Stithis: With a yawn Marcus rolls out of bed, his feet hitting the ground with an audible thump. His sits on the edge of his bed for several minutes before he realizes why he feels like something's missing. 'I can't hear uncle's radio. . .' The middle aged man always had the radio on when working in the shop below. Unable to afford an actual PA system he simply plays a radio behind the counter so that the shoppers have something to listen to while the peruse the shelves of antiquities. Shaking his head a few times he finally recalls that his uncle had decided to have a half day today, spending the morning out appraising a few things for the local rich people in the surrounding counties.
Yawning again he rises, shuffling around his small apartment doing his normal morning dos, sparing a glance at his game corner longingly before heading back into his room to get dressed for the day. The teen takes one look at his messy appearance in the mirror and lets out a groan before shuffling over to his bathroom. He's not a morning person. Despite this however, he is a hard worker and as the water cascades over his body, washing away some of the sleep from his system, he recalls that he promised to reorganize the antique toys section since they had a rowdy child in the other day who'd done a fabulous job of scattering everything about.
“Damn kids. . .” he murmurs, letting out a long sigh before slipping out of the shower and drying off. He has nothing against them, really, but it is easy to spot the bad parents through them. Once he's actually ready for the day, his hair in some vague semblance of combed and his clothes draped lazily around his body, he makes his way downstairs to do the task. The small shop is rather dark, even after flipping on the overhead lights and with a faint cough at the ever present dust – his uncle says it gives the place some atmosphere, silly man – he sets to work. About the time he gets the last piece in place he hears the telltale creek-fwump of the mail being pushed through the door slot. Scooping it up he smiles at the sight of what's on top.
“Finally.” he murmurs, putting his uncle's mail on the counter and racing back upstairs, looking more awake now than he has all morning. He's been waiting for this for days, the game he's heard so much about, SBURB. The lights of his apartment stay off as he races over to his game corner and plops down in front of his gaming computer. The consoles scattered about the large TV to his left seem to feel left out, all perfectly polished and waiting, but he doesn't see them right now. No, he has the game he wants, and they will just have to wait their turn. Pulling out the insert he begins reading it carefully. He mumbles everything aloud, the last part making him grin widely. “Man, this sounds so cool. . . .” Pulling up his Pesterchum he sends a call out to a few of his contacts, asking if anyone's willing to play with him. Seeing as he needs both a Host for himself, and Player for him to host, he makes sure to make all the call outs open for both.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Hey chika, you got that new game yet? I need a Host, someone to help me get my gear set up in game. Or I could host you if you'd rather. Either way, we should play together!
Stithis → Baker: Yo, Baker Man, I got the new game today, did you? I needs me a Host, or a Player, you game? Please tell me you got it in!
Stithis → Skip: Dude, I know you're overseas, but you told me last week you got the game in. I FINALLY got my copy! We should totally do this man. Be my Host! Or would you rather I wreak havoc on your poor little character? *Mad cackle* Anyways, I see you're offline, but get back to me when you can!
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Fire Lord: In a fit of pique James whips his school satchel across the room, the contents spilling all over the floor with a clatter as it crashes into the wall just beneath the window pouring far too much sunlight on to his dark mood. With a growl he slams the blinds closed, almost ripping the thick fabric off it's rings before he throws himself on to his bed, the torrent of tears finally breaking loose as buries his face in his pillows. Despite the sorrow and pain however, his sobs are quiet, the youth knowing better than to make this “weakness” known throughout the entire dorm. He knows what his fellows would think of such childishness, and how his teachers would find it necessary to inform his parents, and that's the last thing he wants and needs right now.
'I hate them, I hate it all, why does it have to be like this!?' Bitting his lip hard he tries to make the tears stop, but in the end he knows it's just better to let them flow until they stop naturally. Tucking his balled up fists beneath his chest he lets himself cry, trying his hardest to get the conversation that had upset him so out of his mind, even as every little word seems to lash across his heart like a fire whip. It isn't until that visual comes to his mind that he finally begins getting control of his body. 'Fire whip. . .Fire. . . Fire is mine, mine to control, mine to wield. . .I have the power here. . . .' His breath comes out as a hiss as the strength that had left his body in his sorrow returns, then grows.
Pushing himself off his bed James wipes his face clean on his pocket handkerchief and makes his way over to his desk. “I am the master here. I don't have to care here, to be such a foul lier. I can just. . .I can just burn it all down. That's what I can do. . .” Logging on to his Pesterchum he takes a few slow breaths before opening his drawer and looking over his stack of MMO disks. His boyish face is scrunched in contemplation until he spots his newest acquisition and with a devilish smile he pulls it out. “SBURB huh? Well, let us see shall we, if you live up to the hype.” Chuckling softly, the prospect of playing a new game pushing away most of the upset from before and filling him with a sense of power he pulls out the “read me” booklet insert and begins studying it, scowling slightly at the idea of anyone “hosting” him, but accepting it as a game mechanic and nothing else. With a half pout however, he decides to check out what this “Hosting” was like before allowing anyone to “Host” him. Pulling up his friends list - a rather short pathetic thing - he sends out the same call out to all of them, looking for anyone playing the game.
Fire Lord → Selendri: Hey, looking to Host someone playing SBURB. Send me a shout out if you need a Host.
Fire Lord → BubblegumcAndi: Hey, looking to Host someone playing SBURB. Send me a shout out if you need a Host.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Skip: With a groan Laurra glares at the source of her irritation. This just so happens to be a computer. Laptop to be exact, resting on a desk a few feet away. It's not her laptop, so her irritation is warranted, even though she could have just shut it off before laying down in the hotel bed, which is also not her own. So, it's her own damn fault, but as she pulls her gun and points it at the screen, she really doesn't care. In her half asleep state it seems perfectly reasonable to threaten the computer into silence, but as the little window on the screen continues to flash she slowly comes out of her tired state and slips off the bed, holstering her sidearm.
Plopping down like a limp rag in the rather too comfy desk chair, the dark room causing the computer screen to light up her face and hair in a rather creepy manner, she pulls up the blinking window and scowls at it, hoping that whoever disturbed her sleep will be able to feel her displeasure. It takes a few times reading the message for her to comprehend it and with a sigh she closes the window. She's about ready to go back to sleep when a faint itch in the back of her mind starts up. “A game, huh? Where you can weak havoc on other people?” She smiles faintly, her killer instincts kicking in. Going over to the only bit of luggage sitting in the room, propped up against the wall by the door, she flicks on the overhead and begins rummaging through it, hoping to find this “game”.
She's got several hours before her target will be position, so until she can bring down her real life target, she contents herself with the idea of picking on some game characters. With a grin she pulls out what looks to be what she's been searching for, tossing he hair back over he shoulders with a shake of her head as she reads the cover. “What the fuck kinda name is SBURB?” she mutters, Flipping the case this way and that before shrugging and pulling out the little booklet. With minimal effort she memorizes the instructions, a bit intrigued at the wording, then sets it aside. Setting aside the whole need to actually have other people to play with for now, she pulls out the first disk and smiles. “Looks like a good way to kill time before killing time. . . .”
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BubblegumcAndi: youtube.com/watch?v=ktBMxkLUIwY
Andi’s alarm clock has a ten year old ipod sitting on top, and it is set to increase in volume until it is uncomfortable, and impossible to ignore. She has never had a particularly hard time getting up in the morning, but if she picks the right song, it hits the chorus at the perfect volume, and she can jump out of bed in an oversized t-shirt singing. This verse, near the end of the song, is the moment she is waiting for, and she throws the covers back and jumps to a standing position, singing as loud as she wants.
“Lean with it, rock with it,
When we gonna stop with it,
Lyrics that mean nothing, we were gifted with thought,
Is it time to move our feet to an introspective beat,
It ain't the speakers that bump hearts, it's our hearts that make the beat.”
The verse is repeated three times, and she sings louder each time, grabbing the brush off her nightstand and standing on her bed yelling the lines, trying to get the verse out in a single breath. The song ends abruptly, and Andi turns down the sound to a more manageable volume, and begins to pull clothing off the floor, sniffing various articles until she finds a decent combination. The next song on the playlist begins, and she absently sings to herself as she gathers her things and goes into the next room to shower. When she emerges later, she glances at the clock portion of the alarm and curses. She is running way behind—how long had she been in the shower?
Andi grabs the ipod off the dock, and shoves her earbuds into the slot as she heads towards the door. Her coat is thrown over her arm, and she slings her backpack over her shoulder as she heads down the stairs—since the damn elevator is out again. Being on the fourth floor isn’t the worst possibility, but it certainly lessens her desire to bother with makeup before she leaves her apartment. She makes it the two blocks to the bus just as it is pulling away, and the driver likes her well enough to wait for her to get on.
