Vadeon

Vadeon's smile wasn't entirely false, but it wasn't entirely cheerful, either. It resulted from nerves more than anything, and the longer he kept it up the longer his muscles stiffened there. He felt a slight soreness creeping up around his cheeks, but he ignored it and continued nonetheless.

He fiddled with his fingers under his cloak, clasping and unclasping a decorative pocket inside. It didn't increase his inventory space or do anything else to his stats, but it was large enough to store a HP potion if he so chose. He felt almost cornered at the bar, one side with one player, one with another, and the other two just behind him. Despite the actual height difference being in his favor, he felt small in comparison. He steadied his breathing again, still feeling his pulse ebbing at his ears.

As he sat there, he could almost feel the eyes of the tavern boring into him. He knew that quite a few of those who were looking at him were NPCs, but as he took note of all the players who weren't, he noticed one player who was gesticulating in an odd pattern to another of the players there. To his surprise, he recognized certain pieces of the gestures. Vadeon hadn't taken sign language himself, but he knew people who had. He didn't actually know any words, but knew enough to recognize that it was sign language. As he watched the NPC walk away, he made eye contact with the player across from the signer, and immediately turned back to the group before him. It was a rather sudden jerk, but it wasn't enough to catch the attention of anyone in the group. He silently prayed that the player hadn't noticed him. 

Finally, he cleared his throat, almost unintentionally causing a break in the conversation, but he already made an opening; he would commit to it. "I was actually thinking of going out somewhere to do some grinding. O-obviously it's a little below your level, but I was hoping I could get some help to pick up any slack, just in case?" He added a nervous laugh to the end, unable to contain his fluttering heart for another second. His smile had a certain warmth to it, despite the tension exuded from his entire body. He pulled his scarf more onto his chin, a nearly invisible gesture of his wish to hide away somewhere. He was careful to keep his arm hidden as he did so, aiding in making the movement as low-profile as possible. 

Vadeon swallowed once and sighed again, finally settling himself slightly in his seat. Tension was still obvious in his posture, but now that he'd been sitting for a moment, he felt his heart calm down a little bit. Giving Lessa a quick once-over, seeing her bright, smiling eyes, he finally managed to get it into his head that he hadn't screwed up. "Yet." The thought nagged at him.

His smile grew a little more, a little more color appeared in his features, and his movements were a little less stiff. He leaned one hand onto the table as she spoke, seeming to almost forget about it a second, then immediately drew it back in when he noticed her glance at the flesh there. "She seems like she's got some experience. Maybe I should ask to party with her..." As he lost himself in thought, he felt someone tug on his cloak.

He gave a small jump, but praying nobody noticed turned himself around slightly more. He took in the two standing there with mild interest, before remembering he was also an active member of this conversation. "O-oh, hi." Hearing the taller of the two's statement left Vadeon a little conflicted. It was an easy out to say "Oh, no, you aren't interrupting anything important at all. In fact, I need to go finish a quest on the next floor," or something like that, but he stopped himself.

He was already this far. He doubted he could convince himself to do it again. 

"Nothing that important really. Just some...friendly conversation." He brushed his hair back without thinking, showing a full hand.

@Lessa @Dazia

Vadeon felt slightly calmer now that he was sitting, but sitting down also took a critical element from him: motion. Now that he was sitting, he was more constrained, and it made his nerves all the more apparent. Every movement he took was shaky, despite his obvious attempts to reel himself in. 

He heard the kind greetings from either side of him and felt slightly more at ease, and then remembered he had to come up with a response. "H-hi, I-I'm..." He groaned internally. "This is pitiful." He closed his eyes, once again took a deep breath in, and sighed, collecting himself. "Hi, I'm...Vadeon. Nice to meet you." He felt an unexpected rush of pride and cringed at himself once again. "That was nothing. Why should I feel proud of that?" He felt his pulse again. As he spoke, he moved his arms, fiddling with his hands or gesticulating, though it was obvious he was making his best attempt to hide his arms under the flowing black cloak which was tied at his neck. Still, despite his best efforts, the scarred skin there came out every now and then. 

"I don't, uh...come here often, if that much wasn't already obvious, heheh..." He clasped his hands together, doing his best to appear confident.

Vadeon took in a deep breath. He held it there for a moment, and then let it go. His pulse hammered in his ears as he walked. This was not going to be easy, but he needed somebody to call on in case of emergency. It wasn't smart to go into things alone. He knew that.

That didn't make it any easier to walk into the tavern door.

