coma_chan

Series: .hack//G.U.
Character you're applying for: Alkaid [Chika Kuramoto]
Character's role in their canon: Uhhh, sort-of antagonist/rival? -> good guy -> sorta love interest? -> victim.
Character's age: 16
Character's gender: F
Character's "Real Name": Eileen Kerrigan

Please give us a detailed personal history of your character:

Born in Sapporo, Japan, Chika Kuramoto (hereafter referred to as her online persona, Alkaid) has reached the age of sixteen by present day, 2017. By this time, everyone - or at least everyone in Japan - has a computer and a cell phone, and has the ability to be connected to the internet at all times. It's a wired world. Kids are getting implanted with microchips to tell their locations. a And a MMORPG called The World is at the heart of millions' daily routines.

We don't know too much about Alkaid's offline life, except that she's rather popular in her high school class. She's so popular that she inspires imitation - the player behind the character 'Nanase,' for one, has copied her in certain ways, from her hairstyle down to her hobbies, which include Chinese and American literature. She's a normal girl; she's on the school library board, she can make fantastic instant ramen. She likes to research stars – hence the sobriquet Alkaid. She has a secret dream to be a bride. She's outgoing, with the smarts (and geekiness) to back it up.

Most importantly, there doesn't seem to be a sign of any undue strife in Alkaid's life. Her parents likely provided an atmosphere of competition, creativity and honesty for her. Some of her driving impulses, such as her resolve to stand out, to do something that sets her apart from the group, seem almost stereotypically American, however. Whether this drive to stand out is the influence of the American literature Alkaid loves so much or simply the globalization of Japanese society is rather unknown.

In The World, though, she's something special. She's a celebrity, and rightly so. See, there's this place called the Arena, which is split up into three divisions – the Demon Palace, specifically for characters at levels 1-50, the Holy Palace, for levels 51-100, and the Sage Palace, for levels 101-150. Interestingly enough, level doesn't really seem to matter at the Arena; a level 36 character has become Emperor (the current arena champion) in the past. What does seem to matter is mastery of the game's engine – strategy, and precise pinpointing of exactly how long it takes to execute moves. Since millions of players play The World, one has to know this stuff to get far in any Arena.

Alkaid was that character, that level 36 champion of the Demon Palace Arena. Along with Luca and Mika, two other Twin Blade characters, she brought team AKATSUKI to the top of the rankings.

We don't know how long Alkaid had her position at the top. The game implies that people had tried to topple her position more than once, though, so I'm guessing that she was in that spot.. a few months? Tournaments aren't held too often, so.. yeah, that's my guess. During this time, though, she enjoyed immense popularity. People drew fanart of her. She enjoyed a place in the Emperor's guild, Icolo. Even the average PC knew her name.

But of course all good things have to come to an end, don't they?

Alkaid's winning streak was one of those good things – surprise, surprise – and it all had to end with the arrival of a player named Endrance. Endrance fought alone... and he fought with otherworldly grace. But most interesting about Endrance was his finishing move: as it appeared to most PCs, a bizarre flash of light, after which his opponents would mysteriously collapse. Of course this wasn't a legal part of the game, and Alkaid knew this. She knew how to play The World, arguably better than most and certainly better than anyone who'd tried to challenge her in the Arena.

When Endrance defeated Alkaid with this move, Alkaid felt cheated. Being such a believer in her own talent, and keenly aware that Endrance's move was a cheat, she swore to get her revenge as soon as she dropped off the Emperor's seat.

So she trained.

Around this time, we see her for the first time in the game. Just before the tournament started, the tournament she'd dedicated herself to winning, Alkaid walked back into Icolo, the Emperor's guild, and was introduced to Haseo, our main character. So he was her rival in the tournament? She thought nothing of it. He looked weak to her, and she said so. He exploded a little bit.. and she coolly lifted him up by his neck. Yeah, he was a noob. No threat to her. She didn't give a damn who he was. Sure, he wanted to defeat Endrance, but she was gonna be the one to do it, no matter what.

So she decided that she was going to have a specialist monitor the upcoming fight between herself and Endrance. She was going to expose Endrance's trickery. His old tricks weren't going to work on her this time.

...'Least that's what she thought.

It turned out she didn't get a rematch - she lost to Haseo in the semifinals. She almost had him beat, too, and it looked like she was going to win – the difference in skill at that time was too obvious. Just when she had him – just when it was obvious that the two of them were on totally different levels – Haseo awakened that stupid flash of light. And he beat her.

