[PP-F1] Melancholy

[Fayetta 0]

The main plaza of the Town of Beginnings was as busy as it always was, as it had been for the past three weeks, as it likely would long after the boss residing in the labyrinth of this floor was found and defeated. Fayetta sat, alone at first, in one of several wooden benches that lined the streets while fighting to keep his head from hanging. His fingers fidgeted underneath the long, oversized sleeves that concealed his hands, and his jaw rocked back and forth as he started and stopped himself from gnawing softly on his bottom lip, over and over. It was getting harder and harder for the young man to stay positive, and just at a glance many other players seemed to share his overwhelming apprehension.

"It's already been twenty-three days..." He muttered under his breath, talking to himself as his mind worked. "Assuming this floor is cleared in a month... Is that even realistic? Then a month per floor at least, and one-hundred floors..." His half-sensical rambling slipped out with every other thought, each one filling him and compounding the sense of dread that had been building up. He went silent, picking his chin up again and looking around at the people around him. Over a hundred different faces were visible, from the huge plaza to what he could see of the streets that led to the merchants' alley and other such districts of the massive sprawling city across from him. Fayetta had never been much of a people-watcher, but perhaps he was grasping now. Looking for something in the expressions of others that would distract him, or keeping from thinking just how impossible their situation was. He would spot a couple of refreshing faces. Players that laughed among friends or guildmates caused a twinge of jealousy at their abilities to form bonds so quickly, but caused a flicker of a smile to reflect their own to brighten his expression for just a moment. Then there were those who looked considerably worse-off than his troubled self. A girl in particular caught his cerulean eye, and he felt his stomach twist as he saw the tears flow down her cheeks while a sympathetic player sat beside her to rub her back in an attempt to soothe her.

Fayetta let out a sigh, one that was a bit louder than he had intended while he leaned forward in his seat. His elbows propped themselves onto his legs and the sleeves of his baggy blue track jacket slid halfway down his arms to expose the hands that his cheeks fell into. He sat, still troubled and worried, with his motivation waning as the minutes ticked by. "Unnnhh, who knows if we'll ever get out of here..." He thought aloud with a small groan.

@Kataware @Amethyst

Edited July 2, 2018 by Fayetta

[Amethyst 0]

Nov. 29th 2022

(Sorry a bit rusty, just came back from months away from posting.)

Amethyst found herself meditating near the body of water on the first floor in the town of beginnings, it had been a bit of time since release day... also the day of dread as the news had been established that they had been trapped in this world, and the only means of escape was to complete the game. The point of her meditation right now was to clear her mind of all the negative thoughts that had clouded her mind when they had learned the news. Amethyst could hear the crowd walking through the streets of the first floor and past her, many worked very hard to grow in levels and to find the floor boss room... however oddly the floor boss hadn't been found quite yet. However that thought was immediately replaced by "Its only a matter of time before the floor boss had been found. For now, I just need to cleanse my mind of all the negative things that came from the news, last thing I want is negative vibes trying to grow in level."

[Kataware 0]

Kataware walked through the town looking at the thousands of people. Some of them being jovial, or at least seeming to be, while others seem more downtrodden either because one of their friends has become one of the many hundreds of people that the game has already claimed as a victim or simply because they are trapped here. However, the goal of today was not people-watching, although she often found herself doing that in her spare time whenever she could simply because it was a habit and a relaxing activity in the real world, but rather trying to see if there are any allies, and more importantly if there’s any useful information.

She continued walking through the Town of Beginnings, but the experience seemed suffocating. To Kataware, everyone was still in a dream-like state hoping that work will be done by themselves. However, after working as a temporary employee at a bureaucratic agency taught her, there’s a lot more work that is done behind the scenes than is visible to the average person. Sometimes, she’d see some people open up their menu, as if it was a bad dream or hoping that someone was able to gain access to Cardinal and re-enable the sign-out button. The inaction suffocated her especially as who was trying her best to find out as much as she could about this trap, although the sheer amount of players didn’t help.

After what seemed like an hour of looking around to see if there was anyone that seemed knowledgable about something, about quests, any news about the “Frontliners”, or even just how these skills worked, she decided to take a break. Kataware decided to take a break on one of the wooden benches that surrounded the body of water just south of the plaza. “There hasn’t been news for the past couple of weeks. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if it took more than a couple years,” Kataware thought aloud.

