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Haseo      The Eternal City of Mac Anu. A port city forever stuck in eternal sunrise. Or is it sunset? It's hard to tell, but the sun doesn't seem to ever move, giving the city a perpetual orangish tint.

     Despite the apparent situation of everyone here being 'stuck', the city for the most part seems to have returned to relative normalcy thanks to the efforts of more cool-headed individuals. The streets are crowded and full of people of various heights and races, with the guild shop area being the most populated in general.

     And why wouldn't it be? Numerous stalls and vendors are selling QUALITY gear and consumables. Gear and consumables that are a lot easier to access without risking your life and limbs out on the field where you could potentially die.

Running one of these stalls, rather surprisingly, is Haseo. Though 'running' is a bit of a strong word. The black clad man currently seems to be asleep at the job, his feet kicked up on the business counter as he just silently snores. It's not like he asked to do this job, after all, he's just filling in for a guild mate.
Atoli     The edge of a flowery yellow staff nudges Haseo in the face.

    "Haseo. Haseo you should wake up."

    Nudge nudge.

    The blonde girl huffs and puffs her cheeks.

    "Haseo stop ignoring me!"

    After she'd gone and participated in the arena for him, no less! No, worse, she was technically responsible for hurting someone! And then this happened, and of course he just... took off, doing his own thing. Atoli was slightly mad! Only slightly.

    "Haseo you can't expect people to buy from your shop if you aren't awake and servicing them with a smile! Come on!" The staff nudges become a bit more aggressive.
Staren     One way or another, Staren's learned of The World. He's come to look around and investigate this new may-or-may-not-be-a-death game -- he's dressed appropriately for a JRPG, and magically hidden his ears and tail (unless he sees that catpeople are a thing here.)

    Staren is seeing how this world is adapting -- people are stuck in the game now, how are they reacting? Are they just... living fantasy lives now? Forming a new government? What? At the moment, he's walking through the market when he spies Haseo, watching to see if his stall gets any business.

    "Serving." He corrects. "So, what's the point of... this shop, anyway? I mean, is it just something you like doing, or are you saving up extra money for something, or...?"
Haseo      Haseo simply murmurs as Atoli tries to wake him up, her words and nudging falling on currently deaf ears. Eventually however she manages to get through to him, and the Adept Rogue wakes up rather abruptly, crashing over in his chair before quickly picking himself up off the ground and dusting himself off in a panic. Slamming both his hands on the counter, he gives the most genuine smile he can muster before shouting a warm greeting.

     "WELCOOOME!"

     The smile and high energy in his voice doesn't last however, as he soon realizes just who woke him up. His face is now plastered with a much more familiar frown, and the tone he gives is much more in line with how he normally talks.

     "Oh. It's just you. You came here to buy something or what?"

     Fixing his chair, he sits back down, his arms folded against his chest as he returns part of his attention to actually running the shop.

     Staren then asks what Haseo considers a rather dumb question, which just gets the cat boy a confused look.

     "Of course I'm selling things for money, that's the whole point of a guild shop! You can't buy better gear without GP, that's how the game works... Though uh, we also carry some low level healing items for cheap. You know, for noobs. Not my idea but that's what Canard does."
Atoli     "Oh! You ARE capable of smiling!" Atoli beams, letting the bitter reply fly completely over her head. She's just happy he's awake, honest.

    The unfamiliar voice makes her turn, and she bows apologetically, almost exaggeratedly. "Ah! Sorry, sorry! Yes, that's right. I get the words mixed up a lot." The important part was nagging Haseo, not the contents of the message.

    Speaking of...

    "Haseo! Be nice, he's clearly not a player."
    Another bow.
    "I'm sorry, mister! You have to give him a few chances. That's right! This is how guilds earn money to afford better @Home features and items for their members! It's also a way to avoid just destroying unwanted items!"

    She turns to look at Haseo.

