Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[SeriousConcentrate]

"I promised, didn't I?"

Keith looked at the paper. It was honestly a little difficult for him to reconcile Yliss as he always knew her with what he was seeing now, and he took a few more moments to think. After he'd thought it through, he looked back up at Yliss.

"So... Satoru. Let me ask you something. Are you happier now - as Yliss - than you were back on Earth?"

[SirAston]

Yliss pocketed the paper away.

"That is... difficult to say."
"But I've found you guys. I often cause trouble for you, yet we learned to stick together."
"I've never had such great friends back on Earth, that's for sure."
"And thanks to your statement from earlier, I now know that friendship is not because I sport a pair of boobies. At least in your case, not so sure about Peach Boy."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"I knew plenty of guys like Momo back in the day. He'll get over it. _Probably."

Keith wasn't entirely sure about that.

"Anyway, the real thrust of my question was more who are 'you'? Forget the body and the name for a minute. Which of these two people do you want to be? Who you were on Earth, or who you are now in Generia? What's your true self?"

That wasn't a question Keith would ever have to answer. Even when playing a role in a ring he was never anyone other than himself writ large - just playing up different aspects of his personality.

[SirAston]

"I... don't know. But I hope to have found my answer by the time our adventure is over."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Then we'll figure it out along the way."

Keith held his hand out in a fist towards Yliss.

"...You're the first person who's taken me seriously since I came to Generia. Vlad was cool but I always got the feeling he was 'settling' for my company, and I'm not sure how much of Keilee is Stockholm Syndrome and how much is genuine. Serena, well, she's Serena. I've had my disputes with Jarvis. Shoes, Jenkins, and the butler and maid are weird, Ito has her own thing going on, and Momo's a little too thirsty. But I feel like I've always gotten along pretty well with you, so you can count on me to have your back."

[SirAston]

"Oh, wow, I didn't think about it that way. Guess I've been a better person than I've thought I'd be..."

Yliss bumped Keith's fist with a smile.

"Yeah, I agree, they're a weird bunch. But they're our weird bunch. And..."
"I gotta admit, almost all of them helped me at least once in some way. Jarvis can be reasonable when we both generally agree on a topic. Shoes helped me push towards opening myself up to you earlier, even if she hoped I'd fight rather than talk. Jenkins taught me a valuable lesson back then at the Wiggler Camp. I was angry at 42's style of cuisine but ultimatively it kinda helped with broadening my horizon, in a weird way. Marcia helps in her own way by making me look less weird in comparison. Ito's mellowed out, probably coming to term with looking like an anime character, we're kinda similar in that regard. And Momo..."
"... Yeah, Peach Boy's way too thirsty."
"But he picked me up when I was at my lowest point, back in Methiant. He truly is a wonderful friend, very reliable once you start knowing each other. For me, you two are definitely competing for the title of "best friend forever"..."
"But then again, why compete? I'll settle with having two BFFs~"

[Aurorix]

Jade just kinda stayed silent throughout that whole interaction with Shoes... and the whipping... especially the whipping. It left her kinda stunned silent. The party seems a lot more... dysfunctional...? than when they were in combat. Is this the usual for adventurer groups of this size and caliber? Though I suppose its endearing in its own weird way.

Asuna brought her hand up in the side-to-side wavey "kind of" gesture at Jade.

:"Ehhhhhh, it's like... you CAN fight them, to some extent, we DID scrap with Freya a bit, beat her a bit, but when she actually really started going... all out and divine light, it was sort of just the Goddesses and the Demon Generals at that point, with Lucifer going up to match her. But I've only seen that actually happen once and we've been having multiple fights with Demon Generals so far, so even all of these divine kinds of people don't always go that serious even when they're pissed, like Leviathan has been. Must be some sort of super special thing."

Shaking her head and breaking from her silence she finally responds to Asuna's previous comment. "Hmmm, well them not going all out is certainly a boon for us. Though I'm sure with the right equipment we could take down even someone like them but that maybe difficult. You'd be surprised how many proclaimed 'god slaying' or 'demon slaying' swords in stones you find out in the middle of the woods. Makes you wonder why blacksmiths just leave them there instead of selling them."

