melodiesofeternity | Introduction Log || Third Time's The Charm

Introduction Log || Third Time's The Charm

Who: All characters (New Arrivals, Previous Arrivals, and Native OCs)
When: August 5th
Where: The Dream Width (Airship), the Curti Center, and the Housing District
What: It is happening for the third time now. More outworlders have arrived in the Dream Width and must be rescued and brought back to their new homes on Vaikuntha
Warnings/Notes: Only new players can put up a toplevel. Previous arrivals and established native characters can respond to new characters' toplevel posts.

MEMORY

[ You've been here before...? No, wait, why would you think that? You're here in the moment, everything is as it should be...(?) The memory you are trapped in has completely enthralled you. You stop questioning and accept, you relive and repeat. Luckily, you are not alone. Others have arrived to help you. The travelers in the airships will enter the nebula formed by your memories and attempt to wake you up and bring you back to the present. The dreamer's mind will shape how these newcomers are perceived and how the NPCs in the memory respond to them. For more details on the mechanics, please refer to this post]

ARRIVAL

[ You wake from your dreams, from your memories, on a narrow cot. There are fleeting impressions- recycled air, humming machinery, movement, strangers waking around you. The room you wake in is lined with cots, with barely enough space between them to walk to the door, though not all of them show signs of having been occupied. The makeshift infirmary seems like it was prepared to hold many more than are here.

Stepping out, there is a lobby space that bears the signs of having once held some furniture, now cleared away to make space. Your footsteps echo in the emptiness.

As the automatic door slides shut on the infirmary, a light flashes on the far side of the room.

A flickering holographic projection of a man’s face and gloved hand appears projected in the space above the arrivals’ heads. He backs up so his upper body is in frame for the recording. An arm, covered in the same orange flightsuit sleeve, hands him a tablet. The man begins to read. A written version of the message scrolls along the bottom of the projection as he speaks. ]

’Welcome travelers’… That’s way too formal. Hey everyone.

Hi!

[ The second man leans into the frame to add his greeting. ]

Don’t panic. You were floating out there, but we pulled you in and rescued you.

Yeah, we’re heroic AND handsome. And also the only ones crazy enough to come out here to get you.

[ A woman’s voice calls from out of frame. ] Can you two be serious for ONE moment and stick to your scripts?

[ The two men give each other a conspiratorial eyeroll. This does not appear to be their first take. ]

Anyways, no need to panic. Seriously, don’t do anything reckless. We got our fill of that with Skywalker.

[A huff is heard offscreen, and the men finally spare the tablet another glance.]

‘Your pilots will be navigating treacherous environs as this message plays…’ Claire, seriously? Nobody talks like this!

[ The tablet is tossed to the side and lands with a thunk offscreen. ]

We’re gonna wing it. Look, everyone, we’re workin’ hard to get you planetside safely, and it’s gonna take some tricky flying to do it. So the door to the cockpit is locked so we can focus on not getting us all killed. Don’t try to open it, unless you want to be stardust.

We promise you’ll get answers about what’s going on once we land. But for now, please trust us. Right now, we’re your only hope.

[ The second man leans forward, close to the recording device, and presses a button. The projection freezes for a moment, and then the message starts on the next recorded message. ]

CURTI CENTER

[ Finally after hours of flight, you arrive at the Curti Center. The other NPCs await you having been notified of your retrieval in the Dream Width. Jessie gives a long and somewhat awkward welcome speech, explaining what the situation is: you were lost in a space called the Dream Width. You are now on a planet called Vaikuntha: for ages, the people of this world have used Airships to rescue people lost in the Dream Width, with one person being found roughly every ten years. No one knows why this happens, but this has been a mutually beneficial exchange, with the people from Vaikutha rescuing people lost in the Dream Width and the rescued ones sharing their wisdom with the people of Vaikuntha. Ten years ago, something unusual happened: two people were found at once, Biggs and Wedge. But that was nothing compared to what happened four months ago... And two months ago. And now, here you are. No one knows why such a large number of people has arriving lately, but the Curti Center is a place dedicated to piercing the Dream Width's secrets.

