TINY CAT PEOPLE: THE MAZE TRIALS

[Guest]

go smoke some of that fat B U N T

[King-Clod]

Yeah, let's go! And maybe see if they have Messiroom usernames while we're at it

[skinstealer]

Well...if the gamers wanted to hurt you, they probably would have done it by now- especially since they already know you're inexperienced. Going with them would also be a good chance to see what this whole predetermined reward thing is...
 

SEE: Sure, I can come along.
ROXAS: Alright, sweet!

 
The TCPs walk with you back up to the top floor of the room where the doors have reopened. Even if you didn't already remember which one was yours, the smoke billowing out of it made it immediately apparent which one was theirs.
 


 
You head along with them, the smoke blinding you a bit- but you finally reach it...the den of the gamers.

The first thing that strikes you as you enter is the smell, the smoke billowing out of the room carries a faint odor that gets stronger as you walk further in. Through the smoke, you can see what can only be described by your new knowledge as a 'gamer den,' with several setups for playing video games.
 

SEE: Whoa...this place is cool as hell!

 
Roxas stoops down for a high five.
 

ROXAS: Hell yeah it is!

 
You go for it, grateful that you didn't have to try to reach any higher. 
 

SEE: Are these all for gaming? I know I saw something similar in my catalog, but damn, this is a lot!
SAMSON: Tch, not everything we do is gaming.
ROXAS: Yeah, we do a lot of other stuff too, like recon type stuff. And also figuring out explosives.
ROXAS: Don't worry, we all have the skill for it.
SEE: ...explosives?

 
For some reason, that word makes you a bit nervous.
 

TODD: Don't worry about it, chat for another time.
CAYDEN: Well, now that you're here, what do you want to do? We can play games, smoke some weed, whatever.
SEE: I think I'm down for weed, actually.

 
 


The door behind you seals, startling you out of your chocolatey skin. You probably should have expected as much, but it looks like you've gotta commit to your decision now.
 

ROXAS: Nice! Let’s-
ROXAS: Wait, what’s that?

 
Roxas rushes over to some kind of basket that seems to have tumbled down the chute. They take a card that was tied to it.
 

ROXAS: “To my favorite band of feral gamers, I think you’ll get a real kick out of these. - J the Overseer”
ROXAS: Well shit. Looks like this is what they meant by ‘predetermined rewards,’ huh?
SEE: Who's J? 
SEE: I thought there was only one voice.
SAMSON: What made you think that? There’s a lot of us to keep track of, and they’re always so quick to respond, it only makes sense there’d be more than one person.
SEE: ...I guess that does make sense...
SEE: What's in the basket, anyway?
ROXAS: Looks like a bunch of boxes, and also they used loose weed for packing filler.

  

 
Roxas pulls out the boxes and hands one each to Samson, Cayden, and Todd, keeping the last one for themself.

Roxas rips open their box and pulls out a strip of red cloth and a note.
 

ROXAS: Lets see... wrap it around... stand like this and... no way.
ROXAS: That can’t... no...

Roxas quickly wraps the cloth around their arm, faces the wall, and puts their arms together.
  

 

ROXAS: Holy Shit! Did you see that? What the fuck?!
SEE: What the hell is that?!
SEE: How'd you do that??
ROXAS: I don’t fucking know????????
ROXAS: The note told me to do it and I did it????
ROXAS: Damn, I guess these overseers don’t joke around with this shit.

   
Samson glances at the rest of the gamers and gives them a look.
 

SAMSON: I think we should open the rest later. Just in case. 
SAMSON: If the rest are similar to this we wouldn’t want to accidentally put See in danger.
SEE: I wonder if my gift's anything like that...I don't think me shooting a fireball is a good idea, though- something tells me I'd melt.
SEE: Are you sure you don't want to check them out, though? Like...even just reading the notes?
SAMSON: I'd rather not go through all that right now, no.
SEE: ...fair enough, I guess.
SEE: So...weed, time?
ROXAS: Hell yeah!

   

 
They grab a handful of loose weed from the basket and begin wrapping it in papers from their pocket, passing out the completed joints.
 

ROXAS: Here you go, bud. 

You hold the relatively massive joint in your hand, weighing it. 
 

SEE: Here goes nothing.

  

 
You promptly and completely absorb the joint into your face.

All of the gamers stare at you wordlessly in shock.
 

