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melodiesofeternity2018-12-05 06:12 pm
eternitymods) wrote in melodiesofeternity2018-12-05 06:12 pm
Introduction Log || Have a Merry Starlight Celebration
| Who: All characters (New Arrivals, Previous Arrivals, and Native OCs) When: December 5th Where: The Dream Width (Airship), the Curti Center, and the Housing District What: It is happening for the fifth 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. They will get 25 EXP for replying to top levels. 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 place is covered with snow, it appears to be winter here! The other NPCs await you having been notified of your retrieval in the Dream Width. Jessie gives a long and professional 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 Vaikuntha 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 eight months ago... And six, four, 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 in his office. 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. ] STARLIGHT SIGHTS
[ There's plenty of rooms to wander about in, with several points of interest apart from the offices. Most noticeably, the entire place is decorated with Christmas decorations and there are even employees dressed as Santa Claus! Of course, it's not called Christmas but the Starlight Celebration in this world. And everyone appears to be in the holiday spirit, ready for the great day on the 25th! 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, but they all look the same at this time of the year, snow covering everything. Oh, and what's that? It's snowing right now! 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 new 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 if they so wish. 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. ] |
S'reee | Young Wizards [Return]
You find yourself floating warm, inky-black water. The area around you is defined by cool light, with the abyssal plain not far enough below that you can't see it. Despite the water, you can breathe even if you are used to breathing air. Ahead, volcanic vents send billowing black mineral-ladded water to the surface as strange creatures cluster around the source of heat and nutrients. Ropy solidified lava forms mounds and pillows, looking almost serpentine.Maybe too serpentine to be natural. At the edge of sight and sound rises an underwater mountain.
Around you are gathered a dozen representatives of Earth's oceans, from a blue whale and the largest shark you have ever seen, to a dolphin that almost looks human sized (and tiny compared to the blue).
A humpback whale glides slightly forward. She is speaking in whale-song, but you clearly understand her words. "If you're all prepared, I suggest we start right now."
[OOC: Given there are two shape-shifted humans in the memory, feel free to pick an aquatic creature rather than floating as a human a mile deep.]
B. You've Got Mail!
S'reee is hovering near a table in the cafeteria, telekineticially manipulating her iMog Slate -- the Illusionist job is quite nice for living in a world designed by people with a different body plan than yours, if you don't mind the energy output -- and trying to catch up on months of events. "Bright Powers, of all the times to get called away." The slate is using a (stilted) text to speech interface -- S'reee can read, but her hearing is better than her vision.
A
[The whales, however, might be. Being a particularly short tween with a lot of older friends, they're no stranger to feeling dwarfed, but this is ridiculous. Whose memory is this supposed to be?]
"Um— Not following, actually. What's this?"
Re: A
S'reee sang a sharp note interrupting her. "I'll lead here, Areinnye. Dai stiho, cousin." Of course, S'reee greeted Frisk as a fellow wizard -- it simply did not occur to her that any other human could suddenly appear here. "You are very far from the High and Dry."
She is trying to orient herself to be comfortable for a human, but there is only so much one can do with that level of size difference.
no subject
[What do they say next? They're incredibly out of their element in more ways than one, and perhaps they shouldn't have just leapt right into this particular saving people thing without thinking about how to go about it tactfully.]
"I don't mean to interrupt— no, I do. But, what's going on here? Looks important."
B.
And then, because. "I have kept your records, as well."
Re: B.
A
And by the silver-gray striping down its back, a tiger shark, of average size and no particular remarkable look. Did anyone invite a second fish along for this expedition? Probably not - but he's here anyway, suspended in the dark water with bemused puzzlement. Xehanort has been to other worlds, met many forms of life, but aquatic had always eluded him simply for the continuing need to breathe. Or at least, for a while, no need to step into the sea. But here he was, which meant he was supposed to be, bidden either by prayer or another god to see to his job in person. Likely it had something to do with that slumbering spark of destruction far below...
But death and darkness had never been an enemy to Xehanort.
He stays where he is for a moment, the faint tug of moving currents providing enough water over his new gills that movement isn't exactly required, weighing. He could feel power and senses as if he had been returned to Earth, to his position as the Gatekeeper, but ... he'd never dealt with fish before. Always humans.
He doesn't interrupt as one whale addresses the others, instead certain he's utterly invisible to mortals (which ... he is, but spirits and the gifted inevitably notice anyway - and wizards certainly count) and giving a slow careful flick of tail to move forward and study those enormous gathered shapes. He's always dealt with humans, their fear of the inevitable rang like prayers through the aether above the waters, which meant surely there somehow were--
Ah. There.
A different shape than expected, but a proper human soul. Two in fact. Good, that solves that mystery, now he can settle down to .. figuring out .. what he is currently, and what's going on. It looked interesting.
Re: A
She swam forward, towards the new... was that a shark? and sang out in the Speech, "What brings you here?"
She had noticed the Master Shark hadn't reacted, which told her that whatever was present was only looking like a shark... and that it might be unseen to non-wizards.
no subject
He's been noticed. That's interesting. For a moment, Xehanort makes no reply, instead mulling over what precisely TO say. Honesty is of course the best policy, but explaining to mortals what you are and why you're there could be headache inducing.
"A little bit of work," is the eventual reply; he doesn't speak the Speech natively but in this dream state even the language of the universe doesn't seem beyond him. The not-shark's pleasantly baritone voice is impeccably polite and without anything like malice .. or even hunger in it, perhaps he'd eaten well before he arrived. "Please, don't let my presence disturb what you're up to. Just pretend I'm not here."