While she sits on the bus, Andi looks through her backpack, checking for the things she should have looked at before she let the apartment. She had all her stuff, including the mail she had gotten yesterday and hadn’t bothered to sort. Taking the time to sort it now, she makes one pile for bills that she isn’t ready to pay, and the other pile for junk mail. The one item that seems to be neither is her copy of some new game called SBURB. She read a bit on it before making the purchase, and was a bit persuaded by one of her online friends to splurge. Now that it is here though, she weighs the disk in one hand and her stack of bills in the other, doubting her purchase decision. You can probably return it, she reasons, so long as you haven’t installed it. She can at least look at the manual, for information about whether the game can be returned, of course.
She doesn’t find any information on their return policy, but the manual itself seems pretty cool. She likes when texts about a game have a defined voice. Even if that voice is in place to pester or make fun of the player, it really brings the game alive, and from them manual she gets the impression that this odd little game would be full of stuff like that. The bus begins to slow at her stop, and Andi shoves everything back in her bag and stands.
A twenty minute journey total, she gets of the bus and walks the last block to the school. The first hour is spent in class, with one of the demonstrators at the center and all of the students at sculpting tables with a head and a large amount of clay. They are working on speed sculpting—getting a form for a mask quickly without losing symmetry. The teachers came around to offer tips, but left after another hour of working with the class of twenty. The students have the rest of the day to finish their monster heads and mold them. After finishing setting up their molds, most students will be going to lunch, and then return to work on designs in Zbrush, to have a cohesive design for the paint job to present.
Once most of the students have left, Andi goes to the lab and plants herself in the corner. The computer is unofficially hers, and the other students rarely bother her for it. Since they are all getting food anyway, she doesn’t need to argue with anyone as to why she likes it so much. Andi opens up Zbrush, and starts roughly modifying her image from yesterday to what she was actually able to create today, but doesn’t get far before the disk in her bag comes to mind again.
Curious, she logs into her Pesterchum, and sees three pending messages. The first is clearly spam—some guy requesting to join her contacts--claiming to have seen her profile and wants to protect her on the big bad internet. She deletes it quickly, and moves on to the important messages, seeing that they are both about SBURB. Weird. she thinks and glances over to her bag, pulling out the game once more.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: I got it today. YAY! I was thinking about not playing…but you’ve twisted me arm :P We need to host someone and be hosted right?... Ya, you can host me. :D
BubblegumcAndi → Fire Lord: So weird, I actually got a message from someone else about this game today too! I told him that he could host me already, but if you are still looking for someone to be your host, I could do that! Let me know either way. Hope you enjoy the game!
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Fire Lord: Looking at the reply from the artist he's taken a liking to James lets out a huff and pops in the first disc, figuring he'd get it out of the way for now. He watches the images, the music grating on his nerves a bit, but once it's done he simply stares at the screen, waiting for someone to host to reply to him.
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Stithis: Marcus watches the download screen, fascinated, pulling out his phone when he hears that he has a message on Pesterchum as the download screen takes up the whole screen rather than being in a window. Glancing at the message he pumps his fist and grins.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Sweet! So, um, it says you just gotta download the first disc, then I do the second one which will me to host you. You gotta check this out, the download screen was all intense :P Let me know when you got the first disc down chika.
Chuckling he puts his phone away and waits for his friend to set up the hosting so he can get into his game. The screen fades to normal and he figures that without a host the game doesn't do much.
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Baker: Up before his alarm again. Timothy started to wonder why he even set an alarm nowadays. He did his morning routine as usual and prepared himself for the day. Hygene, cleaning up, mail check, breakfast, work- “Wait a minute.” The young baker had chef coat and hat in hand as he paused and walked away from the door. He looked at a calendar in his kitchen. With a small laugh, he ended up hanging his things back up.
The bakery he ran under his apartment was closed today. Of course. He had forgotten all about being completely free for the day. He remembered being nagged by his mother about taking time to relax, but he had somehow forgotten today was that day. “Well, might as well play that game.” He mumbled to himself and walked over to his computer- after of course grabbing the bagel waiting for him. He looked at the instructions on the insert and read them carefully. There was no need to mess things up before it started. “Hmm, sounds easy enough.”
Tim searched and pulled up his Pesterchum in order to find a player to host and someone to host him- as the instructions said. Surprisingly, he already had a message.
Baker → Stithis: Ha, I finally decided to take time to look at the game. Yeah, I can host you. No problem!
Huh, now he needed someone to host him. Going through the contacts there, he decided to pick one of his friends at random.
Baker → Skip: Hi Skip! Are you looking for a player to host? I’m in need of a host, you should be mine! If you don’t mind of course.
Maybe he should send out a few more just in case Skip already found someone to host. Well, he’d at least wait for Skip’s answer first. Waiting, Tim finished his breakfast- and grabbed another bagel while he was at it.
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Stithis: Sitting there tapping his foot Marcus can feel his gamer blood pumping, something about this game really putting him on a positive edge. He nearly throws himself at the computer as he sees his Pesterchum blinking and as he pulls up the reply from Baker. “Yessssss. . . .” he hisses, typing out a quick reply.
Stithis → Baker: Awesome dude! So, download that first disc, then pop in the second one. That should let you host me. This is gonna be killer, I can tell! That download screen was intense!
Sitting back he waits, staring at his screen with a smile, his foot once more tapping.
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Skip: With a growl Laurra is about ready to throw the laptop out the window, the “Game” seemingly broken. She goes over the instructions again in her head then with a sigh decides that she may as well try the only thing she hasn't tried yet. As she sits forward, ready to go “Host hunting”, she get another message, this one also about the game she's trying to get to work. Not feeling like having anyone picking on her quite yet she sends back a short message.
Skip → Baker: M'kay, I'll host. . .Tell me when yer ready. . .
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM: After popping in the first disk, your screen goes black for a moment then - mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002037 Before fading back to your desktop.
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Baker: The blinking gets Tim’s attention almost instantly. “That was fast.” He looked at the two messages and decided to answer Stithis first.
Baker → Stithis: Geez you’ve already put the disc in? Ha, slow down! I’ll get the disc in soon!
Baker → Skip: Oh, awesome! Thanks! It says to put the first disc in afterwards. That’s supposed to allow you to host I believe. I still have to do all that myself. -*Thumbs up*-
After he put the discs in, he watched as the screen began to flash. It had to be the downloading screen. Fortunately the downloading didn’t take too long. When it finished and showed the name “SBURB” (which he still thought was a weird name), TIm pulled his Pesterchum up once again.
Baker → Skip: Alrighty, I’m ready when you are.
Baker → Stithis: The download screen was soo colorful. I’ve it downloaded though, so I’m ready when you are!
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BubblegumcAndi: “You do realize these are school computers, right Cassandra?” A voice behind Andi makes her automatically scowl, and she turns to see one of her more annoying classmates, a bitchy brunette named Autumn.
“It’s Andi. For the thirtieth time. Though I suppose your brain is just too small to grasp such a concept.” She scolds in response. Andi looks up at the woman to see her standing there…just staring, and she straightens in her chair, turning her full attention to the woman. “Is there something you actually need?”
“No.” Autumn shakes her head. “I don’t need to have my friends in a box. I have them in the –real- world.” She says, and turns on her heel.
Andi clutches the mouse so hard her knuckles turn white, and she watches the woman go off to another computer and dutifully open the Zbrush program to start her work. The message on the screen from Stithis is a welcome distraction, and Andi happily turns her focus back to the words that appear in the notification window.
Alright, so she needs to install the first disk—probably not the smartest idea on the school’s computer, but it’s the only one she has at the moment. Andi puts in the first disk, and expects to go to the computer menu to select download, but the screen goes black, and then flickers to life with a rather oddly animated spirograph-type of design. Grateful she has already put in her headphones, she listens to the music as the images changes. The words at the bottom catch her attention, but she only picks up a few of them as it loads—Chalk, Ash, Mirrors, Artifacts, Tunnels, Plum kits, Wheels, Thermo--something… Straps. It is all pretty amusing, really.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Woah you’re right. That was odd. I don’t think I have seen games where mirrors and ash need to load, lol. Anyway, it’s on you now. I should probably get to work… Got a dragon mold that might look more like a pet lizard to do damage control on.
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Stithis: Smiling wide he replies quickly.
Stithis → Baker: Put in the second disc, then enter my Pesterchum Handle. That should set you up as my Host.
A second message pops up and he grins.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Okay, I'll do my second disc now. This should be interesting. Thanks for playing Bubbles!
Pulling out his second disc he pops it in and waits. A window pops up and he's a little surprised to see it looks almost like the old DoS program used to load games in the way back. Grinning at the black window with the white words “Enter Player Name” he quickly types in “BubblegumcAndi” and waits for her to accept the host invite.
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GM → BubblegumcAndi: A small window appears on your screen reading “Stithis wishes to be your SBURB host, do you accept? (Y) (N)
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Skip: With a sigh Laurra stick in the second disc, hoping this game will get interesting soon, or else she'll go back to sitting around lazily with nothing to do. The owner of the room she's in doesn't even have textbooks she could read or anything. Such a lame kid in her oppinion. She raises an eyebrow, watching a window pop up. Without re-checking the name of the peson who said they would be her “player” she enters “Baker” and waits.
