Introduction Log || It's Happening Again (Again!)

[eternitymods]

Who: All characters (New Arrivals, Previous Arrivals, and Native OCs) When: June 5th Where: The Dream Width (Airship), the Curti Center, and the Housing District What: It is happening again. 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 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. Cid gives a short and to the point 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 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. Cid also introduces the other ones: his assistant Jessie, a young woman fascinated by the new arrivals, 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. After Cid finishes (and Claire grumbles at her work never being done), 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 Cid mentioned in his 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. ]

Comments

[boomchucka]

Star? Selphie has heard another person call their world a star but she doesn't consider that important at that time. She isn't sure about how people who were brought to Vaikuntha before her group arrived so she really only answers from her own experience.

"Well," she begins thoughtfully. "I don't know about people who came before the group that I arrived with but we were pulled out of the Dream Width, the same as you and everyone else that we found. I don't really know a lot about that subject but I bet there's some information in the library."

[saint_sami]

Sasami nodded, a determined noise leaving her lips.

“Well, then, I’m going to need to do something about that for me!” She said.

[nanaimo_bar]

"Playing to your strengths would be the most prudent scenario," said Nanamo with a nod.

[remnantofzeboim]

"Right!" Emeralda smiled brightly. Okay, that was sorted out.

"So, slate work now." She pointed at Sasami's device again. "There list of people. Any names you recognized?"

[boomchucka]

[ Zero had best become accustomed to people being concerned about him. Especially if he befriends the young woman that he's currently speaking with. She cares about her friends and thus, worries about them when something is wrong. ]

Ah, uniforms. My job back home has one but it's more for formal events than anything so we don't really wear it that often. If it makes you more comfortable, helmet and all, I won't stop you.

[boomchucka]

[Those Gods don't sound like the most pleasant of beings as Selphie frowns at the explanation. She can't imagine what goes on in a place like that and isn't sure she wants to know. She nods at key points before looking down at the ground briefly.]

We only one where I'm from and I don't really know a lot about our God because I'm not really a religious person. Hyne is said to have created the people on our world and is considered the first Sorcerer of my world.

[The guard on Selphie's face falters as some sadness flickers into her expression briefly. It's gone almost as quickly as it appears.]

There's a couple of stories about Hyne that I kinda remember hearing as a child actually.

A!

[boomchucka]

[The head of hair, the unique hairstyle, the voice were all things that were immediately familiar to Selphie. Maybe it was the Cloud that she remembered but something seemed different. She doesn't recall anyone by that name as the perky brunette comes closer to Cloud to get a better look at him.

He looks older, paler and not in very good shape as she moves quickly to get to his side. She places a hand on his left elbow to try and steady him a bit before she looks at the SOLDIER with questioning eyes.]

...Cloud?

[promiselisting]

Huh. And here I thought Kanji and Naoto being from like... five years ago was weird.

[ Forty years ago, huh? That's uh. That's a lot? She can't even imagine it. ]

It's okay. It's water.

[ There's only so much you can really say about it.

Master conversationalist, this one. ]

[chocobuster]

[though his vision was clear, his mind felt as if it was spinning. an odd combination, though it wouldn't have hit him as hard if he'd just slowly woken up and given himself time to adjust. dreams? another trap? Sephiroth's mind games only threatening to drag him deeper into the darkness with him? he swore that he would never forget about where he came from, and the legacy that he'd take with him...

he felt different. he wasn't some former SOLDIER. he never was. instead, he was—

"...Cloud?"]

! [it's instinctive, but uncharacteristically, he'd let someone sneak up on him, even when they weren't even trying to be stealthy about it. shocked out of his thoughts and dulled confusion, Cloud's body tenses at the touch. before he can jerk his arm away, she's looking up at him with his name hanging off her tongue. how did she...? he's stunned at first, but the look of sheer bemusement in his mako-infused gaze says it all.]

Who... [he didn't recognize this girl. no, he didn't know this girl. she wasn't in his memories, real or fake. finally stepping back from her, while he doesn't feel any hostility coming from her, his reaction was already done. guarded, lost...alone?]

