genessia | Puzzle 001 ✎ closed action / video

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Puzzle 001 ✎ closed action / video

[Action - closed to Luke Triton]

[It's really overwhelming, suddenly waking up in a strange, unfamiliar city with sci-fi level technology when he was supposed to be on his way to Scotland Yard to begin his new life as a prisoner. Listening to the introductory speech provided by a hologram of a white-haired young woman only served to convince him further that this is all a dream. He must have fallen asleep in the police car - being struck on the head with a fallen pipe had taken a lot out of him, after all, and even now he can still feel a dull ache where the pipe had collided with his head.

Well, it seems like he's not going to wake up yet, so he takes a map from the nearby magazine rack and looks over it to figure out where he should go first. Teanie Teas immediately catches his eye - it would certainly be nice to sit down and have a hot cup of tea to soothe his nerves, and he should be able to afford it with the strange-looking currency that he's been provided with.

So off he goes to Teanie Teas, completely oblivious as to who will be awaiting there when he walks in the door....]

[Video - open]

[Sometime after his unexpected encounter with Luke, Clive finally decides to give this videophone thing a go. He appears to be sitting on a bench somewhere in Genessia, leaning forward with his face very close to the screen.]

--that, and... oh, is this thing on already? [He lets out a small, sheepish laugh as he leans back and adjusts the camera's position to give everyone a better shot of him.] That was a lot simpler than I thought it would be.

Well, I suppose I should begin with a brief introduction. My name is Clive Dove and I'm from London, England. I've been here for a few hours already and have a general idea of what's going on here, although I still find it all rather hard to believe. But I'm sure I'm not the only one.

[He pauses for a moment. It's still sinking in that he's addressing hundreds of people all at once just by sitting here and talking to this screen. This newfangled technology, man.]

Let's see... Some suggestions on cheap flats to live in and decent starting jobs would be nice, but there's something else that I'd really like to know. For anyone who wouldn't mind satisfying my curiosity, tell me a little about your world, or just the area in which you grew up in. Is this sort of technology as strange and new to you as it is for me? Or perhaps it's old-fashioned compared to your world's standards? I'm curious to see how varied the population here is, and just how far our mysterious captor's reach extends.

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[ London, England sounds nice. She knows where that is and the talk of unfamiliar technology at least seems to suggest a similar timeline. Even though the people from the multiverse that Augusta had met seemed mostly acceptable, she's still on the look-out for people from similar worlds nevertheless. ]

I'm also from Europe on Earth - although, judging by my previous experience with other people from there, my country might not exist in your universe. It's Kuchen.

The year is 1937, so the technology here was quite unfamiliar to me upon arrival as well. In Genessia it's not as bad as in Nova City though.

[Wow, Clive certainly wasn't expecting to meet anyone from another Earth. This entire experience just keeps getting weirder and weirder, but the only thing he can do at this point is just accept it.]

You're right, I've never heard of Kuchen, but your Earth is only a few decades behind mine. That's a much smaller time gap than I was expecting, honestly. [We don't get into the specifics of the Professor Layton timeline because what the fuck is it? We just don't know.]

I'm assuming that each city here has varying levels of technology, then?

[ It would have been too good to be true to have someone recognize her homeland. She's starting to feel odd about it being nonexistent in seemingly every other Earth, but that's something to mull over on another day.

Yes, essentially. Nova City is quite futuristic, Attleton is a little less advanced than Genessia and might be closest to what you're used to. Everglade is also less advanced but ridden by supernatural phenomena and heavy fog. Fayren does not have any real technology but seems to work entirely like a fairytale world.

[He makes a mental note of each of the city's attributes. Hopefully he'll find a pen soon so he can start making actual notes.]

I see... I'll have to check out these other cities once I've settled in more. They sound quite fascinating. And may I ask how long you've been here?

It's been roughly three months now. Comparatively I'm still a newby, but I did have time to get settled and acquainted with the surroundings.

Three months, huh? Would you say that it's been difficult adjusting to life here?

Not nearly as difficult as I expected. Arriving without papers and knowing anybody isn't a problem and getting a job is easier than I imagined as well. The place is clearly meant to be welcoming to newbies.

[Luke, for his part, doesn't even look up from his small notebook when the door opens, at least not at first. As the proprietor of the tea shop, he spends an overwhelming amount of time trying to figure out just what sorts of tea people like buying. He has to make a profit, after all, however slim. His landlord can hardly tolerate such a young man renting a flat to begin with--to struggle making ends meet, Luke would just be asking for trouble.]