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GM → Baker: A small window appears on your screen reading “Skip wishes to be your SBURB host, do you accept? (Y) (N)
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Without hesitation, Andi presses the Y button on her keyboard, curious what was going to happen next. Screw planning for her dragon's paintjob, she wants to know what the hell this game even was. Now she just needs to host someone else... right? She clicks through her contacts on Pesterchum for a minute, looking through the names. She had Stithis, and already messaged Fire Lord. He still hasn't responded, which is entirely unsurprising, she has no idea what time it is in England, or the UK, or wherever he is. He also tends to disappear for months at a time. Perhaps she should send messages to a few others, just to make sure she can play the game -eventually-. Nothing happens immediately, so she figures it is because she needs to host someone as well to actually play. Bummer.
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Stithis: After watching for several seconds Marcus watches at the black screen fads to white, then after a second it fades back in and he sees. . . . “Can't be. . .” he says softly, staring wide eyed at the little window. Fulls screening it he stares, watching as the blonde haired woman, the tell tale blue and pink stripes marker her as the woman he's seen over and over in her photos of her work stare at her computer screen, obviously waiting for something to happen. The instructions once more tumble over and other through his head and with a wicked grin he pulls out his phone.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Hey, chika, your workshop rocks. Who's the bitchy looking chick a few seats down?
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Selendri: Sophia ducked behind a rock for cover, as the Legendary Dragon's Drain Life Shout blew towards her. She grinned, having spawned three of these bastards in with console commands, just for an extra challenge, and began shooting at the beast's head with her Legendary Dragonbone bow. She was halfway through the battle when she noticed a message on Pesterchum on her spare monitor, but quickly dispatched the beasts with a few top-level Destruction spells before responding.
'Hmm, SBURB... gave it a look a few days ago, but I really wanted to play this new Skyrim mod. I suppose it could be worth a look,' she thought, looking down at the disk. Strangely enough, it was apparently a true disk download instead of the usual online downloads that were common these days. The game had been a gift from an older family member, and she had thought little of it, deciding that she would get around to it "eventually." Shrugging, she typed back.
Selendri → FireLord: I've never played before, but I'd be willing to give it a shot.
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Fire Lord: “Finally.” James murmurs, sitting up and gazing at his computer screen with the gleam back in his eye. He hadn't had to wait long, but with his desire to leave the real world behind, it had seemed an eternity. Typing back quickly he downloads the first disc before pulling out the second, completely ignoring the rather flashy download screen.
Fire Lord → Selendri: Let me know when you've downloaded the player disc then.
He then slips in the Host disc, and waits.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Baker: Timothy didn’t respond to his latest message. Instead, he just put in the second disc and typed in Stithis. Well, he had to do it twice because he spelled the name wrong the first time. He thought he’d be left to wait for more downloading, however instead of it, another message popped up. This one was different from his contacts. “My host, oh right.” He pressed yes and then sat back to wait. Nothing happened immediately, so he assumed it had to register. He wondered if Skip had gotten everything together as well. In the mean time, he pulled a small notepad from the side and wrote down recipe ideas for later. He probably wouldn’t play the game all day, so he might as well plan how he was going to use the rest of his time. If he was going to sit about, he might as well bake something later.
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Skip: Moments later the little window changes to what looks like a camera view of someone's room, with a very realistic person sitting at a desk, writing something. Looking around with the command box she decides to have a little fun and see if she can scare her little player. Grabbing a book from a nearby shelf with the Select cursor she begins floating it around her player's head.
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BubblegumcAndi: The message pops up on Andi's screen, and she finds herself puzzled, and extremely confused.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: What are you talking about?
But because she can’t really wait for a response, she types again.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Does this game have some sort of webcam?
She probably shouldn’t have installed something on the computer that could access their webcams, but…since the damage has clearly been done already, she answers the question.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: That’s Autumn, by the way. She likes to be ‘oh so perfect.’ But you totally called it on the B-card. Most of the rest of the crew are eating, since the molds need time to set. But they will invade soon and start working astutely.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: A string of messages come in all at once and he smiles vaguely at them.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: I can totally see you right now. It's like, candid camera style. Like, I'm sitting several feet over your shoulder. Is there some sort of security cam? Maybe this game is some secret government program. . .That would be awesome.
He looks again at the aforementioned “Autumn” and lets out a huff. “Well, maybe I can mess with her or something. . . .” Not really expecting anything to happen he clicks the Select cursor and “grabs” her computer and lifts it. To his surprise it actually rises up a foot and she lets out an ungodly shriek. Dropping it quickly he can't help but laugh as she faints on the spot, slumping down in her chair. “This is the most awesome game ever.” he whispers in awe, looking at Bubbles to see her reaction. However his phone flashes and he sees that Baker is ready to host him. Hitting Y quickly, he goes back to watching Bubbles.
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → Baker: The black window fades to white, then fades in. You can see a teenager looking intently at a screen, what looks to be an open kitchen on his right, and on his left a couch, many game consoles, and a huge flat screen TV.
GM → Selendri: After popping in the first disk, your screen goes black for a moment then - mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002037 Before fading back to your desktop.
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Yea, right. Andi doesn’t really believe what Stithis is saying, but she looks over her shoulder anyway, searching for a camera, but she doesn’t see one. Of course not.
Then suddenly, Autumn shrieks, drawing her attention back to the woman, to see her computer hovering in mid-air for a few moments before it crashes, and Autumn faints. “What the fuck?” She says aloud, and then sits down quickly at the computer to type, hitting enter repeatedly before she composes her entire thoughts.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: What just happened? Was that you?
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Holy shit….that was… is there a word for awesome and terrifying?
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Also…
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Why didn’t you tell me you had super fucking telepathy mind powers shit?
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: “I wish.” he murmurs, thinking about having actual mind powers. Instead of typing that though he replies -
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: That wasn't me Bubbles, that was the game, I swear. Somehow this game lets us play with real life.
Selecting the next cursor he decides to show her what he means. Moving over to the nearest wall, he uses the Revise cursor to creat a little alcove jutting out from what was once a flat wall.
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GM → BubblegumcAndi: How the Revise Cursor works - mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002048
mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002049
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: See? No friggan mind powers could to THAT.
Stithis: Deciding to play around a bit he goes to the Host Equipment Registry and grabs the first thing he sees and puts it in the alcove with the Deploy cursor. “Totem Lathe huh? Cool. . . .”
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → BubblegumcAndi: How the Deploy Cursor works - mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002051
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Selendri: Selendri installed the player disk, expecting the usual "boring" install prompts. Instead, she was treated to a display of flashing lights with no prompts or options, just some messages under the loading bar that passed by much faster than expected. Tapping her foot to the background music, she muttered, "Strange."
Selendri → Fire Lord: Interesting.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: Taking her one word response as a sign that she'd complied with his command he slips in the second disc and inputs her name in the box when prompted. Smiling he waits for the game to start, wondering just what he'll be able to do as “Host”. He's read the manual, but what do manuals tell you, really?
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → Selendri: A small window appears on your screen reading “Fire Lordis wishes to be your SBURB host, do you accept? (Y) (N)
_+_+_+_+_+_+_
Baker: “Hm, maybe a pie. An apple pie? Oh, or muffins.” Baking was relaxing! He could even give some of the goodies to the nice little flower shop down the road. The screen change made him look up again. He examined the realistic setting on the game. He never played games with this much quality. He looked through his command box and used the select tool to pull one of the consoles out of place.
Baker → Stithis: This game is so life-like! Man, I wish I had a nice flat screen TV like this one. And so many consoles! Who has time to play all these games?!
He carefully lifted one of the consoles and put it on the couch. The sounds of books leaning on their sides made Tim spin in his chair to see what caused the minor commotion. However, much to his surprise, he spotted a book over his head instead. “Wah!?” He nearly fell out of his chair. “My cookbook!?” He hesitated, but then reached up for it. “How in the world. . .?”
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Marcus checks his messages again and grins.
Stithis → Baker: I see you like my living room.
He looks over and watches a few of his consoles move about. If he had not done the exact thing to a computer moments ago, he would be freaking out right now, but as it is, he's too psyched for how awesome this game promises to be.
Stithis → Baker: But I see you don't like the arrangement :P
Looking over at the side of his desk he notices a stack of pink cards the size of sheets of paper have appeared. “Oh, those must be those “Chapalog” things the booklet spoke of. . . .” Reaching out he touches them, watching in fascination as they disappear, and reappear before him in a semi circle, just within reach and seemingly unaffected by being halfway inside his desk. “Cool. . .It's like an item user panel, but in real life!”
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → Baker/BubblegumcAndi: A stack of pink cards the size of sheets of paper appear on a surface near you.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Skip: Giggling maniacally Laurra wiggles the book back and forth before dropping it next to the character. “Well, the fear is funny at least. I wish this game had some sound though. . . .” she murmurs, looking for other things to play with around her player's house. Finding a few things to play with she just moves them around for a while, seeing if she can stack them.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Selendri: Cocking an eyebrow at the prompt, she absentmindedly clicked "Y" while inserting the second "host" disk to install.
