Scene #9713: Shopping Day in Mac Anu

Owner	Pose
Atoli	/_\ Eternal City Mac Anu It's the world's most average day in Mac Anu. The steady flow of new players means there's always dozens of people coming and going from the Chaos Gate area, and the guild shops have never been busier. Sure, Haseo probably leaves that work to Gaspard, as usual, but today it's especially hard to miss. Pretty much every store has someone manning it, and players are cycling from one to the next in a rapid flurry. Moon Tree is not exempt! And their clerk, today, is Atoli! "Thank you, please come again!" 'Thanks! This gear'll be great for my noob friends.' 'Hey do you have any recovery items left?' "Of course! We have a special right now, every 10 you buy we'll throw one in! Are you looking for HP or SP ones?" 'Just one for ten? 10% off is pretty cheap. Can you do better?' "U-Um... I don't think I can really..." 'Ugh, whatever. I'll just get them off some noobs.' "N-No, wait! That isn't nice!" 'Who cares? Just offer me a better deal if you care that much.' "That's blackmail!" 'It's consequences. So what about it?' Atoli tenses behind her little stand, all the while the player starts laughing. He doesn't look like particularly hot stuff. A Steam Gunner in his low levels, still, but definitely a PK. "Y-You... shouldn't treat people like that!! Players are putting tons of hard work into getting money and items, you can't just steal them!" 'So who's gonna stop me?'
Haseo	Haseo has guild duties. He has GU duties. He has tracking down Tri-Edge duties. He's got so many reasons to be on The World at any given time basically, so it's really not a surprise when he shows up standing behind the steam gunner, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed. "This guy bothering you Atoli?" He's not directly threatening him, but his tone and delivery make it very clear that there's going to be problems if he continues to exist within his vicinity. Truthfully, if it wasn't for it being against the rules to PK in Root Towns and Atoli being here, he'd have PKed him already. It's the only language scum like this understands after all, not that he's really against using it.
Atoli	"!! Haseo!" Atoli half-abandons her little stall, taking a few steps towards him, possessed of the sudden divine gift to ignore the childish man trying to swindle potions out of her. "N-No, it's okay! He was just leaving, I think." 'The Hell I was,' the player begins, stepping closer but stopping short of actually making contact. He stares down Atoli, looks curiously towards Haseo, raises an arm-- "So! How have you been, mister Terror of Death?" Atoli giggles. This causes the player to pause, look at the two, and reconsider. 'W-Whatever. Keep your potions.' Off he goes. Atoli, very happy to have caused this and being a little bit cheeky about it, grins at Haseo. "Hehe. You still have it. :)"
Haseo	Haseo just watches the steam gunner leave, making a mental note of them that he'll probably forget by the end of the day because he's not important enough to commit to memory. "Pffft. Loser." He then returns his attention to Atoli, running his fingers through his hair as if he's preparing himself for a headache. Knowing her nauseating level of naivety and kindness, he probably will have one by the end of it, but he likes to think he's developed a bit of a tolerance. Just a tolerance, though, and nothing else. "Man. You'd think being part of the Arena Emperor's team would mean you wouldn't have to deal with guys like that, but I guess it's not your face plastered all over the screens in Lumina Cloth..." He doubts she's thought about that, but maybe bringing it up will get her to say something about it. "Anyway. I'm the same as always. Server rollback or not, at least I still have my friends list this time. How about you? How's Moon Tree lately?"
Atoli	"Mm, well, I don't know if I'd want that kind of publicity, even if it was nice to win," Atoli smiles, sidestepping the matter of an Arena Empress being in Moon Tree. "But it's fine! You showed up, see?" Everything worked out okay! The topic drifts to Moon Tree, and she almost bounces in excitement. "It's going well! We've been really busy farming a lot of low level equipment and healing items to help our new players out, and to sell the surplus! Would you like to see? Here, let me show you!" No answer needed. She steps back behind her counter. "Welcome to Moon Tree's shop! Can I interest you in anything? We have weapons for all classes, and armors, and accessories! And we've got all the healing items! And don't forget about your Smoke Screens and your Fairy Orbs!" If Haseo opens the shop interface, it is exactly as she says! ... all of it's much too low level for him, though. This really is a sale for newbies or people looking to gear up their newcomer friends, or stock up on items.
Haseo	"I can't solve all your issues, you know. I got even more responsibilities than just this game these days. But... Whatever. I guess it's fine for now, we'll talk about that later." Still as reliant on people as always, it seems. It's annoying, but honestly, at least there's some development. Like, she's only glued to Sakaki most of the time now rather than all the time. Yeah. Development... If he thinks about that stupid eggplant looking asshole for another minute, he's going to gag, so instead he just takes up Atoli's offer to look at her guild's stock. It's... It's... "Huh. I think that's the same stuff Gaspard stocks up on at Canard when I'm not dumping random crap I find. Is there really a demand for this stuff when you can find half of it at NPC shops???"
