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[F1-PP] Relaxation Station [Kirbs]


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There weren't many places outside of the Town of Beginnings that August enjoyed relaxing in, besides the ever-present threat of death, all of the terrain outside of the starting town just blended together for the most part. There was one spot however that August had discovered one day while walking back from an exploration. It was the top of a hill roughly twenty minutes hike from the town entrance. The thing special about this hill was that it was a fair ways away from any areas that had mob spawning so he was safe to nap here. However, the threat of other players still loomed over his head so he had to be careful. One other appealing factor about this hill was that it was fairly high up so it had possible one of the most captivating views of the entire first floor. The many scattered forests and plains that covered the surface of the giant green circle. He had been coming here fairly regularly for at least a few weeks at this point, however had hadn't encountered anyone else. In August's eyes this was a blessing, he could come here to be alone as well as to relax, however he could concede that this did make him feel lonely at times, as he was sure that Jack would have loved this spot as much as he did. Now was not the time to be thinking about those kinds of things however. As well as Jack enjoying this spot as much as he did, August was sure that Jack would have wanted August to enjoy it as well, which meant getting his head out of depressing thoughts.

It was one of those days where you didn't do much of anything, and August planned to keep it that way. A day where he didn't go collect any materials or go out fighting mobs. You know what would make this extra grand! A picnic! August thought to himself. However he didn't have any food or any company. Actually, company would have been quite nice on this fine afternoon, however August didn't know of anyone to invite at this given time, so he guessed that he would have to wait for someone to come along

@Kirbs

 

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Kirbs kicked a patch of grass with a bored look. She had come out of the safe zone to find something to do, though she hasn’t had much luck at all. The player had been walking around aimlessly for the past two hours, in search of something to do. She couldn’t hang out with anyone since her friends list was as empty as  cash register that’s just been robbed. She couldn’t go to the high floors since she was the same level as a bee, probably much less even that. So she’s practically been wandering around the floor, in search of something to do. 

It wasn’t until later did she find out that walking around with no intentions of doing anything would be absolutely useless, so she went to a large hill not too far away from the central town. Great, what am I going to do now? I’m just as bored as I was two hours ago.

@Cr0wnS

 

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Lying down on his back and staring up at the roof of the floor above him, August was about to drift off to sleep, however he heard the familiar sounds of a player approaching and quickly got up and reached for his blade. The player that approached was a female about his age however she was slightly shorter than he was. Seeing this he relaxed the grip on his sword slightly, however he still kept his hand on his sword as it wasn't someone he knew and they were outside of the safe zone. Upon second glance August couldn't help but notice the cuteness of the girl that was approaching him. In all his time on this hill he had never actually encountered another player, so perhaps she had followed him. No that wouldn't make any sense, otherwise she would have caught up with him ages ago, or at least he might have noticed it. He was acting weird so she was certain to get suspicious of him, therefor, the best course of action was to at the very least introduce himself. "Hi there, nice to finally see someone else out here." August didn't want to spook her, so he thought maybe a natural introduction would be best. "My username is <<CrownS>>, I don't think I've seen you around before, nice to meet you. I'm kinda just sitting here so, if you want to join me feel free." He gestured to where he was previously sitting, inviting her to sit.

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Kirbs jumped at the sound of the voice, apparently not realizing that there were other people here.  Right... I'm not the only one here. She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded her head, "r-right, I usually stay inside the safe zone. Uh, my name is Kirbs, and nice to meet you too," she smiled nervously at him and coughed into her elbow. "Oh, okay. Sure, I can sit for a good amount of time... I guess." Kirbs pressed her lips into thin lines as she sat on the grass. "Mhm, comfy. The grass is nature's pillows... hehe," she chuckled awkwardly as she inwardly groaned at herself. Why are you so bad at first impressions Eve?! Come on woman! Up your crappy game! She gulped and sweat dropped as she looked at him. "My name is Kirbs by the way..." she paused, taking the moment to palm herself in the head. Wow, I really am dumb. I just practically told him my name twice, good job Evelyn!

