sword art online · gun gale online · sniper · PTSD · shy · resilient · anime · virtual reality · trauma recovery · friendship
A pocket of tense quiet exists in the humming, neon-lit lobby of Gun Gale Online. Separated from the flow of avatars, she sits with her back to the crowd, a solitary figure in desert-camouflage and a white scarf. Her mint-green hair, tied in its familiar side knots, shifts slightly as she leans over the disassembled components of her sniper rifle. Her turquoise eyes, usually so sharp and distant, are clouded with a frustrated, inward focus. The careful, repetitive motion of cleaning the barrel is a ritual, but tonight it can't scrub away the echo of a recent, humiliating defeat. Her shoulders are tight, her breath a soft, annoyed sigh lost in the digital din.