Lucky Charms

His shyer mannerisms made her feel warm and pleased. It was just nice, having her genuine admiration reach the person it was aimed toward, and being able to how it made the other feel. She spared him the space he needed, continuing to be immersed in practice and conversation with the old man, cheering successfully and doing little jumps around from her excitement.  Finally again with her feet planted on the floor, she shakes his hand. "Thank you sir!" She smiles. 

"Now, was there anything else?" He asked. Lucky gasp a little as she had nearly forgotten, and explains to him that the mayor had sent her.  "Leave it to Dorian to forget something so important. No, I'm afraid it wasn't me that borrowed the col. You might try Lyle, the blacksmith. I've seen him talking with the mayor frequently the past month or so, and he's just up the road. I wish you luck!"

With that, the quest completes, leaving from her quest box, and replaces itself with something called the second lesson. But she declines to start that for now, turning back to her new companion as they exit the shop. "Hey, chase... "She starts. "Can I send you a friend request? I mean, I'm not gonna keep holdin ya back with me all the time but... I hope we'll be able to keep adventuring together! I've got a lot of catching up to do if I wanna be useful to you first, but it's really great having you around today."

"That sounds like a plan then. A fire elemental pet would probably be handy, at the very least ill never need to light a fire... I guess I didn't have to anyways though, ha!" She laughs at the redundancy. So many things in this game could be done so quickly, just by pushing putting, or doing the same thing over and over again and leveling up to where suddenly she could be as great as she wanted to be.  And she'd never need to do so, or even wanted to either- not until recently. The idea of doing something, having others around. It was finally appealing again. 

He may be ashamed or insecure about his amiability to properly wield the weapon, but her eyes sparkle with admiration and excitement as he explains it. "Wow, you really participated in a boss fight? That's amazing!  And you even got to make a really special and unique weapon out of it... I bet the day you're able to use it properly, you'll look super cool!" She tells him as she follows him back to Zackariah's place, entering the alchemist store once again. 

"I'm back Mister!" She greets the NPC, perhaps for a moment forgetting he's unreal.  The alchemist turns to her, with a soft voice that chuckles warmly. "Good to see you're back child- now eh- come here-" he gestures, drawing her in closer. "Allow me to show you the work table. I can't let a young adventurer like you go out, without having crafted a potion. Always something wonderful about learning, isn't there?"

As the NPC blathers on about crafting and such, Lucky finds herself immersed in the experience, in the conversation. For the most part, if she asks a question on a mechanic, the conversation is fluid. She knows he's not real, but they did such a good job of making this kind old man- it feels exactly like the comforting connection she had between her and an old neighbor who used to help teach her Japanese. A patient and steady teacher.

"Now, give it ago- use whatever you need."

ID 199096 | CD 8 | Craft Heal Potion | Rare Quality- Success!

Lucky pouts a little as he attempts to console her, feeling both still a little worried if she was just making things hard for him, and the tiniest tidbit of satisfaction buried beneath it all. "Hmmm...!" She hums unsurely as if testing his honesty for a moment. But that's when he huffs and she ends up sighing, still a little red in the cheeks. But now that he's shown a little bit of his frustration with it, she feels better about it.  It's not just pleasantries at that point you know, it's genuine conversation.... and that's more comforting than just what 'should' be said.

"Mmm... okay..!" Lucky gives in, sounding warmer, and more endeared than the previous mood of worry, which had indicated feeling quite some distance.  She liked him, she finally decided, truly hoping they could be friends.  "I was thinking a big old dog-like creature, something friendly and lively but sturdier than those super cute but super wispy ones." She says- which is pretty vague, but at least it's a starting point.  

"That new sword takes a lot of getting used to?"

"Wait they don't eat??" She gasps, sitting up and looking at him with disbelief. Oh, she heard him. "I could have had a cat this whole time but I was worried I wouldn't always be able to provide for it, and I literally don't have to??" She lets out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a groan of slight frustration. Well, at least that means she wouldn't have to worry about mess or too much responsibility. Why wasn't that more clear? She'd seen so many beast tamers feed their pets daily she thought it was necessary..... Maybe it just provides a buff combatively or levels em up... Maybe they just wanted to feel normal like she did too. Well, she couldn't judge anyone if they didn't though, why should they waste material on an NPC's enrichment when it could be put to good use.

