[F22 - PP] <<Saying Vows>> Renewing Bield's Vows: A Ship Full of Holes

[Shield 0]

Continuation of: <<Making Vows>> Shield x Beat

Invited Guests:

@Itzal @Hikoru @Ruby @Jomei @Hestia @Sey @Telrenya @Teion @Hirru @Macradon @Morgenstern @Zandra @Hidden @Calrex @Hakai @Calypso

Anyone else who plans to attend the Floor 22 Boss Raid

[PM me if you wish to attend but were not invited]

Quote

<<Saying Vows>>
Recommended Level:  Any
Restrictions | At least the two marrying players

"Love. Unwavering love is what brings us together today. These two intend to join together as one in Holy Matrimony. If any object to this joining please speak now or forever hold your peace."

Rewards:

The Married Couple Receives:

• 1 Additional SP each
• 1 Wedding Ring each (created/purchased rings from <<Making Vows>>)
• Any gifts or presents received from other players

Requirements:

• At least one [1] page (20 posts or more)
• Roleplay the Wedding Ceremony

Outline:

The floor, location, and amount of players allowed in the thread depend on how large a wedding players bought during the <<Making Vows>> quest. Players are urged to role play the wedding out and strongly urged to read out their characters' vows. Upon receiving the rings, the officiator will activate their abilities, and they will be active from that point onward. Wedding rings do not take up an equipment slot. Married players share an inventory space so it is suggested that players work out how they wish to keep track of said inventory.

Shield stood with his arms out, staring himself in the mirror as a number of attendants in frilly tuxedos bustled around him, adjusting this and straightening that, all the while his face scowled back at him uncomfortably from the mirror. Their tuxedos paled in comparison to the garish frills that festooned every seam and cuff of his attire. It was the price he paid for trying to rush through the uncomfortable process of the wedding planning. Apparently, it gets someone stuck with whatever garments are left.

"A little nervous, dahling?" simpered one of the attendants just before yanking on Shield's belt to tighten it so hard that he felt the contents of hid abdomen part in the middle like the Red Sea.

"You could say that," he gurgled, trying to force his organs back into their correct places by sheer force of will. They may only be digital and they might not feel any pain, but he did not need his liver hanging out with his aorta.

"Not to worry, deah~" said the slender man, twirling the corners of his mustache as he admired the now concave shame of Shield's abdomen. "Everyone gets a little nervous. Just think of all of your adoring friends and loved ones who will be watching and rooting for you!"

At this comment, Shield turned a shade of green that he did not even realize was possible for human skin that was not somehow disease-ridden. He had already been humiliated twice in front of crowds for the sake of the charade, gaining bonuses from the benefits of in-game marriage and trying to win couples' contests and so on. Now, for the sake of the next boss fight, this was the best way to give everyone good buffs to deal with whatever might be on the other side of the boss room doors.

How do I keep ending up in these predicaments?

Another attendant hurried through, telling everyone that the doors would be opening soon and that as soon as the guests were seated, they would begin the ceremony. The first attendant gave one last yank at Shield's belt and departed, flapping his arms about enthusiastically as he glided out of the room. The venue was outdoors, with an arch and pristine white chairs set up along the edge of the lake. Shield and Beat were separated as soon as they arrived, rushed off to different sides of the pavilion that had been set up for the sake of preparations. For the first time since arriving, Shield was left alone. He took one last look at the mirror and made a face, turning the mirror so that it faced the wall of the tent.

Edited March 12, 2018 by Shield

[Ruby 0]

Today was... interesting, she had remembered when voting for the best couple that Shield and Beat were one, which was... unexpected for a man so hesitant to share a bit of information at all with anyone to be married to some person. However, she did remember him mentioning that he joined SAO with someone else, a friend that he's known for quite a bit of time, from there it would only make sense that they had done such a thing to get bonuses for being married. She had sighed a little bit and figured why not attend, she had basically nothing else better to do in the first place, Ruby had went through her inventory and equipped the same black dress as she had worn at the Valentines Event and showed up to the marriage, however being one of the first people arriving, she had figured to just take a seat and wait for people to come or for people to talk to, or for it just to begin.

