Astralin

Morningstar answered the question that Astralin had asked Astreya, saying that he used to be an actor, that it was a long time ago. He also noted that about fifty percent of theories involving what actors were really like were probably true. "Like how reputation tends to carry weight, or that an actor's life is never all roses?" Astralin guessed. Astreya added that everyone used to be someone, or something. Astralin, however, couldn't really relate. Her smile began to fade. "Well, I guess you could say that kind of depends... Me, I was just a girl who couldn't really find her place. Simpl

Astreya would tease at Morningstar, asking him if he was trying to get a jump at the dating game. Morningstar would tease back at her, asking if she was interested, before admitting that he just liked sunsets. "Sunsets...to me they've got a warm feel to it, there could be a whole variety of moods it could portray...It could just be the colors, though, I'm really not sure." Astralin commented. "...Or maybe I'm just biased. Sunsets are pretty, but the stars..." She continued. "There's just something wondrous about the sight, I can't quite place it or put it into words, actually..." Astreya

Morningstar chuckled at Astralin's guesses as to the meaning behind his username, and he mentioned that his fight had been interesting. Baldur would announce the winners of the round... Oh....Astreya had lost...to the one currently beside Astralin....and in the semifinals, Astralin was now...paired up against this player...this might become a problem if not handled properly. In the time that she knew Astreya, Astralin had seen the budding tank as a dependable ally. For her to fall...would be a sign that she was up against a tough opponent. Sure, Astralin had defeated two well-tr

"Oh, so you've heard of me? That's a first." Astralin remarked, not knowing that this player was somehow able to eavesdrop on her pre-battle conversation with Morgenstern. "Morning Star....Oh wait, you mean, as in the spiky mace thing, don't you..." She remarked, a drop of sweat from embarrassment forming as she remembered what the combined word was, and that it was't himself choosing his username to be a star that was still visible at dawn...though it would have been nice. Morningstar continued, asking how Astralin's fight went. "Ah, it went well, actually! Sure, my opponent kind of gave

As Astralin landed the strike, it all came back to her at once. She was dueling, not fighting for her life. There were many players around her, so they would have likely intervened if something had gone wrong... She took some deep breaths as she slowly backed up and returned to a normal position. She then heard her opponent speak. "You know you bested both Calrex and I, students of this very same school. If you don't win, I'll be a little upset." Astralin's eyes widened. "Ah! R-really?"She reacted. This place...the two who she'd faced were students of Baldur? Well, then...there was

Despite her current lead in her fight, things weren't looking too well around her. First, she looked over to her opponent...and it was here of all times, that she would notice the cursor's color. Her eyes widened at the realization of what kind of player she might be dealing with. "A killer?" She thought. She backed up suddenly, staring at the cursor for a few seconds. She then made eye contact with her opponent and- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The eyes. Astralin...wasn't the best with eye contact. In friendly situations, she could keep it for longer...much longer, in fac

The party had dissolved into a state of chaos once the game that gambled sweets had ended. Apparently someone had gone and left the sink on, resulting in some raised emotion and stress as a few players, including the host, would all jump in and try to resolve the issue. The pink haired baker sent a slime to absorb the water, and the players trying to fix the mess somehow saw the slime as part of the mess...uh oh... A player entered the house, and the host had some trouble letting her in, due to his current state...but he seemed to.... Astreya would confirm Astralin's suspicion, and A

Astralin was prepared to put up with a difficult opponent. She knew she had to win, not only for her sake, but for Yona's as well. She knew that she'd be facing powerful rivals and skilled veterans.... What she wasn't ready for, however, was a trick similar to the one she'd just used. A flurry of attacks at a rapid rate. Astralin's sidestep could only dodge so many, but couldn't dodge them all. Astralin jumped back after getting struck. Her eyes were now focused on her opponent. In a fight where hits counted more than strength, an agile opponent was dangerous, for such an opponent c

