Prince

The voices of the robed figures began to give Prince orders. "Stop..." he whimpered. "I just want it to STOP!" 

He stumbled again and his entire body went numb as he pressed his hands onto the red marks again, infecting himself even more. He felt like he had no control at this point: he was desperate to make this horrible effect end, and by listening to what the figures wanted him to do, perhaps it would. Without warning, Prince unsheathed his sword. The robed figures had a strong command that they repeated several times in his ears: sacrifice. It was clear that with every touch of this paint-like fungus, his hallucinations and fear would get more and more dangerous. If he were in his right mind, he would suggest that they had to figure out a way to get rid of this red paint. Instead, his eyes darted back and forth with his sword gripped tightly in his hand as he tried to figure out which player the robed figures wanted.

Prince’s eyes flicked back and forth as more candles kept popping up in his face while unknown figures chanted softly at him. He flinched when Birdie touched him, but quickly recognized her to be the player with one of the familiars he saw, so he relaxed and trusted that she wasn’t going to hurt him. The figures were still frightening him, though. He heard them ask what he was seeing, but as he tried to speak, he found his throat dry.

Another player rushed in and said something about pretending the illusions weren’t there. As someone who had experiences horrific bouts of hallucinations and delusions as a young teen, Prince knew better than anyone that these were unavoidable and incredibly real to him. He was unable to respond, because he found another bright light shoved in his face. He shouted with surprise and stumbled. He didn’t hit Birdie, but he certainly slammed into her. “A-ah… I’m sorry…” he whimpered. The voices laughed at his stumble. “STOP!”

Fear washed over Prince as he considered the possibility that he pushed Birdie into the red paint-like mold. “Don’t touch it…” he breathed, staggering back and forth as he tried to point at the mold that he unfortunately had touched earlier, which prompted these strange hallucinations. His eyes were filled with so much bright light that he couldn’t find the red markings.

Prince sat and stared at his hand. Despite removing his glove, his own skin felt like it was trying to choke him. His arms felt like they were being pricked with needs, and his face started to burn like someone was holding a candle close to his face. His eyes flicked back and forth as the brightness of the candlelight in his eyes almost blinded him. He watched as the robed figure held the candle close to his face, murmuring incoherent words.

He growled and pushed his hand out to try to get the stupid candle out of his face. Instead, his hand hit nothing but air. There was no candle, no robed figure, nothing. The brightness of another candle approached him, trying to blind him yet again. “S-stop it…” he mumbled, flicking his hand at the imaginary figure again. He aimlessly pushed at the air and let his eyes dart across the room, the uneasy feeling of fear and anxiety washing over him. Another candle appeared in his face. “STOP!”

Prince focused intently on the interior wall of the church. He felt very drawn to the red shapes that were painted along the wall. The circles looked mostly symmetrical on all sides, but the jagged shapes were in complete disarray and unsettling. He ran his fingers along the spray-painted walls. Certain sections of it were more bumpy than others, as if different places were sprayed with more paint layers than the others. Other sections felt grimy and sick, like the plague in the form of paint. It stuck to his fingers and the palms of his gloves. To test the strength of this section, he put some pressure on it. The grimy spot he pushed his hand on felt like it was made of thick, spongy material. His hand slipped into the material and came out covered in the red paint. "There's goop here," he called. He touched the spot again. "Well, not really. It got on my glove, but it's not dripping or anything like that." 

He didn't like the way his hand felt now. It was a harsh, suffocating feeling, as if his glove were tightening around his palm and drying to cut it off. He unequipped his glove, but the red around his fingers still choked at him. "It feels really bad," he added. He considered that he might just be insane. With a defeated sigh, he added, "Or, maybe I'm just being overly sensitive and paranoid, and it's just regular paint."

Prince tried to remember what he saw on the way here. Stress made him forget things, and the walk here was creepy. “Mostly noises and shadows,” he said. His words weren’t organized and it seemed he was having trouble thinking properly. He was caught between being serious and focused, being terrified, and being in love with the familiars. Prince hadn’t even drawn his sword yet, but he had his reasons. This seemed to be a safe area to meet with other players. He was jumpy, and while that could be good in dangerous situations, it would be bad if he stabbed another player as soon as he heard their footsteps. “Shadows and falling leaves. When they jumped out.”

Make sense, he scolded himself. You’re being stupid again.

Prince cleared his throat. “Basically, no. I didn’t see much other than shadows and I heard some noises, but mostly it was just eerie and uncomfortable."