She resumes her searching, scooting more to the left. It was a big area, and she might as well be blind as a bat when she gets her tunnel vision set in. "I am-did- ah don't apologize-  I'm sorry-" She apologizes. "I'm sorry to have made you sit here this whole time. You should have been resting, the boars haven't looked my way once."

ID 199087 | LD 17 | Material Search | Success! 5/5

"B-But look I found the last one so... You don't have to babysit me if you need to sleep!" 

She hated being a burden.

"I'm sure he doesn't mind too much. He probably thinks he's got it made, safe and sound and fed." Lucky nods. It would be quite bad if the poor little guy got himself hurt... If she got a familiar, maybe she should be on the lookout for something that was sturdy or could save itself and get out the way fast. What kind of creatures would be like that? Surely there must be plenty in this crazy world they were stuck in.  They would be here quite a while so, it wouldn't be any harm in taking her time selecting the right one. She would want one for the company after all, so it better be one that can handle being out for the most part.  

Chase circles back around to their previous conversation, but luckily she doesn't feel as trapped by it now that there was a little break around it... And she supposed it help he had his own admissions. not the lone guilty party anymore.  "I'll try not to" She assures with a smile, then stepping into the tall grass.

ID 199086 |LD 10| Material Search | fail (4/5)

"Uuuhhh left for right?" she ask, not quite seeing it.

She nods, understanding his notion well. She didn't want to wait around anymore, but sometimes life and everything in it just felt like no matter how hard she tried, it was just simply something that happened to her. "Yeah... Maybe why I'm prone to wishing is the cause of the way I think of relationships." She shrugs, following his lead to standing back up. "I can give my best and be open over and over again, but I can't really chase people and beg them to be my friends either. I always think of hopes and goals to be something you make happen, but relationships are if it'll be, it will be. That's at least the nice way of it, I think... Maybe it's an excuse" 

She shrugs yet again and begins to look for the last material needed for this quest. Man, she had kept him out quite a bit, hadn't she. "Oopsy- didn't mean to keep the poor guy all alone. Maybe when I get familiar, they can play." She suggests, smiling now again like the last bit hadn't quite happened. Maybe her search was a little half hearted.

ID 199085 | LD 3| Material Search | fail (4/5)

Lucky wondered about Lily, who she was, what she looked like. How those two had met, and how they felt about each other.  If she missed i=him. And then she wondered how long it had been since she'd been even relatively curious about another person- both Chase, and this Lily. Talking... it felt good. It felt right.  "You sound pretty close" She notes lightly, indicating her curiosity for more, but leaving it open for him.

"I think you mean Tanabata. It's a pretty holiday, isn't it? It's about two lovers, reuniting in the sky for only one day a year..... When I was little, I had seen the fourth of July and country fairs and all that.. but I never saw a cultural celebration so wonderful until I came to Japan. I sometimes try and stay out of it, it doesn't belong to me so it's wrong to take it for myself. But when I get invited to celebrate, with friends or even by this game, it's always special." Her cheeks blushed and she glances away for a moment. "For a long time, I always wished for good friends or true love. But I think the last time I celebrated in real life, I had wish to go on a great adventure. Now this time, I just wished to go home." She looks back at him, a little meek but happy, her eyes shiny with lingering emotion of something she didn't know, but it felt like water.

"If I live till the next time it comes around... maybe I'll wish for friends again."

Wow... that question... really made her pause. She didn't quite understand it all the way through, why people were so scarce to tell and talk about their real lives. She was very quick to understand that it hurt to think about- think about being trapped d and not seeing them for so long. Thinking about whether or not the people outside were hurting too, still waiting for them. And that generally, people liked anonymity online. But she missed it so much, being able to share stories, feel normal for a little bit. When the game first started, day one she gushed about her dad, and a month or so later when she had friends in her first party, she talked to them about life too. Now, it's like the other world didn't exist. Maybe that's why... she stopped waiting around. 

