London

[Apollymi]

"The lot was pretty rubbish. I almost swore off dating, and joined a convent..." she agreed without much hesitation. Between dates where guys claimed in the future she'd have to give up on her dreams. To the ones where it was obvious that they were only trying shag, Nikki had experienced a medley of different disaster dates. Perhaps all of that bad karma was finally turning and around and she'd earned herself a single gem in a sea of rubbish. It was at least a thought worth entertaining, and with Ozzy being the type of man he was seeming to be, she was more than content.

What was more, as she mentioned that she'd be doing the live reveal of her upcoming character, it seemed that Ozzy was more excited than he had been initially. He truly was a fan with a response like that. "Yes, they claimed that live reveals for certain characters was becoming the standard, especially for helping boost the individual brands of their face claims. Since they gave me so much creative freedom I don't really mind... it was pretty fun working with them..." she gushed about her own experience with the Aeons. She reached out and took that extended hand of his, seeming to find comfort in it as they headed back for the venue. "I suppose you could if you wanted to, a bit of extra publicity wouldn't hurt either of us... and the Aeons expect stuff like that, giving fans faces in their works~" she said about the costume change that he could also participate in. "According to the Aeons, my character used to work for yours. She worked in an equivalent position to what Benihime had, before she became Kazekage." she said she'd only recently started reading the series so she hadn't gotten back to Benihime's complete former history or anything like that. "Wait, but no spoilers, I haven't caught up just yet... I don't really know what that means completely. But they said they could make my whole look work with their ideas. Or rather they said they'd figure out her abilities after I came up with her look~" she mused. She really wasn't completely caught up, but she knew at least what the character would look like. She also knew which look the Aeons ended up settling on, and today was going to be very interesting, at the very least.

[Bloodedge]

"Even better for me, innit? Go ahead and swear off dating. No convent, just start dating me first~" he said in decent enough humor. That would be an incredible step in the perfect direction for Ozzy. Hell, the male himself never gave consideration to dating, always being the approached since discovering and obsessing over Blue Lotus. Though he never imagined himself having a chance to both meet and woo her, there was no one else meeting enough of his standards to be worth going after himself. He thought someone might randomly fit the bill one day, but never pictured himself in this situation within any version of reality.

Those Aeons were the strangest of people, as Ozzy himself recalled. He'd never worked with, or even met others who so freely sacrificed any of their own potential ideals to those who assisted them. Ozzy himself had some small amount of creative freedom with his own character in their works, though obviously not as much as Nikki... yet it was still so much more to work with than any other offers he'd received over the past few years. What sort of look did Nikki's character have though, he wondered. Whatever it was, it was sure to be incredible as far as he was concerned. "Hmm. I'll wear it then. Might as well give the people as much hype as possible, right? Besides, I've always wanted to cosplay in group! Let's make a big deal out of it!" he said excitedly as they made way for the convention. This was going to be an even more interesting day, though poor Oliver Williams had no idea what he was in for. . .

[Apollymi]

Oh? What was this... Ozzy claimed she should swear off dating, but not join a convent. He instead thought she should simply start dating him first. Another laugh escaped Nikki as they walked together hand in hand towards their venue. "Blimey, that's a pretty brilliant idea, mate. Why didn't I think of that?~" she said almost sarcastically. Still it wasn't a very bad one in truth. She could actually see herself enjoying spending a lot of time with Ozzy. In truth, she was already enjoying spending time with him. The idea of dating him was seeming like it could come together pretty nicely.

It seemed that Ozzy had also worked a bit with the Aeons so he knew a bit what Nikki meant about her gushing review. She'd given a lot of input about her character, she'd even been allowed to keep her ears for the look. A chuckle escaped her as a small gag was even inserted pertaining to said character she was about to showcase it'd be a good time. "Alright then, let's have a go. Cosplay groups are notoriously hard to get together and coordinated properly," she said having some idea of what such a thing was like. "Still, we can have a great time with it," she said. Soon after they'd part to get changed, and this would involve rather reluctantly letting go of Ozzy's hand at some point. Oh well, she could always pick it up again.