SEE: What?
SEE: Did I do it wrong?
TODD: You were-
TODD: You were supposed to smoke it.
CAYDEN: You should probably sit down and take it easy for a bit, I don't know what eating that much will do to you.
SEE: Okay, uh...

 

 
You sit on the ground, feeling just fine. 
 

SEE: What's it usually supposed to do, exactly?
ROXAS: Uhhhhh that kinda depends on you, bud.
ROXAS: Different folks get hit different.
ROXAS: But generally, it makes you chiller.
SEE: Okay...chill. I can do chill.

 
You could probably ask some questions while you're here, waiting for the weed to kick your ass.

[Lilium Mortem]

what's in the cool chest? what kinda games do y'all like? do you all sleep in that one bed or do you even sleep at all? Isn't smoke supposed to be bad? Is there even ventilation in this room?, because boy that is a lot of smoke.

[sarcovyn]

remind them that you are a food type

[Winds]

promptly be unable to chill.

[King-Clod]

So...you know the overseers by name? Or at least by letter, like with Overseer J? What are they like, the individual overseers?

[skinstealer]

 

SEE: So…
 

You’ve got a lot of questions in mind, and you’ll be honest, it’s kind of making it hard to chill. You feel a little weird around the edges the more you start thinking about this stuff, but it’ll be fine, right?

 
SEE: You know the overseers by name?
SEE: What are they like?
SAMSON: Ha! By name? No, J is clearly just a pseudonym of some sort.
SAMSON: We don't know them at all.
ROXAS: We can make best guesses from what knowledge we have, but that's about it.
ROXAS: We have heard some things and the most likely thing is that there's... several overseers, each one watching a small handful of TCPs at a time.
ROXAS: We think.
SAMSON: We don't know anything for certain, though. 
SEE: ...is it possible to talk to mine?
SEE: They all use the same voice...
 

Samson scoffs.

 
SAMSON: If you want to waste the questions you get from impressions on that, sure.
SAMSON: I don't think you'll get anything worthwhile from that though.
SEE: Guess not...
 

 

You're definitely starting to feel something, but it's not strong enough to really pin it down. 

 
SEE: What's in that chest you have up on the shelf, anyway?
SEE: Is it games? What kind of games do you have?
SAMSON: Nah it's not games. The games we have are on the shelves below it.
SAMSON: In the like, little box case things.
SEE: Then...what is in there?
SAMSON: Weed. 
SEE: ...ah.
SEE: Sweet.
 

You start staring into space.

 
ROXAS: You uh, you doing good little bud?
SEE: ...did you know I'm a food type? I'm a food type.
 

 
SEE: Food...types.
SEE: People eat me.
 

Roxas sits down on the bed and nods slowly, the weed clearly hitting them hard.

 
ROXAS: Dang dude, that's messed up. 
SEE: If somebody, like...eats me...
SEE: Are they also eating weed?
SEE: Am I weed now?
ROXAS: Damn dude... weed and chocolate?
ROXAS: Sounds like a sweet combo...
ROXAS: People should like...
ROXAS: I think we stumbled on something great that no one else has thought about.
SEE: Wait, like, are you gonna eat me now?
SEE: I mean, other people have eaten me but not with weed. I'm a healer. It heals people.
SEE: Does weed heal people?
TODD: Nah we're not like, we're not hurt.
TODD: We could like, take some and store it for later I guess.
TODD: Weed doesn't heal, it's an adon- andonine- ano-
TODD: Painkiller.
TODD: Think it can be used by people who have like, flesh, for inflammation or somethin though.
SEE: So...through the power of weed...
SEE: I can make people feel better?
SEE: Fuck...I may have to add that to my medic plans.
ROXAS: I...
ROXAS: I guess??
SEE: Like...shit, I'm really onto something.
SEE: Maybe I could just...
 

You start spacing out again.

 

SEE: ...do you gamers like, sleep in the same bed? 
SEE: Or do you take turns?
CAYDEN: It's a tight fit, but we make it work.
SEE: So...all at once? All scrunched up?
CAYDEN: Well, it's not too scrunched, but yeah.
SEE: Cool...I bet it's like...one big hug.
TODD: Yeah.... basically
SEE: I've been hugged a few times, it's...kind of awesome.
SEE: Everybody keeps picking me up, though? Like, all the time.
SEE: Am I just...portable? Do people do this with chocolate?
SEE: Is everybody just constantly-
SEE: Picking people up...
 