@Fayetta

[Fayetta 0]

'I can't take this anymore--' Just when the thought entered his mind, a voice that was closer, more clear than any that provided the idle chatter, shouts, and musings around him caught his attention. Someone seemed to have roughly the same thought as him: wondering, and estimating just how long it might take for them to escape.

He couldn't help it. His eyes flicked to his left side, where he stole a glance at the source of the feminine voice. A player was mirroring him, sitting alone on another bench aside him. She looked...plain, Fayetta thought, if he were to put it bluntly. Dark chestnut hair that sat rather short above her shoulders. Basic equipment and clothing--perhaps even cosmetic items that didn't provide any stats like his own oversized track sweater and dark pants. She seemed 'normal', like him. His right hand shifted, moving from his cheek to the back of his collar where he rubbed gently at the fabric that separated his hand from the nape of his neck. He had stolen one, and then two more glances since his first, and he started to worry that the girl might look back at him and his suspicious behavior. Something about her seemed familiar, but Fayetta could hardly concentrate long enough to make sense of the weird feeling.

He thought about standing up, but immediately questioned where he would go. He suddenly felt the weight of the dagger sitting in its sheathe on his hip. He could probably handle himself outside of the safe zone if he wanted to go grind out a level or two. After all, he had been out there a handful of times already since the game began. But surely there would be a lot of other players vying for the best places to kill monsters, and he had heard the rumors floating around that spoke of how many players had already died after leaving the city. It wasn't safe, and it was never going to be. And Fayetta had never felt more suffocatingly alone each time he realized that.

His bright aqua eyes ran over the crowd for what must have been the hundredth time since he sat himself down. The fanciful avatars that everyone had designed when they first logged in--including his own--had been erased. He stood back at his full height, his hair was short and a bit messy again. Most notably, his body was back to his real-life counterpart. The username that he picked had nicely suited the rosy-cheeked strawberry blonde girl that he had designed to play as: the VR embodiment of a character of his own creation that must have been a few years old by now. But the experience was terribly short-lived, and now he was a bit grateful that he hadn't befriended anyone in the time of his girlish guise.

Though they had been forced back to their real-world appearances since the Announcement, Fayetta could see a couple of figures among the crowds who had clung to the chances to customize their appearances in what ways they still could. His augmented blue eyes landed on a woman who held her eyes closed, as if she were trying to relax among the busy city streets. Like him, her hair was tinted a shade of blue, though hers was much more like seafoam, or a pale sky. What caught his interest even more was the length. It ran well past her shoulders, down her back, past her hips even. He was staring, entranced for a moment while he was left to wonder if the color had been the only thing the stranger had modified about her silky hair.

[Amethyst 0]

Amethyst had faced the water and closed her eyes as she had meditated, she had let out hums every-so-often however she mainly had focused on removing the dark and evil thoughts that had pestered her mind. It had took her a moment, however she had managed to get back to her calm and friendly state. "Time to explore the town again, see what everyone is up to." she had thought before standing onto her feet and placing her hands behind her back as she had began to walk forward through the streets of the town of beginnings. Amethyst had looked around it still had looked like chaos had ensued, players desperately looking to party with other, players still going a bit insane over the news of the death game, and some even upset over losing a friend or two. Amethyst couldn't help but feel a bit saddened seeing all these people greatly affected, she had wanted to help but... she had felt that not all of them are going to be friendly with how she presents herself.

With a hum she had looked forward to a man that had sat on the bench who clearly lost his own sanity, Amethyst had looked at him seeing if he would be friendly, however... the most threatening looking probably is the most friendliest, so she figured to just take the risk and speak up to somebody. Amethyst had grew a slight smile as she had approached the man that had sat on the bench and she had stepped in front of him and with a sweet and calm tone said out to him "Are you okay mister? You seem like you have seen a ghost just now." she had given him a few seconds to respond, afterward she had said out to him "Mind if I join you on your seat? I wouldn't mind talking with you to remove such negative things placed into your head."

