[CENTER][h1]Characters[/h1][/CENTER] [h3]Pre-established Characters[/h3] [b]Scout[/b] [HIDER=Mizuki "Yari" Yukimura] Display Name: Yari Real Name: Mizuki Yukimura Age: 17 Appearance: [URL=http://www.zerochan.net/1724406][IMG]http://s3.zerochan.net/Toramaru.Shou.240.1724406.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Background: Mizuki grew up in Ichigawa with Alex and Hiro, a small town in the snowy mountains of Japan. She had great grades, participated in several extracurricular activities, and still made time for her two best friends. She had an air about her that just screamed “leader.” Despite her time being stretched so thin, Mizuki managed to keep up interests with them, from gaming to just generally spending time together. She was smart, got good grades, and was definitely on her way to getting into a new school until she and her two friends stepped foot into Aincrad for the very first time and were left with no way out. She was, perhaps, one of the most composed of them and quickly regained her bearings, thus snapping Alexander back to reality and helping him to be able to process the situation. SAO Build: Magical Robes and Healer's Tome. Status: Alive, Amnesiac[/HIDER] [HIDER=Alexander "Fitch" Watanabe] Display Name: Fitch Real Name: Alexander Watanabe Age: 17 Appearance: [URL=http://www.zerochan.net/1800998][IMG]http://s3.zerochan.net/Kano.Shuuya.240.1800998.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Background: Alexander’s mother was German and she met his father on a business trip to Japan. She was an interpretor for her company – a job which she left after finding out she was pregnant. He grew up with a very strict father who was often working, but his mother was more of a “free spirit” so he was able to live life far more loosely than his father would have liked. His grades were fair, but he didn’t want to stand out academically. Thanks to Mizuki, he actually stayed in good shape, because of her limited time, their small group would often be practicing sports or something of the like together, though he was never in pristine condition like she was. He liked technology and, while his father disapproved of it, gaming. He was one of the first to acquire a Nerve Gear and beta tested almost every game that became available to him – including Sword Art Online. Hiro was his best friend and the two were like brothers, despite their rather different personalities, and if it weren’t for him and Mizuki – as well as the other friends that they had from past games – he likely would not have been able to cope with the incident. SAO Build: Sword & Shield user with medium-light armor.[/hider] [HIDER=Kimiko "Kimigami" Yagami] Display Name: Kimigami Real Name: Kimiko Yagami Age: 14 Appearance: [URL=http://www.zerochan.net/1604217][IMG]http://s3.zerochan.net/Renjouji.Bell.240.1604217.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Background: Kimiko grew up in a rather low-end neighborhood of Tokyo. She had two little brothers, identical twins, who were quite a handful. Their father died when all of them were relatively young, thus causing their mother to enter a deep depression. Kimiko still doesn’t quite understand how they still have a home, but the cooking, cleaning, and care of her brothers fell on her shoulders. Nobody outside of her close family knew the kind of neglect they all faced… whenever they visited their relatives, Kimiko would even be sure that her mother was presentable and got to the train station on time. When one of her few friends from school invited her over to try out a new game on the first virtual reality system, she was very excited. She made her own character, and felt a guilty pleasure in escaping her real family for a while… That is, until it came time for her to leave and the logout button was gone. SAO Build: Rapier and leather armor.[/HIDER] [HIDER=Nero] Display Name: Nero Real Name: Unshared Age: 16 Appearance: (Pictured Right) [URL=http://www.zerochan.net/459140][IMG]http://s3.zerochan.net/Axis.Powers%3A.Hetalia.240.459140.jpg[/IMG][/URL] History: Nero is known Aincrad-wide as the most wealthy player in SAO. He amassed his fortune by material hunting, giving him a hefty safety margin while simultaneously giving him the biggest bank of any other player. He is a member of the KoB, directly beneath Vice Commander Kazaro and his speed is rather remarkable. He has shared none of his life outside of the game and still few know much of who he really is. Currently, he has been able to sit on his metaphorical dragon's horde of cash by maintaining a level of strength above most other players. However, with the KoB behind him now, his personal coffers face even less danger. SAO Build: Curved blade, light armor, speed, material hunter.