Denise/Synopsis

## Biography

### Background

Not much is known about Denise, but what we do know is he was a member of a roleplaying group, along with her cousin Becky, Becky's boyfriend Brian, a man named Ted, and five others.

### Fairy Dance Arc

#### Pre-Episode 16

One day, the group discovered a game called ALfheim Online, a children's edutainment VRMMO set in a land of fairies, and saw it as the perfect place to live out their campaign, with Denise playing as a Cait Sith named Hime Kuronekodesuchan. Once they discovered how cool the game's flight mechanics was, the group began talking about the game online and it eventually became a sensation.

After a while, the players began to wonder what was at the top of the World Tree, a massive tree in the center of the game, as it was heavily guarded. As they speculated what kind of prizes awaited beyond such a quest, a rumor began to spread that whoever got to the top of the tree first would get their wish granted by the Fairy King, Oberon. With this incentive, Denise and her friends decided this was the perfect excuse to live out a campaign they wanted to do since they were children. And so, with each of the founding members acting as their race's leader, the players divided themselves into nine factions and began fighting in a "war" to see who could get to the top of the tree and get their wish granted first, dubbing this competition the "Race War".

However, at some point, Brian and Becky broke up, and the fallout was so messy that the two of them ended up stealing each other's characters. With Brian now in control of Sakuya, the Queen of the Sylphs, he decided to use the Race War as an excuse to get the players to pick a side in his fight against Becky, which Becky, now in control of the Salamander King, Eugene, perpetuated.

As the Race War continued, the players got more and more violent towards each other, to the point that the Sylphs would hunt the Cait Sith like foxes and eat them. Eventually, the Sylphs and the Cait Sith arranged to have a peace conference in Butterfly Valley, and Hime left to attend it.

#### Episode 16

Hime arrived at Butterfly Valley, where Sakuya and her army was waiting for her. However, the peace conference was soon attacked by an army of Salamanders. Afraid of what's going to happen, Hime asks Sakuya what they should do. Sakuya reassures Hime, stating that all they need to do is remain calm and talk to the Salamanders, before commanding the Salamanders to leave. They refuse, however, much to Sakuya's dismay. She then orders a Sylph to fly up and kill the Salamanders, but they get shot out of the sky before they can reach the enemies. Out of ideas, Sakuya states that she and the Cait Sith are willing hear the terms of the Salamanders' surrender.

Luckily, the attack is interrupted when a Spriggan crash lands between the two opposing factions, shocking everyone there, including the Sylph Princess, Leafa, who arrives as well. Doing his best to roleplay, the Spriggan introduces himself as Kirito, the Viscount of the Spriggan Ziggurat, despite the Salamanders pointing out that his gamer tag says "xVx\_K1r1t0\_xVx\_KillMe". Kirito then claims that he is there to speak on the behalf of his people, only for the Salamanders inform him that they killed all of the Spriggans. Caught off guard by this revelation, Kirito, with the help of Leafa, comes up with a story where he was adopted by the Undine, who sent him to join the Sylph/Cait Sith alliance. Sakuya is disgust by this claim, stating that she always knew there was something "off" about the Undine, to which Leafa tells her to "read the room". Ignoring Sakuya's response, Kirito tells the Salamanders that, if they attack the peace conference, they will be at war with the Sylphs, the Cait Sith, the Undine, and the Spriggans to a much lesser degree.

Hearing this, Eugene emerges and tells Kirito that his army will take their chances, remarking that the alliance will most likely eat each other within a week. Sakuya is offended by this, stating that, while the Cait Sith may be delicious, they are a "powerful and succulent ally", a statement that visibly shocks Hime. Despite the evidence stacking up against him, Kirito still refuses to back down, stating that the alliance forming in such unlikely circumstances only shows the strength of their resolve. However, this declaration is somewhat ruined when Kirito takes the opportunity to break character and ask Eugene if they ate the Spriggans. Eugene ignores Kirito's question, however, and offers to settle their feud one on one, "dingle to dingle", wanting to end the conflict quickly so they don't miss their pet bat Squeaker's baby shower. One of the Salamanders tries to tell Eugene something, but Eugene tells him save it for after he defeats the Spriggan, believing it will make his victory "all the sweeter". Although confused by the King's confidence, Kirito agrees to take Eugene up on his gentlemanly offer. Eugene then boasts to Sakuya about being called a gentleman, who responds in disgust, revealing his name to Kirito, which confuses him.

