The Master Corps: Supplementary Chapters
Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The game belongs entirely to Capcom. All characters that appear in this story belong to me, unless otherwise stated.
Edited by: dashboardgecko
This chapter is Canonical with TMC
SC1: Advice
"Hey, Viper, can I ask you a favor?" Wes asked, taking a seat beside the archer.
"Depends on the favor," the golden-eyed man responded, wiping a few crumbs from his mouth and setting his cutlery down. "Whaddya need, bud?"
"Well… How do I put this… I was wondering if you might be willing to share a few tips with me on how to talk with girls."
"You want flirting advice? From me?"
"That's not how I'd put it, but... yeah, basically. Is that surprising?"
"To be honest, it kinda is," Viper said, taking a drink from his tankard. "I figured you were the type of guy who'd find his way into a different girl's bed every night when I first met you."
"…What?"
"Well, when you think about it, you've got a huge fanclub of women in the Master Corps who'd kill for a date with you. Haven't you already gone out with, like, six or seven different girls already?"
"Only because I kept getting tricked into them!" Wes said. "First time was with Snow after she screwed up your shoot off with Emerald, then Sapphire after the Gear Rex fight, and Kat two days after that, then… I don't even know what happened with the other ones."
"Sounds like you had a few rough nights, eh?" Viper laughed, drawing an exasperated sigh from the dual blade wielder.
"Not like that, jackass… I mean I agree to it before realizing they want to have a date, and by that point I'm not able to get out of it. It's always the second I let my guard down too. And, when we finally do go out, I have no idea what to say or do, and I come off as a complete moron. Somehow I've managed to not embarrass myself too horribly, but I came pretty damn close last week. I've been getting some tips from Snow, but I still think I need help with this. That's why I came to you. You're pretty smooth with the ladies, right?"
"I'd like to think so, yeah. Might I point out that most guys would kill to be in your shoes for a day though? Seriously, that kind of stuff only happens in those weird stories."
"Viper, focus. Can you help me, or not?"
"I guess I can… If you sweeten the deal a bit."
"I'll buy you a bag of Gummy Beasts. The ones with the nulberry-flavored Arzuros'."
"Alright, it's a deal! So, I think we should start with your approach. First of all, most ordinary guys have to kniow how to approach the girl he is interested in if he wants to have a chance at wooing her. You're lucky enough that girls seem to flock to your arms, but nonetheless, you need the basics. So, say there's a pretty girl about… four tables over from us. You find her hair absolutely stunning among other things, so you feel you should start off with a compliment. What would you say to her?"
"Wait, we're getting right into it? …Here?"
"Where else?"
"I dunno, back in our rooms or something? Where I'm less likely to be seen acting like a complete dunce?"
"I still have two more orders on the way that I already paid for, bud. You either get help now, or wait an hour and run the risk of getting tricked into another one of those dates you're so afraid of."
Wes sighed in defeat before thinking up a response to the scenario the archer had presented.
"Alright, here goes nothing… Er… Hello there…? Your hair looks… absolutely radiant today…?"
"What the hell was that?" Viper laughed after a moment of silence, drawing a confused look from the hunter.
"…A compliment…?"
"Gods above, you are going to need a lot of work… Okay, first off, never, ever start off a sentence with 'er'. You sounded like someone was holding a bowgun to the back of your head the entire time. Don't pause every other word either; you gotta have some confidence in your voice if you expect to actually hold a conversation with a girl. Just like fishing; you need convincing, intriguing bait to attract your catch. And, lastly, do not say 'today' at the end of that sentence."
"Why not? I mean, I get the other issues, but I thought the wording was fine there-"
"And that is precisely where most men fall flat on their asses," Viper interjected, waving his hand in front of Wes' face to cut him off. "They think they said it right, but in reality, many women would take offense to that! Why does their hair only matter today? Shouldn't it be radiant enough to garner attention every day?"
"I… hadn't thought about that…" Wes muttered. "But why does that matter? Couldn't they just take the compliment for what it is? If it's genuine, there shouldn't be an issue, right?"