You don't wait for a response. 

 
SEE: ...is the smoke dangerous? There's so fucking much of it.
SEE: Like, wow.
TODD: I don't... think so. I mean, we don't like...
TODD: ...
TODD: ...
TODD: ...Have organs or anything. So like, nothing to hurt with the smoke.
TODD: ...I think.
SEE: Yeah, like...I'm just...chocolate.
SEE: People aren't usually chocolate, right?
SEE: They're all, like, squishy. 
SEE: And full of that fluid stuff.
SEE: Man...
 

 

Okay, you're starting to feel way, way weirder now, and not necessarily in a good way. Thinking about fluid makes you think about Max and the stains on his bandages, the fact that something cut him open...

You don't like this train of thought one bit.

ROXAS: Yeah, us TCPs are just.... Sacks of weird squishy fluid.
ROXAS: ...Hey bud, you doin' okay?

[King-Clod]

No? No, probably not. Help.

[Winds]

define "okay" for me.

[Lilium Mortem]

OH GOD WHY ARE PEOPLE MADE OF FLESH AND FLUID WE ARE ALL MORTAL IM GONNA DIE SOMEDAY I'VE BARELY LIVED ONE, DAY, THAT IS. WHAT LIES BEYOND OBLIVION? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CEASE TO BE? what does it feel like to kill someone?

[sarcovyn]

bazinga...

[victorianflorist]

hoc est nimium ego sum paulo scelerisque

[MarxzVulpez]

Are there any snacks?
also just, flop face down on the floor and start sobbing about how much you love Sky

[skinstealer]

 

SEE: Define..."okay" for me.
ROXAS: Like uh..... feeling alright, I guess?
ROXAS: I dunno, bud.
SEE: I mean...no, probably not?
SEE: Like...
SEE: We're all, just, mortal, and made of flesh and fluid, and we're gonna die someday-
SEE: I've barely lived one day, and I'm gonna die, we're all gonna die here
SEE: What does it mean to just...cease to be?
SEE: Fuck, I just
 

 

You flop forward onto the ground, face first.

SEE: thhis is too muchh i am just a little chocolate 
SAMSON: Ah shit, I think it's having a bad reaction.
 

 

Cayden swoops in, sitting down next to you and speaking in a gentle voice.

 
CAYDEN: It's alright See, you'll be okay.
SEE: I...
SEE: I wish I brought Sky with me-
 

Cayden gives a small nod.

 
CAYDEN: Tell me about Sky.
SEE: It's my little plush, my friend...my friend Monty gave it to me...
SEE: It matches theirs, and we played together with them-
SEE: I don't...have a lot of comforting shit, I just started fucking e-existing-
SEE: But Sky feels like something that's really, just, mine, but also good because it's got memories with a f-friend attached, yknow?
SEE: And...I don't know what to do, because, just, Sky's the most important thing I have, and I like holding it to make me feel better, but people are saying that Monty's a bad person-
 

Cayden simply nods along, listening to you ramble.

 
CAYDEN: I understand, it can be very hard to be without a comfort item.
CAYDEN: I usually keep some stuff with me in my bag to help me calm down when we go out.
SEE: Y-you do?
 

 

You lift yourself up a bit.

 
CAYDEN: Yeah, mostly like, fidget stuff though.
CAYDEN: And a like
CAYDEN: little handheld farming game thing that relaxes me.
SEE: They make games you can take with you?
CAYDEN: Yeah, there's like, little handheld console things.
CAYDEN: Do you want one? 
SEE: Wait, like...giving me one?
SEE: Y-you don't have to do that...
CAYDEN: Nah it's fine, I have an old spare.
CAYDEN: Lost it while high a couple days ago and got a new one.
CAYDEN: Took about five minutes after that to realize it was in one of my pockets the whole time.
CAYDEN: But the new one is a slightly better model so I kept using it.
SEE: You'd really do that for me?
 

For some reason, this is making you even more emotional.

 
CAYDEN: Yeah!
CAYDEN: I'll even throw in a couple of old games, too.
CAYDEN: Also I'll give you a list of my recommendations for games to pick up when you have impressions to spend.
CAYDEN: If you want that, of course.
SEE: Y-you're too nice to me...
SEE: Thank you...
CAYDEN: It's no problem, I just like having more people to play games with.
 

You're pretty overwhelmed at this point, but you feel like you should say or do something to express just how much this means to your highly emotional, weed-addled head.

