Robin

Anne responds: "It targets people you know in real life. And it is not just your contacts? Weird.... No one should volunteer. NO ONE!" The rest groan and look like they are going to call her Mom.

Bart reacts: "Okay then, Anne. Are you okay with us picking a random other person? We all know we all reeaaally want to see what that app does." Bart taunts her to do it.

Robin jokingly muses: "Maybe I should insist Pieter picks me?" No one responds.

Everyone glances over at Robin as if to ask: "Are you serious?"

Robin groans. "Sure, Pieter, pick me." He says with a huge smile. "I am just as curious as all three of you. Let's head in. But before we do, can the quest make me invisible?"

As we wander into the restaurant, I select Robin as a target.

Name: Robin

Surname: Naaktgeboren

Gender: Unknown

Age : 31

Level 1 (0 / 10 xp)

Class: None

Perks: None

Add Quest

Add Class (Class Designer perk required)

Followed by a pop-up.

Slow Beginnings: add your first target [+5xp]

First Achievement: Unlocked Achievements Tab

All of this seems like stuff I knew. Wait, gender unknown? I click it.

Gender: unknown
Robin is currently not happy with their body, the way they act. The moments they get to Roleplay in-game as a woman in the game allow them to feel safe and themselves. They are in a state of limbo of gender. If their mental state regarding their gender changes, this will be updated.

I whisper to Robin: "I think I have something on my back. Can you come to the toilet with me and check it?" Robin nods with a suspicious glance. As we approach the table, we tell them we are going to the toilet for a bit.

We enter the toilet, and I lift the back of my shirt. Robin says: "There is nothing. Don't worry, man. Why was there such urgency anyway?"

"I asked you because of your character page and wanted to have a private conversation about it."

"What do you mean, Pieter?" He responds curiously.

"I saw that you felt uncertain about your gender. The app shows me your name, age, and gender. The gender was unknown. I clicked it, and it explained that you feel more like yourself when you are playing Darkness." He looks like I insulted his mom. Like, he could burst into tears at any moment. "Just to be clear, Robin, I don't care if you want me to call you Alexandra, Johanna, Maria or whatever name you want me to call you. You are you, and you are my friend." The tension snaps, and the tears he was holding back start flowing. A river almost forms on his face.

Whilst crying, he said: "Thanks for telling me you know and you would accept me any way I am. Thanks for doing it in as private a place as you could create. But man, I still have dinner to get through. Now my eyes are going to be red all evening."

"I won't let them have input on the quest if you can give me a suggestion now."

Robin sighs and says: "No, let them have their fun, they don't know what we discussed. We need to have fun with each other today."

"Should I buy you a stiff drink?"

Robin chuckles: "I will come over Friday for some of those special beers you like and a follow-up for this conversation."

I nod and go to pee as Robin leaves.

As I get back, I see the four of them talking about the idea of giving Robin a quest. Robin tries me to include me in their conversation. "We ordered wine and beer for ourselves and a soda for you. We know you are a picky princess. We also ordered the first round."

"Thanks, I know that I can steal some of your meatballs." I tease Robin.

He chuckles. "Yeah, that is how tapas works, isn't it? We also ordered some other things you like, don't worry too much."

"You seem to be super happy with the idea of giving Robin a quest. Can you give me a summary?"

Robin starts: "We have only had a few minutes, maybe we shouldn't **** it. But the options mentioned that I am fine with are:

• Pretend to be a woman until you get home.
• Chug a beer.
• Tell the table a secret.
• Have Anne do my make-up.
• Play gay chicken with Pieter.
• Feed Pieter the rest of the meal.
• Kiss Pieter
• Do an exercise a required number of times."

"I think you have plenty of good options here, though gay chicken and kissing me are similar. One is way less likely to get you kicked out, so I think that is out." I say with a smile, knowing that most of these are probably picked to make him uncomfortable. But, might allow him to be more comfortable in his own skin.

Author's note: I probably will be referring to Robin as he unless he decides to go full fem. Also, currently they are still presenting male. In modern Dutch and the local dialect, it is normal to use he/him for things you do not know the gender of. I don't care if you don't, if you use they or she. And I might just have shorter chapters for them in general.