Aaphi

"W-WHat the fu-" Aaphi jumped back. He found himself thoroughly creeped out by what he just witnessed. Info in the monster was alerted to Aaphi's attention.

Wyralisk: A small, aviary, serpentine wyrm. It can change color to blend with its surroundings. lvl 6 monster deals 3 damage.

"You little sunova-!" he growled. This ruined his quest. "I'm gonna get you for that!" he cursed as he charged it with his spear. He managed to lay a hit down with a quick jab.

Its reeled bakc and hissed before lunging forward and striking Aaphi in the leg.

Aaphi hit Wyralisk for -2DMG. Wyralisk 13/15

Wyralisk hit Aaphi for -3DMG. Aaphi 8/11

ID:8539

For a moment, the beast lowered its guard. As its head slowly descended to gulp the water at it's feet, Aaphi began to move. Coming out into the clearing, Aaphi padded closer to the Pandafox. Food at the ready, he got  almost 5 feet from the creature before hearing something crunch under his shoe.The pandafox's fur-tufted ears perked up at the sound and whipped back to see Aaphi standing there. It gave a start and began bounding off for the edge of the forrest, but turned once more to observe his offering. It sniffed the air and widened it's eyes. 

"Come on you cute little bastard, you know you want the fishy~" Aaphi said waving it for him. 

Out from the shadows of the forest, fluttered a fit of fury. A winged serpent leaped from the brush and constrained Aaphi's potential familiar, biting it repeatedly before swallowing it whole.

Hide and sneak failed. mob detected Aaphi.

ID: 8537

Aaphi had virtual goosebumps and many reasons to have them, too. Apart from having jumped climates two or three times in an instant, the forest he had just stepped into was the one from his dream. Dimly lit forest floor, the sound of water in the distance, leaves wooshing as a cool breeze gently wafts the fresh spring air through the woods. It was like someone answered a prayer. Aaphi could see now why someone would do this. Why someone would make this place and force people to live it. It must be like answering prayers. feeling like god. Though, the only question was who Akihiko Kayaba watched and supported. Because he'd succeeded in becoming god, at least until the game is over... He will forever be etched into history as the guy who took human consciousness and the realms of perceived reality for a joy ride and gambled it on the fate of innocent lives.

Then it hit him. The animal by the lake in his dream- it could be the familiar of this quest. He crouched, low to the ground and walked softly through the brush. He stalked the sound of water like a cat, hearing it sharpen with every step. He walked until a light from a clearing pierced the shade of the trees. And there it was again. Elegant and beautiful, striped from head to tail. A fluffy-tailed Pandafox. A slender, black and white fox with a long bushy tail. He stayed just within sight of it. hidden by the edge of the forest.  It sat by the water looking around for the sources of various small noises. cautiously readying itself to be at the mercy of nature just to quench it's thirst.

Aaphi waited patiently and refused to blink.

A Forest to the north. The words rattled in his head,  A place where ice does not consume the land. 

As instructed, he headed north, into the white fury that was the frozen wastes of floor 4. On mere good faith that an NPC was giving him viable information about a quest. It was certainly viable; But was it everything? There was more crooked English in this game than a round of pool full of sharks. One did well to be careful and know what it was they were getting into. Up until this point, he'd had a beta tester, his friend Kuro, lead him through understanding the game and how it operated. But right now, he was on his own. A little afraid. It was surprising how much Aaphi must depend on Kuromado's leadership to be this rattled and exhilarated by the notion of an independent quest. This is what he missed about video games. Independence from the world in one were the only thing that mattered was reaching for the horizon.

He just wished it was warmer. Visions of the beach once again danced in his head, hoping to cause some 'mind-over-mater' effect. The world was virtual. the cold was virtual. He just had to keep that in mind. 

"I think its working..." he said, opening and closing his fists, feeling them glow with life as the chill in his bones started to fade. As much as he wanted to believe his efforts to take control of his own sensations, it was quite possible that the air itself was rich with warmth. He looked around to see that the snowfall had disappeared and the trees suddenly resembles spring in the forest. He stopped. the change was too sudden not to notice. Like missing the transition of night and day within a blink. He stepped backward two feet. The whistling gale returned all around him. and ice covered everything. The bite of the cold struck him like a swarm of bees, stabbing into him and causing him to leap forward, where it once again beamed with warm sunlight and fresh greenery. 

i don't mind! I encourage it. If more exist, it further validates my own and i don't feel so weird lol.

