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HAX: Prologue

A flash of light.

Time slows to a crawl, even milliseconds passing like hours to my enhanced perceptions.

The enemy's lance rushed towards my gleaming, pale blue eyes, wreathed in walls of scarlet pixels flecked with spots of white text, spelling out words that nobody else would have time to read before the weapon had already slain them. "Type 99 - ENGAGE: Spear - 2491/3268." A simple enough Battle Program, containing only the basic data of the weapon my adversary wielded and a few enhancements aimed toward augmenting the abilities of its wielder. Just by reading that label, I already knew the particular traits of my adversary's weapon - although seeing it broken down in the blueprint my mind's eye helpfully provided me certainly helped as well. I didn't need to think to recall what particular features that program was currently running. A straight, upward thrust from a crouch in the wake of a leap forward - I knew from my careful analysis, as well as from my memory that this Battle Skill was the 2491st of 3268 pre-programmed attacks that the Battle Program it was assigned to could execute, focusing solely on briefly enhancing the user's speed and strength in order to pierce the target's defenses and skull in an instant, no matter the distance between the user and his target. Of course, the program wasn't exactly a rare, nor a unique one. As my mind inspected its capabilities, cataloging every detail of its code, then checking them against the mental records I had kept from previous encounters with this program, I found myself hardly impressed by its stats. Normally, this sort of battle would be a walk in the park for me.

Of course, this wasn't exactly a normal battle. My enemy had chosen his opening move well, making up for his lack of power with a good deal of skill and savvy. From the moment I had accepted his Duel Request, he had begun to move, engaging his Battle Program and its accompanying skill immediately and attacking before an ordinary Player would have had time to react. As of yet, although my own program was activating - taking on the form of a long, curved sword hung at my side, my hands already grasping both the sheath and hilt of the katana in order to pull the weapon forth even as it took shape - my blade was still sheathed, and would take far too long to draw, despite my program's unique adaptations to allow for rapid drawstrikes. In another fraction of a second, that lance would pierce my head, and I would be defeated.

Of course, it wasn't as though I was afraid. Why should I be? Although I would certainly die when that attack hit me, I would just respawn a moment later once the duel ended, with no permanent harm done to anything save my PvP Victory Rating. But, although a loss to such tactics was certainly understandable, for whatever reason, I wasn't ready to lose just yet. Perhaps it's just a competitive streak I didn't know I had until I started playing this game. However, there is one thing you should know about me. This virtual game of life-and-death is what I live for. And so, I'm not about to let this enemy kill me.

I analyze my situation. Moving to dodge the attack would be my first course of action, but sadly, there is not enough time. Even cocking my head to the side would take too long, for although my mind can certainly process these events faster than they can occur, until my Battle Program fully activates, there's no way for my body - even this virtual one, which bears all the limitations of an actual person - to keep up. So, throwing myself backwards or sidestepping, then, is out of the question. Although less favorable, I do ponder attempting to block the attack for a few nanoseconds. But with my weapon not even drawn, and both it and my hands far below the incoming spear, there's no chance of that.

Well, in that case, there's only one option left open to me, although I didn't want to employ it, since, although it isn't technically against the rules, it certainly does feel like cheating. After all, I'm the only Player in this game who can think fast enough to perform such an absurd tactic.

System Analysis... On.

Manual Control Mode... On.

The spear fades from my mind's eye. My azure eyes close as the blueprint in my mind is replaced with a new image: a schematic of myself, with every last byte of my data scrolling through my thoughts in an instant. At last, I find what I'm looking for.

Search Complete.

Position Data: X: 1568, Y: -4926, Z: 102.

Modifying Position Data.

Ctrl+V.

Imputting Copied Values.

New Data: X: 1488, Y: -4926, Z: 139. Tilt: 90 Degrees. Confirm?

New Position Data Saved.

Coordinates do not match present location.

Relocate Character to desired location?

Relocating...

The enemy's spear reaches my head.

The enemy's spear passes through empty air. He does not even have time to register that I have moved before I have already relocated myself to a new position, hanging horizontally in the air above and behind him, my sword flashing in the simulated light as it leaves its sheath in an instant. Although my drawstrikes aren't as fast as That Person, whose data they share, compared to this man's attack, my retaliation is instantaneous. He does not even realize that his strike has missed before a flash of blue light illuminates the air above him, and the blade of my custom sword descends upon the top of his head, cleaving through his character model with the ease of cutting through water. As he collapses, I see his eyes widening for an instant as he simultaneously realizes that I've escaped him, and that he has been struck, a full second too late to even react before he falls to the ground. For a split second, my Battle Program displays itself, wreathing me in a ring of blue light as my attack connects, a ring which brightly announces the name of my attack in much the same manner as my adversary's own program.

Type 22 - ENGAGE: Archon - 22/0.

The soft sound as my feet once more find themselves touching the ground is drowned out in quick succession by the much louder thud of my enemy as he collapses. Transparent white text flashes across the sky as the scenery once more flickers into being around us as we leave Duel Mode and return to our places within the virtual Overworld.

Rei Shiki vs. Relanc - Victor: Rei Shiki.

I sheathe my sword, and it flickers out of existence in a flash of blue light in the same instant, the holographic display of my Battle Program following it. To the group of stunned spectators watching our Duel, still trying to grasp exactly what had just happened, it may even have appeared as though my Battle Program had never visibly activated at all.

"Good fight," I say quietly in what I consider a respectful tone, although to a listener, my monotone might have come off as somewhat sarcastic, in retrospect. Even for a person with enhanced thought processes, only hindsight is 20-20. I mean no insult, however. After all, forcing me to use my full computational abilities in such a manner as I just have is no small feat. Even though his program was so unremarkable, his speed was nothing to be trifled with.

My defeated foe says nothing, so I turn and begin to walk away, headed for the exit of the area. After what they have just seen, no other players here will likely be willing to fight me today. It's a shame, but an inevitable one. I let my desire to win get the best of me, and forgot to hold back a little. Perhaps I'll come back another day, when there will be new opponents willing to fight me again. For now, maybe I'll just go to the free combat zone. People will doubtless be more than willing to attack me there, although I'll probably have to fight more than one at a time, and without advance warning. However, as I'm about to leave, I hear a voice behind me.

"Zero pre-programmed moves...?"

