ohmyarceus | January - February Test drive

[ Network Post ]

[ Most of the games Asuna knows have some sort of messaging system. It’s not surprising that this one has one too. Naturally, it’s the best way to introduce oneself, not to mention the best way to ask questions and receive information from the larger group.

She’s still pretty convinced that she’s just stuck in another full-dive world, but it’s not quite like most of the others she’s been in. What makes her the most nervous is that she can’t seem to log out of the system.

She’s feeling panicky about that, but it’s almost impossible to pick up on from the composure she showcases as she addresses the feed. ]

Good afternoon, I apologize for the disturbance, but I’m seeking information. You see I’ve woken up here, without any memory of how I got here. This isn’t a game that I’ve ever played before and I don’t know how I’ve found myself here. Though not unprecedented, it’s hardly appropriate of whoever is in charge here to be stealing people. I know from experience that administrators with that sort of directive don’t tend to care about the opinions of the common player, so I’m sure it’s fruitless to ask who the leader of this realm is. Instead, I’m hopeful to just get some information from the general population of players about the situation we are in. If anyone could be so kind as to explain to me what is going on, or give me any information at all, it would be greatly appreciated.

I’m also wondering if perhaps I’ve simply overlooked something and there is in fact a logout out option. If so, would someone please tell me it’s location. My mother won’t appreciate it if I’m late for dinner again.

[ Around Town ]

(( OOC: either action tagging or threading fine ))

Asuna knew from experience that one of the first things you had to do when you are in a new place that you don’t know was to try and map out the area and get adjusted to the main surroundings. It was important to know where food, shelter, weapons, and other important gaming equipment could be found. This place didn’t seem to be quite like that; for one thing there weren’t any weapons. She’s not quite sure what that means for this particular game, but it makes her feel a little vulnerable.

Another difference she's noticed is that she’s being followed by an adorable little creature, who she’s learned is called a pachirisu. She’s never been one to choose an animal companion, that was more her friend Silica’s thing. However, it would appear that this little creature had chosen her. She wasn’t going to brush off any potential assistance in an unfamiliar place, so if the funky little squirrel wanted to tag along, she wasn’t going to dismiss it. Besides, it was rather adorable.

She’s gotten a little bit of information from the person in the house she’d woken up in that was so insistent about being her mother, but what information she had gotten was not all that helpful. Especially since the woman appeared to her to be an NPC and mainly a non helpful one. She hadn’t cared too much about being kicked out as it gave her the kick she needed to get out and go find the information she wanted.

She continued on her exploration, stopping to look in several shops or meandering the streets, looking for information, people, or anything that might help her figure out why and how she ended up here. More importantly, she wants to find a way to get home. She’s very focused, so it’s possible that she might bump into a stranger while she’s in the stores or in the streets.

When she finally needs a break from searching the town, she grabs some food and makes her way down to the water near Cherry Grove for a brief break from the stress of it all. She finds a quiet little spot to eat, but she doesn’t really feel hungry. Thinking she’s alone, she takes the time to feel the frustration and the fear and the pain of being trapped someplace once again. When she notices she’s not alone, she’s quick to wipe at her eyes and offer an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, about that. I’m fine really.”

"Log out"?

My apologies, I... do not believe that is a feature of this world. This is, you see, not a game.

How would this be anything other than a gaming world?

Do games normally require their participants to feel hunger or thirst, where you come from?

Yes. I chose cooking as one of my skills because I learned that cooking and eating could be a pleasurable activity and not just a requirement. I even maxed my cooking skill level. In some worlds it's more important than others, but it's always critical to keeping the mind alert.

Truly? How fascinating.

Is the same true of illnesses? The common cold and the like?

It can be. When human body suffers, it can impact the mind, which in turn can make a player who is in full diver sick. It really is a very immersive experience.

Full... diver?

So you you say that games in your world allow for human beings to become ill?

[ ooc: we'll pretend I didn't stupidly add an 'r' to that full dive. ]

Yes, fulldive, when you are fully living within a virtual world. And yes, in some of them you can get sick. Not all, but the ones I've been stuck in without a logout feature.