Before leaving town, Aaphi stopped by a local fish market. Usually heavily stocked, due to the frequent ice-fishing of the resident fishermen. There, he grabbed a few morsels with which to tempt a potential familiar. 

"Hello sir" said a swarthy, oafish man with a red mustache that took up most of his features. "What can i do for ye?" 

"I'm here for fish. Nothing fancy." Aaphi replied looking at all the different kinds. "Is there just basic fish?"

"Heres our cheapest variety." assured the man, ushering out an icy barrel. It was full of headless fish of average size.

"I'll take 5 pieces. No telling how many i actually need."

-1000 for 5 pieces of fish

Once stocked on the necessities for the quest, it was time to head that way. He had twinge of last minute worries and thought about waiting for kuromado to get back before going out on his own. 

"Nah, i'll do alright" He said, walking past the safety zone.

"I don't quite follow-"

Accept this quest?

Y/N

The question popped up on his menu, replacing the woman's face in front of him. "Okay, why not?" he said, clicking "Yes'. It disappeared to reveal that so had she. A second message appeared in their absence... 

<<Feeding the Enemy>>

Monsters will sometimes respond to the offering of food from a player in many potentially helpful ways. Creatures that follow and obay orders from players are known as Familiars. Be careful, though, some familiars tend to hurt the player trying to tame them! 

Aaphi scratched his head. "Well cool. i didn't know you could have pets on this game."

Aaphi had no intentions of staying cooped up all day, so he booked the room for another night and wandered about town. It was cold. It was so cold. Why did they come here? Aaphi abhorred low temperature climates and thats all floor 4 was. Ice. He would rather be on the beach somewhere soaking up sun by the water. But they were there looking for an alchemist. Kuromado was thinking about taking up the art. Thats what he was off doing while Aaphi stood shivering and dreaming of warm... 

"Water." said a voice behind him. "Water is where you'll find it, young man."

Aphi turned to look for who was saying it. Their voice rang in his head as if they new what he was thinking. "Excuse me?" he asked

An older woman in her late 30's dressed in provocative gypsy attire. Flowing silks and tasseled accessories that couldn't possibly be warm on this floor. Aaphi had to remind himself that she was an NPC. Thats why she had no complaint of the cold. it didn't matter to her. Under her red, satiny head band, an eye-patch covered one orb as the other, green as moss, gazed right through the man to whom she spoke. Aaphi stood in confuddlement as she walked up to him and grabbed his hand.

"You have the hands of one who shelters creatures lower than yourself." she declared in a sultry tone. "Hands that could tame even a vicious beast." She traced the lines of his hands softly with the tips of her fingers. "You could do it. But by the water, in the green forest to the north. A place where the ice does not consume the land."

I'll tell you something my old art teacher, Mr. Smith, told me. "In order to draw de' feet, you must know de' feet." I don't know what it means, but i hope it helps you.

Actually, the process i go through while drawing has a multi phase process that i'd be happy to share. i might make a visual tutorial with one of the next pieces.

Working on:

Oske

The tall grass shifted aside and parted in his wake as he crept along the dark forest floor. Sneaking silently through brush and branch around a clearing, bright with the reflection of the open sky gleaming from the surface of a large pond in the center. The water rippled as the fish nipped at insects that gracefully landed for a quick drink. Tough, he was after something much bigger than bugs. When he spotted it, he froze in his tracks and locked it within his sights. It wasn't getting away.

It sat by the water, looking from side to side, eventually dipping its head to drink. Yes. he thought, Drink. Its been a long day. Life is so carefree. Refresh yourself. rest. let your guard down. Forget yourself. Sleep. SLEEP.

The rush, as the world leaped away from him and briefly hung in the air before rushing back, was overwhelming.

"OH!" Aaphi woke up in a fit, startled from the sudden feeling of fight or flight. "Oh, holy sh-... "

It was mid day and he had slept in. Kuromado must have woken up earlier, he was nowhere to be seen. They had rented the room the night before. Groggily, Aaphi pushed himself out of bed and equipped himself for the day. 

Update time!

Finished:

Daeron

Lessa

Ariel

http://i.imgur.com/p6Cou00.png

Kiru

Aaphi Grinned. "Fair enough. " he stepped in closer and leaned down to her level, planting a kiss on her left cheek. " Thats a down payment. We can eat later." 

