We're deeply sorry. He wasn't always so difficult.
The world is full of junkies of all sorts, with varying severity to their conditions. Thrill-seekers, nymphomaniacs, drug-addicts, hardcore gamers. Say what you will, they're all hooked. Now, mind, we're not saying that any of those things are exclusively good or bad. That's for the individual's morality to determine. However, Hiei here certainly could be called a junkie, and maybe one that falls into all of those categories.
Hiei's just a handle, but that player tends to use the name interchangeably with their own. Sometimes, it's difficult for one to tell apart the genuine article with his in-game avatars. Or hers. Really, it's a fifty-fifty as the original Hiei and those brought about in games that he plays seem to manifest in this world in one form or another due to how the Nexus operates. But this may all seem as gibberish to some of you without a bit of background, so let's start from the beginning.
Ever since he was young, Hiei was a fan of video games and anime. Otaku to the core. He wasn't terribly unpopular at school, though there were some that disliked the eccentricities that obviously came with his obsessions. As time came on, those that didn't like him began to make their distaste all the more known, and did what they could to shatter his reputation. Without getting into the nitty-gritty, it worked, and he removed himself from his former social circles in shame, despite the fact that most of his friends didn't
really care about what had been done. He became all the more absorbed in his obsessions. And then
it came out.
The RevDrive. It was one of many full-immersion virtual reality devices that were released simultaneously in a rather competitive market. Each seemed to pander to their audiences with certain exclusively compatible titles. One such title caught Hiei's eye, and thus he went for this particular model. Little did he know that it was one of the few mainstream games to come out on the system, and his digging for more programs to utilize the tech for gave him more than he bargained for.
He found a rather surprising amount of virtual experiences that were far more sexual and far more threatening than those previously encountered. Quite often in such games, death was certain, and in
many cases, being devoured alive was a typical outcome. Given the fact that his nerves were linked into the Drive, he could feel, smell, and taste everything that occurred about him... Though no
real pain was inflicted, it was real enough that he got a feel for it. It was terrifying, thrilling... And he came to love it. In time, he began to spend longer and longer in the experiences, until one particularly long gaming session that left him in the hospital due to malnourishment. Apparently, the session fried some of his synapses, as well, and reality and fantasy began to blend.
Denied access to his gear when he finally returned home from the hospital, Hiei waited until his parents left, broke into the room it had been locked in, and fled. Now eighteen, he's simply drifted from place to place, linking up whenever he needed a more definitive buzz to satisfy his urges. Though now it's hard to tell if he's in a game or if he isn't, and his submissive nature towards threats he assumes to be fake may play to the advantage of predators...
((
Okusennman is at it again. Look to
Rodo for preferences until they're up.))
