[PP-F01] The first day <Day one Thread>

[Jinx 0]

The girl was trying to catch words, like bobbing for apples, that roamed around in her brain to explain herself. If she wasn’t dulled, she could drop it all on him. Her medical operations that had caused this to her, but while dulled, the girl could only flail with hopelessness. Thankfully, it seemed that the boy understood what she had been attempting to say, as she heard a few words. Patch and earphones.

Back in the real world, whenever she left her house, that was what she did. Darkened sunglasses, or just an eyepatch, as well as headphones or ear plugs. It was usually enough to limit the sensory information, as long as no one grabbed her without her mind being prepared for it.

“Earplugs” the girl said absently, managing to stick to Japanese “I need…them..?” Despite meaning to be a statement, the girl had, in the process to speaking, forgotten what she had been saying and, her single eye looked at the boy clearly confused “I think…wait…we were talking about earplugs….?” She closed her right eye and took a breath as her daydreaming got deeper. In her minds eye, she could see an army of mechanical cyborgs on the war path, a daydream she often enjoyed exploring.

[Stryder 0]

She managed to say Earplugs in Japanese, then she said she needs them. But hse didn't state it, she... asked it? He really had no idea what to say or do for this young girl. She was VERY unsure of everything, and seemed to not know what they had even been talking about as suddenly she asked about what they had been talking about, and now both her eyes were closed, and sle looked like she was, daydreaming? He was so confused by her, but, she did seem kind of cute, especially with her indecisiveness.

"Yeah, we were. I think we should try and get you some earplugs and a patch as soon as possible, especially if you plan on continuing to play SAO, your going to have a hard time if this continually happens to you" He said in a kind, soft voice, before looking around him. They were in the town square, there wasn't much to get here, that he could see. Maybe they should try exploring a little further into the town, but he had no idea if this girl would let him pick her up, and carry her around, she probably wouldn't though. 

"Can you walk, or would you like me to carry you around to the NPC stores to try and find the accessories you need?" He asked, deciding it would be smarter to ask for approval this time.

[Jinx 0]

The girl was dragged from her daydream, of an army of immortal cyborgs conquering the world, to see the face of the boy…Stryder. She frowned a little, when did he get there? That’s when she noticed he was trying to talk to her, and gently unplugged her ears to hear him, mention getting earplugs?

In a mere second, the girls heart leapt. If she could get earplugs, and a patch too! Maybe she could….could, focus? Was it focus..She nodded her head, yeah, focus.  

“I’ll walk..” She said, but despite their conversation language, she had swapped languages. This time, however, it had swapped over to German “I think I need…the plugs first, I can keep my eye closed easily enough” Unaware the boy wouldn’t understand her, she slowly stood herself up and looked around with her single eye. It was then, and only then, that a question dawned on her. Why was he helping her like that?

She opened her mouth to ask it, right as the question melted from her grasp and she couldn’t remember the very thing she had been about to ask, leaving her standing there, her mouth partly open with a confused and dazed look on her face.

[Stryder 0]

He noticed her snap out of her daydream as he was talking, the mention of 'Earplugs' seemed to leap out at her, as it was shortly after that she lite up. Then, of course another language, this time one that sounded rough, so he assumed German. He had been there, but only for a few days at a time, he didn't know any german at all. He was so confused as to how many different languages this little girl knew, she seriously was some kind of linguistic genius. He sighed, standing up next to her and making sure she wasn't about to fall over, then she looked like she was going to ask something only to completely null out.

"May i ask what you said? I only speak English and Japanese" He asked her with a polite tone, though he was a little itchy about it. If this was all on purpose, he was going to have a few words about it later, but for now he was taking the benifit of the doubt, helping htis cute young girl who seemed to be having a rough first time into a video game. She was completely new, she didn't know the do's and don'ts... But he could teach her, though he seemingly needed to learn a dozen different languages to do so.

[Jinx 0]

The girl frowned at him. How did he not understand her, she hadn’t used too many complicated words had she? And how was she meant to remember what she had said to him anyway? She frowned, before shrugging and moving on, not worrying about what she had been thinking about previously, unable to remember it herself.

