worked in.
The rest of the group continued along the alley while we got our portrait illustrated and coloured with markers. They must’ve known our characters, because the artist had a vision and asked us both to make a heart together with our hands. We agreed, and when we received the portrait back, I was surprised how cute it looked. Harley paid the artist for the commission and I bought a couple of her magical girl prints to put on my inspiration board back home, before we hurried off to rejoin the rest of the group.
By the time we reached them, they were already finished with the Artist’s alley and continuing to the regular merchant stalls where I was completely in my element. The first aisle we went down seemed to be stocked with every manga imaginable. I was like a child in a sweet shop, gazing at everything, yet the only thing that was stopping me spending all my money in this aisle, was my limited budget.
One manga caught my eye, and surprisingly it wasn’t another magical girl one. Instead, it was inspired by my favourite novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland but more like an otome-styled game. Upon closer inspection I saw it was a series, and much like otome games, featured several paths the main character could take. In this instance, Alice was the heroine with multiple love interests. It was now just a matter of choosing one I liked the sound of. The White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat or the Mad Hatter all were good options, but after much deliberation I settled on the first.
Harley came up beside me, ‘What did you get?’ he asked, pointing at my bag.
‘A new manga to try,’ I said.
‘It’s not another magical girl saga, is it?’ he joked.
‘Actually it’s something a little different than the usual thing I go for,’ I said with a smile on my lips. ‘Aside from your commission, have you made any purchases yet?’
‘Nothing as of yet, but just wait till we get to the sci-fi section.’
I burst out laughing, ‘That truly is your vice, isn’t it?’
‘Guilty.’
Together we continued down the aisle, browsing at the merchant's wares as we went. It was only when we reached three rows down that we ended up in plushie heaven, and I may have squealed when I laid eyes on it. Poppy and I explored the stalls together as Harley explained he needed to nip off and take care of something.
I didn’t really need any more plushies in my life, but I couldn’t resist how cute they were. Besides I couldn’t deny the quality of them either, they definitely weren’t cheap knockoffs.
Poppy had a few plushies bundled under her arm, using the excuse that they were too cute to leave behind, and that was exactly the right sort of encouragement I needed to tempt me into buying one or a few.
Surely at least one couldn’t hurt, but which to pick.
There was a cute mocha coloured rabbit staring up at me with an oversized head and beady little eyes, that seemed to have captured my heart, but before I committed to the purchase Harley returned from his errand.
‘Oh, how did it go?’ I asked, still holding onto the plush.
Harley looked between the rabbit, to me and then to the merchant and held out his card. ‘It was fine, everything’s been taken care of,’ he said. ‘Congratulations on your new plush.’
‘Wait what?’ I looked at the merchant and they nodded to confirm that my friend had indeed purchased the rabbit on my behalf. ‘You didn’t need to do that,’ I protested, for what little good it did.
‘I know, but I could see how much you wanted it, besides what are friends for?’
‘So what was the business you had to take care of?’ I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
‘You’ll find out in due time, don’t worry about it. Now come on, let’s catch up to the others. Amelia and Jasper are already in the fashion section and I’d like to see the sci-fi section before the panel begins.’
I turned back to glance at Poppy, who was arguing with Tristan about the amount of plushies she was trying to buy. ‘Shouldn’t we wait for those two? I asked.
Harley laughed, ‘If we did that then we’d miss the panel completely.’
We continued our walk around the convention hall until we reached the holy grail that was the sci-fi section and I stood back and watched my best friend completely nerd out. Just as I’d been with the manga and plushies, it was nice to watch him in his element, buying a couple more kits to build and a few trinkets he claimed were for his work desk.
Soon it was time for the Eden’s Gate Online panel with the producer, developers and creative team. Our group met up outside the theatre and were ushered inside by the security. We found our way close to the front of the stage and luckily found six seats available off to the corner. The entire theatre was decorated with artwork from the game, huge wall hangings draped from the ceiling featuring the different races and classes you could play in game. On the stage, the lights were dimmed, ready for the game team to arrive. It was set up like a chat show, which I quite liked.
The panel hadn’t even started yet and Jasper was already sitting on the edge of his seat. Amelia was holding onto her partner’s arm, waiting eagerly for it to begin.
Harley had his camera poised at the ready for the second the team appeared on the stage and I was still holding the plush he’d bought me earlier on.
