[Get ready, everyone; we're going to begin!]

Up three stairs, through the front door, then the door to the left, twelve stairs more, and finally, into the door on the right. Fletcher practically dove into his room, dumping his backpack off at the door and rolling over his bed to his computer. The screen emerged from the wall on cue, greeting him with a cheerful "Welcome, Mr. Lee!" and opening the compartment reserved for a worn pair of HoloSpecs. Fletcher sighed, feeling his stress fade away as Rakuen booted up. Donning the HoloSpecs, Fletcher slipped away, and Beat Tempo awoke to a cacophony of panicked chattering.

In recent weeks, Shima Port had become what could only be describe as a living nightmare. There was a time when all of Rakuen was fairly peaceful, and all the members were dedicated to the game. Beat sighed. The beta couldn't last forever, but he found himself wishing for the days when the game wasn't filled with all these rude little newbies. The latest advert series certainly didn't help keep the numbers down either. Beat found himself wondering how many of these players were true gamers; some people had lives outside Rakuen, thinking themselves the gamer and their avatar just that. However, Beat had never really felt that way for the year of beta he had been through. Rakuen was Beat's reality; Fletcher was merely the weak avatar, the flesh and blood that would waste away while the strong Beat Tempo would always remain so.

Thoughts aside, Beat reminded himself why exactly he had returned to this hell hole. The sadistic storyline developers decided Shima Port of all places would be the perfect place to introduce the newest quest line. As Beat shoved his way through the chaos, the tell-tale beacon appeared in the corner of his vision. He made short work of the remaining distance, finally coming to stand in front of the cruise captain's house. Rakuen was large enough to feature many boats, owned by players and NPCs alike, yet only one cruise ship existed. It was hardly the real-life definition of a cruise; rather than a relaxing sea ride, the captain offered battle tournaments which usually ended with the losing team stranded at sea. Beat desperately hoped the quest line involved no such tomfoolery; he had fallen prey to the trick once before, and spent four days swimming in search of land; definitely not an experience he was eager to relive.

As expected, the captain's house was flooded with players filing in and out as they received their quests. Beat took his place in line, and at least twenty minutes later, he was face-to-face with the captain. The man was tall, tan, and gruff, wearing a dark trench coat and white captain's hat. It was so stereotypical that Fletcher cringed, and across reality, Beat did the same. While players could chat with voice just as in real life (for most, at least), NPCs were a different story. As Fletcher closed his eyes, Beat opened his mouth: "NPC Captain Oliver," he announced, and the world grew two shades darker. An image of the captain appeared behind a text box which appeared and quickly filled with various key words. After a good time spent navigating through the key words, he finally spotted something that looked correct. Launch Questt. Something was very disconcerting about that extra t; hadn't they removed all typos after the beta stage? Well, nobody is perfect. "Launch Quest," Beat commanded, and paragraphs of dialogue replaced the word bank. Beat skimmed through it, lest he face the wrath of the players waiting in line behind him, and the one annoying punk reading the text over his shoulder.

After an unbelievable amount of backstory which he would possibly read online later, Beat exited the house, taking a seat on a nearby bench. He selected the quest menu, which popped up with the steps required to complete the first stage:

Beat shrugged; it didn't seem too difficult. In fact, most quests were at least five steps. This would be a walk in the park. It would just require some waiting for the first boat to Ecilan. After a moment of rest, Beat Tempo climbed the ramp to the boat, heading below deck to search for a seat. He was greeted with a sudden silence, which he found rather soothing. He managed to nab an empty bench; the whole boat was empty, as a matter of fact, which merely meant he had some waiting to do before beginning this new quest.

((OOC: It's so hard to write when a cat is demanding attention!))

Kaylee woke up early that morning. Not for school, mind you, for she was skipping today. Her father would never notice, and the school wouldn't bother to call. She has a lot to do, even with the new quest line opening up, and she felt she needed the extra time. The only person who even cared was their house keeper Julie, but a small lecture of the importance of a good education was well worth it. Kaylee ate her breakfast quickly after Julie was through, and then retired to her bedroom for a day of gaming. Her computer was already up and ready for her, and with the snap of her Holospecs locking in place and a few flicks of her finger, Kaylee was leaving behind reality for something better; Rekuen.