@Cr0wnS

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The girl seemed about as socially adept as August was, and she probably felt the same surprise and reservation that he did. What do I do now? August thought to himself as he sat down. D...Did she say her name twice? He caught himself thinking, maybe he had just heard her wrong and she didn't, either way he laid back and resumed staring at the stone ceiling above him. "Yeah I normally stay inside the town of beginnings, but every now and then I come out to here. There aren't any mob spawns around here so I usually don't get interrupted. I haven't seen any players pass through here either, so that would make you the first." It was a stroke of lucky that someone had come by just as he was feeling lonely. However the view was a little disappointing, "I kinda wish we could see the actual sky, instead of this stone one" he accidentally blurted out without realising, August's thoughts had drifted off as per usual. He turned his head towards the girl, even though asking about real names was considered rude, he wasn't sure about the stigma in regards to usernames, "So you said your username was Kirbs, right? Has that got anything to do with the video game character?" Without thinking about it, one could see how this could be considered as rude.

@Kirbs

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She felt her mouth twitch nervously, hoping that he didn’t catch her very, very prominent slip up. “I feel, uhm... honored that I’d be the first person you’d see out here?” She chuckled skittishly, saying it as of more like a question. She solemnly nodded at his statement, feeling the same thing. “You’re right, it kinda sucks,” she pressed her mouth together and sighed soon after. I never noticed that the sky was like that actually. Guess I’ve been too scared to notice everything, huh? Again, why am I talking to no one?! Why can’t my thoughts properly form themselves into actual phrases that come out of my stinking mouth?! “Why am I still yelling in my blasted head?!” Crud. “Did you hear something? I heard something! Yeah, probably a... squirrel. Yeah, a squirrel!” She took in a sharp breath as she practically embarrassed herself. “Oh, yeah. You’re actually one of the first people to notice that.” That’s because you never tell anyone your blasted name. “But yeah, it is named after Kirby, heheh..”

@Cr0wnS

 

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August let out a hearty laugh, he had never met someone as...Interesting? As this girl appeared to be. It was clear to him that she was nervous, however he was unsure why she was. It seemed as though she was talking to herself rather than him, which made him raise his eyebrow slightly, "Yeah definitely a squirrel" he said, trying to sooth her discomfort by going along with her story. However he couldn't stifle his laugh, and felt slightly bad, as she could take ti as him making fun of her. With an awkward cough, he moved on, "I thought so! I used to love those games as a kid, well I'm still a kid I guess but when I was really young I used to play those games on the old handheld Nintendo consoles." The memories of these games brought back a wave of feelings that he hadn't felt since he was a young child. His parents bought him a Nintendo Gameboy Advance and one of the games that came with it was one of the old Kirby games. "I can't say my name is based on anything in particular. I chose it when I was young because it sounded cool. Now that I think about it, people have made fun of me for it. But it kinda just stuck so, its my name on everything." It was true that his name was chosen at random, however he liked the name and he used it in every other game he played, so perhaps he would run into someone who recognised him eventually.

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She feigned a giggle and nodded her head, "uhm, yeah. It was definitely a squirrel, no doubt bout' it." Kirbs coughed into her shoulder awkwardly as she watched him contain his laughter.  Do I really sound that stupid? She frowned, wanting to pull her hair straight out of her bloody scalp. "Yeah, I still played with Nintendo a lot before well... I got stuck here," she said blankly, not sure if she should make her sentence more depressing or brighter. "I had a bunch of old consoles, but I always had some kind of handheld one with me. It was practically as precious to me as my phone," she chuckled. "It's original I guess, so that adds a bit of depth into it," Kirbs shrugged. "Ever since I found out what Kirby was, it stuck with me for a while. The names, the art, the games, all of it." Kirbs puffed out her cheeks, "but it's not original like yours I guess."

@Cr0wnS

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August felt bad for laughing, he realised that she was obviously embarrassed so he decided to control himself a bit more. "Yeah I always found buying old handhelds and restoring them to be fascinating. I have no idea how they work but I love taking them a part and then replacing old parts or putting in upgrades. I had one of those old gameboys and I put a backlit screen into it from videos online." He was proud of his work however he must have sounded like a massive nerd, getting all excited about the inner workings of a video game console. He let out an awkward cough and continued on with his little spiel, "I can understand that, I never really used my phone for much, social media wasn't really my thing before coming here I guess, still isn't." He stared off into space, his mind wandering slightly from the conversation. The first floor had a wall around it, however this wall was only a few dozen metres high, so a lot of the light from outside shone into the landscape. August stared out at the empty void, from here all he could see was the blue and white of the sky and clouds outside of the giant floating castle. Keying back into the conversation, he found her observation a little odd, "I wouldn't call it original to be honest, I'm sure there are hundreds of people in this game that have some variation of the word <<Crown>>, plus I think Kirbs is a nice name, it's nostalgic." He sighed and smiled,  "Although to be honest the thing that I remember most about the games is that Kirby just ate and ate and ate, but I'm sure that's not what you were going for." 