"Well sh**, it was worth a try." Kuro said, rising to his feet and brushing the virtual dirt from his pants. "You know its not cool to lead people on like that. Just count yourself lucky that i'm not a the kinda guy who takes offense to it." He opened his menu and toggled to the party screen. "Three's company" he said adding her to the party.

"D'ya hear that, man? She wants an Oreo" Kuro said peaking around mari to wink at Aaphi

"I think your english is slipping, cause its 'orgy', dude." Aaphi retorted.

"Naw, my english is fine, I mean Oreo."

"I give, what the fu** are you talking about?"

"DOUBLE STUFFED, YOU TWIT! MUST I SPELL IT?" Kuromado growled.

It hit Aaphi in waves. "Heh.... hehe.... Hahaha- HAHAHAHAHAHA" he laughed and his resolve shattered into pieces as he fell back onto the ground. Puns and double-entendres were his weakness.

"Jesus... Anyway, Aaphi, you in or not?"

Aaphi got back up, and wiped a tear from his eye. "Kuro, i'm out. Nobody is in. She's playing with you."

Kuromado shook his head, "Why would she do that, man, think about it. We're all consenting adults here, threesomes are fun, and its probably been a little while. A woman has needs, man, they're human too." he said in a compassionate tone of voice, "Now get your head out of your ass and help me double team this piece of meat."

"What happened to her being 'human too'?"

"Thats outside the bedroom. Inside, she's a piece of meat and we're ravenous wolves ready to eat her." Kuro said, painting a vivid picture, " Actually, you handle the fine dining, the grunt works your responsibility."

Aaphi rolled his eyes...

"Oh?" Aaphi said "Oh really? You like The Morning Howl? Thats great, its always nice to meet a fan. Okay... um...." He was looking around for something to write on when Kuromado interrupted.

"Well i can tell you haven't been famous for long." he said, "What are you waiting for, the lady wants an autograph." He swiftly opened his menu and took a selfy with the screenshot function. When the picture materialized on the counter, he scribed his name, 'Kaoru Shinji', at the bottom. "There you go, hun. And as for the Merch,... hmmm.... " He grabbed a pair of unlikely sunglasses off of a rack of head accessories. "Okay. Now that feels much better"

Item: Sun Glasses

Item type : Vanity Item 

Quality: Good

Enhancement: None
Shop: The Lion's Den

Description : Dark shades for those either wary of the sun or desperate to mask the signs of recent drug use.

(Yeah, he's real, secondary to my main character, but no less real. Nice of you to recognize him.)

Aaphi reeled around at the sound of the shop owner's voice, gloves still in his hands. There was no pressure to make a decision right then and there,but at the moment he had made up his mind and knew that this was the purchase he wanted to make.

"Uh, yeah," He said, approaching her counter, " I'd like to know what you'll take for these" He placed them on the counter in front of her and opened his menu, readying a transaction.

"'The Lion's Den'" Aaphi read out loud, standing outside of a tailor's shop on the 4th floor. He and Kuromado Had been walking around the settlement gathering provisions for another crack at the dungeons and the flashy gold sign had caught his eye.

"A tailor shop, by the looks of it." Kuro elaborated, " It wouldn't hurt to have a look around. We're severely unequipped."

"Speak for yourself." Aaphi commented, jokingly implying a different inference.

"Oh, ha-ha, very cute."

As they stepped in, a tiny bell jingled overhead alerting their presence in the establishment. The shop was filled with exotic articles of clothing fitting for a fantasy-style role playing game. Aaphi and Kuro split up in search for things that would benefit them(and maybe even look nice). While looking, Aaphi spots several things that would be good in one way or another, but nothing had yet spoken to his needs personally until... 

"Oh wow." he said, handling a pair of shimmering, fingerless gloves. Something about them appealed to him greatly. Then he read the description.

Cobra strikers: Gloves made from the reflective hide of a dagger-spitting cobra. While imbued with the life taking essence of the cobra, the light they reflect guides the wearer towards their enemy, adding a boost of accuracy and overall visibility.

Really nice work!  I miss drawing :(

theres a simple way to fix that.... DRAWMORE! lol

But, really, i find a good way to keep yourself drawing is to give your drawing purpose. give yourself a reason to draw something every day. I fell into a slump for almost two years where i barely drew at all. Here and there, i'd work on something old, or start something new and never finish it. and this would happen MAYBE once a month if i was feelin it. Before this, i was part of THE community of people who drew in numerous threads on 4chan known as the "Drawwhores". We had our own board separate from 4chan called Drawchan, and back in the day that place was bumpin'. I would draw several things daily, i would keep up entire conversations and complicated story arks between my characters and the characters of others with hundreds and hundreds of image posts.

