The Homo Norm - WattPride

forty six - welcome

"Welcome, Qaato."

The screen in front of Jules changed into an ominous theme, with web-like graphics crawling all over it. Jules swallowed hard as the option of choosing her avatar was displayed. 

She scrolled through the choices, blatantly ignoring the option of uploading her own picture. She didn't want to risk anything just in case her activities on this server were leaked by someone who might know her.

Jules finally settled for a rose flower that had a golden sword pierced through it, and crimson blood dripped from the blade of the sword. As much as it looked gory at first glance, she liked it because she had never seen such a concept being put into simple drawings. To her, the picture looked like tragic innocence.

As soon as she confirmed her avatar, Jules saw the word REGEHETER jump at her on the screen. A few moments later, the black and navy blue themed server displayed different users chatting. Her eyes couldn't keep up with what was being talked about at the moment, but then she saw her username being tagged several times.

" @junak Welcome, Qaato."

" @ghertuy Ooh, a newbie! @Qaato welcome, Regeheter."

"@malkae Feel at home Qaato."

Jules smiled. Just then, she itched to ask a question but did not know if it was too soon to ask one.

"@Qaato What does 'Regeheter' mean?"

As soon as she sent her text, she saw several people typing and her heart pounded.

Then, as suddenly as they had started typing, they all stopped, as though an unknown force had taken control of the server and no one dared to type anymore. Jules frowned. What the hell was happening?

Seconds later, she saw Ranzak typing and Jules couldn't help but swallow hard.

"@ranzak It's two words shortened into one. Regeheter means Renegade Heteros."

Jules felt her eyes widening. The Heteros. Renegade Heteros? Was this a secret rebellious movement?

Now that she knew what Regeheter means, Jules had no clue whether to feel excited or terrified at the prospect of being a part of something like this. She didn't know if she felt both or none, but something even greater.

The other users began typing, as though the no-typing spell had just been broken. Jules figured that maybe Ranzak was a very important person who was highly respected in that server. She even speculated that he might have been the founder of that server and movement.

The users seemed to be talking about people Jules had never heard about. Perhaps a TV show or real life celebrities.

Jules hovered over Ranzak's avatar and decided to message him privately.

"Hey. I need your help."