HOMEBOUND
A young girl stands in her room. Today, the 14th of August, 2012. is her thirteenth birthday. Although it was thirteen years ago that she was given life, it is only today that she will be given a name. What will the name of this young lady be?
==Enter Name
Chel Taylor.
==
Your name is Chel Taylor and as was previously mentioned, today is your thirteenth birthday. You have many interests, including a love for cats, reading, and theories about interdimensional travel. You used to partake in theatrical swordplay, and have taken up quite the collection of swords. Your Pesterchum tag is telestheticGatefold, and you speak in a manner that is quite intelligent but you often come off as a bit cold. Today you and six of your friends will play a game that will destroy the universe. But you are pretty okay with that, as there is hardly anything worth saving anyway. What will you do?
==Examine Your Room
Your room is rather small and contains a number of items that reflect your various interests.
==Examine Harry Potter Poster
You take a nice long ogle at the poster showcasing these beautiful books. The movies weren't half bad either. It is really unfortunate that the movies are very rarely better than the books.
==Examine Notebook
You pick up the notebook containing your personal theories on life, the universe, and everything, (god you love those books) and place it in your sylladex, which is currently set to your encyclopedia modus. The notebook is shelved under "T" for theories, to be looked up and used at a later time.
==
It would appear that one of your chums is trying to pester you.
==Answer Chum
(telodynamicUtinum [TU] has begun pestering telestheticGatefold [TG]
TU: hey Chel
TU: you there?
TG: Yes. Hello. What did you want?
TU: i was just wondering if you got my present
TG: Depends, did you send it in the mail?
TU: yeah
TU: why?
TG: No reason, I just haven't gotten the mail yet. I really hope Lyssa hasn't peed on it or anything.
TU: you mean your weird catmom thing
TG: Yes, my "weird catmom thing."
TG: She's very intelligent, you know. Not to mention she has cared for me ever since my Gran died.
TU: sorry... I didn't mean to insult her or anything...
TG: I suppose I could find it in my heart to forgive you.
TU: thank you so much Chel!
TG: You do realise I was being sarcastic, right?
TU: so... you dont forgive me?
TG: *don't
TG: No, you idiot. I was never really mad in the first place!
TU: oh...
TU: sorry...
TG: It's fine. I suppose I should really be more considerate of your inability to understand my insincerity.
TU: ha ha yeah
TU: that would really be great
TU: so anyway, have you heard from GC today?
TG: No. I believe she was getting her internet fixed today. Why?
TU: oh...no reason...
TG: Oh god. You still have a weird crush on her, don't you.
TU: no! wtf are you talking about!
TG: Yeah, sure.
TG: I suppose I will talk to you later.
TU: yeah
TU: bye
TG: Bye.
(telestheticGatefold [TG] ceased pestering telodynamicUtinam[TU]
==Go downstairs
You would, but you are afraid your cat and guardian, Lyssa, will stop you with chores or something.
==Sneak out on your roof
You go out on your roof. Your small suburban neighborhood stretches out before you. The sun shines down on the tilted rooftops of average homes with their average families living inside them. People walk up and down the street and go about their lives, completely unaware of the approaching apocalyptic chaos. You have a feeling this is going to be a long day.
==Jump down to your lawn and get the mail
Why would you do that, stupid? You would probably break both your legs, and that's if you didn't die first.
==Descend to your lawn more carefully
You push your homemade rope ladder, which was created for you by one of your friends, out of your window and descend very carefully to your lawn.
==Check the mail
You approach your mailbox cautiously.
==
The mailbox is open, but there appears to be no mail inside.
==Throw your hat on the ground in frustration.
What hat? You have never worn a hat and are pretty sure you never will.
==Go back up rope ladder
It appears the rope ladder has fallen.
==Capchatalogue rope ladder
You capchatalogue the rope ladder under "R" in your encyclopedia modus.
==Proceed to the front door
You shiver in anticipation of the confrontation between you and your guardian.
==
Your guardian glares at you in a motherly fashion through the window. You retreat to hide behind a tree.
==Proceed more carefully
You silently creep through the front door and attempt to sneak past your pet and up the stairs.
==
DARN! You almost made it!
==Abscond
You can not abscond. Lyssa is blocking the stairs
==Aggrieve
You throw the notebook at your pet. She abjures it with her claws.
==Abstain
Your guardian gives you a firm scolding and sends you to your room. She decides to keep your notebook as a hostage.
==Abscond
You quickly take the mail and run to your room.
==
You sit behind your closed door once more. Phew! That was close! Crap. Two of your friends are pestering you again.
