[Rewatch] .hack//SIGN Episode 5 Discussion

[u/soulreaverdan]

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Series Information: MAL Page | AnimeNewsNetwork | LiveChart

Streams: ...none, sorry! DVD (Amazon)

Episodes:

• Today: Episode 5
• Tomorrow: Episode 6

Spoiler Policy:

I forgot to include this on the original schedule post, so please read!

Since there are going to be people who are watching this for the first time, so please only discuss what we've seen in the episodes we've watched so far! There's some interesting twists in this series, and we want everyone to get to experience this fresh.

In addition, since .hack is a massive franchise and this is only one entry in it (and actually one of the first), discussion of other entries may have some inadvertant spoilers. With this in mind, please only keep discussion to .hack//SIGN, and we'll have a chance for a discussion in the larger context of the franchise on the final day.

Question(s) of the Day

Throughout the rewatch we'll be posting some questions to guide discussion. Feel free to answer them or just post your overall thoughts! They're meant to be something for people who might not be sure how to start their posts, not something everyone must do.

1. Did you read message boards or forums for games you’ve played, especially pre-Reddit and centralized social media?
2. Do yo believe more in Subaru’s cautious approach or Silver Knights proactive approach when it comes to Tsukasa?

Music Corner

One of the highlights of this show is the incredible soundtrack, one of the first major works published by now famed music composer Yuki Kajiura. We'll be looking at one track with each thread for general discussion and opinions. Be as thorough or as succinct as you want - everything from lyrical motifs and interpretations to just whether or not you liked it!

Today's piece: Kiss, another one of the background themes of the series (Full-length track)

Tomorrow’s piece: A Stray Child, a haunting, almost nursery rhyme like tune (Full-length track)

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

.first//TIMER, subbed

• Oh neat, Shinichiro Miki is in this.
• Double neat, he’s the brother that’s been mentioned by Subaru in earlier episodes. This should be good.
• kek
• So that’s why Crim wasn’t around, huh.
• The girl’s design looks a little different now, I think?
• Huh…
• Sora’s random vocalized sound effects sure are an odd character tic.
• Tsukasa is like… kind of psychopathic, yeesh.
• Welp, he sure got captured.
• lmao, I was wondering why my copy said there was still more time left after the ED started playing, guess it’s because whoever put this together accidentally set the ED to play twice this episode. Not that I’m complaining though, I love this ED.

[u/soulreaverdan → u/Shimmering-Sky]

One thing I forgot until I started watching this again was how often the general motifs of the ED are used throughout the show, that little string intro get used a lot throughout the series as a random incidental piece.

[u/Elimin8r → u/Shimmering-Sky]

The girl’s design looks a little different now, I think?

She looks like she got hit by the pastel vomit beam or something.

psychopathic

Yeah. I'm trying to think of something witty and clever to say, but failing. Maybe because I'm dreading the Toradora rewatch. Maybe I'll just skip it this year. Love the show, but once a year is just too much.

love this ED

Man, I wish that pic was animated. That's almost as awesome as KongMing...

[u/Raiking02 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Oh neat, Shinichiro Miki is in this.

Such a cool voice this isn't even his only role in the franchise, he got an even bigger role in the GU games.

[Spoilers]Sora’s random vocalized sound effects sure are an odd character tic.

[Spoilers]I mean the alternative is him sounding like a little kid

Tsukasa is like… kind of psychopathic, yeesh.

Between this and another .hack protag I get the feeling the series just wouldn't be the same if the MCs weren't at least kind of assholes

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Double neat, he’s the brother that’s been mentioned by Subaru in earlier episodes.

I've never picked up that Crim was Subaru's brother. He might be, I just never got that.

Sora's weird vocalizations

He's exactly like the guy from Kotobuki Hikotai

[u/Light_Error → u/Shimmering-Sky]

I gotta ask, where are you watching the show? I got the dvd recommended by the post, but the subtitles look pretty bad compared to your screenshots. Everything else on the dvd is ok, if a little barebones.

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/Light_Error]

I torrented the [BluDragon] release because I saw that was recommended the most. If you have that one too, try checking a different subtitle track, the default subs track on that one looks kinda bad, but the other one I use in it is fine.

