1637/Gun Gale Online

Gun Gale Online
Date of Scene:	22 February 2015
Location:	Alfheim Online <SAO> <ALO>
Synopsis:	Several months ago, Kirito meets Sinon for the first time.
Cast of Characters:	Kirito, 649

---

Sinon (649) has posed:
    Many months ago...

    SBC Glocken! It's the biggest, loudest, and quite possibly the only city around. Good if you want a centralized location for your game to be based around, bad if someone manages to somehow bring a particularly contagious debuff back through creative exploits. But fortunately, that /last/ part hasn't happened, so everything is good, and will remain that way forever.

    Please ignore the bar which had to close a couple days ago while they replace the TV screen some fool shot.

    It's only a couple months until the Bullet of Bullets, the premier Gun Gale Online E-sports event of the new year, and that means that there's going to be an influx of new players and old players gearing up for the prelims and a chance to compete in front of the floating blue disc cameras.

    Sinon is not necessarily one of those, or at least she doesn't hit all of those bullet points, but she is hanging around near one of the new player login locations this fine (lies) afternoon. Maybe she just likes to watch the new players log in.

Kirito has posed:
    "WH-WHAT THE HELL?!"

    The first words spoken by a rather fabulous new player are flabbergasted, startled, and loud enough to echo down ALL the alleys.

    But that was a few minutes ago. Now that new player has been wandering around Glocken's side streets and away from the immediate crowd.

    "Hey lady!" "Love your eyes!" "Wanna go out?"

    It's no wonder this particular new player is now avoiding the main roads because EVERYONE THINKS THEY'RE A GIRL.

    How embarassing.

    In any case, this obvious newbie, wearing the newbie shirt and pants, just so happens to be passing near Sinon when he(?) spots her... and hurries nearer!

    "E-er, excuse me! I'm... kind of lost..."

Sinon (649) has posed:
Dude, dude, dude. Dude, small dude, dude. Probably a dude. Dude, big dude... there really are a lot of dudes in Gun Gale Online. This is the thing that Sinon observes as she shoots the breeze and watches the people go by. Oh well, it's better than RL.

    At least nobody's walked up to her to ask her about a date or anything. It's probably because she gives off that unapproacheable air. It's a mixed bag, being considered the goddess of the underworld. Deciding she can probably find something else to do with her time, she adjusts her hands in her pockets and wanders off down a byway. Maybe Cabochard's'll be having a flash sale on stun grenades?

    She's thinking of her inventory, when someone calls out to her. And oh my god it's another girl.

    With a faint smile and a clear voice, she asks "Did you just start this game? Where are you going?"

Kirito has posed:
    "er-- um..." Stare. The person with long-black hair who's now addressing Sinon blinks a few times, desperately hiding some consternation. Nervous? Shy? Hard to say, but...

    Yeah, it's probably another girl. "Yes, I just transferred from another game. I was looking for the marketplace and somewhere to learn about the tournament... what was it called... Bullet of Bullets?"

    The fairer-toned voice and somewhat feminine pronunciation does suggest female, yes... as do the big, innocent eyes...

    Although those eyes spend a moment sweeping over Sinon while rather wide.

    Nothing more than a warrior's cursory examination though...

Sinon (649) has posed:
    This is amazing, really, when you think about it. Sinon meets a new player, who is polite and nonthreatening and safe, and who hasn't already tried to de-equip their starting clothes just to see if they can? Well, this is turning out to be an interesting morning after all!

    And netiquette demands that she present a positive, helpful image for a noob who's just starting out. Yes, that's definitely the kind of person Sinon should be.

    "Ah, the Bullet of Bullets, you say? Well, the registration for that's going on at the main administrative building... well, your level's probably not sufficient for it yet. But you should be able to pick up some literature about it in the marketplace as well... follow me, ok? I'll take you to one of my favourite places."

    And so away they go, through winding paths, up staircases, down alleys, down staircases, downtown.

