PM - Been a bit

Zelrius

Heya @Vina Skysong Been a bit, just seeing how you are doing, and more importantly, checking if you've talked to anyone from our beloved White Team since the end of the war. Would love to hear back from you, just shoot me a message here or leave something in my Mailbag.

 

Vina Skysong

Hey @Zelrius! Nice hearing from you again. I'm doing fine as always, and I have in fact talked to Blake quite a bit since then. It seems that she was a bit bothered by what happened but after talking to her about it she got over it pretty quickly. I'm afraid I've yet to contact either Magi, Romulus or Claire, but I hope they're doing well.

How have you been? Gone on many interesting adventures since that time on Druuk Island?

 

Zelrius

Well, funny enough, those two subjects blend together. I will keep things civil and courteous between us and simply say; The Dark Harvest Festival was uh... interesting... for me, to say the least. I kind of sort of remember seeing Claire there? I don't quite know. We were drinking, and then there was water, and then she was gone. Not even sure it was her now. Other than that, I don't quite remember the rest of the night that well, let alone seeing Magi or Roma there in that time.

What about yourself, did you enjoy the festivities?

 

Vina Skysong

Civil and courteous? You make it sound as if you did something dirty and are trying to hide the details~

That does sound like you had a good time though, although if you drank so much that you can't remember whether it really was Claire you might want to hold back a little next time. Even if it's just a game I don't think drinking to the point of memory loss is good for you. Can the alcohol poisoning even carry over to your real brain? Well, either way, you still lost the memories so it must have some effect on your mind, so be careful all right?

I did enjoy myself yes, although I ended up not partaking in the festivities much. There were a lot of soldiers who needed treatment after the war, so I was busy with that. It wasn't all that bad though. Most of them had already recovered to the point where they could drink, so even if it was thought safer to not move around too much the medics, patients and I had our own little party.

I'm definitely going to take part in the next festival though, so you better be ready~

 

Zelrius

Well, the truth is, I may or may not have. I have fading memories of a slightly scantily clad girl and the maze, and that's where that story ends.

It was fun from what I remember. A Nice little escape from the world for a bit. Almost had the problem of Terra being more stressful th

Its funny that you bring that up, it was something I was scared of following the log out of that night. I'd hope not, but you never know with VR, yknow? I am glad and appreciative of your service with the soldiers and what not. I didn't see you on the battlefield, so I can only assume you were helping from the backlines, which I was worried we'd have no one doing.

Any kind of party is fun, especially since I don't imagine those people were bad company.

I look forward to seeing you around next time, maybe even challenge my newly acquired 'Ale King' Title, hmm?

 

Vina Skysong

A slightly scantily clad girl in a maze? That does sound like the kind of setup for a lot of fun, since in a maze you could both hide from the public eye yet still get the excitement of potentially being discovered~

Still, I doubt anything happened, since usually you remember that kind of thing even if you were drunk at the time. Of course maybe it's different for you, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. After all, the festival is for having fun so whether something happened or not it's all right either way, isn't it?

Terra is so much like an actual world that it can be easy to become as burdened by it as the actual world... although it's not like normal games can't do that, right? Anyway, I'm glad you managed to unwind and relax.

No problem! I didn't fight in the war because I'm not that experienced or powerful a fighter, so it's only fair that I do my best to help out when it comes to things that I'm actually good at. And even if VR is immersive it would be strange if it could actually make you drunk... Although you hear stories of people getting 'drunk' without actually drinking alcohol so maybe it'd get you to think you're drunk even though you're actually fine.

Oh, the soldiers and the medics were very nice. Since the soldiers were still recuperating we couldn't do anything really wild, but for those who were well enough there was a lot of drinks and we talked a lot about things. Hearing about how glad the soldiers are that they'll be able to meet their families again maybe isn't the most cheerful way to celebrate since it reminded me of those who don't get to meet their families again, but it was still very sweet and it helped remind me that even if the invasion itself was frightening things could have been a lot worse, and those who are still alive are definitely going to try their best to show their respect to those who died by making the most of their lives.

Sorry, that became a bit sad, didn't it? Well, anyway, it was very fun even if it wasn't as exuberant as the main festivities.

Inviting me to a drinking contest? That's a very bold move Zel~ I wouldn't mind, but I have to warn you that I'm a lightweight so I wouldn't stand a chance, and beyond that when I get drunk I can get very... forward~ So if you're worried about things getting out of hand you might want to reconsider that challenge. I'd definitely enjoy it, but given what I know you might end up regretting it if you were unable to say no while drunk.

