To answer my own questions – as far as I can tell, we do need an Android device running the authenticator app to get passwords, and a password is required for each thread creation and each reply.
Yeah, I could be teaching myself Python, like I promised myself I would do. I have been promising myself that I would teach myself Python for years now. Maybe this month will be the month that I actually work up the gumption to get it done. But maybe I will instead shitpost silly outrun music videos instead.