I’m so stupid. Idiot, Prince began to scold himself immediately. He liked Halloween—it was a fun holiday. He used to go trick-or-treating with his parents as a kid… well, actually, he continued to do so until high school ended, then went with Lindsey. The memory made him uncomfortable, knowing that Lindsey wasn’t here. Regardless, when he heard of a “spooky town” he thought it was be smart to join the expedition and check it out, forgetting about the fact that this is a death game, not a place to trick-or-treat. Was it even Halloween? His perception of time was too distorted to even know what month it was.

The floorboards of the ominous church lurched and squeaked when he put his foot on them. He jumped back and lifted his arm to defend himself, then scolded himself for being so idiotic yet again. I’m an adult. Don’t act like a little kid, stupid. He gulped and anxiously entered, careful not to jump with every creak of the floorboards. “H-hi,” he stammered, trying to put on a brave face when he noticed two players. The fear immediately melted into ignorant excitement as he saw two birds that were clearly not enemy mobs. “Birds!”

He hadn’t seen a friendly animal at all in this game, so the sight of two of them put his fears in the background. He quickly corrected himself. “I’m Prince. Who are you guys?” Perhaps he was being foolish for trusting strangers as soon as he saw the two pets, but he was too focused on them to consider his situation.

Prince's weak fear quickly turned to distressed anger. In a childish tone, he snapped, "Don't take my stuff!" He desperately tried to grab his weapon back, knowing well that his next action when he got it back was going to be plunging it into his own chest and letting his health bar deplete into nothingness. He wanted to see those red shards that scattered from his leg erupt around the corners of his vision and completely destroy him. If Lindsey was here, she would’ve been the one to take the weapon. If it was Lindsey, he would know for a fact that he would get it back. She would even give him a time limit. If Lindsey was here, he wouldn't even be at this point.

Realizing that arguing would be pointless and that he was drawing the attention of a boar, he staggered to his feet and stomped back into the safe zone. Once he was standing with his feet firmly planted on the brick road, he held his hand out and growled, “Give it back. Please.”

The ‘magic word’ was spat with clear distain. When Lindsey was here, he was more mature. She kept his stress level low enough for him not to regress back to a young child again. He had only gotten this bad once while she was here. He found a small gold coin on the road, which was some sort of cosmetic collectable. He loved picking up random ‘trash’ and keeping it with him. He picked it up and held it in his fingers, only to have a younger player [censored] it right from his fingers and run away. He hated people taking his stuff. It reminded him too much of the bullies who took his drawings and tore them to shreds back in middle school. Lindsey managed to calm him down after reasoning with the younger player, which Prince failed to do.

He wasn’t even trying to keep his cool now. This death game was a disaster, and it was impossible for him to cope with it and pretend that everything was fine. Other players that weren’t even in his disposition had already died, so why wasn’t he allowed to? He choked up as he remembered hospital staff swarming around him, some even calling him cowardly and selfish. He grit his teeth and stretched his hand wider, waiting for his weapon.

Name: Prince

Level: 1

Build: No combat

Location: Anywhere but the school--surprise me

Prince shuttered when he was nudged and shot the player who sat down beside him a frightened glare. He struggled to get to his feet, trying to back away, to only fall flat on his butt again. In his stumble, he stabbed his blade right through his leg while trying to catch himself before he fell. The damage wasn't enough to kill him, nor was it particularly painful. He stared blankly at the sword that was poking out through the other side of his leg, sending small red shards floating around the piercing. Knowing it was a weak attempt for suicide, he pulled out the blade and managed to actually stand up after failing the first time.  

He glanced over to his right, hoping to hide behind his case worker and peer out at the strangers. Instead, he only saw the empty space where he wanted her to be. There was nothing but the wind and empty sky over the rolling fields. He held his hands close to his chest, trying to make himself look as small and pitiful as he possibly could. The rapier slipped from his hands and fell into the grass. He was already crying, but being approached by strangers made him immediately burst into a fit of violent sobbing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he repeated through his gasps and choking cries. The thought of getting in trouble for this weak suicide attempt brought up horrible memories, which only made him cry harder. "I didn't mean to. Please don't lock me up again. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" 

He took a few steps back, wishing there was a wall for him to sit with his back to and curl up. Instead, as his feet grazed the grass, the boar in the distance lifted its head, scanning for the source of the sound with its red eyes glowing. 

((Turn order: Prince, Paglikha, Cr0wn))

Prince was completely alone. He entered this death game with his case worker, who promised to make sure he stayed safe and behaved appropriately with the other players. He remembered standing in the center of Starting City, his body going completely numb as he heard the news: there was no way to leave the game other than beating all 100 floors... or death.

