Baldur

The dojo was dark at this hour, though the sun was still setting, it was obscured by trees and the buildings of Baldur's home. It was meant to greet the rising sun, not the setting. A subtle symbol that there was always a dawn to another day. Practice was for the morning, and rest for the evening. When first light hit, it came through the open panels and met the small Kamidana, and below it, the rows of wooden nafuda, showing the names of all those who were recognized members of Baldur's dojo, along with the name of the dojo: Musha Shugyo - Training in Warriorship. The eastern equivalent of a

Thread Closed: Word count: 13,155 (I did not count anything in a quote box if it was in a previous post) 13,155/30 = 438.5 Snow level 23 = Tier 3 *5 = 15 Baldur level Level 32 Paragon 58 = Tier 9 *5 = 45 @Snow EXP Gain = 15*438.5 = 6,577.5 + 300 Quest EXP = 6,877.5 @Baldur EXP Gain = 45*438.5 = 19,732.5 + 300 Quest EXP = 20,032.5 Both Baldur and Snow gain the <<Fisher>> Profession Both Baldur and Snow gain 1 <<Gleaming Scale>> from Quest reward Snow Gains 400 Col + 2 Material Baldur gains 3,004.875 Col from Laurel Wreath

I don't think you could have botched this more if you had tried. Baldur almost laughed at himself. He watched as Snow moved throughout the store, looking at different options and fabrics, pulling out a few and holding them up to her. She had almost seemed saddened that he seemed to reject her choosing the previous one. If that were true, he was even more of a fool than he realized. But he wanted Snow to know that she didn't need to try and appease him, or do what he wanted. He had wanted her to want that haori, but his, Baldur's, goals with Snow were more important. He wanted to help her find

Snow had come back with one of the Shinsengumi haori, it was as close to a match of his as you could find without making something custom. The gesture of it was touching. It was, in fact, exactly what he had secretly hoped she would come back with, but it drug up some deep guilt inside of him, and the words she had given him. You can't make it through Aincrad alone. His face was a genuine smile, the joy of her choice, which she already knew of, reflected on him. He took it in hand and held it up for her to try on. She hesitated a moment, and then let him help her, before she once again dazzled

Baldur smiled at the first player to come up to the buffet table. "Thanks again, @Hirru for helping catch so much of the fish we used for tonight. I really appreciate your help." He placed a piece of the yakitori on its skewer on his place. The next face he saw surprised him, and his face lit up with warmth and joy at the sight of @Zajcica. "Yuki! You're back! It's always so wonderful to see you! Yes, I'd love to catch up once I've given out the food. I assume you've already seen Crow, right? He's been eating me out of house and home while you've been busy." In spite of it all,

Through some sheer force of will, the occupants of his transport helped defend them from the handful of cannon balls that found their mark, both by calling out their positions, and apparently by punching or chopping them. Baldur was mostly glad that his reckless and breakneck speeds trying to get them through the most dangerous arc of their flight hadn't dislodged anyone. He didn't know Plini, but he hoped everyone had their teleport crystals. It was far enough down that anyone who dropped could teleport away before hitting the ground. "HANG ON WE'RE GOING IN FOR A LANDING!!" Abruptl

Baldur could hardly suppress his laugher and a smile when she grabbed the spear and told the merchant she wanted it, sticking her tongue out at him. Suddenly, this was all Jason could want to see. Alyssa jumping into the ponds in the morning with her spear in hand, harpooning fish. It would be quite the sight to wake up to, he could only imagine the surprise on Hirru and Calrex's faces when they saw the new Lady of the Lake. His laughed rung out loud and true, coming from somewhere deep in the gut as only earnest laughter could. After their transaction was complete, Baldur h

Buying the following items: (2) Ambition Fishing Poles Total: (800 * 2) = 1,600col