Poppy on the other hand had transferred her new army of plushies to her partner while she was busy snacking. Tristan didn’t look too impressed by his new job, or the fact he was forced into the furthest corner next to the wall so he wouldn’t be in the way of others trying to view the panel.
The opening music from the game played over the sound system, and all of our attention was on the stage. One by one, select members of the team walked out waving at us adoring fans and taking their designated seats. Once all six members were on stage, the convention host was next to arrive with a microphone in hand.
‘How are we today, dreamers?’ he called over the microphone. The entire audience erupted into screams. Dreamers were what we called ourselves as a community. ‘We’ve got a little treat for you today, may I present to you all, the Eden’s Gate Online team.’ There wasn’t a single person in the theatre that wasn’t making any noise.
I stared up at the host, completely intoxicated but what I was watching. They took the remaining armchair and began asking questions to the team, starting with the most recent patch Crypt of Refulgence and explaining the inspiration and creation behind it. They followed up asking if Greek mythology would be a running theme in the newer patches, and just like Jasper theorised, the team explained they would be introducing more Goddesses and Gods in the future. They didn’t however give away any secrets of who those might be, but they did give hints that those who would appear had Easter eggs within the most recent patch.
Jasper was staring intently, eating up everything they were saying with a spoon. The lore master looked perplexed that he’d missed that detail, and I theorised exactly what he was going to do when he returned home. I thought about placing a bet with Harley to see how long it’d take before Jasper messaged the group with the other Gods and Goddesses he thought would appear.
After showcasing some of the videos from gamers worldwide taking on Medusa, and how they tackled the puzzles the team had thrown at us. They explained that they first intended for the fight to only be the first part but upon testing felt something was missing and decided to include the second part. The second phase allowed the team to include more of a teaser for the upcoming patches that would be released over the course of the next year. This news caused the audience to erupt again in cheers. We were being given a whole year of free content, that was almost unheard of.
There was little talk about upcoming expansions for the game, and the team explained they were in the works and to keep our eyes and ears open for updates. They were giving absolutely nothing away as they wanted the focus to be on the upcoming patches.
Once they’d finished the discussion, the creative team showcased some of the new gear sets and weaponry that would be dropping with the new trials. Harley and Jasper were snapping away, and no doubt would be inspecting the photographs later for any indication of who the new adversaries would be.
The lights in the theatre slowly came back on so the team could see the audience, and allowed us fans to either have our say about the game, the recent patches or to ask questions. I stayed quiet during this section of the panel, but enjoyed listening to what other fans had to say. There were some interesting questions, like why had the creative team chosen the Greek mythology inspiration and would future expansions include other mythology. The team said they’d not ruled out the possibility and that Greek had interesting stories that they found they could weave into the essence of Eden’s Gate Online. There was a question about additional items, such as old unobtainable mounts from previous expansions and events, and whether the team had any plans to make them purchasable. The team said they didn’t like the idea of microtransactions, hence why most of the patch content was free after the purchase of an expansion, but it might be something they’d look to in the future.
At the end of the panel, there was merchandise from the game being given out for free, and Harley managed to snag me a collectable lanyard, shirt and keyring plush. It was only after we got outside the theatre that he gave them to me.
I was gobsmacked, ‘Are you sure I can have these,’ I asked, hesitating about taking them.
‘Yes, of course I am,’ he said, giving me a weird look like I should’ve believed him. ‘But there’s something you should know.’
‘What is it?’
‘You know the cosplay competitions they run at these events?’
I didn’t know about them personally, but I’d seen them advertised on the website, ‘Yeah, they look pretty cool, I’d love to watch one. See all the beautiful costumes people put together.’
He bobbed along to what I was saying, ‘What about instead of watching, we entered it?’
‘Wait, what?’ I said, stopping in my tracks. ‘You’re not serious?’
‘Deadly,’ his tone was deadpan.
‘I don’t know, I don’t think I’m good enough for that.’
‘What do you have to lose?’ Harley asked.
‘Nothing.’
‘So why not take the risk?’
‘If I did, would you do it with me?’ I asked, almost pleading like a puppy.
‘Yes, I would never expect you to do it alone. So what do you say?’
‘Alright, Harley Hughes. You got yourself a deal. I’m in!’
ns 15.158.61.16da2
