IC contact post!

[experiencepoints]

[IC contact post for Drift Fleet!]

Comments

[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.

[experiencepoints]

So, it was love at first boss fight?

[huaaaaagh]

Um... no, not even then. Actually, once we won I dismissed the party, and we didn't even spend that much time together until about a year and a half later. I sort of assumed she didn't like me for a long time.

[If the fight had gone according to plan, then maybe things could have been different. Who can really say? As it is, he'd left her out of necessity, even if she'd disagreed with him about it. Fact is, staying with him would have put her in danger from the beta haters, and he hadn't trusted himself to protect anyone back then.

But that's all stuff he'd just as soon avoid sharing, considering he'd only barely salvaged the mood once already.]

[experiencepoints]

A year and a half? That must have been one hell of a lecture.

[jesus, kirito.]

[huaaaaagh]

[sdjkhfkdhfjkdhf]

Th-that isn't why! I just always worked solo, and she joined a guild, and she didn't need my help after that...!

[experiencepoints]

[She laughs at that.]

Right, right. So, a year and a half means she was already second-in-command when you talked to her next?

[huaaaaagh]

We'd talked here and there at boss meetings, but it was all business, and we clashed a lot. But yeah, at that point we finally wound up working together again, and one thing led to another, and... I don't know. It's like we never split up in the first place. Something about our techniques just clicked, and suddenly she was always smiling at me...

[experiencepoints]

So... Was she the one to confess first?

[She seems to be genuinely into this story. And she doesn't believe for an instant Kirito would make the first move. Sorry dude, you're an herbivore.]

[huaaaaagh]

[He's about to rock your world then, Night.]

I... well, I sort of... k-kissed her. So...

[it was meeeeeeee]

[experiencepoints]

[GASP.

okay, no, not really, but she does seem surprised.]

Well, that's one way of getting your point across. You don't do subtlety, do you?

[huaaaaagh]

[UGH why did he tell her, this was a huge mistake.]

I'm just. No good with words. And I'd almost died! It was a heat of the moment thing. I thought she'd teleport me right to jail for it.

[experiencepoints]

That's a reasonable worry. I mean, I would have.

[... says, you know, the huge lesbian. maybe not quite comparable.]