[Kataware 0]

Kataware’s eye was caught by a woman with flowing blue hair that seemed as if it could reach to her heels. Surely, that's not how it was in real life, right? Kataware was in disbelief, wondering how anyone could ever manage long hair flowing freely. Her own hair was not short by any means, but she always kept it in a ponytail so that her hair only extended a bit past her shoulders. Her eyes followed the woman, up until the point that she walked up to the bench on her right and began talking to a man that whose face seemed a bit too familiar. Inside her head, the puzzle pieces started putting themselves together and, although it has been a while since they last got together, it wasn’t so long that she’d had forgotten him. Out of 10,000 people, he was one of them? The chances of me knowing anyone from my real life were slim.

Kataware started walking towards the pair of people. As Kataware got into earshot, she noticed that the other girl mentioned how the boy seemed as if he had seen a ghost. Inspecting even further, Kataware noticed that it was the same face on many people’s faces in the Town of Beginnings. Scared and uncertain of their fate. So he’s still having difficulty in accepting that this is reality. Once she approached the bench, Kataware sat down next to the boy and spoke, “Tohru, is it true you’ve seen a ghost?” Turning to the blue-haired girl, Kataware extended her hand and gave the best smile she could muster in her in-between state between exhaustion and refreshed. “I’m Kataware, nice to meet you!”

 

@Fayetta

Edited July 5, 2018 by Kataware
Accidentally edited as Paglikha and now it is Kataware

[Fayetta 0]

The woman stood up while his eyes were still transfixed on her. And then, 'Oh no.' Their eyes met. She was looking straight at him. She was coming this way! Fayetta froze up, but as such he couldn't bring himself to look away. She probably thought he was a creep for staring at her. But as the stranger closed the distance between them, she wore a smile rather than a scowl, and her face looked pleasant rather than perturbed. Her words snapped him back to reality, and his spine straightened a bit as he let out a chuckle that was made primarily from his nerves. He always seemed to laugh when he was nervous.

"O-oh, me? A ghost? Haha, of course not, I was just, umm," He paused, dropping his gaze while he tried to think of how to admit that he thought her hair was amazing and beautiful without sounding like a total weirdo. Just as he had decided that such a feat was impossible, she spoke up again. His brows raised, curious and confused by her words, but he quickly remembered what manners were, and motioned with a half-covered hand to the empty space at his right.

All of a sudden, just as he opened his mouth to explain that she was welcome to sit with him, a presence on his other side caused him to jump in his own seat. Not to mention a name that he hadn't heard in a short while now. His head whipped back to the direction of the voice, and his eyes landed on none other than the brown-haired girl he had spotted earlier. He blinked. 'Wait, there's no way...'

"Dogu?!" He hissed the name in a hushed voice, the incredulous tone slipping through despite keeping his voice down while he confirmed the girl's identity. "You're--how--I, I didn't expect to see you here!" He admitted, forcing through his loss for words. His eyes were wide, and he leaned back until he hit the rest of the bench behind him. He hadn't expected anyone he actually knew to be stuck here with him. His parents had no interest or time for games. His friends from school were too busy, too broke, or both to get their hands on the equipment the game needed by the time it released. And for a moment, he felt a small sense of joy, like he wasn't really alone in this virtual prison. But that was quickly replaced by the wave of regret and despair. Someone he knew was forced to live here, too, away from their family and friends, and everything they knew. He bit down on his bottom lip before his attention snapped back to the woman in front of them that Dogu moved to greet. "Oh, r-right, yeah, please take a seat." He answered her initial question almost as if he were on auto-pilot.

[Amethyst 0]

Amethyst had looked down at the man, and he had appeared to be in some form of shock, she had said out to him "I am sorry if my approach wasn't the best, I didn't mean to put you in some form of shock." as she had finished speaking another woman had came up and spoke out a name "Tohru" asking if it had been true that he's seen a ghost. Amethyst didn't want to step in on their conversation, however she did listen back. Amethyst had looked over to the man which had said out "Dogu" and spoke out with a bit of excitement, Amethyst had blinked however she had smiled sweetly as it was nice to see old friends reuniting. Amethyst had simply placed her hands behind her back as she had listened, and after a moment he had finally answered her question of if she could sit down next to him, Amethyst had bowed and said to him "Thank you mister." she had smiled and took her seat next to the man placing her hands gently and in a organized fashion and looked over to him.