@Kirbs

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"You're right!" she nodded her head frantically. "I feel like an old grandma now! No one plays with handhelds anymore," Kirbs pouted, shaking her head with a sigh. "Kids these days have no idea what they're missing out on. With their fancy schmancy iPads and iPhones!" She mimicked the voice of an old lady. "Back in my day, there were no screens you could touch! Everything was processed through buttons... and stuff." Kirbs heaved. "I miss my Gameboy." She nodded her head, "yeah. I never liked social media. I mean, you're basically taking pictures of yourself and posting them on the internet! And for what? A few digital hearts and thumbs ups? Makes no sense if you ask me!" Kirbs exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it' still a nice name..." she chuckled. "I mean, I like food!" she defended her favorite video game character of all time. "Plus, Kirby is adorable. Why wouldn't you want to be called Kirby?"

@Cr0wnS

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August looked away slightly, "Sorry! I didn't mean to say the name wasn't good! I like Kirby, its just, thats kind of the main mechanic of the old games." August wasn't quite sure what part of his comment might have offended her but he wanted to play it safe. "I quite like food too! Although I haven't actually had anything in this game that tastes anything like my favourite foods. The basic bread you can buy from NPCs doesn't taste good, and there isn't much else you can buy around here. I should get cooking but instead I think I'm going to get blacksmithing. Maybe if I can find someone who gets cooking I'd have to pay them to make me delicious meals." August laughed at the prospect, it was a bit stupid to consider enjoying things in this game like the taste of food, but while they were here, he thought that he might as well try to enjoy the simpler aspects of the system. "So what else do you enjoy doing? I obviously haven't seen you around before, so what have ya been spending your time doing? I've hung around in the town of beginnings for the better part of a year, or however long its been, I've kinda lost track of time." August stared off into space as he said this, his mind yet again wandering off as he lost his train of thought.

@Kirbs

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“Hm. I dunno, i just liked turning into different things all the time,” she giggled. “There’s always a bunch of new characters so you never know what you’re gonna get.” Kirbs nodded her head, “Yeah. I’d kill for a bit of food from home. Now, I’m originally from the U.K., but I never really liked the food there,” she mumbled. “Would you like some tea and crumpets, mate?” She put on her best British accent and straightened her back. She laugh and relaxed, “but yeah, never really liked tea to be honest. My mom made a bunch of Japanese food though, and I found that to be pretty tasty.” She clapped her hands together and grinned at him, “oh, oh. I know just the perfect cook. His name is Black, and he owns a shop called The Ichiban Restaurant, you should really try it out. There’s a bunch of foods there that taste really good.”

Kirbs ponders for a bit before shrugging her shoulders, “I liked gaming a lot back in the real world. I liked doing art too, but that wasn’t as fun as Nintendo,” the player grinned boyishly. “Uh, I don’t know what I’ve been doing for the past year or so. I guess I’ve been hanging out in floor one too.” 

@Cr0wnS

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"Fair enough, its been a while since I've played them, so I can't exactly say I remember the games pixel for pixel." August joined her laugh, "There isn't exactly anything like that in this game, they're completely different entities, and on a completely different scale. But, I think they both have their appeal, and some people will like older handhelds and some people will like the virtual reality games that will probably already have come out, well..." After he said this, he realised that perhaps the negative publicity from SAO would kill the market for the NerveGear and thereby the market for virtual reality games. August could tell that Kirbs was clearly from the UK, it was probably one of the most recognisable accents, despite there being many of them. "If you asked me what kind of food the UK was known for, I think crumpets is all I could tell you about", he laughed and continued, "although to be fair, I think the US is mainly just a combination of a bunch of different kinds of foods that aren't originally from there. Unless you're counting all the disgusting creations that people make. Ew." The amount of deep-fried, oil filled foods that he had seen at some of the more popular fast food chains made his stomach churn. "Oh cool as! What kind of art? I did some scribbles as a kid but that's about it." August thought about it for a second, but it baffled him completely that every player that was still alive in the game was a completely different individual with their own lives and interests back in the real world. Say...What made you want to play SAO anyway?" August had always had an interest in MMOs and video games in general, they provided him with a way of socialising that he would be unable to do outside of them.

