[F1-OP] An Idol is Reborn!

[Aidol 0]

Takane sat in her room, the four solid walls of the inn having provided great shelter against the madness that was the world around her for some time. It was sheer madness, Being trapped in this world when she was just trying to do her job well, the mob of fans that often hounded her when she had left her room; the numerous 'gifts' they often left at her doorstep to try and coax her out. But she was safe from the insanity of the world in her room, she wouldn't die in her room. Her stomach grumbled, the mock hunger taking hold once again, driving her to her door, and opening up just a crack. There was nothing at her doorstep, no horde of fans waiting for her to open the door and show herself. How long had it been since she had secluded herself away? How many people- how many of her fans had died in this world?

 

Her stomach grumbled once again, and there was no easy way to sate it. Her choices had been shrunk down, ether starve to death in this world, if that was even possible, or venture out and find some food. She didn't want to test that theory out so she went back into her room, opening up her inventory and letting out a deep sigh as she looked at it's contents. The only thing she really had to wear was the stuff one of her fans had sent her, a set of armor, a couple of weapons, and a shield; and being fan made they where all from her show. She grumbled as she equipped them, and took a step out the door, the armor clattering a bit as the metal boots stomped on the hard rock ground of the first city pavement. Unsure what she would find she walked down the street, looking around at the sights. It wasn't the first time she had seen them, but back them it was extremely crowded with thousands of people scrambling around in terror.

 

She continued to walk down the main-street, glancing at herself in a window, brushing the dyed hair and blinking her red eyes. Being trapped in the world while being in character was not a blessing she had wanted, but it did make for a much more unique appearance in the world, but if everybody knew it was gonna use their real life appearance they would have been in costume too. She did her best to avoid the glances of the passing by people, and ignore the murmurs coming from them. As long as she wasn't mobbed she'd be okay, and it looked like nowadays players where ether on upper floors or wanted nothing to do with her anymore, a blessing in and of itself.

[Azide 0]

Navigating the Town of Beginnings was like dancing in a daze- it felt surreal to return after all of this time. Though the front-lines had managed to make a push all the way up to the eleventh floor, the first was still a rather busy place to be; admittedly, he often forgot just how many players were not a part of the clearing group. Whereas some might interpret this bunch as wasted potential, he instead saw them as simply that: potential.

It was madness, sending people to their deaths left and right to fight a losing war. While the players had been born into this fight with a measly ten-thousand, those who stood in their way represented a limitless number. There was no re-spawning for humanity. This was a mad world, ruled by a mad God.

Thus, he had often found himself drawn back here, scouting for those whose potential shined brightest. True, he was no longer head of Square One, the guild which had once sought to reverse this pattern of loss. But what did it matter, really? The endgame had never changed, just the plan.

From the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but notice the strange behavior of passing players. They seemed to be mumbling amongst themselves, as if trying to contain their excitement, while others wiped at their eyes in apparent wonder. As he followed the stares of the crowd, he eventually found the source- a white-haired girl, with the reddest eyes he'd seen since Nemesis.

Just who was this girl, exactly?

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"And done with that" exhaled a certain blonde as she was heading towards the teleport gate. She could've used a teleportation crystal to hastily get back to the front lines but she was rather feeling nostalgic about this floor. Today was the first time in a very long while when she visited her own mentor, the pushy woman that taught her the basics of her profession, the NPC tailor Diana. She just finished 'visiting' her which, as usual, consisted in making Ariel do errand and odd jobs for her.

But now all that was done and the blonde was heading back to work, after all there was a boss fight planning at the moment and she would have to stock up in supplies to make sure she or any other didn't die. In front of her was, as always, her familiar Kimba. A white furred lion that constantly growled and roared at any that stood in her path. Making way for them two, even in the most crowded of places. The blond was not particularily paying attention to her surrounding as she was more focused in rewinding the previous meeting in her head. "She didn't change at all" muttered the blonde.