"See, here's the thing: if you want to really gain their attention, you need to be more than genuine. Girls want compliments to be the best of the best, not just a run-of-the-mill attempt. What you should say is 'Hey, I've seen you around a few times, but I never got the chance to say how radiant your hair looks before now'."
"But… I never saw this person before. Why would I say that if I'm seeing someone for the first time?"
"That, my friend, is called buttering up the bread. You need to be subtle with your remarks, but make them count whenever you say something. Don't lay it on too thick, else you'll look like you're trying too hard. And if you have to tell a small white lie to make things a little easier for yourself? No harm done if they don't find out."
"So… Women like compliments, but they don't like too many?"
"There, see? You're already learning! We'll make a grade A flirt out of you yet, Wes!"
"I don't want to be a flirt, I just want to know how to tal-"
"Moving right along, you should also have a few phrases at the ready to respond to a potential advance from a girl. Like, say Ruby came up to you and said that you had stunning good looks. What would you say?"
"…Ask who the hell she is and what she did with the real Ruby, because Ruby would never do that in a million years."
"Wes, we're talking hypothetically here. Stop making this difficult."
"Alright, alright… I'd probably just respond with a 'thank you'."
"And…?"
"And what?"
"You don't just leave it at that!" Viper sighed, resting his head in his hand for a moment. "Look, let's put this in terms you can relate better too, because you are utterly atrocious in this field. Say you're hunting whatever monster, and it attacks you. What do you normally do?"
"Dodge and counterattack."
"Right! So, if a girl came up to you and complimented you, what would you do?"
"…Cover my ears and punch them in the face?"
"…Yes, Wes. That'll get you a ton of dates. I think you've just unlocked all the secrets of how to successfully court any girl in existence. Gods, I can practically taste the sarcasm dripping off my tongue right now…"
"Alright, I'll admit that was a dumb answer," Wes chuckled. "Can you blame me for trying to have a little fun though?"
"Your sense of humor disturbs me sometimes, bud. I don't think I've ever heard someone slip a joke like that into a conversation without changing their tone whatsoever before."
"I guess it's a talent of mine. Anyways, what should I do in that situation?"
"Well, it's simple, really. You react and reply. You'd probably want to say 'thanks', but follow up with a line like 'but you're even better looking than me'. So, no face-punching, got it?"
"I guess that is simple enough… And what comes next?"
"From there, it's easier to just go with the flow. Each talk should be unique, yeah? Be yourself, just less dumb."
"Gee, thanks for the advice, Teach," Wes said dryly. "How is that in any way helpful? That isn't something that comes naturally, y'know."
"No, I'll admit you need personal experience for that sort of thing. If I got a gold piece for every time I got slapped across the face by a woman for messing up my pick-up lines, I'd have enough to bribe you into trying to go out with Snow. And we both know how difficult that would be, considering Frost."
"That… would be quite a lot of gold. Exactly how many girls have you tried to do all this with?"
"Hmm… Hard to say. Today's the third Wednesday of the month, right?"
"Yeah, I think so. Why?"
"Trying to count the number of attempts I've made this month… I think I've tried about twenty different women, and I successfully managed to secure a date with sixteen of them."
"Damn, you're a regular lady-killer, aren't you?"
"Not to brag, but I am pretty awesome, bud."
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, bow boy," Wes chuckled, shaking his hide as the archer downed the rest of his drink. He heard the tavern doors swing open a moment after, and the two glanced over towards the door. A huntress wearing a suit of Bnahabra armor had just stepped in, and was making her way towards a table not far from theirs. "Hmm…"
"Tell ya what, let's make a bet: if you manage to get a date with her, I'll make today's lesson free of charge. She slaps you or turns you down, you need to add a box of Frosted Rathal-O's to the deal."
"…Meh, not like it's that expensive anyways… I'll be right back."
Viper watched as the dual blade user pushed himself up and approached the table the huntress was seated at, smirking to himself as he watched.