Edited 2022-02-01 04:06 (UTC)

How fascinating... you must be in the far future, even from myself. I have truly never heard of such technology for human beings.

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lightnflash - 2022-02-01 16:15 (UTC) - Expand

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sassymaru - 2022-02-02 05:25 (UTC) - Expand

Kirito's got a snack in one hand that he had been just about to bite into when he heard the sound of someone crying. He's not surprised; after all, being kidnapped, no matter the circumstances or the bright cheery atmosphere of the place, it's still a lot to take in. It's an emotional roller coaster to think you'll never see home again, or that you at least may not be able to see it for a long, long time.

He sighs, going to tuck his snack back into his bag, before he follows the sound of sniffles. He wasn't expecting to see the familiar long, red hair tied in that classic braided style that Asuna always wore. He stares for a moment, trying to process through the shock, before he goes to slowly approach her. Maybe it's just someone who looks like Asuna...

But then she's wiping at her eyes and apologizing without really looking at him and he knows for sure it's her. He doesn't even hesitate as he goes to all but tackle her, arms wrapping around her tightly as he knocks them both into the grass. His head is getting buried against whatever part of her he's landed on, his eyes shut tight.

"You're here."

She'd just been trying to take a quiet moment to herself to contemplate the situation or maybe just pout about it. Now here she is being pounced by whoever happened to catch her in the act. What's worse is that they've landed directly on top of her, face buried against her chest in a far too familiar way. So of course her instinct at first it to fight off this over zealous person.

Asuna squirms underneath him, going to shove him off and preparing a punch, but then her mind registers that voice and how familiar it is. She immediately stops herself from decking him and rather blinks at him in shock.

"Kirito..."

A fresh wave of tears fill her eyes, though she's smiling and takes her own turn to throw her arms around him. "I'm so glad to see you." She clings to him, holding him close, the way she always does whenever she's afraid of losing him.

He keeps himself close to her for a moment longer, breathing her in, amazed at just how real she feels and how authentic she smells. It's the first thing here that's made him wonder if maybe he was wrong, maybe this isn't a game. He knows that it felt the same in the Underworld, though, or at least close to, and every launch of a new program improves with these kind of details. The potential with using peoples souls for data processing is endless when it comes to simulating realism.

He pulls back after a second, looking down at her, his own eyes watering, though no one would be shocked by that. He reaches out to wipe some of the tear stains from her cheek carefully. For all his bravado and surface excitement, he understands why she'd needed to cry. There's so much about the situation that's terrifying, no matter the bright sides he keeps pushing on himself so he doesn't crash under the weight of it.

"It's going to be okay," he says with as much reassurance in his voice as possible. "If we're here together, everything will be okay."

Her own thoughts had run much the same course as far as the realism of everything around her went. She might have been willing to consider that this was truly another place, but it worked and felt much like the other virtual video games that she'd participated in. Its realism was on par with the Underworld, so it made more sense to her that she'd somehow gotten trapped in another virtual world than been swept away to another actual world.

She leans into his touch, closing her eyes for a moment as she feels the pads of his fingers wipe her cheeks. His touch could make everything better, so she holds onto him a little longer. He was right, it was going to be okay. Now that they were facing this together she could handle the situation with ease.

"You're right. It will. I'm so glad you found me." She moved to hug him again, holding him close and breathing him in. He was so familiar and so loved and relief flooded her.

When she finally satisfies the ache to cling to him, she pulls back and looks at him. "We've gotten stuck in another virtual world, somehow, haven't we? Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever finish up high school."

He didn't hesitate in returning her second hug, his arms wrapping tightly around her, one hand going to cradle her head against him in a comforting manner. There was a part of him that didn't want to let her go, an underlying fear that she would disappear into a thousand flecks of pixels the moment that he stepped back.

"I'll always find you," he said gently. No world had ever kept them apart for long and no world ever would, as far as he was concerned. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, trying not to look too put out when she pulled back again.

