Zeke

Zeke thought about what the girl had said while staring out of the window. (I think I might be able to grasp your personality. You're young, but to be so reckless and still alive? You probably make more friends with a brash attitude, but I hope you don't let them sacrifice too much of themselves for you.) He turned around from the view of the snow to say something in response to the girl's words, but her uncomfortable encounter with the blacksmith had left him wanting to laugh a bit. In order to keep up appearances that he was more mature than the girl he had saved, Zeke stayed quiet about what he had seen. Choosing to ignore it, he instead went on to say what he had originally intended to. "You're right. I should've thought ahead in the moment and I didn't. I apologize to if I came across as rude to you when I said what I did. I can imagine what I would have thought in your position, and I would have likely done the same thing."

Heading over near the downed girl, Zeke sat with his back upon the stone wall of the furnace, relaxing on the opposite side of the blacksmith from where the girl was. "Can you please give me some sort of name for me to call you? I don't want to have to keep referring to you as 'her, or girl' in my head. Anything is fine, even if it's a nickname, that way you won't have to worry about me knowing your real name." Very soon after he had finished asking his question, the blacksmith NPC had given him the same treatment as he had earlier given the girl, by basically tea-bagging him with the position he stood in. Indifferent to the man-crotch in his face, Zeke pretended as if it were not two inches from his face and proceeded to yawn. The towering character would soon move, but it was a sight to behold from a certain angle. 

The rare times my character does fight anything, I imagine it like he is really loose with his movements. It's swift but lazy in a way that you can dodge fairly easier and surprise the opponent with hard and heavy blows to weak spots, but this is done with a sword in mind.

(Armadillo, Armadillo, why does that name sound so familiar?) A player thought to himself, before he would squeeze through an opening along the destroyed wooden fence in front of him. The fencing appeared to be stretching around the entire town of Armadillo, but it was obviously not keeping anything away with the of the state of repair it was in. Instead, one could either assume it was no longer a necessary measure of defense and had been worn down by time, or that it was simply an atmospheric detail to give players a deeper sense of immersion inside the game. Either way, the partings in the fence posts left many entrances to the safe zone for players who liked cutting corners, which was something many would probably do here because of the intense heat that existed only on this floor, and maybe some of those that were still unexplored up above. 

This player wandering into town was probably the most noticeable right now out of anyone because of the long and thick coat that he wore contently. His face was bathed in sweat, while the expression on it only gave a look of indifference. Both of his hands were dug deep into the coat pockets, they were being clenched tight as if holding onto gold coins that were far too precious for him to let spill out, and his feet carried him like someone who had no knowledge of what an acceptable walking speed was; added the distinction that the way he walked was not well thought out, and his face was aimed up towards the sun to keep the long and soaking wet hair of his from getting in the way. All of these factors considered, the man would look like some sort of psychopath if observed by the right kind of person. "So bright out..." The suspicious looking visitor spoke to himself in the usual volume someone would apply during conversations, chuckling louder after he registered how out of it he was, a slight smile forming from his lips.

Thanks to the sincerest form of luck, the wet mess of a person began stumbling towards a tavern without bumping into any unkind people along the way, sparing him a chance to meet anyone who would likely be displeased with the heat as much as he was. "Shade..." The male found himself a nice, dark corner of the room after letting everyone in the place know exactly what he was seeking, easing the word out of his mouth within a somewhat gargled and lazy groan. Unfortunately for him, the chair and table he chose to sat at was pretty much only there for one person to sit at on the opposite side from the one occupied, as the chair he used was placed right in front of a bounty board with a singular person standing in front of it. He gladly would have escorted himself over to the other side, but it was a tad too late for that, as the person standing there previously had already been accidentally shoved by the left side of the player's sweat-covered body during his butt's search for the wooden surface. 

The attempt to knock him off of his feet was incredibly weak just like the girl who was now kicking back to life, and since she was blinded by the coat on her face, he figured he would let it pass until she could at least see why someone was holding her down. "If I let you go instantly, you would instantly become ashes." He spoke to her in a calm voice so she would maybe think again before trying to kick his legs off. A certain chuckle quickly came and faded at her humorous escape.

Getting up with her still restrained at the shoulders by his hands, the man forced her to sit down with her back against the stone wall of the furnace, revealing her surroundings afterwards with a removal of his coat from her head. "Don't act so reckless next time. Look at your health, it's almost entirely depleted because you passed out in the snow outside." Putting his coat back on, he walked over to a window and opened it. It was way too hot for him inside of the room with the furnace making him sweat profusely, so maybe enough snow against his face would help. 