[/HIDER] [HIDER=Yuna] Display Name: Yuna Real Name: Undisclosed Age: 15 Appearance: (Pictured Left) [URL=http://www.zerochan.net/459140][IMG]http://s3.zerochan.net/Axis.Powers%3A.Hetalia.240.459140.jpg[/IMG][/URL] History: Yuna met Nero early on in their careers in SAO. She was rather lost as she lacked the will to fight outside of the safe zones. The girl found her niche with a small group of crafters. As a seamstress, she had one of the harder jobs early on because most of the players wanted weapons and got enough armour from drops. Once she could improve, repair, and create armour which was competitive, she was quite sought after. She met Nero shortly before her name became quite so well known, as he hunted a rare material for her. Their relationship grew very gradually, stemming only from a business perspective, but nonetheless, they're pinned as the unofficial wealthiest couple in Aincraid. SAO Build: Tailor, non-combatant[/HIDER] [HIDER=Kazaro] Display Name: Kazaro Real Name: Undisclosed Age: 25 Appearance: [URL=http://www.zerochan.net/1703526][IMG]http://s3.zerochan.net/Pixiv.Id.1114872.240.1703526.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Who He is: Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood, directly beneath Heathcliffe. He’s a strong leader and a forgiving soul. In fact, he’s quite kind, it’s what garners him so much respect. However, he’s also prideful, so if you’ve offended him with purpose, he will hold onto it until a proper, sincere apology has been issued. SAO Build: One of few Katana users in the world, medium-weight metal armour. DPS.[/HIDER] [HIDER=Makoto "Minerva" Yono]Display Name: Minerva – she honestly just thought it sounded pretty and rather regrets how arrogant it sounds after somebody told her where it came from Real Name: Makoto Yono Age: 18 (17 at the start of the game Appearance: [URL=http://www.zerochan.net/244939][IMG]http://s3.zerochan.net/Iwasawa.Masami.240.244939.jpg[/IMG][/URL] (Click for higher resolution) Background: Minerva grew up in a family that was well-off and even attended private school. Her only escape from the stress was gaming and she barely got a chance to do it both because of her parents and the amount of work she had to do to maintain her grades. She was going to give her NerveGear maybe thirty minutes a day, max. She had been lucky enough to be accepted into the Beta Test under her parents’ noses. They would disapprove if she waited in line to get one; it was there that she found herself immersed in the fantastical world of Aincrad. However, when she reluctantly opened her menu to log out on Day One, she found herself without any way to… After everybody was trapped inside the game, she only devoted herself to the blade for a few weeks. One-handed straight swords; simple, efficient, but eventually she stopped training daily and now only keeps up in order to have the skills she needs to stay alive. After she discovered that there was even a skill for musical instruments, she spent just about every hour of her training on them. It was the one thing in real life that her parents made her do that she actually enjoyed. In real life, it was the violin. In Aincrad she sang, she played guitar, she played violin, and she even practiced piano. It was so much easier here, but they actually allowed for free-form play and the replication of instruments was astoundingly accurate. Some people just played using the different skills and abilities, but the real musicians, once they hit a certain point, could unlock and actually use the freeform, so long as they could teach themselves to play it. SAO Player Build: Minerva is a musician, so usually you’ll find her in tailored clothing rather than any kind of practical armour. She mostly keeps to towns and cities, avoiding the danger zones and enjoying her time in the game as if it were reality.[/HIDER] [b]Vena Sera[/b] [HIDER=Hiro "Suto" Myamoto] Display Name: Suto Real Name: Hiro Miyamoto Age: 17 Appearance: [img]http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_loy6hiQMBp1qjzwfpo1_500.jpg[/img] Background: Hiro Miyamoto is a native of Ichigawa, having lived in the snowy vale all of his life. Born into a middle-class family as an only child he had plenty of attention growing up. Despite doing average in school his parents were happy with him, content on letting him do for the most part as he pleased as well, anything to keep their lone child happy. Outside of class he spent a great deal of time outdoors, taking up various different activities, with snowboarding sticking after many years. Being out and about and having fun is his main priority in life; always has been and always will be. Having met his best friend Alexander Watanabe at an early age the two had been great friends ever since meeting. While Hiro loved the outdoors Alex played games, and eventually the two crossed over slightly, with Hiro in particular taking a bit more of a liking to video games. He played sparingly, really only when he and his friends spent time together. Upon the announcement of Sword Art Online though his interest peaked, and with little urgency from anyone else he went and picked up the game with Alex and their mutual friend Mizuki. Had he any idea what he was getting into he’d probably have stayed in bed that day. SAO Player Build: Martial Arts and Light Armor.