This taught me that drawing A LOT is the only way to get any good, and drawing CONTINUOUSLY is the only way to stay good. And when the activity started going downhill hafter years of drawesomeness, i fell out of it and stopped drawing almost completely. Later, i landed a career that pretty much required me to draw every day again, and before i knew it, i was drawing like i used to. finishing projects, putting effort and enthusiasm and spirit into my work again. 

So my advice to all the artists lurking the thread, Cindel, Mari, even Brayden and whoever else: Draw often; draw hard; study. And by study, i don't mean squish your face in a book, i mean examine the world around you and examine various pieces of work and the styles used to make them closely, critically. Take mental (or physical) notes on what you see and think about how it can be expressed with line, value and color. You can do it. you just have to want it enough to do it a lot.

As they made their way out of the establishment, Aaphi favored a fleeting wink to a short haired performer that he'd noticed eyeing him during her song. Some other time, perhaps, if they made it back.

After securing some provisions, they left town for the dungeon that lead to the second floor. Walking quite a ways north, they encountered little to no monsters and passed by some very ambient scenery. All in all the trip seemed like a picnic, what with the leisurely scenic stroll. They told jokes, short anecdotes of the life they had before, stories of friends they new. There was much that was pleasant to talk about, but then they reached the gate of the dungeon.

"Oh wow..." Aaphi commented in awe. The heavy door lead to a long, pitch black staircase that traveled upwards to a longer corridor lit by torches.

"Yep, thats it." Indicated Kuro, as he started walking in. " Oh, man, i can't wait!" he looked back at Aaphi who stood stationary at the entrance. "Aren't you coming?"

"I..." Aaphi hesitated. He balked like a spooked horse, at the site of the confining stone walls within. Trapped. he thought. "Don't dungeons go underground?" he asked buying himself a few sweet seconds of fresh air.

"Well, yeah. And techically, this DOES go underground. If you start at the top floor." Kuro said, now thinking about it more closely himself, "If you consider that, then we're all underground and trying to get to the top so we can get out."

Aaphi hadn't considered that at all. The thought struck a nerve in him and he was suddenly much more willing to enter. He practically ran up the stairs.

"Thatta' boy! Save some for me, will ya?!" Kuro grunted, mistaking Aaphi's desperate urge to escape for sudden enthusiasm.

Though, it might have been a little of both. 

Now, at a time like this, any hard core fantasy junkie who wouldn't know a vulva from a Volvo would have been too flustered to think. But what Mari didn't realize what that she was sitting on a lap that was well used to being warmed by the bottoms of many a screaming band groupie. Due to his status in the current music industry, he was no stranger to the fervent pantings of ambitious female adorers. Which also meant he was easily fooled by her attempt to seem interested. In his eyes, it was hook-line-and-sinker.

"Naw, baby, you got us all wrong, Or me, at least." he sad, delicately curling a hand around her mid-thigh. " I'm one hundred percent, tested and approved, straight as an arrow. Him on the other hand..." he leaned in to whisper. "Well the ear rings a dead give away, aint it?"

Aaphi on the other hand was growing uncomfortable. Not so much because flirtation and  amorousness was any newer to him, but because he could tell what was going on and didn't know where it was really headed. About the time he was meaning to speak up, however, Kuromado made the comment about his ear-ring which he could clearly hear. So instead, he crossed his arms and let his friend hang himself.

"Theeee.... joy of our company?" Aaphi asked, unsure of how the tables had just turned. He worded their offer the way he did to avoid this 'quid pro quo' type of conversation.

Kuro interrupted now that he saw they're intentions had been exposed. " I see, i see, now we're talking business." he said, stroking his chin and nodding his head, " Very well then. I'll do it. But only if you help us out and keep us from dying. But i'll say this, you only get me for the night, and NO kissing on the mouth. Its rule."

Aaphi berried his face in his hands and shook his head.

Le gasp! These are beautiful, oh my goshies! I’d love to have a picture of myself to start… I am willing to wait of course! I’d like full color and all the beautiful shading and such, as everyone else has been getting.