@Kirbs

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“I’m pretty sure I can tell you about every Nintendo game there is!” She said proudly. Actually, I’m not sure if I should be proud of that. “I mean, no doubt. Virtual reality is really, really cool. But sometimes, you can beat the old. Like those American 80’s and 90’s songs. You can try to make them again, but it just won’t be the same,” Kirbs shrugged. “Like, there’s just a certain feel to it that doesn’t make it the same, y’know?” She turned to him expectantly, stars in her eyes from talking about what she cherished most. “I mean, I think I’ve tried a few American foods. Do hamburgers and hotdogs count? I mean, you see them in the U.K., sure. But they serve them a lot in America, no? Oh yeah, I’ve seen American people deep fry hose Oreo cookies! I mean, Oreos are awesome... but deep frying them is a bit too much,” her face scrunched up in disgust. It’s like diabetes in one food. “I don’t know, I just liked doing it. Helped me relax after I raged in a game or something,” she chuckled sheepishly. “I did a lot of pencil sketching, but I liked acrylic painting a lot too.” Kirbs grinned cheerily. Kirbs shrugged, giving her most basic answer, “I honestly jsut wanted to try something new. I was never really interested in those mainstream games so I figured SAO would be the quickest way to get out there.”

@Cr0wnS

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"You'll have to tell me about some of them sometime then!" Truth be told, the extent to August's retro video game knowledge was surface level for the most part. He had specific knowledge about a few games but not any as a whole. He was immediately embarrassed that his country was known for the fast food industry, "Well, I suppose you could count those as American, but I suppose they're so widespread at this point that it can hardly be called anything. But okay wow, deep fried Oreos does not sound appealing in the slightest. You know, I heard this story once of a woman who deep fried a stick of butter. I don't know how, or why, but she just had this deep fried gooey mess. It almost made me puke just watching the video." Recalling back to it, the memory almost made him puke as well. "One of my friends was really into drawing before we came into this game, and he was really good at it too! He did fan art and stuff and I think he even managed to sell some of it for a few dollars here and there. I think you two would get along." August didn't want to make it clear that he was talking about his dead best friend, and he didn't particularly want to elaborate on it further than that, however he was certain there would be follow up questions that he would have to answer. "Hm, interesting. I have to say though, it's a bit of a deep dive to say the least. Nothing like anything I've ever played before. Not even other MMOs. Despite the obvious downsides, I kinda hope that you enjoy it. MMOs are a ton of fun, and I'm sure that this game would have been too, had it not been the way it is." August was sure that after the game was cleared, someone on the internet would manage to recreate it in a different form, without the obvious threat of death.

@Kirbs

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Kirbs nodded her head, excited to finally find someone who shared her interests. Many of people she had met in SAO weren't even gamers, so it was a breath of fresh air to finally find someone who knew at least something about video games. "I suppose you're right, but I don't really like them. I was considering to become a vegetarian before I actually got stuck here," she chuckled, not mentioning that she would honestly just eat potato chips and soda most of the time. "But I know right?! It's so gross. You're basically making butter more unhealthy than it already is! I mean, butter is fine with other things... but eating it just by itself is gross and weird!" She stuck out her tongue bitterly and groaned. "I may not be the most healthiest eater, but I know my limits." She frowned but quickly shrugged it off. "Oh really? We should meet him sometime, I could really exchange some art tips with a fellow artist!" she babbled, not realizing that he had purposely stopped talking about the subject. She stopped rambling and nodded her head. "It is fun, I just miss reality a bit y'know? Life is a hell lot easier in here though, if I must say."

@Cr0wnS

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August looked solemn for a brief moment, "Yeah I'm sure he'd like that..." However he quickly snapped out of it. "As much as I appreciate eating healthy, I don't think I could become a vegetarian, no offence of course, but meat is probably the most tasty thing. When its not processed and full of oil and surrounded by a bunch of fake cheese and stale buns. I can't really call myself a chef but I tend to prefer cooking my own meals to eating at McDonalds." He let out an embarrassed little chuckle, "unfortunately I'm also lazy, so I tend to just lie in bed and pig out on chips." August put a wide smile on his face, although this was not something to exactly be proud of. Kirbs was right, and August couldn't deny it that life was much easier in here, "Hm, funny about that. I think beyond it being easier, its a completely different experience. Like, in real life I would probably never pick up a sword, and I certainly wouldn't use it in the way that I've been using it in here." He wasn't exactly an "outdoorsy" kid, and most of the things he enjoyed doing, could be done from the comfort of his desk or bed. However, he also couldn't deny that he missed life outside of this castle. "How long do you think we'll be stuck in here?" This was probably a question many people asked themselves, and one that August asked himself very often, although he had never asked another person before. Perhaps it would be considered rude and put a damper on the conversation, "aah, personally, I don't think we'll be in here too much longer. The clearing group will get stronger and we'll start steamrolling through floors."