==Answer Chum
(goeticCacogen [GC] began pestering telestheticGatefold [TG])
GC: Just wanted to let you know that my internet is back up
GC: Goodbye
TG: Uh... Okay? Was that all?
GC: Yes
GC: Goodbye
(goeticCacogen [GC] ceased pestering telestheticGatefold [TG])
==
Wow. She scares you sometimes, even if she is one of your best friends. Sometimes you're not sure if she really is your friend or if she is just manipulating you to her advantage.
==Answer other Chum
(candescantAcatalepsy [CA] began pestering telestheticGatefold [TG])
CA: (Hi! ;) )
TG: What.
CA: (Wow, you're feeling friendly today!)
TG: Sorry, Lyssa has been a bit... Annoying today.
CA: (Oh. That's too bad. :( What is she doing?)
TG: I climbed down from the roof to get the mail, but my ladder fell, so I had to go in the front door, and when I came inside, she gave me a lecture and sent me to my room.
CA: (I'm sure she means well, maybe she was worried about you falling off the roof or getting stabbed in the back by some dude who works for the queen of a magical land or something!)
TG: Doesn't that seem just a bit unlikely?
CA: (Okay, maybe not the second one, but you know what I mean! :) She was probably just worried about you!)
TG: I suppose.
TG: So, why did you want to talk?
CA: (I was wondering if you'll play the game with me and the others later? :DDD)
TG: *The others and I.
CA: (Whatever! So, are you gonna play?!)
TG: I suppose.
CA: (Yay! :D)
CA: (So basically, here's the plan.)
CA: (You're going to install your client copy first, and I'll be your server player. Then I should be able to manipulate your environment! ;) Heh heh)
TG: Just please don't do anything stupid to my house.
CA: (Awwww. :( Fiiiine!)
CA: (Anyways, you will lead the session by going in first, with me as your server player, then TU will be my server player, then CT will be his, then AT will be hers, then AU will connect to him, then GC will connect to him, then you'll complete the circle by bringing GC into the game. :3 Sound good?)
TG: Alright. I suppose I can work with that. I'm not sure how I feel about being the one to connect to her...
CA: (P I know what you mean!)
TG: I suppose I'll message you again once I install the client copy.
CA: (Sounds good! :DDD)
CA: (Bye!)
TG: Goodbye.
(candescantAcatalepsy [CA] ceased pestering telestheticGatefold [TG])
To be honest, you're not quite sure if you're less confused, or even more confused than you were before.
==Leave room
You leave your bedroom and go into the upstairs living room. Inside are a fireplace, several couches, a basket full of cat toys, and a picture of your Gran.
==Examine picture of Gran
The picture displays Gran Taylor in this very room, sitting in an old rocking chair by the fire with a two year old version of yourself in her lap and her cat Alice curled up next to the chair on the floor. Alice lays on her side with her kittens beside her, one of whom would one day become your guardian. You miss your Gran, even if you can't remember much about her. Her death, which vaguely involved a meteor, a video game store, and a shoe, was highly inconvenient and deeply unfortunate.
==Captchalogue picture
That's enough time spent reminiscing! Time to get some work done. You captchalogue the picture under "P", for photograph. Thankfully, you don't already have something captchalogued under "P," otherwise things would get complicated. Sometimes you have to get a bit creative with naming your items so that they fit in your sylladex.
==Look around
There appears to be an apple on the coffee table.
==Eat apple
You captchalogue the apple under "A" and continue looking around. Is that a magazine on the floor?
==Examine magazine
It appears to be one of your Gran's old architecture magazines. You throw it in the fire. Too many memories that you don't want to be distracted by at the moment.
==Return to room
You go back into your room and sit on the bed. Your covers are a plain navy blue with little white vine patterns on it. You look up at the ceiling, where your Sburb Beta poster is taped, just above your head.
==Get computer
You find your computer under "C" and pull up your favorite website, . A new comic titled "ArchExiles" is displayed on the main page of the website. The new adventure looks exquisite, in your opinion.
==
You read for a while, but eventually succumb to boredom. You pick up the Sburb Beta client disc. A picture of a green house is shown on the cover.
==Insert disk
The game begins to download onto your computer. A foreign, vacillating symbol dances on your screen above the loading bar. After a few minutes of watching the bar slowly crawl towards completion, you get bored and decide to pester another of your chums.
==Pester
(telestheticGatefold [TG] began pestering abscindedTach )
TG: Hello? Are you there?
AT: yeah
AT: whats up my man
AT: er... girl
TG: Nothing much. I was just waiting for this game to load and got bored.
AT: oh
AT: thats cool
AT: so whats blue
TG: Blue?
AT: u know, sky is blue, sky is up, whats up?
TG: Oh. Your jokes are terrible.