Jessie also introduces the other ones: Claire, the woman sighing and writing in her schedule book upon being pointed out as the bookkeeper, Kupoto and Mogaruru, their Mognet representatives and finally the Native OCs: those brave and kind souls who have accepted to help you all on a daily basis. She also mentions Cid, the director who is busy preparing for certain dealings later this month.

After Jessie finishes , the employees, including the Native OCs, provide a tour of the facility and help the newcomers navigate their future lives. Now is the time to ask questions and look over pamphlets regarding locations, Jobs, life in Vaikuntha... ]

[ If you want to contact an NPC, you can do so on the NPC Contact Page. ]

A BALL OF FLUFF NAMED MOOGLE

[ It has been a long day, perhaps now you would like to find your way to a place to sleep? Or perhaps you'd like to get some answers, but you can't be bothered to go seek people out?

And lo, just as despair begins settles in, a Moogle slams into you! Or stops by your side if their aim is decent... It's the Moogle Jessie mentioned in her speech earlier! And they'll be informing you that now, they will stick to you like your shadow and help you in anyway they can!

They're also giving you your iMog Slate- Now you can get onto Mognet! Isn't it great? ]

A QUICK CHECK-UP

[ Whether it's your Moogle, Native OCs or NPCs, all will urge you to stop by the hospital wing for a basic check-up. You may disagree, but listen. You've just been thrown into a space between worlds, rescued, and brought to another world. For your own sake, that's a good idea. Should you give in and go (or should you be dragged by your Moogle or a Native OC), you will find yourself in the cold and white space very reminiscent of an hospital. For characters with specific medical conditions necessitating help, this is where they will receive it if asked.

The doctors and nurses are all White Mages or Chemists, with various levels into their Job as well as medical knowledge. Don't mind the confused looks if you look like nothing they've ever seen before... It's hard for a doctor to be unable to give a proper diagnosis to a patient! For everyone else though, they'll be let go with smiles and be given a candy as they leave.

No one likes medical check-ups, but it's a very quick and basic one: testing reflexes, taking your temperature and the likes. On the bright side, while you're grumpily sitting on a bed with a thermometer on your forehead or in your mouth, it might be a good time to socialize with your fellow new arrival who's having lights flashed into their eyes by a doctor. Misery loves company, after all. ]

PRETTY SIGHTS

[ There's plenty of rooms to wander about in, with several points of interest apart from the offices.

The Airship Hangar is where the airships are kept and the first room you entered. Workers keep guard to prevent the outworlders from getting too close to the vehicles. Airships are expensive and they don't want you messing with them, after all.

Venturing into the Research Section, you can walk through public exhibitions on astronomy, airship design, and asterisk studies. A good place to get used to the basic science of this world. The laboratories lie behind a thick locked door with a sign reading "EMPLOYEES ONLY". No going there, for now anyway. Not too far from there are the Employee Quarters - work stations, apartments, and lounge areas. The latter are available to the public, whereas the rest is locked to Native OCs. But if you get them to be friends with you, perhaps they'll let you visit?

Also open to all is a Cafeteria - a standard food court with stalls serving all types of Vaikunthan cuisine. The Chef is a very jovial and absent-minded Hypello. Beware of long lines and crowded tables. Should you prefer open spaces, then the gardens are for you! There are different sections in the gardens around the center. One boasts a wide array of blooming flowers, another more practical with herbs commonly used in Vaikunthan cooking. One had been cultivated for butterflies and hummingbirds to visit. Paths have been laid through so that visitors can safely navigate, and moogles will swoop down and shout at anyone who strays into the flower beds.

Or perhaps, you want to wait till the sunset. Dusk on a new world, but a beginning of a new life... The sea shines bright in the orange light. A good moment for quiet contemplation. ]

HOUSING

[The housing accommodations are the best the Curti staff could provide, given that they are still also sheltering most of the previous arrivals from the Dream Width. The keys have been entrusted to the moogles who will be guiding the new arrivals.