@Fayetta

[Kataware 0]

“The one and only, present in the virtual world.” Kataware told Tohru noticing that he was surprised that she was standing right there in front of him. Kataware retracted her hand as the blue-haired girl sat down, her hand placement very meticulous as if she was trained to be part of genteel society. “So, first order of business what should I call both of you? I know this guy’s real name,” she said as she jabbed her thumb in his direction, “but if either of you want to be called a certain way, that’s fine by me.”

“Second order of business, it’s been a wild 23 days and counting, hasn’t it? Less than 10,000 people are now living in this game.” Kataware sighed. She normally didn’t care about a situation’s circumstances, but she allowed herself this moment. “Well, I suspect that this ordeal will only get tougher from here on out.” Looking at the players walking by the streets, she noticed how so many people were ignoring the fact that it’s been over three weeks since they’ve been trapped in here. “Especially as less players become available to push through to clear the floors. Some people are simply waiting.” Kataware started chuckling to herself. “Yet, I can’t say I’m any better. I haven’t even stepped out of the Town of Beginnings myself. Though, I do hope that I’m doing more than just simply waiting. I’ve been trying to gather information, but to little success... However from what I’ve heard, I think we’re here for the long run.” Kataware looked towards her two companions sitting on the bench with her, waiting for a reaction.

@Fayetta

[Fayetta 0]

"Oh, wha? No, you're fine." He answered the graceful woman's apology. God, did he really look like that much of a mess? Probably. His attention was now dancing between the struggle of interacting with a new face, and the disbelief of encountering a familiar one all at the same time. He took in a deep breath, staring out into the crowd for a moment while he processed until Kataware's question of names reached his ears. "Oh, ah, right. Um, Faye is fine." He replied with a weak smile, turning his head and giving a small nod to the girl with seafoam hair to extend his introduction to her. He paused a moment, waiting for her reply, before turning back to the player on his other side. "What about you? What did you pick for a username?" He asked his friend, clearly not paying attention when she had taken the time to offer it to their new acquaintance.

Fayetta kept his back pressed against the bench, bringing his right hand up towards his face. His fingers reached past the cuff of his sleeve and curled, his index finger left extended to lightly scratch at the skin of his cheek, as if in thought. Kataware was going on about how long they had been trapped thus far, and bringing to light how grim there circumstances currently were. He sat in silence for a few moments, mulling it over along with giving Amethyst a chance to speak, before he sighed. "Yeah. I've been to the fields outside a few times, but... Well, I don't know how to play these games 'right' like a lot of people here." He admitted. There was a tightness in his chest as he exposed his own shortcomings, and if his company was only the gentle Amethyst he likely wouldn't have said anything. But with Kataware's lead, expressing his self-doubt actually made room for a bit of relief. "I think I would just get in the way if I tried to fight a boss." He ended with a chuckle, half born of nervousness. His head turned back to meet golden eyes and extend their conversation, "What about you? Is this your first time playing these kinds of games?"

[Amethyst 0]

Amethyst had calmly sat down and looked over hearing what the two had conversed about, even though she wasn't a real part of it she still listened so she could still be on track, eventually actual usernames were shared instead of their real names before looking to her asking what to call her, she had smiled sweetly and said "Amethyst.", she kept it nice and simple. However she had still listened to the two speak out, Amethyst had came to a real conclusion that the two had been scared, Amethyst smiled once more and said to the two with a kind voice "I am not experienced with a game such as this, but I know to not be scared. I know the risk of death can be very scary, but the biggest thing to remember is to let the system do the attacks for you. There is no right way of playing this game, but there is simply just nothing to be exactly afraid of. Eventually we'll find ourselves being able to beat the boars that roam the plains outside this town."

@Kataware

 

[Kataware 0]

“Kataware. Though if you want to shorten it, Kat’s fine,” she responded to Tohru and Faye’s question even though she had already mentioned her username earlier. “Though, I get the feeling that we might be addressing each other as our real names more often.”