“Only those two…?” She asked in Japanese, tilting her head to the side as her hair finally settled on her back and some of it being lazy on her shoulders “I said….umm” She frowned once again, before snickering a little.

“Ohh, I remember. Earplugs” She said softly in Japanese, managing to stick to the language before looking around “…Where would I get them…?” She wondered as her eye zeroed in on someone. In her minds eye, they looked like a Cyborg. Just like in her daydream, and a smiled absently at the idea as the idea once again entered her minds eye.

[Stryder 0]

This girl was all over the place, but it seemed she understood he could only speak Japanese and English. Lucky him, and this time she managed to stick to Japanese. She was going on about a few random things, as this whole time, breaking in and out of focus. He noticed her absentmindedly staring at someone, which turned his own attention to them. They were nothing out of the ordinary, but for some reason this girl had fully snapped. He simply sighed, wondering how the hell he was going to drag her towards the shopping district... If he even knew where that was. He swipped his hand, opening his map. He was lucky, the town was already given to him, so he could see where it was.

"There, shopping district... 'Jinx' come on, lets get you this patch and earplugs you need." He said to her, smiling as he walked in front a bit, looking back to her. He made sure she was able to walk fine, going slowly so she wouldn't lose track of him. This girl peaked his interest, and he honestly wondered if they would meet again after all of this.

[Jinx 0]

The girls single eye was obsessed on the person she was staring at. They looked so perfect, all it would take was a few implants…A robotic arm, and add in a shoulder mounted cannon. She could almost taste the perfection. She would have just kept staring at him if a voice hadn’t pulled her attention, and the girl looked at Stryder as he said…jinx? She frowned, already having forgotten her online name.

“Jinx…? My names Alisea…Alisea Dariem” she said bluntly in Japanese as the girl shrugged “Well…I need the ear plugs first..t-they’ll make the noise…barable…Otherwise the sounds are too sharp” She said trying to find a way to explain how she viewed, and felt the world. She managed to not losing him in the walking, his pony tail was made him easy enough to track and follow without having to look around. Although what happens if she lost him?

And what was his real name, and…why? She frowned, but didn’t ask the questions, for each time she was about to, it slipped away like sand.  

[Stryder 0]

She had already forgotten what he had told her, about her real name. She was lucky that no other players were hearing her saying it, otherwise it could cause issues for her... Issues he really wouldn't know how to explain. He simply sighed, deciding to try and teach her again when she had her patch and the earplugs, untl then she wouldn't take anything in. She seemed to be having an alright time following him, though how he had no idea.

"Alright, i guess i'l have to teach you the do's and don't of video games after you can concentrate... If you can keep an eye out for something that sounds like an Accessory store, like... some kind of make up shop" He said, knowing how offensive it might sound, but he didn't know what else he could compare it to. She ovbviously had no game experience, so he would have to try and relate everything back to the real world if he wants her to learn at all. 

 

[Jinx 0]

The girl followed him into the market area, to which she stopped walking entirely to look around her and examine the area. While her mind was dulled, she took in enough information before allowing her mind to switch itself off and resume its daydreaming. She saw many players around her moving with purpose, nearly barging into her in their desire to be fast. Her single eye watched rushed movements, curious as to their destination, before forgetting her curiousity.

Stryders instructions were to…find a make up shop? The girl frowned. What kind of store was that, one where you…made it up as you went? The idea amused the girl at the idea and she started chucking at the idea of a shop that had no idea what it was doing.

“Something tells me a shop like that won’t be useful…” she said in Japanese to him “Although I’m sure there are something…around…?” She frowned as she eyes one of the closer shops. It had blades, lots and lots of weapons on it. Alisea pouted “That’s not usefull…”

[Stryder 0]

He immediately noticed, by her first words when they reached the area, that she had fully zoned out again, completely forgetting everything he had just said. He was a little irritated, she really was not making this easy, but... At the same time he felt kind of important, helping someone out, he felt a little needed. She would have had a rough time going about this on her own, especially with the fact she can't even seem to focus on one thing at a time. He noticed her staring at a basic Blacksmith shop. It seemed there were no player shops yet, obviously, but the NPC's had some so that everyone could at least start out.