Which was easy to do when she said those words, his mind immediately preoccupied by one of his last talks with his family. And what's your job? ... To be a high school student... His head hung back as he let out a groan.

"My dad's gonna kill me."

Since they'd first met almost four years ago, they'd nearly lost each other more times than she even liked to think about. It sometimes made her feel clingy, especially when they'd been separated from each other for any length of time. Losing him was probably her greatest fear and she'd had that fear come far too close to reality too often and to recently.

"I did hear that you don't lose any time in the real world, and it's not like last time with the Underworld where you were in a coma. Hopefully that means that we'll just easily go back to things when we return." There was a hint of doubt in her tone because when had it ever been easy to reenter society after they'd been stuck in another world, no matter how much time passed.

"Your parents will just be glad that you are home safe, if they notice at all. And we'll just have to work extra hard to make up for it."

He lets out a sigh, going to lean his head against her shoulder for a moment. Mostly the dramatics were used to lighten the situation slightly, but there was a fear that his parents were eventually going to use these kidnappings as a reason to stop him from being allowed to full-dive anymore. At least until he graduated and was underway in his university programs.

He lifts his head, going to pull himself up from the ground and offering her a hand up as well. "If things are quick enough, maybe I won't even have to tell them. Wouldn't that be a nice change of pace? Having one of these kidnappings at least working in our favor?"

[Aaaah another "gamer." The conversation with Kirito went SO well (read: Allura REALLY doesn't want to give herself another headache and/or existential crisis), so Allura is just going to leave addressing her questions about the "system" to other people. So have a not-sylph on screen.]

Forgive me, Miss, but you wouldn't happen to a Kirito, would you?

[ Her eyes light up when she is asked about Kirito. Then she notices that it's another woman asking her, another attractive woman. He always finds the attractive women...

he's far more eager to get information, so any jealousy is put on hold. ]

I do! He's my boyfriend. Have you spoken with him?

[Probably to Asuna's great relief, the "boyfriend" remark gets barely any reaction at all, only mild satisfaction that this is someone Kirito knows.]

I have; not in person, but on the network such as right now. He arrived about a week ago.

[ She's almost surprised to not see any hint of jealousy over her response. Surprised but relieved. The relieved look that crosses her face though is more due to the fact that she's just been informed Kirito is here. ]

Oh thank goodness, I wasn't sure whether or not I'd find him here. He's always checking out the new worlds, but you can never be too sure.

Yes, so he mentioned.

[Again, Allura's not SO much of a masochist that she wasn't to start the "alternate dimension vs video game" debate again.]

Indeed. Let's see... depending on his pace, he should either be in Cherrygrove City- about three days' journey from New Bark Town- or on one of the adjacent routes. Oh! Here, I have his Trainer ID in the archives still. This should allow you to connect to his PokéGear.

You needn't hide your emotions. Hiding them only allows them to fester and grow worse.

[ sandalphon was in almost the same state of emotion of the girl he just met, but for a completely different reason. but the advice he gives still applies, he feels. he's unsure if he should pry, but if he's going to learn, he decides to give it a shot. ]

What seems to be the issue?

[ Truer words were never spoken, though she's been so well trained by her rather uptight mother to keep her feelings repressed. She's gotten better about it in certain company, but she still tries so hard to keep her tears out of public view.

She nods her head to him, wiping the rest of her tears away. ]

I've been told that a time or two, but I don't know how helpful crying about it all is. It's nothing so terrible I suppose. [ Being kidnapped to another world isn't terrible right? ] I just...want to go home. Like everyone else stuck here I imagine.

Home, hm?

[ he spares a glance at the sky, as if he yearned to be up there than on the ground he was standing on. but those emotions are fleeting, especially as he finds a way to respond. ]

Helpful or not, emotion is part of being alive. You'll feel them one way or another. We may not have a way home now, but making the best out of our situation is a good way to go about it.

January - February Test drive

Yuuki Asuna | SAO

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i saw nothing

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cherry grove

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Video

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around town

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