This game was already putting enough stress onto his head while he was alone, he didn't want to imagine the amount of stress it would add having somebody else with him. "I'd almost RATHER die at that point." He frowned, sighing again. "I shouldn't be thinking like that. It isn't the end of the world just to talk to someone."

Vadeon took in another breath, and did his best to raise his chin and meet the gaze of passersby. This game put stress on him already. How much worse could it get? He kept reminding himself why he was doing this as he found himself at the tavern door. He took in another breath, staring for a moment at the boldly lettered sign, put on his best smile and pushed his way through the door.

The room was tight, and as he looked at all of the faces surrounding him, he felt as though the roof would collapse on him. "Maybe it is the end of the world," he reflected, feeling his face shift into a smaller, more nervous grin as his eyes dropped to his feet. He heard the door shut, seeming obnoxiously loud compared to the quiet room he seemed to have walked into. He heard every footstep he took, every beat of his heart, and felt that everyone else could hear it too. He almost felt inclined to murmur a billion apologies, "S-sorry to disturb you!" and sprint back through the door and make it to some far off street corner where nobody could find him. But he had come this far, what was the use in giving up?

He sat in one of the stools at the bar, attempting to swallow the lump in his throat and mutter a greeting to the players around him, finally managing to get out a quiet "Hello..." from his lips, fiddling with his fingers.

Appearance

Vincent is a tall, scrawny man with a young looking face. Despite the young face, his general stature can be rather imposing, due to his body appearing to carry more weight than he does. His chestnut hair looks unkempt in the way it stands, but it's kept well enough to stay out of his eyes, and that's all he cares about. He has a lot of hair (falling at about chest length) which straightens and then curves at the ends. His eyes are a piercing blue, and he is Caucasian. His jaw is pretty well defined, making him appear reasonably like an adult rather than a baby-faced exceptionally tall teenager. On terms of outfit, Vadeon likes to use plate armor for the extra MIT, but he does carry a black (vanity) cloak and a crimson (vanity) scarf tied at the neck. He also wears black (vanity) finger-less gloves to help adjust his grip on his blade. His arms and hands are covered in various discolorations and scars, which he often opts to hide in his vanity items.

Profile
Username: Vadeon ("Vad")
Real name: Vincent Wendle
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Height: 6'1

About: History/personality
Vincent was born and raised in a nondescript household in the UK. His life would certainly be considered eventful by some, but to him, nothing seemed real. To him, there wasn't much color in the world around him. He breezed through most of his school life, getting consistent Cs and Bs, not really considering university as a goal. He had trouble finding things which kept his interest. He couldn't find any sort of spark in the world around him. Reading took too long. Sports were all about muscle memory. Despite having gifted fingers with both the concert flute and piano, he found less beauty in them than others did. To many, he was wasting gifts given by birth, breezing towards some unseen passion he couldn't find.

His parents didn't seem to care much for him. There was some sort of thick fog between him and them, some critical disconnect that left both sides at a loss for words when they spoke with one another. Vincent wasn't unfriendly, and neither were they, but they just...didn't have a lot to talk about. Every chance he got, he secluded himself further.

He didn't have many people who considered him a friend, due to his reserved, and generally abrasive demeanor. Despite his eye for emotion, his nervous nature made him an unfortunately awkward kid. Though he was a bit scrawny (one might even say emaciated), Vincent was never a target of much bullying outside of some private banter about his erratic behavior, as despite his slim physique he was always taller than anyone in the class.

 Vincent didn't know where he was going to go, what he was going to do, nor what he wanted to do. His life was stagnant. He wanted to do something, but he didn't know what. He didn't have anyone to prove anything to, he didn't have anything he needed to prove to himself. He often took to slamming his hands in a door or punching walls just to prove he could still feel something other than the dread which surrounded his every day. Every shock sent him just as quickly out of as into reality. Suffice it to say, he earned quite a few scars with habits like these, along his hands and arms. It didn't matter much to him, and it didn't mean much to him. He just needed a means to make sure he was still on this planet. That he was still alive, that this wasn't just a dream.

These traits, obviously, left him with nothing but gaming to pass the time, and even that wasn't much. He preferred single-player strategy and puzzle games, like any good shut-in. Thinking through problems wasn't entirely useful for work, but it passed the time. When the VR boom happened, Vincent was intrigued. When VRMMOs hit the stage, Vincent was intrigued and yet almost frightened to try them. Vincent had never had much enjoyment with MMORPGs, disliking the social feature accompanied with it (like any good shut-in) and instead opting for the singleplayer RPG types. There was something about throwing himself into a character, into a person who wasn't him, who could be more than he ever was, that had an actual purpose in life, and had that purpose be AWESOME, that gave him a thrill the likes of which he'd never experienced. Coupling it with the numbers, he was sold.