Damn cheater. Yeah, he went on to beat Endrance, of course, but not without that darn cheat.

After Haseo beat her, she spent some time brooding aimlessly. She'd get weak in the knees, and her head spun any time she even thought about beating Haseo or regaining her title as Emperor. After he ended up beating Endrance and becoming the Emperor, though, she began to notice odd things happening with Sirius, another member of Icolo and the Holy Palace Emperor. They would argue all the time normally – now he'd changed, and it made her kind of sick.

A chance dungeon encounter with that stupid cheater Haseo slowly brought her to a realization. Why was a guy like that on a quest like normal players? Well, she got in over her head and he ended up saving her. She wasn't gonna accept it – she was putting up a severe tough-girl exterior, trying to hide her insecurity about losing with confidence and bluster, as she later admitted to Haseo – but Pi, one of the people with Haseo, ended up taunting her: asking her if she was really such a martyr, the poor little girl whose title was stolen, the girl who stood for Arena justice. Of course, confronted with her self-righteous nature, Alkaid had to take pause. Pi had said that there was a reason Haseo wanted to become the emperor, but didn't elaborate.

Those people were just so maddening. But at the same time, Alkaid could see that there were ideals behind this that she couldn't see just yet.

Soon after, the server temporarily experienced what was assumed to be a bug in the system, and all the players online at that time were stuck inside their characters, feeling what their characters felt and everything. It's not expressly stated whether Alkaid was one of those, but I'm assuming she was. [So – her condition at Landel's won't be too farfetched for her to believe.] It disappeared soon after.

Sirius was still acting in a way that really bothered her, though, and she'd decided. She was going to face him the only way he'd listen to her – in the Arena. To do that, though, she needed a partner that would work. And for that? Haseo was the only guy she could turn to.

After that, they began to party and level together quite often, climbing up the ranks of the Holy Palace Arena along with Atoli, who became a rival for Haseo's affection.

Perhaps that unfortunate side-effect was inescapable. Haseo was a strong man, and Alkaid appreciated that about him probably more than anything else. She nursed a crush on him, to the point of taking him to a level that had a rare sword called Lit Honeysuckle - she'd planned to give to him. Haseo called her on the fact that honeysuckle supposedly symbolizes 'devoted affection.' She acted like it wasn't no thang, but I'm willing to bet that she knew exactly what the sword symbolized. She'd flirt with him openly to make Atoli jealous, sure, but if she was going to confess to someone, it would make the most sense for her to do it with a sword. Too bad he had to call her on it – she denied it as quickly as it came at her.

Before she could really follow up again on those feelings for Haseo, though, Alkaid got a message telling her that someone had information on Sirius. When she got to the meeting place, she was PKed by an AIDA-infected character named Bordeaux. See, when PCs are killed by PCs infected by AIDA, the player goes into a coma. It was easy for her to see where this was going. She could feel her consciousness slip away and everything.

It was good that Haseo arrived in time, wasn't it? She could feel herself disappearing, slipping away. All she could tell him was to find Endrance, the original one who'd defeated her, and ask him to help. He'd be the only one who could help. She told him not to cry, that he was a strong man...

...And then her consciousness disappeared.

She was in a coma in real life for quite some time. But this wouldn't be a video game if it didn't have a happy and uplifting ending, would it?

Something happened that allowed Alkaid to reawaken, though. It was something called the Rebirth, but of course she didn't know that. She spent some time off the net, recuperating and being with her family. Like every The World player, though, she received an email from a player named Zelkova telling her about the birth of Cubia, a huge and terrible monster that threatened to do horrible things to the entire Internet. All the players were being urged to go into the various areas and help defeat Cubia Gomoras, the little spawn of said huge and terrible monster.

It was a perfect time for her to return, wasn't it?

Her valiant return to The World and Haseo was meant with a fierce battle with Gomoras and tender hug, though she was a little baffled at how much he'd missed her. He couldn't do all of this on his own, after all. Had to have someone looking after him, didn't he?

It was unfortunate, though, that her level was the same sucky one as it was when she got in a coma. So she had to grind levels like crazy to be on Haseo's level when he took her along to fight. She helped take part in the final battle, being one of the people who fought the doppelgangers on Haseo's way to fight Cubia. And so that was how she helped save the internet! Wheee!

After that, she went back to playing The World on a regular basis, exploring with Haseo, Silabus, and whoever else wanted to come along.


Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
"So, Nanase... You say everybody is pampering me? Let me ask you something. What have you done that's worth praising?"

This quote from .hack//Alcor illustrates Alkaid's view of the world almost perfectly. She knows she does things that are damn awesome. She knows she's hardcore, she knows she's badass, she knows she can strategize in the Demon Palace Arena better than anyone else. She believes in her own strength. She's popular because she actually makes the effort to be liked, and to stand out in her peer group. In doing all of these things, she feels like she deserves the treatment that she gets.

To have that taken away from her, like Endrance – and then Haseo – did, especially through cheats, was an insult of the highest order. She's extremely lawful, and believes in operating within the confines of the world she's currently playing in. Sure, she'll exploit whatever she can to win, but only if it's allowed.

She's persistent, and completely aware of that. She states herself that she never gives up. She seems to tend to rationalize her vengeful ways – if they provoke it, they deserve it, she seems to think. This can go too far, though - to the point of self-righteousness. If this is pointed out, she gets a little nervous. She inwardly keyboardsmashes when people call her on stuff she doesn't really want to publicize, such as that very same self-righteousness. (...And her crush on Haseo.)

That subject is one that one wouldn't originally expect from someone as initially combative as Alkaid. She puts on a tough exterior, but inside is a soft, squishy marshmallow crème center. ...Except not really. Sure, she's incredibly tsundere and she has a secret dream to be a bride, but she seems to want to pursue relationships and the like with the same burning spirit with which she pursues everything. She has a severe attraction to strength. Her favorite type of guy is the strong, muscle-bound, heroic type like Conan the Barbarian, but it seems that she wants to fight alongside extremely strong people like that instead of being conquered by them.

Maybe that's why she was drawn so much to The World. She could fight and be a hero because it was so like the literature she loves so much. Real-life heroes like in Romance of the Three Kingdoms? So totally awesome. And maybe... she was drawn to Haseo for that very reason. He wasn't exactly a hero at the time they met, but he was going places, he was different, and he could get things done, such as the arena. He had that damn cheat that she hated so much, but it was hinted to her that he had circumstances outside of just the game. He was the closest thing to a hero that she knew.

But in her heart, she knows she kicks as much ass as any guy she chooses to be around.

Despite all this combative exterior to people she views as rivals or in cahoots with people who are doing stupid things, she's actually kinda nice sometimes. From what we see of her from her offline life she's outgoing and friendly, approaching people who seem to share her interests and striking up conversation. This sort of behavior combined with her achievements are probably what make her popular and well-liked.

That doesn't mean that she doesn't put up fronts when she's feeling insecure, though. When she feels attacked or vulnerable, she's more standoffish and acts more confident. She's flawed, but she's still generally optimistic about stuff. She's a celebrity, but she's also a normal girl. That's her duality.

Please give us a detailed physical description of your character: She's got pink hair, above shoulder-length, with two gravity-defying Larxene-like tentacles that fade from bright pink to white. There's a tattoo of a dragon eating its tail around her neck, and a tribal-looking tattoo on each arm. Otherwise, her body is completely normal (if a little bit curvy.) Perfectly human, save for the bit where she's data in a video game.

What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's?: When she was here before, I took her from post game, no wedding. She's solo leveling in a field and then lol Landel's time. She has sent a few emails back and forth with Haseo, but none that illustrate her crush on him directly. [lol this is me liking to keep things at least a little ambiguous?] Now that she's made a few days of memories, I'd like her to have fallen into a dreamless sleep after the last thread she was in - nightshift 34 - something like a coma state, and wake up to find that it's a new day in good ol' Landel's.

What kinds of magical/special/crazy powers does your character have, if any?: Well, since she's a video game character playing a video game character, she has a bunch of sword-swingy powers that are impossible to have in real life. That's about it. It's possible to teach any character any spell in The World, but Alkaid is not a mage, and so I'm assuming all she has is Repth, a basic healing spell that's extremely useful in the Arena.

If present, how do you plan to tweak those powers to make him/her appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?: She will be trapped inside her MMO character now, feeling what the character is feeling instead of simply seeing and hearing what the character 'Alkaid' sees and hears – but not really knowing how to execute all those wacky moves that someone in an RPG can. She's used to just pressing a button and making a Chaotic Strike happen. Not being able to do this will debilitate her fighting prowess. Fun times. No Repth, either.

