[network] @genresavvy; video; night 199 [open]

[theurgy]

Hey.

[Cassel gives his tablet an exaggerated wave.]

So I was talking to Winter earlier, and she agreed to make an app for me. Whatever it is will interface with the technology around town wirelessly, or so she says, so we can use it on the servers in town hall. You know, assuming we ever get there. Anyway, she didn't actually give it to me yet, but I'll keep you all updated.

[A shining beacon of positivity. He sighs, raking his hand through his hair.]

In other news, my feet are fucking freezing, because no one gave me the heads up that I'd be taking the vacation from hell in the middle of Bumfuck, Alaska, so I need some shoes. Or socks, whatever, I'm not picky. I'll trade for them, but don't waste my time and try to scalp me. [There's the slightest pause.] Uh, thanks.

Comments

[bloodbiter]

I will admit that it's worrisome to be away given everything I was responsible for, but I don't believe it's not more awful than any of the other lives they've disrupted by bringing us all here.

Still, I intend to be certain they answer for all of it.

[mrcreamsicles]

you just earned yourself a good ruler point for that answer so good job
where were you the queen of
my names davesprite btw
technically i was like a prince of this moon called derse but its not the kind of prince with any real power so it doesnt matter

[bloodbiter]

Thank you. The country I'm from is called Bamarre.

How did you become a prince of the moon? Did you live there somehow?

whoops I meant moon of Derse above, not Derse itself

[mrcreamsicles]

sort of
its complicated
theres this game me and my friends played that affected life directly in some pretty serious ways
but the relevant part is that each player had something called a dream self that lived on the moon of one of two planets
prospit or derse
the idea was that when your regular body goes to sleep you would wake up as your dream self on that moon and do whatever
though the whole explanation of what theyre for and how they work is more involved than that

[bloodbiter]

So, somehow you could cause things to happen while you were dreaming? How entirely fascinating. How does it work?

[Of course she immediately asks after he says the explanation is more involved.]

[mrcreamsicles]

if you mean how as in how it manages to function at all i dont know
ive got no idea what governs the forces of dream selves popping into existence
theyre just there ever since the start of our lives basically
but the rest is like
usually your dream self is just asleep the whole time even when you are so you grow up having regular dreams like any other person
but eventually theres some kind of mystical psychological moment of self discovery that happens and your dream self finally wakes up
its not really predictable though
sometimes people wake up really early before the game even starts
or it takes a ton of work to figure out how they have to wake up in the first place
personally my dream self was awake for a long time but i didnt realize it until later
theyve got extra uses too
like if your regular body dies somehow theres a mechanism that can revive you in your dream selfs body
or if you die on something called a quest bed then your dream self can ascend to something called god tier
which comes with fancy powers and conditional immortality
also
depending on which moon your dream self is from you get like extra insight into the game
prospit dreamers get visions projected in the clouds of something called skaia which is at the center of the space the game takes place in
and derse dreamers
uh
theres these things called horrorterrors out in this other area called the furthest ring
and they can whisper their creepy tentacle hints about what to do
i mostly ignored them and let my friend rose handle that job

[bloodbiter]

I think I follow, for the most part. Did everyone in your home have that sort of ability, or was it only a select group of people?

And what is the game you're speaking of?

[mrcreamsicles]

the game is called sburb and it was just the people who played it who had dream selves
so not very many at all on the scale of like the entire human population
i was going to say just us four but there were other people the beta got sent through who made their own walkthroughs
but i dont know if they count?
kind of hard to tell
considering how abruptly those walkthrough ended i dont think they made it too far so maybe they were never slated to be capital letter The Players you know

[bloodbiter]

[And here comes her lack of knowledge of modern terminology once more.]

What is a beta, and a walkthrough?

[mrcreamsicles]

ok so youre from a low tech world got it
when people make games theres these stages of development where people test if its working right and make adjustments to spiff it up before it gets sold to everyone
and beta is one of those stages where sometimes people who arent directly involved with the creation process get to play it
and a walkthrough is a guide people write to explain how the game works so you dont go in completely lost or to help if you get stuck on something
they arent a necessary part but they can be useful

[bloodbiter]

I apologize, but I don't understand what you mean by make a game, or how you could sell one.

[What is a video game??]

[mrcreamsicles]

shit ok
uh
you know how there are apps on your tablet
the little icons you poke and then the thing opens up and lets you use the network or private messages or take pictures or whatever
each app is called a program
and the kind of game im talking about is also a program
there are ways to put programs on other objects like cds which are these round flat discs
and if you use that then you can play the game
companies that make games sell the discs or whatever other kind of object the game is on
does that make more sense now

[bloodbiter]

More than I did before, certainly. Thank you. But... You said it was like one of these programs, but your physical selves could influence it somehow?

What was the goal of the game you were meant to play?

[mrcreamsicles]

it wasnt really a normal game
to be specific the kind im talking about are called video games and theyre wholly contained to the devices that play them
so say if i had a game app it would just be something to play with on the tablet not out in real life
but sburb affected everything directly on a grand scale
like im talking it led to the world ending and the four of us getting transported off our planets to this other part of reality entirely
and the goal was to ultimately create a new universe for us to live in

[bloodbiter]

[Yikes.]

That's horrible... I'm very sorry. I can't imagine what it must have been like.

[mrcreamsicles]

its been over three years since i started
im used to it now
sometimes something so big and overwhelming happens that you just have to roll with it because what else can you do
its like being here
i dont want to be here and this place sucks but its the reality im dealing with
and dealing with it means keep going and look for the way out

[bloodbiter]

[Even if she's never been through anything like the end of the world, she can relate to that, so for now she'll accept it. She doesn't know him well.]

Did you manage to defeat the game you had to play?

[mrcreamsicles]

not at the point in time i come from
but i have a friend from my world here whos from the future who says they won

[bloodbiter]

[The nuance of it isn't lost on her - they, not we - but she decides not to press it just now.]

I see. I'm certainly glad to hear that.

I fear I interrupted your explanation, though.

[mrcreamsicles]

[It's a complicated subject, one he doesn't really like thinking about, let alone discussing. That she evades it is something he's tacitly grateful for, and it allows him to focus on the rest.]

oh what
no
i mean if you want to ask more stuff i can explain it but i think i covered the important stuff there

[bloodbiter]

There are a few more things I'm curious about, I will admit, if you're certain that's alright.

[mrcreamsicles]

yeah i dont mind
wouldnt have offered if i wasnt up for it

[bloodbiter]

Thank you.

How did a game help you create a new universe?

[mrcreamsicles]

frog breeding
not even kidding
theres this whole complicated process where a certain player whos essentially assigned that role breeds them together until you get a certain one called the genesis frog
then at the end of the game it grows up huge and does this thing called the vast croak
and bam
the frog literally is the new universe
i now it sounds weird and no i cant explain how it works any better than that so just go with it

[bloodbiter]

A frog.

[No. N o. She needs a moment.]