Grayscythe

SAO: Living in Aincrad

"Yeah I know what you mean..." Dar said solemnly about the "ignorant" comment. When in a panic, people could react in really crazy ways. His mind flashed back to all of the people who thought this was some big joke and had thrown themselves off a ledge back at the plaza already. It was impossible for Dar to figure out if they were right or not, but could he really take that chance?

'No, I can't. I have to survive. And I can't do that alone.' Dar thought as he snapped back to listen to the rest of Geist's statement. It didn't sound like he was super familiar with how this game worked. Then again he wasn't one to talk. While Dar had kept up with the beta progress and various review sites that had talked about SAO before launch, he was still a noob himself. Still, he wondered how many people had been drawn in who weren't super familiar with video games to begin with? That was also a scary thought, what if there were children here? Young children, and now they were stuck in this horrible situation. The thought made Dar sick to his stomach.

Still, he kept a level head as he brought up his map.

"Let's see.....we're here so..." Dar mused as he went through the map. He needed to set a clear goal. That group wanted to meet at the edge of the grasslands, but it looked like Geniku was the next closest town. It didn't seem that special but it might get him away from the chaos. Wait just him? Maybe he should team up with Geist. But he was already in a group, should he ditch that one? Did Geist even want to team up with him? He had just met this guy.

"Geniku. It's here, see?" Dar said as he moved over to Geist with his pulled up map so he could view the screen.

"Nothing special, but it's away from here at least. The next major town is probably...this way. But you don't want to go that way yet. Not when it will be dark soon. That'll take you through the forest, it'll be too easy to get ganked there." Dar said, drawing his finger across the map up to Horunka would be. He remembered reading a blog from a beta tester about how Horunka was the first town of interest. It was a hunting village, that would be a good place to go to get some good quests and possibly farm for materials to make better gear.

When it was all said and done, Dar put his map away and turned to Geist.

"Pardon me for saying this, but you don't sound like you're super familiar with MMOs, am I right?" Dar asked. It was blunt, but he didn't really know any other way to ask it at this point. He was no expert himself but if he could help this guy, maybe they'd both be better off.

@LupusIntus

SAO: Living in Aincrad

The longest running RP I was in was a Zelda one that ran for about 4 years, and that was mostly because we al became really close friends. There were times where we would just OOC for days before someone finally decided to push the plot along. It's all about the people really.

I watched the first season of Magi on Netflix. Haven't watched the second yet. I may end up reading the manga but I tend to stay away from long running series now. The last long one I read was Naruto and that was mostly because I got into the process of reading each chapter every week.

@_Middle_And yeah you should join up with us. Our conversation will probably take us to the road.

SAO: Living in Aincrad

'Wait a minute, where am I even going?' Dar thought as he reached the main gate. It suddenly occurred to him that even though he had decided to go meet this boss killing group, or rather a "suicide group" as it may be, he didn't really know how to track down where he was going. It made him feel dumb, but Dar hadn't really explored much of the UI in this game yet.

He stopped by the main gate to take a quick look through his interface. It seemed like he could send friend requests to other players over large distances, even mass party invites like the one he had gotten. That was a given obviously. Still, what was he trying to accmomplish right now? Should he really go all the way to where the group was by himself? Now that the stakes had been raised, everything seemed so much more dire. What kind of terrible end would it be to be ganked by a group of low level mobs?

It was then that Dar noticed that he wasn't alone. He looked up and saw someone else wandering about nearby, apparently with the intent to leave town as well. He seemed a bit shell shocked, not that Dar could blame him. After what they had just been told. They were all apart of this death game now. Some cruel, twisted virtual reality that was created just so some man could play God. How could you not have an adverse reaction to that.

"I don't know about you, but I'm expecting a refund when I get out of here." Dar joked to the other player. As soon as he would have gotten his attention, Dar would give a shrug and an awkward smile.

"It seems like some people aren't taking it laying down though. I'm not sure if I want to join them, but I want to get out of this town, away from all this chaos. How about you?" Dar asked. He took a step forward toward the other player before stopping him. He realized he was being very rude all of a sudden.

"Oh uh, sorry. Name's W...Dar. Dar, that's my name. Who are you?" Dar asked. He had almost given out his real name. It was weird, but when he was speaking like this it was harder not to act normal. In a regular MMO you could easily avoid giving out your real name, but here if you wanted an alias you had to actively use it verbally as well as through text.