"My name is Zeke, ferocious." He spoke loud enough to where he was sure she could hear him, despite his body being turned away from her and his head sticking out of the window. You could tell he was strange if you knew him well enough, for he trusted her not to do anything funny while he had his back turned, but also not enough to give her a last name. Excluding a last name would be normal for anyone else, but he almost always spoke his full name when introducing himself to anyone else, unsure if anyone from his past even caught on to this strange detail. A reason for the exclusion would probably be that he was deeply uncertain as to what this girl's mindset could cause her to do, having never met someone like her as someone he would talk to up front. 

Just as he turned around from cooling off, the blacksmith came into the room with a piece of metal in his hands, it could easily be presumed that this was the next creation of the famous unnamed blacksmith: 'tall man with dark skin and a full beard.' Since the NPC was dense as all heck, the giant man did not have the intelligence to know when a girl was right in his way. In what would be an hilarious result, the NPC stood uncomfortably close to the strange girl, only acknowledging her existence when his programming required that he avoid colliding with players. 

Welcome to the site, friend. That'll be ten dollars a month plus another ten on holidays. 

Even someone like him, how could he do anything else other than react in the same way as any other normal person would? To run over and check up on the person, concern wasn't exactly his motivation. He had yet to fully understand who this person was, but knew that chances were in the favor of that person being kind... or kind enough to deserve help. He wouldn't exactly be able find out while they were unconscious, would he? So his hands were tied this time, he had to be more than an observer. Falling onto his knees once he had made it to the person's side, the man had now seen this was a young girl, and younger than any other girl he had met in the game before. He couldn't imagine why someone so young would even be traveling alone in the first place, let alone in a game where living is the prize. However, he also knew that this wasn't the time to further ponder upon the questions the girl brought up, so he removed his coat and placed its length over her entire body; the coat was long enough to cover any part that was still prone to the snow landing on it. Picking her up in his arms with her head laying against his chest, and her legs bent over his right arm, he started to run towards the only hint of help he could hope upon. Moving while he thought, he lessened the time it took to get her someplace warm than if he were to stand there and question what to do with her. 

If using what little Col he had on him, paying for an Inn wouldn't worth it for her to get as warmed as quickly as she needed. The health bar over her body was like a timer for how long she had, and he was always the worst when being timed to do something; someone's life wasn't a game, though, so this would be one of those times he focused more on the the girl dying in his arms than what nerves would always show up when he raced against the clock. Thank goodness that his normally exhausted body held up in the simulation, or else they would both been passed out on the streets to die inside of an igloo. With his new-found physical limitations, the player could hold up just long enough to make it to the nearest blacksmith's in town. It was tricky to open the front door, but he somehow managed it without dropping the poor girl on her head and giving her permanent brain damage. Now that he was running past the welcoming NPC at the counter, it was now a very weird situation. The blacksmith would greet the hurried players into his store like nothing was wrong. "Welcome to my shop! If you see anything you like. Let me know!" The burly, tall, and dark-skinned man began to laugh loudly with a volume that could shake the entire cottage his shop worked from, and in true logical fashion, this only made the male player want to ignore the character even more, as he did just that.

Running around to the back of the counter and into the door leading to the back of the building, the player had finally reached what he was looking for, a fiery pit of death in the form of a giant, open-pit forge. The flames were burning ever so infinitely bright, as only it could in a game, and the touch of heat was very much felt just from standing next to it. Sitting sideways on the stone wall outlining the pit of fire, the man rested his leg diagonally, placing it in a painful way against the edge of the stone's square shape. Now with the mummified girl, he placed her backside against the roar of the flames by hooking his left arm around her back, and then tilting her towards the intense heat with the leg he had propped up onto the side of the forge; the right hand of the man was grasping the girl's right arm to make absolutely sure that he didn't accidentally let her fall in. Now, it would only make sense for the male to hate the insane temperature he was now bearing himself to for the sake of a stranger, since his love did wait outside where he could freeze himself into an ice cube... BUT with the amount of heat now practically thawing the girl in his arms, he would just love it if the insane risk he was making would help her health stop going down. In his mind, he was likely to soon end up as a primary suspect for the young one, a bounty ending up on his head for player-killers gone good.

