Name: Aki Volkova

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Appearance:
Stands at 5'6". Athletic, toned build. Fashion-wise, typically favors sportswear such as crop tops and shorts.

Personality:
Cheerful, energetic, and boisterous. She enjoys competition, always striving to at the very least, do her absolute best in whatever she puts her mind to. Aki has a tendency to either sweep others up in her pace or repulse them entirely, unable to deal with her energy. She isn't bothered by much, having a tendency to shrug off hostility and annoyance with a shrug.

Despite all this, Aki still feels aimless on a personal level, unsure of what direction she wants to take her life after she finishes schooling. While she loves competition and is a good Netbattler, she isn't sure whether that's what she wants to do for most of her adult life. The other obvious path for her skills, being an Official, is out of the question. Even if Pierrotman could tolerate such a life, Aki knows for a fact that being tied down by rules and regulations would stifle and bore her to tears.

Bio:
Although she's lived in Electopia most of her life, Aki is half-Sharoan by birth on her father's side. Her parents divorced when she was young, with her father returning to Sharo not long after. As a result, she's swapped back and forth between living with each of her parents, spending some years in Sharo but with more back in Electopia. While her mother used to live closer to downtown DenCity, she and Aki moved out to the suburbs in ACDC so that Aki could attend the academy.

Over the years, Aki developed a love for Netbattling. Without much skill in programming, she was only able to afford a stock HeelNavi by the name of Crank, but her battling abilities ensured that she was still one of the top-tiered battlers in her old neighborhood before starting at ACDC Academy. After entering the Academy, the increased quality of her competition caused Aki to start to look for ways to improve her Navi. While she and her mother weren't doing poorly financially, they didn't exactly have the cash to afford Navi upgrades or professional customization. As a result, Aki started taking part in underground Netbattle tournaments for quick Zenny, eventually going so far as to enter the Undernet.

Half a year ago, it was on one of these Undernet excursions that Aki and Crank found themselves challenging a solo NetNavi by the name of Pierrotman. Despite Pierrotman's extensive customizations and combat experience, his foes' teamwork and access to Battlechips resulted in a draw, knocking them both out of the tourney. It was immediately after this that disaster struck. Unbeknowst to either of the competitors, a number of UnderNavis had bet on the match one way or the other. Given that neither combatant prevailed, nobody won their bet. As a result, there were a number of angered gamblers waiting to rush both Navis as soon as they emerged from the competitor's area. In the fracas, Pierrotman and Crank were forced to team up, with Aki finding herself having to operate both Navis in order to try to make it out in one piece. The duo nearly made it out of the brawl, albeit in tatters and on their last legs, but one last HeelNavi tried to sucker punch them with a Dark Chip. Unbidden by either Aki or Pierrotman, Crank stepped in to save the latter, taking the entirety of the Darksword's hit on his own, resulting in his deletion.

When the dust settled after Pierrotman deleted the offender in retaliation, he and Aki found themselves in an awkward silence, with neither exactly knowing how to go from here. After a moment, Pierrotman surprised even himself as he slumped down and asked that she take him with her, willing to take her deleted Navi's place both out of gratitude for saving his life and because he was simply sick and tired of trying to survive in the Undernet. While still mourning Crank, Aki nonetheless agreed, and transferred Pierrotman to her PET, adjusting the permissions in his files to register him as her NetNavi.

Six months later, Aki and Pierrotman have settled into a status quo of sorts. It raised some questions when she showed up in class with an entirely new, sinister-looking Navi, but considering Aki's previous one was a HeelNavi, it wasn't that out of character. While neither one trusts the other fully, their partnership continues to develop.

Misc:

• Speaks fluent Sharoan, thanks to living with her father in Sharo for a few years.
• Despite her coding being crap, the rest of her grades in school are above average, with her best subjects being Netbattling and virus research.
• Is a member of the academy's track team.
• In Netbattling, favors a fast, combo-heavy approach. Very fond of multi-hit chips such as Vulcan.
• Voice claim: Molly Zhang
• Theme song

NetNavi: Pierrotman

Element/Type: Typeless

NetNavi Abilities:

• Diamond Shards: Hurls energy shards as a projectile. Stronger than buster shots, but harder to aim.
• Sweeping Swipe: Charge shot deploys a claw swipe with similar effects to a WideSword.
• Deflect: Takes up a temporary defensive stance in anticipation of an attack. If Pierrotman takes a blow during this brief window, he automatically parries the attack with his claws and retaliates by hurling a Diamond Shard, similiarly to a Reflector chip. Missing the timing window on a parry leaves him vulnerable to further assault.

NetNavi Personality:
Cynical and rude, but likes to socialize nonetheless. Enjoys riling people up and getting a reaction out of them. Pierrotman comes across as selfish and uncaring to most Navis and NetOps, but he has a soft spot for his own Operator, who is arguably the only one he treats nicely. Despite this, he still refuses to perform some of the more mundane functions of a Navi, such as alarms and email alerts.