The moments he had left her inside seemed to stretch on forever. Why had he brought her here? The condition of the shop was embarrassing. He hadn't even used it himself in a long time, and it had been a dozen floors or more since he had last been open to the public, let alone busy. He really should just sell the location. It was a great location for shop, not a mausoleum of his failures. "Pull yourself together, Baldur. You've shared a moment together that was special to you both, but you're making a terrible second impression." It wasn't really the 'second' impression. Baldur and Sn

She had blushed when he put the haori on her. Had he been inappropriate? It was certainly not something someone in Asia would do so blithely, but she was of European descent, and her voice didn't have the accent of someone who had grown up in Japan. He assumed she was a transplant, like he was. The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable, but it struck Jason that it was something he did too often, by overestimating comfort levels and familiarity. Just because he had let her in so much, didn't mean she had let him in as much. Connection wasn't symmetrical. But she asked how s

KerSPLASH! Baldur laughed at the situation they found themselves in as Snow jumped into the water, spear in hand, to save their catched. As she drove herself and the spear into the water where the fish was, the pole finally gave, and shattered into luminous polygons swept up by the gentle breeze of the first floor. Water drenched the gaijin samurai, but his good humor could not be quenched. He wasn't sure if the water was deeper or more shallow than she had expected, but the look on Alyssa's face as she looked up at him sent the man into another fit of laughter. He moved slowly b

He had expected feel something different when she finally said his name, but instead the tone was different. She wasn't admonishing him, she was reminding him. She was right. Jason never did go anywhere, he grew, he blossomed in the adversity he had found here. He had lost branches along the way, and become different than who he was. They were all shaped by the circumstances they found themselves in. To not change was to die. He wasn't lesser, he was just different. Her hand slipped from his shoulder, and with it the warmth her hand brought. He appreciated her words. A pole and

The gaijin samurai smiled up at Snow as she sat down beside him and opened his mouth to speak, when she pointed out he got a bite. The line tugged at his pole, causing the tip to bend towards the water, and he gave a delighted laugh. "Alright, here you go!" Baldur held out the fishing pole to the suddenly surprised girl. She said some words of protest, but Baldur held the rod, more than a bit awkwardly at this angle, in front of her until she took the pole from him. He made sure she had a good hand on it before he let go. "So the system takes care of most of the hard work, but i

Baldur stood to the side, silent and unaffected by the display of grief the young NPC had shown. It may have been a compelling script, but it was no more of a display of real grief than that of what he had seen in a movie, and unfortunately, he had seen enough real grief here in Aincrad to last him a lifetime. The puzzle was what engaged him here. How things were changing, and what that meant not just for him, here now, attempting this quest, but how it would effect things going forward for the future of the humans of Aincrad. He would learn, he would scrape together knowledge, and he would us

Baldur laughed as Snow looked back at him, half covered in mud and wet with the water she had kicked up in her haste to get to the fish with her spear. The fish flopped a moment on the tip before going still, though the woman's expression shifted from surprise, to triumph, to embarrassment as her face flushed prettily. "Well done!" He cheered for her success. Baldur stood there, no small amount of water and mud strewn across his garb from her enthusiastic spear fishing. A soft laugh in his eyes, not at the antics, but at the rapid change in her emotions written plainly on her face

Baldur smiled at his old friend as he enquired about the morning walk. It had been a good walk. He leaned back against one of the posts along the Engawa where he sat as Hirru fished. The sun was fully in the sky now, the blues of his haori filling the horizon. When the wind wasn't blowing, you could see Koi fish and others swimming about. Little pockets of fish that were the game's way of telling you your odds were better to cast your line there than elsewhere. All of Baldur's ponds were well stocked by the system, since he had paid for them as an upgrade to the island. He let Hirru's que

Baldur was surprised to get the message, but it brought a smile to his face. He had dabbled at fishing, even picked up the skill and dropped it when they had the event which actually spawned Jacob's Ladder. Perhaps it would be good to pick it back up again. He would need lots of materials to continue to arm the Frontline, and this was a good way to go about it. Plus, having cooks to make the food they'd need would be helpful. He would be able to help supply Snow and Cord this way. Pushing himself up from the cushion where he had been reclining, watching over the water of his estate, he we

