Dusk (BL Light Novel)

[General] Honeybread: You think you're on the same level as Retaking?

[General] Don’tSmokeOnTheRoad: lolol okay, I’ll give you that one
[General] SockIsSocks: ㅠ So you're rejecting the stream...?
[General] SockIsSocks: I really wanted to see you and Retaking talkㅠㅠ

SockIsSocks, who’d been quietly waiting, asked me. He seemed pretty earnest, but there was no helping it.
[General] Honeybread: °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° I think killing him is plenty of conversation haha
[General] Honeybread: Please tell them I’m sorry, I get shy and it’s too much pressure

[General] SockIsSocks: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ okay... that’s a bummerㅠㅠㅠ
[General] Don’tSmokeOnTheRoad: That’s fair
[General] Don’tSmokeOnTheRoad: It’s different from meeting a business contact versus going on a blind date

I sent a few sword aura skills toward Don’tSmoke, who was babbling nonsense. His character slipped through them with slick movements like a bullet hell game.
— "...Ah... So you really turned it down?"
A disappointed voice came through my headset.

— "Well, if you're shy, there's nothing we can do. Still, it’s surprising..."
Why do people like Don’tSmoke and Retaking act like it's shocking that I’m shy? Just because I’m good at killing players doesn’t mean I’m not introverted.
— "We can't drag this out forever. For the sake of story progression, this is where we part ways with Honeybread."

Retaking bounced up and down right next to my character. His voice and his jumps were both full of regret.
Then, suddenly, he stopped jumping and took a step back to use a motion. His character stretched and slowly opened his wings. Maybe because the surroundings were so dark, the wings looked even more vibrant and radiant than usual.
— "Ah! Right."

His voice came in late due to stream delay. When I looked at the monitor, the wing animation had just played on the broadcast.
I had no idea why he’d randomly spread his wings, but I copied him anyway. My stretch animation was a bit different, but I spread my wings just as boldly and faced him.
— "Remember that viewer who said our wings looked like they were glowing when we fought?"
I vaguely recalled reading something like that. Not from Retaking’s stream—probably from the freeboard.

— "Could this be a sign that it’s tied into a hidden storyline? Look now, when I stand close to you, the color’s more vivid than usual, and if you look closely, even though it’s faint, there’s this holographic shimmer coming off them. But if I step away, like this..."
As he kept talking, he began to move. This time, his voice synced up almost perfectly with the game. He folded his wings and stepped away from me bit by bit. The glow from my wings gradually darkened back to their original color. I hadn’t noticed before, but after hearing what he said, the difference really stood out.
To explain further to his viewers, Retaking used the motion again. Now that we were apart, the holographic shimmer was nearly gone, and the saturation had faded too. This kind of thing had been happening all along?

— "...And that brings me back to my normal wings. So it really is true that the wings glow brighter the closer a pair is to each other. Wow, the first time someone said our wings were glowing was when I’d finished all my gear upgrades and was going for the Supreme Commander title. That was... what, six months ago? So that means Honeybread and I have been paired since then?"
We were paired up even before our fights got famous, at least six months ago? Sure, this game is known for stuffing in Easter eggs and layered meanings and elaborate setups, but even so... how the hell did Retaking end up paired with me? That’s wild. Honestly, I thought ZeroSoft cooked the whole thing up as part of some cheap viral marketing.
— "...Soulmates? Nah, I think it’s something even more extreme. Something fateful and absolute. There’s no other way to explain me and Honeybread."

He said it jokingly and laughed. The words were abstract as hell, but maybe because it was Retaking saying them, they sounded kind of convincing.
— "It’s a shame we can’t actually talk despite being paired... Still, we unlocked HiddenS together, so we’ll probably run into each other again as the story progresses, right?"
He walked back toward my character. I looked down, wondering what he was about to do, but he just stood there, silently staring at me.

After a short pause, his voice returned.
— "Ah. We’re from different races, so the hug motion won’t work..."
So that’s why he came over. To try and hug me. And even though hugging doesn’t require the other player’s acceptance like some motions do, it still wouldn’t trigger. That had to mean the devs blocked it deliberately. If we’re a pair anyway, they should’ve let us use those motions. Players would’ve loved it...