"So, what brings someone like you to a game that's clogged with dust and smells of gun oil?"

Kirito has posed:
    "Th-thanks!" Sprouting an enthusiastic smile, the newbie does indeed start following along. But she(?)'s always looking around at everything...

    "This character's a transfer. I'm hoping that will be enough to compete." The apparent girl amends gently and hopefully, wstrolling along.

    "... A friend has been playing this game for months and didn't tell me. I got interested... they're probably entering the tournament. So I wanted to try surprising them..." Awkwardly, she(?) scratches the back of her head...

Sinon (649) has posed:
"Oh, so that's how it is..."

    It is worth, at this point, mentioning since this seems to be the scenic route.

    

    Most everywhere in SBC Glocken clangs underfoot. A city of neon and iron, it's a place where the streets are paved with metal plating and there's a machine vending bullets on every street corner. A meshwork of corridoors connects every tall building, and trash dances in updrafts in the lower streets. In many ways it is the picture of the 90s cyberpunk nightmare, but in many ways it is also the glittering urban dream of every capitol city at night rolled into one.

    "That's one way to support your friend, I guess. To do something like that takes guts, I think." Sinon laughs a little, but in a way that's unquestionably pleasant. She leads her new acquaintance inside a random doorway- and into a place which, if anything, is even more like a glittering amusement park than the flashy streets outside.

    It's like an indoor market or mall, with lots of separate stores, but it's also unquestionably a weapons storehouse. But also like a mall, there's an arcade here as well. They've even got skee-ball.

    Zone out for a while as Sinon asks Kirito all sorts of questions about her gun and build preferences.

Kirito has posed:
    Metal and neon and cyberpunk everything! Clank clank clank. The locale might just be making the newbie a bit disoriented. Maybe that explains why they're looking every which way, not just being new!

    But in, into the marketplace they go! "Uoooah... this place is amazing... and huge! This is the 'favorite place?'" She did say so after all!

    After the explanation though... Kirito's left staring at rows of energy guns, physical guns, and... standing in front of the display for beam sabers. He quickly glances around... then checks his status window... frrrroooooown.

    "Even if your stats are good... if your gear isn't... how long would it take to get enough money for something like this with quests?"

Sinon (649) has posed:
Have you ever visited a new place for the first time, or when you're on vacation, and it all seems a bit surreal? Like you're unsure if there's really anything beyond the street you're walking on, because surely /everything/ couldn't look like this, and it's too much to take in and rationalize as being part of one whole city?

    If so, don't be! Here in Gun Gale Online there are no loading zones and everything is simultaneously rendered in real time. Er, I mean, no, that's not where I was going with this... I mean, surely once you've been here a while, like a month or three, it'll all become rather pedestrian. Also this is the last time I make sly references to this happening a few months ago. Honest.

    Sinon is mostly just pleased that her young follower is both paying attention and getting swept up in the sights when it matters. For her deprecation of the city of Glocken, she enjoys spending time here, or else she wouldn't be spending her afternoon in fulldive. "Familiar with some of the proprietors... I'm a preferred customer at a few of these places." I'm Hecate and this is my favourite store on ... no, no, we're not making that joke.

    She's looking at the beam sabers? That's interesting. Not the kind of thing you'd expect someone to look at right away... they're practically an afterthought even for new players. "Depends on how much of a dedicated grinder you are. In terms of raw play hours, you could get it done in eight or ten if you're really willing to, but for a new player I wouldn't recommend it. It'd bore you out of your skull. And I doubt you're interested in <<real money trading>>..."

    She looks up and down the list of beam sabers on a holographic wall display. "These weapons are kind of unpopular, so the market doesn't really fluctuate in terms of pricing very much."

Kirito has posed:
    "Real Money trading..." Kirito replies in english, the frown intensifying. Right back in Japanese he(?) continues, "No... not interested at all. Oh... what about that?" He(?) points at the nearby, rather loud mini-games not too far away...

    yeah, how THAT goes is pretty obvious. The end result? A room full of stupefied dudes, an emptied JACKPOT prize, and Kirito eventually returning to buy the beamsaber...

