Gaming Disasters: Another Slashing Round of SOA

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This is a private onexone between Andy and I.


Standing in line for hours at a time in the scrounging midday sun, buzzing air filled with excited nerdy souls all eager to get a go at the latest -and best of the year, so she had been told- MMORPG game; it was all something that was easily grown accustomed to when one spent as much time in the virtual world as Ambriel did. It seemed like only yesterday she was standing in line to get the equipment itself, groaning over the price range of a tool that could put you directly into another world with thousands upon thousands of other players. But the price was worth it. She had only experienced what the amazingly complex system could do with one other game and it was absolutely breathtaking, like physically stepping into someone's imagination and living it out to extents that would never be possible in her average boring everyday life. Figuring out how these games worked became second nature to her long ago, testing them out and writing reviews only a few hundred cared to see on her blog. But despite being requested, this was a purchase definitely just for her own entertainment.

That was all she did really, one of the three main components of her life -School, soccer, video games. School, soccer, video games. Home work, practice, virtual reality. Her parents didn't care as long as Ambriel kept in shape and up with her grades; they weren't really home enough to kick her off frequently and still managed to reinforce those roles but she had no intention to waste her life away on games. It was more of a break thing really, before bed or dinner when she had some time to spare. Ok, maybe a bit more then that. But she wasn't obsessed. Just really into it.

Ambriel tucked her long strait dirty-blonde hair back into her simple shirt so the pesky strands would stay out of her face. She really did need to cut it, the locks were already running light to the middle of her back where as the girl actually preferred it short most of the time. How long have I even been standing here? An hour at least. "I envy the people who were able to buy online..." She mumbled, rubbing her light blue eyes until they were relieved of the suns strain again before looking around. Most people had come to stand with a friend at least, small groups formed here and there of happy chattering faces. She was alone, leaning to the right with her hands in her pockets and nothing to pass the time. No one would accompany her to such an event, not on a melting day like this for something they had no interest in. Of course, all her friends were from soccer and thought these games were strait up for losers and no-lives living in their parents basement wasting the day away stuck in a make-believe world. And while she had run into a few of those before, Ambriel always countered back that she had made plenty of online friends who were totally into the same things as her instead of kicking a black and white ball around all day until you were just sick of looking at it.

Sigh. Well at least they weren't far from the front now.

"Is this line even moving...?" She asked to no one in particular, rubbing the back of her neck with hands that felt cool against the warm skin. "Should have brought my phone, or maybe a couple books at this rate..." Shifting on her feet she glanced sideways to the boy who stood alone in front of her off to the side. He had been alone the whole time like her, probably wouldn't make too bad of a conversation partner to pass the time too if Ambriel hadn't been too shy to talk to people she didn't know. She had friends who could do that, it was amazing. Just bam, strike up a conversation with a random stranger and make a new best friend. Not her. Not this girl, she was doomed to the ever lasting cursed shyness that kept a twisted tongue. Or maybe not. Maybe not at the moment, when she saw that he carried a watch and couldn't help but wonder just how long they had been standing here. "Hey," She tapped him on the shoulder lightly, speaking in a rather quiet slightly nervous tone and looking up with big eyes from the sad height of 5'4. "Do you... do you have the time?"
 
Lucas was standing in line eagerly he had been waiting for this day ever since the announcement for the game had first been released a year ago. He was by no means a no life gamer but he enjoyed video games more then anything in the world. He had entered a few gaming tournaments and always ended up in the top ten he came in first in several of those tournaments and had won himself a decent amount of cash. It was the money that he had won in the last tournament that was about to buy him this game.

Lucas had deep brown eyes and brown hair that was spiked up in the front. He had been glancing at his watch for the past hour the game actually started at 5 in the afternoon so they still had plenty of time before the game started since it was only 2. But the fact that he had been waiting in line since 10 was starting to get on his nerves. He was normally a really patient guy but when things were moving so slow for no reason it made him antsy. Everyone in this line was going to get the new game so it made no sense to him why it was taking people so long to buy the game and get out. Seriously they should have just had a large stack of the games by the door you grab the game walk to the counter pay and leave. How hard was that?

Upon feeling the tap on his shoulder he looks at the girl that was standing behind him and blushed slightly she was pretty cute in his opinion but he had no idea how to talk to her. He got nervous around girls like you wouldn't believe and only stuttered his words when he approached them. That was in real life though online he was a stud he could approach any girl in any game and hit them up without a problem. He had gotten so good he had been able to figure out which characters were actually girls and not guys pretending to be girls. Looking at his watch he gives her a small smile and swallows hard before answering her question "its uh...2..2 in the afternoon miss"
 
Ambriel held back a groan upon hearing the time. 2:00pm. They had literally been standing in this crowded, chattery, shovey and seemingly unmoving line for four hours; she was sure this guy standing alone was on the same thought process as her from the look in his eyes. Or maybe that was nervousness although she didn't know what it was from, and it made her slightly nervous as well. Maybe he just didn't like talking to strangers, or he was one of those anti-social gamers who didn't like to step out into the sun. She would respect and understand that, but not without at least an introduction first. And that would be about it. That was as far as she could usually go before trying to hide back into her timid shell of 'I don't know what to say and even if I do I'm too shy to say it.' "I -uh... Thank you."