[aotihav]

kinda mumble incoherently in distress- and maybe shout out one or two of the words you read on your laptops web browser before you can think of how to express your gratitude

[Lilium Mortem]

T-Pose as a true gamer's thank you

[King-Clod]

hmm. maybe we can offer something back? if they take a little of our chocolate for later it'll be weed infused, right? they like weed.

[sarcovyn]

fuuuuck. if i broke off every part of my body over time and over the course of a while my entire body will have regenerated at some point am i still the same tcp as i spawned as

[sarcovyn]

i think i've struck philosophical gold with that one... no way anyone has thought of it before...i could call it the bazinga effect.just the first thing that comes to mind

[sarcovyn]

the bazinga theory

[Stonek]

Just break down crying, these guys are so good to you

[victorianflorist]

Say thank you to the muffin man who lives on cherry lane

[Pichi2214]

Just hug the nearest person like you hugged Monty as thank you and comfort and just cause so many emotions words hard

[Wilds]

offer everyone a hug. you want to hug them. you want them to know how much this means to you.

you also really, REALLY want to show monty the little handheld farming game when you can. it sounds so nice.

[skinstealer]

 
You shuffle over and attempt to give Cayden a hug, missing on your first try.

SEE: Fuck
CAYDEN: Oh uh-
CAYDEN: Okay sure yeah.
CAYDEN: Don't worry about it.
 

You try to say something but all that comes out is a weird noise your mind tells you is "crying", and all you can do is hold onto the much larger gamer.

CAYDEN: Uh... there, there?
 

Cayden gently pats you on the head.

SEE: D-do you want, like...
SEE: Can I give you some chocolate?
SEE: L-like, the weed chocolate now, you gamers like weed-
SEE: You're so good to me and I-
 

You are really struggling here.

ROXAS: Yeah I mean
ROXAS: We'll deffo take any weed chocolate you want to give us
CAYDEN: Yeah but like, only a little.
CAYDEN: You gotta be careful giving that stuff away.
CAYDEN: It's like, you, you know?
SEE: Yeah...
 

Something hits you.

SEE: If, like...
SEE: I break off every part of my body, and it regenerates...
SEE: Am I the same TCP I spawned as?
SEE: Like, you said it's me, but is it me-
ROXAS: Whoa dude....
ROXAS: That's wild....
 

Samson pipes up from the other side of the room.

SAMSON: I think that happens to most species actually.
SAMSON: They're made of these little things called cells that swap out every once in a while.
SAMSON: Every few years all the cells will have swapped out.
SAMSON: But they don't talk about it a lot so it probably doesn't matter much to them.
SEE: No, no, like-
SEE: People would be talking about it if they knew how big of a deal this is...
SEE: It's...it's gotta be a new theory. 
SEE: I'll call it...
SEE: Uh....
 

 

The gamers wait patiently for you to get your thoughts together.

SEE: The...the big...
SEE: B...bazingo theory.
SEE: It's huge, so, it's gotta be big.
SEE: Bazingo because...bazingo.
 

Roxas nods slowly.

ROXAS: Bazingo....
ROXAS: I like it
ROXAS: There's something very intelligent and... gamer about it.
ROXAS: But I can't put my finger on it
SEE: Yeah...does this mean I'm a gamer now?
SEE: Am I, like, part of the gamer squad?
 

You see the TCPs in front of you shift nervously as Samson speaks up again.

SAMSON: No.
SAMSON: While you may be a gamer, you are not one of us.
SAMSON: We can help eachother out, sure.
SAMSON: But you are not
SAMSON: One of our squad.
SEE: ...oh.

[knux400]

oh...............

we're

still friends though right?

[King-Clod]

I'm...sorry. I overstepped. I'm feeling very overwhelmed with everything and I needed something to...belong to, I guess. But that doesn't mean I should latch unto other people's groups, other's families. I'm real sorry. Thank you for everything, really.

[victorianflorist]

I'm sorry, I'm just scared. Its hard to know who to trust down here, and you all have been so kind to me.

[skinstealer]

SEE: I’m..sorry.
SEE: I’m just scared…but I overstepped, I think. 
SEE: I don’t know who to trust and I really…I need something to belong to, or something, and you’re all so kind to me…
 

Samson lets out a low grunt and walks away to her desk.

 

Cayden leans closer and whispers.

