settle down [social/o]

 Broadly speaking, there were two types of subjects. The things you talked about, and things you didn't talk about. When he was younger, Ruler had once quizzed his family about his cousin's strange and wobbly legs. He understood later that it was a latter category subject.
 There were other things Ruler didn't think he should talk about. 'The announcement' felt like a taboo subject, weighing heavy on everyone's hearts. He assumed it weighed heavy on everyone's minds. It weighed heavy on his, at least, and if everyone else was a thinking person like him, it'd weigh heavy on theirs.
 He didn't feel very confident about the game. Ruler'd seen some people immediately scamper off, as though it were a race. Others huddled in the Town of Beginnings. Again others had taken steady and measured steps to prepare themselves.
 Ruler didn't belong to any of those. He had first sat down, taken in the news and tried to wake himself up. When it became obvious it wasn't a dream, he'd decided to slowly get accustomed to the game, and figure out a way to deal with it.
 At the very least, if the game was a 'death game' now, he wanted to experience life a little. 

---

 The boy fell onto the bench beside Diz with a heavy thud, giving his cousin a sideward glance. He still wasn't sure how to approach Diz, or what subjects to broach, but it would feel wrong to hide from him. After all, he owed his cousin much.
 "What're ya thinking about, uncle?"
 From what he understood, Diz had been one of those players who'd rushed out immediately to explore floor one, heedless of danger and thoroughly uncautious about... that.
 "... I dunno if I can get used to this," Ruler mumbled, more to himself than anyone.

DIZ

 Ruler spared his cousin a sideways glance, and smiled as best as he could. One nice thing about the game, at least, was that expressions seemed exaggerated. It wasn't difficult at all to smile.
 "Don't think I can just 'enjoy' it," he admitted truthfully. The follow-up died in his throat: 'obviously you can'. It was a subject you didn't broach.
 That last question was harder. Ruler had been asking himself precisely that. Trying to figure out why he had been lured in. What had exactly motivated him?
 He'd told himself he was just avoiding schoolwork at first. It was probably true. At the same time, he wanted it to be more than that. Maybe it was fourteen-year-old Lord of Darkness Ii Souta speaking there, but he desperately wanted there to be deeper meaning to that poor decision.
 If only because then, he could claim he'd achieve at least something.
 "To avoid doing homework," Ruler said sheepishly after a while. With a wry smile, he continued, "Right now, I'd really love t'do my homework."
 He was going to say, 'I'd kill for it', but decided not to mention it. Though he hadn't seen any evidence yet that a death was permanent, he wasn't of a mind to try it out.
 Something about the subject also felt taboo. Ruler felt that the moment they'd discuss dying for real in a public area, the floodgates might open.
 It was true for him, at least. The longer he could push the lingering despair from the announcement to the back of his head, the longer he could keep on smiling.
 "Aaaah... I wonder..." He bit his lip. "Nah. I wonder what the second floor's like."

DIZ

 He smiled sheepishly. Probably, the last thing anyone'd expect a high school student with his test scores to say would be, 'I wish I could do homework,' and doing something fun like playing a game'd make more sense.
 But games had to be fun, and it was hardly fun knowing a mistake could cost you immensely.
 He'd heard somewhere that the higher floors were smaller, which meant that the higher up they went, the less they could explore. Ruler wondered briefly how many players would even come far enough to eventually compare the sizes between the 99th floor and this one.
 Six miles from one side to the other. Would the 99th floor be merely a fraction of that?
 Ruler stared at his boots and considered the next question. There were a few things on his mind, but...
 "Nah, just thinking what to do," he said finally. "A hundred floors. That's a long arse haul. Shouldn't I plan out a build or something?"
 The kite shield profiency he'd picked up when he started was almost mocking, demanding he take the path of a knight. But in SAO, where no classes existed, he could only take the looks of one.
 If at all possible, Ruler wanted to look a little cooler than that. If at all possible, he also wanted to be more than just a shield. Dancing with a blade, that had been his fourteen-year-old-self's fantasy.
 "Maybe I'll just stick to crafting," he mumbled, "and let someone else do the fightin'..."
 He turned his head to Diz.
 "What're your plans, uncle?"

