[center] The day had come, one that would end in sheer catastrophe, or begin a new chapter of amazement in her life. It wasn’t sentimental like a holiday, nor personal like a birthday, it was life changing- a step towards the future for herself and the MMO community she was a part of. Yes ladies and gentleman, today is release day, for none other than Threshold of Kakophonia. Emi stood behind a sweaty six-foot man as she waited to move forward within the infinite line that trailed from the door of Bestbuy[teehee] around the sidewalks of the shopping mall, well continuing into the streets. The unfortunate sat upon street curbs, while she stood terrified nearing the doors of paradise. She was lucky enough to steal a spot in the middle unnoticed, or as she believed to be ‘unnoticed’ the truth being the fact that the closest people in front, and behind her were too ‘nice’ to tell the small girl to return to the back of the line. Still though, she wasn’t very comfortable with her position. The red-shirt before her had a dark moist stain on the back of his shirt, he had clearly been there for hours, that was the conclusion Emi came to at the least ‘he reeked, though the old spice bodyspray in his back pocket showed evidence that he was aware and trying to hide it’. Moving on, she was now third in the remaining line- the tension was building up, like being at the highest point of a rollercoaster, waiting in suspense for the drop. The next person went inside, Emi was now second and the sense of vertigo was kicking in. Why was buying a video game so nerve wracking? Red-shirt entered the sliding doors, two employees in their blue collared shirt uniform[teehee] stood parallel from each other at the entrance, further investigation brought to light the fact that a cop car was parked near the entrance. It wasn’t unusual though, people often try to steal games or start fights on release days due to things like limited availability or pricing. Overthinking the situation, red-shirt exited and it was now her turn. Pink bangs continued to fall over her eyes, it wasn’t annoying, she was just too nervous to shake them from her face and to be honest, the blocking of eye contact they offered calmed her down quite a bit. Though she continued to the uniform system they had set up, a man gave her the copy of the game, the system, and the promotional poster that came with it- then gave her information to confirm the validation of her preorder- and the finalization was a tall, blonde, handsome employee who grabbed the bag for her, as she began to sway as the stress was about to make her faint. As the two exited the BestBuy she continued to her mother’s car which had been parked quite far from the entrance itself as she didn’t want to deal with pedestrian traffic. The employee opened the car door, which upon grabbing the bags from him, she fell forward into the backseat, the man shutting the door behind her and waving at the mother- apparently they had been acquainted. The drive home was quick, seeing as she slept through most of it. But the stress has passed on, and the excitement came next- she grabbed the bags speedily running to the front door.. waiting.. waiting for mother to unlock.. Which upon a exhaustingly long two minutes, she finally did, rushing upstairs to her room Emi finally unveiled the holy-grail. The box didn’t stand a chance, the girl who could not find something to open the fragile tape seals with resorted to prying through its essential packaging. Emi’s mother who came to spy on the ecstatic girl saw her within this process, reminding her of an otter attempting to open a clam against a rock. Though eventually, her attempts were fruitful opening the Maelstrom’s box. It was cool to just look at. It was set aside, as the console needed to synchronize with the game before it could be used, the excitement wasn’t bearable- a distraction was needed. Emi stood clumsily, her soft socks not gripping the floor well enough and nearly slipping as she started to sprint towards her door and down the stairs. “[i]No running in the house![/i]” Her mother announced as Emi sped towards the kitchen, sliding across the tile towards a drawer. She wasn’t a very social girl, but her passion for gaming was there since an early age, time was of the essence, none to be wasted on needless things. She grabbed a box of tacks, quietly walking to the stairs this time, watching her mother with fox-like eyes. But it was futile, once she reached the stairs once again, the race began until she reached her room. Falling towards her bed, she grabbed the ToK poster, unwrapping it’s cylindrical shape into the large rectangle that it was. She shuffled towards her wall, closest to her TV and PC, she stood upon her tippy-toes and spread the poster along the wall, unsuccessfully holding it with one hand as she reached for the tacks with the other. She put one in, that was good enough for now as it rewrapped itself to the corner that was stuck into the wall. The bell tone was heard from the Maelstrom, the sync was done with the server. Quickly, she put the headset on- setting it comfortable against her face and adjusting it accordingly. Emi felt light-headed again, but it wasn’t from fear, it was excitement and anxiousness reaching the depths of her and taking control, her green eyes turned glossy just before her eyes finally shut. The ambiance sank in, it was starting… <> <> Emi felt ethereal for a moment, like she had no substance- it was strange, but at the same time peaceful, it was a cool experience. “Username: A, M, A, I. Race, which one should I pick?” She browsed the three races, reading the lore and trait descriptions of each one thoroughly. Emi was the type of girl who identified herself with the story of the game, it was one of her favorite aspects. The Veni Yan were too primitive for her, though they were peaceful which fit her personality. Humans?... “Boring…” She continued until she reached the Nobelle, a small race of intellectuals who had a darker history and a unique playing style that lacked a resource and resided solely on cooldowns. It stuck out to her, or she just thought they were adorable, but who cares? “Race: Nobelle.” She stated, as the game identified Emi’s character and began to load her into the game. The ethereal feelings began to fade, she began to feel tangible once again, the white surroundings were beginning to have color and shape, sound and scent. It was arrival, she was now in Kakophonia. She sat in a small patch of grass near a wooden fence and across from a cobblestone road. It took a few moments for the girl to actual comprehend what was going on, she was dumbfounded and awestruck, and by a large understatement impressed by this so-realistic feeling world. Though, [b]Amai[/b] finally decided to stand up and gather herself, or rather, her new self and get things moving along. In the distance she saw a nearby village already beginning to be populated with lively people, the lake next to it was quite pretty. But the girl’s nature had already began to sink in, coming to her senses she slowly began to approach the village in the ragged armor she had been spawned in. On the way she tried to familiarize herself with UI, it was better getting to know this stuff in the peace and quiet, away from the masses of loud excited gamers. The hologram of a menu screen appeared first as she waved her hand to the right while pointing it outwards; there was an empty inbox bearing a mailbox icon with a small ‘0’ count above it, a small silhouette of a person, a gear, and an arrow pointing to the left. Discovering that selecting the arrow caused the menu to collapse into only an inbox she finally made it into town. And the absolute terror Amai felt when reaching this place could not be described by words, it was loud, bustling with excitement, and chaotic. Staying away from the massive crowds of people, she found a small alleyway where she could stand until the area calmed down enough for her to slip through, so there she waited, shaking and nervous.[/center]