In the next instant, a certain dark colored head catches her attention as she found herself walking towards the owner. It seems Kimba, who was leading he way already recognized the person and changed their course towards him. As they drew closer, Ariel's expression chanced into a happy one as she soon recognized the guy as well. He was....the same as always...wearing the same clothes and wielding the same rapier. Not that she had any significant change..she wore the same navy patterned revealing top and short skirt with black army-like boots, except for the Japanese lucky charm with the feline eyes model, that was dangling from her weapon's hilt.

Her gaze then trailer to where he was looking, a certain white clad tank girl with a ponytail that appeared to be rather popular with the guys. Her smile changed into a sly one as she drew closer to him and said: "Hmm, so that's the kind of girl you fancy? Interesting!" Kimba on the other hand started rubbing by Azide's leg, desiring attention.

 

[Alex 0]

Alex needed to get out of his hiding and such. Hiding for these players, and not leveling, will probably cause a worse death than dying to these mobs out here. People will find ways to kill players in safe zones, and they will make laws and society here, and Alex had no intention of being part of that. Not one at all. So Alex jogged down through the streets of the starting city, carrying around his dagger as he made his way through the crowded and large town. In Alex's off-hand, his right hand, was his small Griffin Hide Kite Shield, the Shield the guild had generously given to him. 

 

The Crimson Blades seemed like the right place for Alex to be when he joined the guild. And it still does seem that way. The guild may not have very many active events right now, but Alex felt some day that the guild would be more active. But now was not the time. As Alex continued to jog around, he found a gathering of a few players and a littel animal of some sort. There were two females(not to mention one being blonde) and a male, but they all looked high level... Well at least gear-wise. Alex figured this would be a good chance to make some friends and walked up to the players. "Would you guys, you know, like to party with me maybe?" Alex smiled as he asked.

 

Thread Statistics:

Energy:1

HP:4

[Aidol 0]

Takane looked around, noticing several players in what looked like higher quality gear than the rest of the people around here in their starter gear. It was like a mini-mob starting up, though two of them where talking with each other, and the third ran up and asked to them to a party. She let out a small sigh and piped up, "Sure, I, the great Aidol would love to partner up with a human such as you." Letting out a corny fake laugh and looking away. Her first real interaction with people since getting stuck in here and she did it in character, fantastic. She was about to change her mind and find a way to respectfully slip away, but the grumbling in her belly and the emptiness of her wallet changed her mind. Maybe she could earn a few Col to buy some food then go back to her room in peace and safety?

[Iolite 0]

Iolite, with two arms casually resting behind his head, killed some time by... bumping into social conversation where he had no business to be prying into, of course! In Russia, to express yourself or be anything but what most would deem boring wasn't exactly the type that people there valued. Quickly - as soon as he joined the game, actually - Iolite changed his masculine, monotone voice to its original sing-song tone and never held back from presenting himself in the most extravagant way humanly possible. With no family to embarrass him for this way of acting, and the fact that literally everyone in-game had met by pushing their anti-social selves to the ground, Iolite felt at peace in Aincrad even if he were... stuck in the game; something the man shoved to the back of his mind the minute the news had been revealed.

Sure, Iolite would absolutely love logging out to be greeted by his loving brother and the comfort of soft sheets he could call his own - ones' that weren't virtual - but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon and a part of him just accepted it. There was no way he could explain the feeling of being trapped, but it could be similar to suffocating or being stuck in a never-ending elevator while having the claustrophobic trait; quite awful, and that was obvious with most players in the game who were sane, at least.

"Hmm." He stopped, ears twitching and head perked up at the sound of yet another group to interrupt solely for the amusing responses of others. Hopefully, these few wouldn't run away this time. Iolite felt a bit lonely at the moment and wouldn't mind a buddy or two to annoy. Shoving both hands in the pockets of his black trousers, Iolite made up his mind and headed towards the (obviously) higher-leveled players. Pulling one hand out of a pocket, Iolite waved and approached just as the white-haired girl with orbs to match his own retorted in a snobby fashion to the rest of the pack.

"We are all humans! Why so bias?" He stared at the short female, grinning lopsidedly. "You seem great~ But does not mean you should act like this. Let's all get along." Iolite's crimson eyes lit up, and he claped his hands together with the last word passionately. His accent did cause some problems grammar wise here and there, but Iolite seemed to get by with a decent English vocabulary and thick, Russian dialect.