With Kirito off guard, Eugene takes this opportunity to reflect the sunlight off his sword, blinding Kirito. He then launches his attack, which Kirito attempts to block, but Eugene's sword passes through Kirito's and sends the latter face first into a cliff. Confused, Leafa asks what happened, to which Hime explains that Eugene's sword can pass through anything that tries to block it. However, due to the Cait Sith's habit of mixing cat puns and Japanese words into their sentences, Leafa couldn't understand any of her explanation and asks her to refrain from speaking like that. Kirito then charges back into the fight, to which Eugene calls Kirito a typical Spriggan, voicing his disdain for their habit of always butting into people's business. Irritated by this, Kirito asks Eugene why the players hate Spriggans so much in this game. Eugene states that the answer should already be clear, since Kirito's using a variation of the name of ALO's great betrayer: Kirito Prime, Ted's character. Overwhelmed by this revelation, and due to Eugene having the upper hand, Kirito states that he "needs a minute" and casts Smokescreen, covering Butterfly Valley in a thick cloud of smoke. Annoyed by Kirito's antiques, Eugene swipes the smoke away, only to find that Kirito has vanished. Hime and Cait Sith voice their amazement at this with more cat puns and broken Japanese, to which Leafa threatens to eat them if they don't stop.

Kirito then calls out to Eugene, who looks up and gets blinded by the sun, just managing to see that Kirito's above him, flying down directly in the sun's light. Eugene is offended that Kirito would dare steal the former's tactics and goes to attack him. However, just as he swipes through Kirito's sword and is about to slash his throat, Kirito reveals that he stole Leafa's sword and uses it to block Eugene's attack. He then parries Euguene, stating that stealing the King's tactic is "just what [my] character would do". With the tables turned, and two swords in hand, Kirito begins slashing away at Eugene, ranting about how every time he tries to do the right thing it only causes him to lose the things he loves. Euguene tries to retaliate, but Kirito dodges his attack and stabs him in stomach. He then states that, to top off everything he's been dealing with, he's now learned that the players of ALO have somehow found a way to ruin his name. Kirito then deals the finishing blow, causing Eugene to burst into flames, wondering what Kirito meant by his last remark. The rest of the players look on in awe, as one Salamander asks why Eugene exploded.

With the fight over, Sakuya revives Eugene, who remarks how unusually civil this is of her. Sakuya clarifies that she only revived him to prevent the Salamanders from harassing them further, telling Eugene to pay her back for the diamond she used later. Eugene states that it's typical for Sakuya to not "loosen the purse strings a bit" for a revival spell. Sakuya gets offended by Eugene's remark, asking if he thinks her kingdom is cheap. Eugene states that he doesn't need to say that, since Sakuya's outfit is doing all the work for him. Sakuya then points out how ridiculous Eugene's armor looks, particularly with the fidget spinner he's decorated it with. Eugene explains that the fidget spinner is actually a medal, and it's the highest honor the Salamander military can bestow. Just then, a gust of wind causes the "medal" to spin, playing Sandstorm as it does. Eugene then states that the song is the Salamanders' national anthem, which always causes a veteran like him to tear up.

This comment causes Brian to break character and tell Becky that he never said he was a veteran, he just thinks that his job isn't that different from serving in the navy. Becky then snaps back at Brian, reminding him that he's just a lifeguard. As Brian and Becky mock each other's former characters and real-life interests, Becky's new boyfriend, PantySmasher, whose real name is Jonathan, emerges from the crowd and suggests that they call it a day. Becky assumes this is because Jonathan believes she won't be able to beat Brian due to being a woman, which Jonathan denies, claiming that he thinks they should get going if they want to binge the Crown. This amuses Brian, who remarks that Becky should learn to keep better control of her man. This enrages Becky, who remarks that Brian was always obsessed with control when they were dating. Brian counters that the only time he was being "controlling" was when he apologized on her behalf after she vomited on their neighbor's dog again, even though he was guilty of this himself out of "solidarity".