When next seen her big panel would be starting and one of the coordinators of the event would be announcing some unveiling. "Alright guys, we have a treat for you today. Our two panel guests for the Aeons work are coming out. Along with them a new character reveal and a connected former favorite!~" the announcer mentioned. Ah, yes it would be time for Ozzy to make his appearance however he was dressed for this. The coordinator realized he was supposed to be the former 'Kazekage' in one of the Aeon's series. Whatever the case, he was definitely a fan favorite and would draw a crowd regardless. "First up, a favored streamer and Instagram model, known to most of you as God-King. He's featured as his revealed character from the last cycle, the Nidaime Kazekage: Hiyama Machi~" the crowd would be cheering for such a thing. The Sunagakure in the series Naruto featured all of the main characters, so everyone from there was popular. After that, the announcement of the newest character would come and that was going to be interesting.

[Bloodedge]

"Right? Stroke of proper genius on my part, if I do say so myself~" he joked. Luckily, there was no need to worry about coordination or anything else, since their outfits for this little cosplay session were... well, literally them. There was also no need to think about getting costumes together, or any of that nonsense; they could just get dressed as if they were going out on the town. It just so happened that the 'town' in this case was a convention panel, which Ozzy could almost consider part two of this date they were on.

A most momentous day already, would only become more wonderful over time. The moment their hands separated, the time had come to get into costume and character. Minutes passed, and an announcer heralded in Ozzy under the guise of Hiyama Machi. He emerged in full glory, sporting a balooning pair of black pants with openings to expose his shins, large golden armor segments at his waist, at his otherwise bare ribcage, and on his forearms. His torso remained mostly exposed, aside from a large, white cape, and the strangest form of compression top that covered only his neck and arms. He even had an additional accessory beyond his sapphire jewels, which happened to be a shepherd's staff, blue and gold to match his ensemble. "Oi, oi! I'm not meant to be working still, y'know? Where's my retainer?!" he shouted to the surprisingly large crowd ahead, slipping in a reference to the position of Nikoleta's character as he now understood it. Hopefully, that much information would not be considered a spoiler for the lass. She said she wasn't caught up, but he wondered how far behind she was in the series─

[Apollymi]

Another smile, how fun. Ozzy was already shaping up to be a great deal of fun to one like Nikki. Going beyond even that... very soon they'd be having a bit more fun of a different type. The announcer at the event made a speech which introduced the cosplaying Ozzy as the character, created by the Aeons who bore his face. How very interesting. Having met Ozzy now, Nikki could somewhat see the similarities between his own personality and that one created by the two writers. Still there was some extra fun coming and none would know about it. Nikki was allowed a great deal of creative freedom here and now. Her character was created with a certain humor, or disposition. And now she was being announced. "Where is the 2nd retainer of the Nidaime Kazekage? The one mentioned as having the same job title as the titular Benihime in the past? Who returned from a long mission to find an old yet familiar face?" the announcer was having a bit of fun with this. Such was simply the nature of all who participated actively in the Aeons' projects. "The one known to their enemies as the Ghost of the Sands, is the administrative linchpin keeping the Sunagakure up and running...." a long pause took place there was a certain thing happening behind Ozzy much to the crowds surprise.

A large sheet like cloaked figure appeared with two large deep black eyes drawn in the whiteness. It seemed to be something of an apparition but not in a way which was remotely scary. After a second or two something strange could be noticed about this 'ghost'. It had two distinct rabbit ears appearing from the top of its head. The crowd boomed, this was interesting and so mysterious. What would her costume look like? Everyone was curious about it. "Oh? last I checked, I was doing my job, but what kind of time do you call this, Nidaime?" asked Nikki from beneath the cloak only in a moment would she be showing herself when the announcer said her name she'd be revealing herself beneath that sheet like cloak. "Announcing the arrival of Okazaki Kouto~" the announcer mentioned. Still in that sheet the hands would come up and a little devious smirk would appear on the face of Nikki beneath the sheet. She'd lift it gently flipping it over her own ears to reveal a look befitting of the Sunagkure in general. The high ponytail she'd put in remained as did the red marks on her cheeks. Those specialty ears of hers donned, they came with a gold and blue motif not unlike that of Ozzy's gold and sapphire jeweled look, but instead triangles. Her actual look was bikini clad covered in chains of gold with black wedge gladiator sandals. Beyond this strips of leather and open handed gloves. There were golden bangles and chains and a nice choker in gold holding together tiny pieces of black cloth which covered everything of importance but was definitely fitting of a character to be kept by the Aeons. The crowd was stunned and then cheering as she came into view.

