Fluffles/Synopsis

## Biography

### Background

Not much is known about Fluffles' history, but presumably, he lived the normal life of a cat.

### Aincrad Arc

#### Pre-Episode 2

On November 6, 2022, Fluffles' owner clearly thought it'd be funny if they put their NerveGear on Fluffles and logged him into Sword Art Online, a VRMMO set in a multifloored castle in the sky called Aincrad. Unfortunately, this meant when the death game started, Fluffles was trapped in the game along with 10,000 other players. This also meant that, when Kayaba Akihiko converted the player avatars into their real-life appearances, Fluffles ended up with a rather unique appearance of having a human body with a cat's head. But, to everyone's surprise, Fluffles managed to learn how to play the game and survive.

#### Episode 2

On December 2, 2022, Fluffles was in the Floor 1 town of Tolbana and attended a strategy meeting on how to defeat the first Floor Boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord, led by a player named Diabel. When Diabel told players to group up, Fluffles seemed to be paired up with a player named Jeffrey, who thought Fluffles was one of his stress-based hallucinations and worried it a sign that he was crazy.

The next day, Fluffles witnesses Illfang's defeat at the hands of two players named Kirito and Asuna, with Kirito dealing the final blow. Kirito was then congratulated by another player named Tiffany, who compares the battle's impressiveness to Fluffles' skills at the game. Hearing this, Jeffrey is relieved by fact that other people can see the cat, taking it as a sign that he's not crazy. Jeffrey then proceeds to listen to his hallucination of Jesus Christ, who orders him to kill all the players in the game, proudly whispering, "As you command, my Lord".

#### Post-Episode 2

Despite the fact that he could not speak, Fluffles somehow managed to rally a group of players together and form a Mafia organisation in the game, with him as their leader. Fluffles then became a feared and respected figure for both his men and other players, despite the fact he was a cat.

#### Episode 3

One day, sometime around June 21, 2023, Fluffles and his associates were approached by a player named Keita, who told them that he could duplicate a rare item in their possession. Intrigued by the offer, Fluffles accepted and gave Keita the item. However, Keita soon discovered that the ability to duplicate items got patched out of the game and subsequently sold it for money. When Fluffles found out about this he became enraged and demanded Keita to replace the item or else he would have him and his Guild, the Moonlit Black Cats, killed.

The attempt to replace the item resulted in the deaths of most of the members, leaving only one surviving member, Kirito, the same player who defeated Illfang. Since Kirito was the only remaining member of the Guild, Fluffles declared that the debt fell on him.

On December 25, 2023, one of Fluffles' minions tells him that they managed to track down Kirito, but they were fought off by the legendary BallsDeep69 and his Guild. As such, Kirito escaped them yet again. The mobster states that he has no excuse for his failure, but promises that they will get back what was stolen from them before asking Fluffles for his orders. Fluffles then emerges from the shadows and growls sinisterly.

#### Post-Episode 3

It is not exactly clear when, although possibly sometime before March 6, 2024, but Fluffles and Kirito fought at some point, which apparently resulted in Fluffles stabbing Kirito with a dagger before falling off a cliff. With Fluffles believed to be dead, the Mafia seemed to clear Kirito of his debt and replaced Fluffles with another unknown leader, as members of the Mafia are seen noticing Kirito but not attacking him.

However, unbeknownst to everyone, Fluffles survived his fall due to unknown means. He then joined the Knights of the Blood Oath and, again, despite being a cat, he ascended the ranks and eventually became a Captain of the Guild, as well as a member of Heathcliff's council.

#### Episode 9

On October 19, 2024, Fluffles reunited with Kirito when Heathcliff summons him to their headquarters in the Floor 55 city of Grandzam. Kirito notices that Fluffles and proceeds to seemingly have a conversation with the former Mob Boss, with Kirito asking how Fluffles survived his fall after their fight and Fluffles apparently explaining that he survived using a method that even Kirito didn't consider. This prompts Heathcliff to ask Asuna if Kirito can understand Fluffles or if he's messing with them, to which Asuna responds it might be both. With things apparently getting heated between Kirito and Fluffles, Heathcliff tries to stop the aggressions by saying, "You can't fight in here this is the war room", only to be disappointed when no one acknowledges/gets his reference to the movie Dr. Strangelove.

Getting back to the point, Heathcliff tells Kirito that everyone in Aincrad has seen the video of him Dual-Wielding, much to Kirito's annoyance. Heathcliff comments how amazing it is that Kirito practically defeated a Floor Boss singlehandedly, pointing out how inspiring a feat like that is, and states that it could motivate the other players to take action. With all this in mind, Heathcliff asks Kirito to join the KOB. However, Kirito declines, which catches Heathcliff off guard. Kirito tells Heathcliff that he's not interested in joining, as Guilds and him don't work well together. Fluffles seems to agree with this, causing Heathcliff to wonder why he let a cat join his council. Not wanting to take "no" for an answer, Heathcliff asks Kirito what it will take for him to join, offering to give him money, items and even Asuna, which she finds offensive. Eventually, Kirito agrees to join the Guild, but only if Heathcliff beats him in a duel, which Heathcliff of course accepts. The two of them faced off in the Floor 75 city of Collinia, but this fight only lasts about four seconds, causing the players to start rioting over the disappointing match.

#### Post-Episode 9

Eventually, after running out of things to burn, the rioters reverted to a primitive tribalistic society, with one player in particular rising up as their leader. The rioters eventually called the ruins of the city "the Ashlands" and dubbed their new leader the "the King of Ashes". Fluffles saw this as an opportunity and betrayed the KOB, joining forces with the Bandit King, which Heathcliff later admitted he probably should've seen coming. Fluffles and the King got along way too well, as he seemed to become the King's right-hand man.

#### Episode 10

On October 24, 2024, the King is presented with some intruders that snuck into his territory. The King then asks Fluffles what they should do with the intruders, to which Fluffles, apparently, suggests that they should fry them in boiling oil, which the King does with great glee.

#### Post Episode 10

It is unknown what happened to Fluffles, but it can be assumed he was freed from SAO, along with all of the other players, after Kirito defeated Kayaba and returned to his life as a normal cat.

## References

1. ↑ Episode 1
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 2
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode 3
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Episode 9
5. ↑ Episode 5
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Episode 10
7. ↑ Episode 11