@lupusintus

SAO: Living in Aincrad

Ah so much has happened. Cinco de mayo + restaurant = late night working. I was supposed to get off three hours ago but then the bar rush came and...well here I am. I need a new job.

I'll read up and try to catch up. I'm weighing in options between the various groups at this point.

SAO: Living in Aincrad

I'll be on later tonight. Tuesdays are busy work days for me XP

SAO: Living in Aincrad

Well, if you are still accepting new people here's my char sheet application. :)

Toda Akira

Name in Real Life: Toda Akira
In Name Game: Geist
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Looks: Akira’s hair is a dark blonde, well-trimmed in a longer style that gives him an older appearance. His features are fine and handsome, a perfect blend of Scandinavian and east-Asian with a tight jaw line and large dark eyes.


Short Bio: Akira was born in central Tokyo to an incredibly wealthy family. His father, owner of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Asia, met his mother at a private dinner function following a performance by the world-renowned Kirov Bellet company; she being one of their star dancers. They raised their son in typical upper-class fashion, or rather paid a series of maids, nannies, and tutors to raise him as they were often far too busy with their own lives to care for him. Still, he grew up perfectly in their eyes and quickly established himself as a boy who could succeed at anything he put his mind to. All through his schooling he achieved top marks in his classes, was always voted class president, and even played as a starting pitcher on his prestigious private school’s baseball team; he was smart, handsome, and popular. Success just came naturally to Akira and most often with little effort on his part, much to the chagrin of many other students.

Unsurprisingly, Akira was accepted to Tokyo University and to with several dozen other schools around the world, some of which he didn’t even apply to. His parents threw a large banquet in honor of the occasion and invited famous actors and dancers and businessmen from all around the world. They were all strangers to Akira and though he smiled and shook hands and thanked those who congratulated him inside he felt nothing but emptiness, a void growing with each passing year. The boy knew he was being paraded like a prized pig, no better than the shiny piece of expensive jewelry proudly displayed over the tuxes and dresses of all in attendance. Within a week he moved out of the penthouse apartment his parents hardly ever stayed in and soon found himself in a similar, albeit smaller, penthouse on the other side of the city. It was prepaid and pre-furnished in a tactful modern style that left Akira feeling cold despite the warm springtime weather. He was soon attending his classes, biology and business classes suited for the heir to his father’s company, but it wasn’t long before the days began to blur together into monotonous routine. It came on rather suddenly, the realization that he was nothing more than a prisoner in a world of his parent’s creation: a world devoid of joy and color from which he could not escape. He doesn’t remember where he first saw the advertisement; was it on TV, or maybe a billboard?; but something about the image of a fortress floating in the sky stuck in his mind. Akira had never played a video game in his life, he’d hadn’t had the time and his parents would have never allowed it even if he had, which was perhaps the driving reason behind his sudden need to acquire it. He made a few phone calls; with his father’s connections it wasn’t difficult to secure a Nerve Gear or even a copy of the program despite its limited release; and on November 2nd he found himself lying on his bed staring up at the white-washed ceiling through the visor lens.

“Link... start.”

Welcome to Sword Art Online...

Personality: Akira is most often cold and calculating but displays a two-faced split in his countenance; the perfect sophisticated socialite on one hand and a sneering highbrow elitist on the other. He doesn’t make friends; or at least he’s had little success in the past; but will strive to make allies if he thinks they can help further his own agenda (which often works simply because he often brings a lot to the table). Still, even his mutual allegiances don’t often last long when the other party has fulfilled their usefulness.
Despite his positively terrible attitude and abrasive nature, there is a glimmer of something else beneath the surface; something that wishes to connect with another person in a wide and seemingly empty world. It just takes a keen eye and a patient mind to see it.

Noncombat Skills:
-Sprint
-Searching

Combat Skills:
-Parry
-Battle Healing
-Leather Equipment

Weapon Skill:
-One-handed Dagger
-Knife-Throwing

Dagger Skills:
-Armor Pierce: single strike attack that lowers target's armor.
-Cross Edge: 2-strike attack with high crit. hit chance.

Preferred weapon and Armor: Light leather armor, thrown weapons and one-handed daggers.

Level: 2
HP: 450
STR: 6
AGI: 7

@LupusIntus

Lupus, weren't you a part of a RWBY rp with me from awhile back? Your name and avi are familiar.