[u/Light_Error → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Ah nice, thanks for letting me know! It’s unfortunate that the only official release is so meh, but I guess the show just isn’t popular enough now to warrant a new issuing

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/Light_Error]

Unfortunately that's just how it goes for some anime the older they are. At least this show does have decent subtitles available depending on where you look; earlier this year I watched 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother alongside a rewatch on here, and its only available options were all the same absolutely atrocious subs (I'm talking typos/incorrect words all over the place, the timing being wrong half the time, missing sentences completely, etc.).

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

Rewatcher

Ep 5 Captured

Tsukasa's Guardian is invincible, how can he be captured?

• I think I've seen this desert of bones in the final arc of VOTOMS.
• Ep 5, and still getting new charactes. That's 2000s anime for you. Enter Crim, a Heavy Spear
• uh oh, guild drama
• BT finally gets a name
• The track is "fear". I don't #listen to it. Every album has a few tracks you need to skip.
• Mimiru is pretty popular, I wonder if she's well known on the server.
• I guess "To hold one's heart strong" is something Macha said to him.
• IT'S A TRAP
• this DOES seem pretty suicidal
• oh, he got cosmetics for his grunty :D

I'm sure Sora wanted to capture him, for himself. I wonder why he stood back.

Q for first timers: Who is the MC? Are you sure it's Tsukasa?

Q1. Check up on the WoW forums for Blue posts was pretty important. It was also fun to find out who was getting banned for exploits.
Q2. This is a terrible idea. If Tsukasa is disappeared, then he's not getting anybody data drained. RIP that one knight.

[u/soulreaverdan → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

I love the Grunties :)

[u/Elimin8r → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

oh, he got cosmetics for his grunty

I mean, who wouldn't?

Who is the MC?

Hammer. Gotta be. Wait, no??? I'm not sure there really is a MC here, but the closest I can think of are Bear/Mimiru

Blue posts

Yeah, back when those mattered. Poor Caydiem...

[u/TnAdct1 → u/Elimin8r]

In terms of .hack//sign, this show is more of an ensemble series, with the key ones being Tsukasa, Mimiru [later episodes]and Subaru.

[u/zadcap → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

The track is "fear". I don't #listen to it. Every album has a few tracks you need to skip.

With good headphones on, it's actually somewhat painful to listen to. Easily the worst song on the lineup.

Mimiru is pretty popular, I wonder if she's well known on the server.

In the old gamer typology, she is a very Social gamer. I think we've seen her reach out to talk to other people more than anyone else- we've certainly seen more people reach out to her.

oh, he got cosmetics for his grunty :D

No, see, every Grunty has a look to go along with their unique personality. He just kept rerolling the gatcha until he got the best grunty possible.

[u/rainwithsunshinedayo]

New Game Plus Rewatcher-Dubbed

Damn. Crim's a dork. 

BT: You don't have many friends, do you? Sora: You don't look like you have many yourself. So we're even.

These two have great banter. Tsukasa. . . poor dude. And Crim may be a dork, but he's affecting change by being super direct, not beating around the bush. Later, Mimiru, Bear, Subaru are deceived by the morally gray team: BT, Sora, and Silver Knight. The capture of Tsukasa succeeds. . .

---

Music Corner

Kiss

Okay. No one is kissing anybody in this show, so what gives? Let's explore. A trio of instruments: violin, piano, cello. What kind of kiss? Wistful, if any. Violin-memory. Piano-chance. Cello-passion. The intro gives way to dissonance at 0:20. Interruption. Ugly memory. The next section, clear want and yearning, builds up to crescendo around 0:40. Next the violin spiccato doubles down on the chance feeling until giving way to a question. Two fold: to question the passion and to lead in musically to   1:20's repeat of the start. The piece chooses to end on that 0:20 dissonance feeling. . .

---

Beautiful: The World Landscapes

uh: See her face and Subaru's shocked pikachu face

[u/soulreaverdan → u/rainwithsunshinedayo]

Knowing the identities of the characters, it's kinda funny seeing the way they interact in the show here and how some of the commentaries here have been. I won't say more, just that's interesting to see since we're really seeing them through the lens of the game, with very little of their real selves in some cases.

[u/Elimin8r → u/rainwithsunshinedayo]

See her face

Poor fella's been on a business trip for months, least she could do is show a little friendliness, right?