Seeing a VRMMO shook him a bit. He wanted to be able to experience-- to feel a world like that, to be a character like that, but at the same time, the MMO element nagged at him. "Well," he figured, "One try won't kill me." 

"Link Start."

Vincent doesn't have much of a life to return to. He's never thought much of himself. He's never found anything right for him. One might say getting trapped where he is currently is the best thing to happen to him. He's got the names of dead men and women written in his mind, and he knows he'll never forget them. He doesn't know if he'll appreciate life more after this, if there even is an after this, but he knows that he can't sit still and watch it happen.
Virtues:

Lucid: Vincent is very observant, and enjoys thinking through problems. When it comes to looking passively over something, Vincent is exceptionally perceptive. He may notice subtle emotional cues that others might miss, or see movement and attack patterns, developing a battle strategy in his head as to how one might outmaneuver someone else. To put it another way, he's clear minded, and is generally speaking a good problem solver.

Agreeable: What one may see as a flaw leading to gullibility, one may see as a virtue leading to friendly encounters. Whether you see it as such or not, Vincent is a very much a "go with the flow" sort of person. He likes to make people happy, and he likes to help others. To put it simply, he's a nice guy. This can make him a lot of friends or lead to his own demise as a long line of jerks take advantage of his kindness.

Driven: Vincent has never seen much purpose in his life. No matter what he tried, no matter how much he went on with his life, he just couldn't find a passion for himself. This carried over into gaming, and now further into Aincrad. Vincent doesn't know what he's doing here or what he hopes to prove, but he knows he's sick of thinking about all of the dead bodies sitting in hospital beds, and he can't stand to look at himself in the mirror unless he stands and fights. If he dies this way, so what? It's not like he had anything to prove in the first place.
While Vincent may have no real purpose in being here, when he finds something he sees value in, he will do his damnedest to keep it. When he has someone he wants to protect, when he's in the middle of a life or death situation, adrenaline makes him a real Determinator. When push comes to shove, Vincent will stand and fight. It's as though he becomes a different person without even realizing it.

Flaws:
Shy: Vincent may have a good head on his shoulders, and he may have strong eyes, but that doesn't mean he's very good at expressing his thoughts. Putting him on the spot in most social situations is certain to induce a mild panic attack, and making him the center of attention in any public setting is likely to be followed by profuse blushing and him shrinking as deep as physically possible into the hood of his cloak. Some may see it as cute, some may see it as annoying, and Vincent can't do much but scream internally. He's rather soft-spoken, and though he may make friends, the prospect of socializing makes him more likely to seclude himself on journeys and quests.

Sensitive: Though Vincent may attempt to keep a stiff demeanor away from others and his own feelings, he is rather prone to absorbing more meaning from a statement than is intended. To put it simply, he is more likely to take things to heart, and is more emotional than he likes to let on. He's got a weak stomach in relation to stress, and has no idea what he's doing with his emotions, but needless to say, it probably isn't the best choice. To those as observant as him, he often (albeit accidentally) wears his heart on his sleeve, so prodding at it isn't very difficult;

Guilty:  The amount of dead stick with Vincent everywhere he goes. Ebbing at the back of his thoughts, the numbers always come back to his head. The amount which have been killed because people like him preferred to stay on the sidelines. The amount which have died as he sipped his drink. The amount which were doomed to die, the amount that nobody could save. It keeps him up at night. It's not his fault, and he knows that, but it's still there. It's a fact of life here. 

Profession: N/A (Planned to be Performer!)

Skills
»5 Skill points spent

Non-combat:
»None, as of now

Passive:
»None, as of now

Combat:
»None, as of now

Weapon skills:
»One-handed Rapier: Rank 1
Armor skills:
»None, as of now

Inventory
Weapons/Tools:
»Uncommon Rapier (ACC 1)

»Uncommon Heavy Armour (MIT 1)

»(5) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

Roleplays
»[F1-OP] A Break in the Clouds (Incomplete)
»

Relationships (optional)
»Nothing, as of now


Story Thus Far (optional)

»Nothing, as of now

I've been reading up on things here, and I'm looking forward to doing some interesting things!

I've always had an interest for roleplay, and I've finally decided to make that lifelong dream come true, haha.

I'll be making my journal shortly here, but since I'm probably gonna take forever on that I figured I'd just say hello first!

So, uh. Hello!