[Hestia 0]

I grin rather excitedly at the day of the wedding arriving knowing that this is going to be a amazing day to watch. I quickly make my way towards the twenty second floor where the wedding is meant to be at. Rather curious how this wedding is going to go in all things considered. I make my way out of my home and makes my way towards the destination with a grin on my face knowing this is either going to be really sweet to watch a marriage unfold. Though if this is for mechanics wise then it is probably going to be more interesting, and chuckle inducing rather then sweet and tear inspiring. I make my way through the snow of the fourth floor and then onto the sunny wonders of the twenty second as i quickly make my way towards the wedding destination. Wearing just casual clothing of a blue jacket, grey shirt, and long black pants. My usual attire when walking about the world of Aincrad. Not caring to wear some dress that would be more annoying then anything else to deal with.

[Calypso 0]

Callie could feel a knot twisting itself around in her stomach. Why was she even here? Why did she care if an acquaintance--friend?--of hers was getting married in the game. Well, when you put it that way, then she most certainly should care, and it was right for her to arrive. But if she hadn't been so nosy as to ask Hestia for the details of the location and time of the event, it seemed as though Callie wouldn't have attended after all. Mainly because she hadn't been directly invited.

With quite the terrible mixture of curiosity, guilt, and a most confusing sense of unease about the whole ordeal, Callie was grateful to spot a familiar face to distract her from feeling so out-of-place before the 'festivities' had begun. "Hestia! Hey, nice to see you again," She greeted the casually-dressed woman with a bit more enthusiasm than she had intended. She cleared her throat, hooking a hand around her opposite arm and forcing small talk. "So, uhm, I never asked how you knew Shield and Beat?" She added an upward inflection, hoping to spark conversation that might detract from her own busy thoughts.

[Calrex 0]

As the bluenette arrived at the location of the ceremony, he was trying his best to not have an awkward sweatdrop form on the side of his head. Initially he had arrived clothed in his casual combat attire, but as he got closer Calrex began to switch to the clothing he had worn only once in the past at the Azure Brigade dinner that was held at their guild hall in the past, "Yeah, last time I actually wore this out was in order to at least try and match up to Teayre's appearance. Course I still don't think I came close."

His avatar flashed with light blue light as his suit took the place of his initial garbs. Overall it had a dark blue theme, but the lapels, tie, pants, and other accents were a black color as to help outline his form better rather than being a single flat shade. The shirt beneath was pleated and white with a wider collar to help hold his tie in place. Hooking a single finger into the gap between the tie and his shirt the bluenette pulled lightly to help give a bit of breathing room before giving a small sigh, "Alright, guess here we go..."

"Also why the heck did Shield sent an invite to me for this?"

Moving into the area of the event where most of the socializing was taking place Calrex gave a small sigh before sliding his hands into his pants pockets, "Guess I should probably start talking to someone...although I don't know anyone else here at the moment..."

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru received a message about a wedding in his mail box. He set down his pen after finishing his fifth page of a document he had been writing, and opened the message to read it fully. His eyes were a bit confused at first, but he remembered that Shield and Beat shared an inventory with each other to make it easier between the two. They probably wanted to try the new quest to see what they brought, and this brought an idea for Hikoru. He had yet to really take notes or experiment with what rewards were given with the new quests. He quickly grabbed a bundle of papers and his pen and made his way to the higher-up floor than where he was currently located. He walked into the building and quickly found a seat the furthest away from the crowd, taking a seat and bringing out a single piece of paper, already taking notes on interesting things that he hadn't seen at a previous wedding he had went to a year ago, moreover asking questions and wanting to explore them further if possible, but for now he was happy with just getting rumors written down that he can compare to the other rumors that he had received about the weddings that other Info Broker's had found access to.