CAYDEN: ...Try not to let her get under your skin with that.
CAYDEN: She’s just protective of us.
CAYDEN: We’ve all seen terrible things here and well...
CAYDEN: She doesn’t trust you much yet.
SEE: I know, but I still tried to just...barge into your family…
CAYDEN: Don’t worry too much about that.
CAYDEN: Wanna play a game together? I could grab you that handheld I mentioned.

[victorianflorist]

That's really sweet of you, I'd love to. Let me leave you with some chocolate in return though, please.

[King-Clod]

Could we... could we play a nice chill game? Just. A game where everyone is friends and is safe. I think that'd be nice.

[Wilds]

ask if apologising directly to Samson would help, or if it would make things worse ):

you are just a little chocolate. you would love to play a game for a little while.

[Guest]

Let’s see what games they got.

[skinstealer]

 
You make a noise akin to sniffling and nod.

SEE: That’s…really sweet of you. Yeah.
SEE: Could we play like…a nice chill game?
SEE: Something where everybody’s chill…
SEE: And friends….
SEE: And safe…
CAYDEN: Yeah sure, totally! Uhhh
CAYDEN: Okay, so best bet for that is probablyyyy
CAYDEN: This little like, farming/town building game I like called Fields of Red Grass
CAYDEN: You help grow food and materials to rebuild a town after a disaster
CAYDEN: But for a lot of people the real draw is the NPCs
CAYDEN: They’ll move into the town as you play, and who you get is random, and they all have their own different personalities 
CAYDEN: I think the game really does a good job of capturing the whole ‘community’ type feeling 
SEE: That sounds great...really great....
CAYDEN: Alright, cool!
 

Cayden stands up and heads over to one of the desks, picking up a somewhat thick plastic box, something you can only assume is the handheld they were talking about.

CAYDEN: Do you want a copy of the instruction manual too?
SEE: Oh, yeah- I'm really good at those. 
SEE: Set up my laptop and everything!
CAYDEN: I don’t know if being good at manuals is like
CAYDEN: A thing.
CAYDEN: But yeah, I think you’ll like it, game manuals have like, a lotta fun little illustrations and stuff.
SEE: No, no, I think I'm good at them. Seriously.
SEE: I've got manual reading down.
CAYDEN: …Alright bud, knock yourself out I guess.

   


Cayden comes back and hands you the console, with the game already inside, along with the manual.

You take the manual out, ready to start being the best at this.

 
 

 

FIELDS OF RED GRASS

Let your new life bloom!

There’s a table of contents inside.


-Getting Started
-The Story So Far
-Getting to Know Your Neighbors
-Farming, Fishing, and More!
-Home Sweet Home
-Playing with Friends

[King-Clod]

Oh playing with friends? Could we play this together?

[knux400]

What's the story so far? It might be good to have some context before we jump right in.

[Lilium Mortem]

don't forget to read the entire thing, you are the best at manuals after all. can't lose that reputation.

[skinstealer]

You may as well read all of it, flipping the page to the first section.
  

GETTING STARTED
 
Welcome to Fields of Red Grass- your new, portable home away from home. In this game you take on the role of a newcomer to a ramshackle town in the Fields of Red Grass, having signed up to be a new caretaker of an abandoned farm. Not many people remain in the town after a horrible disaster struck three years ago…but with your help, it’s time to rebuild!

Easy enough. 

 

CONTROLS

To start, you check out the control page- Cayden has to help clarify which buttons are which, but you think you get the gist. You really like pressing the squishy trigger buttons and kneading them around- they work just like your laptop’s doughboard!
 

 

The next page has some more starting info.

Before you arrive at your new home, you’ll have to create your farmer! Select a head, ears, body features, and a starting outfit- and colors to match.

Cool! You have no idea what a farmer is!

Always remember to save your game before quitting by pressing the START button! Otherwise, there could be consequences! 

…consequences?

Time changes along with the real world in this game! Before starting, you’ll be asked whether the time on your game system is correct. Don’t change the time to cheat, or you’ll be punished!

…uh.

CAYDEN: Don’t do it. Seriously. You don’t wanna meet… them.
 

You are too spooked and stoned to question him, just nodding vigorously.

  

 

THE STORY SO FAR

    In a town ravaged by war…
Three years ago, war raged through the valley, taking the lives and livelihoods of many. Now those who are left, those who were not strong enough to be called to battle, but cunning enough to survive and stubborn enough not to leave it all behind are trying their best to put their town back together. You’ve felt the calling to help rebuild, and been given one of the few farms still standing. Make yourself at home, and help your neighbors bring the village back to life!