Although he's a complete jackass, Pierrotman desires nothing more than to live a nice, quiet life on the surface Net. He still enjoys Netbattling, however, and takes to internet violence with gleeful abandon. He abhors leaving a digital trace, and tries to avoid being recorded or becoming a public presence. Were it not for his enjoyment of battle, he and Aki would have far more problems regarding her desire for competition.

NetNavi Misc:

• Extremely evasive about his past, not wanting to draw undue attention. Tries to cover up the fact that he's an UnderNavi, but his success in that regard is debateable.
• Pierrotman hasn't allowed Aki to touch his customizations yet, but his coding is geared towards a balanced, take-all-comers setup, albeit with an emphasis on a heavy timing-based skill ceiling.
• Voice claim: Doug Erholtz
• Theme song

Name: Flynt Mantle

Gender: Boy

Age: 17

Personality: A real Archimedes-type, Flynt could spend a whole week in front of his computer if he could get away with it. Flynt is borderline obsessed with coding and sees developing new programs, battlechips, and Navi adjustments as the only worthwhile use of his time. When he gets the inspiration for a new idea, Flynt instantly forgets everything around him and will begin to obsessively make notes on his - ever present - notepad or PET. While Flynt is a skilled Netbattler in his own right, he usually takes part in said battles as a means of test driving his latest in Navi enhancements or whatever battle strategy he's recently cooked up.

Thanks to his keen intellect, Flynt is a natural success when it comes to his classes. However, he sometimes gets ahead of himself and is prone to slacking off in classes where he knows he's already ahead. This has caused several of his classmates to assume he's lazy while also grating on his teachers' nerves. Some call him lazy - or a bum - but Flynt has little time to worry or even care about what people are saying behind his back. He has better things to do and he rests assured in knowing that his skills as both a hacker and a Netbattler are undeniable and it's more than earned him a place at ACDC Academy.

Bio: Having lived in Den City his whole life, Flynt's life could be considered 'uneventful'. Both his parents worked during the day which often left him home alone when he got home from school. With little to do, Flynt would often spend his time on his personal terminal messing around on the net. During this time, Flynt began to develop his reputation as a programmer. His father was an employee at SciLab and noticed his son's budding interest in computers and the Net as a whole. Wanting to inspire his son, Flynt's father brought home a pair of NormalNavis that had been set to be decommissioned by SciLab. Dubbing them Spark and Forge, Flynt installed them into his computer and they became his partners in crime for developing programs and modding his friends' computers and NetNavis.

Eventually, the quality of Flynt's work began to plateau and he realized he was going to need higher grade computer parts if he wanted to keep improving at his craft. Since the parts cost him more than what he could afford on his meager allowance, Flynt began looking into Natbattling tournaments as an option to earn the Zenny he needed. The problem now was that Spark and Forge were years out of date by NormalNavi standards and neither would last a second in a real fight. With few other options, Flynt decided it was time to make his own personal NetNavi.

After weeks of scouring arcades, spectating tournaments, and observing matches between his friends, Flynt began his most ambitious project to date. He barely ate or slept for three days straight as he wanted this to be his 'perfect' creation. Even Spark and Forge practically overclocked themselves as this project raced to it's conclusion. Finally... the NetNavi was completed. Blazeman.EXE was born!

It wasn't long before Blazeman settled into the dynamic of being Flynt's partner. Spark and Forge were especially happy to have an extra set of hands to help with the programming work, and Flynt even became a minor celebrity in his class when he turned up one day with a Navi that he'd built and programmed (mostly) all on his own (his dad had helped when creating the Core Data). Blazeman quickly proved himself to be a skilled battler in his own right. He was far from perfect, but that only added onto the reasons why Flynt wanted to become a better programmer. Blazeman was his, and he could always keep improving upon his work. He'd see to it that his partner was the best Navi around!

Misc:
-Flynt loves spicy food. Even when he's down in the dumps, a bowl of spicy ramen always puts him in a good mood.
-Flynt's record for most days without sleeping is four. He slept in class for the next two.
-Despite technically having three NetNavis, Spark and Forge are rarely seen by anyone else. Most people didn't even know Flynt HAD NetNavis before Blazeman.
Voice Claim: Richard Ian Cox
Theme Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aSMoZJMKtI

NetNavi: Blazeman

Element/Type: Fire

NetNavi Abilities:
-BlazeBlaster: Blazeman converts his right arm into a cannon and fires a volley of digital flames at his opponent.
-Solar Roar: A close-range attack where Blazeman grabs his opponent and unleashes the hottest of flames from his mouth.
-Flame Jets: Despite his bulky exterior, Blazeman quickly moves across the battlefield thanks to jets installed on his back and in his feet.

NetNavi Personality:
Unusually inquisitive and intelligent, Blazeman is unique among 'bulky' NetNavis as they tend to have more meatheaded personalities. In addition to being a battler, Flynt wanted to ensure his partner could also take part in the programming work he'd be doing in the off-time. As a result, Blazeman's personality is quite like his NetOp in that he is overly enthusiastic about gathering information and finding new and unique ways to apply the things he's learned.

