Chapter 22

David was shaking. He was worried about the scene in the guild master’s office. No woman could be as uncomfortable with menstruation as Ariel had been. You couldn’t do something every month and not gain some level of acceptance of it. He had displayed none of that. He didn’t know why, but it had been uncomfortable for him. What a horrible way to out himself.

Well, there was no help for it. He’d need to see how bad the damage was. David pulled up Ariel’s channel and experienced the scene again. Yep, she was uncomfortable all right. A girl who could spend a few days covered in dried and drying monster guts was defeated by a bloody rag.

He wondered if Marv had been able to do any damage control. He connected in chat.

“Yes, how can I help you?” Marv looked up and blinked in surprise. “Wait, who are you? This connection should only be for ... my client.”

David laughed. “Oh, sorry Marv. It’s Ariel. Well, not Ariel, obviously, but David, her player.”

Marv looked down embarrassed. “Oh, sorry! It’s just that you’re always her. I mean, no that’s all wrong too. I—”

“It’s okay. I know what you mean. Look, I was calling to ask how big of a problem we have?”

“With what?”

“The scene in the guild master’s office. No woman would ever be that uncomfortable.”

“Ah! Yeah, I was a bit worried about that. It certainly triggered more comments that we had to exclude because they were personal speculation than anything else that has happened.

“It’s not too bad though. Only two people wondered if you were a man. Several women asked what brand of IUD you used. Several people said Ariel’s player seemed young; a couple joking about whether you were legal.”

“It freaked me out.”

“Yeah, well no wonder. I wouldn’t have done as well as you did.”

“No, not so much the part in game, just worrying about whether I had outed myself. This isn’t working.”

Marv looked alarmed. “You aren’t thinking of quitting are you?”

“Oh, I am sorry, I didn’t mean that at all. It’s more that hiding isn’t working for me. The fear of suddenly being exposed is hard.”

Marv nodded. “That I can understand.”

“So while I’ve got you, is there any questions you’ve got for me about the fan chat?” David asked.

Marv pulled out his folio and began flipping through it. “I think we’re good, unless you need to preview videos we plan to show.”

“No, I trust you.”

“That’s all then.”

Marv disconnected. Then David realized he didn’t know what videos Marv could be talking about. Well, he would find out soon enough.

He took a few deep breaths and relaxed. Apparently he hadn’t done too much damage in the guild master’s office.

David had no doubt that he and Ariel would become more comfortable with her moon blood in the future. He couldn’t completely explain why he was uncomfortable now. Perhaps it was just new, perhaps it was just one additional thing on top of all the new things going on in his life. Long term, in the grand scheme of things David had become comfortable with gaming, this should be nothing.

David got ready for his next fan chat.

Fan Chat with Ariel!

Welcome to the Fan chat with Ariel, the first immortal whore! Now a select group of fans will get to interview Ariel and ask the questions you have all been waiting for!

As a reminder, if you comment on Ariel’s channel with your Phoenix Rising character, you get to keep the name. Everyone else gets the underscore! The underscore names are unique only within Ariel’s channel.

But First! Submitted by your very own Oryst Darkblade: “A Hand Job with Ariel.”

Ariel watched along with the rest of her fans. The experience was beautifully edited: her emotions and experience spliced together with his own. Each viewer had their own settings about how much they wanted to experience. Ariel watched fully immersed.

Her smell was overwhelming; from this distance she understood what Florence meant. But with Smell of Sex as part of the experience, she was excited to dripping before even focusing on Darkblade. His heart was pounding from nervousness and the not-entirely-sexual excitement of meeting Ariel. The experience started as she told him that he was her first client.

His sense of wonder continued as she offered to let him undress her. He’d watched all her videos, and now he was actually touching her. His thoughts were not actually recorded in the experience, but the way his pulse quickened both from lust and the joy of meeting a star he respected did carry through.