    "And you shouldn't call people noobs! You were new too!"
Staren     An 'aha' moment flashes across Staren's face. "Of course. The Concord is paying you in /credits/. We should be helping you run raids or something so you can buy better gear and items. Or seeing what we can make for you. I'm not a bladesmith, but perhaps I could get you better armor."

    He turns to Atoli. "It's alright. ...I've talked to him before. So... this is The World, huh? How are people taking it, being trapped in the game? I'm not sure what I expected to see, but... It just looks like normal. Well, from what little MMO experience I have, anyway."

    He blinks. "Oh! I'm Staren, Hand of the Concord. And you are...?" He extends a hand for Atoli to shake.
Haseo      "What a dumb thing to say. Of course I can smile!" Haseo raises his voice at Atoli, though despite that he doesn't seem all that mad. Maybe mildly annoyed, but not mad. Maybe he's actually improving as a person. Or maybe he's still kind of waking up.

    "What's the problem with calling them what they are? Also yeah, I was a noob too. Now I'm not. That's how games work. If you don't want to be called one then get good."

     Haseo picks on Atoli a bit more, though as he does so he's currently digging through the shop's counter as if looking for something. After a bit of fumbling, he manages to pull out several objects, mostly weapons. Several staffs (staves?), daggers, and broadswords are strewn across the table in a haphazard manner. Some of them look rather mundane, while others clearly have several moving parts to them.

     "Not as many people partying up, I can tell you that much. Not that I care, I'm more of a solo player. Anyway, Moon Tree and the few System Admins unlucky enough to get trapped along with the rest of us are keeping things in check. Also I guess..."

     Haseo cuts himself off as he side glances back at Atoli. Honestly, he really shouldn't care if he talks about AIDA and G.U.. It's not like she's completely out of the know when it comes to that stuff either. But still, he for some reason can't bring himself to talk about it while she's around. Besides, there's an off chance that the bastard Yata will cancel their deal if he makes it publicly known to common players, and he can't be having that.

     Letting out an agitated sigh, he just motions to the stuff he dumped. He did bring it out for a reason after all.

     "I don't know what a raid is unless you mean special events, in which case we don't have any of those running at the moment, but if you guys want to make gear here's some examples of the stuff people here use."
Atoli     "I'm Atoli! I'm a member of Moon Tree, and also of Canard!" Atoli replies to Staren, nudging her staff into Haseo's side for a moment. "He forgot to tell you about me, didn't he?"

    Of course he would.
    Nobody ever does.

    Atoli's beaming smile widens, and she nodnods at Haseo's claims. "That's right! At first, a lot of us panicked, and we had some breakdowns and a lot of crying, but... Sakaki rallied us together, and we've been helping players as much as we can! So they can keep enjoying the game until this resolves itself! We're... we're also looking for a solution, but... we haven't found anything."

    That's fine, really. This is fine.
    She's important here. She can help people. And Sakaki's nice to her.

    "Oh! A special event? Actually, we found one a while ago... oh, I don't remember the Keywords, they were..." Atoli taps her chin. "I'll get back to you on that! But it's a special field with a quest most players don't even know about! Do you want to go do it sometime, Haseo? I bet it's really nice there."
Staren     "...If there are no raids, then farming monsters, completing quests. So most people are what... staying in cities, avoiding risking death? Huh. I'd have thought /someone/ would be reckless and get themselves killed by now so you'd know what happens. I mean, look how many people die all the time outside of games." Staren rambles a bit. He glances at the weapons. "I am not a swordsmith, but we do have those. Staves... I'm not sure what the requirements are to make magic work through them, but I'm sure that working together with a mage we could find out. Would arming players with guns work? I mean, not random people, but if you want to organize a police and self-defense force to protect against monsters...""

    Staren looks at Atoli. "What's Moon Tree?"
Atoli     "Moon Tree! It's a guild! We value harmony and peace within The World, and we have over a thousand members!" Atoli responds to Staren, with just a bit of humble brag.