[Azide 0]

Prompted by a sudden rubbing against his leg, Azide turned his head just in time to be addressed face-to-face by none other than Ariel. He'd wondered a handful of times prior whether or not she'd added "The Crowned Lion" to her username because "Ariel" had already been poached, but he could stand to wait until a better time to ask. 
Though he himself chose to ignore the large furry creature purring at his feet, his own familiar decided to sneak a peak from out of the folds of his coat. Lucifer poked its slender head out from under the flap of his pocket and flicked its tongue slowly as it observed the white tiger with a certain degree of skepticism and curiosity.

A prompt shake of his head and playful wave of his hand served to dismiss the blonde-haired girl's accusations. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm hardly the type to scout the first floor looking for girls." He tilted his head slightly to one side as his expression softened to one more jovial. "Besides, I'm a little impressed how casual you are given how long I've been gone. I don't believe I've walked into the Lion's Den with a ridiculous amount of commissions for at least several months." 

Before he could finish what would've inevitably been a long and boring ramble, their group now numbered five. The blond-haired boy's request was a more than reasonable one, although months away from the front-lines made him feel less than comfortable with his rapier. In the end, he simply acknowledged the player with a well-intentioned smile.

Meanwhile, the red-eyed girl had since approached them, and he found himself questioning everything about her. "That laugh sounds ridiculous, for starters," he thought. "The girl sounds like a poorly written cartoon character." Still, he couldn't help but notice the subtle grumbling of her stomach, nor the tiredness in her crimson eyes. "Excuse me miss, I mean absolutely no offense, but I happened to buy an extra sandwich earlier by mistake," spoke Azide as he scrolled casually through his inventory. A few moments later, a neatly wrapped cheeseburger appeared in his hand. "Sorry, it's not the classiest meal, so I understand if you don't take it." He held the humble morsel out, giving a slight nod of his head as he did so.

[Brice 0]

Brice was finally able to play the game of his dreams, but at what cost. He walks down a road with many people running about scared out  of their wits. Exitement, wonder, curiosity; all these different emotions flood his mind. But one emotion triumphed over them all: fear. Having nobody to help him, the chance of dying in this world and the real one, the posibilitie of what's happenning to his real body right now. Every second, Brice discovered a new reason to be afraid of the world around him.

"I'll be fine." He tries to calm himself, "Everyone here is probably working together to fix this, right? Besides, there's no way this is real... right?!" While talking to himself, Brice, completely unaware of his surroundings, crashes into a white-haired girl and getting knocked to the ground. He jumps up and places his hand on the handle of his rapier instinctively, ready for a fight.

Edited September 12, 2015 by Brice

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Before she could listen to Azide's snappy retort, the blonde saw the one that was in the center of their conversation approach and address them in a... how could she put it, not a fake but a well practiced manner. the thought 'Are the anime-like NPCs here?' crossed her mind. And her tone of voice, despite her stature made Ariel almost lose a giggle. Next came a couple more of random players which turned this small reunion into a party. She looked at Azide with an expression that could be interpreted as 'Just like old times eh?' before she made a small cough to turn the attention onto her. She first turned at the white ponytail girl letting out a pleased smile:

"Before we start.... does these I(ai)-doll have a name?" she asked suddenly remembering something. With a few elegant gestures from her right hand, she summons her shop's inventory and materializes a plushie she had. Its was a weapon attachment in the form of a Micro Character Plush of 'Aidol' from the anime franchise  'Princess Aidol, Devil Warfare! switching her gaze from the plushie to the girl, she couldn't help but to let out a snort as she continued. "I see so you're the Aidol he was talking about. Here, take this!" 

As soon as she ended, the blonde threw the small plushie in the girls direction with a simple "Catch" before continuing. "A guy came to me that he wanted a plushie with some popular anime character, he even gave me detailed descriptions which let to the making of that plushie. I must say, at least he had a good memory. You can keep it since he didn't bother to show up to pick it. 