[Macradon 0]

Letting Belphegor out through the main glass door in the dining room, Macradon would let the door stand open as Belphegor ran around the garden. “I’ll be gone for a few hours, just take care and make those who trespass regret that decision for the rest of their lives” Macradon said to his familiar, a Cerberus, who was now guarding his home. Macradon was off in his casual clothes, even though it was quite the event he would show up at, a wedding. “I don’t actually think I’ve been to a wedding before, quite the ordeal if I remember correctly” he thought for himself as he would travel to the 22nd floor by teleportation at the plaza on the first floor. There wasn’t really much else to do other than show up and congratulate, for what he knew, it was just a party to ready the frontliners for the oncoming raid. As he would make his appearance, he would gesture to everyone at the event, acknowledging everyone present at the moment.

[Beat 0]

"Please sir, you are the bride, you must wear the proper attire!" Shouted a snooty attendant who was holding a long, elegant, white wedding dress. A vein pulsed in Beat's scowling forehead as he glared at the man, practically daring him to approach again. A second attendant came through the door and the two NPCs conversed in hushed whispers for a moment before looking to Beat simultaneously and beginning to walk towards him, spreading out to make it more difficult for the player to escape. A small crowd of attendants waiting their turn to prepare the bride was suddenly scattered as the door to the dressing room was thrown open by two airborne attendants crashing through it. 

"AND STAY OUT!" Beat shouted, shooting the crowd a warning glare before slamming the door shut. He leaned his back against the door as he caught his breath, which was short more from his temper than anything else, and opened his menus. He looked through his vanity items and quickly found what he was looking for. With a press of a button, his attire changed to a stylish black and white tux with a white rose boutineer. 

How does a dress look better than this?" Beat said to himself as he admired his outfit with an approving expression. 

If I have to do this, I'm not wearing a dress again. 

 

[Morgenstern 1]

Jonathan woke up in the Inn of the town Rasler, having received yet another message from Shield. Sitting up grumpily, the blonde rubbed his eyes and quickly skimmed the details of the message. He and Beat were becoming married and everyone in the current boss raid was getting invited to the event to allow them to get the buffs provided. Jonathan nodded, enjoying the idea. Of course, there was only one person he would get married to. He gulped and though one name. 'Rin...' He sighed and swung his legs from the bed. Thinking of Rin hurt his entire being. he stood and decided he would be civilized with Shield, even if they competed for power constantly now. He swiped through his inventory and picked out a golden tuxedo for his attire, his usual casual color. He moved out of the Inn and quickly teleported to the 22nd floor where it would be held. 

He would quickly arrive at the area, finding that several guests had already arrived. He moved over, and found Calrex, the greatest "tank" in Aincrad. Jonathan had come to find most of his tanking abilities cam from the sheer power of Achilles itself. Jonathan walked forward, standing next to the blue haired man. "Hello, Calrex" he said. He had found he always resented the man a bit for his Unique Skill. "It's been a while since we talked. What's been going on recently?"

@Calrex

[Calrex 0]

As the party seemed to grow a bit larger in size Calrex made his way over to a more detached part of the area closer to the edge of where the other patrons seemed to be gathering. Even before he had started interacting with the people within, the bluenette had usually kept more to himself in spite of the fact he may of at times seemed a bit more of a extrovert, "Yeah I still feel more at center when around less people. I guess being in Aincrad for so long at times can make one feel like they're at a party that never ends."

Seeing that a few more of his fellow frontliners had made an appearance he gave a welcoming nod to each as they're eyes fell upon him, as was his usual gesture upon seeing someone had had met previously. However, it did seem like the entire event wasn't going to maintain this demeanor. A few moments after nodding to Hikoru and Macradon Calrex heard a loud thud like a door had been thrown open nearby. Glancing over from where he was standing he could see a couple of NPC attendants making their way away from the origin of the noise, "Someone not happy with the festivities?"

With that it seemed the Ultramarine Knight was set into a conversation as his eyes turned back to see that another frontliner and fellow tank had appeared beside him, the golden-blonde guardian Morgenstern. Including him and Shield, the trio made up the first line of defense for the raid teams, serving as the main tank for each for the past couple of raids. The bluenette had only directly interacted with him a couple of times in the past, and from what Calrex could tell it didn't seem like the young man held him in the best of lights. While it wasn't obvious on the surface, the micro-expressions he gave as well as the more formal greeting hinted at it more than anything. "I mean, I guess a lot of people with high aspirations to be the best of the defender role probably would see me in some ways as an obstacle. I just hope it's more like a casual rivalry than something more sinister. I'd rather not have a target painted on my back because of something out of my control."