Selendri → Fire Lord: I hope this lives up to the hype. Even I've been hearing about it. Some people have reported strange things happening when they play, but it's all vague rumor at this point.
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → Selendri: A window pops up with a black background and the words “Enter Player Name” in white with a flashing cursor next to them.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: After a few seconds the black window fades to white, then slowly an image appears. Looking at it he has to marvel at the graphics for a few seconds before doing anything. “Well, these are definitely the most realistic graphics I've ever seen. . . .” he murmurs, shifting the camera around with the controls to see the room at different angles.
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → Selendri: A stack of pink cards the size of sheets of paper appear on a surface near you.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Baker: Tim watched stuff float around his small living room. The books and shelf, the couch and the coffee table- fortunately whatever was causing this didn’t mess with any of his valuables- like the TV for one thing. “This is sooo weird. . .” The notifications made him pause and look at the computer- glancing back at the stacked things every now and then. “That’s not normal. . .”
Baker → Stithis: Your living room?
Baker → Stithis: Wait! It’s happening to you too?! This is your stuff? No way!”
Now the baker was shocked. What kind of game was this?!
Baker → Stithis: Wah! Sorry, sorry! I didn’t know this was your stuff.
Tim carefully decided put things back in place. Then, the next thing he knew there was a stack of paper next to his notepad. “This game is really weird.” Then something clicked in his head. If he controlled Stithis things. . .
Baker → Skip: Hey! Are you moving my things?? That’s really crazy. But can you be careful with my things please? I don’t want anything to break. Thanks.
He examined the papers and watched as they disappeared and then reappeared again. “I wonder what I’m supposed to do next?” Tim examined the empty cards, trying to figure out what each was for. Or how to put items in it.
_+_+_+_+_+_+_
Selendri: "Whoa... were those there before?" Sophia muttered. "I'm usually not that forgetful." Looking at a page in the manual in front of her, she mused, "Huh, they look like those chapalog things... but, that's odd. It's..." On impulse, she tried to pick one up, and found that they fanned out before her, almost like a game inventory. "Okay, what the fuck?"
Selendri → Fire Lord: ... I think.... I think I know why those rumors are going around. I almost wish I could say I've had some drugs or something, because this is... odd. But I'm sober.
_+_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Marcus chuckles at the vehement apologies coming from Baker and just shakes his head.
Stithis → Baker: S'ok man, I know that you won't bust up my stuff. I did the same thing to a computer in my own player's environment, and man did the chick next to her freak out. I would feel bad for her, but Bubbles says she was a grade A bitch, so I'm not feeling too much of the bad here. And yeah, this is my room. Is tis the most awesome game or what!?
_+_+_+_+_+_
Skip: Laurra pauses in her play when another message comes up. With a sigh she pulls it up. It takes several times reading it before she realizes what the person is talking about.”The hell?” she says, all traces of her sleepiness gone as she types back.
Skip → Baker: . . . .Are you trying to tell me I'm actually moving stuff around, in real life? That's bullshit. . . .
Bitting her lip she stares for a long moment before grabbing a book again and dropping it on to the desk next to the “Player” to see how it reacts.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: While poking around in the bathroom, rearranging a few things for fun, a message pops up and he reads it. Cocking an eyebrow curiously he replies.
Fire Lord → Selendri: Whatever do you mean?
Moving back out to where the character is he begins playing with various objects around the room. Grabbing the TV off it's stand he watches as the graphics go so far as to have the plug pull out of the wall as he does so. Deciding moving stuff around is no longer all that fun however, he decides to move the stand as well and drop in some equipment to play with. Once it's out of the way he place the Totem Lathe against the wall where the TV was with the Deploy cursor.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Selendri: "Holy testicle Tuesday," Selendri yelled, quickly sending the same message to Fire Lord.
Selendri → Fire Lord: "Holy testicle Tuesday! The stuff in my room is literally moving itself around. And a gigantic thing just appeared in my room.... That's not... ... Holy shit, I need to stop playing and figure this out right now. This can't be... it's not the game. No game can do that... What the fuck is this thing? I'm going to check it out.
She hastily typed, getting up to inspect the Totem Lathe.
_+_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: Having fun with the deploy function he drops a second device, the Cruxtruder, in the middle of the kitchen before checking his messages. When he read it however he stares wide eyed at it,then looks to see the “Character” near the lathe. “No waaaay. . . .” he whispers, a little freaked out by the idea that pops up in his head. “This can not be. . . .” A faint thrill begins pushing it's way through the panic and a wicked grin appears on his lips. 'If I'm right, this is the ultimate power, and I am a god. . .'
Fire Lord → Selendri: Are you a girl with green hair?
The feeling of power surges through him and he decides to deploy the last item, wanting to see the girl on the screen react to having more objects just appearing around her. Moving a smallish table out of the way he drops the Alchemiter near her front door, and then drops the Pre-Punched Card on the table now located behind the couch in the living room. He can't quite make it out, but the picture on the card seems to be of a green something or another. Sitting back he waits to see her response.
_+_+_+_+_+_+_
Selendri: A long stream of panicked curses ejaculates from Sophia's mouth as she sees foreign objects literally appearing out of no where. "This is fucking insane!" she mutters, running around to inspect the new machines while trying to ensure that none fall on her head.
Selendei → Fire Lord: Yes. I am... ... How do you know that?
A completely absurd thought dawns on her, and before waiting for Fire Lord to answer, she types another message.
Selendri → Fire Lord: This isn't you, is it? This isn't.... it's not the game...
_+_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: A mad cackle finds it's way out from the depths of James' chest as he watches her run around frantically. “This is great!” he hisses, pulling up his chat box, watching the player on the screen run back to her computer. “Three, two, one. . .” he mutters, then with a rush of glee he watches a message appear on his screen that sends him into bliss. He knows he's not a god, and he knows that if this is a real person, he should be nice, but before he can stop himself he replies.
Fire Lord → Selendri: I can see you. . . .
He knows it's a little creepy, but an instant later another message appears and he smiles a little less meanly. Sitting back he hums to himself. “I coooould tell her yeah, I am doing this all on my own, Howeeeever. . .Then the game would be ruined. I would have to chase her all over the place. . . .” With a sigh he decides on a more rational response.
Fire Lord → Selendri: This IS the game you silly woman. This game is letting me do some fairly fun things, such as this.
He grabs the nearest small object and places it atop the fridge.
Fire Lord → Selendri: Find a player, check it out for yourself! It's quite a rush you know, having this power. . .
Sitting back again he wonders what he should do about finding his own host, realizing that he'll need all those items he just deployed himself if he wants to advance in the game. Looking around the room he decides to do a bit of rearranging so that the devices will fit more comfortably without the hassle of letting his Host moving his stuff to places he may not want them.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Selendri: Sophia rolled her eyes and typed back.
Selendri → Fire Lord: I think I am responding quite well for someone who just had stuff floating in her room and had random large objects appearing from nowhere. This shit shouldn't be physically possible.
Still, he had a point. Sophia was tempted to try this for herself. By now, the second disk had finished installing, so she posted herself as an available Host, hoping the game would automatically set her up with someone. Grabbing her manual, she started flipping through it to try and understand what the hell she was looking at. Then, she got up to look at her new machines including something called the Cruxtruder.
Selendri → Fire Lord: What the fuck have you gotten me into, kid?
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: He hears the first message pop up, but as the youth rich kid is in the middle of the very strenuous activity of moving his small coffee table against the outside wall of his closet he ignores it. Humming an old jazz song to himself he smiles wide, all the hurt and upset from before gone, washed away in the delight of this amazing discovery. “I can't believe there's a game like this out there. I never knew such advances had been made!” He switches to whistling to himself, moving his shoes out of the way in his closet just in case his host decides to be “cute” and stick something in there. When the second message pops up he's just finishing rearranging his bathroom, leaving a large space in the middle open just in case, again, his Host is the adorable type that will decide putting all of his gear in the same room is for squares.
As he sits back down at his computer, wiping the sweat from his brow with his handkerchief, he recalls that one of the people from before offered to host him and before replying to the flashing window he decides that the artist woman will be good enough for his needs.
Fire Lord → BubblegumcAndi: Would you be so kind as to be my host?
Pulling up he other window he rolls his eyes and lets out a sigh.
Fire Lord → Selendri: I suppose you are correct, it is quite a frightening thing to have what you thought impossible happening around you all of a sudden. As for my getting into this, you quite clearly got yourself into it, having purchased this game of your own volition, I am simply facilitating your play.
With a nod at himself he sends the message and decides to grab one of his cold beverages from his mini fridge. Standing up he stretches, slipping around his chair and kneeling down, pulling open the icebox and grabbing an orange juice. His eyes land on the scattered sundries that had fallen from his bag when he'd flung it earlier just to his left and with another sigh he closes the door and begins cleaning up, not wanting his Host to think him a messy person. In the dorms, some of his fellows had hired maids, but not wanting anyone to touch his things, James has had to learn the fine art of tidying up all on his own.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Skip: In the middle of playing with the easily frightened man's things, Laurra notices a message from another of the kid's contacts. With a sigh she decides that having a host might make the game even more fun, and it's not like they can really do anything to her. She's already tried a few times to pick up the person but the cursor simply refuses to do that. Picking out the first disc she looks at the top for several seconds, the cloud pattern quite serene, then tossing it aside the send a message to this “Selendri”.