DIZ

 Ruler chuckled, then broke into a weak laugh. Diz didn't want him to be hurt. Although he had expected it, and knew it, it still sounded a little weird.
 "Being away from the frontline is prob'ly the best way to avoid being hurt," Ruler said, and his expression hardened. "Uncle. If you're going to be on the frontline..." he inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, "y'know, that'd hurt a lot more. If something happened, I mean."
 The conversation, which he had wanted to avoid being heavy, still became heavier than a kite shield.
 He wanted to say more, but didn't. The air'd grown a bit too heavy for Ruler to take command of. He didn't have the life experience yet to know how to deal with such heavy subjects.
 To distract himself, as disrespectful as it was, Ruler opened up the menu, stared at his character. It was, pretty much, a blank slate. He'd made one decision: kite shield proficiency. From there, he could still discard that decision, put his focus elsewhere. He didn't have to use kite shields.
 He could still be the other Ruler. One who reigned over people. But Ii had no confidence that he could fill that role. Leadership wasn't for him. There were others more qualified. Probably.
 Of ten thousand people, there would surely be someone to stand up and take the reigns.
 "Dammit, making a choice is hard, y'know..." he mumbled out loud unintentionally.

DIZ

 When he was younger, he knew exactly what he wanted. At age seven, his heart's desire was a radio-controlled car. When he was ten, he absolutely had to have a new bike. The coolest bike. The bike that spent most of its time in the shed, since there were few places to bike to as a ten-year-old in a city.
 Then as he became fourteen, another desire had welled up. One that Ruler tried to push away every time he thought about it. Those were embarrassing years. He'd ran around with a makeshift cape, then moved on to wearing his yellow scarf, fluttering in the wind.
 An eye-patch to complete the look. Surely his odd-coloured eye was because of a deep power resting within him. Surely if he wished hard enough, believed strongly enough, magic could exist.
 No magic had helped when he'd once come home with a 54. His father'd smacked him, and that was the end of 'all games'. He wasn't allowed to act out anymore.
 Secretly, Ruler still had.
 As he got older, his desire to be a prince of darkness ebbed away. He just wanted to be normal now. Didn't dare to go out to watch a film, because the moment he neglected his schoolwork, there'd be a rain of blows.
 With a wry smile, Ruler thought about how his father would likely be right at home in the game. He'd stand valiantly on the frontline and pummel whatever errant monster would try to take someone's life.
 Ruler sighed deeply, leaned back and stared up at the starry sky.
 What was it he truly wanted? That had ebbed away. Ruler had solemnly believed that.
 In reality, it hadn't changed.
 "To be a hero. What else?" He added the last part without thinking, but when he had, his face flushed red with embarrassment and he averted his gaze. "W, well... I guess being a little strong'd be fine, too."

DIZ

 Ruler bumped his fist against Diz's, smiling sheepishly.
 "'course we're family," he replied, studying the menu. He wasn't sure yet what he was going to do with the friend list (it seemed a little absurd to have to have a list of friends), but it could hardly do any harm to add as many people as he could to it.
 Of course, he accepted Diz's request.
 "I meant the maths tool, though," Ruler said afterwards, shaping out the rectangular tool with his hands. "That sort of ruler. Not... not a king or queen, or something." He laughed humourlessly. "That'd be a bit too much for me, wouldn't you think?"
 He re-opened the menu for his character, and navigated to look at the blank sheet again. With a furrowed brow, he continued, "Okay, so... what if I pick up blacksmithing to craft my own weapons, then use a one-handed sword? I wouldn't need to raise any other proficiencies, and..." he tapped the menu a bit, "it'd probably let me get away with just going some Dex, right? Maybe later I can get rapiers."
 A rapier sounded interesting, at least. He'd let himself be informed about all the weapons, just in case. Brute force wasn't really his thing, and neither was shouldering every blow. Rapiers and shields didn't get along, but a rapier was pretty precise and fit well into a build with other speedy skills.
 There wasn't a need to fear if you'd never get hit, after all.
 His mistaken choice of kite shields would just serve as a reminder to research things properly before taking steps in Aincrad.

DIZ

 Ruler almost admitted he had not read any books, but thought better of it. The last thing he wanted was for his cousin, of all people, to think he was an idiot.
 He felt he'd already established that often enough, but his cool sides hadn't gotten enough exposure yet.
 Still, he couldn't help but lean in interestedly when Diz began to explain.
 Picking a role and sticking to it... well, he definitely wanted to be the agile swordsman then. But crafting was a necessity. It was a matter Ruler could not compromise on: the idea of creating things was too alluring.
 "Well, I started out with kite shield proficiency," Ruler began. He paused and hesitated, then continued, "The rest is still open. I did take a look at it, and decided I probably want to level Sprint later, pick up Rapier Proficiency and a rapier."
 He straightened on the bench and continued, "And I'll probably sink stat points into Dex all the way to the roof. It helps you dodge, right? So if I avoid everything, I won't need defences and can just focus on Dex."
 Dex was king.