The new arrivals can stop by the Curti Center storage room to collect some essential supplies that have been donated by charity organizations from around the world (there are boxes of toothbrushes and whitening toothpaste sent from the Zora, hair brushes from the Elezen, quick-drying towels from the Hypello, among the various donations of clothes, toiletries, and blankets), before heading to their temporary homes. The people of Vaikuntha have done their best to provide for their new neighbors and help them get on their feet.

Still, things will be a little cramped until the off-worlders can find employment and move into better housing. The staff hopes they can get along with one another until alternate arrangements can be made.

You can survive living with roommates for a few months, right?]

THE JOB FOR YOU

[An important part of life on Vaikuntha is the Job (or Jobs) you choose to take. No, not the way you earn your living. Your Job Class. Most Natives only choose one or two, but you'll have an opportunity to take on more Job Asterisks after you master your first Jobs.

The Curti Center's resident Job Master, Ganeshan, is more than happy to arrange transportation to the various Guilds so that you can claim your first Asterisks. ]

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( it's a memory— ren had been to a few by now and this time was lucky enough to recognize the signs. still, it felt a little... intrusive to just pop in on someone like this.

he's leaning against one of the walls, maybe slightly out of view until he finally speaks up— ) That means— you'll be a transfer student.

( he seems so nonchalant about being here, in this unfamiliar kitchen with these unfamiliar people— like somehow it's the most natural thing in the world. )

( Transfer student- did he think that just now? Or did someone say it? Maybe his mother.

Or father. He just brought up the papers for transferring schools. Then got on the phone as well, leaving Souji to sit cemented on the chair in the kitchen. The clock ticking on the floor became louder than even the voices of his parents.

There was no one in the kitchen. And the voices of his parents disappeared. Souji knows he should get up and go to his room to start packing but- his legs won't carry him.

The scene changed in rapid transition of black and white, the sound of trains now filling the space. He was sitting at the train station, the bag next to him. Souji lifted his gaze to people nearby, hugging, saying goodbyes.

The old phone in Souji's hands remained silent.)

( with no response, ren can only assume that he's destined to be an observer in what seems to be shaping up to an uncomfortable situation. he's unmoving from his spot as the clock's hand tick away its cruel silent seconds.

it's not the same as his situation, but it feels similar enough. the way this guy's parents were just so... dismissive. the way they laid out their expectations... but there's hardly time to dwell on that as the scenery changes, and the sounds of a clock are replaced with the rumbling of trains on their tracks.

there's a pang of something in his chest, and while he isn't sure that he can even be heard in this place, by this young man— he can at least take a seat on that bench next to him, in silence.

even if it might have seemed like it... souji wasn't alone.

after awhile, his eyes glance down to that old phone— prompting him to dig into his pocket to reveal the more recent model. his fingers sailed over the keys as he thought, maybe, somehow... )

It could be a new beginning... right?

You already did this before. [A woman's voice echoes off of the walls at the train station, pushing all other voices into the background.] You're already grown up, you can take care of yourself.

[With every word the woman speaks, the surroundings keep losing their color. Everything was slowly blending into something that barely had shape, that barely had sound.]

Don't cause trouble and study. There is nothing else you need to do. [Woman's voice was replaced by a familiar male voice from earlier. Souji seems unmoving, staring blankly at a spot on the ground as the voices rang around him.] You can do this much, correct?

[Souji's eyes moved from the spot on the ground and he looked back at the phone in his hand.]

'You're alone', [voice resembling Souji's said loudly, erasing everything around them.] 'You're alone, you're alone, you're alone, you will always be alone.'

( nothing again. crap. at this rate, if ren couldn't get through to this young man then...
WHAM it's like a punch to the chest. his body went flying through a break in the trains, launching onto the other side of the platform and landing hard on his back with a— ) Whoof...