Well, he didn't look like a basement junkie but she wasn't one to judge a book by it's cover, so to speak. Actually, he wasn't that bad to look at. Which made it all the harder to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear before slowly extending a hand for him to shake. Her nails were short and painted sky blue. "I'm Ambriel, by the way. It looks like we've been standing in line together for a few hours and were both kind of alone-so I-I thought it would be good to introduce myself." As soon as the words left her lips, they felt stupid and rushed. Oh god that was bad, even for you Ambriel... Her eyes fluttered down to the ground with focus on not letting a blush raise to her cheeks. Her small smooth hand remained extended for a shake though.
 
He blushes a bit more and swallows hard hesitantly he shakes her hand. "Im..uh..Lucas..and yeah I understand..kinda wish one of my friends had come with to wait but..they were all busy..it's nice to meet you." He took his hand back and swallows hard again. She was so cute it almost hurt to look. "The uh...the lines not getting much shorter huh?..makes me wish I had a sword to go in and take a game myself haha.." what the hell was that?! She's going to think your some kind of psycho now!! Ugh idiot!!
 
Ambriel gave a slightly sympathetic look at the comment on his friends, because that was the exact same excuse she ha gotten. Too busy. Right. Well in their defence, she understood now why none of them wanted to tag along. This game had better been worth it. In fact even if a request like that was placed in front of the girl herself under these circumstances she would probably turn it down, knowing now how charring the wait would be.

Well, actually maybe it wasn't so bad now since Lucas managed to make her laugh lightly for the first time in hours. Which was also slightly surprising, she hadn't expected him to talk much after the introduction nervous as he was. And wasn't prepared for it, but the laugh made it easier for her to give a more comfortable reply. She raised a hand to her mouth in the light giggle, eyes going back up at him instead of staying to the ground. "Yeah, I know what you mean, it seems like we've just been shuffling back and forth all day. I'll tell you what I'll lend you mine if you go in and get me a copy too." She smiled but a moment later it dropped slightly and her eyes widened. "I-I'm kidding of course. I don't have a sword on me -oh well obviously... I mean you would be able to see..."

Aaaaand there she went again, tripping over the foot in her mouth.
 
He looks at her and swallows hard befire giving a light chuckle "yeah..I can see that..maybe when we actually get in the game we can do that haha..seriously though I'm really excited for this game it's supposed to be like nothing ever created before..sword art online..the name could have used some work but hey you don't judge games by their names
 
Ambriel gave a light smile, letting her arm rest comfortably at it's side and the other tugging at the sleeve while she talked. Now this was something she was comfortable about talking about, not school or practice or shoes and all that other boarding stuff her girlfriends insisted on squabbling about. "It is a rather lazy name, isn't it? Oh well, the creator is brilliant. I've been anticipating it for months now -and saving up might I add. Nerve gear is absolutely amazing technology too the way it accesses every part of our brain through waves and this game is said to be created to use it's full potential and reach the very limits of..."

Oh gosh you sound like such a looser. Stop. Just stop he's so cute don't do this to yourself girl.
"Sorry about that... Sometimes I get carried away. But yeah, I'm excited too. Is this... Is this your first RPG? I know a lot of people are jumping into the experience just to get their hands on the game."
 
He swallows hard and shakes his head "no..I'm um..I'm very familiar with video games I've actually competed in a few tournaments and won some money that's what I'm using to buy the game..but yeah what your saying about the nerve gear is true it's fascinating how it works I mean just a few years ago people would have laughed at the idea of this kind of technology but now it's practically every day stuff"
 
Ambriel tilted her head slightly upon hearing he competed... Was he a professional of sorts? A small smile twitched on her lips when he brought back her ushered away topic in embarrassment, but she could see now he didn't seem to mind and maybe even shared the interest. "Very true. And it can be dangerous stuff to play with if not manufactured right... but I think it's really kinda cool that so many people can have access to it."

"The lines moving again,". She nodded to behind him were there was a couple foot gap to close. They were probably only about ten muinets away from the entrance now which was relieving. But not as much as it would have been a couple minutes ago... Having someone to chat with made it easier even though she was ushually rather anti-social. Lucas was a bit easier to talk to. "So a big gamer? I um... I haven't really done to much with nervegear yet but what's your player name -maybe... Maybe I've run into you before."
 