Who are you?

b-bawwwwwww

[boomchucka]

[Selphie couldn't suppress the shock on her face as Cloud pulled back. After everything that they'd both been through together as friends, it had to end up like this, didn't it?

Who was she? What was she supposed to say that would make any sense? This Cloud was tense, closed off and incredibly guarded. Something was wrong but Selphie couldn't quite peg what it was. She pulled her hands back and shoved them into the pockets on the bag of her yellow jumper as she tried to make sense of what he was saying.

It just... didn't sound like the Cloud that she remembered.]

It's me... it's Selphie.

[The next question that she wanted to ask died on her lips as she pursed her lips together.]

C

[euphemia]

[ What was it with some of these arrivals insisting upon rejecting the evaluation by a medical officiant and ensure they were in good health? A secret, maybe. Anxiety. Fear. Whatever the reason, she can't help but take notice of the ones who seem to just disregard the need for safety.

Cloud was no different. Swatting his Moogle who made the suggestion and declining the need for a review. Perhaps it was time for a second opinion. ]

I insist. It's the best decision you can make here today. There's no reason to be worried if you are. The practice is very private.

Check-up.

[euphemia]

[ When not desperately encouraging the more resistant arrivals to go into the clinic, Euphemia was happy to assist with the arrival process, even if she was mostly just handling whatever additional errands were needed. The grunt work was left to the doctors, of course. Her part was to only assist where need be. That, of course, meant being a reassuring voice for some, handling menial tasks, or just being present.

In Iris case, a presence was all that was necessary. As a stand-in nurse, it made it easier to smile at her commentary. ]

Wherever you plan to go to next, I'm sure it will be wonderful. It's the house you were assigned, correct?

[Wildcard]

[euphemia]

[ At some point he had to have gone through the process of getting checked up, right? Of course! Or be scolded. Either way, she is there when he's finishing up whatever rounds he received to ensure he was in good condition by the authorized Doctors. And as a volunteer nurse to just help the numbers, it's her job to make sure he understood he was in the best of hands!

So she's going to step into the room to help him with whatever he needs to exit. Bandaids, lollipops, small talk is okay? ]

Where do you plan to head next? Have you received your house assignment?

E.

[gglosers]

[ At some point he's gonna finish up his round of joining Gunslingers, right? And Hana may or may not have waited or shown him the ropes? Either way, she's waiting outside for him when he makes his way out. ]

Did you do it? Are you a Gunslinger?

A

[einspine]

This is... strange. So very strange. A hospital? And those creepy eyes. Not like any monster he's personally had the pleasure (or displeasure) of meeting. Even Looxes were less unsettling despite their eyes being so prominent. Still, Papyrus powers through, wandering and searching. If this is anything like the other memories he's experienced, then surely-

Wait.

His eye sockets widen. A gasp escapes him. That shaggy mop of hair- he'd recognize it anywhere, and so he runs. He charges toward them.

"FRIIIIIISK!"

dangit onions.

[chocobuster]

[Cloud wasn't angry. guarded definitely summed up how he was feeling right now. gone were his companions. gone was the person who helped him piece his real self together again. for all he knew, Sephiroth had gotten to them. or Shinra. or Meteor had fallen already and now this was...]

... [Selphie. the name rings clear in his head. but nobody is there to answer her. there was nothing. the name held no significance to him. as far as he was concerned, she was fake to him. if she knew him, she either had the completely wrong guy who looked just like him, or- no, that wouldn't make sense. it wasn't adding up.]

......

[the only thing that was preventing him from coldly shutting her down and telling her to get lost and stop messing with his memories was how hurt she seemed by his actions. and yet...that, he needed to be careful about too. this could have all been some strange ploy of his own mind to try and fill in a blank in his own screwed up mind. though that shouldn't have been the case anymore.]

Sorry. I don't know any Selphie. You got the wrong guy. [it was as good of a coping mechanism to just let her down honestly as any, otherwise that splitting headache from before would just come back. the previous edge in his voice has dulled some. but it's clear now. whatever was real or not, the one truth was that Selphie was no longer speaking with her old friend]

ha

[regisrex]

"Well. It's less the house than the people inside. It's a kind of a greeting."