( with the air knocked out of him. wincing, he lifted himself up with a hand pressed to his head. it seemed as though some kind of invisible force had separated him from the dreamer. this wasn't good. if this kept up both of them could be lost... )

Nngh... ( he can hear those voices, though. hear how wrong they are. is this the sort of horrible loops that futaba had suffered from? that even akechi had... )

You...n ne—! ( rousing souji from this memory was their only hope. but the trains roared on their tracks, drowning ren out as he pushed himself to his feet. ) Nev... ve... t be... ! ( he was shouting from the opposite platform, the word were filtering through the space between the cars, if they were heard at all. ) Don... up!

( you're not alone.
you never have to be alone.
don't give up! )

[The voice in Souji's head, screaming that he was all by himself and that it will never change had almost made him miss out on the odd sound that came from the train.

A voice, mixed with the noise of the passing train, lost in the screeching of the wheels and smoke it left behind. This... this feels weird. What's going on?

Wasn't he on the way to his uncle? Where is this smoke coming from? And who is talking to him?!

Brought out of his sullen stupor, Souji stands and squints at the shadows, trying to catch a glimpse between the cars of the train.]

'os the--!?

(who's there!?)

( had souji heard him?!
it was then that ren's heart seemed to start to pound harder. something stirred from deep within him that familiar fire that burned, his eyes widening with realization. this power, it was—

his head whipped back as he shouted through the hollows on the track, increasing in intensity as he started to finally feel empowered. ) sn't... worl- you know! —ber the bonds you sh-! rem... ber— you'll ne... have to be-!

( this isn't the world you know.
remember the bonds you share!
remember them, then you'll never have to be...!

this sensation, it was ren's own power. the power of the wild card! and from the depths of his mind once again a winged figure reached out for him with a tempting chuckle.
a mask burned into place with a blue flame, and his theory was all but confirmed.
the world of this memory had persona users. a place where his natural abilities could manifest! so maybe, this guy too was...!

and then, with a resonating cry his hands reached up— )

Remember... ( he tore at the mask, streaks of red colouring the grey world around him as the shadow of a persona loomed above him taking shape— ) your other SELF!

[The splash of red that suddenly colored the surroundings too Souji for a ride. The flashes of his friends, memories with them, flew past him- the fun times, the bad times, the dangerous times. They way they supported him, helped him, those that offered him a hand without asking a question, without any second doubts.

The scenery changed again and both Ren and Souji landed on top of the train with a hard thud. Souji almost lost his balance, but he was still trying to handle the flood of memories that the guy unleashed at him. And the train was taking both of them right through those memories.

Yosuke's shadow at the liquor store, Yukiko's castle and Chie, Kanji's bathhouse, Rise's show, Teddie, Naoto's underground facility. As they came they disappeared in flash of yellow dust that coiled around Souji, and from the fog rose a tall man, a Souji's persona- eyes glowing and coat floating above and around Souji protectively.

Finally back to his senses, Souji looks up at the traveler with him- the train never stops moving.]

How-- what...?

( ren's hands and knees slammed down hard on top of the train and after a quick wince, he looked up, mouth agape with a surprised— ) Uwah...?

( as they race through the memories.
he was still on all fours, eyes widening when the familiar face of kanji— then naoto sailed by. there's barely any time for him to react as the yellow wisps form and reveal the glowing eyes of a persona. this guy, he had to be...

shaking his head to clear out the fog, he started on the math quickly— now that souji was starting to come out of it, they had no time to waste. )

We have to jump.

( was that a tunnel in the distance? either way, they needed to break ~~in to break~~ out of this memory, and fast. ren didn't know his name, but he did know what his friends called him... )

Senpai— trust me.

( just like all these times he saw your friends stand alongside of you, holding out their hands— ren's holding his out, too. )

[The rush of memories is almost overwhelming him. But as soon as the guy speaks up, the Persona that was engulfing him disappears into a thin, yellow mist. That never happens, so this could only mean that something wrong was going on.

There is a moment where Souji stares blankly at the mask, as if trying to discern whether he is being honest or no- if he knew what he was doing or no.

