Life After the Apocalypse

Tabby's brow furrowed as he watched the room. There was a lot to be said, and he had a lot of it to say, but he recognized the gravity of this moment. Recognizing the new barbarity of bloodsport now was essential, before everything descended into madness. The illusion of immortality was going to do a number on some people, and there was no telling how people would react - either individually, or as a whole, and it needed to be addressed, as soon as humanly (cattily?) possible.

To be frank, of all the people in the room and their schemes and ideas and politics, Tabitha frightened him the most. Her reaction made his tail frizz. How could she possibly think it was all still just a game?

Grace seemed desperate to engage with the individuals, to peel them away from the idea. Tabby turned back to address the table of Guild Leaders, but his words clearly weren't just for them.

"We all knew, for the most part, when we installed the client, that there was open-world PvP. It's that kinda game." He folded his arms. "But we also all knew that if we got tired of it, we could log out. Uninstall. Go back to our lives."

"If you're outside the gates, punching a rat to farm gold to buy breakfast, and a ganker jumps you... they're not just taking your digital gold and annoying you and wasting your time. They're an assassin jumping out of your refrigerator in your apartment, shanking you and taking your literal wallet when you just wanted a pop tart."

Max considered Tabby's example for a moment - "A pop tart which tastes like the box. I have not tried it, but has anyone tried not eating? I believe the game had some buffs for certain foods, but was this a survival game? Are there even penalties for not eating. If there are, anyone know what that feels like? Not sure you can actually starve to death in this game."

"I do agree however that jumping online to play a little PVP is a lot different than living it full time. Even then, killing someone 30 levels lower than you was considered a dick move." The overly large dwarf glanced over at Tabitha when he said it, but did not expect or care if there was a response.

>>>"Food was, in the game, just another consumable like potions or other buff items." the Catfolk added to Max's aside. "It was there as a gold sink and to alleviate the 'Fatigue mechanic' that limited non-stop battle and higher quality food items provided certain buffs and immunities. Now, I'm not really sure if that's changed. Maybe it's not really required for life but maybe it is..." He shrugged as he stroked his chin in thought, "Maybe we're just assuming we have to eat because that's just what we're used to thinking we should do. Might be that we don't have to eat unless we fight." In some cases, that sounded like the best outcome given the way the majority of 'food' tasted.

>>>Not letting the main conversation drop, the white furred Wolf-Fang leaned forward on his cane as he spoke, "What we have is a difference in the perception of our circumstances. Some of us still view this as a game and some of us do not. What Ms. Everdark and her crew did was, while to use Mr. Carnage's term, 'a dick move' it was perfectly acceptable...until yesterday." His black eyes scanned the faces around him, "It may take a bit of intervention to change those perceptions IF that is something we would even want to attempt or be capable of doing en masse." He tilted his head toward Grace, "Ms. O'Bass probably has the best approach to solving the problem. We're all trapped here and villainizing a good portion of the player base for certain behaviors is certainly the surest way to entrench that behavior."

>>>"We're sitting right here." Serena sneered. "Don't talk about us like we're not even in the room." Her eyes flicked between Kallissa, Jaxxon and Grace. Her sense of control obviously fraying and that distressed her.

>>>"Let's not pretend you're the victim here, Serena." Kallissa cut the Archer off. "You're not the first to PK someone but the attack today pretty much made you and your crew the 'face' of the problem for everyone in Mound City." Her dark eyes shifted to the surly Catfolk sorcerer as Tabitha tried diligently to avoid even looking in anyone's direction, "And how is she here at the same time as you, Todd? Isn't 'Tabitha' one of your your Alts?"

>>>"Tabitha is...was...my main." he corrected, a bit of an edge in his voice. "I logged my cousin in as 'Tabitha' on Patch Day since I was trying to level this character." The regret in his voice was palpable and the way his eyes cut between the feisty sorcerer and his hands in his lap belying the responsibility he must feel for her being trapped here. "She doesn't know what she's doing. She's twelve..." Not much of an excuse for her actions but the revelation filled in a few blanks.

>>>"Hey!" Tabitha shot back. "Shut up! Don't tell people that!" Volatile would be a bit of an understatement for the girl's temperament.

>>>Lorissa tamped her golden sword on the ground and glared at Tabitha, trying to restore order. For her part, Tabitha folded her arms in a huff and returned to glaring out the window.

>>>"Interesting..." Jaxxon mentally filed away a bit of the discussion for later. ""Face of the problem', indeed. That does present a few options to perhaps curtail the issue of PK-ing. The 'Face of the Problem' can also become the 'Face of the Solution', no?" the wily wolf had a particular gleam in his eye, malevolent or mischievous depending on the observer. He implied the threat of 'the stick' and waited for someone else to offer 'the carrot'.

Grace’s tone is far more empathetic when she replies to VerminTude. "Right… that explains why your summoned creatures were used strictly for defense."

She turns to Tabitha. "There’s nothing wrong with being twelve… but something very wrong with being twelve and trapped, and adjusting to a new reality. And that isn’t your fault or Todd’s.

