IC contact post!

[experiencepoints]

[IC contact post for Drift Fleet!]

Comments

[experiencepoints]

... Sounds like someone Sparrow would have a field day with, honestly... They can never be allowed to meet.

[huaaaaagh]

I don't know, maybe the two of them could run off together and we can hang back and relax.

[experiencepoints]

I don't know about yours, but there's no way Sparrow would not drag me off by force.

[huaaaaagh]

...Crap, yeah, Leafa definitely would. She knows exactly how to get what she wants.

[What a dangerous combination.]

[experiencepoints]

This may be the first time I've ever been glad Sparrow isn't here.

[huaaaaagh]

Ditto, my sister.

[As crazy as this place can be, it's not the worst place he's ever been trapped. Even he has his moments of weakness where he wishes his friends were with him.]

[experiencepoints]

Yeah... I'd feel bad if Sparrow got pulled here without her girlfriend, though.

[She knows how important they are to each other... But, if more of their team was here, maybe they'd stand a better chance of rescuing their teammates who vanished from the Fleet.

... And she's a lonely sadsack who misses her friends.]

[huaaaaagh]

Mm... yeah, that's. Not a great feeling...

[Sort of like being split in two, but you're stuck with the inferior half.]

But just about everyone in the fleet must be missing someone.

[experiencepoints]

That's true... Especially those of us who came from different interdimensional shitholes to here. There's two worlds' worth of people we're missing.

What about you?

[huaaaaagh]

[That sounds harsh, yeah. He can sympathize to an extent, since the digital world is full of people he can't meet elsewhere, but they're still in his world. He could contact them if he really needed to.

Missing people, though. He's an expert on that.]

My family. My friends. I... really, really miss my girlfriend.

[experiencepoints]

... Girlfriend?

[huaaaaagh]

Yeah. Her name's Asuna, and she's- incredibly strong. She has a way of making you feel invincible, somehow.

[experiencepoints]

[... okay, she has to laugh at that.]

I know the type. What's she like?

[huaaaaagh]

[how does one describe the love of one's life without writing a twelve page essay]

She's... hah. Smart, talented, charismatic in ways I could never hope to be. She's a brilliant tactician- she went from knowing nothing about fighting, not even able to open a menu or form a party, to the second-in-command of the best guild in the world in less than a year. Everyone admired her back then- they called her 'Asuna the Flash'. She could attack a monster a dozen times with her rapier so fast you couldn't even see it.

[please stop him he could gush for an hour]

[experiencepoints]

[nah she gets you bro]

That's... incredibly impressive. She must have practiced a ton, and had natural talent... How did you meet?

[huaaaaagh]

[There, he pauses, suddenly uncomfortable and very aware of where they are right now. He glances around, shuffling in place, and looks down.]

I... won't talk about it here. Sorry.

[It's neither a refusal to speak, nor a request to leave. He's leaving it up to her to decide.]

[experiencepoints]

Ah...

[Unfortunately, Nightingale is the type to take that to mean something is wrong. And, since she's so bad at socializing, it's probably her fault.]

Sorry... I won't ask again.

[huaaaaagh]

Wha- no, no-

[Communication: not their best stat.]

I just mean- it's not something I can say in public.

[experiencepoints]

[we're winners]

I mean, we came all the way out here, so... Maybe later, then?

[... that said, it doesn't sound like a good story, so she probably won't bring it up again ever.]

1/2

[huaaaaagh]

[Hrngh... but now he feels like he's ruined the mood. They had a good thing going, and he loves talking about his best girl...]

[huaaaaagh]

[Ugh, screw it. He can talk about it with getting specific about That Place. It's worth it.]

It was- in the digital world. We met in a dungeon.

[experiencepoints]

[for a moment, she's basically screaming internally- she doesn't want to pressure him into talking about things he doesn't want to. but they did have a good mood going, and... well, she is curious, so if he's really willing to talk, then she'll listen.

She's still not fond of the idea of a 'digital world', that mimics her home as a game, but... She can push that aside for now.]

A dungeon romance? I didn't take you for the type. Though, it sounds like it worked out well.

[huaaaaagh]

Hah. It definitely wasn't a dungeon romance- she didn't like me at all back then. Her technique was breathtakingly good, but inefficient, so when I lectured her on it, she brushed me off.

[experiencepoints]

... Yeah, lecturing someone is not a good way to meet a girl...

[Kirito, why.]

[huaaaaagh]

I was just trying to help.

[How else are people supposed to improve?? Gosh.]

Anyway, I invited her to a boss raid meeting, and we ended up forming a party together, since everyone else already had full teams. It was lucky for both of us- we were both solo players until then, but turns out we made a really good team.