I stop, surprised. It seems this man's reflexes are faster than I gave him credit for. He managed to read my Battle Program's holographic display before I shut it off again? I'm impressed, but also somewhat irritated. People ask questions when they notice that I'm using a Custom Battle Program, one not native to the system. Again, just like re-programming my own character data during combat, although it's not technically against the rules, it's unusual enough that most people would frown upon it. After all, having my own fully customized combat ability - even one that fits the system - is certainly an advantage over players using only basic programs, like my enemy's spear.

"What are you, anyway?" The spearman on the ground asks. "How did you dodge my attack like that? Without any pre-programmed abilities, you shouldn't be capable of teleporting."

"What are you implying?" I ask quietly, my tone not changing from my previous monotone.

"Whaddya think? I'm saying that you're a Hacker. There's no way an ordinary player could move like that, even with a Custom Battle Program. And I've never heard of a program with no pre-programmed moves before, on top of that. You're using some weird ability that lets you screw with the game, aren't you?"

Now it's my turn to remain silent. Although I dislike the term Hacker, certainly, I suppose, you might think of me as one. I designed for myself the abilities I use within this game, and I reprogram them whenever it gives me an advantage. Certainly, a person who can create their own abilities and redefine those abilities to their own benefit could be called someone not bounded by the limits of this virtual world, and what else could such a person be than a Hacker? But at the same time, the term disgusts me. I invented this ability, perfecting it over countless iterations until it perfectly suited my strengths and could compensate for my weaknesses. There's no rule in this game that states that you can't create your own abilities - in fact, being able to create custom programs is one of this game's main points of character customization - nor is there a rule that says you can't use the system's manual controls to reposition yourself in a fight. Of course, an ordinary person couldn't perform such a feat, which makes my unique ability to reprogram my own character data in the midst of a battle something of an unfair advantage, but at the same time, if I am not breaking any rules, why is it that I'm still deemed a Hacker? After being reported so many times, only to be let off the hook - since of course the game's auto-check system doesn't read any abnormal programs running, as I'm only using its own mechanics to my advantage - I guess I've sort of stopped caring, but still... It's annoying. Things don't usually annoy me, but for some reason, it irritates me. But, like all other fleeting emotions I experience, it passes quickly.

"I'm onto you," The lancer says, grinning victoriously in spite of his recent defeat.

"Call me what you wish," I say quietly. I don't want to argue about this again, since nothing I say will convince him anyway. So, I do the only thing I can, opening my position data once more and beginning to rewrite my location to a far distant area. I confirm the change, and the surroundings fade from my sight, replaced by the desolate, empty wastelands of the Free Combat Zone.

As usual, I, the victor, leave the arena with shouts of scorn ringing in my ears, and the defeated enemy remains to receive the admiration and the cheers of the crowd. It's telling that I no longer care about such things. All that matters to me is the knowledge that, through my own power, I managed to succeed in a way no one else could, even if nobody will believe me if I say that. Well, nobody except maybe the person whose "eyes" I can feel on me right now.

I turn 36 degrees to the left, looking up at an angle of 99.1 degrees towards the empty sky, which flickers slightly as my eyes switch back to bright blue. Visible only to my mind's eye, a strange program is currently running up there - a normally unused spectator system, to be specific, that allows someone not currently inside the netgame zone of the world to view events taking place inside the game. Of course, since its use is supposed to be restricted to administrative bot programs and licensed government officials, they're not something you usually see. Although I consider for a moment that it might be an admin bot inspecting me for hacking, they could much more easily just check my data logs and discover that I've simply been using manual movement commands in an unexpected and unprecedented way, redefining my location in order to move at the speed of my accelerated thoughts. And since the government's officers never really bother checking what goes on in the game, leaving it to their programs to enforce the rules, there can only be one person who is watching me right now: a certain fellow Hacker.

"It's rude to spy on people," I say quietly to the unseen spectator in the sky as my eyes shift from radiant blue to wine red, and my mind's vision cuts off, the program I had been analyzing fading deep into the recesses of my consciousness.

Meanwhile, in a room lit only by the monitors of countless computers, isolated from the rest of the world by barriers both physical and digital, a white haired man sighs, and shuts off his own program.

Little do either of us know what lies in store for us, nor do we realize that the last time we'll live so carelessly is this day... and never again.

End Prologue. Thread Description Below. Please do not post, and watch warmly until it is ready.

The Thread

Welcome to HAX, a roleplay thread by yours truly, and co-GM'd by Sicon. Set in the distant future, this roleplay centers around a world where cyberspace isn't just a reality - it's part of this one! The internet has become so advanced as to be rightfully called a fully functional alternate dimension, and has been fused to this one, creating a permanent mesh between reality and virtual reality. Although the world's initial adaptation to this system was a difficult one, with many bloody wars being fought over the right to control the servers containing the programming that now governed the very fabric of reality itself, eventually, order was restored in exchange for giving up several admin rights that were deemed too dangerous, and a golden age of prosperity was brought forth by the new administrative staff, the Webmasters. With diseases capable of being cured nigh instantly by digital antiviruses, and the ability to produce food, water, and clothing at the pressing of a few buttons, many of the world's problems have now been solved. Even violence, both that of individual people and that of wars, has been reduced to an all-time low by the restriction of all programs pertaining to combat to carefully selected government agents and specially designated areas of virtual space, where people project their thoughts in the form of a customized avatar and can engage in combat similar to that in a video game.

However, even in this greatly changed world, with all of its carefully created laws to maintain order, there are still those who would violate the rules for personal gain, subverting the programs that govern the world and using them to their own ends, oftentimes sowing chaos through the usage of the forbidden powers of Battle Programs outside of the special Netgame Areas. These people are known as Hackers, a category that encompasses almost all criminals in this world, ranging from those who mildly twist the programming of Netgame Battles to favor them to those who pillage and dominate through the strength of their illegal powers, more closely paralleling the supervillains of comic books than the sorts of people you might associate the term Hacker with.

However, although the new order has certainly brought a great deal of ease to the lives of the people, some might argue that the Webmasters are far too inattentive to matters that do not concern them. So long as these Hackers do not directly interfere with them, or cause any major incidents, oftentimes it will be left to the somewhat flawed and ineffective Admin Bots to sort out any problems that arise, making petty or simply well-concealed crimes still a major problem. And, without the power of Battle Programs to defend themselves, many people find themselves living in fear of these Hackers.