Oh--good morning. Thank you for visiting--

[And then he looks up, and suddenly he's confused. Really confused, and his eyes are a little bit wide, and he shrinks behind the counter just a little bit while wondering what exactly he was supposed to do now.]

C-Clive?

[Clive stops dead as soon as he sees who's behind the counter, staring back with an equally wide-eyed expression.]

Luke?

[It doesn't feel like it's been that long since they were last together, yet suddenly Luke is working in a tea shop in an unfamiliar city??? That's definitely not the kind of thing that just happens overnight, especially not for someone so young. Clive wasn't even expecting to see Luke in this place at all.

Not wanting to startle him any further, Clive will stay right where he is for now.] Just how long have you been here?

[Luke blinks once and then twice, swallows, and shudders. There's no hiding tired creases under his eyes, the slightly worn look of his clothes and expression. Genessia has been rough.

He fidgets behind the counter and straightens his hat as if it weren't already neatly in place.]

I've been here for months.

[A nervous glance around the room.]

I...are you...I thought that the Inspector had...

[Luke's worn appearance and fidgety movements definitely do not go unnoticed, but it would probably be best not to say anything about it. It's also surreal to think that Luke had arrived here months ago, but the present situation leaves him with no choice but to believe it.]

Arrested me? Yes, I thought so too. The last thing I remember before waking up here not too long ago is being shoved into the back of his car. I don't know why I'm here now.

[But hey, he's not complaining about not being in prison right now. Yes, he wants to atone for his crimes, but no one actually wants to be in jail. He lets out a sigh.]

Look, I only came in for some tea, but if that's a problem I can take my business elsewhere.

I'll make tea.

[Because what else can he do but make tea? What other response is there? And truthfully he still found a measured amount of comfort in the familiar face, because before Clive became Clive, he had been hid future self and someone whom Luke could trust--and that had to mean something.

Luke turns to the small stove and twists on the burner, glancing over to shelves lined with neat little tins. His movements are just slightly unnatural, like someone recovering from an injury. Without turning back:]

What sort of tea would you like? I've lots of blends we have at home.

[Well, Luke could have told him to get out and he would have gladly done so - in fact, that was the sort of response he was expecting, so he's a little surprised that Luke is being so complacent. At least Clive's getting what he came here for, so he'll finally approach the counter now and lean on it as he looks at the tins on the shelves. And he's still observing Luke as well, of course.]

Hmm... I suppose Earl Grey will do.

Okay.

[Little ears perk at the sound if approaching footsteps, and Luke wills himself not to turn. Clive doesn't scare him or make him nervous! ~~You keep telling yourself that sweetie.~~

Meanwhile, he grabs a tin from the shelf and returns to the kettle that's now cheerfully whistling away. Like everything else in the shop, Luke serves the tea in an older china teapot and delicate cup that don't match--all of the china he's collected second hand. It doesn't match, but they go together well enough.

He carefully places the tea on the counter in front of Clive, a small frown still on his face.]

I was just at home, right? As if I'd just seen you.

[Why couldn't it be the Professor who was here? Or Emmy? Or, if it had to be Clive, why does he have to know what he knows about the young man's true intentions? He pauses.]

Time doesn't work the same here. Inquisitor Darklaw--I knew her from a case but I knew things that she says hadn't happened yet. Like she only started the story, but I finished.

Edited (long tag is long also oops spelling) 2015-03-29 02:16 (UTC)

[As Luke places the tea cup in front of him, Clive takes out the appropriate amount of money and slides it onto the counter towards Luke, then sits down in a nearby seat with his tea as the younger boy continues talking. He then brings the cup up to his lips and takes a nice, slow sip. His expression remains pretty much the same afterwards, so it's probably safe to assume that the tea is good enough.]

The Labyrinthia case, right? I'm vaguely familiar with that one. [He read that case file a grand total of one time and then never touched it again because he was too infuriated by it, and it didn't seem like it'd be important to know for his Big Luke role anyway so he didn't allow himself to become too invested in it. As a result, most of the details are pretty fuzzy to him now, though it seems that utterly ridiculous name still sticks out to him. But Clive really couldn't care less about any of that right now.]

Anyway, you said earlier that you've been here for months. Just how many months has it been?