Giving a calm smile he gave a nod, "It really has been a while since we last talked, hasn't it? Good to see you're still doing well Morg. For the most part nothing has really been out of the ordinary with me, just the usual exploring until another floor raid comes along. How have things been with you and the Ascendants?"

@Morgenstern

[Morgenstern 1]

The bluenette would turn to talk to Jonathan once again a bit unnerved with the confidence and wisdom the man always seemed to radiate. He held an analytical look for a few seconds before giving Jonathan small smile and a few words.  The man gave Joanthan a greeting and asked him how he was doing. Jonathan shrugged and replied, "Well, the Ascendants are quite fine. Activity is no where near what it used to be as most up and coming players now join another guild out there that includes lower level leaders. Also, most of our newer players ended up dipping off a bit. As for me... well... I would rather not talk about myself" If he started talking about himself he wouldn' be able to enjoy the day. With his Shield seeming to be trying to take Jonathan's spot a Paladin at the same time as Rin locking herself away from him and the rest of the world, he had been on shaky ground. He occasionally snapped at people out of anger, and no matter how much time he spent calming himself down on the 19th floor, he couldn't get the overbearing weight off of him. 

A commotion seemed to be happening in the group of people and an angry NPC walked past them with a white dress in hand. Jonathan chuckled as the NPC passed before turning back to Calrex. "What about you Calrex? What does Aincrad's top player due with his days?" He understood the man and his guild had suddenly just dropped one day. He was always curious as to what happened, but never really pushed the idea. 

@Calrex

[Shield 0]

Pipe organs blazed to life, and overpowering music permeated every particle of air. A slight, blond-haired man stepped from behind the partition and addressed the small crowd of front-liners. He held his hands out to either side in a gesture of welcome. The organs immediately died down, their echoes drifting across the open landscape of the surrounding floor.

"Greetings friends and dear ones," he began. Shield, who was waiting to enter from the side felt his teeth grit tighter together and his shoulders instinctively hunched forward and tightened like a drawn bow string. "We are gathered here today to renew the vows of two who I have seen to be truly in love: Beat and Shield."

What!? What did you witness in the five minutes we spent planning this schlocky mess inspired that kind of sentiment?

"As I watched these two gentlemen interact, I could tell right away that the sprightly, boyish charms of Beat were the only things that could have melted the stony exterior of the stoic Shield," he continued, accompanied by embellished, superfluous hand motions that drew far more attention to themselves than they did to the priest's actual words. Shield brought both hands to his eyes, pressing his heels hard against his own lids and slamming his head into the wall several times. The priest's ears seemed to perk up at the muffled bangs. "Ah, such a sound I have head before. Only a heart beating with the strength of the deepest, most sincere love could beat so strongly."

How could... I mean does he actually think...

Shield mouthed wordlessly for a few moments before he saw the priest gesture offstage towards him. It was his time to enter. He slouched his shoulders and shuffled his feet forward, avoiding all eye contact with anyone in the audience. When he arrived at the gaudy, flower-ridden monstrosity of an altar, he stuck his hands in his pockets and pretended to be fascinated with something far off in the distance.

Let's just get this over with.

Edited March 21, 2018 by Shield

[Hestia 0]

I smile towards the girl known as @Calypso with a smile on my face. hey Calypso it has certainly been a rather long time since i had talked to you like at all. I say with a small chuckle as i look towards her and then looks at her outfit. And dang you look pretty good in that outfit. I compliment the girl with a kind smile. Not wishing to come off as flirting more so just a kind compliment from a kinda friend to another. I know Shield and Beat only from the fact i joined the frontlines recently so it seemed that Shield invited all the frontlines, buuuut i didn't want it to be only us. Figured we could use some more people to try and make it more fun in some manner. I say with a happy smile as i then hear the organs go off signaling the start of the event is about to start as i nod my head towards Calypso as i quickly find a seat about middle of the way from the front row and back row. Wishing to have a rather good seat to watch the chaos that is going to be this from what i can view of Shield having to walk towards the altar. The man moving with what i can see seems like some reluctance to a extent.