“No…” he whimpered, covering his head and sinking to the ground as his legs failed to support him. He sat down and cried. Lindsey sat down as well. She normally was supportive and level-headed, but there was no other reaction to this news that she could muster. “I don’t want to die like this.”

Prince wasn’t healthy in the slightest. He craved death normally, but something about this world made it different. Living in a fantasy world was something that made him enjoy life and want to embrace it. He wasn’t expecting this world to almost immediately turn on him. “I-it’s okay,” Lindsey stammered. “We’ll be okay. We won’t do combat or anything like that, but I’ll practice a little to make sure I can protect you. We’ll stay in Starting City until this all blows over. A lot of the players here are big gamers, right? We’ll be out of here in no time.”

She didn’t sound confident, and who could blame her? Everything was more uncertain than ever. “I’m sorry,” Prince apologized through his tears. “I’m so, so sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

He spent his days carefully weaving in and out of streets in Starting City. His only interactions were with NPCs. The only col that he had was from Lindsey. She did all the fighting and then provided Prince with the col. To keep him healthy, she had him to daily tasks, like talking to “strangers” and buying food and toys. They secretly hoped that something would change every day. They begged for the more confident players to clear the floors and begged for someone to figure out how to take off the Nerve Gear. The only form of entertainment they had was through games they played together and staring at the virtual stars when night fell. Now that he was alone, he had nothing to entertain him. He walked the streets and bought bread to give him some sort of satisfaction, but none came. The NPCs weren’t friends, and he knew they could never be. They were a part of the game and couldn’t deviate from their roles.

“Okay. I’m going to go fight some low-level mobs,” Lindsey said. Prince nodded anxiously. “Can you do your daily rounds while I’m gone?”

“Yes,” he assured her. Something felt wrong. “When will you be back?”

“I’ll be back before nightfall. I don’t want to deal with mobs during the night.”

“Okay,” he said shakily. He knew that every time she defeated a mob, she would send him the col. This helped him during daily rounds, since he would run out of col very quickly with all the candy and cakes he bought. There wasn’t much else to make him happy. He was afraid of balls or any other objects used to play catch, since he hated things being thrown in his direction. The only games they played were with little toys he managed to buy off of the little kids that were also trapped in this death game. “Can I buy cake today?”

“Yes. You can always buy cake… just not too much, okay?”

He nodded again. With that, Lindsey left the inn they were cooped up in. He took a few minutes to build up the courage to leave his room before he actually did it. As he ran around and talked to NPCs, he would get constant gift requests from Lindsey. Around sunset, he noticed that there was a long absence of the gift requests. Did she forget? Or was she back in the room? She usually messaged him when she was back if he wasn’t already in the room.

He hurried back and looked around. The room was empty and it was night. He started shaking as he opened up his friend list. His fears were confirmed—her name was gray with a line across it. His legs stopped working again. He kept telling himself that it wasn’t real. This was a joke, right? There’s no way a video game could actually kill people. There’s no way it could kill someone that meant so much to him. He waited for several hours for her to walk into the door, completely unharmed. She didn’t come.

Prince found himself standing at the edge of Starting City again. It wasn’t even noon yet. The constant loneliness and boredom was eating him away. In a fit of rage, he foolishly discarded all his toys. He was too scared to interact with the children anymore and get new ones, too. “Lindsey!” he called. There was no reply. “Lindsey!”

No matter how many times he called her name, there was no reply. The only sound that greeted him was the empty wind and an occasional grunt from a boar. He lived far too long alone, and he was running out of col. He stopped buying treats and moved into a low-quality inn when he accepted that she was really gone. Now, it was over. He was completely stranded.

He ran out of col. He was out of a room and out of food. He didn’t truly need to eat or sleep, but he did want to hang onto that last bit of human comfort… now, he had nothing. There was only one thing he could do now. There was no point in sitting around doing nothing, and there was no way a coward like him could fight.

“Lindsey…!” he cried. The emptiness was eating away at his insides. There was only one way he could leave this horrible game. He stepped out into the field. He wasn’t far enough from Starting City for a boar to notice him, but he was far enough for damage to be done. He unsheathed his weapon and stared at the blade, tears dripping down his face. “Lindsey, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

The words trailed on and on until he fell to a seated position and his hands were shaking. He was trying to build up the courage to do this. There’s no escape. There’s no happiness here. There’s only pain and suffering. There’s… nothing else I can do. I’m out of luck.

25 minutes ago, Macradon said:

I'm up for it, but my Journal is very much outdated to how Macradon has changed his perspective and a lot of himself since the beginning of the game .... and it was written pretty ***ty.

