Andromeda

"--and if you find anything else out of place, I want you, as a player who has taken this quest before, to point it out to me. I'll be writing a report now also -- didn't you say you wanted to help before? Collaboration isn't necessary for standard quests tiered two and below, and they often don't involve non affiliated players, but some minor things could be slipped past. So long as it's all recorded. First of all, I need to ask, An, do you consent to--" "Yeah." "--having your data used for Fermata's. Oh." An shut her mouth. Mishiro took a few surprised blinks to reorient herse

The rock(?) had decided to yell at her first(??). An slid to a stop at the first echo of the most wholehearted "FUCK!" she had ever heard, and so did the line of her chalk. Her head tipped upwards to the pallid sky as though it would give her answers. Then the shout came again, bouncing down the walls of the labyrinth. It was close. She was mostly aimless in her wandering, other than keeping to the wall where she was pressing her chalk, so she decided to examine the only point of interest that had presented itself so far. Scoring the end of the line with a slash that indicated her new dir

There were two answers. There was no chance in Aincrad that she was going to say the second out loud. An fumbled about the pillow fluff lining her mind for the correct words. She drew her hands away from her face, twining her fingers in front of her long legs instead to pull them up to her front. Chin tucked behind her knees, she resisted the urge to fidget. She kind of looked like an armadillo curled up in defense. She even had the armor to match, usually. "Um. I. Went out with someone recently... super recently. As friends," An raced to clarify. They continued to watch the waves. "I thi

__φ(．．;) Yelling at a big moving rock for loot. An could think of nothing more fulfilling. And Cardinal had just given her the perfect opportunity to try. A mini event of some kind had dropped with the latest update: the game wanted a mechanic tested before it officially rolled out and An's build fit the requirements. It promised currency for a certain number of encounters concluded with the 'beta test' option switched on, and though no amount of hassling her info broker had yielded any hint as to what the currency was actually intended for, An

Andromeda: wait, she came to you for her stuff? Andromeda: (╥‸╥) Andromeda: ok good luck,,

An floated over to the low table, red eyes wide with curiosity. The cheese fondue was sat on top of a small stove and kept constantly heated by a candle. Four square platters surrounded it, bearing snacks made for dipping: bread and vegetables cut into perfectly precise cubes (a feat only achievable in a world where everything was constructed out of numbers, An assumed), and strips of meat. She was the type of person that got sick of savory flavors rather quickly, but the first bites were heaven. Picking up a skewer, An poked two cubes of bread and dipped it into the bubbling concoction. She w

"Yeah...! Uh, no problem." Yesss! For once, An was relieved at the pause in the conversation. She didn't think it over too much. NIGHT took her analysis well and she felt that the topic could be brought to a close right there, only somewhat awkwardly. It wasn't unpleasant overall and she felt that she had learned a lot about NIGHT herself, so much in the course of a single conversation if she were to compare it to years of idle shop talk, but she could have accepted that. After bouncing in and out of 'avert disaster' mode for most of their travel, she was simply glad for a little bre

An had brought the most important asset any anxious person could have at a social gathering: a friend to cower behind at every opportunity. In fact, she was doing so right now -- barely a few steps from the changing room. She had her hands firmly atop her friend's shoulders, parading the other in front of her. "Mishiro. I can't do this. Please don't move away from me." "Just change into something else." Mishiro was putting up half a resistance. She hadn't shaken her off just yet, but for every two steps An urged her on, she took one. They made an awkward fumbling pair in the shadows

“Bummer!” An huffed. She was the first person she had ever asked in this game. “And you looked like you would have, too.” “Mostly, I was occupied with lessons.” Never done anything wrong in her life, An thought again. And were she not keeping a tight grasp on her mannerisms, she would have turned her pair’s way and looked her up and down like a total weirdo. She hadn’t been expecting her to share. You wouldn’t bring something up just to rebuff someone if they asked to hear more about it, right? Was it really just classes? Japan’s education system that demanding; or did she just

NIGHT was surprised. An was surprised by NIGHT's surprise. They both just stared at each other wide-eyed until NIGHT hid herself behind her hand ("S-sorry, I didn't know...") and An found sudden interest in the beautiful/plain scenery of Floor 1 that she had seen thousands of times by now. Ah, it truly never gets old. "D-do I not look like I am...?" An asked meekly, her face heated. She hadn't ever tried to hide it. But to say that she was 'broadcasting' it was inaccurate. An simply went about her life secure in that part of her identity, which, barring a number of months three years

An wasn't aware of how much she was talking. All she was thinking of was the seriousness on Mishiro's face when she called her by the wrong name (a common mistake -- most of everyone makes that mistake when they call on her before she tells them. she's back on familiar ground), then the quiet interest she leveled onto An as she continued to relay the story. Maybe most of her customers got the reference at first glance. But she was rarely ever asked about it and she was itching to let out the thoughts that had been rattling in her head ever since she decided on her shop's name. Mishiro's attent

Wow. So comfy...! An was almost afraid to speak out loud amid the shop's quiet atmosphere, but it was only her and the (pretty) short-haired alchemist who had already been alerted to her entry. "H-Hello," she said nervously, her voice quieter than usual. Her eyes wandered over the assortment of crystals and potions lined up safely behind the counter. "Five HP crystals. Just five." As the transaction went over, she took the chance to look around again. At the bookshelves (locked...?), the sofas in the lounge area, and the natural brightness of the place. She thought back to her favori