"Alright, how about you grab onto my arm and i'l find a shop for us" He said to her in a calm Japanese accent, looking around for a accessory shop. There was a lot here, especially since around ten thousand plaeyrs were meant to be on day one. He spent a few minutes looking, before spotting one, it had a weird looking emblem, kind of like a watch on it, but it did say 'Accessory' on it. 

"I think i found a shop for you where we might be able to get your Earplugs" He said to her before walking, making sure she was following. If she was failing to and zoning out, he would put a hand on her arm, and gently pull her. He had noticed her earlier reaction, but in a place with this many players walking around he didn't want to lose her.

[Jinx 0]

The girl looked at the store with her single eye, and drew her own weapon. A One-Handed blade that had been in her inventory, and lifted it up to compare the weapons. From her perspective, it looked the same. What did those swords have, that hers did not? She shrugged, before placing the blade on her back. She wasn’t sure the difference and….

Her train of thought was derailed as Stryder spoke up again mentioning he would…grab her?! She frowned a little as he didn’t explain why. Why did he want to touch her? Although, she seemed to perk up upon hearing that he had managed to locate a shop. Her eye seemed to light up at the mention of it.

She took a step towards him to follow, right as a nearby player started yelling. Excited that he had found his friends. However, the loud noise had a very different reaction to the girl. In constast to the soft talking of Stryder, the loud boy caught the entirely of the girls attention and made her overally aware of the noise around her. Before, focused on Stryders voice, the rest of the world seemed to fade away. But now, with her focus on his voice destroyed, the rest of the noise hit her.

Constant talking, a soft murmur that was in the background, became louder. She could hear each word being said around her, and like that, the information overwhelmed her. She dropped onto her knees and covered her ears tightly.

[Stryder 0]

So far so good, she is letting me bring her along, i can get her through this crowd without much happening at this rate. Maybe then she can try and enjoy this place

That was going through his mind as he led her through the crowd, though before long he felt the light grip he had on her slip. He turned around to see what had happened, he himself being fully used to this level of noise from his many trips around the world, and just his gaming experience in general, though he saw the group who were making more noise then most, and he had led her right past them! 

DAMMIT

"Out of the way jackasses, can't you see you just scared the [censored] out of a little girl? Move!" He said to them, fully knowing how 'macho' he had sounded, but not caring. He understood they were excited, but it still upset him to see anyone get scared and shocked like that... Like he had used to happen to him daily. He reached down, full well knowing she was about to hit him and be insanely mad, he picked up up. One arm under her legs, the other on her back as he carried her bridal style through the crowd, heading straight for the shop he had seen, which was nearby. It only took about a minute or two to reach the shop, at which time he would gently place her down on a bench that was right outside.

"Sorry  for picking you up like that, it wasn't the best place to have... what did you say, an overload" He said to her, smiling, still choosing to stick to Japanese. It seemed to calm her more than English.

[Jinx 0]

‘Haven’t seen you in…its amazing…Geoff, Michael, Andrew, Deathstring, Gimmi, Car, Brute. Onslaught, map, location, date’!

The girl, even with her fingers in her ears, could hear each conversation. Each and every single word that was involved, and her brain was trying to analyse each and every word, its meaning, its use, its translation, its scenario. Each individual word demanding it. It was too much for her brain to keep up with, and her sensory overload kicked in. Crippling the girl completely as her brain tried to analyse everything, while also shutting itself down to prevent any new information coming in. For those moments, she became immune to the world. Unable to hear, see or feel. She was so focused on her internal workings, that the outside world became an unknown to her. Even as he picked her up, she made no attempt to do anything other than keep her ears covered.

After many minutes, the girl risked unplugging her ears. There was still noise, but it was quieter. Manageable. Her single eye locked onto Stryder, and she heard a single word being said. Overload. She nodded her head slowly. However, this time, her eye seemed alert.

“I suffer from extreme sensory overloading. Too much at once, I can’t process the data” she said in Japanese. Her voice hadn’t changed, still soft and gentle, but there was an order to her thinking finally. Her mind, still trying to ‘calm down’ from the overload, had sharpened its dull edges…for now. “Before, I was focused on your voice, therefore I blocked out the others. The yelling though…” She glanced at the ground before moving on. She knew she was on a …on a timer!