The matches were announced. Almost everyone just dispersed. Ongoing conversations stopped abruptly, Astralin was somewhat disoriented, but hopefully it wouldn't be too much for her. The only thing having to do with Astralin at this time was to answer Freyd's question. She clearly hadn't heard of everything in terms of unique, but... "It's not like I know all of my options, but something...unique might do. I've heard of a few enhancements containing things like fire, ice, even electricity...I've also heard...something about light and dark energy? Speaking of which, no thanks on the da

The time had come for the next match. Astralin took a deep breath. Yona was down, so Astralin found herself with the daunting task of having to fight for her cause as well. Hey, Astralin needed to try and be a good friend to the panicked woman, even though she'd so confidently challenged the player whom Astralin had defeated earlier...what was this whole thing even coming to? Whatever the case, she made her way over to the sparring arena. Another male opponent waited for her there. Honestly, if Astralin was to defeat all the male players she came across in this tourney, maybe Yona wo

Just about everyone was staring at Astralin now, and her smile broke into an even bigger one. She really didn't have a poker face...and it explained why she was terrible at BS, too. Yona's expression melted down into one that showed worry. Did she really need to be that worried? Astralin would win the hand, and there would be no further bets for any future rounds. Astralin handed one cookie to Yona, one cookie to a violet eyed player, thinking she was playing, and two cookies to Astreya. She considered handing a few cookies to the other players involved as well. She was just nice that way

Nari seemed to be a bit on the shy side after all. Astralin simply smiled back at her, before speaking softly as to not seem too intrusive. "I heard from Astreya here that your name is Nari. Mine's Astralin, it's nice to meet you." @Nari-Lanreth Before Astralin could say anything else, Yona marched right up and...challenged Calrex? Astralin was confused, why was she challenging him? "Yona, what's gotten into you? ...And why are you wording the match as if it were some kind of insult??" Astralin called out. Yona seemed to leave, but her challenge remained in the air...and it wa

Astralin noticed Yona just leaping in and joining the game. So sudden... When the newcomer called out for reveal, Astralin revealed her hand. Yep, she lost this one. Time to get a new hand? She breathed in, and breathed out. "Um...Hit me?" She guessed. Astralin didn't know much about most of the card games played with the usual game cards. She knew games like War, Go Fish, and BS, but...little else, aside from solitaire. She did remember how a friend of hers from the real world, Scorpio, had gotten inspired by some of Astralin's big brother's Dungeons and Dragons worldbuilding,

Everyone but the violet eyed girl, Nari, had something to say to Astralin in response to her words. Speaking of Nari, she seemed to be hiding behind Astreya. Poor thing must have been shy. Astralin gave her a short wave and a smile, but nothing more if she wasn't in the mood for conversation. Astreya gave her thoughts about what happened at the Christmas Party. "Yeah, at least everything turned out alright." Both Astreya and Koga were confused when Astralin explained why Yona should have been panicking right now. "Hmm, I'm not sure...maybe she's just considering the worst-case scenar

Astreya spoke of the other player in the conversation. "Yeah, we did, that's right!" She responded. Astreya looked over to Yona, and spoke of...Yona getting upset at Blueberry... Astralin blinked several times. "Wait...you're telling me...that the 'dessert sabotage' that Yona asked me to fix was...a replacement done by Blueberry??" She asked. "That's...that's just wrong, on both ends!" Astralin could hardly believe what she just realized. "Yona should have handled the situation more calmly, they're just sweets. And Blueberry shouldn't have destroyed what was there to replace it all with o

The brunette seemed to shy to make any response other than a greeting. The poor thing. It wasn't long before Astreya came back to invite the two players to playing cards. "Sure, why not?" Astralin responded. She came over to where the game was being played, and learned that it was Blackjack...which she'd never learned how to play. "Oh...hmm, hold on a sec..." Didn't she have a notepad full of various game rules and social tips in her inventory? She remembered having one, but she could be wrong. So she opened up her menu to look for it. Unfortunately, she was a bit too hasty as she sc

Astralin had a worthy opponent. Her opponent noted that it was an excellent duel, that he was glad to have her as an opponent. He then introduced himself as Calrex. "Thanks, you did great as well! I'm Astralin, nice to meet you too!" The blue haired player suggested that the two players leave the sparring area for the time being, and Astralin agreed with a nod. @Calrex Now it was time to join the others while she waited for the next round. She would notice a familiar face- no, two of them. She headed over to them, happy to see some others who she recognized. "Heeeey! Astreya!

