"Hit Me With Your Best Shot..."
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Height: 5'11''
Weight: 208lbs
Appearance: The first thing people notice about Geoff is his rather muscular look. Weighing in at two-hundred pounds, his mass comes most of his musculature lies in his upper body; mainly pectorals, biceps and triceps with very little abs to speak off. Back home in Ireland, people would often compare him to well-known
Irish Actor Collin Farrell as Geoff has strikingly similar facial structure. His hair is a fairly dark, almost deep brown in colour and quite fair and soft to the touch. Usually medium in length, he is quite often seen with it up in public; quite often being mistaken for having "Bed Hair". His mildly green eyes are hidden beneath the rather thick, dark eyebrows of his and has a tendency to squint. Usually, he would be wearing thin, wire rimmed glasses, but has since given up the ghost to wear contacts instead. His stubbled jawline is usually most often shaved save for the presence of a short moustache-goatee that surrounds his mouth and chin. His skin is a signature Irish pale colour while his speech is thickly enhanced with his natural, Irish accent.
As far as accessories go, a single Celtic Cross cut from calcite hangs from his neck, sitting between his pectorals.
When it comes to clothing, Geoff's style would be considered quite dapper. His usual appearance consists of a white or other light-ish coloured dress-shirt beneath differing shades of grey waistcoats. Most commonly silver, but also available in a variety of colours, neck-ties hang down his shirt; very rarely half untied unless he is around his flat/family home. In cold weather, a black, Giorgio Armani Cashmere jacket hangs down to just below his knees in length, with three large buttons riding up the centre of his body and a fourth near his throat that most often stays unbuttoned. He ads a merino-wool scarf and close fitting beanie in winter-like weather. Jeans in varying darker shades of blue are the choice of wear in social situations, while Black pinstriped dress pants are worn during more formal occasions. As for foot wear, formal occasions dictate the need for black dress shoes which he keeps polished, while hiking-like boots and casual shoes are present in social situations. Due to the lack of warmer weather in Ireland, Geoff almost always wears this style of dress around for most of the year.
Personality: Geoff is as much a Tank in real life as he is within the Sword Art Online game. Not just in the sense of being big and bulky, but also due to his ability to take hits others could not. Those around him always felt safe as Geoff would act as a buffer against anyone who tried to cause trouble for his friends. This wasn't just towards his friends; family and workmates received the same protective treatment: many of his fellow female colleagues utilising him as a "boyfriend" when they went out to clubs. All in all, this protectiveness did not phase Geoff, rather he enjoyed the attention it gave him and some sense of chivalry included. As a "Beater", he finally enjoys the solidarity that SAO has offered, and often hides the fact that he is a "Beater" in order to help out those around him. It's not that he is ashamed of being a Beater, rather people seem to take offence to any help given to them by a Beater. Regardless, he enjoys taking all the heavy hits in a group, allowing the others to attack the mobs/bosses as a piece of the life he had to leave behind.
That being said, Geoff does enjoy his alone time. For the main part, Geoff finds it difficult being around other players as their tendency to make him lower his game to their level. By himself, he can happily forge on forward, grinding and exploring to his heart's content without being pulled back by others. By himself, he can keep a tab on his own health and status, however in a group, he is constantly looking over his shoulder to check that none of his team-mates are being attacked or in trouble. Given his forging ability, he intends to make his own armour to the best quality he can do while not being held back waiting for someone else to make it for him. His two-handed straight sword emphasises his solidarity in himself and his focus on his own strength.
Geoff is by no means a leader. While he does possess the ability to lead, he finds it easier within himself to focus on the task at hand as a tank than worrying about any other players. He's willing to take big hits for others, but not willing to order others around. If ever a player were to ask him for help, he would not think twice to help them in their ventures, but often tries to avoid such uses of his abilities if he can help it. As long as people don't abuse his friendship and abilities, he's happy enough to lend a hand to those struggling, however if someone were to attack him for his Beater status, he would not hesitate to put them in their place if they managed to anger him enough. After all, he is a Tank, he can easily take a couple of hits.