    "I'm a member of the second division, our officer is Sakaki! He's a great man, always looking out for other players. We do our best to stop people from PKing each other, especially with the state the game is in right now!"

    She twirls her staff a little bit. "And Harvest Clerics like me are tasked with reviving players who die! That way we can stop the worst from happening because of other guilds like Kestrel."

    She almost says that word with a hint of venom.
    Almost.
Haseo     

     "Pffffft, Sakaki." There is genuine contempt in Haseo's voice as he mutters the name Sakaki, but he really doesn't go into it. With Atoli around, it'd probably be a death sentence anyway.

     "Giving people guns? I don't know? We already have a steam gunner class, but why use that when everyone is more than capable of killing monsters with magic and the like so long as they don't go over their heads?"
Staren     Staren nods to Atoli. "Stopping such senseless deaths is good. I wonder if my technology could help? Are your bodies made of data now, or flesh and blood?" He looks to Haseo. "I admit I don't know how strong the 'noobs' are. Perhaps they don't need that, then."
Haseo      "It's data."

Haseo says offhandedly in a rather knows-it-for-sure fact. He's already putting his wares away as he says this as well.

     "Anyway, if you want to help, go for it. I'm sure Moon Tree and the GMs will /love/ you."
Atoli     "That's right! Sakaki!" Atoli repeats after Haseo, as if trying to drive the point home. "At least he's trying to do something about all this! What are YOU doing? Being grumpy and running a shop?!"

    Atoli huffs. But she very quickly seems to mellow down, and then just looks like she feels really, really bad for having said anything.

    "... sorry. I forgot... you already have something you want to do, and with the tournament paused, we can't... keep looking into it."

    He'd not really said what it was, but he'd asked her for help. So it had to be important for him to swallow his pride.

    She turns to look at Staren, pouting a bit. "Data, yes. And we... we don't have any way to know what happens to players who die, in the real world. We just know, if someone dies and doesn't get revived by an item or a cleric, they don't respawn at the last save point like they should. So, it's for everyone's safety's sake that players avoid hurting other players, and don't go on quests they don't know if they can handle."

    She fidgets with her staff a bit. "I don't know about technology, but we could probably use any help with can get. O-Oh! Haseo! Um..."

    She hesitates, and then asks:

    "Is everyone else okay, too? It's been hard getting ahold of everyone. You're not the only one who got really busy or stopped bothering with emails..." And it's not like she knows what Pi and Kuhn are, either.
Staren     "You don't have any way to know, and yet you're /concerned/, and seek to prevent death, instead of saying it's natural, necessary, to be accepted..." Staren shakes his head. "Sorry. Just... I've had to deal with people who get very /confused/. Unfortunately, though your minds are clear... I'm not sure technology designed to mend flesh can help your bodies. I guess to help we need to focus on supporting the local efforts. Should probably talk to the GMs too."
Haseo     "Yeesh, settle down, will yah?"

Haseo is seemingly unmoved by Atoli's tantrum. He's kind of used to them at this point, honestly.

     "Also what do you mean is everyone else fine? Of course they are, or I wouldn't be here! Gaspard is just asleep because he's a kid and Silabus is busy running errands."

     Haseo, being Haseo, gives an extremely blunt answer. He might also be missing the point of Atoli's question, but if he is he doesn't really care.

     "Well, if you want to talk with the GMs, I know a bastard you can talk to later if you really want."
Atoli     "Until we know for sure, wouldn't it be best if people refrained from PKing?" Atoli asks Staren, as if to reiterate his conclusion that they Care. Well, truth told, it's just another excuse for Moon Tree to push their anti-PK agenda, too.

    "I'd rather be relieved that dead characters "only" got logged out after stopping most of them, than finding out they got hurt or worse and we did nothing to help," she adds, with a bit of standing straight and conviction. "Sakaki says it's going to help bring the community of The World together more than anything else before, so it might not be such a bad thing."

