melodiesofkupo | ( video ) Curti Center Employee AMA

[ The feed starts with the image of a dark-haired young woman, brows furrowed in concentration as she seems to be fiddling with the slate. Following several seconds she pulls back, seemingly satisfied. ]

Steady… There, it’s started.

Hello everyone, I hope many of you are doing well. We are the employees of Curti Center charged with assisting outworlders and newcomers to Vaikuntha.

First, I want to extend our apologies in our failing to answer all questions from the start. We found ourselves overwhelmed by the number of people and severely understaffed for the endeavour. Though not an excuse, we are always ready and available to assist you to the best of our abilities.

That said, I do feel it is our responsibility to inform those who were guided by Sarah Cornelia that she has departed from the Center, and we wish the best for her. The rest of us will do our utmost to carry on in her stead, which brings us to…

[ Stare. Staring off-screen. Yo, new guy, that’s your cue unless someone else wants to take over this part. ]

You’ve made it sound like she died-- what, is it my turn already?

Yes, in fact it is!

[The new guy turns out to be a blond man, but he doesn’t appear onscreen until he’s done talking, everyone else moving to allow him to be the center of attention.]

Hey, I’m Gi. I’ve met some of you and talked to some of you. I just got hired at the Curti Center, so I don’t know a lot of what goes on there, but I can tell you anything you want to know about the rest of Vaikuntha!

[ This last sentence earns him a small nudge from the third companion - a stern-looking, brown-haired young man, who decides it’s time to switch before his newest coworker gets too carried away with his enthusiasm. ]

As long as they’re questions we’re capable of answering. Anything from school or employment applications to Asterisks and housing - we would be happy to fill you in on the knowledge required should you wish to blend in with the local community.

[ Well, simply speaking it’s kind of their responsibility. He takes a moment to adjust his glasses before resuming. ]

I’m aware that many of you have taken interest in discovering the secrets of Vaikuntha and what lies beyond it. While I could point you in the direction of books that cover the subject in more detail, the Dream Width in particular is subject to an on-going research, so that the accidents such as the one we’ve witnessed recently can be avoided. And, of course - perhaps this shouldn’t be left for last - we’re continuously searching for a way to get you all home safely.

It’ll--ah, hmm, nevermind.

Nevermind…? [ Sylvarie takes a moment to look politely confused, but shrugs afterward and continues with addressing their audience. Ah, why did the screen have to be this small? ]

I suppose if… you want to ask questions about ourselves, we can discuss that as well. We do reserve the right to not answer, but the truth of the matter is—we don’t want to be strangers.

[ Well, some of them didn’t, anyway. At least, not completely. However, in that instance it occurs to her that there is one important detail they have yet to bring up. ]

Wait, I haven’t introduced myself. Everyone, we may need to start over—

[ A small groan can be heard off-screen. ]

Just drop our contact details below, this is already taking longer than it should.

We can’t be that crude about it!

Say your name, then. Nothing crude about that.

S… Sylvarie Aila Jue, of the Royal City of Myste Aura…

[ Was there anything else she was meaning to say? Nobody will ever know, because upon hearing that, the man with glasses accepts defeat and leans in for a brief moment, awkwardly bumping against Sylvarie’s shoulder in the process. ]

Lean. From Min’To...-

Kweh!

[ Hold on, that didn’t sound like a person… ]

Machi? How did you enter—? Saku—? Machi, no!

[ Alas, the perpetrator seems to have a mind of its own as a ball of fluffy black feathers charges right toward the screen, chirping merrily as it begins pecking at the glass. Feel free to sit down and enjoy these precious seconds of rare Chocobo footage before the feed abruptly shuts off. ]

[ ooc note: this is a joint video post of the following Curti Center employees: Sylvarie (purple), Gi (orange) and Lean (green) - guest starring Machi the Chocobo. As such, the replies might come from any of them - this is a completely open post where all sorts of threadjacking are allowed. If you have any questions, feel free to PM any of the players or poke us on Discord!