Atoli	"It's fine!" It's fine. Haseo goes over the stock, and Atoli beams her widest grin. "Of course there's demand! It's about supporting the guilds too, you know? Knowing that your money is going to people and not NPCs, it's a good feeling! Even if you have to pay a little bit more." She bends forward a bit, face a bit closer to Haseo's to push. "You understand, right, Guild Master of Canard?" Eyes closed, big smile. "Oh! Maybe... um... let me see... most of this is too low level, huh...? OH! Haseo! Haseo, look, what about these?" Atoli produces, out of her inventory, a pair of twin blades. They're level 1, have low stats, no bonuses, but one is visibly themed after a golden lily, and the other after an orange fox's tail, making them unique in being asymmetrical twin blades. They're clearly a cosmetic item, named Lilium Amaterasu. Very pretty! Very rare. No longer obtainable. "What about these? There was an event sometime ago, um, I don't remember the whole details because I missed some of it due to my exams... oh! But it was about a wedding. Like a collaboration CC Corp did to celebrate a wedding. It was really fun! Anyway, if you didn't manage to get one to drop, I thought I'd hold on to it. Just in case! How about it?"
Haseo	"It all goes back to the social aspect, huh? Well, I'm not gonna complain, I've got more in-game money than I know what to do with because of it. Anyway, I guess I get it." There's also the card he got from the Concord, but he really doesn't think CC Corp or even the players would appreciate him crashing the game economy just using that without thought, so he's only reserving that for emergency applications. Feels like he wouldn't have cared that much about ruining the game for other people before, but between Alkaid's reaction and what he's been through in the Multiverse, unfortunately that small bit of empathy for others he had has been feasting pretty well, and he's too afraid to starve and kill it in case his head gets crushed by a snake again. "Lilium Amaterasu?" Knowing a bit about flower language, lilies are already a bit of a red flag, and when Atoli actually shows them to him and explains where they came from, he recoils away from both the weapons and her smile, his face turning into flustered fear. HOLD ON. HIT THE BREAKS! SHE'S NOT SHINO! THAT'S ATOLI! JUST SAY NO! YOU CAN SAY NO! SHE ALREADY HATES YOU PROBABLY, YOU CAN AFFORD TO TAKE MORE HITS TO YOUR SOCIAL STANDING! JUST LOG OUT NOW! His brain is screaming at him to leave. He actually probably should just leave. Saying yes is just going to hurt him in a stupid way, and it's not like there's anyone to blame but himself. HOWEVER, he's been a bad enough friend to Atoli, and while he's still too much of a weakling to just apologize, he does want to make it up to her. So he just laughs, doing his best to wear his customer service smile, though his best can't hide the drained look on his face. "Y-Yeah. I can see a use for them, actually... So uh... How much?" He prays for server problems silently, but CC Corp would never let him down if it meant saving him. He's on his own, as usual.
Atoli	"Of course it's about the social aspect! This is an online game, Haseo! If you're not playing to interact with other people... what's the point?" Yes hello this is Atoli, saying the incorrect things, with Shino's face. Or perhaps the correct things? It's a mystery. Haseo agrees to purchase the knives! "Oh really?!" Yay! Yippie! "How much... w-well, what about..." "Well well, if it isn't our favorite PK." Atoli freezes in place at Sakaki's voice. The much taller man approaches from the side, to stop neatly by the two, and then dramatically brushes a lock of his green hair aside, eyes affixed on Haseo completely. There isn't a mote of kindness in those eyes, not for him at least, but then he's used to that too.? You prayed for server problems. This is worse! "Sakaki, hello! I was just selling Haseo some of our gear here, business is going great!" Her posture shifts, inch by inch, towards leaning towards Sakaki just a bit more than Haseo. "Oh? Good work, Atoli. You're making Unit 2 proud." "Mhm!! :D" "But I wonder what the Terror of Death intends to do with equipment meant for new players? Or does he prefer Demon Palace Emperor, now?"
Haseo	Haseo just sucks in air and puffs out his cheeks slightly as he holds back saying anything to Atoli's chiding. He's not gonna get into the whole solo play thing with her. That's a battle to engage with another time. He kinda wishes that was the battle he was in though because a new battle walks up and he really didn't want to engage in this one either. "I'd PREFER if you'd jump on top of your sword and get the hell out of my face. But something tells me you're not gonna do that, are you?" At the very least, being nasty to this creep is a lot easier than Atoli, his tone shifting to having its usual venomous bite as he turns to face Sakaki. "What do you care what I do with it so long as you get your money? But maybe I just like flowers, you ever think of that? Besides, a new player isn't going to have much use for a piece of gear like this. It's not that much better than a normal pair of level 1 blades, and you can't even alchemize it since it's a rare item." He's glad he's got some actual knowledge in running a newbie support guild to help point out why he isn't just sniping gear from a bunch of noobs. Could he have worded it better? Probably! Is he going to? HELL NO! "If you want, I can have my guys give you some pointers on that sort of stuff, as I'm sure you're too busy with more important things to learn about that LMAO!" Haseo's tone continues to be condescending and mocking, with the LMAO, of course, being an audible, gross laugh.