AT: please, my jokes are HILARIOUS!
TG: I mean, no one could possibly understand them enough to think they are humorous in any way, shape, or form.
AT: wow thats cold
TG: Sorry.
AT: no its cool
AT: oh speaking of cool, check out this joke
AT: so if someone is an instructor at an ice cream parlor, arent they a SUNDAE SCHOOL TEACHER? GET IT?
TG: Hilarious.
AT: thanks
AT: i know
AT: so anyway, whats all this i hear about a game were playing
TG: What do you already know?
AT: just that the seven of us are playing, and that according 2 TU, its freaking awesome
TG: Wow. Is that all?
AT: yes?
TG: You really need to do a better job with research.
AT: well, uh, u really need 2 sUCK IT!
TG: That comeback is so old.
TG: Anyways, basically, the server player can manipulate the client player's environment, while the client player's job is to complete quests and that sort of thing. Once all the players have entered the game, they must work together to defeat the black king and queen, who are like the final bosses, and win the game.
TG: You are going to enter fifth and be the server player for CT. AU will be your server player.
TG: That's what CA told me, anyway.
AT: sounds cool with me
TG: CA or I will give you more directions once we enter the game and learn a little more about how stuff works.
AT: k
AT: ttyl?
TG: I suppose so.
TG: Goodbye.
(telestheticGatefold[TG] ceased pestering abscindedTach )
You aren't quite sure what to think about him, other then that he has a terrible sense of humor and has a bit more of an affinity for explosives than you would like.
==Check on game
The loading screen has disappeared and been replaced with one that simply reads "waiting for server player."
==
The screen changes to read "server player connected, welcome to Sburb Beta."
==Pester server player
(telestheticGatefold[TG] began pestering candescantAcatalepsy[CA])
TG: Alright. So we are in.
CA: (Uh... I haven't even put in the disc yet... :?)
TG: But my screen says that a server player has connected to me and I'm ready to start the game...
CA: (Well it's not me... :/ Maybe one of the others accidentally joined too early?)
TG: Yes, I suppose so.
TG: Hold on, TU is pestering me, I had better go answer.
(telestheticGatefold [TG] ceased pestering candescantAcatalepsy [CA])
CA: (Okay! ;) Talk later!)
==Answer TU
(telodynamicUntinam [TU] began pestering telestheticGatefold [TG])
TU: uh, Chel? i think i may have made a mistake...
TG: Let me guess, you accidentally clicked the wrong button and now you are my server player instead of CA.
TU: pretty much
TU: so... uh, do you mind me being your server player?
TG: Not really. I mean, CA is more competent, but it does not matter that much. Just refrain from screwing up.
TU: thanks? i guess?
TG: You are most welcome. Now, we need to figure out how this game works. What do your controls look like?
TU: there are a bunch of icons at the top of the screen in my "phernalia registry" and "atheneum" that seem to hold a bunch of items with really weird names that i can drag and drop
TG: Okay, try using one.
==TU: Deploy Alchemiter
TG: Interesting. It appears to be some sort of machine.
TG: What else can you do?
TU: It looks like I can make changes to the structure of your house in exchange for something called "build grist"
TG: What kind of changes?
TU: like, expansions and add ons and stuff O.O
TG: Can you expand my room?
==TU: Expand room
TU: Like that?
TU: oh man, that used up a lot of grist...
TG: Precisely. My room is now 30 square yards bigger than it was before. Thank you. This may actually come in handy.
TU: you're welcome?
TG: Try deploying another item.
==TU: Deploy Totem Lathe and Cruxtruder
TG: Hey! You just crushed my toilet!
TU: sorry, i'll be more careful next time :(
TG: (sigh)
TG: You're paying for a replacement once we finish playing this game.
TU: uh... i'm kinda broke...
TG: I'm sure you'll find a way.
TG: Are those all the devices in your phernalia registry?
TU: yeah
TU: hold on, i want to try something
==TU: Use cursor
TG: What in the world are you doing?
TU: if I click and drag an object, I can move it!
TG: That's nice and all, but you kind of just threw my books out of the window!
TU: oops
TU: here, let me put it back
TU: it won't let me grab it! i think i'm out of range...
TG: Try expanding my room so you can extend your range
==TU: Expand
==TU:Grab books
TG: Thank you.
TU: yeah
TU: we're pretty much out of build grist though
TG: I suppose we should find a way to make more.
TU: yeah, probably
TG: Why don't you try to figure out what those machines you put in here do while I talk to CA about what we should do next.
TU: okay
TU: i'll message you if i find something
[telodynamicUntinam [TU] ceased pestering telestheticGatefold [TG])