[Luke takes the money and counts it, placing the right amount into the till and then returning Clive his change.

He nods slowly in response to Clive's question.] Mmhm. From Labyrinthia.

[He would've chosen any host of other people to arrive other than Darklaw--no offense meant to the Inquisitor, of course.

Luke turns to the kettle and makes himself a small cup of tea as well, settling onto a small stool behind the counter.]

Since September, so about eight months now.

[For a moment she though he was Luke... but he was older than Luke so... With hearing that name, it definitely wasn't him and yet...]

I'm sure you probably wouldn't want to know about my world. It's much too desolate and much more horrifying than many of the other worlds here.

Technology however... Most of the things here was new for me when I got here.

[Maybe he really is Luke. Maybe Mikasa is Luke, too. Maybe we're all Luke.]

As a journalist who reported on tragedies and horrific events, I would actually be very interested in learning about your world. Of course, if you'd prefer not to talk about it then you don't have to.

[After all, it's not like he's gathering information for an article here, he just wants to satisfy his own personal curiosity.]

Although, do allow me to ask this, at least - what are the primary methods of long distance communication and transportation in your world, if there are any at all? [That should be a harmless enough question, right?]

[We might all be Luke... :|a]

I really don't care about talking about, to be honest. I just figure I'd rather save horrific stories from those who come from otherwise happy cheerful worlds. A place that would never exist for me, not matter what we do.

I guess letters, but I can't say I did much of that back home. As far as transportation, we have our gear, but aside from that there are horse-drawn carriages.

[Clive's not sure he would describe his own world as happy or cheerful... Especially not his life. But that's something he really doesn't want to talk about so he'll avoid bringing that up.]

Your "gear?" What is your gear, exactly?

[That's fine with her.]

My Three Dimensional Maneuvering Gear. I would show you it, but I don't have it on me at the moment. All you need to know about it is that it allows us to have more movement and assists us when fighting large, dangerous beings called titans back at home.

Tech levels seem to be way different for a lot of people. This place doesn't even seem to have a Vine app or Instagram, just this communicator thing. What's your most recent invention? #MissMyFollowers

[Oh god, cell phones don't even exist in Clive's world yet, how do texting...... All of his replies are going to be pretty sluggish, sorry Salama.]

Vine app? Instagram? #MissMyFollowers? I'm afraid I don't understand. What do those mean?

I'd say the most recent invention that has had a significant impact on my world is the automobile. What about yours?

[Technically his most recent invention is the mobile fortress but. We don't speak of that ever again.]

[ She's gotten used to it. She even has a hashtag for the phenomenon. ]

Ahh another person who doesn't know of the modern age yet. #Welcome2theNet!

Vine: 6 sec vids
Instagram: pics, many selfies
#: hashtag

It would depend which city you're asking to compare.

[He sort of looks like Luke but not quite. Must be a chance resemblance.]

Hmm... I was only recently made aware that the cities here all have varying levels of technology. Let me phrase it this way, then: which city would you say most closely resembles your own world?

Hm, well, in that case I'd have to say Fayren.

Well hello, Clive Dove. I'm Yukiko Amagi from Inaba, Japan. When it comes to cheap flats or jobs you can always head to the welcome center since you don't seem the type to want to work at an inn.

As for where I am from, I already mentioned it to you. It's just a small town in Japan. It isn't that busy but it;s nice and peaceful. [Well it is now at least.]

It's very nice to meet you, Yukiko. I can't say I've heard of Inaba, but if it's a small town then it makes sense that I wouldn't have. Admittedly I don't know all that much about Japan, except that its capital is Tokyo.

[Or maybe Inaba doesn't exist in his world at all, who knows.]

And no, honestly, I don't think I can see myself working at an inn. I'm assuming that you work in one?

I wouldn't be surprised if many people had heard of it really. It really is am small town.

[Although it might have been heard on the news, but she guessed he has never been to Japan, so wouldn't have seen there news anyway.]

I do, I did back home and I currently do here. So if you ever come across the Amagi Inn, that would be my inn.

Nova City has the closest resemblance to my home world of Labyrinth, though I've travelled to worlds that resemble all of the other cities in one way or another.

You've travelled to other worlds? Of your own free will, I assume?

It was a command from my master, Lord Moebius. I was simply following orders.

...So, yes. I suppose I was.

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Puzzle 001 ✎ closed action / video

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