OOC Thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=236759.0)<br/>Character Thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=237628.msg11702981#new)<br/><br/>"Wow, take a look at this view!"<br/><br/>Artemis swept the sunset landscape that stretched out below the hilltop he was standing on with his outstretched arm.  Tall and slender, with blue eyes, waist length blonde hair, and a<em>very</em>pretty face, Artemis' appearance could probably best be summed up as "bishounen."<br/><br/>Of course like most game avatars, Artemis did not look exactly like the person who played him in real life, though in many respects he looked more similar than most.  His height of one hundred eighty-five centimeters was almost<em>exactly</em>the same as that of his real life player, and his long blonde hair and blue eyes differed only slightly in shade from their real counterparts.  There was one key difference however: Artemis was a male, albeit a slightly androgynous looking one.  His player, however, was most definitely<em>not</em>male.<br/><br/>Sara McMillan was a Canadian university student on exchange at a Japanese university.  She was not, generally speaking, much of a video gamer.  However she had accepted an invitation from her friend and fellow university student Hoshino to try the revolutionary new virtual reality game, Sword Art Online.  She had decided to try playing a male avatar because she was curious to see what it felt like, and she thought it might be fun.<br/><br/>It also gave her a chance to try flirting with Hoshino.  Sara was attracted to girls at least as much as boys if not moreso, and Hoshino was quite a pretty girl.  She also got the impression Hoshino might be attracted to her as well, but it was difficult to tell.  Despite being a generally confident person, Sara was reluctant to discuss the matter with her friend, so she had decided to try flirting with Hoshino as a guy and see how her friend reacted.  If the other girl found it weird, she'd just claim that she was acting.<br/><br/>So far, things seemed to be going well.  After logging in, she'd found Hoshino's avatar Kagero at their meeting point being accosted by a group of (presumably) male players.  Sara, as Artemis, had simply swept in, taken Kagero's hand with a flourish, and asked "Shall we go, princess?" in perfect english.  The reactions of Kagero's admirers had been priceless.  Sara wondered what they would have thought if they'd known that the prince charming who spoiled their fun was actually a girl.  As it was, they had been muttering under their breath about "gaijin."<br/><br/>After that, Hoshino had taught Sara some basics about how to play, and they'd spent a few hours fighting low level enemies.  Once she'd had enough of that for a bit, Sara had suggested they go exploring, and that was what the two of them were currently doing -just enjoying each other's company and Sword Art Online's amazing virtual environment.  Sara knew they really ought to log off soon, but she wanted to spend just a little more time with Hoshino in this beautiful fantasy world.<br/><br/><em>Once the sun has set,</em>Sara promised herself as her avatar looked out over the red bathed landscape below.<em>Once we've watched the sunset together, then we'll log off.</em>