[Bloodedge]

As Machi, he sought his retainer, in whatever manner Nikki's character could be counted as such. The announcer's call brought forth the grand reveal of... a sheet ghost? No, that couldn't have been the character, right? The series Naruto did have its fair share of weirdos, but there was no way they would have this... right? No matter; there were roles to play; his retainer was offering her response. "Not important! I'm here, and I'm not meant to be working. What's it take to properly retire around here?" he questioned. With that, there was something Ozzy simply... couldn't truly deal with. True, the sheet covering Nikki was a mere cover for the true visage of her character. The grand unveiling of Okazaki Kouto occurred in a single moment, but for poor Oliver, it spanned somewhere around a few hours.

Legs. There was so much of just... legs. No, the poor lad couldn't be let off that easily. He was allowed to think her legs were fully exposed for a moment, before essentially the rest of Nikki was on display as well. Why had he never seen this much of the woman's skin before? If he had, maybe he would have been more well-equipped to handle that damned dripping sensation in his nostril as he stared, and stared... and stared. "Bloody hell," he spoke at nearly a whisper. This was dangerous. Did he really have to sit at this panel with her, like this, all day? 'That'd be brilliant, but... bloody hell!' he thought. Never did he imagine he'd see that girl from cold, cold Manchester in anything resembling a bikini... and this was somehow far more incredible to look at with all of its added flavor.

[Apollymi]

There were indeed roles to play, but it was pretty obvious, that Ozzy was surprised. The series Naruto had some weird things in it, but the sheet ghost gag was one which was uniquely part of Nikki, thus it became part of the character personality of this retainer of the Kazekage. Of course, she'd been mentioned in the series several times, and was on a long mission during a certain major event, so coming back and finding the Nidaime was a point of tension, besides they had some sort of history but the Aeons weren't too specific about it. "Whatever you say, but... if you really wanted to properly retire you would have remained unseen. You know she's just getting payback now for having to pick up for you so haphazardly~" she chimed, another reference to that main character both of theirs had numerous interactions with. "Don't worry though... I'll take care of the paperwork~" she said offering a wink. She'd then take her seat and ending the little reveal. Of course, with this the announcer would go on to explain a bit of the background of this character in preapproved blurbs. While the crowd cheered for an upcoming character. She could almost bet that sales for the next manga edition to be released as well as their gacha game would skyrocket with such a reveal. Besides all that it'd been a massive bit of fun.

All the while Nikki was amused. She rarely got the opportunity to wear bikinis or even design them. She'd had a ball making this one, and wearing it didn't suit her half bad either. She wouldn't mind moving to a place with a warmer climate where she could get away with a bit more varied attire than normal. Obviously Ozzy was from Blackpool a bit of a resort town, she wondered if he'd also enjoy some warm climate constant bikini weather type of place? Hm, she should probably be more worried about her inclusion of him in her thoughts of moving... but they were both smitten, even if one of them was much more obvious about it than the other. "Should I take by the staring that you're really surprised and enjoy the design?" she asked the man with her quietly while teasing him for his rather obvious show of interest. "Oh and you have a full anime protag nosebleed going~" she chimed softly.

