001 • video

[fuckingaqua]

[ The video feed springs up with little to no fuss put into it- benefits of being kind of on board with the futuristic tech train- revealing one more in the line of fully-armored space marines, this one in a stunning shade of not blue blueish teal aqua sort of? His head is tilted a little to one side as he regards the communicator, and after a second of silence to make sure he's getting through, he speaks up. ]

Dude, this is the worst dream I've ever had! [ Yeah, meet Lavernius Tucker. Champion complainer. He's broadcasting genuine frustration and agitation like they're going out of style. ] It's all aliens and backpacks and no hot chicks! And kind of a really bad time for not being able to wake up. If someone needs me to help win a war or go between species for peace or something, you're gonna have to take a number. 'cause no offense, but I'm getting really tired of this plot-twist bullshit! How's a guy supposed to get anything done when this keeps happening? [ This, he follows with a huff before... actually seeming to relax a little more.

He'll just have to... wing it, he guesses. Not like he's really got a choice. After a few moments of silence (while he's busy brooding), Tucker hefts the bag he got on arrival into view. ]

So. I've got this backpack full of stuff to make a little alien and buy stuff and... drink, I guess. I mean, I was pretty focused on keeping the fuck away from the new mysterious alien life form, so I missed a few details. Fool me once, man. Whatever's in the bag, I'll trade for a one-way ticket back to Chorus. Or to being awake or whatever. Ooooor information? Yeah, sure, I mean. That seems like the kind of thing I should ask about. Like, what the fuck is going on around here? What's everyone's deal? Does getting shot wake you up? Because that would be pretty messed up, but I won't rule it out. You know, whoever's up for something like that. I guess I'm not really going anywhere in the meantime. Nothing like being stuck in the middle of nowhere. That's totally never completely backfired on me.

[ He pauses one more time, halfway reaching out to cut the feed and seeming to remember something he's forgotten. ]

Oh, and you can call me Tucker. If you want to remedy the hot chick situation while we're here together, y'know... I won't complain.

[ Maybe lacking some of the usual verve he'd give to matters concerning attractive ladies, but he's got hefty concerns on his shoulders, okay. Sometimes a man has to prioritize. ]

Comments

[video]

[brodakota]

[Well, there's some familiar armor. Although North is more likely to associate that colour with a certain someone else. Still, he can be friendly.]

The moogles are actually pretty friendly, provided you aren't shooting at them.

You can't really trade the dream pieces for anything though, except for other dream pieces. They make decent enough poker chips in a pinch.

What other details did you miss?

[video]

[fuckingaqua]

Man, if I knew what I missed, I wouldn't have missed it at all. [ You- you dude with purple armor who isn't Doc. That's kind of a nice change, objectively speaking. What even happened to that guy... Tucker shrugs and slings the backpack over one shoulder. Maybe this guy's legit about the dream pieces thing, maybe he's trying to score a free backpack by underselling. Who could say? (Apart from like literally everyone here.) ] But I didn't shoot any moogles, probably. I haven't shot at anything yet. I like to think of myself as more of a lover than a fighter, you know?

[ Not that it's really worked out. ]

[video]

[brodakota]

The moogles are the little floating bears with the pompoms on their heads. They sort of run everything around here.

[Commercially speaking at least. A right little monopoly.]

You'll want to save your ammo for the Nightmares anyway.

[video]

[fuckingaqua]

Nightmares? Not the most original name next to shit like "moogle," but whatever. [ It's a world about dreams, what can he even expect? ] I've got a sword if I get overrun or something, but I'll keep it in mind. Is the Nightmare thing pretty easy to notice, or...?

[unrecovered]

[There are so, so many things he could say. So many things. For now, he'll go with this one:]

Getting shot does not wake you up. Trust me on that one.

[Translation: holy shit you're alive]

[fuckingaqua]

[ Oh, Wash is saying a thing. Better follow his instincts. ]

Pff. Yeah, I bet you'd know that firsthan-- [ And an abrupt stop, because there you go, Tucker, record realization time. By Caboose's standards. This is definitively not supposed to be possible right now. It was this whole big thing. They've been training a fucking army because it was a whole big thing. ] Wait. Wash?

[unrecovered]

Actually, I do. [Shot, stabbed, electrocuted, tackled, sat on by a fucking Meowjesty...if physical harm were a ticket to the waking world, Wash wouldn't have been stuck here for months on end.]

[And yet, here he is.]

[Aaaaaaaand there's the realization. He's disappointed in your reaction time, Tucker.]

Yeah. Turns out physical location doesn't matter when you're all stuck in the same dream.

Grif told me you're a captain now. [Let's just test the waters on this one, shall we?]

[fuckingaqua]

[ Sorry bro, been too preoccupied with avoiding another alien pregnancy for reaction times. ]

That's it? The first thing you do is bring up Grif? [ Of course, he does do a lot more dreaming than most people, so... somehow, it's less surprising than it should be that he's been here to run his mouth. Also, Wash just reminded him that the waters are there to test. They're lukewarm, but mildly volatile, and a little high in their sarcasm levels. ] Well hi to you, too, asshole! Oh, I'm totally great, how are you? I hear nice things about the Federal prisons at this time of year.

[fearmylaserface]

Holy shit...

Tucker? Is that really you?

