IC contact post!

[experiencepoints]

[IC contact post for Drift Fleet!]

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[experiencepoints]

[There's a short pause as she realizes how he's reacting to what she said.]

... I'm doing the depressing thing again, aren't I. Sorry, I'll shut up.

[huaaaaagh]

No, don't. It's my own fault for bringing it up.

[He really should know better. UHHHH HARMLESS SUBJECT, HARMLESS SUBJECT-]

So you're looking for shoes, right? To look taller?

[experiencepoints]

It's not. I'm... trying to work on that, so...

[but now he's saying other things so let's focus on that. SAFE CONVERSATIONS YES.]

Oh- Uh- Yeah. I'm tired of being short, and until I can learn Hover magic, this is the next best thing.

[let's talk magic. magic is a safe conversation right.]

[huaaaaagh]

[They can both work on not being depressing piles of garbage, OK OK.

And magic is a super safe topic, even if he knows almost jack about it these days.]

How about learning a spell that lets you grow wings? Those are always fun.

[experiencepoints]

Nah, I had wings once. They are not nearly what they're cracked up to be.

[... it's amazing how she can drop this information so completely casually.]

[huaaaaagh]

[He should really not be surprised anymore, but he is.]

Eh, really? You didn't like having them?

[experiencepoints]

Well... I mean, they were part of something very unpleasant happening, but aside from that... They were huge. With wings, you can't really sit down in any chair that has a back, or on the floor since they go down so low. They flop around awkwardly if you try to lie down, and I couldn't reach the ends when they itched.

... If I could have had them for a bit without the context, though, I probably would have. Flying made the inconvenience worth it.

[huaaaaagh]

Ah... that does sound pretty inconvenient, yeah.

[If all wings were like that, Alfheim would never have gotten as popular as it did.]

I wish I could show you the world I came from. Fairy wings only come out when you need them, and they're so light you barely feel them... they were pretty much designed to not cause problems for the user.

[experiencepoints]

[She shrugs.]

Yours sound a lot more convenient. I'm bitching now, but at the time, I was more pissed about not having hands.

[Well, and the people getting horribly injured.]

[huaaaaagh]

Oh god, they replaced your hands?

[That's so much worse than what he was imagining.]

[experiencepoints]

Huh- Oh, no. I had been turned into a harpy. The wings came from my back, but my hands got turned into... talon-things. Very sharp, very unpleasant, not very dexterous.

[huaaaaagh]

That's...

[SO MUCH FREAKIER THAN HE IMAGINED

and yet]

...Kind of awesome.

[experiencepoints]

Kind of, until you have to cook like that.

[huaaaaagh]

Nah. If you get turned into a monster, embrace it! Chase the prey, eat the raw meat. Only cook it if you can breathe fire.

[experiencepoints]

... No. That... would be a bad idea.

[huaaaaagh]

I think you're confusing "bad" with "great".

[experiencepoints]

[she takes a sharp, deep breath. be positive, nightingale. positive. the truth and the only proper reply there is depressing as fuck, and also effectively the conversational equivalent of a tactical nuclear strike. there is no coming back from that. just move on.]

Anyway, magic is better. Hover is a spell I've been wanting to learn forever. And, we're here.

[pointing up, and they have indeed arrived at a large store. with a ton of shoe options, many of which are made for alien feet.]

[huaaaaagh]

[....Wow. That... sure is a shoe store. He's vaguely terrified.]

Should, uh. Should I wait outside?

[THAT'S TOO MANY SHOES, NIGHTINGALE]

[experiencepoints]

Just come in. Maybe you can find some decent equipment in here? I don't know what kind of armor you use, but...

[huaaaaagh]

Well... usually I just wear the light stuff, so it doesn't mess with my movement speed. So probably some sturdy combat boots would be fine.

[Now he's actually thinking about it. Could he find a nice dark leather coat somewhere on the station like the ones he usually wears in his games...?]

[experiencepoints]

Well, if you're going to find those around here, they're going to be here. Besides, with all the sci-fi stuff going on here, maybe there's some with better stats than heavy armor, but still managing to be light.

[huaaaaagh]

That's my favourite kind of gear. Armor never suited me at all.

[He's doubtful that anything here would have legitimate stat boosts - and without a menu available, how would he even tell? - but comfortable new equipment of any kind can brighten one's day. Especially if it's as cool-looking as it is functional.

In other words, he is convinced.]

[experiencepoints]

[how can you tell stats? you ask the actual JRPG standing right next to you, Kirito.]

We can start with yours, since looking for mine will be a lot easier. I doubt they'll be selling anything with magic stats in a place like this, so it's just mundane shoes for me.

[huaaaaagh]

[He doesn't think it'll work on him, okay or he just hasn't thought of that]

I... am pretty sure I'd be useless at finding anything special.

[He glances around the store, brows furrowing. So many shoes. His head is already spinning.]

They all just look like regular shoes to me...

[experiencepoints]

And that would be why we're not splitting up for this part.

I helped equip my party at home, I'm pretty good at this part.