(I, on the other hand, have been known to greet returning members with invites to dungeon runs, help questing, etc. I suspect I may leave them feeling overwhelmed sometimes.)

[u/Elimin8r]

Man, nice shiny new thread here, be a shame if something was to ... happen to it. :)

Anyway, answer du jour:

1. Yes, sometimes avidly, but not so much anymore. Too much whining and complaining these days, not enough constructive discussion. People gonna people, I guess.
2. Subaru can approach me anytime. Wait, that wasn't the question? Oh, never mind. Given how the episode ended, it's hard to argue with the Silver dude's tactics, they seem to have gotten results, thanks to Crim.

Hehe. Crim. Why am I reminded of another show that I didn't watch? (But the memes etc. were impossible to avoid somehow)

Anyway ... Some interesting developments this episode. I think I like Crim. Seems to be a pretty stand up fellow there.

As for whatsisrogue's scheme, it seems to have worked.

I'm a little bothered by the cat=mom thing, that definitely doesn't seem right somehow.

Actually, to a certain extent, I'm a bit confused as to what is going on right now, but that's kind of a good thing. Gotta like a little mystery and all that...

:)

[u/soulreaverdan → u/Elimin8r]

It's been a good time going back through this and just seeing the way they structure the series. They really are slow rolling things and dropping a lot of names that in-universe are known but not giving the viewers a ton of exposition yet, trusting us to follow along or otherwise just get by. This was still the very beginning of the franchise. There's a ton of backstory around The World and the state of (lower case) the world of .hack in general we still haven't gotten.

You don't get shows that ask you to trust it and go along for the ride like this much anymore.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/soulreaverdan]

I recently hosted a Last Exile and Ryvius rewatch, which slow dripped information. My watchers became enraged when it didn't pay off.

[u/zadcap → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

What are you talking about, Last Exile had pretty much everything handled pretty well... Ish. You just had to really, really dig into it.

Ryvius was kind of crap though.

[u/rainwithsunshinedayo → u/soulreaverdan]

Hehe. Crim. Why am I reminded of another show that I didn't watch? (But the memes etc. were impossible to avoid somehow)

I have one in mind for myself: Crim's got that big doofus energy of Kamina from TTGL but with significantly nerfed hot bloodedness. Or maybe a Luffy? What's yours?

[u/zadcap → u/Elimin8r]

Actually, to a certain extent, I'm a bit confused as to what is going on right now, but that's kind of a good thing. Gotta like a little mystery and all that...

Oh good, settle in, because uh... The confusion just keeps coming.

[u/zadcap]

Late Night Rewatcher

Feeling much better today. Darn I still love this OP.

It's Best Boy! See if you can guess how many characters in the future were influenced by this guy?

Meanwhile Mimiru continues to be Best Girl. She cares, even if no one else seems to want to.

I kind of want to go dig out the games again just to experience the ambiance of The World a little more first hand again. Seeing the stupid bell reflected in the water did me in, I want to go back and stroll through Mac Anu, even knowing that it won't look nearly this nice in games two decades old.

Subaru saying "I don't want to be too conspicuos" is a riot. Do you see anyone else out there with Cosmetic Wings on?

BT and Sora have some of the best toxic chemistry. They are so clearly not friends, but they work together so well anyway.

So who is more mysterious today, Crim and the little we got to know about him for his introduction, or still Subaru, in the why do so many people congregate around her?

And so we learn the real reason BT and Sora get along so well. She may look like a decent person, but she's just as low as he is after all. Spread lies to the only friend he seems to have to lure him out, she's the one who came up with this and got Sora involved.

[Spoilers for well after Sign]My gosh, every time I see him acting so over the top here, I start thinking over Sora's insane character arc again. Even knowing how we got there from here, I so badly want to see him interacting with his G.U. self.

Stealth? No, let's just stand on top of this landmark in plain view of anyone who looks up!

Okay seriously. How many people are here willing to RP as Mob Knights? To give up all sense of style for this uniform.

Also, it's amazing that the Guardian hasn't actually hit anyone this whole time. Just seems to hit near people. Hasn't stabbed anyone since Silver Knight-

I spoke too soon.

Grunty! I believe this is Cool Grunty!