Here is a reference of me:

http://catsglade.deviantart.com/art/SAOske-Again-501159584

And here is a reference of my sword:

http://catsglade.deviantart.com/art/Silver-Wing-433775013

 

I don’t really care what the pose is, as long as it fits my character… I’m not the most outgoing, and in fact I’m rather shy and anxious. I’m willing to pay whatever it takes! I also may be ordering one for Pepper later on…

D'aaw. though i'm afraid i might ruin your character's cuteness with my style's interpretation, i'll totally give it a shot!

And don't worry everybody, i'm almost done with the ones i currently have on my plate. I just took a break from drawing to get my feet wet in the RP boards.

Kuro laughed as well, "You know what MY fetish is?" He said, darkening his expression, keeping a sly grin curled up.

"D- Do i wanna know?" Aaphi asked, really heavily considering plugging his ears with his fingers, then thought about how that would work in this game. If you muffled your mouth, would people still hear what you were saying? Is there a physics engine for sound waves in this virtual world or was sound something fed into your brain with code? His thoughts drifted for a second before being interrupted.

"Dungeons."

Aaphi blinked. "You like S&M?... i wouldn't have pegged you for the type... I mean, Kaoru does sound like a pervy name, i guess. I can't put my finger on why, but-"

"No!" Kuromado cut him off, "No, you pinhead, i mean going into dungeons and fighting monsters. I'm trying to say lets go do that."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Delicious!" Aaphi rang out after taking a bite of his lunch.

Mid-day, in a town on the first floor, Two lively souls were helping themselves to the first real meal they've had since Aincrad became their new home. It was a refreshing change of pace from day old bread and butter. Although it burned a small whole in a persons pocket to eat well, they had recently come into a sum of money.

"RIght? Who said gambling never pays off." Kuromado agreed, "Losers, that's who."

The day before, while looking for fair game to grind on and level with, Aaphi and Kuro stumbled on what could only be described as an Aincrad cock-fighting event. Only instead of roosters, the players were betting on the outcome of fights between wild monsters. The opportunity to take what little col they had and have a good time with it was too much temptation for either of them to handle, so naturally, they put in for a round. What they didn't expect was to win the pot and walk away with several times what they put in.

"I think its because of my lucky socks. they must still have them on me at the hospital." Aaphi said making sense of it. "I always won big at the pool hall when i wore them."

"I'd hate to see what they smell like now. Its been a week." Kuromado groaned through a grimace, "It must be like a dumpster full of dead cats by now, but if this is the result, your nurse better learn to wear a gas-mask when she checks on you, cause we're keepin' em'."

Aaphi laughed at the image in his mind of a nurse in a gas mask. "Smelly feet and all, that sounds like some weird fetish."

Jesus Christ I never inquired any of that Mari, well I guess i will be keeping my mouth shut from now on.

you don't need to shut your mouth, you need to open your mind. By thinking and professing that homosexuality is a conscious choice, you imply a lot of things that just don't add up. Wittingly or ignorantly, you did "inquire" that homosexuals chose the shock to their lives that society poses on them for being who they feel. Homosexuals do not, absolutely, positively, DO NOT chose to be gay. The only choice being made is by other people and its about how to treat them and whether or not they'll let their own personal values influence a gay person's life. 

Im not saying you're the type of person to judge someone for their sexual orientation, i'm just saying you validate people who do when you support the claim that someone can CHOSE their sexual orientation. It opens a door to a loooot of discrimination. People are people. They fu** what they think is pretty. If we stop drawing lines in the sand we can start playing on the beach together and having a good time. We can even play volleyball. And don't worry, i'll still like you no matter what team you're on.

I notice that all of the evidence to support opposition of this theory boils down to "But he loves ASUNA, silly~". 

1.) Kieth's point was speculation about the intended ambiguity of Kirito's sexual orientation prior to that development. You guys just didn't read him hard enough. 

2.) Writers often change their mind about certain things and do them differently for publication, compromising their original artistic vision for a better chance at success. As an artist, i know the dilemma well. Sometimes you can catch when this happens in a story if you read wide context with a little comprehension. Oftentimes, these changes don't sit well with an artist and they throw the original content at you in the form of what we like to call "SUBTEXT".

Subtext is an indirect undertone or implication of a concept or feeling through various methods of imagery, word use, and symbolism. Though never explicitly divulged by the characters or the author, it is still there and in the background. An elephant in the room that... somehow doesn't get noticed by some people. Its regularly only caught by individuals who can recognize subtle patterns and details.

9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB!!!

oh..... sorry, where did that come from? Yeesh....