He pauses and looks at her before rubbing the back of his head. He normally didn't give out his character name but..she was so cute he couldn't help it "I normally use Raiha it means lightning blade in Japanese kinda fits considering the game were about to get huh?" He chuckles and moves up along with the line
 
Ambriel bit her lip for a moment upon hearing the name, holding back a light laugh. The name sounded like something he chose at a young age and stuck either eve since -but then again, she had seen and heard much odder. "Hmm... I don't think I have run into you before then... But it is fitting; although who knows if you'll be able to get your hands on a sword to match. They released so little information on the game itself so far, I really envy the beta testers."

She stretched her arms out in front of her, giving a light yawn in the sun before smiling at him again shyly. "You know... I don't talk to strangers and make new friends very often but... I'm glad I got something out of standing in this line today."
 
He gives a small smile and nods in agreement "same here..mostly my friends are online but the ones I do have aren't gamers and nearly none of them are girls..I um..I have a hard time talking to girls...' he runs the back of his head "and I don't think there will be any weapons like that in the game from what I understand there is absolutely no magic whatsoever there's only healing potions and stuff like that but nothing to do with elemental weapons or magic"
 
"Oh yeah I heard about that, it's all about hands on weapon combat based on you're skill sets which you have to work on levelling up..." Ambriel tilted her head left in thought so her hair fell off her shoulder. Giving a light laugh she shook we head. "And that's all I know. Well, I suppose we all have faith it will be a good game or we wouldn't be here."

Her mind ran back to his former words, which explained Lucas's behaviour when they had first met but he seemed to be doing alright now. She didn't mind anything off at the moment, aside from the brief pauses and light blushes but they made sense now. "I know how you feel, none of my friends even like the aspect of picking up an old game controller, let alone chatting with me about virtual reality games. And um... I don't really make a habit of befriending people online... I have a hard time as well talking to people in general usually actually... I think I'm even worse in game in that aspect..." She rubbed her arm. "But I don't think we're doing too bad of a job right now, right? I'm a girl and you're a person, and were doing just fine." She laughed lightly.
 
He gave a small and nervous laugh before nodding "well..to be honest a part of it is probably cause my want for the game is stronger then my want to run off embarrassed...but thanks..so um...what's your favorite genre of game? And is this the very first full dive game you've ever played?..you don't have to answer I was just curious..
 
"Well, I'm pretty open too pretty much anything -I'll try everything at least once. But no, this will be my third full dive and my second nerve gear -although I've spent more time on it then I would like to admit." She laughed lightly. The disadvantage of trying everything was of course when you had your mind on a dozen different things, you never got excellent at just any one thing. "But I mean... I'll let you know my real favourite if you promise not to laugh..." She paused for a moment, hiding her smile slightly before continuing hesitatly.

"I know a lot of people are buying this game because of the promise of cool sword skills and stuff, and don't get me wrong I love the combat..." She gave her hands a flick and rubbed the back of her neck. "But the major reason I'm really excited for this game is the adventure aspect. With the new technology it really kinda gives a close to real experience in the game. I love fantasy RPGs because they're all about that. Discovering the fresh world, working through it level after level, it's really kind of amazing to me..."
 
He smiles and nods a bit "I get that I kinda feel the same way I love that were able to enter a world where nobody truly knows who you are you can explore the world and never truly see all of it things are always changing and there's always new things to experience you can be who or whatever you want and no one can judge you abut it. Because there are no limits.
 
Lucas got a real smile for that, one that showed off Ambriels white teeth and lit up her blue eyes. "Yeah,". She said quietly. "Exactly."

But then she glanced over his shoulder and gave a nod to where the cruel line had disappeared and the store doors stood open with a small sign out front that counted off the number of copies left. Twenty-four. It was an incredibly narrow number, a near miss but by the looks of it they would both be getting a copy. Time had seemed to pass surprisingly quick in their chatter. Ambriel brushed had hair back and hen returned her hands to her pockets. "Looks like you're up. I guess I'll see you around... In game."
 
He looks at her and smiles "here give me your money quickly and I'll buy a second copy for you while I'm in there just to be on the safe side" he starts walking towards the door his hand outstretched to her "and as payment you have to hang out with me during the launch and first couple of times we play deal?"
 
Ambriel looked slightly surprised at the offer but she pulled out her cash and handed it to her new friend without hesitation or a doubt -which might have made other people she knew facepalm. "Uh -I -thanks..." She couldn't help it, Ambriel usually had a good sense of who had good intentions and who didn't but she was also just a naturally trusting girl. It had gotten her into trouble and hurt in the past... Maybe that was even part of the reason she avoided people in general.

"Sounds good, " The smile returned eagerly as she shifted her weight to the right comfortably and content that after so many hours they had finally reached what all the people here had come for. Despite usually playing solo on most games, she was thrilled by the offer and even more so that Lucas had been the one who made it. She quite liked him already, could easily see the boy as a gaming buddy... Something she had never had before. "Let's call it a deal then, as long as you don't laugh at my player name."
 
He chuckles and hurries into the store. He came back out 20 minutes later with the last two copies of the game. Walking up to her he holds out her copy and smiles at her "well if that's your only condition I'll be sure not to laugh..what's your characters name?"
 
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