Skip → Selendri: I need a host. . . .
Yawning again he rises, shuffling around his small apartment doing his normal morning dos, sparing a glance at his game corner longingly before heading back into his room to get dressed for the day. The teen takes one look at his messy appearance in the mirror and lets out a groan before shuffling over to his bathroom. He's not a morning person. Despite this however, he is a hard worker and as the water cascades over his body, washing away some of the sleep from his system, he recalls that he promised to reorganize the antique toys section since they had a rowdy child in the other day who'd done a fabulous job of scattering everything about.
“Damn kids. . .” he murmurs, letting out a long sigh before slipping out of the shower and drying off. He has nothing against them, really, but it is easy to spot the bad parents through them. Once he's actually ready for the day, his hair in some vague semblance of combed and his clothes draped lazily around his body, he makes his way downstairs to do the task. The small shop is rather dark, even after flipping on the overhead lights and with a faint cough at the ever present dust – his uncle says it gives the place some atmosphere, silly man – he sets to work. About the time he gets the last piece in place he hears the telltale creek-fwump of the mail being pushed through the door slot. Scooping it up he smiles at the sight of what's on top.
“Finally.” he murmurs, putting his uncle's mail on the counter and racing back upstairs, looking more awake now than he has all morning. He's been waiting for this for days, the game he's heard so much about, SBURB. The lights of his apartment stay off as he races over to his game corner and plops down in front of his gaming computer. The consoles scattered about the large TV to his left seem to feel left out, all perfectly polished and waiting, but he doesn't see them right now. No, he has the game he wants, and they will just have to wait their turn. Pulling out the insert he begins reading it carefully. He mumbles everything aloud, the last part making him grin widely. “Man, this sounds so cool. . . .” Pulling up his Pesterchum he sends a call out to a few of his contacts, asking if anyone's willing to play with him. Seeing as he needs both a Host for himself, and Player for him to host, he makes sure to make all the call outs open for both.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Hey chika, you got that new game yet? I need a Host, someone to help me get my gear set up in game. Or I could host you if you'd rather. Either way, we should play together!
Stithis → Baker: Yo, Baker Man, I got the new game today, did you? I needs me a Host, or a Player, you game? Please tell me you got it in!
Stithis → Skip: Dude, I know you're overseas, but you told me last week you got the game in. I FINALLY got my copy! We should totally do this man. Be my Host! Or would you rather I wreak havoc on your poor little character? *Mad cackle* Anyways, I see you're offline, but get back to me when you can!
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: In a fit of pique James whips his school satchel across the room, the contents spilling all over the floor with a clatter as it crashes into the wall just beneath the window pouring far too much sunlight on to his dark mood. With a growl he slams the blinds closed, almost ripping the thick fabric off it's rings before he throws himself on to his bed, the torrent of tears finally breaking loose as buries his face in his pillows. Despite the sorrow and pain however, his sobs are quiet, the youth knowing better than to make this “weakness” known throughout the entire dorm. He knows what his fellows would think of such childishness, and how his teachers would find it necessary to inform his parents, and that's the last thing he wants and needs right now.
'I hate them, I hate it all, why does it have to be like this!?' Bitting his lip hard he tries to make the tears stop, but in the end he knows it's just better to let them flow until they stop naturally. Tucking his balled up fists beneath his chest he lets himself cry, trying his hardest to get the conversation that had upset him so out of his mind, even as every little word seems to lash across his heart like a fire whip. It isn't until that visual comes to his mind that he finally begins getting control of his body. 'Fire whip. . .Fire. . . Fire is mine, mine to control, mine to wield. . .I have the power here. . . .' His breath comes out as a hiss as the strength that had left his body in his sorrow returns, then grows.
Pushing himself off his bed James wipes his face clean on his pocket handkerchief and makes his way over to his desk. “I am the master here. I don't have to care here, to be such a foul lier. I can just. . .I can just burn it all down. That's what I can do. . .” Logging on to his Pesterchum he takes a few slow breaths before opening his drawer and looking over his stack of MMO disks. His boyish face is scrunched in contemplation until he spots his newest acquisition and with a devilish smile he pulls it out. “SBURB huh? Well, let us see shall we, if you live up to the hype.” Chuckling softly, the prospect of playing a new game pushing away most of the upset from before and filling him with a sense of power he pulls out the “read me” booklet insert and begins studying it, scowling slightly at the idea of anyone “hosting” him, but accepting it as a game mechanic and nothing else. With a half pout however, he decides to check out what this “Hosting” was like before allowing anyone to “Host” him. Pulling up his friends list - a rather short pathetic thing - he sends out the same call out to all of them, looking for anyone playing the game.
Fire Lord → Selendri: Hey, looking to Host someone playing SBURB. Send me a shout out if you need a Host.
Fire Lord → BubblegumcAndi: Hey, looking to Host someone playing SBURB. Send me a shout out if you need a Host.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Skip: With a groan Laurra glares at the source of her irritation. This just so happens to be a computer. Laptop to be exact, resting on a desk a few feet away. It's not her laptop, so her irritation is warranted, even though she could have just shut it off before laying down in the hotel bed, which is also not her own. So, it's her own damn fault, but as she pulls her gun and points it at the screen, she really doesn't care. In her half asleep state it seems perfectly reasonable to threaten the computer into silence, but as the little window on the screen continues to flash she slowly comes out of her tired state and slips off the bed, holstering her sidearm.
Plopping down like a limp rag in the rather too comfy desk chair, the dark room causing the computer screen to light up her face and hair in a rather creepy manner, she pulls up the blinking window and scowls at it, hoping that whoever disturbed her sleep will be able to feel her displeasure. It takes a few times reading the message for her to comprehend it and with a sigh she closes the window. She's about ready to go back to sleep when a faint itch in the back of her mind starts up. “A game, huh? Where you can weak havoc on other people?” She smiles faintly, her killer instincts kicking in. Going over to the only bit of luggage sitting in the room, propped up against the wall by the door, she flicks on the overhead and begins rummaging through it, hoping to find this “game”.
She's got several hours before her target will be position, so until she can bring down her real life target, she contents herself with the idea of picking on some game characters. With a grin she pulls out what looks to be what she's been searching for, tossing he hair back over he shoulders with a shake of her head as she reads the cover. “What the fuck kinda name is SBURB?” she mutters, Flipping the case this way and that before shrugging and pulling out the little booklet. With minimal effort she memorizes the instructions, a bit intrigued at the wording, then sets it aside. Setting aside the whole need to actually have other people to play with for now, she pulls out the first disk and smiles. “Looks like a good way to kill time before killing time. . . .”
_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: youtube.com/watch?v=ktBMxkLUIwY
Andi’s alarm clock has a ten year old ipod sitting on top, and it is set to increase in volume until it is uncomfortable, and impossible to ignore. She has never had a particularly hard time getting up in the morning, but if she picks the right song, it hits the chorus at the perfect volume, and she can jump out of bed in an oversized t-shirt singing. This verse, near the end of the song, is the moment she is waiting for, and she throws the covers back and jumps to a standing position, singing as loud as she wants.
“Lean with it, rock with it,
When we gonna stop with it,
Lyrics that mean nothing, we were gifted with thought,
Is it time to move our feet to an introspective beat,
It ain't the speakers that bump hearts, it's our hearts that make the beat.”
The verse is repeated three times, and she sings louder each time, grabbing the brush off her nightstand and standing on her bed yelling the lines, trying to get the verse out in a single breath. The song ends abruptly, and Andi turns down the sound to a more manageable volume, and begins to pull clothing off the floor, sniffing various articles until she finds a decent combination. The next song on the playlist begins, and she absently sings to herself as she gathers her things and goes into the next room to shower. When she emerges later, she glances at the clock portion of the alarm and curses. She is running way behind—how long had she been in the shower?
Andi grabs the ipod off the dock, and shoves her earbuds into the slot as she heads towards the door. Her coat is thrown over her arm, and she slings her backpack over her shoulder as she heads down the stairs—since the damn elevator is out again. Being on the fourth floor isn’t the worst possibility, but it certainly lessens her desire to bother with makeup before she leaves her apartment. She makes it the two blocks to the bus just as it is pulling away, and the driver likes her well enough to wait for her to get on.
While she sits on the bus, Andi looks through her backpack, checking for the things she should have looked at before she let the apartment. She had all her stuff, including the mail she had gotten yesterday and hadn’t bothered to sort. Taking the time to sort it now, she makes one pile for bills that she isn’t ready to pay, and the other pile for junk mail. The one item that seems to be neither is her copy of some new game called SBURB. She read a bit on it before making the purchase, and was a bit persuaded by one of her online friends to splurge. Now that it is here though, she weighs the disk in one hand and her stack of bills in the other, doubting her purchase decision. You can probably return it, she reasons, so long as you haven’t installed it. She can at least look at the manual, for information about whether the game can be returned, of course.