History: Being born and raised in Ireland was tough enough, but in Northern Ireland, it was almost like a living hell. Despite anti-sentiment from both sides long since washed from the streets, it still ran on in the hearts and minds of its citizens. For the first handful of years of his life, Geoff was blissfully unaware of the violence going on around him. Once school age hit though, it was survival of the fittest. It didn't take him long to adhere to the harsh rules of the world around him. People had no qualms about making you feel worse, as long as it made them feel better and so Geoff adapted a tough outer skin and tried to steer away from anything that would possibly injure him. With parents only home for dinner, he was left to his own devices for much of his time after school, and if that didn't involve bumping heads with a few of the older boys on the block, it meant losing himself in MMOs and RPGs that would take him out of the life he was living and into one he truly felt like living in. Games were his escape from reality, providing a safer base than some of the other activities his friends fell into.
When high school came around, Geoff again found himself under the targets of the older boys, coming home most days with bruises and black eyes. However, this did not make him falter and in turn, when he was not escaping reality, he was out training, working out to become stronger and be able to stand up for himself. When enough was enough, he began to stand up for his friends around him, and as time grew on, he only became bigger and taller. Putting on muscles was his new game, and protecting his friends like he protected the strangers in dungeons was his gift to the world. In all most all of the games he played, he often found himself as the role of a Tank, taking the hits others could not and as such, enjoyed this role as well; albeit fighting back in his friends place.
When University time came around, Geoff was pleased to be able to leave the now less violent North Ireland to study in Birmingham, England. University proposed different challenges for Geoff as it became a completely different battlefield. Here he no longer had to look over his shoulder, protect a friend, or stand up for himself. Here he could be himself and people would let him do so. Due to his rather empty schedule, Geoff took the opportunity to get into many more MMO and RPG video games than he had previously; substituting for the lack of Tanking he now had to do in real life. Without subtracting from his studies, he would join vast MMO worlds, often being picked up by a guild early on and would work at what he did best. However this heyday of his only lasted for four years as he graduated then eventually went on to work as a bouncer.
Everything changed when an old high school friend of his, contacted Geoff with a beta entry into a strange new virtual MMO: Sword Art Online. Without a second thought, he agreed and signed up, being one of the first in the United kingdoms to test the immersive new game. Here it was as if both worlds of his collided and he immediately found his place there. He would often find himself switching and jumping between guilds as they did not seem to progress fast enough for him and could only be described as lagging him behind. He wasn't the best, far from it, but he was an exceptional Tank and he put all his previous skills into the game. When the month long test finished, Geoff return to his old job, but felt bored by his day to day living. None of the games in his arsenal could compare to the likes of Sword Art Online as everything seemed dull and boring.
When Sword Art Online reached the retail market, Geoff was thankful to have received a copy due to his beta participation. Within a few minutes of the servers in the UK going live, he was one of the first to emerge into the expansive world. Still retaining much knowledge from his beta-testing days, he ploughed full throttle into the game, not holding back and using any information he had to his advantage in order to quickly level and become strong. The teleport interrupted his fight with a mob as he was forced back to the Town of Beginnings with the rest of the players. Following the announcement, he did his best to escape the maniacal streets of the Town before PKers and other players took advantage of the upheaval.
Now a month into the game, Geoff has ventured around much of the first level, confused as to the change in location of the boss tower from the previous beta test. Regardless, he has done what he can to help those in need and those that have asked for his assistance, but ultimately enjoys travelling the countryside by himself. For now, he tries to keep as self-preservative as possible, while also keeping an ear out for any news of the first dungeon.
Status: Beater
Level: 15
Role: Tank
Skills:
- Forging
- Delay
- Detection
- Two Handed Straight Sword
Sword Arts:
- Titanic Blast: (Silver Glow) Cone-shape Area of Effect attack which deals more damage to targets closer to the user and less damage the further out it spreads. Hit spreads out at forty-five degrees from initial target.
- Bulk Blast: (Brown Glow) User takes damage from foe, then attacks with 1.5x the amount of damage taken by the user after 3 hits from foe.
Code: Link Start