Metus spent the next few hours tending to his garden or rather farm. He had spent most of his beta working to become one of the largest supplier of produce in Shima, and it had payed off. It was odd to think of a gamer spending so much time just gardening, but Kaylee loved it. She had always wanted to grow plants, but living in an apartment meant that there was never room for it, and her father had assumed Kaylee would just bore of it within a week, so never allowed her even potted plants, but Kaylee enjoyed the feeling of tending the earth and of growing new life, even if that life was fictional. Sure she could play Farmville 7 if she really wished it, but that would never be as intricate as Rakuen. Kaylee had worked hard to build up the soil, to find the right consistency of nutrients for every crop she planned to grow. It can take weeks for the more complicated plants to reach maturity, and constant tending to reach its true fruition. It was hard work to say the least, but Kaylee wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Once Metus had finished with his crops for the day, he set his NPC helpers with their own instructions, and then headed for Shima Port. It was unusually crowded today, but that was to be expected. Metus made his way to Captain Oliver's house. He walked with a slight limp in his left leg, and supported his weight with his cane. It was of course a charade, he had no limp, but Metus liked to think it added style. The NPC's residence was packed, and a line protruded from his doorway out into the street. Metus begrudgingly stepped to the back of the line and proceeded to wait. And wait. And wait. Until finally the captain, dressed much like a stereotypical captain is expected to dress, was in front of him. "NPC Captain Oliver," Metus said, and Kaylee thought in response "As fat as a slimy Gobbler." Metus always spoke in rhyme, or as close to a rhyme as Kaylee can think at the time, so whenever Metus addresses NPCs, where you must be specific, Kaylee always thinks of something to rhyme with it in her head. Kaylee quickly found the correct keyword, and started the quest. Metus didn't bother to read the "whats" and the "why" skipped the back story altogether. It was probably boring useless stuff anyway.

Metus stepped out of the cramped Captain's house into the slightly less cramped outside, and looked at his quest log. After skimming through the light version of the back story, and taking in the actual quest, he headed toward the "Frozen Bow," a ship's whose only destination was Ecilan. The Ship's cargo hold was mostly empty, save for the benches that lined the walls, and the one man who sat among them. He wore a white techno coat and jumpsuit, blue futuristic glasses, and had what appeared to be a keyboard piano strapped to his back. "Eh," Kaylee thought ", no accounting for taste." She smiled at herself, and Metus reflectively smiled as well, thinking she wasn't one to judge, considering the jester outfit that Metus sported.

Shima Port, coastal jewel of a thousand facets! The city was many things: crowded, full of merchants with questionable tactics, slightly laggy during peak hours on Cathy's connection. It was also worlds away from the Manila heat and the hateful, hateful Villanueva account with its clients who didn't seem to actually understand how their own hardware was meant to be interfaced by anything other than cobbled-together code. Rakuen was the only way Cathy was able to feel capable of winding down some days. The climate control in her apartment whirred dutifully as she prepped her gaming rig. Cathy Macaraeg closed her eyes, and Rost Eisensang opened them.

She'd last logged out in one of the little shrines dotting the cityscape, cool and dark with curling plumes of incense lazily corkscrewing towards the rafters, and much to her surprise it only had a handful of visitors there when her body finished loading. Rost nodded respectfully to the little group; they were roleplaying some sort of rite, and a few of them looked familiar. The shrines were much like taverns in that it was easy for a certain mindset to find plenty of kindred spirits who wanted to interact, and unlike taverns it was usually free of people having awkward, sloppy makeouts or doing jigs on the tables. Had she not an itinerary to attend to she probably would have stayed.

Rost blinked as she stepped from the gloom into the dazzling sunlight. Her mask only blocked a fraction of the glare. People surged around her, equal parts PC and NPC, and she briefly concentrated to bring up a modest suite of antitheft buffs before flowing into the crowd like a fish in a stream. Captain Oliver's house was ridiculously crowded, so as she stepped into line Rost began reviewing her messages. A smattering of thanks, a smattering of requests, a few suspicious offers of wealth beyond measure...ah, here was something.

"Laylie? I received your missive," she messaged, focusing on reaching the mind of another player. It didn't bounce back immediately, so that was a good sign. Things were quiet for a while before a reply pinged in a tone only she could hear.

"Rost! I'm glad you're here. I'm starting to get worried." Laylie Backdraft didn't worry easily. Rost furrowed her brow in concern.

"So Samuel hasn't been in touch for a few days? Are you sure he hasn't just had a lapse in existence?" Talking about connection problems was a bit tricky to do without breaking character. "I haven't heard from him since we went hunting for star narwhals, and he seemed entirely normal then."