Baldur took up position in one of the more central spots of the grounds, where his voice would carry over the water and reach everyone more easily. With the conclusion of the second round of fighting, it was on to one of the more friendly events. A feast for the guests. A luau of sorts. A much needed reprieve for everyone together. "Attention everyone!" He called out, his voice dropping a little deeper in tone to help it carry. He could, when he wanted to, have a fairly deep commanding tone. A stage voice. "Thank you all for your competition and support of it." His voice returned to

Baldur looked at his companions as they drank down the potions he gave them, and then Mac confirmed he would tank and scarfed down more food. The gaijin samurai then turned his steel blue eyes towards the mountain. The monster was truly massive. While he had not thought Tanos, Mac had. It seemed this monster was even larger. "Are you both ready for this?" When his eyes focused on the creature it felt like the red diamond that hung above it's head was even larger than all the of them combined. "Remember why we're here men. Between us and a natural hot spring getaway lay this gian

Baldur walked slowly through the grounds and back to his room, he needed to change back into his signature haori before facing the rest of the day. He loved his shelter in the storm, floating in the sky high above the danger. It was a paradise hiding in the blue of sky and ocean. Not just safe from the monsters in the world below, but a retreat for his heart. It was a place of healing. He parted ways with Snow as she made her way to the kitchen, he caught a brief glimmer of Hirru setting up to fish for his breakfast as was becoming their ritual. It brought the gaijin samurai peace in heart to

It had been a while since Baldur had been to a stables. The wide flat expanse around them, the fields, and the smell of the horses brought back memories of riding lessons from when he was a kid. It had been, outside of SAO, years since he had ridden, even though he had used a horse inside the game a few times, it was a very different experience. But he also knew how important horses were to Lessa. So when he arrived early for their meet-up, it only made sense that he would find her here, already looking like she had spent most of the day on the farm. "Something something cliche can take t

Baldur was trying his best not to toss his team around too much as he wove through the city, avoiding clothes lines, chimneys, and balconies. So far he had been... mostly successful. The airship they were in was a little beat up, definitely needed some new paint, but it still flew at full throttle. He had not let up on it since they left. They were leaving the fighting behind somehow, even though they were flying towards it. The cannon attacks were all hypotenuse and parabolas. No one was firing a canon straight down because it would mean tipping the ship sideways, and they did not have artifi

With the pole in deep waters, Baldur slowly guided the craft towards the small wooden docks that looked up the hill towards the gate of his home, his refuge, his zen. The calm waters rippled around the boat, as red leaves floated about them, almost perfectly reflecting the sky and the canopy of trees around them like a perfect mirror. For a moment, it was as if sky and water and land were one, and just the two of them in it. "Baldur..." The name left her lips softly "Thank you." He looked down at her, no longer sure what their relationship was. Nothing had changed, but everything did

"The self is not something ready-made." A voice came out from the direction of the tournament as a new presence was felt among @Oji, @Nari-Lanreth, and @Xena. "but something in continuous formation through choice of action." Baldur stood tall, given the added benefit of being uphill, his ever present blue and white haori hung about him, sky blue save for the white flames along the hem, and the colors of sunset making up the rest of his kimono even as the sun set over the edge of his island. The tournament had finished, and while he had seen Night and Koga come this way, they appear to hav

Jason watched Snow as she repeated his ritual silently and perfectly. In spite of appearances, Baldur was not a hard line traditionalist. He didn't rigidly adhere to tradition for tradition's sake, but in moments like this, tradition kept him moving forward. It gave him the steps to take when he didn't know what to do. He had created this tradition to help him with his grief. He had avoided the wall for a while, then visited intermittently, sometimes unprepared. The reverence of his pilgrimage performed in this way gave it a weight the others had not. Funerals, and this ceremony, were more for