[Bloodedge]

What to do, what to do? They were having an exchange while behaving as their characters, but Ozzy couldn't get over what he was seeing. Damn, this was going to be one hell of a failure! Wait... maybe not. When Nikki brought her speech to an end, she mentioned taking care of the paperwork, and took her seat. Yes, an opportunity! Ozzy didn't have to stammer his way through roleplay; he could simply turn away from her for a moment to address the crowd! "Wicked character, innit?" was all he managed, yet the cheers were aplenty regardless. Such was the way things seemed to go whenever the Aeons released new material─ especially desirable characters... and if Nikki was one thing, it was a desirable character sitting right here in a rec center around a congregation of nerds.

Ozzy took his seat beside Nikki, trying - yet failing - to look at her too much. As if things weren't bad enough, all that exposed flesh was doing him in without a doubt. Worse yet, she'd noticed; how couldn't she? He was surprised, and of course he enjoyed the design... but what was he to say in response to that? Oh, and then there was the nosebleed; he'd completely ignored the sensation during all the hullabaloo in his head. "Piss!" he exclaimed, covering his nose and mouth while looking for a napkin. "Well. Uh... listen, I'll be completely frank here when I say... I've got no idea how to not talk right now without sounding like the guy who just wants a shag. But... I literally can't think of anything else if you're wearing that. Seriously, I might go mental while we're just sat here on a job─"

[Apollymi]

Alright, it seemed that the end of that roleplay had gone over pretty well. But it seemed that Ozzy was suffering from his fan obsession in addition to the reveal of her new character. As politely as she could she slid the man a napkin and heard out his explanation of his like or dislike of her new attire. How interesting this was. She couldn't help her initial reaction which was to laugh because it was so obvious he was trying to hold himself together. "Brilliant mate, points for honesty as always... pretty flattering overall I'd say, given the context." she mentioned as the announcer went on and on about this panel, asking questions and approaches etc. Their crowd was already lining up and trying to organize to spend a few seconds asking questions and the like. "Besides, it'd be a bit weird... if the thought didn't cross your mind once or twice. Then it might actually be worth it to join the convent~" she teased just a little. Whatever the case, they could easily move on to taking pictures and doing their regular booth thing. Obviously, Nikki was completely unbothered by the idea that he liked her newest design in a manner which would have been a bit gross without his current level of interest in her being obvious. But she also wasn't so unworldly as to think it unreasonable for a guy to want to shag at some point. It was sort of one of the things relationships were made for after all. Regardless, poor Ozzy would have to figure out how to get through today's panel without dying of a heart attack or brain hemorrhage, or whatever else was going on with him at present.

[Bloodedge]

For whatever reason, Ozzy's honesty was praised. Strange. He was quite literally trying his best to avoid outright admitting to his horniness, yet admitting to having such a feeling was... positive? Stranger still. As he took hold of the napkin so kindly offered, Ozzy performed a double, even triple take on Nikki's person. "Right. No clue how that works out, but I'm glad it does. Thanks," he said while ruffling the napkin to shove it into his bleeding nostril. Damn, this entire thing was embarrassing. Nikki was right, though; it should be considered necessity for one to be sexually attracted to the object of their affection, lest things become dysfunctional down the line. "Nothing to worry about then, eh? Been having all sorts of ploughing cross my mind for the past year or so. That character of yours is giving me a serious case of Down Bad Syndrome, to be frank."

A sigh escaped Ozzy, but he kept a stiff upper lip for the sake of the panel. He could do this; he knew he could. Maybe it would be easier if no one this day came looking for a photograph with him, unlikely as that was. Oh, he dreaded that moment in the near future. Standing may have been a simple thing, easily enough done... but he was suffering flashbacks to puberty, and being unable to reach the chalkboard in high school due to certain decisions of his cursed male anatomy. . .