"I know he's doing the Captain's quests," said Laylie. "He said something about how they'd be a snap. I think he was one of the first people in line to talk to him! But I've not received so much as a whisperwind or a letter from him since. Any time I try to touch his mind I just get weird static, as though he was in a Zone of Misery that never wears off. That's not like him. He loves talking about exciting new things."

"I'm in line to see the Captain right now," Rost replied, watching the line trickle through the house bit by bit. She idly hoped there wouldn't be a lengthy conversation this early in the quest chain, especially not with how many people wanted in on events like this. "I'll look for him while I'm doing things. The moment I find anything, I'll let you know."

"Thank you, Rost," said Laylie, and Rost could feel her laughter even across the mental link. "When you get back, I'll take you out for kebabs. My treat."

"See you then," said Rost. The sensation of someone sharing her thoughts dimmed and went silent, leaving her alone with her thoughts -- and the waiting line.

Speaking to Captain Oliver came soon enough, no matter how much time dragged while she stood in the queue, and Rost was startled by how straightforward the quest seemed. The nearest boat to Ecilan was a humble thing that sat high in the water. No cargo yet, she thought to herself as she padded down the docks towards it. Her steps came quicker and quicker until she was running full-tilt through the crowd, and with a mighty leap she hurled herself into the air. Roast alighted daintily on the deck of the ship, her robes fluttering theatrically, then slipped belowdecks to survey the other passengers. One was dressed in cheerful motley, the other with a tech-and-music theme, and who knew if anyone was hiding just offscreen? She pressed her fist against the palm of her opposite hand and bowed at the waist.

"May we be blessed with safe travels," she said, addressing the hold, "and good fortune to us all on our journeys."

[[ ;; i'm sorry, but i'm going to have to drop out. life is just too busy for me to be able to balance it as well as everything else in my life. sorry. :C and best of luck to the rest of you guys! ]]

((Its been a week since the last post, so I'm ganna go ahead and post again. ))

" I think the sailors needs your blessing. They did not look very impressing." Metus said, turning his head toward the newcomer. The bells on his hat jingled pleasantly as he moved. The newcomer was wearing a flowing robe adorned in stars, and an impressive mask covering her face. Metus didn't really like masks, for its hard to tell what someone is feeling if you can't see their face." But good fortune is guaranteed, with the mayor of Frost City in need," he said, figuring that they too were doing the Captain's quests, and not just visiting the snowy wasteland that was Ecilan. It had been a while since Metus had been there himself, and even then, he had had a hard time of it. Metus knew if he wanted to finish the quests, he would have to team up with someone else. He was loath to ask, however, for it just wasn't in his nature. He would, though, readily join someone if they asked. "So you must have some big plan, to visit the land of Ecilan?"

"Oh yes," said Rost, bobbing her head at Metus. "I'm glad I made the ship before it hauled anchor. I've some business from one of the captains in this fair port, and I'm also looking for someone who was last seen heading towards Ecilan. His sister worries about him when he goes off on long journeys without keeping in touch, and since I was going the same way..." She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear nervously. Should she mention details? Laylie wouldn't mind more pairs of eyes looking for Samuel, would she? Best to know these other strangers first.

"They say the cold there is intense," continued Rost, clasping her hands behind her back. "I've packed some spare clothes, but I don't know if they'll be heavy enough. Celestial Goat fleece is said to keep out all but the worst chills, but I only have a shawl's worth! I hope where I'm going will have its share of shelters...and that everyone there is safe and warm." She fretted, her worried look clear even with her mask over the majority of her face. "You don't suppose they'll need us for a rescue effort, do you?"

Beat snapped back to attention; in his lapse of concentration, two other players had boarded the boat and struck up a conversation. He could certainly join in, but he decided to take a moment to figure out what they were actually speaking about. He felt like he had missed half the details, but he knew that with all the cold being mentioned, they must be travelling to the same destination.

"Rescue?" he interjected, raising an eyebrow. "If you're referring to the new launch quest, then I seriously doubt it. Most likely scenario is an open and shut storyline quest. You know, plot development. Boring stuff. I'm just in it to level up, really." Beat paused, blinking suddenly and realizing he was sounding very aloof. He cleared his throat loudly and rocketed up from his seat. Without realizing it, his next words came in a voice considerably higher pitched than before. "I admit I'm a bit spacey, so forgive me if I seemed rude. My name is Beat!" He extended a hand in the general direction of both rather gloriously dressed players, a large grin spreading across his face.