SEE: …what’s war?
CAYDEN: It’s like, a lot of people fighting. Don’t worry about it though, that’s just the backstory, the game itself is pretty chill.
SEE: So…nobody dies? Or gets hurt?
CAYDEN: …Probably not?
 

That’s just going to have to be good enough.

 

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS

You open up the Neighbors section- oh! These are cool! They look kind of like TCPs, but different- your mind tells you that some of them have “mouths”. 

As anyone knows, good neighbors are what makes a good community. The neighbors of your town are a friendly bunch, all ready to work together with one another to make things happen! 

You may find that your neighbors will bring you gifts, or offer to help with your work, especially as you become better friends with them (or perhaps, more????)

SEE: So…what is a neighbor?
CAYDEN: Like… in the game? Or in a general sense?
SEE: General sense, I guess? I’ve never heard the word.
CAYDEN: It’s people who like, live near each other.
SEE: So are we neighbors?
CAYDEN: Yeah probably? I’ll be honest I don’t know how big this place is or how close our rooms are at any given time.
 

Neighbors…you like the feel of it.

 

 

Here’s some friendly Neighbors!

NAME: Cinema
PRONOUNS: He/Him
FAVORITE JOB: Tailor
FAVORITE HOBBY: Toy Collecting
  

This one has a fun look! Your mind tells you that his mouth is “smiling”, and for some reason, it makes you feel happy and at ease.

 

 
NAME: Kalisha
PRONOUNS: She/Her
FAVORITE JOB: Fishing
FAVORITE HOBBY: Flower Picking
 

Kalisha kind of reminds you of Suzanne…you shake off the thought before it ruins your mood.

There are many more to meet on your own!

SEE: So, if I play the game, I get different ones than you?
SEE: You said they’re random.
CAYDEN: Yep! Well, probably. We might get a couple of the same ones, but in general we’ll have mostly different people.
CAYDEN: Oh also, they’re not all random. There’s a couple you’ll get from doing specific special stuff.
CAYDEN: But that kind of stuff is more fun to find on your own sooooo…
SEE: Gotcha…
 

FARMING, FISHING AND MORE!
 

This next section really throws you for a loop. There’s…a lot of terms you don’t know.

SEE: …might need help with this one.
CAYDEN: Which part?
SEE: I don’t recognize like, half of these terms.
SEE: What’s farming?
SEE: I know a fish, but what does that have to do with fishing??
CAYDEN: A lot of this you’ll get as you play, but basically you need to gather resources and put them to use to help rebuild the town.
CAYDEN: Food, lumber, stone, stuff like that.
 

You nod, as if anything but the word “food” registered to you.

At the very least, the pictures look cool.
  

 

HOME SWEET HOME

Throughout your time in the village, you will always have access to the farmstead you named your home. Several features will be unlocked as you progress, such as the ability to change your outfit, or the ability to mail other players you have connected to online. (See playing with friends p. 43) Who knows, maybe your neighbors will even give you something to improve the decor, once you’ve earned their respect.

SEE: Oh! So this is like my room here?
SEE: Do I get to decorate it?
CAYDEN: Yeah, a bit, though not as much as some of the later titles in the series. Mostly you can just pick the color of stuff already in there.
SEE: Wish I could do that here…
  

  

PLAYING WITH FRIENDS
 

This section also goes over your head, as much as you want to absorb every bit of info about playing the game with somebody else- it’s just so much technical info.

SEE: So…if I go to the uh, portal? At the edge of town-
 

You realize you don’t know what a town is either, but you’ve come too far to admit that now.

SEE: -I can meet up with you? How’s that work?
CAYDEN: WiFi.
SEE: Oh! I know wifi!
SEE: I set that up! A whole router!
SEE: I was able to get online with it, and look around the internet a bit.
CAYDEN: Right yeah, I think you mentioned that. We should exchange Messiroom handles so we can message each other.
SEE: Okay! Yeah!
SEE: It’s [SEA_AND_SKY].
SEE: …kind of a sappy name but I like it…
CAYDEN: Alright, cool, I’ll shoot you a message later with all of ours.
CAYDEN: Some of them
He glances at Todd
CAYDEN: Would be hard to remember.
SEE: Fuck yeah!
SEE: Does that mean we’ll be able to talk even when we’re not in a trial together?
CAYDEN: Yep, anytime we’re both in our rooms!
 