She doesn’t find any information on their return policy, but the manual itself seems pretty cool. She likes when texts about a game have a defined voice. Even if that voice is in place to pester or make fun of the player, it really brings the game alive, and from them manual she gets the impression that this odd little game would be full of stuff like that. The bus begins to slow at her stop, and Andi shoves everything back in her bag and stands.
A twenty minute journey total, she gets of the bus and walks the last block to the school. The first hour is spent in class, with one of the demonstrators at the center and all of the students at sculpting tables with a head and a large amount of clay. They are working on speed sculpting—getting a form for a mask quickly without losing symmetry. The teachers came around to offer tips, but left after another hour of working with the class of twenty. The students have the rest of the day to finish their monster heads and mold them. After finishing setting up their molds, most students will be going to lunch, and then return to work on designs in Zbrush, to have a cohesive design for the paint job to present.
Once most of the students have left, Andi goes to the lab and plants herself in the corner. The computer is unofficially hers, and the other students rarely bother her for it. Since they are all getting food anyway, she doesn’t need to argue with anyone as to why she likes it so much. Andi opens up Zbrush, and starts roughly modifying her image from yesterday to what she was actually able to create today, but doesn’t get far before the disk in her bag comes to mind again.
Curious, she logs into her Pesterchum, and sees three pending messages. The first is clearly spam—some guy requesting to join her contacts--claiming to have seen her profile and wants to protect her on the big bad internet. She deletes it quickly, and moves on to the important messages, seeing that they are both about SBURB. Weird. she thinks and glances over to her bag, pulling out the game once more.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: I got it today. YAY! I was thinking about not playing…but you’ve twisted me arm :P We need to host someone and be hosted right?... Ya, you can host me. :D
BubblegumcAndi → Fire Lord: So weird, I actually got a message from someone else about this game today too! I told him that he could host me already, but if you are still looking for someone to be your host, I could do that! Let me know either way. Hope you enjoy the game!
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: Looking at the reply from the artist he's taken a liking to James lets out a huff and pops in the first disc, figuring he'd get it out of the way for now. He watches the images, the music grating on his nerves a bit, but once it's done he simply stares at the screen, waiting for someone to host to reply to him.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Marcus watches the download screen, fascinated, pulling out his phone when he hears that he has a message on Pesterchum as the download screen takes up the whole screen rather than being in a window. Glancing at the message he pumps his fist and grins.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Sweet! So, um, it says you just gotta download the first disc, then I do the second one which will me to host you. You gotta check this out, the download screen was all intense :P Let me know when you got the first disc down chika.
Chuckling he puts his phone away and waits for his friend to set up the hosting so he can get into his game. The screen fades to normal and he figures that without a host the game doesn't do much.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Baker: Up before his alarm again. Timothy started to wonder why he even set an alarm nowadays. He did his morning routine as usual and prepared himself for the day. Hygene, cleaning up, mail check, breakfast, work- “Wait a minute.” The young baker had chef coat and hat in hand as he paused and walked away from the door. He looked at a calendar in his kitchen. With a small laugh, he ended up hanging his things back up.
The bakery he ran under his apartment was closed today. Of course. He had forgotten all about being completely free for the day. He remembered being nagged by his mother about taking time to relax, but he had somehow forgotten today was that day. “Well, might as well play that game.” He mumbled to himself and walked over to his computer- after of course grabbing the bagel waiting for him. He looked at the instructions on the insert and read them carefully. There was no need to mess things up before it started. “Hmm, sounds easy enough.”
Tim searched and pulled up his Pesterchum in order to find a player to host and someone to host him- as the instructions said. Surprisingly, he already had a message.
Baker → Stithis: Ha, I finally decided to take time to look at the game. Yeah, I can host you. No problem!
Huh, now he needed someone to host him. Going through the contacts there, he decided to pick one of his friends at random.
Baker → Skip: Hi Skip! Are you looking for a player to host? I’m in need of a host, you should be mine! If you don’t mind of course.
Maybe he should send out a few more just in case Skip already found someone to host. Well, he’d at least wait for Skip’s answer first. Waiting, Tim finished his breakfast- and grabbed another bagel while he was at it.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Sitting there tapping his foot Marcus can feel his gamer blood pumping, something about this game really putting him on a positive edge. He nearly throws himself at the computer as he sees his Pesterchum blinking and as he pulls up the reply from Baker. “Yessssss. . . .” he hisses, typing out a quick reply.
Stithis → Baker: Awesome dude! So, download that first disc, then pop in the second one. That should let you host me. This is gonna be killer, I can tell! That download screen was intense!
Sitting back he waits, staring at his screen with a smile, his foot once more tapping.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Skip: With a growl Laurra is about ready to throw the laptop out the window, the “Game” seemingly broken. She goes over the instructions again in her head then with a sigh decides that she may as well try the only thing she hasn't tried yet. As she sits forward, ready to go “Host hunting”, she get another message, this one also about the game she's trying to get to work. Not feeling like having anyone picking on her quite yet she sends back a short message.
Skip → Baker: M'kay, I'll host. . .Tell me when yer ready. . .
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM: After popping in the first disk, your screen goes black for a moment then - mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002037 Before fading back to your desktop.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Baker: The blinking gets Tim’s attention almost instantly. “That was fast.” He looked at the two messages and decided to answer Stithis first.
Baker → Stithis: Geez you’ve already put the disc in? Ha, slow down! I’ll get the disc in soon!
Baker → Skip: Oh, awesome! Thanks! It says to put the first disc in afterwards. That’s supposed to allow you to host I believe. I still have to do all that myself. -*Thumbs up*-
After he put the discs in, he watched as the screen began to flash. It had to be the downloading screen. Fortunately the downloading didn’t take too long. When it finished and showed the name “SBURB” (which he still thought was a weird name), TIm pulled his Pesterchum up once again.
Baker → Skip: Alrighty, I’m ready when you are.
Baker → Stithis: The download screen was soo colorful. I’ve it downloaded though, so I’m ready when you are!
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: “You do realize these are school computers, right Cassandra?” A voice behind Andi makes her automatically scowl, and she turns to see one of her more annoying classmates, a bitchy brunette named Autumn.
“It’s Andi. For the thirtieth time. Though I suppose your brain is just too small to grasp such a concept.” She scolds in response. Andi looks up at the woman to see her standing there…just staring, and she straightens in her chair, turning her full attention to the woman. “Is there something you actually need?”
“No.” Autumn shakes her head. “I don’t need to have my friends in a box. I have them in the –real- world.” She says, and turns on her heel.
Andi clutches the mouse so hard her knuckles turn white, and she watches the woman go off to another computer and dutifully open the Zbrush program to start her work. The message on the screen from Stithis is a welcome distraction, and Andi happily turns her focus back to the words that appear in the notification window.
Alright, so she needs to install the first disk—probably not the smartest idea on the school’s computer, but it’s the only one she has at the moment. Andi puts in the first disk, and expects to go to the computer menu to select download, but the screen goes black, and then flickers to life with a rather oddly animated spirograph-type of design. Grateful she has already put in her headphones, she listens to the music as the images changes. The words at the bottom catch her attention, but she only picks up a few of them as it loads—Chalk, Ash, Mirrors, Artifacts, Tunnels, Plum kits, Wheels, Thermo--something… Straps. It is all pretty amusing, really.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Woah you’re right. That was odd. I don’t think I have seen games where mirrors and ash need to load, lol. Anyway, it’s on you now. I should probably get to work… Got a dragon mold that might look more like a pet lizard to do damage control on.
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Stithis: Smiling wide he replies quickly.
Stithis → Baker: Put in the second disc, then enter my Pesterchum Handle. That should set you up as my Host.
A second message pops up and he grins.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Okay, I'll do my second disc now. This should be interesting. Thanks for playing Bubbles!
Pulling out his second disc he pops it in and waits. A window pops up and he's a little surprised to see it looks almost like the old DoS program used to load games in the way back. Grinning at the black window with the white words “Enter Player Name” he quickly types in “BubblegumcAndi” and waits for her to accept the host invite.
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GM → BubblegumcAndi: A small window appears on your screen reading “Stithis wishes to be your SBURB host, do you accept? (Y) (N)
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Skip: With a sigh Laurra stick in the second disc, hoping this game will get interesting soon, or else she'll go back to sitting around lazily with nothing to do. The owner of the room she's in doesn't even have textbooks she could read or anything. Such a lame kid in her oppinion. She raises an eyebrow, watching a window pop up. Without re-checking the name of the peson who said they would be her “player” she enters “Baker” and waits.
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GM → Baker: A small window appears on your screen reading “Skip wishes to be your SBURB host, do you accept? (Y) (N)
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BubblegumcAndi: Without hesitation, Andi presses the Y button on her keyboard, curious what was going to happen next. Screw planning for her dragon's paintjob, she wants to know what the hell this game even was. Now she just needs to host someone else... right? She clicks through her contacts on Pesterchum for a minute, looking through the names. She had Stithis, and already messaged Fire Lord. He still hasn't responded, which is entirely unsurprising, she has no idea what time it is in England, or the UK, or wherever he is. He also tends to disappear for months at a time. Perhaps she should send messages to a few others, just to make sure she can play the game -eventually-. Nothing happens immediately, so she figures it is because she needs to host someone as well to actually play. Bummer.