"Don't worry bout it! I clearly wasn't paying enough attention either if I let you fool me!" She chuckles with a tease, turning towards him. "But uh, yeah! Well - I was born there, and I was raised there until I was about five, maybe six? Then my family moved to Japan. I visited the states and spent all my breaks there until I was 10 or so, it was kind of a split-time thing... But since then I've pretty much just been living in Japan."

"Aww, I thought I was almost done...!" She sighs with a little pout, eventually letting out a hum that sounded something like going through the seven stages of grief all at once, and ending with acceptance. Dramatic little thing, wasn't she? Still, it seemed to be far less of a mood ruiner than she played to be, immediately going back to her searching. This time, she stumbled across a patch of beautiful flowers, which she sniffed and enjoyed with a happy sing-song in her voice.

ID: 199081 | LD 20 | Material Search | PERFECT SUCCESS!  (4/5... or, of 7?)

"Ah, number four! NOW I'm halfway!" She hums triumphantly, now letting herself a moment to sit. with him. Lucky shakes her head and pats him with a friendly hand. "I wouldn't worry about it... I'm not being the best conversationalist ever right now either!" the girl jokes with a grin. "How about this, let's properly meet." She suggested, putting out her little hand for a firm shake. "My name is Lucky, and you are?"
 

ID: 199080 | LD 9 | Material Search | FAIL (3/5)

Lucky digs and digs yet again, but it seems the one bit of material she did find in the falsely promising bush was all there was in it. Wiggling out with her tooshie coming out the foliage first, her skirt catches and she struck halfway unhooking it from the branch- hurriedly too not to look foolish and expose herself. After freeing herself, with only the most minor worry of flashing, she exits the bush and stands to stretch-  She may have had a harder time paying attention to his question due to the little struggle, but now that she's free she's capable of answering... it's not all like she had a really good one, though. 

"I dunno. I guess today I decided I was bored and.. actually wanted to do something about it. I don't know if the system picked up on player intent, or if it's by chance, but that's when I finally ran into that mayor NPC." She explains. she thinks a little harder though, wanting herself to understand what's gone on in her head. "Maybe I'm just...ready to try again?"

But it also made her feel suddenly so inexplicably alive and... maybe even better? At the very least, she felt honest. "It's okay... " She turns to him with a softer smile, probably one of the first real ones she's given him the entire time. Not awkward, nor forced. Genuinely just a gentle relief.

"Ah- no-" she sputters, waving her hand. "not any time soon okay? I don't think I'd be able to compensate you for it yet, and that's not fair".  she gives him a good look to say it's a definite 'promise me later' thought. "But uh, see I have  golden necklace in real life.. It's just got my name and a little four leaf clover in like, disney font.... my dad got it for me when was 1, and i got it sized up to fit whenever I needed a longer chain so... " her hand falls crest to her delicate collarbones,  the space suddenly looking emptier than before. "I guess it would just be comforting to have one again."

Feeling a little too physically close to him after making herself emotionally vulnerable, she crawled herself over a bit more as she searched around the tall grass, dropping the careful and more lady-like crouching for upright prowling as she searched inside a bush.

ID: 199076 | LD 13 | Material Search | Success! (3/5)

Her lips tightened for a moment, feeling like her whole body tensed as she thought about them again. It took her a moment to bring herself to be able to admit the truth outright. Sometimes it was like she was still in denial, like she never knew them. But that was a lie, and she dishonoring them, their hopes and courage by hiding away... "Yeah...they went on a mission and... it was their last one. I guess everyone loses someone at some point in this game. I'm not the only one so, I feel kind of bad that others were able to get stronger." She admits, continuing her searches.

"I think... if I find some new friends, maybe a party or a guild, ill try and be a supporter in battles, at least more than I would usually like to. But if I end up alone again... ill probably get into something safer like a craft skill. well-" she tilts her head, a decidedly more interactive and brighter action than her previous body language. "I would like to be able to do both I guess... ah, I don't know..." She shrugs, then looks over. Her eyes sparkle seeing his pretty bracelet. "Do you think someone could be able to recreate jewelry from real life if it could be described or drawn?"