[Apollymi]

Nikki went on dates like every normal girl her age, and she always found men very surprising. She understood though to some extent that some really might not understand that in general women were just as confused as them. That being said there was no outward appearance for that sort of confusion. Girls occasionally saw men they just wanted to sleep with, some were even brave enough to do just that. Many would rather settle into a relationship first and be assured of a certain amount of chemistry but most were fine with a bit of attention. They were after all, raised in general to accept in so long as it didn't make them feel uncomfortable. "Because everyone's a bit complicated and no one more so than girls, no worries~" she stated in the most ambiguous way. She believed that to a certain extent. It seemed that Ozzy was content to share a bit more, claiming that he'd had such things on his mind for over a year now, so such a thing wouldn't be a problem for them potentially in the long run. That was interesting information considering she'd only become a presence on social media within such a time frame. Beyond that he was apparently feeling a bit down because of this character and the desires it presented him with. "Chin up, mate. That just means there's something to look forward to," she stated with a chuckle. "Also I'm totally not forgetting that you basically just admitted that you've been my biggest fan for a year or more..." she teased just a tad. She wondered if he was suffering at this time, she supposed she'd find out soon enough. As people began walking up to the pair to ask questions about their characters and get pictures with them. They were approached by a wide variety of people many just wanting a quick picture of them or to ask a question.

[Bloodedge]

"You know what? Fair. That... is fair enough," Ozzy surmised. The complexity of women was something he was no stranger to; that was yet another fact learned during his grade school years. Of course, Nikki remained a bit different from the others, just as she always did in his eyes. He definitely wouldn't fret over something beneficial to him, either way. He couldn't keep himself from pausing yet again when she mentioned having something to look forward to. She did call him attractive earlier; did that put her mind on the same track as his own? It wasn't worth delving into just now, lest things go in the very same weird direction he was trying to avoid. As for how long he'd been Nikki's biggest fan, well... he may have been one of her first fans in general. "Of course I have been! I'd just gotten deep into streaming one day when you popped up. One of the lads in chat remembered me carrying on about the perfect woman, so the whole chat wound up spamming the link to your channel. Half two in the morning, I'm cream crackered playing Soul Ignition, and I'm being shown my dream girl. What else was I gonna end up being?" He spoke so casually, with nothing short of truth as he regurgitated memories from that first sighting.

At last, the hour of reckoning was upon poor Oliver. Several questions had been answered, and just as many autographs were signed. Things were looking up, bar the fact that the occasional glance at Nikki saw to the return of his inability to stand. Just when he was forgetting the possibility of it, there was a particularly excited fan stepping up─ he was one of Ozzy's own followers. Excited was this strangely feminine lad (wearing a flowing white dress by Blue Lotus to boot) to see these two together in any fashion, and of course, he wanted a picture of them both, signed by both as well. It also happened to be the case that this was the very same chat member who sent Ozzy the link to Nikki's YouTube channel. "Speak of the devil. Ferri, mate... I'm glad you could make it and all, but please don't make me stand up for a photo right now─" he found himself saying to one of the last people he should have sought a cop-out from. The brown-haired, brown-eyed lad flashed a very feline grin, his eyes shifting between the pair. "No picture for one of your mods, King? For shame! I guess you streamed yourself walking here, so your legs must be tired. Can't you two just get really close from there?" he pleaded, sparkling eyes sending his request Nikki's way.

[Apollymi]

A smile crossed Nikki's face, his response was amusing. He had to know how confusing and potentially confused girls could be. She was pretty happy he understood what she meant. And she hadn't been dishonest at all. After her deep dive on his social media, she'd found herself, staring at his pictures wondering if a guy like him could actually be real. Moving on from this moment, it seemed that there was a story behind how he managed to discover her lesser known existence. According to him a member of his chat had given him her YouTube link after remembering him carrying on about what he was looking for in a woman. Really? That story was absolutely outrageous! "Really?! Of all the ways you could have found out about me... brilliant!~" she smiled pretty wide while signing an autograph but after that person stepped away, another was stepping up. "Soul Ignition didn't have character creation... I was going to give it a try... but the trees. The trees were frightening. I didn't think I could put that kind of time in at the time," she mused of her own issues with that particular game. Still it looked fun, and she considered that she would eventually get around to it.