Ariel now lost herself in the experience as he recorded Ariel’s hand slipped around his shaft. Ah, it felt good to experience the man’s point of view. She remembered back to when she’d been playing with him. She was worried about how she was going to explain the experience. She was even a bit distracted, hoping that she would not leave people waiting at lunch too long. He noticed none of that. He was enjoying himself, living a fantasy. From what he said in his commentary, the thing that made it for him was that Ariel was a real person. It wasn’t just an AI designed to meet his sexual needs. Some real person actually was willing to share their time and body with him. When he came, it was exquisite: the viewpoint shifting between his body locked in ecstasy and his cock pulsing in her hand as she felt his cum splatter on her tits.

Yeah, that was a powerful video. She wished she had a chance to experience that before their later liaison. Seeing how he viewed her would definitely make it easier to be his whore. Yes, he lusted her. He enjoyed getting off. But he admired her for doing that. He thought it was cool and brave that a player would put herself out there so much.

The experience had drawn to an end.

MarvForAriel [priv]: <Are you going to want to comment on that or shall I start with a question?>

Ariel [priv]: <No, give me a chance to comment and ask for applause.>

Please welcome Ariel!

She stepped into the parlor. People were just beginning to refocus after the experience.

Ariel: Wow, that was hot. Step forward Oryst Darkblade!

He was blushing as he walked to join her at the front of the room. She hugged him to her.

Ariel: You were brave posting that. If that’s how you feel, you can come on my tits any time!

His blush deepened.

Oryst Darkblade: I’m glad you liked it. I was worried after I saw you last night.

Ariel licked her lips as she spread her legs enough to get a hand in between them. She presented a glistening finger.

Ariel: I’m dripping. I definitely liked it.

MarvForAriel [priv]: <Remember, you can’t do anything sexual with someone else.>

Ariel [priv]: <No worries.>

Ariel: I’d take a rematch for last night whenever you like. And thanks for noticing I was not doing great.

Ariel: Let’s all give Oryst Darkblade a round of applause! I know several of you want to see things from my client’s point of view; what an excellent start!

Marv stepped forward as Darkblade returned to his seat.

Marv: We’ve got a great set of questions that your fans have been dying to get answered.

Ariel: Dying! We can’t have that. Folks remember to take lots of healing potions with you to avoid the dying.

Ariel: But seriously, first up is Strat1gor. Good to see you again.

Strat1gor: So now that you’ve had more experience, what is it like to go fuck a stranger you’ve never met? Is it all that you hoped it would be, or is the shininess starting to fade?

Oryst Darkblade wasn’t the only time she had managed to connect with a stranger. Even the first time she had a shift at the training brothel, she had helped VickyVore and Jungletank9 live their fantasy.

Ariel: Turns out it depends. You saw one end of the spectrum just now. Oryst and I didn’t fuck, but that’s what it is like when I meet a stranger and it works out well. Vickyvore and Jungletank9 were like that too. I found some way to connect, to make it meaningful for me. It was hot.

Strat1gor: That doesn’t seem at all realistic. I don’t think real-world prostitution is like that at all.

Ariel: I don’t know that much about real world prostitution, but I’d guess you are right. As for realistic. Well, everyone I mentioned is immortal. That was real people, having an interaction in the game. The game provides a safe space where we can do things we wouldn’t otherwise do. The connection, our experience is real. But yeah, there’s no way I’m inviting people over to my place to do something like that.

RealMajyk: Some people do, you know. Get together in the real world for vulnerable intimate things like you’re doing.

Ariel: More power to them! I think I am pushing my own limits hard enough.

Ariel: I didn’t quite finish my answer. On the other end, there are experiences like my second time with Oryst. It’s sex, but no real connection. We probably come: I’m getting good at the mechanics. Possibly much more like prostitution in the real world. But the game doesn’t reward that, and it kind of sucks for me as a character.

_Eager Watcher: What do you mean the game doesn’t reward that?

Ariel: Let’s take Darkblade coming on my tits. Before bonuses I got around 12,000 points from that. That’s not really a lot, but it wasn’t that hard either. I got around the same for cleaning up the women in the guild master’s office. Personally I think I should have gotten more points, but perhaps I lost out because I was uncomfortable.