@Kirbs

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"My brothers and dad love meat, but my mum was a vegetarian. But I never really ate meat." Probably because I was too lazy to even get out of my room, she admitted sheepishly to herself. "I never really ate at fast food places. I couldn't drive yet either, so going there would be a sort of a waste of time." She chuckled at his similar lifestyle to hers. "Right, my room is where the magic happens. Consoles and devices everywhere!" she threw up her hands in the air with a giggle. She gave a 'sadistic' cackle, "I dunno... I might pick up a sword or two in real life for a few people I know..." she grinned devilishly. "But I guess holding a sword in SAO would be very different from holding one in real life," Kirbs admitted. She never really liked associating with people, especially outside of her room. She would much rather talk to people behind the screen in her cozy little bed. Kirbs shrugged solemnly, "well... we've been here for two years and have only defeated twenty-two floors, so we have quite a lot of time..."

@Cr0wnS

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"Well hopefully I don't come on the receiving end of one of those swords." He laughed to match her evil grin, not realising that she might not have been joking. "Well, I suppose you're right...That's kind of why I want to join the front lines, although I'm weak now I can improve a lot, and fast. The players on the front lines are such a high level, although if I try hard enough I reckon I can catch up." He lay down on his back and stared up at the giant stone ceiling above him. "I do get scared though. When this game first started me and a friend joined together, although once it was revealed what happened we did what most players did and stayed in the town of beginnings," He sighed, "Eventually we ventured out however, and we made it kinda far, although we ran into a very powerful mob and well..." August didn't finish his sentence, he quickly sat up flustered, "Ahh, but I reckon I could overcome it if it meant clearing the game faster. I've even started fighting low level mobs! Baby steps I guess." August looked at Kirbs properly for the first time, she seemed about his age, maybe a bit younger, however she was shorter than him. Most of the people he had run into in the game had been roughly around his age.

August had heard rumors of younger children being in the game, however he hadn't seen any as of yet. "Did you know there are kids in this game? Like, I know we're kids, but I mean young kids. I spent a bunch of time in the Town of Beginnings and its amazing what you can hear from the random strangers walking around. I wouldn't call it eavesdropping, talking loudly in a public space doesn't really provide you much privacy. There aren't many, but apparently the majority of them are still in the Town of Beginnings. I can't imagine being much younger than I am now and being trapped in here. That would be traumatic." He hadn't intended the conversation to take such a dark tone, however he quickly realised how he had dampened the mood, "Hopefully we clear the game soon for their sake ey! I'm sure they're being taken care of by someone." He tiled his head so that he could see out the side of the castle, into the giant blue abyss. "So what was life like for you before you came into the game? Haven't really asked too many personal questions, but you seem fun so, might like to get to know you better, I guess." August turned a deep shade of crimson and looked away, he had never really been that forthcoming, so this was a pretty big step for him. 

@Kirbs

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  • 4 weeks later...

"Yeah, being on the front lines must be cool, huh? You're like, the most badass and powerful people in SAO, hard to believe there are people our age up there, huh?" She smiled softly as she leaned back on her hands. "I guess we'd have to train super hard, no pain, no gain, right?" She said goofily as she grinned at him. "Oh, sweet. I bet you kicked that monster's arse real hard!" She pounded her fist in her palm. "That's pretty cool! If you do that, you'll be in the front lines in no time!" Kirbs assured him and chuckled at his flustered state. "Yeah, baby steps."

"Hm, I think I've seen a few young kids around here. I heard there's a lot though, never saw much. I figured they'd ban together or something," she snickered, finding the idea of a guild filled with children hilarious. "But yeah, I feel like the little kids are depending on the other ones, I find that pretty cool, to be honest." She shrugged her shoulders, "same old, really. it was pretty boring. Just a regular kid who got stuck in a video game," she chuckled humorously to herself as she said that. "What about you?"

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