"Let's see… He's got her attention, delivering the opening line… Oncoming slap in three, two, one-"
SMACK!
"OW!"
"Booyah. Oh hey, my Kelbi steaks! Alright, time for thirds!"
Master Corps Dossier #1
Wesley "Wes" Adler
Hair: Medium-long, blonde
Eyes: Right eye blue, left eye green
Height: 6 ft
Weight: 165 lbs
Age: 18
Favorite Color: Blue/ Navy Blue
Weapon of Choice: Dual Blades
Most Notable Trait: Dexterity
A promising young hunter who recently joined the newly founded Master Corps. Uses unique gear created especially for him by his father, Wes has made it his goal to become a better hunter than his father, York Adler, ever was. To this extent, he studied monster ecology extensively and practiced multiple different weapon types, to the point where he has at least some proficiency with each. However, he tends to prefer the use of dual swords exclusively. Is known to be very headstrong and sure of his abilities, which he regularly makes a habit of showing off, much to the irritation of others. Ironically, despite being well known for his comeliness, he has few skills regarding conversational exchanges with women beyond the professional level, and is often tricked into dates as a result of this. Enjoys taking particularly long showers.
The most likely to get punched in the face.
Master Corps Dossier #2
Viper Dente
Hair: Long, black; covers right side of his face
Eyes: Golden-yellow
Height: 5 ft 10 in
Weight: 172 lbs
Age: 19-20
Favorite Color: Green (except the shade of Emerald's hair)
Weapon of Choice: Bow
Most Notable Trait: Accuracy
An archer hailing from the village of Overgrow, not far from the Flooded Forest hunting grounds. Left to become a hunter after the murder of his father, which he partially blamed on himself after missing a shot that could've saved his life. Has a very strong sense of justice and a firm belief in what he interprets as right and wrong, though he will make certain exceptions given the right criteria. While confident in his skills, Viper has a good idea of his own strengths and weaknesses, and adapts quickly to scenarios to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Is known for being a relatively shameless flirt. Supposedly has an irrational fear of Polka dots.
The most likely to order three helpings at mealtime.
Author Notes: Well, not exactly what my faithful readers were anticipating, huh? I decided to follow through with the idea of my supplementary chapters after quite a bit of consideration (about 5 minutes). These aren't going to be full length chapters like in the main story, but instead detail the going-ons of the characters in between chapters. Not all of them will be canonical, since some of the situations I have envisioned are literally unable to happen and are meant solely for fun, but for the most part these will focus on the relationships of the cast of TMC. So, expect a lot of wacky and humorous adventures here!
As I'm sure you noticed after the chapter proper, there are two character "dossiers" that detail a few facts about the main characters. I partially based the style off of the Fire Emblem: Awakening roster, notably the "most likely to X" bits, but I made sure to make them as unique as possible. I plan to release two every chapter which feature the characters who appear within the scene: I initially intended to release the Dossier collection as a few chapters itself, but dashboardgecko brought up that it might go against the terms and service agreements on the site, so I'm making do with what I can. Hopefully they're well received!
One thing to make note of is that these chapter take place at different times in the story, as Wes goes through a relatively large personality shift after a certain point in TMC (which followers of the story will understand; no spoilers!). As such, I'll point out whether or not these chapters take place early or later on; this one takes place in the early arcs.
Now for a bit of info that'll be sure to get you all excited; one of these chapters will feature a huge number of OC's! However, there's a catch; I only have a few right now, so I need submissions! The role admittedly won't be large at all, so a name is all I actually require, but I'll be sure to reference the owner of each, and maybe those characters will get a part later on too! You never know unless you try, so send away, my friends!
And, for the final bit of exciting news, TMC 20 is nearing completion! I should have it up by next week, so be sure to watch for that as well! It'll definitely be worth it, I can promise you that.
And, with that, I wish you an excellent day/night, faithful reader!
P.S. Personally, I cracked myself up with the "Frosted Rathal-O's" comment. Does that not sound like the greatest Monster Hunter cereal ever?