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Stithis: After watching for several seconds Marcus watches at the black screen fads to white, then after a second it fades back in and he sees. . . . “Can't be. . .” he says softly, staring wide eyed at the little window. Fulls screening it he stares, watching as the blonde haired woman, the tell tale blue and pink stripes marker her as the woman he's seen over and over in her photos of her work stare at her computer screen, obviously waiting for something to happen. The instructions once more tumble over and other through his head and with a wicked grin he pulls out his phone.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Hey, chika, your workshop rocks. Who's the bitchy looking chick a few seats down?
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Selendri: Sophia ducked behind a rock for cover, as the Legendary Dragon's Drain Life Shout blew towards her. She grinned, having spawned three of these bastards in with console commands, just for an extra challenge, and began shooting at the beast's head with her Legendary Dragonbone bow. She was halfway through the battle when she noticed a message on Pesterchum on her spare monitor, but quickly dispatched the beasts with a few top-level Destruction spells before responding.
'Hmm, SBURB... gave it a look a few days ago, but I really wanted to play this new Skyrim mod. I suppose it could be worth a look,' she thought, looking down at the disk. Strangely enough, it was apparently a true disk download instead of the usual online downloads that were common these days. The game had been a gift from an older family member, and she had thought little of it, deciding that she would get around to it "eventually." Shrugging, she typed back.
Selendri → FireLord: I've never played before, but I'd be willing to give it a shot.
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Fire Lord: “Finally.” James murmurs, sitting up and gazing at his computer screen with the gleam back in his eye. He hadn't had to wait long, but with his desire to leave the real world behind, it had seemed an eternity. Typing back quickly he downloads the first disc before pulling out the second, completely ignoring the rather flashy download screen.
Fire Lord → Selendri: Let me know when you've downloaded the player disc then.
He then slips in the Host disc, and waits.
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Baker: Timothy didn’t respond to his latest message. Instead, he just put in the second disc and typed in Stithis. Well, he had to do it twice because he spelled the name wrong the first time. He thought he’d be left to wait for more downloading, however instead of it, another message popped up. This one was different from his contacts. “My host, oh right.” He pressed yes and then sat back to wait. Nothing happened immediately, so he assumed it had to register. He wondered if Skip had gotten everything together as well. In the mean time, he pulled a small notepad from the side and wrote down recipe ideas for later. He probably wouldn’t play the game all day, so he might as well plan how he was going to use the rest of his time. If he was going to sit about, he might as well bake something later.
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Skip: Moments later the little window changes to what looks like a camera view of someone's room, with a very realistic person sitting at a desk, writing something. Looking around with the command box she decides to have a little fun and see if she can scare her little player. Grabbing a book from a nearby shelf with the Select cursor she begins floating it around her player's head.
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BubblegumcAndi: The message pops up on Andi's screen, and she finds herself puzzled, and extremely confused.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: What are you talking about?
But because she can’t really wait for a response, she types again.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Does this game have some sort of webcam?
She probably shouldn’t have installed something on the computer that could access their webcams, but…since the damage has clearly been done already, she answers the question.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: That’s Autumn, by the way. She likes to be ‘oh so perfect.’ But you totally called it on the B-card. Most of the rest of the crew are eating, since the molds need time to set. But they will invade soon and start working astutely.
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Stithis: A string of messages come in all at once and he smiles vaguely at them.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: I can totally see you right now. It's like, candid camera style. Like, I'm sitting several feet over your shoulder. Is there some sort of security cam? Maybe this game is some secret government program. . .That would be awesome.
He looks again at the aforementioned “Autumn” and lets out a huff. “Well, maybe I can mess with her or something. . . .” Not really expecting anything to happen he clicks the Select cursor and “grabs” her computer and lifts it. To his surprise it actually rises up a foot and she lets out an ungodly shriek. Dropping it quickly he can't help but laugh as she faints on the spot, slumping down in her chair. “This is the most awesome game ever.” he whispers in awe, looking at Bubbles to see her reaction. However his phone flashes and he sees that Baker is ready to host him. Hitting Y quickly, he goes back to watching Bubbles.
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GM → Baker: The black window fades to white, then fades in. You can see a teenager looking intently at a screen, what looks to be an open kitchen on his right, and on his left a couch, many game consoles, and a huge flat screen TV.
GM → Selendri: After popping in the first disk, your screen goes black for a moment then - mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002037 Before fading back to your desktop.
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BubblegumcAndi: Yea, right. Andi doesn’t really believe what Stithis is saying, but she looks over her shoulder anyway, searching for a camera, but she doesn’t see one. Of course not.
Then suddenly, Autumn shrieks, drawing her attention back to the woman, to see her computer hovering in mid-air for a few moments before it crashes, and Autumn faints. “What the fuck?” She says aloud, and then sits down quickly at the computer to type, hitting enter repeatedly before she composes her entire thoughts.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: What just happened? Was that you?
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Holy shit….that was… is there a word for awesome and terrifying?
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Also…
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Why didn’t you tell me you had super fucking telepathy mind powers shit?
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Stithis: “I wish.” he murmurs, thinking about having actual mind powers. Instead of typing that though he replies -
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: That wasn't me Bubbles, that was the game, I swear. Somehow this game lets us play with real life.
Selecting the next cursor he decides to show her what he means. Moving over to the nearest wall, he uses the Revise cursor to creat a little alcove jutting out from what was once a flat wall.
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GM → BubblegumcAndi: How the Revise Cursor works - mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002048
mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002049
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Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: See? No friggan mind powers could to THAT.
Stithis: Deciding to play around a bit he goes to the Host Equipment Registry and grabs the first thing he sees and puts it in the alcove with the Deploy cursor. “Totem Lathe huh? Cool. . . .”
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GM → BubblegumcAndi: How the Deploy Cursor works - mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002051
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Selendri: Selendri installed the player disk, expecting the usual "boring" install prompts. Instead, she was treated to a display of flashing lights with no prompts or options, just some messages under the loading bar that passed by much faster than expected. Tapping her foot to the background music, she muttered, "Strange."
Selendri → Fire Lord: Interesting.
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Fire Lord: Taking her one word response as a sign that she'd complied with his command he slips in the second disc and inputs her name in the box when prompted. Smiling he waits for the game to start, wondering just what he'll be able to do as “Host”. He's read the manual, but what do manuals tell you, really?
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GM → Selendri: A small window appears on your screen reading “Fire Lordis wishes to be your SBURB host, do you accept? (Y) (N)
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Baker: “Hm, maybe a pie. An apple pie? Oh, or muffins.” Baking was relaxing! He could even give some of the goodies to the nice little flower shop down the road. The screen change made him look up again. He examined the realistic setting on the game. He never played games with this much quality. He looked through his command box and used the select tool to pull one of the consoles out of place.
Baker → Stithis: This game is so life-like! Man, I wish I had a nice flat screen TV like this one. And so many consoles! Who has time to play all these games?!
He carefully lifted one of the consoles and put it on the couch. The sounds of books leaning on their sides made Tim spin in his chair to see what caused the minor commotion. However, much to his surprise, he spotted a book over his head instead. “Wah!?” He nearly fell out of his chair. “My cookbook!?” He hesitated, but then reached up for it. “How in the world. . .?”
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Stithis: Marcus checks his messages again and grins.
Stithis → Baker: I see you like my living room.
He looks over and watches a few of his consoles move about. If he had not done the exact thing to a computer moments ago, he would be freaking out right now, but as it is, he's too psyched for how awesome this game promises to be.
Stithis → Baker: But I see you don't like the arrangement :P
Looking over at the side of his desk he notices a stack of pink cards the size of sheets of paper have appeared. “Oh, those must be those “Chapalog” things the booklet spoke of. . . .” Reaching out he touches them, watching in fascination as they disappear, and reappear before him in a semi circle, just within reach and seemingly unaffected by being halfway inside his desk. “Cool. . .It's like an item user panel, but in real life!”
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GM → Baker/BubblegumcAndi: A stack of pink cards the size of sheets of paper appear on a surface near you.
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Skip: Giggling maniacally Laurra wiggles the book back and forth before dropping it next to the character. “Well, the fear is funny at least. I wish this game had some sound though. . . .” she murmurs, looking for other things to play with around her player's house. Finding a few things to play with she just moves them around for a while, seeing if she can stack them.
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Selendri: Cocking an eyebrow at the prompt, she absentmindedly clicked "Y" while inserting the second "host" disk to install.
Selendri → Fire Lord: I hope this lives up to the hype. Even I've been hearing about it. Some people have reported strange things happening when they play, but it's all vague rumor at this point.
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GM → Selendri: A window pops up with a black background and the words “Enter Player Name” in white with a flashing cursor next to them.