But what WERE they up to??
(Sorry, I missed this!)
"I'm afraid I must insist." S'reee knew sharks, and knew that they reacted on instinct when blood was in the water. She trusted the Master Shark to have the ability to set his instinct aside until the time was correct; she was less sure of this shark-shaped being. "I am familiar with shark instincts, and this working should not be disrupted by spectators."
She snuck a glance at the only (other) shark present. The Master Shark would be her next step, as he had some mastery over his people. S'reee was yet to be aware that, as the only non-wizard present, the Master Shark had not noticed the newcomer and could follow only her side of the conversation.
Darned holidays!
Shark instincts. Did wearing the form bind him to its behaviors? The silence stretches for a moment as, easily distracted by such a novel idea, Xehanort considers it instead of the current situation. How could he find out? There is a brief visible start when he suddenly refocuses. "It seems there must be those among you greatly beloved by someone on the Far Shore. I am bidden here without so much as a 'hello' on the way, so the need must be great in order to require me to see them to their destination personally." There's no deception to anything he says, though he probably should have found out what sea life even calls the afterlife instead of the version he knows. "This is a bit of a novelty for me, I apologize for my curiosity. I don't usually get to see interesting gatherings like this first."
Why he was here likely had to do with Apophis below, but Xehanort isn't inclined to fight with primordial chaos to do his job, especially without his Shinki or knowing if this shape limited his power. He might just have to grab the soul or souls as soon as they died and swim off as fast as he could for the nearest beach.. How ... ignoble.
That this is .. not precisely real hasn't registered. The dream width had its own rules.
Re: Darned holidays!
"Then you have never attended the Song of the Twelve before?" S'reee asked.
no subject
Maybe that was the purpose of that tremendous pale shark, and thus why he seemed to be one himself! "But fear not, I will not involve myself at all if my duty is not interfered with, though I would much like to observe." That ..reassurance, such as it is, isn't only for the whales, but also what seemed to be Apophis below. He's only here to collect the dead, and apparently observe an aquatic musical, not help the living in their fight, whale or serpent.
no subject
"Right," S'reee took a spell-assisted breath through her blowhole, then started to sing, her cadence suddenly shifting to a formal performance.
"Blood in the water I sing, and one who shed it;
deadliest hunger I sing, and one who fed it –
weaving the ancientmost tale of the Sea's sending:
singing the tragedy, singing the joy unending."
"This is our shame – this is the whole Ocean's glory:
this is the Song of the Twelve. Hark to the story!
Hearken, and bring it to pass; swift, lest the sorrow
long ago laid to rest devour us tomorrow!"
The presence below them stirred as if slowly awakening to listen to the whales. The ritual is intended to re-bind the presence, but it cannot do so without Its participation.
TEXT BRICK
One, still lost in the implications of the Song and what it meant for her, pays the new shark little mind even with the ominous purpose of his being there.
The other watches with an eye that seems so tiny against the bulk of a sperm whale's size. Easy enough to dwarf an ordinary tiger shark, that's certain, but while Xehanort has the fearlessness born of absolute certainty of superiority, Kit has the fearlessness of size, strength, and a whalesark that knows what it means to be a sperm whale. When the gargantuan gray shape turns to fin a little away from the group, it is to confront the pale-striped shark directly, his song almost a whisper under S'reee's melody that's stirring awake a terrible evil.
"I know what you are."
This is considered for a moment by Xehanort, who swims in an idle breath-circle. "Yes, I didn't make it a secret."
The low rumble of irritation from the grey shape seems to him half child's annoyance and half something .. else. How did a human become a whale, anyway? "That's not what I mean. I know what you are. Greetings and-"
"Stop." The word is a single low syllable, hissing bubbles and not likely to be overheard; the boy, whoever he was, was going to draw attention away from what seemed to be a Very Important Ceremony, and when Apophis is involved, that could be absolutely disastrous. "I'm not here for you, and I am not your enemy."
"You shouldn't be here for anybody, it's not how the Song goes. We did our research!" Kit's angry whistle should be outright threatening to anything as small as he was in comparison, but Xehanort.. has issues with things like feeling fear.
But the words do give him pause. ...Something.
Something wasn't right here.
He had his duties to attend to, yes, but how often in the Far Shore or Near Shore had he had to tend to the soon-to-die in another form besides human or jackal-headed? Why had there been no notice of his assignment? Why could he not feel his Shinki--
His stillness lasts only so long before he's forced to move again, but this time the beady eye turned on him is speculative as Xehanort pulls another casual loop, cool water rushing through his gills. It tasted a bit sulfuric now. "No. Perhaps.."
"... Are you really here for Nita?" Kit's tone is a little uncertain, as if somehow Xehanort's bewilderment is contagious. Whale faces however are not that expressive, and he can't taste emotions in the water as well as perhaps a real shark would.
The not-shark studies the group of whales, their song reverberating through the water. "I don't know. Something's not right. Apophis doesn't meddle with the dead, only the living, neither of your hearts are in danger." He could feel their light from here, warm and bright. Such souls were not to be devoured by Ammit.
Dreams have a way of rapidly feeling surreal once they're realized as dreams.
This one feels like it's going very strange indeed. Under the gaze of Kit, Xehanort struggles to unravel what's going on; were he a human he'd be scowling. He'd just resurfaced from the Dream Width recently, hadn't it been-- "I don't think this is real."
"What?"