Standing on the side of one of the many snow-covered streets belonging to Snowfrost Town, a man held his hands inside of the pockets of his coat while he enjoyed the view of the falling snowflakes. The dark night sky working in tandem with the current furious blizzard was a sight to behold for the player. The atmosphere around the town he stood within was exceptional in his eyes. Cozy cottages and dim street lights made him want to go inside and sleep in this type of weather, but rarely did he ever get the chance to stand out in a storm like the one furiously coming down now. His frailty from illnesses back in the real world would keep him from doing many things, but they seemed to only be things he had wanted to do the most, even before becoming restricted from them. This male had a fondness for the cold and could easily withstand cold temperatures much longer than most of the people he used to know. This was never put through any extreme circumstances like those he was in, but the fact that temperature wasn't much of a problem in the game meant that he could stand outside all night until he looked like a snowman. Instead, he felt more like Rudolph because of his frigid nose starting to feel like it would turn red at any second, as red as the ribbon tied around one side of the hair covering the front of his right ear.

On Floor-4 was the only place he knew of so far in Sword Art Online that had snow constantly falling on it; maybe during some kind of holiday event this fact would be different, but the urge for this player to be in a freezing environment exceeded the time constraints put on any event that would come to the virtual world he now lived in. In fact, now it felt like a great time to find himself a place to permanently stay when he wanted to mess around and not be surrounded by others. He still had not enough Col even for a sword better than the beginner's one that everyone else had already thrown away, but sickness didn't feel like something that would affect him if he were to sleep outside in a snow pile. (I wonder how it feels to sleep with a blanket of snow.) He thought and began walking towards the opposite end of town from the end of it he had occupied up until now. He wanted to sense the the feeling that he was the only one out, and with the time and place of his whereabouts, he felt nobody could possibly be traversing the streets as he did. (Social creatures need socialization. They tend to like the warmth as well.) His words provided him his own conversation until he could find one those rare moments when he would happen across someone crazy enough to initiate a lasting conversation with him. Maybe if he got lucky, Santa would come visit him...

Hello, Ryoga. Welcome to the site, dude. I'm not even sure who Ryogi is in-character yet, so no problems with confusion there. The best tip is to not do anything that is even a little bit dangerous, unless you want to remake new characters every so often. Hope you have fun here. 

Also, do not go after the fishing profession as it is incredibly lethal.

No faster way to prepare yourself for advanced role-play than to throw yourself into midst of it. Welcome to the site, Rose.

You'll find plenty of help from members. I also found this site the same way as you, just searched for one because I thought it would be cool to participate in. Welcome to the site, Starrine.

Having trouble seeing the rod that he had lost because of the murky pond water blocking his vision, Zeke stayed submerged longer than expected. For at least a minute and a half he felt decent enough with the amount of oxygen he was getting, but after that he could start to feel his lungs collapse under the pain and pressure he put on them. His first search ended with no success, but Zeke dove down under the surface of the water once more to try again, taking only a brief moment to capture some air with his gasps before disappearing again. He hadn't noticed the girl had changed her location upon resurfacing the second time due to all of the water running down into his eyes, but he really did want to check as quickly as possible to avoid being attacked by her, if she so happened to be that kind of player. 

(I've gotta hurry.) He told himself in motivation over and over again, his paranoia getting the best of him like it always had done before. Deep down inside he was a worrier and a chicken, but you wouldn't be able to tell from how fearless he could be in the face something he hated; still, Zeke walked towards the female with his entire body dripping wet with dirty water. His hair was completely flattened against the curvature of his cranium, and all of his clothes, (including the coat), were hanging off of him like they had been made out of lead. The weight of his drenched clothing and the water pulling down on the length of his legs that were still under the water, the man walked towards the stranger like a zombie, but did not know this fact. In his left hand was the fishing pole he had went after, and the other hand was currently in use as something to move the hair out of his eyes. Though the soggy hair was determined to stay in the way of his eyesight, Zeke found success in just rubbing the bangs back over the top of his head, temporarily holding them against the other wet hairs that laid on his head. 

By the time he had finally came up upon the girl, the water in his eyes was finally starting to drain out enough to where he could make out blurry objects in his surroundings; this did not stop him from being unable to perceive that the female was sitting right where we he was heading. Now that he was upon her, the strange man threw the fishing pole into the woman's lap / against her legs, then fell down next to her before positioning himself into a crossed-leg sit. As a result of how wet he truly was, he had likely gotten her soaked from his obliviousness. Now that he was sitting down, searching for the ribbon he had in his hair was the first thing on his mind. By touching the ribbon with his hand, the male was able to sigh in relief to know that he had not lost it under the water.