You sow risk, you reap risk. Astralin's risky move would be met with extreme difficulty, for despite her evasive strategy for the duel, her opponent was catching on, and predicting her moves. This was not good. Not good, at all. Her opponent's latest strike would have quite the impact, it was clear that Astralin's weight and squishiness were unknown to him, for Astralin was practically sent flying backwards, until her back hit something. Astralin got up, a bit slowly. "I'm...I'm ok...!" She said to her opponent, in case he was concerned, as she stumbled forward before regaining

Astralin clearly wasn't expecting an opponent like this, but she wouldn't let that thought catch her off guard. If anything, it was reason to be more alert, more aware. Her opponent stepped back upon the hit, and once he moved following a calm breath, it naturally meant it was time for Astralin to move, too. A fight was a fight, so a sharp mind that was well awake would be taking in the details and tell-tale signs. Not every sign could easily be found, due to how Astralin's mind worked, but she was able to notice enough before she could get hit. She jumped back when the false attack

In realistic terms, deflection by a weapon would have cut Astralin, unless it was one of those one-edged swords, then there would have been a chance the blunt end was used to deflect, in which Astralin would have kept her hand... But these were training weapons, in a virtual reality, so there was no amputation that could possibly occur. Once Astralin's attack was deflected, the blue-haired player attempted a horizontal slash attack. Astralin fell backwards, by her own choice, as to avoid the weapon. In hopes of avoiding a downward thrust while she was on the floor, she rolled her body to

Astralin managed to find and put on one of the available forms of attire, and she managed to find some hand wraps, too. She was familiar with Martial Arts to to it technically being her skill of choice, but she was used to acting like it was magic delivered via physical contact. If she didn't want to mess up the theme of this little event, she'd have to avoid saying any spell names, though that would break her personal immersion into what she wanted to be. Oh, the conundrum... With a sigh, she decided to keep her attacks silent for the tournament's duration. Astralin took

The two players continued walking towards the dojo, where they were to retrieve their gear and prepare for the competition. Astralin didn't know who was participating and who was fighting just yet, aside from herself and Yona. Along the way, she passed by some familiar faces, such as @Koga and the Artisan who made her Amulet(@NIGHT). As she and Yona passed by, she waved to them while saying a soft "Hi!" to them with a smile. She also noticed a new friend of hers(@Astreya) talking to a brown haired male(@Bismuth) She waved to them as well. Astralin might have been unnerved by Yona's w

Yona's reaction was unexpected, but Astralin was also confused. "Ah....Yona, can I see that real quick...?" She asked worriedly. Yona handed the flyer over, and... Astralin's eyes widened. "A...date...for...the victor of the tournament...um...and it's...the victor's choice...?" Astralin realized. "Yona...what are we going to do?" She asked. Yona's expression changed from one of utter shock, into one of utter defiance. "The answer's clear as Day. We avoid loss! We need to fight like our sanity depends on it!" Astralin blinked several times in succession, before her eyes darted their gaze i

Astralin spotted a flyer that stood out from the rest, and it seemed to mention a tournament. "...White Day Valentines Tournament?" Astralin read aloud. "Hmm...don't know what that means, but hey, a tournament sounds nice...oh, and a safe and fun environment for all? I'm sold!" Without bothering to read the other details, she signed herself up. Oh, if only she knew what she'd gone and gotten herself into...

Astreya explained how she was uncertain where she really stood in terms of her build, but intended to become a tank on the front lines, but test the waters there first, just to see if what she was going for truly suited her. At least, that's what Astralin was able to get from the Valley Girl's words. Astreya proceeded to state her current level, but she asked about going beyond the top level. "Yeah, I've heard about levels that go beyond the cap. Paragon Levels, so they're called. They only seem to bring about changes to your stats within certain milestones of Paragon level" Astralin