He shifts his weight to one side. "Do you live here?"

You're welcome to the brain break, Noct.

[regisrex]

No, no need to be guilty. But yes, the rooms were probably familiar, for all that they had rarely been used, after Sidra passed away. But there were probably decorations on the walls that had been later moved to Regis's own rooms, memories of his parents.

The memory unfolds with the son carefully helping his mother do over an early evening routine, settling and reading to her for a little while. In a lull, she lifted her head and smiled.

"Regis, would you be a dear and bring me some water?"

"Of course, Mother. Right away." He kissed the top of her head and headed out to bring a whole pitcher, elegant and in dark glass, and be ready to pour more for her.

She was getting tired sooner and sooner, these days. For all Regis knew that the magic was going to whither his father away, being a queen had caused his mother's life to fade far too soon, too, in a way so very different.

And he didn't know how his heart could take it. But he did know that he wanted to spend as much time with them both while he could.

[chocobuster]

[Kumo had attempted to be one of the brighter spots in Cloud's day after his bumpier arrival and awakening. between shooting down a girl who said that she knew him and continuing to reassure himself that his reality was truly his, he initially wasn't prepared to trust a place that would examine him.

the last time he got "examined"... Cloud's paranoia was getting gradually worse and worse. the more people that came to him, insisting on things that happened that he did not remember- Cloud wanted to wake up. all he had was the insistence of his newfound companion and-]

Uh...?

[-the voice of somebody else who cut through the maelstrom of clashing memories in his mind. his eyes widened briefly as if listening to that voice kept him grounded again. Kumo flutters between the two of them, throwing up his little hands for emphasis]

"That's what I've been trying to tell him, kupo! Guy sounds like he's been through the ringer and could use a hand, but noooo."

[as the moogle started going off on a minor tangent of his own, Cloud turned around to face the pink-haired princess properly. physically, he doesn't seem like he's about to fall over ill, but one could tell by the falter in that faint glow of his eyes that he was tired for a completely different reason. seeing someone else insist that he be looked at, Cloud started to wonder if he really looked that bad. with a light huff, he tilts his head to his moogle.]

Sorry. I just-

"You just this. You just that. Tell you what. You get yourself checked up, rest up, and I'll listen to anything you gotta say, kupo. You're gonna run yourself into the ground before this nice lady can tell you twice!"

[Cloud wasn't used to this, but both of them were right. rubbing the back of his neck, his expression softens a little as he looks to Euphie once more]

... [less excuses and hesitating, more acting, Cloud] Thanks. Guess I haven't been myself since I got here.

FOR NOCT.

[moogleshield]

[ Continued from here ]

[ He could, but it's hard to say if she's ready for that yet. She's strong, but she can only take so much at a time. She has to pace herself, which is why she's almost glad he gives that news space to live and breathe. Time to ruminate and become more real. ]

My dad's... alive.

[ Her words come out slow and sluggishly. He's here, somewhere in this strange new world she's found herself in. It almost sounds too good to be true, and for a moment she wonders, pulling away finally as she takes a small step back. Gives herself a chance to really look at Noctis for the first time in a long time. An eternity, it feels like.

Looking up at him, the corners of her lips tug into a strained, thin smile. A smile that someone puts on when they're told to be strong, but they're just so tired. ]

This doesn't feel real. Are you sure I'm not dreaming? You're not a ghost, are you?

[ Even as she tries to joke, it feels almost hollow. She never got a chance to mourn him. Her father... or the man standing in front of her. ]

RIP his brain he knew it well.

[warpstriking]

He would have been content with walking out, or being tossed into another memory, but then he recognized a few of the decorations. A couple of the paintings, too. Which, in turn, made him want to leave even more and as he reached for the door handle-

Regis.

He stopped at the name alone, hand yet hovering over the door handle as he felt the wind get kicked out of his sails. Noctis turned around, studied the faces of the other two in the memory just a little closer.

"Grandmother..?" It slipped off his tongue before he realized he was speaking aloud. "Dad?"