"My eyes are taking forever to adjust. I kind of hope I didn't scare her off..." Zeke's words came without hesitation, the ignorance of his vulnerability was not something he had contemplated before correcting his vision. Continuing on with his role of mistakenly providing a show for the girl next to him, he unequipped his coat to instantly dry it in the same way he was told by a friend. Once it was equipped again, Zeke took it off immediately to use it as a towel for wiping off the rest of his body. He would have unequipped everything, but he feared the person right next to him would still be around to see him practically strip naked. So instead, he sat there wiping his face off with as much force as someone who would need to scrub permanent marker off of their skin. Now that he could see clearly, he only noticed his visitor after he had unequipped the coat again.

Despite the fact that all of his clothes were still drenched, his face was now completely dry, and his hair was just dry enough to stay out of his face. With the coat no longer on him, he would also now be able dry faster with the help of the wind. Pushing all of this information aside, however, every priority he had to face before seeking out the other person was now dealt with, and he could do just as he was wanting. Humorously, it took only one second and a slight turn of his head to now realize what had happened during his moment of being visually handicapped.

"Oh, crap! I am so-so sorry that I did that!" He got up onto his right knee quickly, keeping the other leg's knee in the air by the corresponding foot being placed firmly against the ground. He chose this positioning of his body because of the grass he tried to keep himself sturdy against was slippery and wet from his previous antics; the slope of the land the two players sat on didn't make for a very good platform to stand upon, either.

"I hope you understand, I didn't notice you there with all of the water in my eyes. Had I known..." Zeke didn't finish the rest of the sentence he cut off and instead applied himself towards focusing on taking the pole out of her lap. To get it out of the way, he unequipped the tool from his inventory, which in return had made him realize something else... he could have just returned it to his inventory the whole time. Being worried and regretful to such high extents because of two different reasons at the same time was an exceptionally confusing feeling for him. In the end, deciding to favor his attention towards the poor victim he had soaked, Zeke equipped his coat once more before taking it off and offering it to her by hand, hoping she would take the offering as a sign of no hard feelings.

Welcome to the site, Chiyo. See you around.

Time to give you a welcoming from me, then. Hope you're enjoying it here and I wish you the best with life.

Noticing the female across the water, Zeke began to wipe his eyes until they became slightly red and sore. It would be embarrassing for him to be seen by anyone while he felt down in the dumps. If he could focus on how high the probability was that the girl would walk over to him, his mood would adjust itself to help him keep up an appearance for the stranger that could possibly become his next friend. Friends weren't an easy necessity to come by for him, so every little trick helped ease his self-conscious mind. 

(Pretend you don't see her and keep your eyes on fishing. She'll likely go away, anyway.) Doing as he told himself, this thought suggested he was more focused on social anxiety rather than the worry that he could die at the hands of a player-killer. His inability to do what was needed for power would eventually be the trigger for his death; and all because he was too lazy to go get some Col for better gear. With a bit of insanity, he soon would be out there risking his life alone. He had one friend he could call upon for help, but it was deeply troublesome for him to decide if they would be better off without feeling like they had to protect him. Zeke didn't want someone he loved to do something foolish in an effort save him, but what if they got in over their heads while travelling by themselves? There were too many dangers in this game to make a decision that mattered most, so maybe the intense fear of a friend's death would stay with him no matter what. In the end, a group of Player-Killers were much more difficult to face alone than a group of boars.

"Just Lovely..." Zeke spoke to himself out loud, all the while rubbing his index finger and thumb against the silky red ribbon in his hair; the accessory was still tied around a section of his hair from a while back, and It resided on the right side of his head where the hair came down over the front of his ear. It had become a very colorful memento that he had never bothered to mention returning it to its owner, since he was indeed supposed to. 

Snapping back into awareness from his warm reminiscing, Zeke pulled against the tug on his pole that had brought him back from almost falling asleep. Surprisingly, the fish that he had landed on the end of his line was obviously unique to a fantasy setting, since its bizarre appearance consisted of mainly of translucent scales that would make even the hungriest person think twice about sinking their teeth into it. "I'll just put you away for whenever I need to throw up on cue." The male player dry-heaved before closing his inventory, and the detailed graphic of it, away. For a bit of contrast, he decided to check back for the girl who had just recently visited his little fishing spot; She was much more pleasing to the eye than he had originally grasped from his first look at her; and her outfit... well... let's just say it could attract a lot of unwanted attention from those who were naturally drawn to a female.

(May she find solitude when she so she seeks it...) This quick thought was his riddled way of saying "Hubba Hubba!" (She probably isn't even as hot as I am making her out to be, she's too far away for me to be making assumptions like that. Besides, I don't need to be straying at all, especially when she could be a total *censor* and I wouldn't even know it. You're shallow, Zeke, but you know what you shouldn't do.) He slapped the side of his cranium with his hand, punishing himself until pain would motivate the distractions out of the inside of his mind. Right before he could finish the complete experience of brainwashing himself, the line tugged once more. It was fish city tonight and he would pay for not keeping an eye on the pole. With it pulling further away each and every second that passed, his fishing rod leaped from off of his lap and into the water. Without thinking much about it, he followed after it by diving into the pond water, knowing full well that getting another pole would cost him Col that he couldn't afford in his current state of poverty. 