However, although the Hackers are most certainly people to be feared, there are also those among them who are of a somewhat different stock. Utilizing their restricted powers in order to help others as a means of earning their daily bread, these Hackers are more like mercenaries and vigilante superheroes than their more dangerous counterparts. Often banding together to form teams in order to better combat the threats of both the Webmasters and the Hackers, these individuals who take matters into their own hands are the Hacker Guilds, who, although often reviled as lawbreakers, provide a vital service to the world: protection to those who cannot protect themselves. Half odd-jobs underground operatives, half vigilante police force, the Hacker Guilds are the unseen, dirty gears that keep the mechanisms of the seemingly pristine world turning.

This is the story of one such guild, formed by a group of young but skilled Netgame Players: a band of close friends who together have overcome many enemies in the Netgame Areas. This small, closely knit fellowship had often experimented with means of employing the rules of the game to their advantage, but rarely, if ever, actually broke them. However, one day, prompted seemingly on a whim by two of their influential members, they began a seemingly innocent experiment that would, in fact, change their lives entirely.

This is the story of these friends, of how they obtained power forbidden by the laws of their world, and of how they sought to use that power to change the world for the better. This is the story of Hackers.

Whether or not they succeeded... Well, we'll just have to find out, now won't we?

Important Information: Battle Programs, Avatars, Netgame Areas, and Other Stuff

By now you'll have noticed a great deal of reoccurring terms in this RP, helpfully rendered in italics in what is most certainly not a half-assed attempt to imitate the signature style of the Sword Art Online Light Novels. So, in this section, I'll hopefully clear up the meanings of some of those terms.

First and foremost are the Battle Programs. Consisting of data downloaded directly into the personal data of the user and thus "equipped," their effects are twofold. Firstly, by activating the program, you can create a weapon out of data and wield it at will. For example, the Spear program used by the one-shot character in the intro, which is, quite obviously, a spear. Or, somewhat less obviously, the Katana generated by Shiki's Archon program - but I'll get to that later.

These weapons, thus created, are programmed to be far superior to normal tools and implements created by mundane means. Lacking most, if any flaws, they are thus incredibly durable, and incredibly effective. Sometimes, these weapons may even be programmed to work in ways that violate common sense. For example, a normal shield, no matter how durable, would be useless at, say, blocking an incoming train, as the sheer shock of the impact would be enough to kill the wielder. However, a sufficiently powerful Battle Program could absorb even the force of a collision such as this, blocking the impact in a manner that violates the laws of physics. Consequently, the only weapons that are truly effective against Battle Programs are other Battle Programs, as, say, a sword, when met with a Sword program, would be cut cleanly to pieces in a single slash.

In addition to being, by nature, incredibly powerful, however, Battle Programs have other features. Mainly, essentially all such programs come with an extensive library of Pre-Programmed Techniques. These sub-programs allow Battle Programs to be masterfully used by even the most inexperienced of combatants, as they guide the user's body in order to carry out attacks, movements, and techniques that otherwise would require an incredible level of finesse and calculation on the user's part, all triggered instantly by just a thought. These techniques allow users of Battle Programs to surpass Human limitations, and often, like the weapons produced by these programs, work in violation of the laws of common sense. For example, a technique might allow its user to leap twenty feet into the air and spin around repeatedly, floating in the air for several seconds and firing 300 shots from a pistol at speeds comparable to a machine gun, all without reloading, and with nigh-perfect accuracy. Although such violations of physics would take a very advanced program to execute, it's certainly conceivable for such a thing to happen.

In addition to these active features, Battle Programs can also serve to boost the abilities of the person using them. A program that could allow its user to teleport, for example, or a program that could give its user the strength to punch through solid concrete walls. Generally, these "superpowers" granted by the programs follow a given theme, limiting themselves to a specific ability. For example, a program might grant its user the ability to summon and control data taking the form of a fire. This is something of a balancing mechanic introduced by the Webmasters, as giving a single program the power to do anything whatsoever would make it too dangerous, especially in the wrong hands. The only programs that exist without such specifications - known as Limitless Programs - are those possessed by the Webmasters themselves, and even these, in spite of their names, are generally split into individual programs given to different people, each carrying out a specific, if broad function. For example, a Limitless Creation Program, which would allow its user to create endless amounts of data of all types from scratch, giving them the power to make their imaginations into a reality.

I've mentioned now the "power" of different Battle Programs several times. This is because, despite the attempts to balance them, not all Battle Programs possess equal abilities. In addition to more common programs, such as spears, swords, knives, and guns, there are also rarer and more potent programs, with more specialized, or, conversely, much broader effects. For example, there might be a program that allows its user to wield a sword, but only possesses moves belonging to a specific school of swordsmanship. Being a specialized and unique sword, however, it would still possess much more power than the more versatile, but less unique programs falling under the category of "Sword." On the other hand, there might be a program that allows its user to wield a High-Velocity Sniper Scythe. As a weapon's practicality is hardly an issue when said weapon does not obey the laws of common sense and can be used to its full potential with perfect finesse by even an amateur, such a versatile and dangerous weapon could quite easily overpower a mere sword. In short, specialization means power, but Exotic Weapon Supremacy is a thing as well. There are, of course, exceptions to even these generalizations. Some programs may look plain, but hide incomparable power. In short, no two Battle Programs are equal, and although there are means of guessing a program's strength by looking at the weapon it creates, there isn't really a reliable system for determining power levels at a glance. No, there isn't a defined power ranking measurement either, so put that Scouter away, Vegeta. (Yes, Vegeta is obviously a key term in this RP. Why do you ask?)

As mentioned in the intro, there is more than one type of Battle Program an individual might encounter. In addition to Standard Battle Programs - programs created by the Webmasters and accessible to anyone upon creating an avatar within the Netgame Areas - there are also Custom Battle Programs, which are one-of-a-kind abilities tailor made by their users. Of course, a Battle Program's functions - data creation and alteration - can't be created by just anybody. In order for the program to be uploaded to the world's servers, which it must be in order for it to be used, it requires approval by the Webmasters. So, consequently, ordinary people can't just design and employ their own Custom Battle Programs. At least, not in the Overworld, where "real" everyday life takes place.

