-- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] --

EB: hey rose!
TT: Hi.
EB: how are you doing? i don't even remember the last time we talked.
EB: i have been so busy.
EB: and it looks like you have been too.
EB: i mean, hopy shit!
EB: my house is HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!
TT: Actually, building up your house has been one of the more trivial ways I've passed the time.
TT: Great swaths of the structure may be copied and pasted with little architectural consideration.
TT: I've only bothered to do so while in contemplation.
TT: It's relaxing.
EB: oh.
EB: well, it must have cost a fortune!
TT: We have a lot of grist.
EB: how much?
TT: I don't recall any hard figures off hand.
TT: Last I checked, more than a million units of several different types.
TT: Torrented between the three of us.
EB: torrented?
TT: Shared, through an application.
TT: I unlocked the disc from your registry, and deployed it.
TT: I convinced your nanna to install it on your computer.
TT: Before an imp threw it out the window, that is.
EB: you got her to do that? but she's an old lady! also, a ghost.
TT: My methods of persuasion have been improving.
EB: also, she is really tricky, and plays lots of pranks.
EB: did she try to prank you?
TT: No.
EB: huh.
EB: i guess you enjoyed the prankster's gambit on that exchange then.
TT: ?
EB: oh yeah...
EB: what's up with the alchemiter?
EB: it looks weird.
TT: Upgrades.
EB: did you get nanna to do that too?
TT: No, your consorts were utilized for that.
EB: the salamanders??
TT: Yes. They seem eager to receive simple instruction.
TT: I'm guessing they find their way back to your house to allow the client player to remain productive while the server player is away.
EB: they aren't very smart...
TT: No, they aren't.
EB: i'm surprised they even understand what to do.
TT: Like I said.
TT: Coercion hasn't been much of a problem.
EB: yeah...
EB: uh...
EB: what exactly does that mean?
EB: what have you been doing this whole time???
TT: Why don't you tell me what you've been up to first?
TT: I've been curious, but too preoccupied to inquire.
EB: well,
EB: i have been talking to a lot of trolls, for one thing.
EB: they sure are a talkative bunch!
TT: I've noticed.
EB: and then i cloned some slime babies in the veil.
TT: Did you?
EB: yes. um...
EB: ok, long story short is, jade is my slime clone sister, and dave is your slime clone brother, and we were all born today!
TT: Yes.
EB: yes?
TT: I figured that out.
EB: oh.
TT: Anything else?
EB: umm...
EB: then i fell asleep, and woke up on the battlefield.
EB: oh!
EB: rose, i am fairly sure i saw your mom!
TT: You did?
TT: Are you sure it was her?
EB: well, it was a nice and proper looking lady, with a pink scarf, so...
EB: i dunno, who else would that be!
TT: That was likely her.
TT: How was she?
EB: fine, i guess...
EB: she was with my dad.
TT: That's interesting.
EB: yeah!
TT: Did she seem happy?
EB: happy?
EB: wow, i dunno.
EB: i don't really know her well enough to say, i guess?
EB: plus, i was a little distracted.
EB: maybe i will find out next time i go to sleep.
TT: Fair enough.
EB: now stop being so spookily mysterious and tell me what you've been doing!
TT: Investigating, mostly.
EB: investigating what?
TT: Everything there is to investigate.
TT: Information hidden in the lore of our lands, concealed in ruins and riddles.
TT: I'm looking for whatever there is to discover about the game, and more importantly, whatever exceeds its boundaries.
TT: The cloaked traces of myth beyond its scope.
EB: its scope?
EB: oh, rose, did you know that we are supposed to be creating a universe with this game?
TT: Yes.
EB: i think that's pretty neat!
TT: It is, in principle.
TT: But it won't happen.
EB: so you believe the trolls then?
TT: It's not a matter of believing them.
TT: The writing is on the wall. Literally.
EB: it is?
TT: This session was never meant to bear fruit.
TT: It's barren, so to speak.
EB: that's a bit of a bummer!
EB: i am still skeptical about that, though.
TT: That's why you're our leader, John.
EB: huh?
TT: Optimism through stalwart skepticism is a defect not everyone is lucky enough to be cursed with.
EB: that's stupid.
EB: i'm not your leader, i am your FRIEND, there is a BIG difference!
TT: Statements like that are also why you're our leader.
EB: pff.
EB: laaaaaaaame.
TT: Yes, kind of.
EB: so, if you're sure that we are going to fail...
EB: what is the point of everything we're doing?
TT: Simple.
TT: The objective is no longer to win.
EB: um...
EB: i mean, what are we actually shooting for here?
TT: To do as much damage to the game as possible.
TT: To rip its stitches and pry answers from the seams.
TT: We will snatch purpose from the jaws of futility.
TT: Are you ready to wreak some havoc, John?
EB: i suddenly don't understand anything.