"I know it hurts to be told you did something wrong. But you didn’t do anything unforgivable. Like all the experienced gamers said, it’s always been a game. Maybe some of you want to challenge other players.

"Serena? After knowing what death feels like, is that still something you want?"

Her next question could be to Serena, or anyone who liked PvP. "Were there ever PvP fights that were fun to every player involved? Like, consensual fights… probably with other players of roughly equal level-range?" Looking to Serena, she adds, "Like the Colossium, but without the slavery and religious persecution. Or that new Power Slap competition—" which Grace almost called ‘stupid’ out loud "—y’know? Fights that could be organized, so everyone knows both ‘teams’ are okay with it."

Is this how Serena becomes the Face of the Solution?

He felt the tension in the room roil a bit, as the various members of the gank squad revealed various degrees of contrition. He didn't have too much sympathy for them - they hadn't exactly spared much of a thought for the people they'd ambushed.

However, Tabby's eyebrow screwed up as the situation between Tabitha and 'Todd' unfolded. While he had no envy for a child hurled into this situation, a child who could disintegrate him on command made his skin crawl. He ran his tongue uncomfortably over one fang, but held back from any kind of moralizing - that wouldn't be helpful in this instant...

>>>The golden armored Guardian put her hand on Malbraith's shoulder, stepping up to answer Grace's question. "Most combat Guilds, ours included, run PvP drills for combat experience against live opponents. It's pretty standard practice that helped with timing, teamwork, skill combos and taught Supports when and when not to intervene. But that's PvP not PK like what happened earlier." She looked around hoping she was being as clear as she could. At the levels Lorissa, Malbraith and the others were, the game played...or used to play...like an algorithm more than just button clicking. "Players in the open world we're always under threat by monsters and other players so they used to take solid steps to avoid overt risk or accept that it happens. Now, I think people are a lot less inclined to battle because it's personal now."

>>>"Indeed. ShadowBannd is primarily a combat guild and specialize in DPS. Some of our most ruthless members have been paralyzed with fear of going into combat. It was all well & good when it was pixels on a screen but now... Not everyone is cut out for the kind of actual battles we have to fight ourselves." It was a bold admission for to her lay out there. Perhaps the atmosphere between the GuildMasters was fostering some kind of glimmers of trust.

>>>"The last thing we want or need is the rise of PK Guilds..." Purrzifal warned. "There were a few before. But they were inherently unstable and prime to a lot of turnover and infighting. But now people might flock to them if they see that they can provide some kind of protection and turn into a kind of Mafia..."

"That's very likely to happen. People want the sense of safety and are often willing to trade a great deal of their own freedom for it." the Elf nodded. "And unless we're willing to live under that sort of society something should be done about it. And soon. Once this sort of thinking takes root, it is very hard to weed out. The Dead Zone battle this afternoon may have accelerated the problem now that a lot of the newer players population has gotten a taste of PvP."

"Let's not forget that most of the players involved in that battle jumped in to help fight against Serena and her crew." Ophelia interjected. "Let's not 'doom & gloom' just yet... Sure, there are bad actors out there but most of the people I've met through this game have been good people. And I've met a LOT of players in my time."

The huge dwarf had been mostly listening, distracted a bit by his guilt at insulting a person who turned out to be a kid. He needed to remember that a significant number of the players were children, many of whom had likely lost any contact with their family.

"Well, some people's first experience with PvP was to be vaporized... hard to say how long it will take those people to step foot out of the city again. I don't know what the answer is, but you've got a lot of people who need a purpose. That's why we join the guilds we joined, to have a sense of community and purpose. To have a schedule of things to do, events, raids, resource gathering."

"How many of us logged off bored because nothing was going on... well now we are here 24/7 and we can't get out. That is a lot more time to fill. If this city is to be stable - we got to start organizing things to do. Even just resource harvesting - if the guilds can offer some security and guards - those people willing to fight off the spawns while others gather."

"You guys said there is nothing you can do - there is - you can try. Just try something and advertise you are doing it. See who might join up."

Grace is starting to feel like her words are never going to sway Serena. The guildmasters are right that she is too new at this sort of environment to see much difference between PvP and PK. (Aside from only one being consensual.)

"My friends and I fought the game’s creatures because we had to. We thought death was it—no respawns—but we fought because the NPCs seemed so helpless. And Serena, I refused to fight you because you’re a real person.

"I didn’t want to die. But I preferred death over killing a real person." She says in frustration, "If you can’t see why it’s wrong, then…"

She motions to Max Carnage.

"…like Max said. Well need the high-level players who want a stable city to guard those of us willing to take on monsters. And I’m happy to get out there and risk it all—against monsters. They’re programmed to kill me. Real people have no excuse."

Grace had hoped her gentleness would make a dent, but now she recalls Belle breaking up with her. She tried the gentle approach. I was too stubborn to change, so she walked. Of course, Grace walking away from Serena is probably what Serena wants.

So she turns to VermiTude. "Your cousin’s twelve. If you want to do right by her, don’t let her become a murderer. No matter what."