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

[dreamsoftomorrow]

Okay. Then, let's go. [He gestures to walk in, even taking a step inside himself. He waved to a nurse with a smile.] She's very nice.

[hatejakku]

No, I- The guy! That-

[ He jerks back when he realizes that she pulled something from her belt and held it out to him, but it was just a canteen. He's a little shameful for being so jumpy.

He grabs it and kinda uses it like a stress ball instead of drinking. ] ... Thanks.

A

[einspine]

[There are many things Papyrus could say in the face of a newcomer. After all, it must be daunting! Intimidating! Definitely confusing. Far from home, potentially without friends, oh, how tragic! He knows the feeling well, which is why he ventured out to the lobby to greet the newbies.

But instead of offering a pep talk, when Papyrus spots Cloud, his eye sockets get all googly. He can't help but shout:]

IS THAT ACTUAL SPIKY HAIR?!?!

[He gasps, staring. It's just... so beautiful! Spikes, one of the ultimate icons of cool... and it's on that human's head. Just like in one of Undyne's silly animes.

Please forgive this doofus.]

[hatejakku]

[ Finn takes another deep breath and follows. Valli brings up the rear, making sure he doesn't bolt probably.

His steps are slow but have all the semblance of a guy who feels in control and isn't internally fretting. So he follows Hope inside and eyes the nurse, hoping he doesn't look suspicious. ]

I'm here. [ Is he done? Can they go? ] I guess- All right.

good gods. Also now I want to rewatch Shakespeare in Love.

[regisrex]

Well. The combination between the missing touch and telling him he was son with Aulea (he missed Aulea, Six, he missed her so, but it had been his own idiocy that pushed her away, and asking her back close would be too much like ordering her, and he couldn't do that, he couldn't) was dreamlike enough to bring the point across. Or a point across.

Regis frowned, his hand still reaching to hold his mother's even as he looked up at Noctis once more.

"What do I need to do?"

[arosetowar]

From what I understand, asterisks give you powers but despite the emphasis placed on their importance, there should be nothing restricting you from learning other, purely physical disciplines should you so desire.

[Cornelia had intended to drop the subject of Emeralda's youthfulness, but she can't ignore her enthusiasm or her insistence upon being useful.]

How old are you, Emeralda?

[dreamsoftomorrow]

But we're l'Cie, why-!

[an explosion from above interrupted him, signalling Snow's entrance with Fang. Lightning didn't react to the new presence, instead looking up as the Eidolon, Shiva, was summoned and Snow began racing down with Fang on the back of the Gestalt form of Shiva.

But now, Hope was feeling an odd form of deja vu, unable to discern why. He still went through the motions as Lightning pulled him through the PSICOM soldiers, glancing at the woman who joined the fight. Her uniform wasn't PSICOM or GC like Lightning's. He didn't recognize the magic either. What was going on?

He pulled away once Snow and Fang settled down, Lightning talking to them as the soldiers retreated.]

What's... Going on?

[remnantofzeboim]

Never needed to learn. But could be fun! Maybe Fei teach.

[She hesitated at that question, looking a bit uncertain.]

That...complicated.

[promiselisting]

Ah. This again. At least she's not in the middle of a full-scale freakout this time. And actually knew who Elly was. "So uh, I'm guessing you probably knew them before you got here?"

"Either way," she pauses, readjusting her glasses a bit, "I guess that makes us neighbors, then."

She'd only really just started to get to know her neighbors in Yongen-Jaya before coming here. Mostly by way of who came to the LeBlanc. Maybe she should... try better here? Hm.

[remnantofzeboim]

Emeralda nodded again at that. "Uh huh. Emeralda know from home. They..." She wasn't precisely sure what word to use. "Like...parents."

She kept coming back to that. Nothing else quite worked. Although this girl looked to be about the same age as Futaba, really...

"Guess! Never had neighbors before. That why looking around."

[regisrex]

Well. It's apparently a day for getting called by first name, something extremely rare usually. His attention jumps from the moogles, who continue to exchange details, to the man who spoke up. Just as with Noctis, there is something familiar there, but he is way less aware of what it is.

"That's me. And you--"

It's something in those blue eyes. Shaded and grown as they are, it takes him a long moment, but it finally clicks, possibly because of how wide they are going. How vulnerable, behind pretending as though he's got it all under control.

"... Cor?"

What the-- what the hells?

[einspine]

WITH LUCK! THOUGH I CAN ALWAYS KEEP AN EYE OUT AS A PRECAUTION. AND THERE'S ALWAYS THE MOGNET IF YOU WISH TO REACH OUT TO A WIDER... AUDIENCE, I SUPPOSE?