In the Netgame Areas, however, that's a different story. As these areas, while certainly being real enough in the sense of existing on the same physical plane as the Overworld, are bounded by data fields that restrict the space within them, so that only virtual Avatars controlled by physical Players can enter and interact with these special areas, and the data of those Avatars remains separate from the data of their operators. In these areas, Battle Programs can be acquired and used freely, and, as a part of character creation, users even have the option to create their own such programs, so long as they function within the same parameters as normal Battle Programs. So, for example, a user couldn't create a Limitless Program, but they could create a specialized program based around Katana-type weapons, and with all of its pre-programmed moves devoted to using Battoujutsu techniques. (I'm looking at you, Sicon.) This program would be completely unique, and future programs would be scanned upon uploading in order to weed out duplicate programs, giving the original creator a sort of copyright on their own program, although Custom Battle Programs can still be distributed by their creators. As an added level of caution, programs can only be downloaded directly from one Avatar to another. However, there are still those who manage to, through cunning tactics, acquire this data from Avatars and utilize it on themselves in the Overworld.

On a final note, all Battle Programs, when activated, display a user interface of sorts, displaying their name and number of pre-programmed moves, as well as showing which move is in use at the moment in the form of a fraction relating in the number of total moves. This takes the form of a holographic display of varying color, usually floating in a ring either around the user or around their weapon - although holographic patterns interlaced with various data screens, and other such unique displays, are not uncommon - displaying the words "Type-<Program Number> - ENGAGE: <Program Name> - <Move Number> / <Number of Pre-programmed abilities.>" The "Program Number" is, incidentally, the version of the program that is being used, mainly meant for differentiating between different specific programs in broad categories, such as basic sword or spear programs, of which there are many. In reference to a Custom Battle Program, it instead determines the number of times that the creator has updated the program's software, adding new moves, altering existing ones, or otherwise reprogramming the system. For examples of this format, my character, Shiki, has the display in the opening and in her images "Type 22- ENGAGE: Archon - 22/0." Oddly enough, however, her program lacks both pre-programmed abilities and a program number, and seems to display a completely random but equal value for both of these positions, so she's not really a very good example. A better one would be the Spear program from the intro, reading "Type 99 - ENGAGE: Spear - 2491/3268." So, to give a unique example, say you wanted a High-Velocity Sniper Scythe program. That would probably read something like "Type-01 "ENGAGE: Crescent Rose - 320/9001." That means it's the first edition of the Crescent Rose program, has OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAND pre-programmed moves, and is using the 320th of those.

When it comes to doing battle between two program-users, it essentially just goes until one person - or their avatar, if fighting within a Netgame Area - is deemed incapable of fighting, either because they are dead, because their weapon has been broken (something which is very difficult to do) and thus the program has been deleted, or because their program has been deleted by another means.

Our Characters

So, now that you (hopefully) know how combat works in this setting, it's time to get to the fun part: our main protagonists. There won't be a set number of spaces to fill, however, due to the complications of managing issues for many different people, space will, nevertheless, be limited, and some applicants may be denied. Should this happen to you, please don't take it personally. I'm not very good at running large RPs, so even with Sicon's help, I'm probably not going to accept, say, two dozen characters. Don't let that discourage you from trying to join, though, as I seriously doubt we'll get more applicants than I can handle anyway, based on previous RPs. Furthermore, there won't be defined roles in this RP, so any kind of character is fine, so long as it can reasonably fit into both the setting and the main characters' little group. Yes, this means no espers/aliens/Eldritch Whalebeasts From The Depths Of The Internet (Patent Pending)/Sentient Lolcats. If you have a weird, gimmicky character idea of this sort that you think might work with the setting, please PM me and explain it to me. Note, however, that such premises may end up being rejected, especially anything involving the words "Robot alien from the future" or "sapient dancing horseshoe." Look, just don't ask about the sapient robot alien dancing horseshoes from the future, okay? It's a traumatic memory for me.

Note, however, that it is not only okay, but also highly encouraged, to play a 4channer/troper/other quirky internet group member. (Try not to think about the ramifications of /b/ being fused with reality, okay? Want some brain bleach now? Me too!)

...Moving on. Our main characters, as mentioned in the summary, are a group of friends who met each other as Avatars in the Netgame Areas. Although initially just keeping in contact by meeting up inside the game, after a certain Incident that will be roleplayed as the introduction to our roleplay, they decide to meet up in real life, and end up using their newly gained powers to form a Hacker Guild, and thus begin taking on underground job requests, kicking off our main plot. Note that, although our characters are technically Hackers, not all of them need to be computer geniuses. In the cyber world, after all, the term Hacker has a somewhat broader meaning. So, you might just be, say, an avid gamer who, through the actions of your friends, got his hands on a Battle Program. So, in any case, don't consider yourself limited when it comes to your character's talents and personality. Except for liking puppies. EVERYONE must like puppies. No exceptions. (Disclaimer: the previous statement may or may not be a joke. The Borogove assumes no responsibility for any puppy liking or disliking that may result from this statement.)

Summary and Setting End. Bio Format and Example Bio below. Please continue not to post, and watch warmly until it is ready.

Bio Format for Characters

Code: Select all

[img]Image here, if you have one. Please don't make it too big. Can be anime, hand drawn, CG, whatever, but pictures of real people are kind of a no-no. Note that this field is for an image of their REAL WORLD appearance, not their avatar in the Netgame Areas and damnit I can't italicize that because it's in code. In any case, note that this field isn't required, as you can just describe your character via text under appearance, if you feel like it. Just be sure to make it detailed. I like details.[/img]

[b][u]Name:[/u][/b] [i]Name Here. Note that you can actually conceal this, if you want to.[/i]

[b][u]Avatar's Username:[/u][/b] [i]Username here. Note that our characters will be largely going by these usernames for the first part of the RP, and possibly even throughout it.[/i]

[b][u]Age:[/u][/b] [i]Age Here.[/i]

[b][u]Gender:[/u][/b] [i]Gender Here.[/i]

[b][u]Real-World Appearance:[/u][/b] [i]Describe their real appearance here. Note that if you have an image at the top of your bio, this field isn't required. It can, however, be used to either give a bonus text description of your character, or to note things that differ from/aren't shown in the image.[/i]

