(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "Hi there, newbie! I'm Gretel! I am a guide, which means my ENTIRE job is to help out new players like yourself."

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "You are free to ask me ANY question you have, and I'll help ensure you have fun and learn as much as you can!"

(Tells|Haru): Haru tells you, "Hi!"

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "To talk to someone via tells (or "telepathically" as we call it) just TELL GRETEL HI. You can also abbreviate that - check out CONFIG NAMETELL."

(Tells|Haru): Haru tells you, "Thank you :)"

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "Of course - now I do have to say just *one* teensy little thing."

(Tells|Haru): Haru tells you, "Hmm?"

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "We value roleplay here, so things like smiley faces via TELLS are seen as immersion-breaking."

(Tells|Haru): Haru tells you, "Oh I see! I'm sorry about that, I had assumed tells were out of character."

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "They can be. Most people use // or (( before their chats to indicate they are OOC."

(Tells|Haru): Haru tells you, "Alright, I understand! Thank you."

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "HOWEVER! Your smilies can make for some great basic roleplay! Check out HELP SAY."

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "If you would like, you can use PORTALS and I can walk you through some of our cool roleplay options."

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "Unless you are busy making friends! In which case, I encourage you to do that!"

(Tells|Haru): Haru tells you, "Sure thing! Can I buy some clothes first?"

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "Oh, yes, please do. I prefer my students clothed!"

(Tells|Haru): Haru tells you, "Hehe Thank you, Gretel."

Haru raises her hand in greeting and says "Hi!"

(Tells|Haru): Haru tells you, "I'm ready, whenever you are!"

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "Oops, come back!"

You raise your hand in greeting to Haru and say "Hi!"

Page Haru says, "Hello!"

You say, "First things first - try out EX GRETEL - this lets you look at me and what I look like. You can DESCRIBE SELF to make you look unique!"

You have emoted: Gretel smiles brightly.

Page Haru smiles and says, "You're very pretty."

With a blush, you say, "Well, I'm sure you are as well! Let's see what you look like!"

Page Haru says, "//I don't think I can accurately write a description until I've played for a while."

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "((absolutely fair! You can bounce around with no description for a while. People will understand as you as new."

(Tells|Haru): Haru tells you, "((I hope it's not an issue, I'm a writing major so I try to take things like that seriously. Try to get a mental image of my character and whatnot!))"

(Tells|Haru): You tell Haru, "((Nope, not a problem at all. Do be aware that some guilds may ask for you to have one, when you attempt to advance."

(Tells|Haru): Haru tells you, "((Understood!))"

With a wink, you say to Haru, "How about we adjust your outfit, to make it reflect your own personal style?"

Page Haru says, "Alright!"

You say, "HELP ATTIRE explains this process in detail, but for now, how about you try out ATTIRE SKIRT FLUFFED OUT ABOUT HER."

You say, "Now try EX HARU or EX ME to take a look at yourself."

Page Haru says, "Ah, that is much better!"

The corners of your mouth turn up as you grin mischievously.

You say, "You can adjust how your clothing looks when you wear it, for everyone to see - just ATTIRE <item> <description>."

You wink knowingly at Haru.

Haru's mouth turns up as her face breaks into a smile.

"Nice!" you shout excitedly.

You say, "I like what you did with the pack."

Page Haru smiles and says, "Do you? I think it suits me."

With a nod, you say, "It does."

You say, "Now, let's go over some basic characterization commands."

You say, "Don't worry overly much about RP - here at the portals, it's OK to talk "OOC" (or OUT OF CHARACTER)"

Page Haru says, "That's really good to know!"

You say, "First, there is say."

You say, "As you've figured out, you can toss on smilies to your says."

You smile and say, "Like this."

You smile with a wink and say, "To affect how you sound!"

You say, "HELP SAY details more about that."

Page Haru laughingly says, "That's great."

You say, "But that's not all you can do!"

You say, "Try out this new command."

You say, "Try typing in say (with a wink) tada!"

With a wink, Page Haru says, "Tada!"

You clap your hands together merrily.

You say, "Anything you type between SAY and your actual words, so long as you include it in ( ) comes as a description."

You say, "Try out something else."

With a great huff, Page Haru says, "Well then! I think I've got it."

You say, "Now, let's get fancy."

You say, "Try SAY TO GRETEL Hey!"

Page Haru says to you, "Hey!"

You say, "Or SAYTO GRETEL Hey!"

You say, "SAY TO and SAYTO direct your say to the person you specify - very good for a group conversation."

Page Haru says to you, "This is good to know."

You say, "But what if you want to add a bit more flair?"

Page Haru says, "Flair is always good!"

You say, "Try out say (winking at $gretel) I have SO much flair."

Winking at you, Page Haru says, "I have SO much flair."

You say, "The $ is what we call a token. It modifies a SAY or EMOTE. In this case, *I* see you saying "Winking at you, Page Haru says, "I have SO much flair." while everyone else sees "Winking at Gretel, Page Haru says, "I have SO much flair.""

With a broad smile, Page Haru says, "This is fantastic."

You say, "The token lets you control who your action is directed at."