[/HIDER] [HIDER=Leiko "Luna" Carter] Display name: Luna Real name: Leiko Carter Age: 17 Appearance: [URL=http://s284.photobucket.com/user/GoliathxElisa/media/Anime/0223184319.jpg.html][IMG]http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll25/GoliathxElisa/Anime/0223184319.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Background: Leiko Carter was born to two business crazy parents who were constantly trying to reach new heights and grab every opportunity before them. This wouldn’t have been a problem, if not for them constantly leaving the child to her own devices and placing crazy expectations on her shoulders. “If it’s not the best…it’s not good enough.” The sentence was drilled into her head ever since she was a child and Leiko learned to detest failure. If she got anything less than a perfect grade in a course she would accuse the teacher of slighting her. If Leiko wasn't made captain of a team she joined she would work until she became such, working harder than her peers to reach her goal. All of her efforts were due to the insane drive that her parents came to expect of her. If she wasn't number one than it wasn't good enough; in some ways it seemed like she couldn't gain their love unless she excelled in all she did. Inevitably the overly ambitious girl would crash and burn, having worked much too hard to try and please her parents. An escape was needed from the toil of every day life, and yet Leiko knew nothing that might help her achieve such a thing. It wasn't until news broke of a new game releasing, a VRMMO called Sword Art Online that she would get her answer. Luna was hardly a gamer, but to be able to join a world where she could do whatever she wanted, when she wanted? It was a given, and upon release day she was one of the many in line, eagerly awaiting a copy. SAO Build: Bladed tonfa.[/HIDER] [HIDER=Doku] Display Name: Doku Real Name: ??? Age: 23 Appearance: [img]http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/16000000/Izaya-Orihara-1izaya-orihara-16048585-750-625.jpg[/img] Background: Leader of "The Vices". Infamous PKer among those who know him, otherwise known simply as one of the Clearers. SAO Player Build: One-handed sword and medium armor.[/HIDER] [b]GoldenFlame[/B] [hider=Kenshin "Kenshin" Takami] Display Name: Kenshin Real Name: Kenshin Takami Age: 17 Appearance: [img]http://prokopetz.net/images/posted/sterk.jpg[/img] Background: Kenshin was born in the coastal city of Niigata and is about as nerdy as you can get. His parents have always stressed the importance of following one’s own interests. The problem is, Kenshin doesn’t like social activities. Kenshin often overworks himself in school and is quite hard on himself when it comes to failure. He is pretty solitary in nature and enjoys reading or playing video games over all else. He mostly plays video games offline and by himself, though recently has been playing more online. He met Hiro, Alexander, and Mizuki separately in different video games and, despite never having met them in person, considers them to be among his few friends. When he heard of the Nerve Gear, Kenshin consulted with the trio and was persuaded to purchase it himself along with SAO. Kenshin planned on meeting up with Hiro, Alexander, and Mizuki in Aincrad and perhaps joining a guild with them if they’d have him. He thought it would help him get over his aversion to social interaction. When the game started however, Kenshin found himself trapped in an eternal hell surrounded with people and no way to get out. Shortly after entering the game, however, Kenshin found his neighbor and first love, Alphard. The two instantly partied up and have been working together since. SAO Player Build: Two-handed katana user with light to medium armor. Also carries several throwing picks for medium range. [/hider] [HIDER=Ayano "Alphard Shurai" Nobunaga] Display Name: Alphard Shurai Real Name: Ayano Nobunaga Age: 18 Appearance: [img]http://24.media.tumblr.com/cabb9c22fde04c0de57b0182b7a5575d/tumblr_mlp8f4SlMk1sn8553o1_500.jpg[/img] Background: Ayano grew up in Niigata, a coastal town, and has been Kenshin’s neighbor for many years. The two often played together as children and to this day, still spend a significant amount of time together. In other words, it’s been just about enough time for Ayano to fall deeply in love with Kenshin. Nervous about what she’s feeling, Ayano never came out and told Kenshin her feelings, but has dropped plenty of hints. Upon hearing that Kenshin would be purchasing the Nerve Gear and Sword Art Online, she formulated a plan: to meet up with Kenshin in Aincrad anonymously and gauge his feelings for her “good friend”. Unbeknownst to her, Kenshin has also had feelings for her this whole time. He was simply unsure on how to express his feelings due to his general awkwardness. Ayano, while being a generally nice person, has some deep seated emotional problems. Her parents had died