[Sirus]

42, who completely missed Keith's question (as he was not an elf and therefore did not think it was directed at him), approached the two newcomers with tea tray in hand.

: "Good day to both of you. I am designated TS 42-1. I see that you have encountered some of my companions. May I offer some refreshment after your confrontation?"

[Aurorix]

"Sure, I wouldn't mind a drink what do you have to offer mr.... TS 42-1...?" She pauses for a bit before continuing, "If you don't mind me asking, where is your name from? Can't say having numbers in your name is all too common."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"I don't mean to disrespect any of them. They're all strong and tough; I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else. But more specifically, yeah. My differences with Jarvis are just cultural; I think in some ways we're a lot alike. I kinda want to fight him after we're done with this adventure. Ito and Kazuto too."

"Ah, damn, I can't lie. I wanna brawl with all of the team! I bet even Serena could put up a good fight if she doesn't hold back."

After chuckling a bit, Keith looked over at the others.

"I think Momo's a good guy, underneath it all. And no one's going to understand you better than him and Ito; I might be a Revivian like the three of you, but even then I'm still kind of an outsider. So, if you were, say, interested in him... I think he might be a good match."

[SirAston]

"Yeah, you've been born in a different generation than us, but it doesn't bother me."
"... And... really, I don't know about Momo. I know it sounds extremely silly after my confession just now, but a part of me still feels like a guy, interested in women. You threw me quite for a loop for the longest time and it was rough to deal with."
"I... can't say yet if there's anything deeper for Momo, if I was even unsure about my feelings towards you."

Yliss looked downwards for a moment, seemingly pondering. Then, she looked up to Keith again.

"But talking to you now was... a good thing. Gave me some clarity. About myself. And others. I guess being truthful has its good sides too..."
"Maybe in the end it's just like being a teenager again, fucking confused about all sorts of shit, and I'll settle with a girl in the end anyway."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"If that's what makes you happy, then go for it. I'm not going to judge who you want to love."

"But... yeah. Not just a different generation. A different culture and country entirely. I don't even have a place in Kaisei, like the three of you could... you would have a lot more in common with a Japanese dude from 1990 than you would me."

"And I haven't said much about it, because I don't like to think about it much, but when I do it terrifies me. I really am going to live forever, in a world I don't belong in. Sure, Vlad will get out of jail at some point - probably after a few decades, when he's been there long enough they forget why he was locked up in the first place - but he's still of this world, like all the other vampires. I'll never truly be one of them, either."

"And one of these days... the only person on Team F who is going to still be around will be Serena, if she's even on Generia any more. That's why I can't stand looking at the long view. I want to live in the here and now, and not think about the fact someday I'm going to be walking around in a world that's left me behind if it hasn't already, and you and Keilee and Jarvis and Shoes and everyone I know and care about's already had their time in the sun."

"That'll be me. Keith Piper, the eternal outsider."

[Chevaleresse]

Shoes watched the goings-on with a mix of confusion and. . . some other emotion that she couldn't quite identify, remaining quiet for once.

[Sirus]

: "All I have to offer is tea, ma'am, but it is fine tea if I do say so myself." The homunculus expertly poured a small cupful and offered it to the hooded woman. "As for my name, it indicates that I was the 42nd test subject and the 1st success case in my Old Master's experiments to create an artificial being." No matter how many times 42 told this story, he never got bored of it. Probably because it was the most interesting story he had to tell.

[Aurorix]

"Tea works just fine, Thank you." It was nice to see hospitality within the group. She takes the cup before taking a small sip, "So... you're an artificial being huh...?" Well, at least this could be a bit more believable than being a god. Though, still a bit out there. "Are you alright with that being your name, TS 42-1?" It was a bit of a mouthful too, "Not to be rude but, wouldn't you like a usual name like Jack or something?"