Page Haru says, "If the token isn't placed in proper syntax does it cancel itself out?"

You say, "You'll get an error message."

You say, "Try out say ($blarg) stuff."

Page Haru says, "Ah! Good."

<bit of syntax wresting>

You say, "You'll want to pull that comma right in to the name - the game is smart enough that you don't need a space."

Page Haru says, "Ah, you don't need a space before punctuating after a token is used to identify someone."

You say, "You seem to get the concept though!"

You say, "EM is perhaps the most powerful command in aetolia."

With an understanding nod Haru smiles at you.

You say, "As you have probably figured out, this is how you write custom emotes - this is the bread and butter of engrossive roleplay."

You say, "Let's try something a bit more complex."

You say, "Type out EM (With a frown,) glances at $gretel."

With a frown, Haru glares at you.

The corners of your mouth turn up as you grin mischievously.

You say, "See how that worked?"

You say, "Everything in the () went before your name."

Page Haru exclaims, "Understood!"

You say, "Let's get fancy. try out EM ("Hmm,") murmurs."

"Hmm," Haru murmers.

You say, "As you can see, you can use dialogue in your emotes."

You say, "Now, one last lesson - a super advanced one."

You say, "Let's try this."

Barely containing her excitement behind a smile, Haru nods at you. "This is great fun!."

You say, "Type out EM (With a quick glance at lantern,) says to $gretel, "...I think I'm starting to understand...""

You give a pained sigh.

You say, "No, I know why."

With a quick glance at lantern, Haru says to you, "...I think I'm starting to understand..."

You say, "Use the AT SIGN."

You say, "I'm having some IN BUILT issues with that."

With a quick glance a large lantern, Haru says to Gretel, "...I think I'm starting to understand..."

With a nod, you say, "See what you did there?"

Staring at a monolith sigil, Haru says, "I believe so, yes."

You say, "The AT sign (which I am apparently forbidden to reference by codes of my lesser gods, known as the coding cult) lets you reference specific items."

The corners of your mouth turn up as you grin mischievously.

You say, "You are one smart cookie."

Page Haru says, "It's an object token, as the dollar sign is a player target token. Right?"

You say, "Exactly."

You say, "Spot ON!"

You swing your arm up and high-five Haru enthusiastically.

You say, "Since you get THAT concept."

Smiling wide, obviously pleased with herself, Haru says, "I'm glad you think so Gretel!"

You say, "I will not stress you out BUT I will tell you that you can get pretty creative with this."

You say, "Try out EM really likes $gretel and $gretel_hers lectures."

You say, "....though that'd prob be a her in that syntax."

Haru really likes you and your lectures!

You say, "Now *I* see you saying how GREAT I AM!"

You say, "And everyone else sees that you like me and my lectures!"

Page Haru says, "So it would read as "Haru really likes you and your lectures"."

Page Haru says, "On your end that is."

You say, "Exactly."

You say, "Pretty fancy, imo."

You say, "You are only touching the tip of the iceberg, as far as RP goes."

Nodding in agreement, Haru says to you "It is very intricate, I can see myself really getting into this".

You say, "I don't want to overwhelm you too much, but feel free to ask any questions?"

You say, "Http://forums.aetolia.com/discussion/851/newbie-notes-roleplaying - this link is SUPER HELPFUL for roleplay chatter."

You wink knowingly at Haru.

Staring off into space, pondering the situation, Haru firmly says "I think I've got a handle on the basics of it. These help files are really useful! And you've been such a great help."

You have emoted: Gretel flashes you a thumbs-up, clearly pleased with your assessment. "Absolutely amazing," she declares.

Haru's mouth turns up as her face breaks into a smile.

With a wink, you say to Haru, "Best and sharpest learning newbie I've ever had."

You say, "Check out that link, though - game forums, roleplay concepts, so on. More than I can explain!"

Page Haru says, "Thank you Gretel, I really appreciate that. It's been a long time since I've played a text-based game. I'm really enjoying this."

You say, "I'm just here to be your first friend - I won't be your last."

With a grin, you say, "Have fun. I truly hope you do."

Page Haru says, "If the people of Aetolia are anywhere near as great as you, I'm sure I'll be quite happy here."

You wink knowingly at Haru.

You say, "You'll never know until you venture beyond your own shire."

You say, "Go on. Make friends. Approach anyone and everyone."

Haru's mouth turns up as her face breaks into a smile.

Page Haru says, "Understood."

Eyebrows raising, you say, "And maybe talk to bad guys, if you're brave."

You say, "Do whatever sounds fun."

The corners of your mouth turn up as you grin mischievously.

Laughing, you say, "Now shoo."

You say, "Go explore and hunt and learn."

Page Haru says, "I will, thank you for everything Gretel!"

"Sure!" you say agreeably.

With a laugh, Haru runs up and hugs Gretel tightly.

You have emoted: Gretel happily returns the hug, gently embracing Haru and giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

Page Haru smiles and says, "Goodbye for now."

Brightly, you say, "You're READY! Go out now and dazzle them!"

Page Haru says, "To return it's just Path find Enorian, right?"

You nod your head at Haru.