[b][u]Avatar Appearance:[/u][/b] [i]Describe their avatar within the Netgame Areas here. Note that if you have an image at the bottom of your bio, this field isn't required. It can, however, but used to either give a bonsus text description of your character, or to note things that differ from/aren't shown in the image. Disclaimer: Bonsus characters are only available to Scarab. Sorry, everyone.[/i]

[b][u]Personality:[/u][/b] [i]Give a brief description of your character's general attitude here. Note that if you have deep dark secrets, or whatever, KEEP them secret. Reveal them in story, not here. This is just so that I can get a feel of your character's outward demeanor.[/i]

[b][u]Battle Program:[/u][/b] [i]Give the name of your program, the weapon it summons, general hallmarks of the fighting style(s) associated with its skills, and what passive abilities it provides.[/i]

[b][u]Other/Oddities:[/u][/b] [i]Anything else you'd like to mention? Use this section to list anything else you want us to know, especially stuff that might be foreshadowing toward a big secret of some sort. :P[/i]

[img]Virtual Avatar appearance here. Same guidelines apply as with the image at the top of the bio. if you don't have an image for their avatar but have another image of the character's real world appearance, or even the other way around, just specify what the images are of and use them as you see fit. Just be sure to describe to us clearly what the non-pictured appearance is.[/img]

An Example Of The Format: Shiki's Bio



Name: Unknown. Since she prefers to go by Shiki, it can be assumed that this is probably her given name, but her family name is a mystery.

Avatar's Username: Rei Shiki. As mentioned above, she prefers just Shiki.

Age: 15.

Gender: Female.

Real-World Appearance: Standing at the fairly small height of five feet, four inches, Shiki isn't exactly imposing. The thinness of her body and limbs, and her somewhat deceptively young-looking face only serve to reinforce this aspect of her appearance. However, although not an overly commanding or formidable person in appearance, she certainly does look unusual. With hair that lies somewhere on the spectrum between black and navy blue and matching ocean blue eyes, both of which are complimented by the primarily navy blue sailor fuku she's never seen without and her lighter blue skirt, respectively. Topping this color scheme off with a light red tie around her collar, white trim on her outfit itself, as well as on her stockings - which are, specifically, Grade B Zettai Ryouiki - she ends up looking like quite the anachronism, since schools generally forgo dress codes nowadays, with sailor uniforms generally having fallen out of use.

Avatar Appearance: Very, very oddly, Shiki's Avatar is literally completely identical to her real world appearance, save for eye color, which has changed to a light wine red. However, this change is far from permanent, as keen observers will notice that her eyes switch back to their natural shade when she activates her Battle Program, probably a combined side effect of her program's special property and the blue aura it creates. Similarly, the white trim on her outfit actually switches to radiant blue Tron Lines while her program is active, although this is actually just part of the program's intricate holographic overlay, which is, ironically, only displayed in full in her real world appearance picture. XD Also, note the divergence between the overlays in the photos and the actual text I intended to use. In the first picture, it reads "Engauge" for whatever reason, but should actually read "Engage," while in both pictures, it displays "/0" as "Slash Zero," and its own separate line of text, when it should be tacked onto the end of the 22 after Archon.

Personality: Very cold and quiet, Shiki's voice rarely diverges from a perfectly stoic monotone. Her expression, too, is perpetually understated, and she rarely even speaks unless spoken to. When she does talk, she makes her point bluntly, and in few words, and then lapses into silence once again. As she rarely is forthcoming with any information about herself, not much is known about her, and although she certainly is more warm when in private with her friends from the Netgame, it's warmer on a planet with ALMOST no atmosphere than it is in the dead of space, too, so that comparison doesn't really mean much. It's clear she is willing to put up with their company, and seems to enjoy it, but not much else about her can be stated for sure, as she's very secretive when it comes to her personal information, never revealing her real body's location in the Overworld, or her real name, instead just going by the name Shiki. Surprisingly, though, given her rather rigid, serious demeanor and general outspokenness, she is known to make her point via sarcasm surprisingly often. Given that the other option she favors is blunt, and oftentimes brutal honesty, perhaps such roundabout comments are her way of trying to be polite?

Battle Program: Type ? Archon, ?/0. Although evidently not providing any unique skills, if its name is anything to go by, Shiki nevertheless wields the unique katana produced by her Custom Battle Program with a level of expertise not commonly seen outside of pre-programmed skills. Shown in the picture, her weapon of choice is largely straight - unusually so for a weapon of its class - save at the end of its long blade. Although largely a mere stylistic touch, the weapon also features, in addition to the traditional circular guard at the base of the blade, a long, protruding finger-guard running off the dull edge of the blade. Although only really useful as a guard during draw-strikes - where it covers the back side of her hand - and stabs - as the pronounced curve of the tip allows her to thrust just as effectively with the flat facing upward as downward, allowing this guard to be used to protect her fingers in the event of a parry - its real purpose is actually to serve as a handhold on the blade itself - as the edge at the base of the blade surrounding where this protrusion occurs is actually dull - allowing for rapid thrusts and precise slashes in close quarters, performing more like a short spear than a sword if wielded thus.

Unusually for a sword-class program, Archon actually also produces a sheathe for her blade, which she can and does occasionally use to perform draw-strikes, or as an independent defensive weapon wielded in the off-hand.

Archon's special property is analysis. While active, the program allows her to instantly catalog every bit of a program's data, just by looking at it - even if the program can't normally be seen, as evidenced by her location of a certain someone's hacked spectator program. Consequently, Archon allows her to identify the special properties of enemy Battle Programs, unique features of their weapons, and even the nature of their Battle Skills, giving her the knowledge she needs to counter them.

Of note is the fact that Shiki has not shared the information of her Battle Program's function with anyone, even her friends. Why she wants to keep it secret is unknown, but perhaps it's because by nature, her program's special property requires superhuman computational skills to effectively employ?

Other/Oddities: Shiki has been known to perform impossible feats of reprogramming with inhuman speed. Using the system's basic commands from which all functions in the cyber world - encompassing both the Overworld and the Netgame Areas - are generated, she can alter her personal data with incredible skill, speed, and precision. For example, using manual commands for movement which she imputs nigh instantaneously, she has been known to achieve flash step levels of speed. Although such reprogramming is certainly within the rules and limitations of the system, locating the desired information amidst billions upon billions of bytes of data, comprehending it, calculating the desired changes and converting them to similar data, and then replacing the old data with the new data, all within the span of an instant, goes against the limitations of Human beings themselves. Perhaps her Battle Program possesses the passive ability of speeding up her thought processes as a Required Secondary Power?