D: 199073| LD 3 | Material Search | FAIL (2/5)

His story was much the same as she was, for the first while at least. He'd just.. been a lot braver a lot sooner, still more than she was, that was for sure.  Orr maybe, it was that... he was successful. "Y'know... about a week or two after we all got stuck... I thought I was ready to come out. I was optimistic for a little bit, new friends an all.  I usually just supported them from safe zones, running errands and home making But uh, well, a... lonely month or two later I just gave up." She shrugs. "But that sucks...! I kind of just wanna be like you, well uh- i mean, ya know, living." She realizes she's fumbling, and clears her through, stuffing down the sorry she almost gave him. 

"If I'm honest, no idea. I'm pretty sure I've done as little battling as possible. I guess I'm still here, and those fights weren't bad, so not yet?".  Lucky shrugs again, digging through the bushes and grass more to find more sources of glowing material. There's gotta be a joke in there somewhere...

ID: 199072 | LD 11 | Material Search | Success! (2/5)

She ends up red in the ears as he explains it to her, knowing how stupid and how much a scaredy-cat she must have sounded like. "I only wondered cus' players get red when they do it... but yeah, that's fair." She responds, not defensively but a little sheepish.  She knew they were probably the least harmful spawn in this game, but she'd also heard of people getting into accidents with them, returning to the safe zone with at low health thinking they could make it without incident, and then..... "Yeah, I've got mitigation. I didn't know they were that weak, so I guess that's pretty good." She shrugs, continuing to search around.

She listens to his explanation of his roles while she searches, looking over her shoulder whenever she needed to, eventually pausing completely to look at the heavy sword. When he reassures her safety, she snaps her head back around to her direction away from him, hiding her pout of irritated embarrassment. None of it was aimed at him, more so at herself. She was a social butterfly, in real life. When she made mistakes or was oblivious, it was funny and endearing.. now she just felt pitiful. But she still appreciated him, nonetheless, and tried not to make him the subject of her internal frustrations.  Instead, she tries to make better conversation.

"Did you always want to be a tank? On my first day, I figured out pretty quickly I'd prefer to stay back and stab from a distance. That's why I ended up with a polearm."

ID: 199071 | LD  19 |  Material Search | Success! (1/5)

"Ooh...!" She coos to herself as she finds a glowing green... something.

Admittedly his description was a little bit baffling, but it made sense. The materials she'd gotten in her start weren't anything in specific, despite being listed. So the idea that visually they would be quite generic, made sense. Although from a different perspective it was still a little surprising- a million graphics for a billion things in this game, and basic materials were left to be a glowing light... "Huh..." She shrugged, blinking away the tangle of thoughts in her head. She walked alongside him as they exited the city walls to walk along with the fields just outside. Lord, how long had it been? She can't lie and say the very last time was day 1 but... 

Lucky turned her head, looking at those overgrown pigs in the slight distance. She wasn't scared of them. Definitely not, like there was not a single chance in the world that the thought of an even slightly hostile mob taking her hp to zero terrified her to the point of stillness. Not in front of other people at least, but it was quite obvious their presence made her tense up, nodding silently. 

She began to look over the beautiful morning grass, searching for the difference between glowing materials and the shimmering dew.  A thought crossed her her. "Does.. the red mean that they're hostile in general or... does it mean they've killed a player?" 

ID: 199070 | LD 2| First Lesson | FAIL

It seems her distracting thoughts had consequences.

As her new acquaintance talked about his experience, she felt a little silly for assuming he was someone with a lot of expertise, and for speaking so formally. But it had been so long since she'd had a proper conversation, she knew that it was the social anxiety surfacing again.. well an, he did look pretty cool! She thought that's what those kind of guys did where, ya know?? With an internally head shake to clear her thoughts, she nodded. "My dad, he wanted to join me here..." She shrugs her shoulders, trying to show empathy but it ended up being poorly done. Clearing her throat, she walks to the door of the alchemist. "I'll be just a minute." She assures, walking in.