Ah who was this new person approaching. Well someone that she recognized as wearing one of her dresses. So that in and of itself was rather impressive. Even with him being a male he carried himself well and looked absolutely adorable. "Blimey never thought I'd see someone at a con actually wearing that one..." she said of the dress. "Still looks great on you mate!~" she chimed, complimenting the lad and feeling proud of her own work. He was apparently also the one who'd linked him to her channel and what was this... the name was familiar as well. "Oh? Wait... Ferri-chan? Didn't you win a pair of limited editions this morning? You follow both of us?" she asked of him, pretty sure she'd listed that name on her twitter along with a few others. Still Nikki wasn't one to deny a fan something in reason, so she leaned in a bit closer to get in frame for the picture, scooting her chair cheekily close.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, they were a bunch of nutters when they made that thing. It's good fun as a grind though; the tree is more rewarding and less intimidating than it looks," Ozzy explained, as if to sell her the game despite its lack of character customization. "You're probably better off giving Brave Souls a shot though, if you want to customize. There's a console port just came out, you get your own custom character to start, from whatever faction you like. Gacha warning for that one, though. Seems like everything wants the wallet of late."

The male addressed as Ferrichan was clearly a fan and follower not only of Ozzy, but of Nikki as well. When complimented for pulling off the dress, he took hold of it for a curtsy. "Thank you~♥ This one's my favorite of yours; I couldn't not wear it coming to your panel~" he spoke. It was mostly truth, but in fact, he probably would have worn the dress without Nikki even being present. Ah, there was mention of him winning those limited edition bunny ears earlier this day. He seemed surprised to hear this, truly having no idea he was one of the winners. "Really?! I haven't had time to check Twitter since watching King's stream on the way here. I didn't even get to see if I was in the first ten! Lucky me~♥" he said excitedly. Now, Nikki was scooching closer and closer to Ozzy, whom 'Ferri' watched nearly have a mental breakdown. What was he to do? At least two people in this exchange knew there was an erection he wouldn't dare let the public see, but... Ferri had a secret. He'd seen these two chatting, and in that, he saw progress. As such, he formed a box with his thumbs and forefingers while watching the two so close, seeming to mimic a camera in portrait view. "Hmm. No, that won't work. I want a long one! Blue, could you sit in the same chair as King?" he requested. He knew there was only enough space in those chairs for such a thing to work if she sat in his lap, and Ozzy knew this as well. Ozzy looked into his chat moderator's eyes, seeing deviance, and thinking... this was the reason Ferris existed as one of his channel's top members. 'Bruv, you're getting so much clout for this if you pull it off!'

[Apollymi]

Talking to Ozzy was quite pleasant in general. He wouldn't know this for quite a while, but Nikki appreciated that aspect of him a bit more than most other things... the sound of his voice, those bits of commentary that came without judgement or order. Yeah, actually he was much more her type than she realized even after seeing him. "It's still on the list... I just didn't have time for it while I was finishing my graduation show," she mentioned. Her life at the release of Soul Ignition was rather busy. But it'd calmed down a bit by now, she could play a bit more at Ozzy's suggestion. Oh but there was something else? Brave Souls had more customization but was also a gacha? "Eh? Well, I might have to try that out. As long as I can customize I like to play a bit. I'm not worried about a Gacha, I'd give up long before I went broke and pout about it afterwards~" she said of her own luck, which wasn't inherently good until it was.

At the speech of Ferri, Nikki managed to look a bit sheepish. "Brilliant!~" Nikki managed. She'd not really been thinking about whether a man or woman would be wearing this little dress but it was a great look on Ferri regardless. What was more, apparently this one hadn't had time to check Twitter and didn't know he'd been one of her winners. "Yeah, I remember that name, it definitely showed up second. Don't forget to sent your info so I can make sure you get them," she said of the ears. "At this point I wouldn't really be surprised if there were some others from your stream that ended up there~" she said to Ozzy. Nikki had slid in a bit close, but it seemed Ferri wouldn't be satisfied by a landscape picture of the pair. His question made Nikki chuckle, "I get it from a design perspective, rule of thirds and all that. I don't mind squeezing in for such a picture, you'd have to scoot over a bit Ozzy... unless Ferri here has a different layout in mind for his picture~" she said about the desire to have a portrait instead of a landscape, she aimed to move a bit more while waiting for the lad to have the picture he so desired.