    As for whether or not she believes that...
    Well, Sakaki said it.

    She looks back at Haseo, nodding despite the question going right over his head. "Good. That's good."

    She silently stares at him, not sure what else to say. Her staff shifts from one hand to the other nervously, as if that made the silence better. Her hat remains large and stupid.
Staren     Staren blinks. "It would /always/ be best if people refrained from PKing. Your reasoning makes much more sense than many I've talked to." He smiles.

    "So, how many locals are aware of the Multiverse?"
Haseo      "Normally, I'd argue that it's just a part of the game. But this really isn't a game at the moment. I mean it is, but you get what I mean."

     At the question of the multiverse, Haseo simply motions towards the long stretch of road behind them. If one squints hard enough, they can make out a large blue glowing orb inside of a building-like structure.

"Pretty much everyone, the Chaos Gates changed so that they now allow access to the outside. A good number of people don't want to leave in fear of getting 'stuck' out there the moment this bug gets fixed."
Staren     Staren looks at the gate. Ah. Of course, people /must/ know.

    He looks back to Haseo. "'Bug'. They think that programmers at the company that made this game are working on computers somewhere, and eventually they're going to release an update that allows them to log out?"

    Staren shakes his head. "I find that incredibly unlikely. This world has a reality of its own now. It is not constrained by programming. Otherwise I couldn't be here."

    Staren stares into space for a moment. "So they don't /really/ know, do they. That there's a myriad of other worlds out there far too complex to be a glitch in The World's code. Or they hide from it. Or those who've figured it out don't tell the others for fear of inciting despair and panic."

    Staren tilts his head to one side slightly, looking back at Haseo and Atoli. "It's reasonable that they'll need time to get used to the idea... but those of you who hope to shape the future might want to embrace it before everyone else does."
Atoli     "Yeah, what he said," Atoli parrots Haseo, mostly to try to put something in the awkward silence she's otherwise providing.

    She listens to Staren, and then shuffles uncomfortably. Clearly she's been through several of those phases herself, and still has to deal with a lot of it. She doesn't seem strong enough to shoulder that burden, and yet here she is.

    "It's been kind of hard with some people but... well, there've been incidents like this in the past, with nasty computer stuff happening or people falling into comas because of a game, so... it's not that hard to accept, once you move past worries like..."

    Atoli stops.
    When she drones on, it sounds a bit sadder than before. Less 'repeating what others said' and more... self-talk. "I wonder what's up with my body. I hope the real me is alright. I hope no one's too worried about me. I hope someone waters my plants."

    Atoli waves a hand in the air.

    "It was worse a few weeks ago than it is now."
Staren     Staren gives Atoli a serious look. "You /are/ the real you. Maybe there's also a real you somewhere else. Maybe not." He shrugs. "A body's a body, but it isn't you. Although... it would be preferable if contact were established with your world so you could talk to..." He glances away briefly, aware he's close to what is probably a touchy subject, "...people who aren't here, again. ...I guess I didn't think about how you might have created characters you don't want to BE. If, uh, your current bodies are uncomfortable, maybe there's a way to get new ones..."
Tomoe Someone else has wandered into the city has bee been exploring the towering form of what could be an elf with purple hair is coming striding up ot the group. She's glad in a mix of plate and cloth gear that looks out of place in The World R2. Staren would know in a moment whom it Tomoe has found her way here she pauses for a moment at the conversation and will speak in.

"Hey Staren? Got some new friends here?"

She takes a moment.

"I can only guess how that might be, with my own situation we were all force reset to our real-life gender and appearances by the man behind the whole mess. It takes time to accept it and I don't know how death works here, but your going to need to watch out for the ones who snap and either don't think it's real, or do and go on a rampage."
Atoli     "N-No! This body's fine, really. It's still a bit odd to be seeing The World directly instead of through my M2D, but... being Atoli is fine."

    It's fine, really. Just fine. Peachy.
    Mostly.