“To prevent it, I usually have headphones and a patch back home, as well as…I rare…rarely..?” The girl frowned as her sharpness dulled itself out. Her mind having recovered, it went back into ‘standby’ mode and her sharp look vanished. Her mind was hurting a little, too much data, too little time between being switched on…

“I…huh…I something..i forget” She shrugged. She was aware that she’d said something important to the boy in front of her…just she couldn’t remember what it was exactly.

 

[Stryder 0]

It was a bit to take in, though he was glad she hadn't kicked the [censored] out of him for picking her up and carrying her like that. She seemed to have some ways to deal with all the issues, and for once her thoughts were centred and focused, she was conscious of her speech, each word said well in Japanese, not some mix and match like she had been doing before. She explained how she normally got around with her issue, but cut out before she managed to finish. But, he had heard enough, she needed Headphones and an Eye patch. He smiled at her, giving the warmest smile he could to the girl he had taken a little bit of a liking to already. 

"Alright, i'm going to carry you inside where it will be quieter, then i'l grab you an eye patch and some earphones, or plugs, or whatever they have here" He said in Japanese, knowing that she was a bit more alert now. He picked her back up, bringing her into the store. Luckily, no other player had a need for an accessory just yet, so they had the shop to themselves, almost. There was a few NPC's wandering around, with there script, the shopkeep, and two other players, a boy and girl. He ignored them, letting her down, and making sure she could stand before closing the door, the noise from the outside more or less cancelling out. Then, he started looking around for the two things she needed to be able to survive here. He found it funny, most would need to go get a sword, or shield, or whatever they wanted to survive here. She needed an Eye patch and earplugs. It was kinda hilarious, but, it was what she needed, and he wanted her to be able to enjoy her first gaming experience.

[Jinx 0]

The girl frowned a little, but didn’t make any protest to the boy picking her up. She did enjoy having someone move her, although often times it was hopping onto a friends back. The way he was carrying her felt…weird, off. But she didn’t comment on it because by the time she would have, he had put her down in a store. She covered her ears once again, only for the noise to mostly die down.

Unblocking her ears, she took a look around, her left hand covering up her left eye just in case she accidentally opened it. She store itself didn’t look like others she’d seen before. It seemed, mystical. And some of the items were weird. She looked at some of the necklaces that were hanging around the store, tracing them with her finger.

That’s when she frowned. She could…feel it as if it was real. But it wasn’t real, she was in a game. She let out an amused laugh. She had almost forgotten that she was in a video game, it seemed so real that she had nearly gotten lost. “I gotta make sure I don’t forget….that would be a bad..idea?” She frowned as an idea crossed her mind. How cool would it be to live in a video game? It would mean she’d have more control over her enviroment, and wouldn’t be a burden to her parents…   

[Stryder 0]

Not this one... Not this one... Oh god not that one

Sky's thought process continually shifted as he looked through the patches, not knowing what she would want. It was an idea though, she could probably find her own, but he didn't want her to have another breakdown. So, he had opted to do it for her. Before long, he found a plain black eye patch with a bit of red along the bottom that seemed to work well, at least for now. She could go out and find a better one later on if it wasn't to her liking. He pressed on it, opting to buy it. It wasn't expensive, luckily. He then moved onto other headwear, finding a pair of red colored earmuffs that looked like they could dull most of the sound that would be coming at her. Though, he knew they wouldn't be 100% effective.

If this worked in real life, it should work here to, right?

He purchased it, walking over to her, opening up a trade window between the two of them, sending over both of the items.

"Press accept, open up your inventory, it was on the menu i showed you earlier, and equip them to yourself, it should help" He said to her, smiling.

[Jinx 0]

The girl continued to examine the necklaces that were on one of the tables near where she was standing. Her hand traced over the cold metal, finding a simple enjoyment out of the reality that she could feel something while this buried in a video game. It should be impossible…and yet, she was certain this was no daydream.

Her seeming obsession with the necklaces died, however, when Stryder came back to her and a menu popped up in front of her. She frowned. A…trade menu? Why couldn’t he just give them to her?