    But there's been a question that struck upon beginning to juggle the cylinder and test its weight. "What kind of weapon is that? Some kind of rifle?"

Sinon (649) has posed:
    Gambling! Cowboy robot! Surprisingly good english! Exposition on how the concept of the bullet line works! But you don't need to know about that sort of thing because you can just check out an +advantages entry. Sufficed to say the concept of 'beginner's luck' doesn't even remotely apply to this wonder girl and Sinon has to pick her jaw up off the floor as Kirito wins more money than she could know what to do with.

    Thankful for something else to talk about as Kirito takes a lightsaber out for a test swing, Sinon pauses to look leadingly at her own weapon, which she had taken out to write some notes about. "This? Hecate II. PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II. A sniper rifle... it's a legendary weapon. Not many people use this kind of gun."

    A brief moment to think. "Not that I'm bragging, of course."

Kirito has posed:
    "L-legendary?!" For one brief moment Kirito's voice deepens a touch... oddly, maybe, for Sinon's perspective. It's not the first time that's happened, but well... the newbie's surprised!

    "To think... you were that experienced of a player... I'm grateful for all the help! If you have gear like that, then what about you? Entering the BoB?"

    With that, Kirito flicks the saber on. It ignites with a snap-hiss and he starts executing a few katas experimentally... then examines the weapon's stats. "Heat and power.. so you can't just leave it on all the time..."

Sinon (649) has posed:
    Don't intimidate the poor girl, now, Sinon. And she surely IS a girl; I mean, don't we /all/ get something occasionally caught in our throat which causes our voice to suddenly sound really weird for as long as it takes for a bout of loud throat-clearing to clear it?

    "I'll be entering, definitely."

     "You remember what I said about spending hours and hours grinding for money, and how I wouldn't recommend it? I stumbled into a dungeon, fell into one of the lowest levels with one of the worst bosses, holed myself up in a small hiding spot and spent /hours and hours/ knocking its health down all by myself. When I explain it it's a lot less glamorous."

    But she's not bragging.

    She just absolutely wasn't going to let a /monster/ be stronger than her, because if she did, then what hope did she--

    Hey, that's some pretty fancy moves! Sinon gives Kirito a little applause. "You really look like the real deal. That's a skill from a fantasy world... guess I'd better not underestimate you."

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito gives Sinon a somewhat awkward smile that hides how confident he(?) is in his skills... but the litle stint of showing off there doesn't!

    "Aha... you praise me too much. I'm still new here even if my stats are from a transfer!"

    And definitely max level, all things considered.

    This is the same avatar that goes back years to the dawn of Sword Art Online...

    The newbie does grin sympathetically at Sinon's tale! "You found quite a spot to pull something like that off! It's not a feat you could accomplish with a sword..."

    Briefly, irito falters, once again glances Sinon over, then...

    "Let's see... I'll need armor of some kind, right?"

Sinon (649) has posed:
    "That's true. You're going to have to make sure you know what you're doing... most people don't use melee weapons because of... well, you know."

    Sinon gestures broadly all around them. "Guns."

    Kirito's looking her over but it's something she considers relatively harmless. She herself doesn't have much armor at all; it's for the sake of mobility, really. Sinon is very much a 'glass cannon'. As such, *shrug*.

    "Getting something like a <<Forcefield>> to protect yourself from energy weapons is pretty much ubiquitous. Most players use those against monsters..."

    Cut to Sinon showing Kirito various wrist or belt-mounted bubble shields. Also a brief stopover to try on bulletproof jackets!

    "But sometimes people get desperate in PVP. You really should have at least some sort of sidearm..."

    And now, it comes to the moment of truth. Sinon's pretty insistent about this... ready to choose and handle a gun, Kirito?