[fuckingaqua]

[ A CONSIDERABLE PAUSE GOES HERE. Like, the purple guy is one thing, and Wash is another, but this is just kind of.

Even more unexpected. Of all the shit to go down, really? He feels raw, and not in a good way. He feels tired of complicated bullshit in general.

Buuut mostly, Tucker feels pissed off. ]

You've gotta be fucking kidding me right now!

[fearmylaserface]

No. I'm not kidding, Tucker.

[fuckingaqua]

[ Damn him and his relative calmness. Damn it!! ]

Okay, great, we'll skip that and go right into asking where the hell you've even been! Way to take off on us, asshole!

[private audio]

[raisethemoon]

...you are not a Freelancer.

[Because you are an idiot. And probably not dangerous, okay.]

Explain your most recent experiences with Agent Washington.

[private audio]

[fuckingaqua]

I'm absolutely not a Freelancer. [ And an idiot. And yeah, generally not dangerous. AND PROUD OF IT. ] And why should I tell you anything about my experiences with him, exactly? Pretty sure I have no idea who you even are.

[private audio]

[raisethemoon]

I am Luna, Princess of the Night. And if he has been harmed yet again, I shall need to know who is responsible.

[Keeping the Transdimensional Hit List up to date is IMPORTANT, Tucker.]

[private audio]

[fuckingaqua]

Well he's an idiot, so the most recent time around is pretty much his fault. [ So, so biased. But he could totally respect the Transdimensional Hit List thing. ] If you're the princess of the night and everything, how about giving him a royal order to stop being an idiot? I mean, I guess you could happen to have an army to help my army beat another army, so that we can get him out of prison and back into our regular useless army? But it seems kind of complicated to fix things that way.

[dork_of_keys]

We're still trying to figure out how to wake up from this. And no, getting hurt doesn't do it.

[ The Moogles would probably be alone here if that was the case.]

Anyway, the Spirit you can make from those dream pieces will help you fight the Nightmares. And defeating the Nightmares gets you munny, more dream pieces to make more Spirits and treats for you Spirits. And the Moogles will also buy extra dream pieces from you too.

Oh, and I'm Sora. It's nice meet you.

[fuckingaqua]

[ ... well, crap. It's a kid. Like a kid, kid, not a "dumb young soldier a guy can take out his frustration on while also training them to not die" kid. A kid with info he sort of missed while he was asking questions without waiting for that moogle thing to give him answers.

Tucker's not strictly smart, or done handling the situation by defaulting to angry, and he guesses he's not really a great dad anyway, and he hasn't seen his kid in about a million years, but he can account for the fact that it's rude as hell to yell at a kid who has nothing to do with anything that's made him mad in the first place. Or something like that. Damn. ]

Uh-- yeah. You, too? Thanks. Jeez, no one even mentioned I could get cash for stuff by beating up monsters yet. That should have been like the first thing they told me! [ Tucker it was probably one of the very first things the Moogle told you. ]

[dork_of_keys]

No problem. Things are easier when people help each other out, right?

[Knowing the Moogles, they could have assumed monsters drop munny when beaten on all worlds and didn't feel it needed mentioning.]

[colorbymemory]

Hello, Tucker. My name is Namine.

[There's a lot she could respond to, here, but she's going to with what she can most obviously help with, first.]

Spirits are Dream Eaters; if you make one they'll help you fight the Nightmares. The munny in the bag should be enough for you to stay a night at the hotel, and the drink is a Potion. It'll heal you if you get hurt.

[fuckingaqua]

[ He's... chilled, just a little bit, since his first ten or fifteen minutes in town. Like, it helped that there were three dudes from the same world that he could yell at in short order. And it helps that there are people (kids, mostly, apparently) phoning in that he doesn't want to do any yelling at.

Oh, things are still pretty insanely frustrating, but Tucker's also pretty positive he's not actually going to punch anything in the immediate future. Which is nice. ]

This place has healing potions? [ He's starting to see the video game thing North Dakota was talking about, yeah. ] That's some pretty advanced stuff for a magic dream town.

[colorbymemory]

[Namine is starting to notice some of those other conversations. Not that she'll allude to them; they seem private. Tucker wouldn't be the first new arrival in a bad mood, but he was one of the more vocal. At least now he seems to have calmed a little.

His surprise regarding the potions doesn't phase Namine. She's used to new arrivals that aren't used to them.]

Yes, you could call them that. I'm not sure how they're made, but the Moogles sell them.

[notquitedracula]

[Yeah, it's another kid. At least this one looks old enough to be out of diapers, and that look in his eyes... yeah, possible Child Soldier material here.]

You think it's bad now, wait til the big Nightmares show up. Most of us have nearly had our tickets punched by those at least once, and last time there were five of them.

[Soma is amused by your flailing, Tucker. For a guy in hyperadvanced plate armor, you're one hell of a spaz.]

Everyone else seems to have covered the usual bases. There's an information packet floating around on the network somewhere about the Nightmares; someone else will have to dig it up for you, I seem to have lost my copy.

[fuckingaqua]

[ Dreamworld is swimming in children. He's not sure what that's all about. ]

I like to pass on ticket-punches at every available opportunity, yeah. But I'm down for an information packet. I'll go digging myself if I have to. Whatever makes all this crap make sense.

[notquitedracula]

If you can make sense of it, you'll be the first, and I'm certain we'd all be quite interested in the explanation you come up with.