“Why…do I need to accept? Can’t you just..?” She frowned, but pressed the accept button and attempted to open her inventory. It took her 4 tries before managing to succeed. Although once it was open, she selected the inventory and equipped both items. The eyepatch locking over her eyes, allowing her to move her left hand, and the earmuffs. The moment they came on, the girl seemed to relax. Her shoulders shifting down and her breathing became a lot more fluid.

“Ahh, that feels so much better” She said, in a very relaxed tone and smiled. She had her right eyes closed, but she starting humming softly, clearly very happy with the items that made her feel like she was at home.  

[Stryder 0]

The moment she got those onto her, she quickly seemed to snap out of her own mind, becoming the girl she was beforehand when she was able to actually focus. He smiled, glad that she had a relaxed tone to her voice, and she was humming, and she was obviously happy. He let out a sigh of relief, she was well now. As well as she would get for now at least. He walked over to her, smiling. 

"Now that your not freaking out and going into shutdown, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Stryder, nice to meet you Jinx, Alisea" He said, but before she could respond, the whole world went black for both of them, before they appeared again where they had just met, in the town of beginnings town Plaza. He looked at her, confused about was about to happen. A demon appeared in the sky, it looked like the grim reaper. A voice echo'ed out, saying the fateful message that changed all of there lives. He pulled out the mirror he had been told to grab, suddenly seeing his own face in it. 

Oh [censored]... this is real... crap crap crap! 

He looked around, seeing dozens of others being changed. Some's entire body's went from male to female and vice versa! His own change wasn't to severe, his height went down to his normal 5'8 height. His eyes went to there purple colour, a little dim at the bottom. His hair to a short cut. (Refer to faceclaim in the pic thingie). He didn't know what to do, he... looked around, trying to figure out what the hell was happening, lookng at Jinx, noticing that nothing had changed for her.

[Jinx 0]

Now a lot more comfortable with the amount of input, and knowing she could manage it, she got a proper, focused, look at Stryder. He looked young, although, if he used character creation…She let out a shorter hum. Was this what he looked like in the real world? She hummed softly right before she frowned. Why did he say both of her ‘names’? Jinx was her online name sure, but Alisea…sounded better. It was her name, the only name she would respond to without having to think about it.

“Pleasure Stryder…a-although, what’s your…?” She was going to ask his real name, unaware that in the gaming world, it was something that you did not do. However, she wasn’t given the chance as the forced teleport crystal was enacted on her, and she found herself…at the start? She spun around as she was surrounded by people! A panic in her chest right before she spotted Stryder, and it calmed down.

That’s when the demon appeared in the sky, and the girl froze. Despite the headphones, she could hear each and every word said. Despite her zoned out life, she heard every word. And she couldn’t believe a single word. And yet, despite her disbelief, she already knew the reality of the matter.

Even as everyones appearance changed, Jinx’s didn’t change at all. But the girl didn’t react to what was happening around her. Indeed, she was too focused on what had happened with the creature that had spoken to them all. The reality that was dawning on her.

“This game is reality now” she said softly in Russian, before looking at Stryder. She finally noticed that, while his appearance had changed, it was barely. So he was like her, picking what they appearance like.

“What’s your name?” She asked in Japanese.

[Stryder 0]

He waited a few moments, before finalizing the fact that she hadn't changed at all. She was like him in the sense she stayed close to her real self... In her case exactly her real self. Sky's few changed features had gone abck to what they really looked like, which worried him. She then said something in Russian before asking his real name in Japanese. He then remembered she didn't know the do's and don'ts of the gaming world.

"Jinx, in the gaming world... You don't tell others your real name, not when you first meet them. I told you this before, but you were having an overload. Some people play... played games to escape there reality... They might be bullied in the real world, and decided to make themselves a persona, a fully new person, in a game, and this was the first one we could transport our entire selfs into... Its not something you should give out, or ask for... Even with the events that just transpired..." He said, his mind processing everything that had just happened. He was worried, if they died, they died for real! He didn't know what to do.. He wanted to play to have fun, but he knew he wasn't strong enough yet. He had no idea what his plan was! It was a first for him. He had played so many games, he had gotten so good at having a plan and sticking to it, even modifi-

I could do it before, i can do it now... I'l find a way to live