Does your character have any other non-magical skills or abilities that we should know about?: She knows a lot about stars and foreign literature. And how to exploit weaknesses in the Arena. She's really strategic like that. Uhh... she can make a perfect cup of ramen in under 3 minutes! :D I assume she's also pretty good at sports, and has impressive stamina, considering that it's a game character that runs eeeverywhere.

How about improbable appendages?: Nah.

Please give us an idea of where you'd like to take your character within the scope of the Landel's Damned RP: Not gonna lie here – it's entirely possible that she'll take something someone says the wrong way and make an enemy or two. Alkaid's a bit of a bitch until people prove themselves to her, and if someone starts frontin', she'll front back. But she'll make a bunch of friends, too, and she'll charge into her perceived 'missions' to explore the institute with extreme vigor. Landel's might be scary for her, but it'll be a hell of an adventure, and she'll embrace it as best as she can.

What kind of psychological effect do you see Landel's Institute having on your character?: Initially, it'll be like a game to her, a bizarre RP event that she totally didn't sign up for, with weird NPCs. However, like I said in the scope question, she'll be kinda scared after she realizes how serious this is. She's only sixteen, after all. Even though she's mastered the Arena and how to use her character, actually being inside her character's body will be... extremely weird for her. It's like – she's used to pressing a button and executing a move, right? It's entirely possible that she'll be excited about feeling as many things as she can with this exciting new body that she's only used to controlling with buttons and twitches of the hand. Not to say she'll be hedonistic about her new shape, but it'll certainly be an area of curiosity. As for her mental health, she'll probably stay good and sane – she may be a little fiery, but she's stable. Unless something super-super-terrible happens. WHICH IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE. XD

Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?: Since her body will be that of a battle-honed MMORPG character, the body question is no question. As for her mind, she is a normal (though intelligent) sixteen-year-old girl, but being in her The World body will make her more confident that she'll be able to face these trials, especially with a strong man around. She's normal, but she's extremely hardcore at the same time, lol :)

Third-Person Sample:

Breakfast this afternoon had been totally less than awesome for Alkaid. Sure, she liked getting served good food, but a girl should be allowed to cook her own instant ramen at any time of the day if she wanted to. She was still used to this body getting hungry, and it was a strange sort of feeling. Hunger in Chika's body was different, but that was to be expected. Metabolisms and all. It made her think just what the PCs ate when their players were signed off. Asian Mangoes with Caramel Sauce on them?

..She stopped herself. That was a dumb idea. Game characters didn't eat! They were just data.

Except now she wasn't entirely sure, which bugged the hell out of her. She was still thinking emoticons in her brain – so much 'lol' and 'D:' and the temptation was so there to just say 'brb' and step away from the computer. Oh geez, she was a normal person playing a video game, except now it seemed like someone was playing a game with her. This was too meta, but it was meta in a stupid way. People were too busy laughing about how other things were meta to realize that they were probably in some kinda game themselves. Which was a meta thought in itself, she realized. Fantastic, now she was thinking like the people running this stupid convoluted game that was Landel's. Damn cheating bastards! She was gonna have to kick some ass.

But.. then again, all that thought about everyone being PCs in The World was kinda screwy. There were other people here - other people who were totally real, and not from The World at all. Unless they were RPing weird backstories, but none of this seemed like stuff people would RP anyway. Dumbest event ever.

She'd have to clear her mind somehow! It didn't really matter by now what it was. There didn't seem to be a way to win this stupid game, so she'd just cooperate until this 'Nightshift' that everyone was talking about. And then? And then she'd go on an adventure all over this stupid area, and she'd kick some ass.

But apparently now her options were limited to 'arts and crafts' and 'greenhouse'? What the hell!? The most she came in contact with artsy stuff was when people drew fanart of her! Which they did! What she wanted to do was visit this library, but they wouldn't let her do that. She could really use some Romance of the Three Kingdoms right now. And now she was being made to choose between digging in some stupid dirt and-

Okay, well, she'd just have to embrace it. Dirt it was. Yeah, she was going to have the best time ever, and talk to some of these other crazy NPCs who ..were or weren't real NPCs. Like it even mattered. But she'd decided in the beginning that she was gonna treat them like real people, because the chance was still there that they really were. Even though some of them seemed to be book characters, which was even more confusing.

"Yeah," she said petulantly to the nurse who'd just given her a choice. "Fine. I'll dig in the dirt. Whatever you want."

First-Person Sample:

What the hell kind of stupid event is this? I didn't sign up for anything like this, and - ... LOL. Wait a sec. When was the last time anyone wrote in a paper diary for anything?