Chapter Text
Futaba shrieks when she sees it.
It’s loud enough that Sojiro pokes his head into her door, worried, and he sighs in relief when Futaba eagerly shows him newest creation of her favorite fan artist. Sojiro admits that it’s quite good, in a supporting kind of way that he’s always done for her. She knows he doesn’t quite understand her hobbies, but she likes that he tries. It’s more than most have done for her.
He pats her on the head and says he'll return with dinner in thirty minutes. Futaba swivels her chair back to the computer, sticking her head out until she's inches from the screen.
She knows nothing about color theory or perspective or anatomy, but even her untrained eye can tell this painting is good. She glances at the artist's username, although she already knows who drew it. It's obvious in the lines, the shading, the pose - they all point to the artist like an IP address would to her (well, if she ever went without her VPN, which was less likely than her trapezing outside naked).
Inari.
She first found him when his painting of a white-clad assassin went viral in the video game-loving community. Before that, his online portfolio was mostly landscape drawings or sketches of other people, but that one painting put his name out there. He's one of the few artists that solely uses traditional media in a world moving towards digital, and the unique style lends him a steady stream of commissions of various anime, video game, and occasional original characters. Futaba has even considered commissioning him herself, but her wealth lay mostly in bitcoin...which was an upmost pain to convert to cash.
Futaba has several of his drawings plastered on her walls, but this one outshines the rest. It's partly because it's beautiful, and mostly because it’s her favorite character in the game. The tentacles grasping around a flailing shadow, the sheen of the green and black spaceship, the snarl of the gargoyle on top of the ship - she is instantly in love.
She can't believe her luck, that Inari and her niche video game would intersect.
The title is simply ‘Necronomicon.’ Ordinarily she'd roll her eyes at such the unoriginality, but she's too excited to be cynical. She scans the description and sees no indication that this is a commissioned piece.
Dude I never see fan art of Necronomicon. This is amazing!!! Please tell me you're drawing more characters! ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆
She presses Submit Comment, and then pulls up Inari's user profile. She clicks DM.
ALIBABA: What's your favorite character to use??? Necronomicon is mine, obviously.
ALIBABA: Some assholes think support characters are boring, but that’s ‘cause they’re too dumb to do anything but bash their way through the enemies.
ALIBABA: It's just soooooo much more satisfying to actually strategize. Plus, you don’t need to grind as much.
There's no hesitation as her fingers stroke her keyboard effortlessly. She barely leaves her room and can't form words to anyone not Sojiro, but the Internet is her haven, and she feels none of the awkwardness or tension that a live interaction would induce.
Futaba is just pulling up the game to begin yet another replay when a ding sounds from her computer. She stretches to glance at the screen.
INARI: Thank you for the kind words.
INARI: I've never played the game, so I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to.
Her controller drops to the floor. She's pretty sure her expression would be very meme-able, and she dives back to her chair.
ALIBABA: WHAT.
ALIBABA: OMG why would you draw something you’ve never played!?!? It's rude to raise a girl's hopes like that!
INARI: I did not intend to deceive. I stumbled upon the design by chance, and the design intrigued me.
INARI: The juxtaposition of the gargoyle, a fantastical element, alongside the modern one of the spaceship was what originally caught my attention. One source of conflict in society is the rapid advancement of technology. Each generation sticks their nose up at the generation that comes after it, and clings to the traditions they hold dear. I thought the two merged together in Necronomicon offered a glimpse of the terms they might come to. The gargoyle is smaller, as its time becomes less relevant, but still part of the greater whole.
Futaba’s eyes glaze as she drudges through his comments. She gives up midway - she already understands the gist of the matter, which is that he hasn’t played the game.
ALIBABA: Just buy the game. Trust me on this. The lowest review it got anywhere was an 8.5, and that was by a critic renowned for his snobbery!
INARI: My funds are limited, unfortunately.
She narrows her eyes at the screen and sends him a link of his own commission list.
ALIBABA: You can’t spare ANY of this dough?
INARI: The money is accounted for.
ALIBABA: Ugh you better be living in a mansion with scantily clad servants feeding you grapes if you’ve already blown through all that.
INARI: I prefer to avoid fruits in my diet. While they go on sale at regular intervals, it’s usually when they are just at the apex of ripeness and are just about to descend a steep road to decay. The limited time for consumption does not suit my lifestyle.
ALIBABA: …
Futaba flops on her bed, feeling a weight of exhaustion similar to her all nighter speed runs but without the glowing sense of self achievement.
Never meet your heroes.