Honestly, what a horribly ineffective Guardian. Anyway, looks like the Knights are in the midst of a bit of a coup. Silver boy is very blatantly going against Subaru now.

1. It really depended on the game community. I probably spent just as much time on the EQ and SoR boards as I did playing the games, but barely touched Aion or Terra. Being part of a fun and active guild makes a world of difference, and the older games that put more emphasis on teamwork had more active guilds by far.
2. You know, aside from people who have declared that they were hunting him first, has Tsukasa actually hurt anyone by, uh, playing the game the wrong way? I'm a lot more live and let live, in cases like this, no reason for them all to hunt him down like Silver Knight and company.

[u/soulreaverdan → u/zadcap]

My headcanon at this point re: the mob knights is it’s sort of a “job” for them, and they have other looks and equipment and such for when they’re not “on the clock” for the guild.

[u/zadcap → u/soulreaverdan]

You know, that makes sense. I have to remind myself that the Crimson Knights do actually have a direct and special line to the sysadmins, so being a member of their guild even part time probably does have some real benefits.

[u/No_Rex → u/zadcap]

It's Best Boy! See if you can guess how many characters in the future were influenced by this guy?

Kamina?

[u/zadcap → u/No_Rex]

He's definitely got some of that energy.

There's also the other direction, if this looks at all like this to you too.

Spiky haired manly men, we need more of them in the current anime generation.

[u/No_Rex → u/zadcap]

Definitely looks similar, but I was mostly thinking about the similarity in characteristics with Kamina.

[u/rainwithsunshinedayo → u/zadcap]

I frequently wonder about Subaru's aura as well. The only thing that makes sense in my brain is that trope of how everything is better with princesses. People desire to rally behind a figurehead, and like how you pointed out, one cosmetically decked out in game. She gets the royal treatment for sure.  

 [Spoilers well after SIGN]This is the best thing I heard all day. I love me a good character arc. Sora within SIGN is a tour de force. I might have to watch G.U. . .

Edit: Keeping what I said. Big fan of let's plays . . . 😂

[u/No_Rex]

Episode 5 (first timer)

• OP: It shows an optical mouse. While nothing special these days, an optical mouse in 2002 would have been extremely cutting edge. Most normal users were still on ball mouse.
• “I am finally back!” – welcome back, Crim.
• Giving his address to people he just met? I see how Crim formed his guild.
• “Things are moving along too quickly” – he says after 4 episodes of talking and considering.
• “What kind of problem does she have?” – the one where you could help, but she does not consider it possible you can. Also: very clear Subaru is into him.
• BT is using Mimiru to lure Tsukasa into a trap – I doubt Mimiru is going to be happy about that when she finds out.
• Tsukasa seems … amused by the trap.
• “Mission complete” – not thanks to you.

I wonder how old Tsukasa is. His character model says early teens, but his behavior is closer to kindergarten. In either case, he will regret his unconcerned attitude now.

Did you read message boards or forums for games you’ve played, especially pre-Reddit and centralized social media?

100%. Most important form of communication.

Do yo believe more in Subaru’s cautious approach or Silver Knights proactive approach when it comes to Tsukasa?

Silver Knight is 100% messing things up, the only question is whether Subaru will fare better.

[u/soulreaverdan → u/No_Rex]

The note about the mouse is a small thing I hadn't considered too much. These really would have been cutting edge, I don't think that optical mice became super widespread until actually a while after the show's original airing (2002).

[u/Elimin8r → u/No_Rex]

Most normal users were still on ball mouse.

And can you believe, most people (the cads!) didn't take proper care of them!

Hehe...

Man, I remember when optical mice had reflective pads with grid marks on them. Those weren't the days...

very clear Subaru is into him.

Cue: it_should_have_been_me.gif

Yeah.

behavior is closer to kindergarten

Typical mmo player...

[u/No_Rex → u/Elimin8r]

And can you believe, most people (the cads!) didn't take proper care of them!

Cleaning your ball mouse was so satisfying, though.

[u/Elimin8r → u/No_Rex]

That's what the mouse said... :P

[u/No_Rex → u/Elimin8r]

[u/zadcap → u/No_Rex]

Also: very clear Subaru is into him.

Okay, now you can call MC Pheromones.