when she was quite young, leaving her to be cared for by her aunt, who in turn left as soon as Ayano was old enough to live alone. This has led to some powerful anger issues and an abandonment complex. Indeed, one of the reasons that she loves Kenshin so much is that he is one of the only people that looks past her issues and accepts her as a person. In the end, Ayano did end up purchasing the Nerve Gear, but was severely ill on the opening day. Instead, Asano was confined to her bed and, therefore, missed all the news regarding the trapped players. Sometime during the night, Ayano’s fever broke, and she decided to spend the next day relaxing and playing video games in bed. Unfortunately, the game she decided to play was Sword Art Online. Upon entering, Ayano was bombarded with questions from fellow gamers about her reactions to being stuck in the game, which only confused her. Finally, she hunted down an information broker and forced them to explain what had happened. The news was devastating for her. The deep-seated anger issues Ayano had worked her whole life to contain simply exploded, leaving her in a perpetual rage. It became her life’s goal to find Kenshin and, with him, utterly destroy the crowbegotten man who had trapped her in this hell. SAO build: One-handed axe user with a tower shield. Heavy armor. [/hider] [h3]The Virtues[/h3] [center]A group of unofficial Clearers who pride themselves on keeping to the highest moral standards. Vehemently opposed to PKers.[/center] [B]Scout[/B] [HIDER=Lionel Marcus "Titus" Weston] Display Name: Titus Nickname: The Justiciar, Inquisitor Titus Real Name: Lionel Marcus Weston (goes by "Mark") Appearance: [IMG]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SIf9EC60ADM/S9hapmxRqpI/AAAAAAAAAO4/AfToGvstPn8/s1600/WarlockDesign%5B1%5D.png[/IMG] SAO Background: Titus was one of the first players to acclimate to the Death Game that was SAO. He organized a guild once the floors had begun to open up and powered himself up as much as he possibly could. He isn't nearly the strongest player, but he leads one of the most well-known guilds filled with some of the strongest, most kind-hearted players in Sword Art Online. They sought to make Aincrad a livable place - while the higher guilds wanted to clear the game, they wanted to keep as many of those left in it alive as they could. The guild has remained very small and has been very selective since their beginning, as to avoid the corruption that "The Army" has faced and continues to face. They took the name "The Virtues of Aincrad." The guild is led by Titus as the first-in-command and has been dubbed "Inquisitor Titus," though many on the streets recognize him as "The Justiciar." Below him are seven of the strongest, most trusted players in the guild, "The Virtues." While the guild is not large, the Virtues act as a council and plan a lot for them. The guild calls Floor 58 home, owning a large fortress in the tall mountains, with its own teleport gate. Titus is only ever seen in safe areas, but many wonder how he can have such a high level when he spends no time out training. However, that's not the case; Titus is covered from head-to-toe and is unrecognizable when he leaves the safe zones in an effort to hide the equipment he typically uses. What he wears in front of others is formidable, of course, but it is nothing compared to what he carries when he goes to battle, as it is mostly cosmetic. Life Outside of SAO: Titus was born in America to a relatively normal home. After graduating High School, he joined the Navy as a linguist in Japanese. He was always a gamer, but his own physical health was important to him. There wasn’t a question in his mind that he could balance the two when the VR Headset was first announced. At the release of Sword Art Online, he stood in line for his own copy... SAO Build: Light/Medium Armour with a Rope Dart. Almost entirely DEX-based.[/HIDER] [b]Vena Sera[/B] [Hider=Cress] Display Name: Cress Real Name: ??? Age: 18 Appearance: [img]http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire4/10082008/a/1/7/4/a174364653c3c0_full.jpg[/img] Background: Nothing much known about Cress yet. He's the leader of the Virtues and a Japanese native. SAO Player Build: Falchion and Light Armor[/hider] [Hider= Asari] Display Name: Asari Real Name: ??? Age: 17 Appearance: [img]http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb480/Yumekichi11/picture%207/8e047514.jpg[/img] Background: Little known about Asari yet. She is a member of the virtues and of Japanese origin. SAO Player Build: Spear and Medium Armor[/hider] [hider=Yato] Display Name: Yato Real Name: ??? Age: 22 Appearance: [img]http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire3/c2b9401d5c27986e7619863d9e66e3411415244537_full.jpg[/img] Background: Minimal information on Yato. Member of the Virtues and one of the more recent members to join. Managed a technology firm in the real world. Native of Japan. SAO Player Build: Katana and Heavy Armor [/hider]