SAO: Living in Aincrad

At a decent level he wouldn't stand a chance : P

But right now if everybody really tried to take him on it would be like a level 1 Hogger raid. XD

Also I have Dar heading for the grasslands as just kind of a point of interest but if anybody needed someone to team up with/meet I'd be down for that too.

SAO: Living in Aincrad

It was finally the day.

Wesley had waited in line just like every other gamer, eager and roaring to go, and now it was here. The NERV gear was top of the line. This was what gaming was heading towards now, full on virtual reality. He had been reading about it for what seemed like years but now it was finally in his hands.

Wesley rushed home and tore into the box, setting everything up and hooking up the equipment in his room. It seemed like Dad wasn't home yet, and neither was Suzuka. That meant that nobody could disturb him while he got to experience it first hand. He could already hear his dad lecturing him about it later.

"Virutal reality? As if it's bad enough that these things turn your brains to mush, now the stuff is going into your brain! Why don't you do something more important with your life like enlist?"

It wouldn't be much different than any other conversation. Suzuka was probably picking up her NERV gear after work today. Wesley thought about waiting on her so they could play together but he was too anxious. They could always just meet up and exchange friend codes later and maybe play after dinner. In the meantime, Wesley put on the helmet and lay down in a comfortable spot on his bed.

"LINK START!"

In a rush, Wesley was suddenly in the world of Aincrad. It looked like something out of a fantasy novel or rpg, which was just up Wesley's alley. He removed his starter sword and took a look at himself in its reflection. He had tried to make his appearance as close to his real self as possible, but had thrown in some cool scars just for the heck of it. He had also changed his eye color. Picking a name had been something he had thought long and hard on though. He had been living in Japan for a few years now, but he was still an American. A lot of japanese players didn't get along with American players online. Some didn't care, but the online communities of the East and West played a lot differently in various circles. He had contemplated making some sort of stereotypical Japanese name for himself, but instead just went with "Dar". Short, sweet and easy to form in a group invite message.

With that, it was off to the races. Wesley spent the next few hours fighting boars and trying to learn the ropes of the game. The one handed sword was just too weak for him, he wanted something with more punch and a larger kill range. When he leveled up, he upgraded his strength and went with a two hander. This was far more up Wesley's alley. Enemies would drop in fewer swings and at a slightly farther distance. His defense left a lot to be desired though. Wesley was going to need to invest in some better armor next.

After his fun was done, Wesley decided it was time to log off. It was getting late and he wanted to talk to Suzuka about what he had done so far anyway. Yet like so many others, Wesley discovered a terrible truth; he couldn't log off. Kayaba summoned him and everyone else to the town square and gave them their disasterous news. This was a death game now. The rules had changed, and they were all meat in the grinder.

-----

Honestly, it was hard to believe that this had all happened in just a few hours.

The reactions from everyone varied from subtle to almost insane. Some people ran to the next town to go get more experience. They were the brave ones, or maybe the foolhardy. Others thought they could get out of the game just by letting their characters die and threw themselves off a cliff. They were in denial. But Wesley, he and several others just stood there.

'There's thousands of people...thousands....we're all...we're all going to die??' Wesley thought dismally. He sank to his knees.

'Dad...Suzuka....am I ever going to see them again?' Wesley thought. They had to clear 100 floors to get out of this world. Not even the beta testers made it that far, how could they? It seemed hopeless.

Still, there was a small light of hope in all this. Wesley received a party invite out of the blue. He looked around to see if someone was flagging him down until he read the note at the bottom.

"People are going for the boss already? That's crazy, what level are they? They'll get killed....." Wesley muttered. He read over the note and glanced around again before giving a sigh.

"Still..I gotta hand it to these guys. They're not giving up. Look at me, I'm just a mess." Wesley chuckled darkly before giving a nod and rising to his feet. There was no use sitting here. Those people needed his help. They needed Dar.

Dar hit accept on the party invite and made out for field.

SAO: Living in Aincrad

I'll try to get a intro post up but then I'll need to disappear for several hours.

SAO: Living in Aincrad

It's okay. I'm not going to beat you over the head with a baseball bat or anything.

i might bury you under plushies though.

Your CS is fine by me

@Caits

@Little_Ninja

Back in my day we didn't have those fancy smancy character tabs! You had to send it in by carrier pigeon! And write it in dirt!

A good heads up though, I'll take it to heart. It's interesting seeing how much the site has changed in what I guess hasn't really been all that long. At least not the most recent changes in the past few years.