Another major oddity pertaining to her Battle Program is its lack of a defined Type Number. This value, represented by a ? above, instead takes on a seemingly random number, as does the numerator of the attack number/total attacks fraction, whenever she attacks. In the pictures and the intro, this number is displayed as 22, but fluctuates at random.

Other oddities include her avatar's near-identical appearance to her real self, her odd and antiquated style of dress, and her username itself, as although both Rei and Shiki could certainly be given names, neither one is a last name, making her usage of them both in conjunction somewhat unusual. What all of these strange facts mean can only be determined with time, as she's certainly not forthcoming about her secrets.



Thread Basic Construction Complete. This thread will serve as an information database and character archive. Please direct OOC comments to the OOC thread, which shall now be created. In any case, I hereby declare this thread to be OPEN! Enjoy!

Name: Valentine

Avatar's Username: Dixie

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Real-World Appearance: Straight shoulder-length black hair framing her soft features, Valentine sits on a plain wheelchair due to her crippled legs. Her stormy eyes alternate between a mercurial, gentle contentment and an infinitely deep gunmetal gray melancholy, singular poles of emotion dominating her soul. Slender limbs unused to exertion extend out from a similarly delicate frame and around her right wrist is a bulky violet bracelet trimmed black which she often taps, though seemingly unconsciously. More often than not, she slumps against the armrest of her wheelchair quietly, wearing a simple dark dress.

Avatar Appearance: Her Avatar stands about half a head taller, though her features are essentially the same. Thanks to her Battle Program, Valentine is no longer wheelchair-bound, but instead hovers just off the ground, her feet tapered downward and wreathed in what appears to be azure flame. The bracelet now hums faintly, glowing with similarly azure lines that pulse across from time to time.

Personality: Valentine is as unassuming as she looks, quiet and less of a presence than the background music. She'll speak when spoken to, but it seems more out of meekness than disdain. She'll often go with whatever her friends suggest, but when she gets truly angry, it's almost as if she's a different person. When the black rage takes over, the normally placid girl becomes abruptly inclined towards extreme violence and blunt trauma. Thankfully, the rage rarely comes, and when it does, tends to pass as quickly as it appears. Generally, she seems a dreamy girl, never truly fixed in the present.

Battle Program: Type 2 Flatline Matrix, ?/22. The Battle Program produces a flanged mace about a metre long. It is plain and unadorned but for the flanges on its head. Its grip appears to be a dark leather, but apart from that, there is nothing fanciful about the mace. In addition to the mace, Flatline Matrix is responsible for the azure flames about her feet that allow her to hover just off the ground and gives her enhanced mobility. Hence, whenever in her avatar, the Battle Program is always semi-active so that she can move about. The Battle Program seems to be stored in the bracelet, as when she produces the mace, ie, fully activates Flatline Matrix, the holographic projection emits from the bracelet. She rarely uses the mace, preferring to stand back and use her Battle Program's other power.

Flatline Matrix confers upon Valentine the ability to execute operations involving data fragmentation and recovery. Data fragmentation is partial, and not always permanent, though possibly so. When activated, Flatline Matrix blasts out from the bracelet, then contacts the target and forcibly disjuncts a portion of code. Sometimes the code is retrieved and given to Valentine, other times the code is simply disgorged into the surroundings as scrapcode; it is unknown what determines either incidence. What happens is that with a portion of code missing, the foe's programming becomes disrupted. The foe generally becomes weakened, or loses a facet of his abilities. Due to the fact that subroutines become missing, the program in question may occasionally become unreadable or corrupted. This does not often happen, though, and what typically results is a weakened foe. A strong power, yet she almost never uses it. In fact, her Netgame friends have never seen her use it and do not know of the existence of this function.

On the flip side, data recovery means that Valentine is able to use Flatline Matrix to perform a regenerative function. For example, when activated with a damaged teammate as the target, the Battle Program seeks out data lost from the target to the surroundings, then retrieves it and patches it back to the target, essentially 'healing' the teammate. This is the only skill that Valentine uses with consistency and frequency, activated by a murmured "La Repth". Due to the comparative simplicity of this function, she is able to create several instances of this recovery simultaneously, healing several friends at the same time. Thus, she plays the part of the Guild's healer and rarely, if ever, takes point in battle.

Other/Oddities: Valentine has a strange tendency to talk to herself, or rather, talk to someone who is ostensibly not there. Once in a while, she cringes away, or talks animatedly with a 'Dallas'. If there's anybody there, no scan or search seems to reveal anything.

She also has an inclination towards consuming a certain drug known as faerie dust. These minute roseate crystals are taken one at a time, dropping them into the eye, where it dissolves into the iris' membrane. It might be the reason why she seems perpetually in an ephemeral dream, though when directly engaged in conversation or some such, she focuses with great clarity, perhaps also born of the drug. When she partakes of faerie dust, her gray eyes turn red as if inflamed, but there seems to be no discomfort.

Name: It might be Millie something, but she likes to keep personal life personal, so nothing is confirmed.

Avatar's Username: Missy_Goodwill

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Real-World Appearance: She's of about average height for her age, with long, straight black hair that she keeps perfect almost obsessively. She has brown eyes, behind tortoiseshell hornrimmed glasses, the stylish kind. She makes a point of dressing fashionably.

Avatar Appearance: An inch or two shorter than her real height, and a slightly darker complexion. Her hair is still black, but wavy; the glasses are gone and her eyes are dark enough that the pupils are indistinguishable from the irises.

Personality: Missy-- as her friends probably call her-- likes to insist that she is Not A Nerd. She's a big fan of biology, and while not interested in popularity, she likes to consider herself "normal". That said, she's doing a degree in computer science because it's practical, and she's quite a good programmer, which is how she fell into this business in the first place (not to mention the fun aspect)-- all the while insisting that it's not HER.