Ariel: You know how many points I got for my first shift at First Front? For fucking three strangers, getting them off? Zero! I’m almost certain that is because I didn’t find a connection. There was no vulnerability, just sex. Perhaps if it was some sexual interaction I am not good at, I would have gotten points on the mechanics alone. But most of your skill/experience advancement as a whore comes on the emotional side.

Bandit Robin: You talked about having someone play with your tits not being hard. How is any of this hard compared to say defeating a dungeon boss?

Ariel [priv]: <How did this guy get selected?>

Ariel: So we just talked about how the game pushes you to be emotionally vulnerable. Going up to people and opening yourself emotionally is not easy. Honestly I’ve been working at this harder than any of the other characters I played. The thrills are bigger. The fear is even bigger, although obviously I’m afraid of different things. It’s not the same of course, but think of it like the difference between crafting and raiding.

MarvForAriel [priv]: <Not for that certainly. If he doesn’t come up with something more intelligent we’ll adjust how we select.>

Bandit Robin: Fine, but how are you going to compete out of a brothel? You’re what level 11? When’s the last time you’ve gone and fought a monster?

Ariel: I think level 8. I’m concerned about that too. I got a notification about how Path of Heart’s Desire would help me out with the skill gap I’ve developed. But I haven’t had a chance to figure it out, and there’s nothing at all about that path on any of the forums.

MarvForAriel [priv]: <That sort of question is why we selected him. He’s representing a bunch of folks interested in how this fits with other game play.>

Ariel: I might need to find a team to adventure with who doesn’t mind helping me catch up.

Bandit Robin licked his lips. Ariel signaled for the next question.

_Intrigued: Everyone in game really stinks. If you watch with smell on and don’t have your emotions hyped up enough that everything turns you on, it’s gross. Why don’t you all bathe regularly?

Ariel laughed. Ariel: It’s a pre-industrial world in Phoenix Rising. Baths are unrealistically cheap given the tech level, but still ephemerals don’t have the kind of money to meet modern sanitation standards. Be glad there aren’t open sewers in the streets. For immortals in game, the default settings mask how dirty your lovers are. I think you can turn that on in viewing my stream too. But yes, the skills I have do intensify things, and I’m certainly glad I don’t experience the raw smell without the rest of the skill.

Oryst Darkblade: I’ve noticed that half the time Hulda gets called Goodwench Brown. When will you end up getting called goodwench?

Ariel looked around the room, hoping she’d see someone who might be more likely to know the answer.

Ariel: I’m not sure. Florence said that she was a goodwench but didn’t use the title. Hulda’s not an artisan yet, so you don’t need to be an artisan. Perhaps it’s all whores past a certain point. But perhaps there’s some class or position component as to whether it is commonly used. I wish someone like Nathaniel Scarlet was around, but I don’t see him.

MarvForAriel [priv]: <When you don’t know, you can offer to find out and tell them that if they watch your stream, they’ll be the first to find out.>

Ariel: I’ll ask the first trainer I see and if you’re watching my play, you’ll be the first to know.

RealMajyk: In your feed you never show Oryst talking about the video he’s going to produce. When did he talk to you about that?

Ariel: He didn’t. I found out about it when it started to play.

RealMajyk: But how did he get your permission? Doesn’t that make you really uncomfortable?

Ariel: He didn’t need it. You can record anything you do with a whore. Just like I didn’t ask him before streaming our entire time together.

RealMajyk: Um, wow ... I mean I knew that you streamed ... I just didn’t connect it all.

Oryst Darkblade: It’s actually worse ... no not really worse ... bigger ... yes, it’s actually bigger than that. I tried to ask Ariel if she minded me posting. I got a notification saying I could not talk to her about my plans to post in game. It was phrased different: it said that I didn’t need to ask permission and should enjoy sharing as widely as I liked. But it also prevented me from discussing it at all. I was so surprised I looked up links in the new privacy policy that went out a few days ago. You cannot negotiate in game with an immortal whore about what content will be streamed. They don’t want you paying more to have a private session, and they don’t want whores discouraging players from recording whatever they like.

Ariel: Wow. I had no idea. That’s kind of creepy.

