The Network: May, Arrivals from Distant Lands

[faileas]

The Network: May, Arrivals from Distant Lands

The Watches Everyone who arrives in an unorthodox way and eventually shows up at the Coven for 'orientation', will receive a strange, watch-like device compliments of the Coven and Parliament. Miss Nessie or one of the welcome wagon crew will give characters a run-down of how to use the various functions and they are encouraged to test them out for themselves. It would be good for them to get in touch with their fellow Mirrorbound, of course! Fourth wall characters will not be able to make their own posts in the communities, so they may use this post to make "network posts" of their own by top-leveling. The log post is right over here. Fourth Wall characters can comment on posts made by others in both aefenglom and middaeg until June 1st. Current players: Please specify in your posts if you do NOT want fourth wall characters replying!

Comments

un: CoolestSkeleton95

[spaghettimonster]

[It's only hours after receiving the watches in the first place, with a lot of testing and fiddling to figure out the settings on things, before Papyrus has a complaint to share with the world.]

I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE THIS.
AFTER DROWNING IN A MYSTERY OCEAN, GETTING ONTO A MYSTERY BOAT,
AND ARRIVING IN A CITY WITHOUT ANY REAL COMPUTERS OR ANYTHING.

THERE'S A MAGIC INTERNET, AND ON IT, MY USERNAME HAS ALREADY BEEN USED.
BY,
AND I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH.
ME???

I'M CHANGING MY USERNAME.
PLEASE DON'T MISTAKE ME FOR ANY OTHER ME THAT YOU'VE MET!!!
UNLESS WE WERE FRIENDS, IN WHICH CASE, FRIEND AWAY.

[unsundered]

[Now there's both an (obnoxiously loud) typing style that he recognizes, as well as a username that he more-or-less recognizes. And a comment with it that makes uncomfortably clear that this is a Papyrus who does not remember his prior stay here.

Which, for him, was only a source of more minor disquiet, as, well, it's not as though he's unused to not being remembered. But he wonders how Mettaton will respond to it.]

I see this alternate self of yours is no more quiet than the last.

The reputation left behind by your predecessor... my. A subtle change in username will hardly help you to evade those associations, but then I suppose your appearance would make any hope of disconnecting yourself from your past... moot. Distinct as you are.

[Sure, just make past!Papyrus sound as dubious as possible. Very welcoming message from some mystery stranger who doesn't bother to introduce himself.]

Welcome back.

[There we go, polite.]

[spaghettimonster]

[A polite ending, but what an intro. What an ominous series of implications wrapped around the welcome, like the opposite of medicine wrapped in cheese. It gives Papyrus pause for a full few seconds, as he hems over the contents, before typing away.]

THANKS!!!
I THINK.

THE REST OF YOUR MESSAGE... I HAVE TO ASK.
WHAT DID HE DO???
IS MY GOOD NAME ALREADY BESMIRCHED, BY A PROBABLY EQUALLY HANDSOME SKELETON?

[It can't be that was why so many people were staring at him in the street, can it..?]

[unsundered]

Well, I'm not one for gossip....

[Proceeds to.]

After falling in with a most dubious crowd, [Mettaton qualifies as both 'dubious' and a 'crowd.'] you attracted some attention from the law. You were even arrested, imprisoned for your crimes.

[He'd heard about that incident, theatre crimes on the Bright Wall. Hardly dangerous, and things that the Ascian was entirely in favor of, anyway, but of course he doesn't specify any of that.]

Brave of you to turn up after all... that, pretending to not remember your past deeds.

[spaghettimonster]

OH MY GOD???
HAVE MY CONDOLENCES FOR DEALING WITH SUCH A DREAD CRIMINAL!

IF I REMEMBERED ANYTHING OF THE SORT...
I WOULDN'T HAVE STOPPED AT GUSSYING UP MY USERNAME. PAPYRUS WHO? SOME OTHER SKELETON WOULD BE HERE.