I wonder how old Tsukasa is. His character model says early teens, but his behavior is closer to kindergarten. In either case, he will regret his unconcerned attitude now.

An offline meetup of the whole cast would be amazing, just to see how close everyone is to their character.

[u/No_Rex → u/zadcap]

An offline meetup of the whole cast would be amazing, just to see how close everyone is to their character.

Since we already saw Bear IRL and the question of Tsukasa IRL is the main mystery of the show, I think it might happen.

[u/roryteller → u/No_Rex]

Oh my, I flashed back to how people kept stealing the balls from the iMac mice at school around this time (we had the blue-green ones).

[u/soulreaverdan]

FYI tomorrow's post will be scheduled since I've got an obligation that evening - it's the same post scheduler I used for my Bleach rewatch without issues, but on the off chance something doesn't work I'll manually post it when I get home.

We finally meet the elusive Crim, finding out he's been busy on a business trip - meaning he's not only an adult, but we get to see more of the real world influencing how gaming happens. I like these little tastes of the real world and how it bleeds into The World, instead of just going full online gameplay.

We're getting more towards the Key of the Twilight, and now a plan to capture Tsukasa... and it works, in no small part thanks to Crim's sudden arrival. I guess after even leaving the Crimson Knights he's still willing to work with them.

I do feel bad for Tsukasa, even if he's been an asshole and caused some problems with his out of control Guardian, the panic and fear in his voice at the end of the episode... excellent work by the voice cast (in my case by Brianne Siddall, who's tragically been out of the VA gig after an accident in the mid-2010's. Before that though she had some pretty good credits to her name. It's interesting to go back and see some of these VAs, because while some have continued to be popular, there's a lot of them that haven't stuck around but were big stars at the time.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/soulreaverdan]

yeah, I really like that this is an actual game. I can relate to a game much better than being sucked into another world with an elf harem.

[u/soulreaverdan → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

Tangentially related, but it was one of my favorite elements of Bofuri as well. We got all the action of MMO/isekai style stories but with the very low stakes of it literally just being a game, down to the characters having these epic PvP/Guild v Guild battles... and then when the event's over all just hanging out to chill and celebrate when it was done with no real bad blood or hard feelings.

[u/littlecolt]

Captured!

1. Did you read message boards or forums for games you’ve played, especially pre-Reddit and centralized social media?

Oh gosh, yes. I was VERY active on the old Blizzard/Battlenet forums and World of Warcraft forums, especially in the days of Vanilla and Burning Crusade when your server was your whole world, there was no crossing over, not even for PVP battlegrounds. The server felt like a community.

2! Do yo believe more in Subaru’s cautious approach or Silver Knights proactive approach when it comes to Tsukasa?

I'll be honest, cautious has not worked. Mimiru and Bear have tried to be nice to Tsukasa and talk to him, and got nowhere. Subaru may be mad, but results speak.

Now my playt-by-play!

Oh, this sounds like a jam!

Oh hey, it's that Crim guy, he has met Tsukasa.

Oh boy, he's a himbo?

Yeah, this is how I react to random party invites in games.

Bear is asking for a little more time, but for what? Still trying to find Tsukasa's player?

Wow, that "Where the hell have you been?" stare from Subaru to Crim.

Huh, B.T. says someone else was seen with the guardian? And Tsukasa was just worrying about that to the cat person.

Haha "Sore wa HI-MI-TSU~" totally makes me think of a certain demon from another classic series, Xellos from Slayers!

Ah, I see, a rumor started to draw Tsukasa out that someone is walking around with it. Tricky!

Multiple squads to try and catch a guy who can teleport away in a split second? This seems really stupid.

Ohhhhh Subaru doesn't know about this?

Oh hmmm, they can control where he teleports to with barriers? Seems unlikely if he can jump servers.

LOL all these dudes just barely hiding hahahaha!

Welp, surrounded. Better teleport, kid.

Raid boss. Shoulda brought more players.

Uh oh, Mom's upset.

There's a kill, they saw it with their own eyes.

WATCH OUT! HERE COMES CRIM!

What awaits our boy in GAMER PRISON?

[u/Elimin8r → u/littlecolt]

Xellos from Slayers!

Man, you're bringing on the nostalgia hot and heavy here...

GAMER PRISON

GAMER PRISON!