[Is that really the correct term of it's essentially blogging with fancy tech? He takes a few moments to rub his chin, briefly lost in thought.]

BUT I DIGRESS! THIS WORLD ISN'T TOO TERRIBLE. AND THE SKY IS BEAUTIFUL!

[But that may be because he had never seen it before now.]

oh gosh

[regisrex]

Regis might have gotten slightly distracted, himself, with what he had just heard, though his reflexes were swift and he caught himself - both of them, if necessary - easily.

"I'm fine, but... did you say Clarus? Any chance that the rest of his name happens to be Amicitia?"

He was not suddenly brighter. He was not.

(That's a lie.)

[dreamsoftomorrow]

I know. I'm not the only one.

[It didn't really make him feel any better, to be honest. Mogki idly sucked on the lollipop as he glanced up at Hope and then at Euphemia.]

Hope, we should just go, kupo. Gotta introduce yourself sooner or later, kupo!

Can't I have more time to get my bearings? I just came out of a warzone. [He held Mogki tighter, earning a squeak. A warzone where Cocoon might have been destroyed. Or maybe Ragnorak prevented it? Somehow. Vanille and Fang wouldn't just destroy it. His brows furrowed as he looked at the floor, at his shoes.

Was his dad okay?]

Just give me some more time.

[promiselisting]

[ Okay thank goodness Hope grabbed that or she was about to herself. You only had a firm grip on something until suddenly you didn't. And yeah, while it may be sturdier than a lot of the tablets back home, she still isn't really in the mood to start testing it's limits. ]

Futaba. [ she shrugs, fully aware that she's now the center of attention in this conversation, now that the tech abuse is over and done with. ] I mean, most of us are kinda new here. It's just a matter of how "new."

[ most of the "veterans" have only been here like two months. ]

[promisedtolive]

[ Looks a little surprised to hear that. ]

Why?

[euphemia]

[ Whatever warm expression she had just now dimmed a bit after hearing those words. She's not quite sure what's worse. The fact that he arrived just after a war zone, or that he seemed so young by appearance. ]

Do you need any help with anything? Ah, ... can I get you some water or a trip to the local cafeteria here for food?

[righthandstand]

Yeah, there's Mr. Toneido. He's kinda old but he's cool.

[Kisegawa would kill him if she could hear this.]

There's a double bedroom left.

[dreamsoftomorrow]

[The moogle also sobered at that. Hope didn't want to draw attention to himself but it looked like he already had. He had forgotten Euphemia was there when speaking to Mogki.

He shook his head and gave her a smile in return.]

Some food actually sounds good. I don't remember the last time I ate. Can you tell me where it is? I don't want to interrupt your schedule.

For Hunk

[arosetowar]

((Continued from here!))

[Sorry, Hunk, she doesn't smile very easily even when things aren't grim. Also most of her friends are probably dead. :|b]

Here? That seems unlikely. I've yet to encounter anyone I know on this ship, and most of the people I'm familiar with were accounted for the last I remember.

[Will take another look around anyway, just to be sure. Though now she's also scanning for anyone in armour similar to Hunk's.]

Did your friend arrive with you?

D

[einspine]

Oh! Was that a small human? Something vaguely humanish? With so many people and so many worlds, perhaps it was best not to make assumptions. But they looked... somber? The sigh certainly didn't strike him as a happy sound. And while it was hardly his business, Papyrus soon found himself approaching this stranger with a tentative smile.

"OH! HELLO THERE. IS EVERYTHING ALL RIGHT?"

There. Simple small talk to break the metaphorical ice.

[arosetowar]

Who's Fei?

[A friend? A commander? Probably not the person who... created? her if she's getting help from the doctors.]

And it's all right. You don't have to tell me your age if you'd prefer not to.

[remnantofzeboim]

Fei is Kim! [That did not help anything at all did it..]

It not. [Hm.] I born long long time ago but sleep almost all of it. Only awake few months. Still...learning. Elly says look like teenager but not that either.

[She huffs.]

It complicated.

[arosetowar]

[No, no it did not.] Is Kim his title?

[Born then, not made? She'd ask for clarification but she isn't sure Emeralda can answer. Besides, it seems intrusive.]

And so it sounds. What have you been able to learn thus far?

[remnantofzeboim]

Kim is...Kim. [Emeralda wasn't honestly sure how else to explain it.] Kim made Emeralda from him and Elly. And Fei is Kim!

[So, probably giving off a 'father' vibe with that word there.]

To fight! And to explore. And have friends! But they not here. Well have find new ones!