Becky then reluctantly agrees with Jonathan, stating that fighting everyone at the peace conference isn't worth it. She then tells everyone that they should be lucky that she's in a healthy relationship now, before departing. As she leaves, Denise breaks character to tell Brian that she can't believe he slept with Becky, only for Brian to remind her that Becky is her cousin. As the Salamanders fly away, Becky thinks about how Brian always manages to annoy her and that she needs something to cheer her up. She then slips back into roleplaying mode to ask about the "good news" the Salamander was trying to say earlier, only to let out a mournful scream upon learning that Squeaker is dead. As they watch the Salamanders fly away, Kirito and Leafa reluctantly accept that they probably won't be recruiting their help. They are the approached by Sakuya, who asks why Kirito's there.

Leafa then tells Sakuya that Cazmer was behind the Salamanders' attack, claiming that Cazmer got the location of the peace conference by beating up Sakuya's scribes. Sakuya believes this revelation, stating that Cazmer has gone "rogue with his roleplaying" before by sparking the Sylph civil war in an attempt to take Sakuya's throne. Kirito then asks if Cazmer's just trying to take over the Sylph Kingdom, making a deal with the Salamanders after getting bored waiting to marry into the family. However, Sakuya realizes what Cazmer's actual goal is and explains that his ambitions go much deeper than seeking power. She the asks Hime for a Moon Mirror so she can contact him, which catches Cazmer off guard. He tries greeting her to hide his suspiciousness, but Sakuya confronts him on his actions, revealing that his deal with the Salamanders was an elaborate attempt to get Brian and Becky to talk to each other, a revelation that confuses Kirito.

Having to been caught, Cazmer, whose real name is Travis, breaks character to tell Brian that ALO used to be fun, but ever since he and Becky broke up, they've been forcing the others to choose sides and fight a proxy war just to spend time with them. This annoys Sakuya, stating that he sounds just like Kirito Prime, who was "an embarrassment to the name". However, Travis states that Ted had the right idea, as he just wanted Brian and Becky to talk things out so they could at least be friends again. Instead, Sakuya and Eugene committed genocide against the Spriggans to the point that none of them wanted to play anymore. This shocks Kirito, but he's still relieved that the Spriggans weren't eaten. Travis then tearfully admits that regrets not standing by the Spriggans' side when they needed him the most. He then apologizes to Kirito for how he treated him, stating that he had to keep the ruse that he was still on Brian's side, and that he only wanted peace between the races. Despite his good intentions, Sakuya tells Travis that his "mad dreams" have come to an end, before banishing him from ALO. Seeing all this unfold, Kirito states that he doesn't feel good about what just happened.

With the threat dealt with, Leafa tries to butter her adoptive mother up by saying she looks pretty. Sakuya sees right through her, however, and asks what she wants. Having been called out, Leafa claims that she would never ask Sakuya for a favor after going through such a perilous ordeal like she did, but Kirito would. With the attention now on him, Kirito bluntly asks the two leaders to borrow their armies. This shocks Leafa and the two leaders, to which Kirito states that they wasted enough time doing things Leafa's way. Sakuya admits that they probably owe him a favor after he rescued them but asks why he wants their armies. Trying his best to roleplay again, Kirito explains that his beloved has been captured by "the cruel King of the World Tree", and he needs their help to save her. However, he soon becomes more interested in just getting the Sylph army after Hime tries to get Kirito to call her "Princess Hime-Senpai".

Hearing Kirito's request, Sakuya and Hime both state that it would take more than just a single army to conquer the World Tree. Kirito wonders why the armies don't work together to storm the World Tree, asking if that's not the purpose of the peace conference. However, Sakuya explains that their peace treaty is just a non-aggression pact stating that "Eugene" was in the wrong when "he" bought opera tickets on the night "Sakuya" was planning to go to the Lakers game, even though "she" had been talking about it for months, something that riles Brian up just thinking about it, much to Kirito and Leafa's awkwardness. Sakuya then adds that working together would be pointless anyway, since only one of the races would receive the wish. This statement confuses Denise, and she break character to ask if the wish was real or something they made up, something Brian can't remember anymore. Regardless, they both decline Kirito's request and wish him luck on his suicide mission. Kirito voices his disbelief that he went through all the effort of saving them from the Salamanders, and exposing their "traitor", only to get nothing. Hime thanks Kirito for understanding their position, and tries to get him to calm down, reminding him that it's just a game. This this seems to extinguish Kirito's fury and the two leaders the depart with their armies.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Episode 14
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Episode 16
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode 13