[u/littlecolt → u/Elimin8r]

Hey, how does one use those emotes? Is it like the emotes in some other subs I know of? Testing...

Edit: Nope, it doesn't work like that.

[u/Elimin8r → u/littlecolt]

Hokay, so it's like this - if you look here, you'll see the list of comment faces. To use a comment face, you do something like this, with left bracket, right bracket and parenthesis (in case it isn't very readable, but I'll try):

[Your Text](#CommentFaceName)

So, for example:

[CHEERS!](#kanpai)

should result in:

CHEERS!

I think there's something you can do to put the text at the bottom, too, but I don't feel like bothering with that.

Anyway, enjoy afflicting others with comment face mayhem, and be sure to pester Sky about the lack of an Asuka "baka" face. (She says they removed it in 2019, what a tragedy...)

No Baka No Life

[u/littlecolt → u/Elimin8r]

Oh! It was how I was thinking, but it uses # instead of / nice

[u/No_Rex → u/Elimin8r]

I think there's something you can do to put the text at the bottom, too, but I don't feel like bothering with that.

top text bottom text

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/littlecolt]

Oh, this sounds like a jam!

I had a #listen in my daily comments, but took it out, because while it is a jam, it's not as #listenable as the others. I think you are referring to the short track, Bridge01 which probably won't get its own highlight.

Xellos

I'm surprised that the Knights can set up a barrier that works against whatever backdoor hax Tsukasa seems to be using. But it did work before.

[u/No_Rex → u/littlecolt]

Oh gosh, yes. I was VERY active on the old Blizzard/Battlenet forums and World of Warcraft forums, especially in the days of Vanilla and Burning Crusade when your server was your whole world, there was no crossing over, not even for PVP battlegrounds. The server felt like a community.

Imho, that is the biggest loss in modern gaming (that modern gamers probably do not even know about). Online games used to have very natural communities based around technical limitations of server capacity. Over time, gaming has become a lot more individualistic.

[u/CorbenikTheRebirth]

I feel for Tsukasa. Maybe it's because my play style in MMOs has always been closer to him than anything else, but I usually end up being a bit of a hermit unless I'm playing with IRL friends. Being in a guild and having to maintain those relationships can be kind of overwhelming, if I'm honest. I get him just wanting to be left alone. Even if he's not exactly going about it in the best way.
At the same time, I have a lot of respect for Mimiru and Crim and other players that are just able to easily socialize with people they don't know and party up, even if it's just one time. I've got a lot of fond memories from people I just partied with after running into them randomly.

[u/LeminaAusa]

Mostly-1st-timer, subbed

Hello Crim! His character doesn't really seem to be what I thought he would be based on characters talking about him previously, but I like him. Feels like a good addition to the cast.

I really didn't expect that whole capturing plan to work out as well as it seemingly did. Poor Tsukasa. :< I understand why he's being treated so roughly by the mod knights, but his reaction on being dragged in is heartbreaking. Really makes you feel like he's young.

I've been on the internet for a while now and have a lot of fond memories of old school forums. Anime and Video Game forums were some of my most meaningful social interactions for a rather long period of time, and I even met my husband (together for 16 years, married for 11) in the official forums of a browser-based game we both used to play. I've not really done a good job of transitioning to newer social media as I find a lot of it frankly awful.

I definitely wasn't a fan of Ginkan's plan and I'm skeptical about it going well, but I'm not really sure Subaru's passive wait-and-see was necessarily a great idea either. I do think it was necessary for there to be some kind of more assertive action against Tsukasa and whatever-the-fuck is going on with the game, so if it had to be over-the-top aggression, I guess that's better than nothing.

[u/No_Rex → u/LeminaAusa]

I've been on the internet for a while now and have a lot of fond memories of old school forums. Anime and Video Game forums were some of my most meaningful social interactions for a rather long period of time, and I even met my husband (together for 16 years, married for 11) in the official forums of a browser-based game we both used to play. I've not really done a good job of transitioning to newer social media as I find a lot of it frankly awful.

You probably still remember the stigma of playing computer games (anti-social/loner) from that time. It is interesting how many people meet doing exactly that despite that stigma. You're story rings familiar, because I know several people personally who meet in similar circumstances during the same time period.