Unable to hug me, Retaking opened the social motions menu and looked like he was trying to decide what else to use. I could feel the determination radiating off him—he really wanted to use a motion on me. Weirdly, I found that kind of endearing. So I typed out /pat to pat him—but just like the hug, it was blocked. My character stayed rigid, not moving at all.
— "Whaaat... Nothing works. All I can do is sit, lie down, kneel, or play dead. They probably disabled the smile emote so people wouldn’t use it for taunting, but seriously, did they have to block everything? It’s like they want to fuel racial PvP.”
Retaking tried every emote, then gave up and grumbled as he closed the menu. He still didn’t want to let go—it showed. He ran in circles around me a few times, then finally typed a farewell into the chat instead.

[General] Retaking a Class: | ( ; -;)/ ~ ...
[General] Retaking a Class: | ; -;)/ ...
[General] Retaking a Class: | )_ ...

[General] Retaking a Class: | -;) ...
[General] Retaking a Class: |)
...Is he insane?

That was a lethal dose of cuteness. I couldn’t even reply. All I could do was mash my keyboard as he walked away with that visibly heartbroken little avatar of his.
[General] Honeybread: asdkfjal;sjdf3.745kdsj;‘lksj,;’4052sdfnm1042sdf‘mndfa;lsdkfjwefsd4102sdf02sdfh10
[General] Don’tSmokeOnTheRoad: dd

[General] Don’tSmokeOnTheRoad: Shotgun?
TIP – When a Shin-Ah Tribe player becomes incapacitated, cracks appear in their vision. Normally, no healthy eye should show cracks like that.
Title: (FACT) Honeybread Thinks Retaking Is Cu-te

Posted by: [Bia] IfYouGottaPoopJustPoopYourPants
(chat_screenshot.png)
Anyone can see Honeybread started shotgunning cause Retaking was too cute

Can we agree?
(11 Comments)
– Agreed agreed, clearly broke the keyboard from sheer cuteness

– lolol even Honeybread is adorable, birds of a feather
– ugh please for the love of god your usernames are disgusting
└ [Author] stfu your name is worse. What the hell is “IfYouTrollYouShitFromYourMouth”

└ You two are both degenerates, pot meet kettle
… (See more comments) …
Title: Why Did Honeybread Reject Retaking’s Streamㅠㅠ

Posted by: [Jeopa] CanITakeAggroFirstTankSir
My dream of the two finally meeting has been crushed
(49 Comments)

– 【Best】 Whether he’s shy or not, it must’ve been overwhelming for Honeybread. There are already people on the boards saying Retaking is obsessed with him—he has to be self-conscious.
└ 【Best】 So even that bastard Honeybread is capable of reading the room
└ [Author] Whaaaat?? └ Newer players probably don’t know, but Honeybread used to be totally unfiltered… └ Honestly, he’s not *that* different now. It just peaked when Retaking started showing up and staying around… └ True └ That era was intense. Anyone who interfered with Retaking’s stream got purged, didn’t matter if they were Bia or Jeopa └ [Author] wait what the hell happened back then? └ 【Best】 Wanna know why Server 3 is cleaner than all the others? └ [Author] hODLdl; no thanks I think I’ll pass... 8-8

– At this point we gotta go offline
└ 22
└ 3333

… (See more comments) …
Title: HiddenS Is Kinda Lame...?
Posted by: [Jeopa] JoseonDynastyShimmyShimmy

Been watching Retaking’s stream hoping he’d run into Honeybread again
Haven’t seen a single feather...
What was even the point of the pair mechanic? Just for one story cutscene?

(8 Comments)
– Yeah it was way more bland than I expected. After Retaking finished the investigation and unlocked the dungeon, the story wasn’t that different, and he didn’t even meet Honeybread again...
└ [Author] fr

– Maybe once the dungeon opens next week and people clear it, there’ll be a follow-up quest?
└ [Author] Ohh... makes sense. No way Dusk would leave it like this
– According to KingGodGeneralElitePhD Story Scholar Retaking-sensei, it might be underwhelming for now

└ [Author] You mean HiddenS is foreshadowing the next major update? Still feels too empty thoughㅜ
└ It’s tough to pack major lore into content that only a handful of players can access └ [Author] Yeah that’s fairㅜ