Next she turned towards one of the 2 guys that joined them and spoke in a clear voice that emanated reassurance, conviction and pride. "Don't worry to much about it, I think she is still 'in the role' or at least I hope so. With that kind of attitude, she will forever remain chained here at the noob levels." After nodding to all newcomers, she returned her gaze to Azide and responded to the girl's original blonde guy's request. "I have no problem with that, how about it Azide? for old times sake?" as soon as she finished, the was a light *thump* near them and as she traced the source of it, the blonde couldn't help but smile at his reaction. It was the same one she still had from long ago. 'This guy might show some front line potential' she thought.

• Ariel gives Aidol the following item, free of charge:

Name: Aidol Plushie
Item Type: Plushie
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: +2 LD
Description: A weapon attachment in the form of a Micro Character Plush of 'Aidol' from the anime franchise  'Princess Aidol, Devil Warfare!' It looks weird seeing it and the 'Real' Aidol in the same place though.

Edited September 12, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Alex 0]

It was easy to tell that the blonde girl and the dark haired guy had a bit of a past together. It was for sure they had seen each other before, but Alex felt there was a bit more depth.... No matter. What really disturbed Alex was the fact that the girl had called him "human", as if referring herself like something greater than a human.  As if! Alex thought to himself. These high level players over here are much greater than you, yet you feel you can just call other people just "humans"? As if! Where do you think you got this right, girl? Alex then let that thought pass by, and decided to send the party invite.

Only if he knew how. " Umm soo guys, wanna try our hand at an easy exploring party? It would be fun, right? Do we all agree that it would be fun?" Alex looked at the two players that had arrived after he had asked the question originally. Also noobs. "Right guys?" Then Alex looked back to the two higher leveled players, saying: "Thank you if you do party with us. It means a lot. I mean, I've applied for a guild and all, but haven't done anything basically yet.... It is an honor for you to let us train with you. Thank you."

[Emerath 0]

What had started initially as a quiet day of following his brother around, and reading books when Endilix got distracted, had turned into a mess as this flash mob suddenly began clamoring around in the street in front of the area where he was trying to read. He looked over his glasses from the book he was reading, to spy who was causing all the commotion. This type of thing wasn't uncommon on the first floor, and Emerath knew that. So why Endilix always chose to come here was beyond him.

He scanned the people all making noise and talking this way and that and gave a sigh. Appears to be some newbies clambering over each other to talk to some frontliners. He tried to go back to reading, but the more he tried to focus on his book, the louder the group got, and it seemed that the more people got involved in it.

Emerath popped open his inventory and dropped the book into it with a sigh. He took the glasses from his face and folded them up and slid them into the front pocket of his suit jacket. Hopping to his feet from the bench he was sitting on, he popped open his PM screen and sent a quick message to his brother that read, "Some kind of commotion going on nearby. Going to take a look. If I need your help I'll message you, otherwise feel free to keep shopping."

Sending off the message he then looked to the group, and walked over to see if any sort of order was brought to these sudden proceedings or if perhaps he might have to interrupt the extended chaos.

[Brice 0]

Realizing that they players in front of him most likely mean no harm, Brice sighs and lets go of his Rapier. He stands there for a bit, wondering what to say. "Umm... Sorry about that. I didn't mean to bump into you. I guess I'm still a bit shaken from what happened earlier." He slowly extends his hand nervously for a handshake, although to no one in particular. "I'm Na-" He stops himself, realizing that he would have to get used to using his screen name and starts again. "I'm Brice. It's, uh... It's nice to meet you."

[Alex 0]

Alex looked at the player that said he had bumped into someone and was apologizing. The guy held out his hand, and it didn't seem to be to anyone in particular. So Alex took the guys hand and shook it, saying, "I'm Alex! And you are?" Alex smiled as he talked to the guy, that he might actually be making friends. As he waited for a response, Alex thought about how eager he was to use his sword skills in combat. Alex loved them. They were simply amazing. And Alex couldn't wait to show the party that he uses a dagger, because he did not believe it was a common thing to use a dagger. 

 

(OOC: Couldn't think anything else up, just wanted to move the OP along, sorry! )