 

Zelrius

Don't get that excited about it. I am about 99% sure that nothing happened in that maze other than some apparition cackling before the woman in question eliminated it. Wouldn't have initiated under those circumstances for a number of reasons, the least of which being, I like to keep such things private, I gain no thrill from the pressure of being spotted.

That being said and away from the topic, you hit the nail on the head of my exact thoughts, but I can't hope but be a bit afraid. Afterall, it still induces those effects on you, not just with drunkenness, but status ailments, and the ever invisible hand of Death Afflictions. It still simulates those, and in the case of DAs, it becomes almost inexorably compelling to perform certain actions, just short of it moving your body to do so on its own. I have no idea the kind of effects that kind of stuff would have on the brain, but I can't imagine long exposure to that kind of thing is good for anyone or anything.

Which reminds me, I will need to seek out Trinity or that Morgue Spirit and get the Afflictions cured, only a matter of time before small toads start scaring the crap out of me in the real world. It's weird isn't it? We have fourth wall breaking NPCs like Trinity, but then you take a look at those soldiers that you spent some time with, and they feel more human than Trinity herself. Those soldiers all felt real pain, or atleast, what was real to them, and their families felt real fear during the invasion. Whereas for many of the players, it was just another event, another task, another thrill.

But that begins to bleed into a more philsophical topic that I'd like to discuss face to face sometime if we should ever find each other bored and in need of some company. Though with the amount of people I know and an ever expanding Agenda, I don't know how soon it will be. So don't count on such a conversation too heavily.

As for that drink, I drank plenty of people under the table during the Festival, and I don't see your smaller frame as that intimidating when that kind of things comes up. Basically, you'll have to try to be forward and remain upright or even conscious. Or I will log out. One of the two are a preferable solution.

 

Vina Skysong

Maybe, but it's still an entertaining thought. Although of course not if you don't care for the thrill of being discovered. If the woman eliminated the strange apparition she was probably friendly though, right? Unless you think the apparition was benign, but usually when people say apparition in stories they're talking about something they're scared of.

I doubt the drunk thing can be too bad unless the VR system can somehow force alcohol into your blood, but Death Afflictions do scare me a lot. If you die your punishment is that your mind is influenced to forcefully react to certain conditions, even if you see no reason for it? It sounds too much like mind control to my tastes. I'd say that it's very unlikely that Death Afflictions can affect your real self, but with Terrasphere technically being illegal there's no saying what it might do to you. I haven't noticed any averse effects to myself yet, but then again I've yet to die or come really close to death.

Be careful, all right? I know that in a game like this death isn't always something you can avoid unless you refuse to take any risks, but I'd hate to hear that Terrasphere managed to affect you to the point that it's harming your mental health in real life. I'm also worried about some others... Most of the veteran players seem to not be as fond of Terrasphere as the newcomers, which suggests that you're right that this game might be unhealthy even for adults, even if they avoid dying. Maybe there's such a thing as a game being too immersive. Life or death situations are a lot less stressful when it just happens on a screen instead of all around you. Although with how I've heard some of the more experienced players talk about the game... Stressful and possibly unhealthy or not, this game is really addictive.

I just hope that if it ever gets too much for me I'll be able to make myself quit.

On the flipside the realism does allow for a lot of wonderful things as well. Those soldiers and their families do definitely feel real, to the point that you'd have to ask what it takes for someone to be a real person. Actually, isn't it said that Terrasphere uses actual AI? It's not in the PHB but... I'll have to check, but I thought there was a page on one of the fan sites where they argued that TS must be using AI technology for this level of realism, in which case the people living here are technically real I think. They certainly act and feel real... So far I've just been treating them as actual people and they react like it, so maybe it's better to consider the difference between mimicry and actual intelligence academical.

I certainly aren't going to stop enjoying talking to them any time soon. And that might be a fun conversation, but you don't have to make free time on your schedule for it if you're busy. What I will say is that most people I saw seemed to take the invasion seriously, and I was definitely worried and afraid myself. I think even knowing that it's not real doesn't take away the fact that with this level of immersion something like that is going to have an effect on you, unless you're one of those really controlled and levelheaded people.

I'm not going to win any drinking contest, so I think it's better if we don't put that to the test. Especially since I'd be a bit disappointed if it actually came to that and you logged out. I know you don't have interest, but my drunk self would be a bit less understanding, so better to prevent it than to live through it.