After two years of work, Mythic Quest, the most popular MMORPG in the world, is about to launch its newest expansion, titled "Raven's Banquet." However, one particular part of the new expansion is not quite ready, threatening to delay the much-anticipated release: a shovel. MQ's lead programmer Poppy Li is enthusiastic about the shovel as a way for players to alter the game world according to their own vision, but creative director Ian Grimm isn't 100% convinced the new feature is all that it needs to be. In an effort to convince everyone the shovel is an awesome addition to the game, Poppy leaks it to Pootie Shoe, a teenage streamer who is hated and feared by the entire MQ staff because his opinions are highly influential to the game's player base.
Tropes:
- Gag Penis: The MQ staff discusses the shovel in the context of TTP, or Time To Penis - the amount of time it takes before players figure out how to use a tool given in a video game to amuse themselves by making a representation of a penis.
- Improvised Weapon: Ultimately, Poppy and Ian compromise on the shovel by allowing players to use it as a (very gorily-depicted) weapon as well as just for digging up the game's world.
- Off with His Head!: Ian is fixated on a very specific decapitation animation for when the shovel is used in combat, going so far as to don a motion capture suit and act it out himself.