Yet, if this was a memory from when his grandmother was still alive, if barely, then there was little chance in hell that he would recognize him. That in itself was an entirely different blow than the fact that his father was here. Someone he never thought he would see again until the day he would die on his blade, and yet.

He's here, and he needed to be woken up.

The hand that yet hovered over the door handle had become a fist at some point, he noted as he lowered it and turned back to fully face his two relatives. Shoving down hard the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him because he needed to get him and Regis out of here, recollection of himself or not.

"Regis," Astrals, it felt weird to use his father's given name. Yet he took a few steps closer. "Wake up. What you're seeing- it isn't real."

He tried. He tried so hard to keep the raw emotion from his voice, but failed so miserably for just as many reasons. Guilt of a different sense, but he left that thought to focus on the present for now. He had to.

[euphemia]

[ She didn't intend on being rude at all, but there was just a bit of guilt at seeing him a bit stunned by her response. Surprised, she offers a reassuring smile to make up for her direct statement. Anything that might show she did not mean it to be rude, but merely a stranger's insistence based on experience herself.

Even if she isn't sure what he might be suffering from on arrival he wasn't bleeding for one, there was no harm in at least letting the Doctor's confirm this. She laughed a bit at his Moogle's quick agreement. Of course, they usually were pretty insistent about that part. ]

I'm sure you're eager to figure this all out. You're not alone in that regard. Yet declining a quick checkup is only going to delay things, so it's better to get it out the way while you can. That way, nothing is stopping you from your next step?

[ She straightens, hands folded to the front. ]

I'm Euphy. I was also rescued from the Dream Width.

Did he... Did he, though

[regisrex]

Regis looked up at the call of his name, frowning a little. They were not supposed to get interrupted, and he did not remember anyone knocking.

"I beg your pardon?" Then his eyes narrowed, and he looked between the man and Mother. Then back again. There were similarities, though the eyes were very different, deep blue to the green like Regis's own.

"Do I know you?"

[chocobuster]

[if Euphemia thought she was being rude in the slightest, it certainly didn't come off that way to Cloud. although that smile of hers was quick to disarm part of his tension. it seemed that Kumo could see this, and thus fluttered back a little knowing that his partner was going to be okay. he shrugs when she finishes explaining]

That's sound enough logic to me...

[but, that meant that the longer this went on... the longer he was awake in this world, being told things that sounded impossible, even in his previously fragmented sense of self...]

This is real...isn't it? [Euphy, was it? the question was more rhetorical than anything, his voice trailing off only once more before he nods back to her. she too was rescued from this Dream Width. and so was that Selphie girl. and apparently everyone else for that matter.] My name is Cloud.

[there's something softer in the way that he says his own name. not that Euphemia would know any different, but saying his own name aloud...not as some Ex-SOLDIER or a mercenary for hire, but as a country boy who had dreams of becoming a hero and a promise to keep. he had to stop himself from saying it again, realizing that he was just standing there when he should have been listening to her second opinion.]

I should probably get checked out. [admittedly, he wanted to ask her more questions. about how long she'd been here for, but that'd only mean he was dilly dallying]

rolls up to the club with a box of kleenex

[moogleshield]

[ It seems like Noctis had informed the both of them, but even the most advance warning wouldn't have prepared either of them for this. Lost in her own thoughts, she almost misses it, that hoarse and strained whisper that was almost too soft to be her father's voice. For a split second, Iris questions whether she might have heard anything at all.

But something tells her to turn, and she does quite quickly, stopping as her gaze falls upon something so heartrendingly familiar that it physically hurts. Her chest tightening at the sight, and before she has a chance to mentally react, her hands cover her mouth. She doesn't dare move, she doesn't dare even speak in that moment, for risk of letting this moment slip away. All she can do is take a deep breath, shoulders rising slowly with it.

She knew he was here, but nothing prepares someone for this—a moment so impossible that it makes it impossible to move, impossible to think, impossible to do anything else but feel. Her hands still clasped over her mouth, she feels her eyes begin to sting, and takes another breath to center herself. Don't let him see you cry, Iris. Not yet. ]

...You're really here. I can't believe it.

[ Show him how strong you've become. ]