IC-ly, this takes place after the event. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So give it a shot! You never know, you might have fun. [ And then there's a mischievous glint in his eyes. ] Or...

You could try cooking. Not like super basic survivalist cooking. [ There is a wide grin. ] Gourmet cooking. There's fancy knives, and you can do things like punch dough! It's basically fighting on behalf of your stomach.

... Punching. dough.

[Oh no he's actually considering it. Despite knowing what Gourmand is and does and this guy has that asterisk.]

Yep! And chopping through some stuff is actually really cathartic. Vegetables and meat don't try to kill you unless you mess up, and you just get sick.

[ That might've been all the enabling Hunk needed. ] So what's the fanciest thing you've ever cooked? Especially if it's not fish, since that reminds you of Riku.

Hm, maybe. [Though now that he thinks about it, he kind of... wants to try making something? Just in general.]

All I know are fish recipes, and it doesn't bother me. [...Oddly enough, he kind of misses the real thing. They'd gotten close as brothers, once. In another world.]

Ok, well fish get hard to cook if you're not near any fish. What if you're in a desert? What are you gonna cook then? [ He raises an eyebrow and gives Takeshi a look. Tell him he's wrong, dude. You can't. ]

So what I'm thinking is one of these days, I'll call you over to help me out with cooking some new stuff that you haven't had before. And then you can try out cooking and new food! [ He's smiling at you, pal. Hunk's looking right at you through that video feed and smiling. Don't shoot him down. ] What do you say? Sound like fun?

[ You don't know what fun or hobbies are, Takeshi, just go along with it!!! ]

Considering I'll be moving up north because Miu here can't stand the heat... [Kweh! ...Yep, that sure is a white chocobo friend who decided to butt her head against Takeshi's back and then look over his shoulder at the device in his hands.]

So long as you don't slam your back against another electrified fence to short circuit a bomb again, sure.

[Nope. You're never living it down, Hunk.]

Woohoo! [ Hunk cheers into the video feed. Loudly. ] It's gonna be fun, Takeshi, I promise!

[ And then he raises an eyebrow and starts to talk in a snarky, singsong kinda way. ] Y'know... I wouldn't have slammed my back against an electric fence if you hadn't used that Protect spell. [ And then he wags a finger. Being good at being a White Mage means your party can be a little crazier! Right? Isn't that how this works? He doesn't know what it's like to fight alongside a healer at all. ]

We'll see about that. [Don't worry, Hunk. It's only a joke. Judging by the grin on his face.

One that quickly fades to slight annoyance because w o w.]

That's not an excuse to be so reckless! If it had been any higher voltage, or the other two hadn't pinned that moogle down, it could have been far worse!

Have you ever slammed into an electric fence before? [ The words are sudden and... surprisingly serious. ] I... actually have. And then I climbed right over it. [ For a pie, but still. ] There wasn't any weird magic or anything back home, either.

[ But then he looks sheepish and awkward and... a little sad. ] I know it could've been worse, that I could've died. It was stupid and crazy and we needed to do something about it, but we also had to stop that moogle, so... I did it anyway.

[ And then he cracks a smile. ] Besides, it's no world-devouring space worm, that was way worse!

No, but I'm sensing a story or two here. [Maybe three. He's not sure yet.] Had to deal with a giant space whale and its "friends" once. That was... interesting.

[The anger and annoyance subsides slightly, at least.] Little more warning next time? Though I kinda hope that was the last electric fence we have to deal with for a while.

Y-yeah, sure, more warning is no problem. [ Hunk just laughs and scratches at the back of his neck. ] I'd be more than happy to meet up and get some food and share some stories, if you want?

[ And then he smiles again. ] Or I can cook something and you can visit.

Might take you up on that.

[What kind of person ever turns down free food, anyway? Even after the Gourmand demonstration, he made sure to sneak a few things into his pack before leaving.]

( video ) Curti Center Employee AMA

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