Battle Program: Type 03 Dawn Scythe, ?/47. Missy programmed her own weapon from scratch because, "new to this type of thing," it had never really occurred to her that there was any other way to do things. Her program calls up a tall ebony-handled scythe with a curved blade that seems to glow blue at the edges.

In addition to being able to use it as a sharp bladed thing, handy for slicing through things or stabbing objects with the point, Missy embedded some nifty bits of homemade code in the blade (probably the reason why it glows blue). The practical effect of this code is that the blade can slice time, separating two seconds of in-program time from each other.

This gives her and only her, as wielder of the Dawn Scythe, a few precious moments extra between one tick of the clock and the next, instants of stolen time in which to relocate, or write up a new necessary program on the fly, while everyone else is frozen between beats of living Time.

Other/Oddities: She deeply regrets that computer-generated avatars are not composed in a manner resembling human biology. She LIKES biology. And she still insists she's not a nerd.

Also, as mentioned above, she does all her own programming, because she just doesn't consider any other possibility as viable.

(Note: The colouring is off here; as I mentioned, her virtual avatar is a little darker than she is in real life. I'd also link this as a good image for her virtual avatar, but I didn't want to put it on the screen here because it's flashy.)

Despite some heitation, I figure I'll need to do some RPing. This seems like a nice idea.

Name: First name is Jon, though he's left his last name unknown to keep some anonymity.

Avatar's Username: Firefly

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Real-World Appearance: A fairly tall guy with glasses and brownish hair and eyes. He tends to wear casual clothing most of the time.

Avatar Appearance: Similar in apperance to him, the only differences his avatar has are a lack of glasses and the additions of armour covering most of his body that glows blue and red along with holsters for his pistols.

Personality: A bubbly and sometimes anti-social nerd and troper. Jon joined the online game because it seemed like a lot of fun to play after seeing multiple reccomendations for it. Apart from that, he is very knowlegeable in movies and tv shows alongside a lot about the game and its mechanics. While he is capable of socialising, most topics of conversation are considered boring by him and he'd rather often talk about stuff he likes instead. While some would mistake him for being insensitive for this, in reality he has Aspergers Syndrome which is what causes that type of behaviour for him.

Apart from this he is glad to be with a group of skilled and capable players but feels inferior to them, due to their more advanced abilities and programming and as a result he often feels like he may hold them back at points.

Battle Program: Type 5 Dual Pistols. ?/20. The Battle Program creates two similar pistols that each shoot 10 rounds within a matter of seconds. They are coloured blue and red, because as Jon puts it "They would look rather cool."

When armed with the pistols, Jon had them programmed to be capable of shooting multiple types of ammo such as fire and ice rounds among others. Outside of this, Jon chose the pistols because he wanted something different than the more fantastical weapons such as swords or scythes. The Battle Program itself is simplistically designed by him but can prove to be powerful if Jon continues to upgrade the weapons' code.

Other/Oddities: He has a habit of often mumbling his words while trying to explain events and likes to compare events in the game to plots in movies and tv shows.

(I hope this works )

Biography: Alister Dalton Black



Name: Alister Dalton Black

Avatar's Username: The_Code_Cartographer

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Real-World Appearance: Thin and tall, Alister's hair is an unnatural white colour, due to the genetic disorder known as albinism. As an albino, his physical eyesight is bad, and his red eyes are extremely light sensitive. While such deficiencies can be counteracted by the futuristic society he lives in that doesn't mean he finds it pleasant to be outside. Despite his natural appearance, however, it is not uncommon to see some aspects of his appearance change on an almost daily basis, due to his constant digital shifting of his apparent looks.

Avatar Appearance: Even taller and thinner than Alister himself is his avatar, clad in a black coat and silver mask. It has a somewhat unnatural air about it, likely because of the disproportionately long arms that end in menacing clawed gauntlets. Its creator built it to be a menacing appearance on the battlefield, wielding its massive, long-hilted sword, which to any other avatar would be unwieldy at best, but for Alister, it is a deadly force to be reckoned with. Those who have known him longer might recognize this avatar as a recent addition, though no one is quite sure how many different avatars he has used over the years, as he changes his username just as often.

Personality: To describe Alister in a word, it would be this: Paranoid. Whether because of mental disorder or some distant trauma, paranoia has become the core of his life. He trusts no one, to an almost sociopathic degree, and the lengths you must go to to hold a civil conversation with him without him thinking you are plotting his demise are great. However, his paranoia has also led him to successfully program one of the most enormous movesets for any battle program in the history of the world.

Battle Program: Type 20912 Akashic Blade, ------/190238. Dwarfing even the enormous variability of common programs is Alister's personal battle program, with what could possibly be the most pre-programmed moves in the history of battle programs, clocking in at almost two hundred thousand techniques, created by over twenty thousand versions. Saying it that way makes it sound impressive. It also leaves out a very important fact. Aside from the core attacks, almost 90% of Akashic Blade is utterly useless.

Created by Alister himself, it is an exhaustive record of every technique he has ever invented, no matter how seemingly pointless. It would be unreasonable of anyone to think that any of them would work outside very specific conditions. However, it is precisely because these skills work under very specific conditions that they are included in the program. After all, as far as Alister's paranoia is concerned any skill that he can conceive of a use for, no matter how impossibly specific the circumstance, he might need someday if that situation ever does come to pass. In fact, even the skills that Alister can't possibly dream of a purpose for are still contained within the program, because according to him, "If I cannot think of a use for them, then if a situation occurs where I need them, I'll be completely off guard and need them that much more!"

That said, despite its main feature being its statistic uselessness, Akashic Blade is nevertheless a fearsome program on the battlefield, because even though he spent far too much time cataloging situations that have nearly no chance of ever happening, he spent exponentially more time plotting out the situations that were, in fact, completely reasonable to consider, despite the fact that very few people would. A mediocre fighter on his own, Alister is unable to take risks in the heat of the moment without first considering them, and even though he thinks with lightning speed, such a tiny pause could still be enough to cause his defeat. However, backed up by Akashic Blade, a functional recording of his preemptive decisions based on any possible battlefield situation and many that are not, Alister becomes a nightmare, seeming to counter and predict his enemies with ease and holding an almost supernatural awareness of the world around him.