[Beat 0]

"Yes, Shield's affection for Beat was immediately apparent to me and as we conversed and discussed their story, I could tell that the two of them had fallen for each other completely." The priest continued, bringing a slight redness to Beat's face as he waited behind his side of the partition. He thought to himself for a moment to be sure that the priest was making his part up at this point, leading Beat to believe that the priest's lines were more or less scripted. He could not recall any affection between them during their brief meeting in the city of beginnings. 

Jesus, let's get on with it...

Their bond was of camaraderie and friendship, but it was strictly platonic, though Beat would have been lying if he had said Shield didn't mean anything to him. Beat could not claim many as a true friend, but there was no question in his mind that Shield ranked among those few. That thought made what came to follow more bearable as the priest motioned for him to come forth. He released a long sigh and threw his gaze to the sky as he emerged in his tailored tuxedo. His eyes skimmed over the crowd as he pretended to not notice anyone before facing his fellow groom. He shook his head and rolled his eyes at the priest before looking at Shield and gesturing towards the priest as if to say, "Really loves to hear himself talk huh?"

 

[Shield 0]

Shield was not looking. He was not done avoiding everyone's gaze, and Beat was first and foremost among the people he could not bring himself to look at just yet. The priest seemed to take no notice whatsoever and plowed right on through his script.

"Ah, yes, it is palpable, is it not?" he said to the small gathering of players. "Seldom have I seen such warmth and tenderness as I have seen here today."

Shield let his head fall back and stifled a groan. While he was grateful that this priest did not have a speech impediment, this contrived drivel was almost worse. At this point, Shield heard a small commotion from the attendants, all of which was coming from behind the assembled guests.

"I have taken the liberty of looking into your previous ceremony," the officiator said, looking back and forth between Beat and Shield, beaming over his clerical collar. "There's a special guest who was there then who is assisting us today."

From the back, Shield heard the clunking of wooden broomsticks thudding lightly and scraping across a hard, hollow surface. He knew the sound but could not place it at first. Then, he heard the hiss. His eyes swiveled to the back where four attendants seemed to be playing some weird version of Olympic turtle curling with none other than Shield's old snapping turtle familiar.

"Norbert!?" he blurted. The turtle was supposed to be swimming lazily in the oversized fish tank that took up the entire front window of Shield's merchant shop. Apparently, Cardinal had borrowed him for the day. "Dear lord..."

Edited March 21, 2018 by Shield

[Calrex 0]

As Calrex listened attentively to Morgenstern give him a brief update of how things were with his guild, as well as a short and dismissive one for himself. After spending enough time being around the frontliners and other players as he made his way up through the levels, the bluenette already knew better than to try and pry a bit more out of anyone that quick to request not speaking about their personal lives, "That's what usually get you into trouble. Better off letting them handle whatever they have going on unless they openly reach out for help. Hopefully whatever Morg's got going on in his life doesn't require that though."

"Me? Well I can't really say much. After the Spectrum Coalition disbanded I unfortunately haven't really been active. I heard from the info brokers about the new quests being discovered, but outside of the floor raids nothing really much else has been going on my end of things."