BUT MAYBE, I SHOULD SWING BY THE NEAREST GUARD STATION. OR WHATEVER THEY HAVE HERE.
IF THERE'S A WARRANT OUT FOR MY ARREST... I DON'T WANT TO GET TACKLED WHILE GROCERY SHOPPING.
BETTER I TURN MYSELF IN, AND SAVE EVERYONE THE TROUBLE.

[He's exaggerating, as he assumes - hopes - this person is. But the seeds of doubt are planted. Just his skim through the past showed an astonishing resemblance to himself, but references to being a turnskin, struggling with new instinctis. Could having been part-dog... really made him so law-evading as all this?]

[unsundered]

[It's a response so earnest-sounding he has to chuckle at it, though he hopes Papyrus wasn't taking it entirely seriously. Though even if he was, Emet-Selch wasn't a kind enough person to feel remorse for a bit of teasing.

A small penalty for forgetfulness.]

Now there's a thought... demonstrating to the guards that you've learned a lesson you claim to not remember even needing. I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

As a gracious sort myself, I'll accept those condolences, and apply them to my superior memory of your excessive loudness. Ah, I should mention... we shared a residence for a time, which is tangentially connected to how I know any of this.

[spaghettimonster]

SO YOU WERE ROOMMATES, HUH...

[With that revelation, suddenly this conversation makes much more sense. It's a welcome, yes - but the welcome of someone who knows to expect the occasional pranking, and is getting ahead of the curve. Well then.]

AND YOU KNEW ABOUT THESE CRIMES...
WERE YOU. AN ACCESSORY??
AIDING AND ABETTING YOUR GOOD FRIEND PAPYRUS?

[unsundered]

Housemates, more like, there was more than enough space.

Alas no, I only heard of your escapades later, after you'd already served out your sentence, your debt to society. If I'd known ahead of time what was being planned, well....

I may have been moved to provide you a quick escape.

[He would choose to emphasize that may.]

Being a helpful type as well, I'll remind you- were you to restart your criminal career, who knows... my talents may well come into use after all.

[spaghettimonster]

I SEE, I SEE...
A HELPFUL GETAWAY DRIVER.

[Or some friendly, playful entrapment between housemates, whatever the case may be.]

THANKS!! I'LL CALL ON YOU IF I NEED SOME HELP LIKE THAT.
WHICH I SURELY WON'T, SINCE I'M TOO COOL TO BREAK LAWS.

[Is he saying this to throw any guards with watches off the trail? Is he egging Emet-Selch on? Does he just mean he makes a game of bending the rules rather than outright breaking them? Yes.]

text, un: filament

[omnicrafter]

Yes, I suppose the same mind might think to use the same username, wouldn't it...

How strange that you don't remember. But you are definitely still you, at least. Hard to mistake the... typing style. And you were sweet to me the first time around, so I figured I'd return the favor.

Nice to see you, Papyrus.

[spaghettimonster]

KNOWING MY NAME, AND NOT JUST MY USERNAME...
YOU REALLY MUST HAVE MET HIM!
OR, READ ALL THOSE OLD MESSAGES.

IN EITHER CASE, I ACCEPT THE WELCOME.
THANK YOU FILAMENT! IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU, TOO.

[omnicrafter]

My name is Irhya. And yes, we definitely did meet. A very nice skeleton, that one.

I assume you are also a very nice skeleton?

[spaghettimonster]

NATURALLY! YOU DON'T GET TO BE THE COOLEST SKELETON,
WITHOUT BEING PRETTY NICE.

BUT... I'M AFRAID I DON'T RECOGNIZE YOUR NAME EITHER.

IF I'M HERE LONG ENOUGH...
MAYBE I'LL FIGURE OUT A SUPER SECRET ADVANCED MEMORY MAGIC,
AND REMEMBER THINGS I NEVER KNEW I KNEW.