Kataware listened to Faye’s and Amethyst’s short discourse on the “right” way of playing these games. Faye appeared to believe there was a correct way to win this game and prosper, but Amethyst disagreed. Similarly, Faye appeared to doubt his ability of being able to help out in this game, while Amethyst appeared to be taking things slowly, but also rationally. “Well, I agree with both of you, but also disagree with both of you as well. There is certainly than one way to play this game, more than one way to help. It all just takes time to getting used to. However, ” Kataware leaned back in the bench and held out her hand. “there’s certainly more to be afraid than death.” Kataware certainly knew that well. More than her own safety, she was worried about her family’s well-being and their ability to cope with it. “I mean, everyone left behind a little something.”

Kataware didn’t want to mention something about Tohru’s manga. If he was to share that detail out, that might be a different thing, but she was able to draw the connection between his username and a certain character that he often drew. “Guess a lot of us got blindsided, huh?” Kataware played with her light green shirt, picking at a couple of stray threads. “Well, it’s no matter. What matters is what we do going forward.”

@Fayetta

Edited July 11, 2018 by Kataware
Mention

[Fayetta 0]

Dogu was just as rational as always, causing a small smile to pick the corner of Fayetta's mouth up ever-so-slightly. Her personality was familiar in this otherwise alien world, and as strange as it might sound the simple conversation he found himself apart of was both relaxing and comforting from the stress and hopelessness he'd been feeling up until now. His chin tilted up while he leaned back in his seat. Each of the women gave their opinion on playing the game--leveling up, doing what you can, what you're good at, or just whatever you're willing to do in order to help out. Even if it was all part of a game, Fayetta didn't see himself as a fighter. He didn't see the graceful Amethyst or the sensible Dogu as fighters, either, but here they were. If they didn't fight, they would have to rely on other skills to get by. Maybe learning a craft, scouting and resource gathering, or simply bartering. With each option that entered his mind, he had a hard time picturing himself doing any of it, let alone being 'good' or 'helpful'.

He sighed, lightly enough to not be considered dramatic or too terribly disheartened by the response. "Yeah, you're right." He replied while staring straight ahead. It wasn't clear which one of them he was addressing, or what exactly about their words he agreed with. Perhaps he was seeing all of their points, and nodding along as he tried to broaden his viewpoints. Finding someone to talk to had helped, or at least he preferred this over sitting alone in his thoughts any longer. His eyes turned to Amethyst, his chin turning just enough to properly look at the woman sitting beside him. "Have you guys been outside much, or worked on leveling up?" He responded to Amethyst's commentary on battling the monsters that roamed outside of the safe zone, but addressed them both. He turned back to look at Kataware on his other side. "Maybe we could all give it a shot, find something to do that'll give us some good experience or items." He suggested with a smile that he tried to keep from looking weak. He wanted to get up, get out there, do something. The thought of milling about in town for the rest of his days sounded downright miserable, but being alone out there was what scared him into inaction in the first place.

[Kataware 0]

It was then the girl known as Amethyst got up and excused herself, explaining that she forgot that she had arranged some other plans. The girl with the long blue hair strided towards a crowd of people and was then swept away.

Kataware was skeptical that Amethyst had plans. Of course, Amethyst might have just been an early-starter, but the way she talked made her think that her plans were somewhere set in the future, rather than so early into this game. The word ‘eventually’ rang in her mind. However, she looked back at Tohru, or rather Fayetta. “I haven’t been outside at all, nor worked on levelling up yet. I’m trying to get a lay of the land. I bought this game to take in different sights, so I wasn’t prepared for this type of thing to happen.” Kataware turned towards the plaza where the announcement took place, remembering the blood that oozed out of the sky and the man in robes telling them that the only escape was by clearing all of Aincrad. “But I guess none of us were.”

Kataware pushed those thoughts away. The circumstances she found herself in were uncontrollable, something that she would just have to deal with as time went on. She knew that are her current state, that she was weak. With little to no items other than what she started out with and the few measly skill points, she had nothing else to her name. Weakness is only temporary. It only lasts as long as you can’t find your strengths. Kataware turned towards Tohru and gave him a small smile in return. “If you really want to do that, I’ll go with you. Safety in numbers, but in this moment, is that is what you really want to do?”

@Fayetta

Edited August 19, 2018 by Kataware