Kirito has posed:
    When Kirito's done equipping himself, he's wearing... lots and lots of black. Black pants. A black shirt. A black... buttcape. The heaviest armor is a fiber and metal-weave breastplate.

    SO MUCH BLACK.

    There's just no escaping that outfit, is there?

    "You're right... what would you recommend? It's for the BoB, so a physical gun, right?"

Sinon (649) has posed:
Something something soul something something destiny something something black swordsman.

    Well, swords/woman/. Because Kirito's a woman! And at no point during the fitting of clothing does Sinon question this fact.

    She's clearly just flat-chested. That is ok! Some girls are just that way.

    Physical gun? Sinon nods. "For you, something like accuracy is more important than power. You need something that you can use to distract your opponent... hold him off while you close in..."

    She sits down for a moment to think about this. "Bear with me."

    It might be impressive to Kirito that she's just spending a moment boggling through all of these gun choices in her head. She's not even visibly using any sort of lookup tables or menus. You've clearly met a girl who has a very thorough knowledge of guns, here...

    Wonder if she's heard of a gun that can kill players from inside of the game?

    After an indecently short amount of time thinking, Sinon leads Kirito to her choice. "A fine belgium semi-automatic. What do you think? The FN Five-SeveN. 5.7mm caliber, of course... bullets only shared with the FN <<P90>>, not that that should be an issue for you... similar to sniper bullets, which means better accuracy, but the ammo's harder to find... but if that's a problem, well, I know where to go in the Howling Ruins to find monsters that drop..."

    wordswordswordswords

Kirito has posed:
    The more Sinon rants about guns the more Kirito's eyes are glazing over. Augh, words! Lots of words and terminology that's going in one ear and out the other.

    "Hoooh..." One thing's for sure, he(?)'s quite impressed with the detail in the game. "So it's not like an FPS... there's so many different ammo types. 5.7 Caliber?"

    Though sounding hesitant, he(?) doesn't hesitate much to buy the weapon. Just... first he colors it black. Close to it, anyways!

Sinon (649) has posed:
"That's right. No picking up a universal, floating stack of three bullets and having it rearm whatever weapon you have. Sometimes finding the right ammo for your weapon is harder than earning the money to buy the gun in the first place. That's why some people prefer the <<one shot, one kill>> approach. Other people like being able to carry around a gatling gun."

    Sinon puts her hands out in a 'what'cha gonna do' gesture. "Caliber is the width of the bullet. Well, the inside of the barrel, really, but it's easier to just think of it as the bullet. You might be interested in picking up some tracer or subsonic rounds, but they're rare drops."

    "Another addition to your ensemble, black sword-wielder. How much money do you have left? Might as well get some ammo and healing items as well... that's all I can really think of that's left to start you off..."

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito summons his menu with a well-practiced gesture, checks the inventory...

    "About 10,000... most of that should probably go towards ammo." After all...

    This long-haired girl(?) is apparently Untouchable!

    There's a bewildered rude cowboy AI over there as proof.

    "And thanks! You've been a huge help! ... Oh... come to think of it,... I don't know your name..."

Sinon (649) has posed:
    "My name? Most players call me 'Hecate'..."

        "But my name is Sinon."

    And there it is! Right on Kirito's screen, a friend request. The first on his friendlist!

        ...and quite possibly one of the first on hers...

    What is it about this strange black sword-wielder that captured Shino Asada's attention? Well, maybe it was just the assumption that she was helping out a very pleasant girl, at first...

    Over the course of the next couple months, these two maintained an... interesting relationship. Inevitable anime hijinks led to the rather shocking revelation of Kirito NOT actually being a girl, which caused things to ... go badly, sufficed to say... Sinon probably thinks that he's still kind of a perv and she's hurt and frustrated, but he seems so well-meaning and there's some strange mystery just below the surface that keeps her subconciously from dismissing him.

    And as the Bullet of Bullets approaches, things are going to happen that will change her life forever...