[Partly for friendship's sake, of course. But partly because, if the message from the other early welcome is any indication, there might be some terrible skeletons in his closet he needs to learn about - before someone else goes digging them up.]

[omnicrafter]

The coolest, huh? Are there other skeletons you have to compete against, I wonder?

Don't worry about it, though. I don't know what mechanism causes people to remember or forget their time here, but I'm sure it's not your fault. Unless you asked to have your memory erased... but that seems unlikely.

[spaghettimonster]

YEAH, THAT SOUNDS SUPER UNLIKELY.
NOBODY LIKES FEELING UNFORGETTABLE!
PAPYRUS WOULDN'T INFLICT THAT ON ANYBODY ON PURPOSE.
...

BUT THAT ASIDE,
DON'T TELL ME THERE'S NO OTHER SKELETONS HERE.
IS THAT REALLY WHY PEOPLE WERE STARING ON THE BOAT??

[omnicrafter]

Not that I know of. Is that good or bad, you think?

[spaghettimonster]

OH, IT'S PROBABLY GOOD.
THAT MUCH EASIER TO BE OUTSTANDING, WHEN I STAND OUT SO MUCH!!!

[Just as long as the jokes about crime are actually jokes, and also he doesn't have any enemies he's unaware of. Maybe he should spend a few hours reading back through this network's history...]

un: jiangwanyin

[lotus_of_rage]

Well, that's not a problem that I have heard of very often. Not being able to use the username you want because you are already using it. You going to try and take it back?

[spaghettimonster]

NO, YOU'RE WRONG TWICE OVER.
VERY CLOSE WRONGNESS.
I -COULD- USE MY USERNAME. IT WAS SELECTABLE.

BUT IT'S BEEN USED BEFORE, BY SOMEBODY CLAIMING TO BE ME.
AND I HAVE NO MEMORY OF THIS PLACE??
I'M CHOOSING NOT TO TAKE IT BACK, AND USE A COOLER USERNAME INSTEAD.

[lotus_of_rage]

Very close wrongness? [What did that even mean]

I see. Well, then if that one is better than the other, you should definitely use it. It could have very well have been you. Others have gone home and come back with no memory of having been here.

[spaghettimonster]

YEAH. WRONG, BUT NOT THAT WRONG.

[Grammatical clarity is a thing that happens to other people.]

HAVE THEY REALLY??
ONE OF THE ORIENTATION PEOPLE SAID, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I WASN'T REALLY LISTENING FOR THAT PART.
BUT I GUESS MAYBE THEY WERE SAYING, THEY'D MET ME BEFORE. WOW.

[lotus_of_rage]

I see. That makes slightly more sense.

Yes, that is true. It happened to my brother's husband. He was here one day, went through the mirror, and when he returned shortly thereafter, he didn't remember anything of what had happened here. So it is not unlikely that they met you once before.

[spaghettimonster]

SO THAT'S HOW IT WORKS...

[Have other people been walking through mirrors, having adventures, and then returning home with no memory of those adventures?? Maybe some of Flowey and Frisk's odder comments make sense, in this light.]

HOW LIKELY IS IT YOU'VE MET 'ME' BEFORE??
I WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE MET PAPYRUS.
AND WHAT RUMORS I NEED TO KEEP FROM GETTING OUT OF HAND.

[lotus_of_rage]

Yes that's what I have been told. I know that's how people arrive and leave.

It is unlikely. I have not met anyone named Papyrus previously so I have no rumors

[spaghettimonster]

PHEW. AT LEAST I'M MAKING A FEW FIRST IMPRESSIONS!!

[The key to first impressions is emphasizing the fact that they're first impressions by lampshading the fact in the conversation. People will surely be so entertained by the meta ramifications that friendship blossoms forth, or something. Also, asking about them.]

I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG AGO THAT OTHER PAPYRUS DISAPPEARED...
BUT YOU NOT KNOWING HIM/ME IS A GOOD FIRST CLUE!
HOW LONG AGO DID YOU ARRIVE?