Oryst Darkblade: Yeah. It was strange not to be able to talk about something. Although I guess it’s no more creepy than stream cheating incredulity.

_Intrigued: What’s that?

Ariel: Imagine I’ve decided I’m going to overthrow the Berman line and I talk about all my plans on here. You watch this and go up to Princess Aubrielle and tell her that she’s in danger. She won’t believe you if you learned from my stream, even if she might if you just came up with it on your own that I was likely to be her enemy. If you start trying to get in the way of plans you don’t legitimately know about in-game, well, the harder you try, the more spectacularly you will fail. It’s why all the big names are comfortable talking about even some of their most secret plans on their streams.

Ariel: The more I think about it, I’m not surprised the AIs get in the way of you talking about whether you will record a client. They were big into not wanting recording to affect game play.

Fyrefang3: You’ve got to tell us about your conversation with the AIs.

MarvForAriel: We’ll put that on the list, but we’re running out of time now. But there’s one question left that several people asked.

MarvForAriel: I get to ask this one because none of the interested people were brave enough to ask on their own. So, to set the stage, Guild Master Annika Kessler talked about how her dirty rags got bought for magical workings. Is she saying that there’s some way to buy dirty stuff like that at the guild?

Ariel: It sure sounds like that’s what she meant. I was already at my limit for gross stuff so I didn’t ask any more.

MarvForAriel [priv]: <I can’t believe I got stuck doing this.>

MarvForAriel: Now to the real question no one was willing to ask themselves. So, when you have your period, where can people go to buy your used moon blood rags?

Ariel was so floored by the question she said the first thing that popped into her head.

Ariel: The ISO desk.

Actually, if you could buy her used rags—and she had a horrible idea that you probably could do just that—the ISO desk almost certainly would be able to handle the transaction.

Ariel: Actually, I have no idea, but I suspect the ISO desk would know. And for this one, if you are curious, you can go find out on your own.

Ariel [priv]: <If torturing your agents wasn’t unethical, you’d be paying for setting me up like that big time!>

MarvForAriel [priv]: <Hey, I’m the one who had to stand up and ask that.>

RealMajyk: Are you comfortable with that? For that matter, what are you going to do when a client tries to hire you for menstrual play?

Ariel: No, I’m not really comfortable. Right now, I’d turn them down. But the thing is that the game challenges your limits. Right now, I’d totally turn away from that. But when I started the idea of playing with myself on a live stream would have been unthinkable. Two or three game months from now? That might seem tame. And it’s not like I don’t deal with blood fighting monsters. Who knows?

Bandit Robin: I was just looking back at that scene. The guild master talked about any dirty laundry that no one wanted. Is that just blood rags, or what else did she mean?

Oryst Darkblade: What? Are you thinking they sell used panties?

To Ariel’s growing horror, several people in the audience (not all of them men) perked up at that quip.

Ariel: I have no idea. Come back and report on what the ISO Desk tells you.

Ariel [priv]: <Or how about just leaving it alone. I’m done. Things have gotten far enough.>

MarvForAriel [priv]: <You would totally keep going if you could get humiliation skill points in a fan chat.>

Ariel wondered if he was right.

MarvForAriel: And on that note thank you all for coming!

Stay tuned for the next installment of Ariel’s stream. And don’t forget to follow all your Ariel related content. And remember, “A Hand Job with Ariel,” may be first, but it need not be the last. Submit your own videos and we’ll include the best in the next fan chat. Whether it’s your time with Ariel, or you (and those you care about) stretching their own limits, show us how Ariel’s play has challenged you!

I was surprised by a system notice logging in:

Notification

Implicit consent has been enhanced for immortals with the Whorecraft skill. Previously, ephemerals took explicit interest in negotiating a liaison with them as consent to sexual teasing. Now the same approach is available to you. If you push beyond where we think the consent boundary lies, you will be stopped and you will feel a tingle like this. Persisting beyond that point will be a violation of our consent policy. As always, implicit consent can be overridden by the consenting party. Players may adjust their defaults for implicit consent.

These changes will permit players with Whorecraft to have more realistic interactions while seducing and flirting with potential clients.