victory_road | first chord ♪ video

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first chord ♪ video

_{[So, you know what sucks about cold weather? Not having time to adjust to it after being somewhere warm. Olympus wasn't the hottest of worlds, but it was certainly better than Agrabah and definitely better than the chill he felt in this world.

He could easily just pull his hood up over his head too, but when the video switches on it's clear he can't do that thanks to the Lotad riding shotgun in said hood and peering over his shoulder with wide, unblinking eyes.]

Okay, I thiiiink it's recording...?}

This probably sounds cliche, but does anyone know where I am? I didn't have a chance to ask the chick in the house before she pretty much gave me the boot, and I know I didn't fall asleep in some stranger's house 'cause these buildings aren't Greek. There's only one other person here but I think she's just as lost as I am too, so that's out.

_{[The Lotad behind him makes a strange sort of belching noise, and he peeks back over his shoulder for a moment.]}

Oh! Yeah! Does anyone know what this thing is? It's cute, but I don't think I can bring it back home to the castle with me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I know this might sound a bit hard to believe, but you are in a different world. Nobody really knows how or why it happens, but somehow people from all sorts of different worlds and dimensions occasionally end up in this one.

And that is a Lotad. It's a kind of pokemon. That is what people in this world call their animals, though in general, pokemon are a lot stronger and more intelligent than the animals you might know from your own world. When people arrive here, they are given a Pokemon to serve as their companion, so that one is yours to keep. Though I've never heard of anyone who was able to take their pokemon with them to their own world, so you needn't be concerned about that.

I've been to loads of other worlds before, but not one like, well... this. It's super normal looking compared to the rest.

_{[It's not covered in sand, there's no tyrannical goat drill instructors, weird talking flowers and doorknobs... Yep, super normal!]}

Has anyone ever tried? To take it back with 'em? I've tried to bring things back with me before but some of my coworkers jumped on my back about it so I couldn't exactly keep anything.

Really? Well, I suppose that would be a matter of perspective. I have to admit, it was pretty overwhelming for me when I first arrived here.

[It had looked really weird to Armin, coming from, you know, that place he comes from. But if this newcomer had experience travelling through different worlds, his baseline for normal is probably very different from what it had been for Armin.]

Not as far as I know. Nobody knows when they'll be sent back to their world, if at all. So that sort of thing is hard to plan. And I suppose theoretically if someone had managed it, we wouldn't know about it here until they managed to make their way back.

Oh, yeah, for sure - I've been to a place that has an old castle with a bunch of talking furniture. This is probably one of the more normal looking places I've seen in awhile, but just between us I could do without the cold.

_{[Thank the Light that these coats were great for dealing with it! The heat, not so much.]}

But when you say sent back, do you mean whenever whoever runs this place gets sick of you? Or something else? I gotta admit it's the first time I've actually been stuck in another world before without being able to leave like I usually can.

T-talking furniture?

[That is-- what the heck]

Well, nobody really knows how it all works. It might be there is some sort of being who is responsible for choosing who arrives and leaves here, but personally, I think it is more like a natural phenomenon. The only thing we know for sure is that there doesn't seem to be a way to predict it. Or at least, not one anyone has been able to discover in the last ten years since people started showing up here.

Yeah! It's not the craziest thing I've seen in other worlds, but it's up there. I think there was a curse involved too 'cause the town waaaaay out from the castle was full of normal people. Weird, but normal.

_{[Just wait, Armin. There's so many other weird worlds out there and you have no idea.]}

Yikes, though. What're the chances of me being tracked down here? I'm honestly fine with staying, but if I'm gonna have one of my bosses chewing me out for being gone for like... days, weeks, or even months I dunno if it's that great of a deal.

[Armin'd love to hear all about all these other worlds, but perhaps it is best to first focus on this one and after that, they can tackle that subject. That'd be best for this stranger too. He seems pretty relaxed with the whole thing, but Armin figures he must have plenty of questions.]