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Fire Lord: After a few seconds the black window fades to white, then slowly an image appears. Looking at it he has to marvel at the graphics for a few seconds before doing anything. “Well, these are definitely the most realistic graphics I've ever seen. . . .” he murmurs, shifting the camera around with the controls to see the room at different angles.
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GM → Selendri: A stack of pink cards the size of sheets of paper appear on a surface near you.
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Baker: Tim watched stuff float around his small living room. The books and shelf, the couch and the coffee table- fortunately whatever was causing this didn’t mess with any of his valuables- like the TV for one thing. “This is sooo weird. . .” The notifications made him pause and look at the computer- glancing back at the stacked things every now and then. “That’s not normal. . .”
Baker → Stithis: Your living room?
Baker → Stithis: Wait! It’s happening to you too?! This is your stuff? No way!”
Now the baker was shocked. What kind of game was this?!
Baker → Stithis: Wah! Sorry, sorry! I didn’t know this was your stuff.
Tim carefully decided put things back in place. Then, the next thing he knew there was a stack of paper next to his notepad. “This game is really weird.” Then something clicked in his head. If he controlled Stithis things. . .
Baker → Skip: Hey! Are you moving my things?? That’s really crazy. But can you be careful with my things please? I don’t want anything to break. Thanks.
He examined the papers and watched as they disappeared and then reappeared again. “I wonder what I’m supposed to do next?” Tim examined the empty cards, trying to figure out what each was for. Or how to put items in it.
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Selendri: "Whoa... were those there before?" Sophia muttered. "I'm usually not that forgetful." Looking at a page in the manual in front of her, she mused, "Huh, they look like those chapalog things... but, that's odd. It's..." On impulse, she tried to pick one up, and found that they fanned out before her, almost like a game inventory. "Okay, what the fuck?"
Selendri → Fire Lord: ... I think.... I think I know why those rumors are going around. I almost wish I could say I've had some drugs or something, because this is... odd. But I'm sober.
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Stithis: Marcus chuckles at the vehement apologies coming from Baker and just shakes his head.
Stithis → Baker: S'ok man, I know that you won't bust up my stuff. I did the same thing to a computer in my own player's environment, and man did the chick next to her freak out. I would feel bad for her, but Bubbles says she was a grade A bitch, so I'm not feeling too much of the bad here. And yeah, this is my room. Is tis the most awesome game or what!?
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Skip: Laurra pauses in her play when another message comes up. With a sigh she pulls it up. It takes several times reading it before she realizes what the person is talking about.”The hell?” she says, all traces of her sleepiness gone as she types back.
Skip → Baker: . . . .Are you trying to tell me I'm actually moving stuff around, in real life? That's bullshit. . . .
Bitting her lip she stares for a long moment before grabbing a book again and dropping it on to the desk next to the “Player” to see how it reacts.
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Fire Lord: While poking around in the bathroom, rearranging a few things for fun, a message pops up and he reads it. Cocking an eyebrow curiously he replies.
Fire Lord → Selendri: Whatever do you mean?
Moving back out to where the character is he begins playing with various objects around the room. Grabbing the TV off it's stand he watches as the graphics go so far as to have the plug pull out of the wall as he does so. Deciding moving stuff around is no longer all that fun however, he decides to move the stand as well and drop in some equipment to play with. Once it's out of the way he place the Totem Lathe against the wall where the TV was with the Deploy cursor.
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Selendri: "Holy testicle Tuesday," Selendri yelled, quickly sending the same message to Fire Lord.
Selendri → Fire Lord: "Holy testicle Tuesday! The stuff in my room is literally moving itself around. And a gigantic thing just appeared in my room.... That's not... ... Holy shit, I need to stop playing and figure this out right now. This can't be... it's not the game. No game can do that... What the fuck is this thing? I'm going to check it out.
She hastily typed, getting up to inspect the Totem Lathe.
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Fire Lord: Having fun with the deploy function he drops a second device, the Cruxtruder, in the middle of the kitchen before checking his messages. When he read it however he stares wide eyed at it,then looks to see the “Character” near the lathe. “No waaaay. . . .” he whispers, a little freaked out by the idea that pops up in his head. “This can not be. . . .” A faint thrill begins pushing it's way through the panic and a wicked grin appears on his lips. 'If I'm right, this is the ultimate power, and I am a god. . .'
Fire Lord → Selendri: Are you a girl with green hair?
The feeling of power surges through him and he decides to deploy the last item, wanting to see the girl on the screen react to having more objects just appearing around her. Moving a smallish table out of the way he drops the Alchemiter near her front door, and then drops the Pre-Punched Card on the table now located behind the couch in the living room. He can't quite make it out, but the picture on the card seems to be of a green something or another. Sitting back he waits to see her response.
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Selendri: A long stream of panicked curses ejaculates from Sophia's mouth as she sees foreign objects literally appearing out of no where. "This is fucking insane!" she mutters, running around to inspect the new machines while trying to ensure that none fall on her head.
Selendei → Fire Lord: Yes. I am... ... How do you know that?
A completely absurd thought dawns on her, and before waiting for Fire Lord to answer, she types another message.
Selendri → Fire Lord: This isn't you, is it? This isn't.... it's not the game...
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Fire Lord: A mad cackle finds it's way out from the depths of James' chest as he watches her run around frantically. “This is great!” he hisses, pulling up his chat box, watching the player on the screen run back to her computer. “Three, two, one. . .” he mutters, then with a rush of glee he watches a message appear on his screen that sends him into bliss. He knows he's not a god, and he knows that if this is a real person, he should be nice, but before he can stop himself he replies.
Fire Lord → Selendri: I can see you. . . .
He knows it's a little creepy, but an instant later another message appears and he smiles a little less meanly. Sitting back he hums to himself. “I coooould tell her yeah, I am doing this all on my own, Howeeeever. . .Then the game would be ruined. I would have to chase her all over the place. . . .” With a sigh he decides on a more rational response.
Fire Lord → Selendri: This IS the game you silly woman. This game is letting me do some fairly fun things, such as this.
He grabs the nearest small object and places it atop the fridge.
Fire Lord → Selendri: Find a player, check it out for yourself! It's quite a rush you know, having this power. . .
Sitting back again he wonders what he should do about finding his own host, realizing that he'll need all those items he just deployed himself if he wants to advance in the game. Looking around the room he decides to do a bit of rearranging so that the devices will fit more comfortably without the hassle of letting his Host moving his stuff to places he may not want them.
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Selendri: Sophia rolled her eyes and typed back.
Selendri → Fire Lord: I think I am responding quite well for someone who just had stuff floating in her room and had random large objects appearing from nowhere. This shit shouldn't be physically possible.
Still, he had a point. Sophia was tempted to try this for herself. By now, the second disk had finished installing, so she posted herself as an available Host, hoping the game would automatically set her up with someone. Grabbing her manual, she started flipping through it to try and understand what the hell she was looking at. Then, she got up to look at her new machines including something called the Cruxtruder.
Selendri → Fire Lord: What the fuck have you gotten me into, kid?
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Fire Lord: He hears the first message pop up, but as the youth rich kid is in the middle of the very strenuous activity of moving his small coffee table against the outside wall of his closet he ignores it. Humming an old jazz song to himself he smiles wide, all the hurt and upset from before gone, washed away in the delight of this amazing discovery. “I can't believe there's a game like this out there. I never knew such advances had been made!” He switches to whistling to himself, moving his shoes out of the way in his closet just in case his host decides to be “cute” and stick something in there. When the second message pops up he's just finishing rearranging his bathroom, leaving a large space in the middle open just in case, again, his Host is the adorable type that will decide putting all of his gear in the same room is for squares.
As he sits back down at his computer, wiping the sweat from his brow with his handkerchief, he recalls that one of the people from before offered to host him and before replying to the flashing window he decides that the artist woman will be good enough for his needs.
Fire Lord → BubblegumcAndi: Would you be so kind as to be my host?
Pulling up he other window he rolls his eyes and lets out a sigh.
Fire Lord → Selendri: I suppose you are correct, it is quite a frightening thing to have what you thought impossible happening around you all of a sudden. As for my getting into this, you quite clearly got yourself into it, having purchased this game of your own volition, I am simply facilitating your play.
With a nod at himself he sends the message and decides to grab one of his cold beverages from his mini fridge. Standing up he stretches, slipping around his chair and kneeling down, pulling open the icebox and grabbing an orange juice. His eyes land on the scattered sundries that had fallen from his bag when he'd flung it earlier just to his left and with another sigh he closes the door and begins cleaning up, not wanting his Host to think him a messy person. In the dorms, some of his fellows had hired maids, but not wanting anyone to touch his things, James has had to learn the fine art of tidying up all on his own.
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Skip: In the middle of playing with the easily frightened man's things, Laurra notices a message from another of the kid's contacts. With a sigh she decides that having a host might make the game even more fun, and it's not like they can really do anything to her. She's already tried a few times to pick up the person but the cursor simply refuses to do that. Picking out the first disc she looks at the top for several seconds, the cloud pattern quite serene, then tossing it aside the send a message to this “Selendri”.
Skip → Selendri: I need a host. . . .