(OOC: I hope I didn't keep you up with replying!)

Despite having past difficulties with trying to get into the meat of his profession, Zeke was able to put his ailing memories of failure aside for one more chance at officially "earning himself a living". The weather had been clear so far for this particular day, so his normally depressed mood was currently being uplifted by the bright rays of the sun and the soft sound of the wind lightly blowing through the scenery around him. With all of the greenery as green as it could be, and the virtual sky as beautiful as ever, the player sauntered across the plains near the outside of the south gate that belonged to the Town of Beginnings. 

(Here it is. I was beginning to think I wouldn't find this place again.) Zeke thought as he moved through the two trees in front of him, entering a secluded pond that was cut off by the surrounding forest. He had found this place once before when surveying the entirety of the first floor, only remembering it because of the solitude it gave that many other places didn't; Many players were still figuring out what they wanted to achieve during their time of being stuck in the game, and some of 'em were those certain kinds of people who sought under-leveled players to kill for their entertainment. Either way, it felt safe here for a lonely, yet paranoid adventurer, especially one that had to sit at bodies of water with their backsides prone to sneak attacks. Even still, seclusion couldn't keep this young fisherman from checking over his shoulder every twenty seconds. 

Thanks to the facts that he was indeed trapped within a game of all things, preparation was easy and safe for Zeke, as all he had to do was merely equip his fishing rod and mimic the swing of a real one with his dominant hand. The biggest seller for him to have chosen fishing as a profession was not having to deal with a real fish hook, and not feeling guilty about nabbing real fish to stuff down his throat. There was also the fact that he didn't have to travel far for materials, and catching them was the only thing he had to do. Other professions required obtaining the materials AND crafting, but he could just sit on his butt and enjoy the flashbacks to all of the times when him and his parents fished during his childhood. In fact, he was enjoying the time alone so much that tears of joy started to form in the bottom of his eyelids, collecting water until it was on the verge of spilling out from the corner of his eyes. He could truly flip from happy to sad out of nowhere like no one else could.

(I miss you both so much. There's nothing I can do about it, but I hope that you both foresaw these feelings. Actually, I don't know if I do or not, you guys didn't need another reason to worry about me. If anyone deserves to rest in peace, it's you two.) Zeke thought once more, aiming the blurry vision of his eyes at the center of the pond water where his fishing rod's line would lead to if it were visible. A couple of rough wipes against his coat would stain away the wetness proving to be a hindrance for his task at hand. (I can't erase the want to have someone see me like this. I know it never helps, but what can I do about it if the feeling won't go away?) The invisible line of his fishing tool soon tugged to keep him busy with a momentary distraction until he could pull in the targeted biter. Having the struggle over with, Zeke opened his inventory to see the Blue Tilapia he had caught was sent to one of the empty spaces available. (This is what I came here for, stop thinking unnecessary thoughts.)

I'll always be around. *eerie music plays in background* 

I could say the same to you! ^_^

Edit: Oh, yeah! The little details on the text blew my mind. That would be a result of my work after spending years on a journal. XD

Dang, so different than what I remember. Welcome back, Haine! Nice to see you around again. You've made quite the impressive looking journal as well. Don't become too much of a stranger, and see you around!

So formal, I like it. Welcome, Wizard of Writing and Weaver of Words!

Actually, I can now make this more realistic and to do with the RP...

Grave x Jevi = Gravi. Still works, don't it? ;)

That would be better answered by the person in the ship. But the name works.

While I am at it... Toodle = TurtlexPoodle

Completely understandable. Someone will be sure to help you. Good luck with getting all of it sorted out, and welcome to the site. See ya around. *Two finger salute*

Gravy = Grave x Money

The best ship, just for you.

Very good point, you just ruined all of my canon in one question, since Zeke, my character, is American. An American that does not know Japanese. Well, he doesn't know it very well, having moved to Japan with a friend.

Hunk alert. Welcome, Man!

No problemo.

I'm not quite sure myself, but I'd recommend that you start with this. -> http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/7838-sao-site-guide-tutorials-rules-and-more/

Click on that link and it will send you to a page that designates all of the other pages your should read to learn about how everything works. Some subjects might be missing from it, but it would still be the best place to start; I think so, anyway.