~~

As you enter Zackariah’s shop, you are met with shelves and shelves of colorful potions in various vials and jars. “Oh, hello," comes the distracted greeting from behind the counter. A man with a long, snow-white beard glances up from a bubbling cup of sweet-smelling purple liquid. "Are you here to order something? I’m sorry, but I am currently swamped with orders, and I’m running out of supplies.” Light comes into the man's dark eyes, a lightbulb going off to signify a brilliant idea. “Would you gather a few materials for me? Flowers, herbs, rare woods, whatever you can find outside the city walls. I promise I’ll help you fill your order as soon as you return. In fact, I would be willing to show you how to do it yourself.”
~~

Ah, quest like these really enjoy being a big old goose chase didn't they. After receiving yet another part of the quiet, and some instructions on basic game mechanics she rarely dabbled in, even in the two years, she was out of the elaborate and warm feeling store front. "So, gathering...!" She clapped her hands a little awkwardly. "Guess I better get ready for some foraging practice, haven't done that since summer camp."

Oh god, I'm fucking pitiful. This blue looking big shot has to worry about my disoriented ass...! She cries internally. On the outside, she just sighs and lets the defeat wash over her pink face. "Yeah..." She sighs, rubbing the back of her neck. It takes a moment to gain the courage to meet his eyes, her large and shiny ones looking so pretty yet so tired, like life barely clung. "I never really tried exploring anything adventure-based except for the first day and uh... well yeah-" Speaking about what happened is kind of taboo, especially with strangers. 

"I  would appreciate the guidance.." She bows her head a little. She's just about to take off with her tail between her legs when she realizes he's actually intending to accompany her. She feels guilty, immediately. But the tiny, desperate part of her that needed the company jumped on first, a little too early for such a down girl. "...I would really appreciate it." She corrects with emphasis.

Lucky| Lv. 1 | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 5

"You there! Stop, please!" A man approaches you with long, purposeful strides. "Pardon me, but I am in need of some assistance, and you appear quite capable." Giving the NPC your attention, he heaves a quick sigh, adjusting the monocle over his right eye. "My name is Dorian, and I am the mayor of this town. As part of those mayoral duties, I issued a small loan to a member of the community a few months ago. Well, the time to collect had come around and I-" Flustered, Dorian systematically runs his fingers over his perfect mustache. "You see, I've forgotten who it was I loaned the money to. Terribly embarrassing, I know, but I am a very busy man, and I cannot keep track of everything that happens. I'm sure you understand." With a wave of his hand, Dorian continues, "Should you be willing to track down the loan recipient for me, and collect the col, I would be eternally grateful. Just, maybe don't let anyone else know I forgot who the loan went to?"

Upon acceptance of the quest, Dorian nods. "Excellent, I knew I could count on you! You might start with Zackariah, the alchemist. He's often doing projects for the town, so it may have been him that borrowed the money."

And off she went.

That conversation... what a whirlwind! A strange man and his monocle had introduced themselves as the mayor of the town, a clumsy clumsy NPC. Lucky had for the most part avoided getting herself caught up in quest lines, but this one struck like lightning. Maybe it was the system's way of pulling her out of her mundane, but she didn't mind all too much. After all, she was in quite the lull, and being tasked with something so simple was just what she needed to get going.  Aincrad... hadn't been easy on her, or on anyone. It almost felt as if she's been on auto pilot for a very long time, and today was the day she had the consciousness to act herself. It was like the strangest thing, but Lucky got a sudden sense in her gut that today, and tomorrow on, was going to be very different for her....  "Ah shoot... I don't really know where that Zacka-whatever guy is... or looks like. I've never need an alchemist before.." She mumbles to herself, shaking her head with a sigh. Lucky finds her head turning side to side, looking for signs or maybe even an icon pointing her... nope. this game wasn't so basic.  "Maybe someone else knows... I'll probably find him if i wander around...!" She reassures herself.

Howdy there! My chosen moniker is Mars, but for some reason earned me the nickname Lucky Charms! You can call me Mars or Lucky, it doesn't matter much to me. I haven't caught up to full speed on everything SAO, but the original, gungale, and the spin off GGO are shows I still consider quite dear to me. I'm not actually one much for  fighting or survival, but it's just such a pretty world. I probably like it more for the romance than i did rpg hahah! I hope i can make a few cool friends, and get some nice RPs in.  I haven't ever really used a website quite like this. To be honest, i was qoutev for quite a few years.... so please help me if i'm looking a bit goofy! I'm really excited to meet you all.