That might be cool! I'm currently setting up a PP with two other players and I'm not confident enough to have 2 roleplays running at once, but I'll keep you in mind for my next one :D

I'm looking for someone to join me on my first RP. I don't want to do combat (seeing as I'm level 1). Perhaps being guided and watching another player fight would be good for a first RP. Anyone interested? (I'll look at your journals to see if it would be a good fit for Prince, btw)

Prince

Profile

Username: Prince

Real Name: Oliver Mario

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Height: 5’5’’

About

Oliver grew up in America with his mother, father, and several odd pets (2 blue tongued skinks, 3 birds, and an opossum.) While his parents were caring, they made their fair share of mistakes, like every other family. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts to fight it, Oliver was bullied and harassed severely in school by both peers and teachers. He did not make friends, but didn’t mind much, since he preferred to be alone anyway and had many animal friends. Regardless, the endless cruelty he endured damaged him immensely. He was somehow able to finish high school and moved out to live independently through a mental health organization and with the help of his case worker and has a minimum wage, part time job at an animal shelter.

Oliver felt that playing a game that hid his appearance and disposition would make him feel better about himself. He hadn’t played many games besides the ones on children’s websites, but SAO looked like it would be interesting and fun. He saved up all his money ate solely at a public kitchen for months so that he could buy the game. His case worker also purchased the game, seeing as she didn’t feel comfortable letting Oliver play a mature MMORPG all by himself. The two entered the (death) game together.

Virtues and Flaws

Virtues

• ·        Silly: Oliver is silly. He loves to make people laugh and see them smile, but most of the time, he isn’t being silly on purpose. He’s just lovably goofy by nature.
• ·        Gentle: Oliver is very careful and gentle with most things. He has always loved animals, which require delicate hands, so he has learned to be kind to all animals and (some) people as well. He also doesn’t break things that often because of this.
• ·        Loyal: Oliver is a loyal friend. He doesn’t have many loved ones, but he always sticks to the few he has. He is willing to push past his fears to protect them and will defend them to the best of his ability.

Flaws

• ·        Childish: Because of the trauma Oliver experienced, he goes through phases of age regression when he is stressed. He will exhibit childlike behavior, such as extreme dependency, shyness, and lack of control over emotions. He does not think logically or rationally and has difficulty responding appropriately in serious situations.
• ·        Paranoid: Oliver feels that people are always out to get him. He has extreme trust issues and lives in constant fear of being hurt, be it physically or emotionally. He flinches very easily and freezes up when faced with danger, which can be fatal in a place like SAO.
• ·        Obsessive: When he finds something he likes, Oliver obsesses over it. He hyper-focuses on things and cannot hear the world around him when he’s in an obsessive state. This applies to people as well. When he finds a person he likes, he will obediently follow them around and cling to them. He experiences devastation easily when he is rejected because of this.

Skills

Total SP: 5

Available SP: 0

Spent SP: 5

Utility

• ·        NONE

Combat

• ·        Energist (Rank 1, 0/8): Adds Energy reserves by (Rank * 2)

Weapon

• ·        NONE

Armor

• ·        Light Armor (Rank 0, 0/5): Adds mitigation when wearing light armor.

Inventory

Equipped

• ·        Starter Iron One-Handed Rapier: (no status effects)
• ·        Starter Cloth Armor: (no status effects)
• ·        NONE
• ·        White Starter Tunic: (vanity)
• ·        Blue Starter Pants: (vanity)
• ·        White Starter Boots: (vanity)
• ·        Blue Starter Gloves: (vanity)
• ·        Glasses: (vanity)

Battle Inventory

• ·        NONE
• ·        NONE
• ·        NONE
• ·        NONE
• ·        NONE

Inventory

• ·        Plain Bread: (vanity)
• ·        Mats: 0
• ·        Col: 0

Relationships

• ·        Lindsey_Brown is Prince's case worker who joined SAO to accompany him. They care about each other very much and she helped Oliver get where he is today. Early into the days of SAO, Lindsey took it upon herself to be Oliver's guardian and fight to earn Col so they could enjoy life a little. She died one day while grinding, most likely due to a mob that was too challenging, and left Oliver completely alone and traumatized by the unexpected loss. 

Roleplay Log

• ·        [PP-F1] Stranded - #SP, #Col, #other [IN PROGRESS]
• ·        [PP-F2] Raven Hollow (Church) - #SP, #Col, #other [IN PROGRESS]
• ·        Link+Name - #SP, #Col, #other