As to its direct functionality, Akashic Blade Types 20693-20912[CURRENT] utilize an outlandish weapon invented as an experiment by Alister, who programmed everything about it personally, from its appearance to its parameters. Its normal appearance is of an extremely wide bladed sword of black metallic composition, with a very minimalistic metal hilt that appears to be of one piece with the sword and is wrapped in white cloth. The geometry of the blade is straight, with a single edge, up until the very end, where the blade begins to gently curve backward, leaving a one-sided point for at least some stabbing efficiency. By the curvature, the blade is undoubtedly a primarily slashing weapon. Unlike many battle programs, the current version of the Akashic Blade is meant to be running at all times while Alister's avatar is active, usually in a "dormant" state, where the weapon is present, but stored, as swordsmen of old used to wear their weapons in a sheath. This, according to Alister, is intended to save time if he is ever unexpectedly ambushed, and mathematically, such a claim is indeed true, though the actual time saved is minimal. Many would say, with good reason, that even a tiny temporal advantage can translate to a large effective field advantage, so his logic in this, at least, is sound.

Once the program enters a combat ready "active" mode, the blade is drawn like a normal sword, and the scabbard folds in upon itself, apparently vanishing in defiance of conventional physics, but such things are mere guidelines in the world of the modern internet, and can be ignored at will by a sufficiently talented programmer. While after its unsheathing, it may appear to be a simple sword program, dressed up in a strange appearance, Akashic Blade has one other trick up its sleeve. What makes the program special is contained in the hilt of the sword. Said hilt is, in fact, nearly as long as Alister's avatar is tall, despite its normal appearance. This extendable hilt, when used in the heat of combat, can take enemies completely off guard, allowing Alister to fight interchangeably with a Blade on a Stick and a BFS. Furthermore, this transformation can be pulled off in the constraints of "one frame", in other words, a time period so infinitesimally small so as to be literally instantaneous. With that amount of speed, it's easy to imagine many ways he can end a battle in a single moment, merely by pointing the tip of his blade at the vitals of an overconfident opponent ignorantly standing within the reach of his weapon.

Other/Oddities: As mentioned above, Alister constantly changes avatars and usernames for reasons that undoubtedly make a lot of sense to his paranoid mind, but don't appear to have any rhyme or reason to one more mentally sound. While his programs and weapons change consistently, most of his pre-programmed attacks are manually modified and transferred between them, thus some of his skills seem odd when coupled to the weapon he is using. Most probably, that is because he invented them while he was wielding different weapons.

Name: Unknown. He prefers to not give out his real name over the internet, and even asks for the people who know it to use his username instead.

Avatar's Username: Nevermore

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Real-World Appearance: Average height and weight, his defining characteristics are his short blonde hair and his bright green eyes, although his choices of clothing could also be considered noticeable, as he tends to wear coats, jackets and scarfs even during summer.

Avatar Appearance: As seen below, his actual avatar is wildly different from his real self, mostly for two reasons: it looks cool and it preserves his own indentity. Its appearance is that of a middle aged man three inches taller than his real self, with blue-tinted black hair arranged in a long ponytail tied with a cerulean ribbon holding it tight, though some of his hair also lungs forward in a stylish way. His blues eyes dwells in his face alongside a pencil style mustache and a small goatee, though one can't tell that for sure because he wears an eyepatch over the right eye. Being a virtual construct to represent himself, the eyepatch doesn't actually obstructs his vision, but given how his Custom Battle Program works one could say it is just the physical representation of the information that shows up in his screen in case he's too careless, although he has taken some measures to counter that.

His costume is characterized by a black longcoat decorated golden over a leather waistcoat, both also over a plain white shirt that matches his pants. Crossing his chest there is a leather strapbelt linked to another belt around his chest, the latter containing a pitch-black sheath for his impressively long katana, and while it doesn't have a proper holster, his flintlock-looking like gun is also held tight by the belt angainst his body. He wears a pair of boots that match his coat both in color and style, though they are covered by the schybalds and sabatons he also wears.

Personality: Nevermore, or whatever is his real name, is a very reserved person. He does enjoys parties and other social events, but prefers to keep his circle of friends small, keeping only the people he actually knows and trusts as friends. Also, he still carries some of that rebellious feeling from his teen years, but while it has toned down, he still holds an ample dislike of the government and believes that the internet should be a tool to equalize the rights of every person, because "everyone should be allowed to do whatever they want until the point they prevent someone from doing the same". Of course, how much he talks and how much he does are two different things entirely.

Currently he's finishing high school but isn't quite sure what he wants to do. He's versed in the field of mathematics, even to the point he made a Custom Battle Program, albeit he considers the amount of thought he put into it borderline paranoid.

Battle Program: Type 3 Odin's Eye, ?/81. This Battle Program is responsible for both of Nevermore's visible weapons, though none of them are in fact the focus of it. Actually, its main ability is the calculation of which moves will be employed next by the enemy, allowing its user to preemptively dodge incoming attacks or plan an efficient counterattack. It does so by accessing information on previous encounters with users of the same Battle Program, or by using visual recordings of previous fights of the adversary, or simply by reading the attack patterns and fighting style the target is currently employing. Then, it calculates the possible outcomes and the most probable results are then displayed to the user in a fashion similar to that of a scouter, such as the one used by Vegeta.

Being an statistically based Battle Program, theoretically it could be employed with other uses asides from determining the next attack of an enemy or the outcomes of battles between other players, such as calculating the ups and downs of the stock market or the likeability of future events, were not for the fact that given this is a combat-oriented program these aren't nearly as precise as its intended use.

Asides from that, most of the moves included in this Custom Battle Program are multiple laser-based attacks which are originated around the user, defending himself from some forms of meele combat, although a very, very few sword or gun moves are present in order to surprise the enemy.

Other/Oddities: Odin's Eye features a female voice speaking to Nevermore's player the current status of the program and its results. He claims he's trying to employ it to eventually prevent as much information from clustering his screen as he can. Also related to his Battle Program is his habit to give unique names for as many moves as he can, though the only one who would know this would be himself, as the computer-generated voice speaks to him solely the name of the move he is currently using, because yelling or programming the name of the move to be shout before using it iswould be stupid because an enemy would hear the attack coming from miles away.

Also, Nevermore's player seemingly lives alone, and as mentioned before prefers to keep most of his agenda hidden, even from personal friends. Although one of his habits include betting on official combat tournaments, he insists it's a hobby, and not an actual addiction.