You’re comforted by the thought of having some company in your own room…

SEE: Should I ask people I meet whether they have these?
CAYDEN: I mean, sure, if you want!
 

Sounds like a new mission- get all of your friends’ handles!

…well, what…three? Friends you have aside from the gamers.

More to come, hopefully!

CAYDEN: So, any questions? Or would you like to boot up the game now?

[King-Clod]

oh we have plenty more questions but I really just wanna get into it. don't want to bore them asking what a town is and everything. we can just learn as we go!

[Lilium Mortem]

Play the game, rock back and forth on the floor while it loads.

[skinstealer]

You have a ton of questions still, but…you can learn as you go.

SEE: I just really wanna get into it.
CAYDEN: Alright, just press that power button on the side, I already loaded the cartridge for you.
You press the button, and the screen lights right up, giving you the tiniest thrill.
 

FIELDS OF RED GRASS
Press start to play!

SEE: So...I just press the start button? 
CAYDEN: Yep!
 

You go ahead and hit it- this thing's a bit big thanks to it coming in gamer-size, but you're making it work.



The screen that pops up is super colorful, with a little person on the screen.

SEE: Oh! Oh shit, is this where I make my farmer?
CAYDEN: Yep, and be sure you're happy with how they look, because you can't change it later.
CAYDEN: Well, except the clothes.
 

...this is gonna be tricky.

[Time for character creation! Post a screencap of your farmer design from here to suggest!] 

[Lilium Mortem]

https://imgur.com/a/m9eZu0b
I tried to make See... it didn't go great.

[King-Clod]

here we go! ears like Monroe's, outfit colors like Sky's, and a tail like our laptop! All things it likes!
Or...is it supposed to be making it's farmer look like it? oh gosh, maybe it did this wrong...

[victorianflorist]

[sarcovyn]

[Guest]

Oh wow, a picrew

[skinstealer]

You carefully try out your options…big ears definitely appeal to you- they remind you of Monty! A red outfit also seems like a good idea, because it’s just like Sky. And…hm….oh, here’s a tail that looks like your laptop cable!

SEE: How’s this?
CAYDEN: Yeah, looks great!
CAYDEN: Obviously you’ll need to get through the tutorial and stuff before we can play together, but don’t rush. People who rush through the tutorial will have a tougher time learning the game.
 

You feel like Cayden was looking in Roxas’ direction when he said that, but you’re not sure.

You nod, pressing the correct button to proceed.



The game opens on a peaceful scene- your mind filling in the gaps as you stare in wonder.

There is a field of dirt and grass, trash scattered around- you wonder if you'd need a trash bag like the gamers have to clean it up. There's also a cabin, though it looks...really beat up.

There's also a character on screen, black and red and horse-like.

A dialogue box pops up, and your gaming skill says that it's probably the horse talking.

KADE: Okay, so...this is your new place.
KADE: ...I'll be honest, it sucks.
KADE: You're going to have to do a lot to clean up around here.
KADE: ...but someone's gotta do it.
KADE: Do you need my help to get started?
 

You hit >Yes.

KADE: [SIGH] Okay.
KADE: First off, you have to pay attention to the time...
 

You get completely absorbed in the tutorial- you're surprised at how much Kade feels like a real, actual person.

SEE: Are all games like this?
SEE: Like...he feels real.
CAYDEN: Some games feel realer than others. It depends on how much work and care developers put into it.
CAYDEN: You tend to find more ‘real’ games among indies, in my experience.
CAYDEN: Budget and graphics can’t imitate heart and soul.
SEE: Indies...noted.
 

You keep playing through, and all of a sudden, the game lets you loose. You're out of the tutorial!

 

But before you can really get into it-

INTERCOM: See, you have made an impression.
INTERCOM: You may redeem it in your own room.
 

Samson lets out a cough over at the desk that she’s been watching you and Cayden from.

SAMSON: Oh how nice, you made an impression. 
SAMSON: With that and the special overseer present from the challenge room, you should probably be heading back soon.
 

You get the feeling that this is less of a suggestion than it sounds.

[MarxzVulpez]

Going back and getting some rest sounds like a pretty good plan yeah. Thanks a bunch y'all

[King-Clod]

oh gosh yeah we can go, but uh
could we wait until the weed wears off? I don't want to go out there like this...alone....