So. The Girl Who Wouldn’t Leave Her Alone was lower tier three, and a DPS with a side of healing. Interesting. Maybe, just with her, I can take on some stronger stuff--! No, wait, what was she thinking? The Girl Who Wouldn’t Leave Her wanted to pay An to accompany her on… The First Few Lessons? Why would a tier three pay for someone’s help on a tutorial quest? Was she leveling in her sleep? The Girl Who Wouldn’t Leave was part of a guild, earning EXP by pure circumstance, and clearing the lower floors’ quest logs was a requirement for a promotion, or something. An didn’t understand guilds

"Um..." An was seriously starting to sweat. Her mind was running a mile a minute. She suddenly remembered there was a third possibility, a very real possibility for why a binary question would make one hesitate for so long, and she internally apologized to everyone she had ever met who fit into that group. "O-or gender nonconforming?!" "How about..." As her companion unraveled her romantic situation to her, the anxiety gradually seeped out of An and was replaced by understanding. So it wasn't a girlfriend. It was just a girl. Were she a bit more settled, she would have started n

To An's horror, she was back the very next day. “Y-y-y-y-y-y-you--” "Hello." Yesterday's blunder was standing beneath the shop's awning, her coat loose around her shoulders, when An cracked open the door at 8AM after she flipped the sign to 'OPEN'. "I wanted to speak with you as early as possible." Please don't sue me for emotional damages. I didn't even know Aincrad had a legal system. An could think of no other reason why she would still be here after that mess. Try as she might, though, she couldn't find a single glimpse of judgment in the other's soft eyes. It dissuaded her

Uh. Whoops. At NIGHT's slower response, An immediately felt anxiety brewing within her. NIGHT didn't talk very fast normally, at least she could glean that from their interactions in the shop, that she seemed the type of person who considered her words before she spoke, but-- Love life. You never knew if you were stepping into a landmine with that one, so why bring it up at first opportunity with a person she barely knew outside of her shop? She had been grasping at straws for a moment, but surely the weather was more inoffensive? It was to her great relief, then, that NIGHT's answer

The door was slightly ajar. An did not think rationally when she was stressed. An slammed the door open with enough force to take it off its hinges for the nineteenth time in its poor life. Her eyes blazed red -- wait, they had always been red -- and she breathed hard from exertion. She immediately identified that Piles of Stuff No. 26, 33, and the crates on the second shelf nearest the door had all been disturbed, so at the first sign of human activity, she pointed an accusing finger (an axe was useless in a safe zone and she knew from personal experience that public shaming was frighten

;A;..... 20(28) This is how An walked into the fourth biggest tragedy of her life: not really walking, but running at full speed midway through her lunch break, plowing through the eternally crowded streets of the Town of Beginnings like a rampaging bull. My shop, she thought wildly. Drinks were thrown into the air. Players and NPCs (indistinguishable) squawked in shock and indignation. At a Japanese restaurant on the other side of town, a server brought a steaming bowl of ramen to a table and serenely waited for input from a customer who

On the 200th-something day of her break, the merchant girl had come to the epiphany that continuing to close up shop for her, uh, training, would send her straight into a downwards slide as soon as she ran out of money to support herself and pay the shack's paltry rent (yes, it was rented). And then she would have gone through so much trouble for nothing at all. So she had spent the last few days in a flurry, polishing her appraisal tools to a shine, 'tidying' up the shop area, and taking out unique items she had identified years ago (oh god...) but never sold and stuffing them in a giveaway b

;A;.....

MYSTIC ESSENCES: 3 | 141804 | 05/01/2020 [>>] : T2E3 Weapon | 143255, 143256, 143257 : 5, 20, 10 | DAMAGE, BURN, TAUNT | 141302 | 04/22/2020 [>>] : T2E2 Light Armor | 142896, 142898 : 8, 10 | PARALYTIC IMMUNITY, SAVVY | 142553 | 10/17/2020 [>>] : T1E3 Trinket | 153036, 153037, 153038 : 19, 20, 3 | LIFE MENDING, EVASION, KEEN JUNK SALE: 12,800 Col

Name: Jack's Corrupted Legacy -> Throwing Axe x999 Item Type: Rapier -> Thrown Weaponry Tier: 2 Quality: Demonic Enhancements: Cursed, Blight II, Burn Description: [reference] "...and they shall cast them into the furnace of fire, where there was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth." A malicious, unstable weapon hidden beneath a plain semblance. Patterns of vines and fleur-de-lis are etched onto its black swept hilt and its blade is 38 in. long. It takes on a crimson red aura when a Sword Art is activated. At random, unpredictable occurrences, the weapon will burst into f

Skill(s) Being Dropped: Rapier R5 Mod(s)/Addon(s)/Shift(s) Being Dropped: Focus, Precision, Stamina SP Refunded: 40 Cost: 0, [and this ticket that says i can do this]

| REOPENING BUMP.

an: ??????? an: ok, i'm running!! so an thinks she nearly takes her poor shop's door off its hinges with how fast she slams it open. she wheels around to bump it shut, the plaintive tinkling of the door chimes in her ears as she speeds off in a run, nearly crashing into a bunch of disconcerted passersby. her hat's ended up lopsided from her rush to put it on; she fixes it upon reaching an alley between two shops lined with large frontal windows. she's not going to be late for something of her own invitation! she's not! mishiro: be careful. and her quest partner does not have a