It seemed their conversation was going to have to wait until the preacher of the ceremony was finished speaking. As the robed NPC spoke about the deep bond between Shield and Beat Calrex wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to the words being said. Going from the looks on both Beat and Shield's faces, he wasn't sure they knew either. However, it did seem the festivites were becoming more and more entertaining, as apparently the fellow tank's former familiar, Norbert, had made an appearance. Now the bluenette wasn't sure if he should continue to be partially confused, or try to contain some form of laughter

@Morgenstern

[Beat 0]

Beat burst out laughing as he watched the large snapping turtle hiss and bite at the attendants. A couple of times, Shield's former familiar actually got a piece of one of them and it took the strength of all of the other NPCs to get Norbert to let go. A loud screech from Beat's falcon familiar, Horus, rang out as the avian landed on top of Norbert's back and began pecking and anything that came near Norbert. Beat grinned proudly as he folded his arms and watched, much preferring the distraction to the dull ceremony he was sure they were in for once the commotion died down. The priest was stunned for only a moment before a warm smile reappeared on his face, "Ahhh you see? Old friends through and through. The two men before us are so in love, even their familiars are the best of friends!" 

Beat face was red with laughter as the attendants were beginning to consider giving up. Norbert was surprisingly agile for his size and having a large hunting bird on his back assisting him made the task of herding the tortoise nearly impossible. Eventually the attendants conceded to Norbert's wish to be left alone and, satisfied with his victory, Norbert rose his head to give Horus a glare that seemed to say "Fun's over, now off." Horus clicked his beak at the reptile and took to the skies as Norbert snorted and began to walk up the aisle of his own accord, eventually stopping in front of the podium, two rings made of gem resting on a purple, ornate pillow. Beat eyed the ring made from solid emerald hungrily. 

There's what we came for. 

[Shield 0]

Shield had his eyes on the rings as well, and as the ceremony wore on, through useless prattle about a relationship that was not even real, he was instructed to retrieve the rings - carefully - from the back of his old familiar. He knew that the others would have a hard time getting control of him and did not feel like parting with the old pain in the carapace, so he summoned out the old leather sling that he used to use and harnessed Norbert up, hoisting him up onto his back like a squirmy, armored backpack.

"And do you, Shield, affirm your vows to Beat, to love him and cherish him, in green health bars and down into the red, all the way up to floor one hundred and beyond?" The priest prompted, wearing a self-satisfied smile at the game-appropriate vows he had modified from the more traditional 'in sickness and in health' lines. Shield twisted his mouth, the words 'I do' seeming to get stuck somewhere in the area of where he kept his last remaining shreds of dignity.

"Yeah, sure."

[Hestia 0]

I watch this ceremony in amusement having to stifle laughter as i watch as the turtle from shield's shop makes an appearance holding the rings and making it difficult fro the people just trying to get the ceremony to continue. However, the ability to hide my own laughter is quickly gone as i can see and hear beat just laughing at the scene that is unfolding as i quickly join in the laughter and giggles. 'Oh dear god i am glad that i came to this.' I think to myself in amusement at what is happening as i wonder if this sort of fiasco had happened before in some other wedding.  I watch with a bit of disappointment as the familiar starts making its way up as the attendants give up on trying to control the turtle. Having sincerely hoped that the fun could've continued for a bit. 'but this is a ceremony so i guess it should be taken seriously at some point.' I think with a small nod of my head.

[Beat 0]

With Norbert mounted onto Shield's back, squirming and snapping his mouth in protest, the ceremony was now back to what it should have been, much to Beat's boredom. They had done this before, and other than the difference in dialogue options and the slight change in guests, there really wasn't anything remarkable about this ceremony. The priest smiled at Shield's words and turned his head to Beat and spoke in the same sweet tone as he had before, "And do you, Beat, affirm your vows to Shield, to love him and cherish him, in green health bars and down into the red, all the way up to floor one hundred and beyond?" 

Beat closed his eyes and smiled as he turned to look at  the priest. He had gotten some good laughs out of the ceremony and it was now time to end the charade and receive what they had been working towards. He gave the priest a nod, "I do."

At Beat's words, the priest took the two rings and held each one out to the two players, the ring made of emerald with a cross guard design on top in front of Beat and the Serpentine ring made of Opal with red and green flecks in front of Shield. "Then place your fingers inside these rings as I bind your binding your hearts and your lives together in perfect harmony." 

Beat resisted the urge to snort and laugh again as he place his ring finger through the emerald ring and waited for Shield to do the same. "Alright buddy, let's get what we came for."

Edited March 25, 2018 by Beat