Metus did not immediately extend his hand to meet Beat's, instead frowning for a moment. "Not a role-player, I see," thought Kaylee, ."Strike one for Mr. Beat." Kaylee didn't care for players who didn't role-play. She felt that they did not get into the spirit of the game." ."Metus Vescor is my name, or so my parents did claim." Metus said, finally taking Beat's hand for a moment before releasing it again. "We were just discussing the frozen waste above, that I'll assume you've already had a taste of." Meuts looked back to Rost, "As for that I think, numerous rescues are on the brink, with so many people lost, in that desert of icy frost. With all that have gone missing in that mountain, I hope your friend not to be one counted."

Rost took Beat's proffered hand--once it had been released, at least--and shook it firmly. Two friendly faces already! This was going well; if the quest line required party assistance later, it couldn't hurt to know people with similar goals. Maybe this time she wouldn't overestimate her own abilities...

"Call me Rost, family of Eisensang," she said, nodding from Beat to Metus and back again. She sighed. "Perhaps the last Eisensang, if the news from my hometown is true." Cathy cursed to herself; these people hadn't been involved in some of the personal plots she'd been developing between official plot arcs! Combining the two in public just tended to confuse players who weren't in the know. She backpedaled, looking for something more accessible for the other passengers to work from. "And so we head towards Ecilan, with its howling winds and frost-white sky...may we not number among those who head into its wastes and never come out again." She moved her hands in a makeshift prayer-form. What next, what next--ah, yes! "What are your own specialties, if you do not mind my asking? I am one who sings the song of the stars and dances it into reality, shattering the stones of low thought with my hands."

Dramatic, perhaps, but using flowery terms to talk about punching and kicking certainly killed time. Cathy glanced at the in-game clock and hoped this wasn't one of the ships that had buggy launch timers.

Beat cocked an eyebrow at Metus; roleplaying? Oh, dear, one of those people. He could've gone off on a rant about his own opinions of which world was the true reality, whether the concept of roleplaying trumped the concept of living, so on and so forth. Just as he thought up a clever list of reasons of why treating the gameplay mechanics as just that, he realized Rost had shaken his hand and started speaking. Beat snapped back to attention just in time to catch the word sings.

"Singing?" Beat's eyes lit up behind his blue tinted glasses. "Well, they don't call me a Melodic Technomancer for nothing! I specialize in music-based combat, fairly odd way to fight, I suppose, but it gets the job done." Beat nodded towards Metus, putting on a sarcastic smirk. "Can I assume you make people laugh until they suffocate? I have to admit, I'd love to watch that."

"Laugh, oh dear. No I deal in fear. I cast great illusions, which strike fear in conclusion. In fact, the more fear they feel, my spells become real," Metus said, smiling. Kaylee wished she could have explained it better, but there is only so much you can do while still rhyming. The game is so sophisticated that emotions were programed into many of the creatures that players battle. Players that utilize the magic of sentiomancy can tap into the emotions of their enemies to power their own spells. Usually the chosen emotion is anger, because it is the most common emotion felt by a monster, but Metus chose fear instead. "And you're way of fighting isn't that odd." Metus said to Beat," I once met a man who fought with a fishing rod. Of course, all he ever seemed to fight was cod."

((forgot to put rakuen on my last post )

.M. Name: Ariadne Lox Username: Avelox / Vox Cookie Gender: Female in real life, Effeminate male in game. Age: Approximately 18 Class: Hunter-Healer Personality: She is a very curious girl, who has a tendency to talk slowly when her mind is dreaming elsewhere. She loves interesting things. In sight of an adventure, she would dive straight in without thinking twice. Actually she doesn't really think much. Unless her intuition says no. A girl who's very honest and often puts her foot in her mouth when she misses the tact of the situation; sometimes leading to hilarious situations, or the making of a new enemy. Backstory: Aria loves how interesting gaming is, with the limits removed by Appearance:

rad rainbow btw how am i suppose to join in?

wait, i just realised, is this thread still accepting new characters?

"Songs and screams. That's quite a combination!" Cathy was careful to keep Rost's words neutral; coming on too strongly as a roleplayer could easily weird out the players who preferred to focus on gameplay, while talking too much about number-crunch disgusted more than a few of the character-actor types she knew. She ran her fingers through her hair. "Does anyone know when the ship leaves? At this rate I'm starting to worry that there's Bitter Barnacles around the anchor that are expecting our company any minute..."

(( Sorry for the brief post this time, stuff's a little busy on my end! ))