    "I don't know about people stuck in bodies they don't like. If you can convince Haseo's friend to let you talk to the GMs and tamper with The World, maybe some people would be happier and safer that way. A lot of us, we decided to keep playing the game to forget."

    And... "Besides, what teenager hasn't wished they could play their favorite game all day and all night without consequences? It hasn't been bad for everyone."

    She's an addict, okay, don't judge.

    Tomoe mentions snapping. Atoli winces a bit.
    "Y-Yeah. We're hoping that doesn't happen."
    A lot. They're hoping a lot.
Staren     "M2D?" Staren echoes, curiuously. "Well. The consequences are that if you die in the game you quite possibly die for real. On the bright side, you probably don't get sick, and stay young and healthy forever, huh? Anyone who had bad eyes, or a bad heart, or a bad leg..." Staren snaps his fingers. "They're better now, right? Virtual worlds have a lot going for them."

    He turns to Tomoe. "Not 'friends' yet, perhaps, but clearly a situation that the Concord, and the Gatecrashers Union, should keep tabs on. How've you been?"

    Staren looks back to Atoli. "You know, could the GMs just... turn off death? I wonder..."
Haseo      "Someone's looking into it at the moment, but they're more concerned with other things. Anyway, it's like you said. A good chunk of people don't accept it, but they're slowly coming around."

     Haseo stands up from his seat and begins to stretch, apparently getting tired of standing in the same old spot.

     "Haven't heard anybody getting a gender or race change yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if that Bastard found a way to do it. He's pretty resourceful." He doesn't elaborate on who this 'Bastard' is, but it's probably easy to infer that he's talking about his GM friend. Probably.
Atoli     "M2D. Um..." Atoli tries to recall. "Micro... something Display. It's another M word. We just call them M2D. They're augmented and virtual reality visors. I'd show you mine but..."

    Atoli taps at the side of her head.

    She regains her wide, happy smile afterwards, brushing all of these matters away. "Anyway! Good luck with the GMs, mister Staren. It'd be great if we could make things safer for everyone."

    She spins on her heels to look at Haseo.

    "And Haseo! Let's make a party and go to that special area I was talking about earlier, it's been a while since we played together!"

    It's not a question.
Tomoe Tomoe says "Much like how I'm more this."

She points at herself.

"Then who I was before oh I'm sorry I did kind of barged in I'm Tomoe the Iron Lily, Vice Guild Master of the GU."

She pauses to nod to Staren.

"Another possible death game is part of why I have stuck my head in here. Wait there's GMs stuck here too? Look we don't have much but I'm willing to tentatively offer the help of my guild and full out offer my own."

She grins a bit then pauses "Wait like old vr goggles? Old school VR gaming...as for there being GMs? It might be a good idea to talk to them."

Tomoe sees the exchange with Atoli and Hasaeo and she ain't getting mixxed up in that it's like watching Asuna drag Kirito off too something in a way.
Haseo      Haseo squints at Atoli as she offers him up an invitation, then grimaces as he remembers the last time she invited him somewhere to 'level'. He could say no. He could just say no, make an excuse that he's busy with the Concord, and be done with it and she probably wouldn't even question it!

     "Whatever. Fine by me."

     But he doesn't. He wants to beat himself up over it, but he's got to remain her friend if he wants to use her later. Besides, events generally give good limited time gear, so even if it's not useful for him he can always pawn the loot off for a ton of cash at his guild. His reasoning is perfect.
Staren     Staren nods slightly at the explanation of VR goggles.

    He looks to Tomoe. "Do you think SAO Survivors like yourself might be able to... provide psychological help for the people trapped here?"
Tomoe Tomoe says "I think some of us might be able to help but a lot are busy with all the game zones? Many have picked up their swords again if only to protect where they live. I'll see what I can do though I think Thinker and his Wife Yuler might be some of our best bets they are people persons. I'm willing to help myself too."