Senpai-

Naoto's voice rings out in his head when Ren calls him that, followed by all the nicknames he's got. These are...

The panic makes Souji's heart climb into his throat and he gives the masked guy a nod.]

I don't know what's going on-! [He tries to outyell the noise of the train as he grabs Ren's hand-] But I trust you!

[Why? He's not sure. It's just a thing that appears.

And as they turn towards the edge to jump off of the train, Izanagi reappears behind him, as if trying to protect him from the flight and fall.]

( there's a surge of warmth with those words, and as souji takes his hand, it gives ren all the confidence he needs to take that leap alongside of him. with the appearance of izanagi again, and idea came to him. if he was right, just as this world would come crumbling down around them, they'd need to make the leap onto the airship that he counted on being there.

with one last hopeful cry as the memory broke to pieces, he shouted for— ) Arsène!

( who appeared, some distance away, and with that burning smile, gave a grand flap of his wings, giving them a rush of momentum forward.

ren's clothes burned away in the blue flames, replacing themselves with his ninja gear as they fell into the world of vaikuntha, and with a dexterous flip in mid-air, he launched both of them towards the open deck area... ) There!

( and not yet letting go of souji, braced himself for a hard landing. )

[The name is unknown to him, but the huge, red and black flying figure was as comforting as it was terrifying. This man... he had the same power as him. Souji felt deep in the core of his soul that he made a good decision of trusting him.

However, his vision went foggy and then completely black for a moment. Whatever happened in between Arsene giving them a push and the feeling of his feet hitting something solid is unknown to him. All he knows that the landing was rough and after the initial hit of his legs to the ground, he went straight down, pulling new, unfortunate friend with him.

He groaned, loudly, feeling dizzy and nauseous, not daring to move an inch of his body, but still not letting go of the guy. Whatever this was, he was more aware of what to do next.]

Ugh...

( the poem of everyone's soul.
it had been almost entirely a leap of faith from the crumbling remains of souji's memory to the airship dock. but as he came around, ren voiced a moan as well giving that hand he held both a confirmation and reassuring squeeze. )

Not my best landing...

( hopefully there were few or no witnesses. )

Are you okay?

[He's used to stumbling in and out of the TV, but this flight and fall felt a bit... different. More mentally and physically tasking. It's like every bone and muscle in his body ached from the strain.

Souji forces his eyes to open and turns head to look at the guy next to him. He... literally saved him from wherever they were stuck in. He's still confused as hell, hurting to the point of almost crying but- he's alive. Breathing.

A wide smile.]

I suppose I had better days. [His bright smile falls off as he winces.] But- thanks... [The hand gets another squeeze.]

Hn— ( it's a closed-mouth chuckle, glad to see what they'd both made it in one piece despite their dual moaning and groaning.

he finally relinquishes his grip on the other's hand, reassured that they were back in the reality of the situation, as complicated as that was probably going to sound in a few minutes.

there's a quick moment where he brushes himself off, then offers his new companion a hand up. ) I'm sure you have a lot of questions but— we might as well start with the basics. Amamiya— ( he introduces himself— ) Ren.

[Well, that is what happens when you have a rough landing like this.

Still a bit woozy, Souji sits up and then looks at the offered hand. There is still the feeling of that chilly voice gnawing at him that he'll be alone forever in the back of his head, despite that he's completely aware of surroundings and has all of his memories with him.

With a grateful smile and nod, he accepts it and somehow gets himself onto his feet.]

Souji Seta. It's an honor to meet you- [Wild Card.]

( now that they're both upright again, ren's hands retreat to the comfort of his pockets, but not before a quick adjustment of his glasses.
if only their meeting had been under better circumstances but then, ren could have easily said the same for most of his confidants. )

Kanji and Shirogane-kun— they're your friends, right? You'll find them here in this world, too.

( and that's when he looks over towards the open sky. ) Welcome... to Vaikuntha.

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Introduction Log || Third Time's The Charm

memory

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let me know if i took too many liberties with the setting and i can re-write!!

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