You won't have to worry about that. If you end up going back to your own world, you'll reappear in it at the exact moment you left. So nobody is going to know you ever left. Even if you end up staying here for years, nobody will ever notice it. In fact, neither will you. It seems you lose all your memories of this place once you leave.

There is a chance one of your bosses might end up here as well, but then they'd be stuck in the same situation as you.

That's... harsh.

_{[In so many ways. So many. Doesn't the Organization have enough people with memory problems?]}

It's only one or two that I'm really worried about showing up. I have no idea how Saïx would take it and that scares the crap out of me.

Well, if any of them do show up, you could always report them to the Jennies. They are pretty strict on any forms of fighting.

Well, apart from pokemon battling, of course. But that has its own regulations.

The Jennies? Who're they? Some sort of ba--

_{[Wait wait wait.]}

Hang on, battling?

The Jennies are what the police here are called.

And yes, Pokemon battling is a really big thing in this world. Not everybody participates in it, but most people do. Some people even do it professionally. And even people who don't like battling other trainers, will still use their Pokemon to deal with wild Pokemon out on the road.

Yeesh. What's with everyone and fighting? I'm really not cut out for it, and I get the feeling that this guy isn't either.

_{[Look at it, Armin! It doesn't even blink normally!]}

Some pokemon aren't.

[Armin doesn't like to judge a book by its cover, but yeah, that is not really looking like a great and powerful battler.]

Battling here isn't just about brute strength. There is a lot of strategy involved too. And many pokemon enjoy it. But it's fine if that if that is not what you are interested in. You are pretty free to do whatever you want in this world. There are people who breed Pokemon professionally instead of battling them. Or who do research. Or people who have their Pokemon perform in contests rather than battle. There is lots of things you can do apart from battling.

Strategy or no, it's still not something I'm cut out for. I've been doing all of that nasty work for way too long despite trying to get put with recon-only jobs or taken out of it all together, 'cause at least that way I can slack off without getting my butt kicked.

_{[Breeding... He's not going to touch that with a ten foot pole as it stands, because right now it's going to raise too many questions of how. He even gives the Lotad a slightly wary look as the subject comes up. How do people even check...?]}

Iiii'm not a scientist either, so that's also out. Do I have to do something?

No, not really. But... wouldn't that be rather boring, just sitting around doing nothing? Not that I am saying you should make your mind up right now! I think it is better to travel a bit and experience a ton of different things before making a decision.

[But he just can't imagine... not wanting to do something. Just sitting around. Not focusing on learning or goals or exploring. He'd be bored within a day.]

I can't remember the last time I got to sit around and do nothing, man. I've done a ton of traveling to other worlds and all that jazz when all I really wanna do is relax. Jumping into fighting and everything else doesn't sound like my idea of fun.

_{[Can he sleep forever? That counts as doing something, doesn't it?]}

[That is called a coma and is not medically advisable.]

Well, you are completely free to do what you want. Even if that is nothing at all. Though, I would advise you to travel to a bigger city. New Bark Town is quiet and relaxing but it's really small. There isn't even a library there.

_{[Everyone else gets to play Rip Van Winkle! He wants in on that gig!]}

There's nothing wrong with small towns, dude. But I dunno what a library has to do with it.

I don't think there is anything wrong with small towns. I prefer them to the bigger towns like Goldenrod City. But if there isn't even a library in town, how are you going to get any books? Buying them all would get very expensive, very fast.

...Why would I need books?

To... read?

I'm not exactly a bookworm, man. I'm gonna take a shot at myself but I'm not sure I fit the bill with that sort of thing.

[Oh right. There are people like that. People who don't spend every waking moment with their nose in a book. They are weird people but they exist.]

Still, I think having a library nearby is handy. Even if you don't normally read, there might be something you want to look up.

Plus, the cities that are big enough to have libraries usually also have other things that you can't find in a tiny place like New Bark.

I've been to a couple big towns that have almost nothing too, but do libraries need be big? I've been to some pretty small ones that have even tinier book stores and they let me borrow a cou...ple...

_[Oh.]

_[Crap.]

I never brought them back! Crap! Debts don't follow you here, do they?!

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