Atoli	"How mature. But then you are the type to think problems can be solved with brute force. I truly don't understand why the rest of the council tolerates your antics," Sakaki chides, taking the bait and responding in kind. "Atoli, what were you about to sell him?" "Oh! It was these event blades!" Sakaki glances down, to inspect the blades. He scoffs dismissively. "The ones from the Golden Lily Wedding event? I didn't think a PK would have any interest in a sentimental collectible like that." His attention shifts, leaky and bored, from Haseo to Atoli. He smirks, picking and prodding where he knows it works. "Could it be that our very own Demon Palace Empress had an effect on her... Emperor? Domestication? Education?" "Wh-wh-wh-what? It's-- it isn't-- S-Sakaki! You know that I..." "Wouldn't betray Moon Tree? Of course." He turns back to Haseo. "I'm just curious. Any input, Haseo?" The name coming out of his lips is just gross.
Haseo	PK is, again, not allowed in Root towns. That was his first reaction to Sakaki being a piece of shit. Instead he just freezes and thinks for a bit on how to use his words to drive a knife under his ribs, eventually finding the words he thinks will piss him off the most. "What's the matter? Afraid I'm gonna steal your number one fan away? Gonna be honest Sakaki, I think jealousy suits you a whole lot better than the whole holier than thou shtick." Haseo can't really laugh at what he just said for a lot of reasons, really, his eyes going from Sakaki to Atoli before springing back. "But leave her out of this, this is between you and me, got it?" Hopefully that gets him to move on to something else, he doesn't want him getting under his skin by teasing about this sort of crap. "So can I buy the blades now, or do you want to continue harassing me like usual?"
Atoli	"Am I?" Sakaki looks at Atoli, who shrivels under his gaze. "No, not at all. Unlike you, I value the people around me, and I don't cause them to go crying to someone else." He greasily places his hand on Atoli's shoulder. "Good work today. Keep at it." "Y-Yes, Sakaki!" Sakaki takes a step away, withdrawing as his answer to whether he'll let the sale proceed or not. "Do avoid getting any needless blood on her hands, Haseo. That's a person you're impacting, not an NPC in some sordid quest." A full flick of his hair, and the Edge Punisher walks away to the deeper parts of the city, on some business or another. "I-I'm sorry about that. Um... do you still want them?" Atoli opens a trade window with Haseo, putting them int. "I... I got them for you, so, really, you don't have to pay anything."
Haseo	It takes a bit for Haseo to calm down once Sakaki leaves enough to where it feels like he's not going to bite Atoli's head off, letting out a sigh as he notices the trade window that Atoli opened. "What the hell are you apologizing to me for? It's not your fault." Okay. He might still be a bit snappy, but as soon as he says that, he's quick to shove around 20ish thousand worth of GP into the trade offer before Atoli can notice. It's everything he was actually carrying on him at the moment, but it's not like he can't make that back in a day if he wanted. And again, the Concord credit card. "Look, rules are rules when running the shop, if it's not paid for, you can't buy it. And I'll be damned if I let you pay for me." A level 1 weapon that can't be alchemized or customized and is barely better than a Spin Gai Gu? Finally acquired! He actually doesn't know what he's going to do with these blades, actually, but he guesses he could just shove it into his guild bank along with the rest of the useless 5* items he's been collecting for Ryu Book collection. He'll... Figure it out later. "Anyway. I gotta get going. You still got my member address, right?" What a dumb question, of course she does, he can still see her in his member's list after all. "So look, just give me a call if you need anything. I'll try to help so long as I'm not busy and it isn't something stupid, okay?"
Atoli	"Well it's a little bit..." "A-And, if I'd dealt with it faster...!" "A-And this isn't a sale, it's a gift, so..." In her stammer and rapid responses she doesn't notice Haseo sneakily dump his entire wallet on her until it's too late, and then flusters hesitantly at the result. Terrible! Awful! "I... I feel like I should be arguing with you more about this, but maybe just 'thank you for your purchase!' will do." She straightens herself, takes in a deep breath, and bellows out: "Moon Tree thanks you for your patronage!! Please come again! :)" She relaxes, giggling just a bit. "Mhm! I still have your address. Let's go questing sometime! After all, you should always have a healer in your party, and I'm the only one you can tolerate, right?" It's a LITTLE bit true. Just a bit. The thought they might have to defend their arena title enters her mind briefly. Oh that's scary actually. Maybe she should level up more.