Outside of his quirks, Blazeman is rather sociable and friendly to any new Navis he meets. When it comes time to battle, he can sometimes get distracted if the enemy employs a strategy he's not prepared for. Blazeman will turn serious however when he feels as though is NetOp or his friends are in danger. He's always more than ready to showcase his latest upgrades and destroy any threats to the safety and survival of the Net.

NetNavi Misc:
-When it comes time to work, Blazeman can produce a pair of smaller hands from within his bigger ones when he needs to switch from manual work to detailing.
-Blazeman has TERRIBLE taste in music.
-Despite being spec-ed for ranged combat and defense, Blazeman has a slight interest in learning how to use sword battlechips. Flynt doesn't own many however.
-Blazeman's favorite chips to use in battle are the extremely common Mini-Boomers. He enjoys chucking them and making explosions.
Voice Claim: David Vincent
Theme Music: youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Name: Kei Sougen

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Appearance: (This is on the way)

Personality: Kei is a young, somewhat eccentric boy, with at times an off-putting competitive spirit. He likes to challenge students to Netbattles, sometimes out of nowhere, either to test a new chip or adjustment to Roninman, or because he's interested in the other person's NetNavi. It has certainly gotten him into some trouble.

He isn't boisterous or loud, and seems reserved most of the time, so during classes he's perfectly fine. Not a natural-born troublemaker by any means, but he is willing to break some rules to pursue things he wants enough, or believes is the better choice. On the overall, he's quite friendly to others too, and quite cooperative, but like the lone wanderers of his favorite films, he has not become part of any friend group.

Bio: Kei was born in Electopia, and lived in Netopia for a few years of his early life, up until moving back to Electopia a couple years before starting highschool. In those years leading up to highschool though, he lived with his grandparents in End City while his parents concluded their business in Netopia to fully move back, and eventually to ACDC Town. It was while he was living with his grandparents though that shaped who he is today, that is of course besides the samurai flicks he and his grandfather loved to watch during these short couple years.

The NetNavi he would call his companion would be built during this time, Roninman, which he built with the help of his grandmother, who was once a leading expert in network technology. At first, it was about the customized appearance, the use of a bamboo hat and cloak being a consistent feature of this Navi, but over time as he began to explore what else he can put into a NetNavi, he started to explore virus busting and netbattling.

This continued on through to highschool and present day where he attends ACDC Academy. Now in his more advanced years of study at the academy, he is focusing mainly on netbattling, as his talent for this had become clear over the course of a few years. He is set to and is planning on becoming an official Netbattler, taking interest in the occupation. The idea of becoming a wandering agent to fight netcrime was not hard for him to find the appeal in.

Misc:

• Kei really likes samurai flicks. Roninman was designed based off of the characters of such.
• He still visits his grandparents regularly in End City.
• His skill with sword-based chips and programs are unmatched, but other aspects are somewhat lacking. In fact the chip conversion system he made was so he didn't have to address that.
• Kei's surname Sougen meaning grassy field, or a grassy plain.
• He's only picked up Wood element to outfit on Roninman at the behest of his grandfather.
• On a PC in End City at his grandparents is a large selection of customization pieces for NetNavis he's made over the years. He was inspired by Mr. Famous who actually visits End City frequently and usually comes in with different NetNavis. As a result, he's been working on many different NetNavis, while keeping Roninman as his main.

NetNavi: Roninman.EXE

Element/Type: Sword/Wood

NetNavi Appearance: Roninman.EXE

NetNavi Combat Abilities:

• Ronin Sword: Up to 3 hit combo melee attack that is sword, widesword, longsword, in any order.
• Tsujigiri: A charged move, Roninman will execute a Stepsword with a widesword attack.
• Grass Plain Barrier: While standing in a grass panel, any attack received will be negated and will remove the grass panel instead. Fire will ignore this entirely.
• Iaigiri: Able to convert any Wood Chip into an Iaigiri attack, a wood element sword attack with longer range than even Longsword.

NetNavi Personality: A rather silent, standoffish character who speaks very little, but when he does it's a lot in idioms and phrases, sometimes seemingly made up to look cool. Despite seeming unapproachable, he has a rogue-ish chivalrous spirit, willing to help others and those in need, but is not so forthright about it. Like most NetNavis, he is quite loyal to his operator.

NetNavi Misc:

• He has actually had many different iterations over the years, which includes with different straw hats, no hat, and was even called Bushiman.EXE for a brief period, being based more on armored samurai.
• Kei has lately been interested in the Hitokiri, from a time before network technology there were very skilled and deadly ronin who opposed the government. Some of Roninman's current design is based on that.
• Roninman himself feels very at home with most sword chips, including Slasher, AntiSword, CustSword, VarSword, and so on.
• Despite seeming hard to goad, which is well, true for most things, he like his NetOp enjoy netbattling, and will rarely turn down a challenge if ever.