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

[doodlebuginette]

This has to be the most cheerful skeleton she'd ever met. Or maybe one of the most cheerful people she'd met, period. "Oh, thank you for that!" Marinette told him. Sure, she'd heard about all that, but it was nice that there were people here who were willing to help out newbies.

"I haven't gone to get the supplies yet, but I know where I'm going to be staying," she said. Or she had a general idea of where she'd be staying, anyway. "B-05." Hopefully he had some idea of where that was, and whether or not it was terribly far away.

[einspine]

"AH, THE B BUILDINGS." He nodded, chuckling to himself. "THOSE WOULD BE A BIT FURTHER OUT- NEAR THE OUTSKIRTS. FORTUNATELY, I HAPPEN TO BE STAYING IN A B HOUSE MYSELF."

He paused, realizing what he said may come across a bit silly. "FORTUNATELY, THERE ARE NOT ANY ACTUAL BEES THERE, OR I IMAGINE THERE WOULD BE A LOT MORE STINGING. ON THE OTHER HAND, HONEY..."

Would that be a fair trade off? Perhaps this was an odd tangent, anyway. Oh well! He went ahead and gestured in the general direction, hoping it would provide further help.

[doodlebuginette]

She nodded at that, a little relieved that he'd at least heard of it. "Yep!" What she couldn't decide was whether or not it was a good thing that he was also in a B house. "Small world!"

By that point, she was trying to figure out how it was possible that he was just... a skeleton, but then he spoke up again and she had to giggle at his statement. "But are you sure the houses aren't made of bees?" Because that wasn't any sillier at all.

And then she's turning to glance in the direction he was gesturing. Maybe it wouldn't take that long to find it after all.

[einspine]

A house made of bees? Papyrus laughed yet again at the remark, raising an index finger. "BUT SURELY IF THEY WERE MADE OF BEES, THEY'D BE A DISTINCT SHADE OF YELLOW AND BLACK. NEVER MIND THAT THEY WOULD EITHER BE DECIDEDLY LESS STABLE OR, ALTERNATIVELY, QUITE BRITTLE IF THE BEES WERE CONVERTED INTO BUILDING MATERIAL EN MASSE. WHICH SEEMS RATHER GRUESOME AND I'D RATHER NOT THINK OF THE LOGISTICS OF IT."

Happy thoughts, please! Not... thoughts of bees being ground into some kinda plaster. Oof. That was certainly not pretty.

Either way, he followed along with a pep in his step. "AT ANY RATE, I'M THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND IT'S A PLEASURE TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE."

[doodlebuginette]

And... that was not something she'd even considered before. But now she was, and she sort of regretted it. And the idle notion of Chloe living in a house made of bees just made her chuckle. "Oh, you're right! Probably a good thing that they're just regular houses."

By this point they were marching right along on the way to the houses, and she paused to glance over at him at that introduction. "It's lovely to meet you, oh great Papyrus!" she told him. "My name is Marinette."

[einspine]

Ah! Praise! Positivity! He beams. How refreshing from his usual introductions, rife with confusion. And stares. And lots and lots of "How are you alive?" He struts along, much more relaxed now. The flow of conversation, awkwardness aside, is welcome.

"AND LIKEWISE, OF COURSE! IT'S ALWAYS A RELIEF TO MEET FRIENDLY HUMANS. ...GRANTED, THE PERCENTAGE OF FRIENDLY HUMANS HERE IS RATHER HIGH. THIS LEADS ME TO SUSPECT THAT HUMANS TEND TO SKEW MORE ON THE POSITIVE END OF THE SPECTRUM."

[doodlebuginette]

In all honesty, she's still trying to figure out how to react to seeing the walking, talking skeleton. The fact that she's good at remaining cool in a crisis is probably the main thing keeping her from gaping or trying to ask how he was doing what he was doing. But for now, she's more than happy to walk along with him.

"Have you met many unfriendly ones?" she asked. Or unfriendly non-humans? Had he been human once? Would asking that cause problems?

[einspine]

"WELL, NO, BUT, ERM... He paused, tittering softly. "LET'S JUST SAY THE OPINION OF HUMANS ISN'T VERY POSITIVE IN THE UNDERGROUND. THOUGH MY FRIEND FRISK WILL HOPEFULLY CHANGE ALL THAT!!!"

So far, so good? Mostly. Barring Undyne and stubborn cases like Dohj, at any rate. But change wasn't always immediate. Even he knew that.

[doodlebuginette]

She was honestly glad he hadn't met many unfriendly ones. And she wouldn't claim to understand what the Underground was. But she did remember meeting someone named Frisk. "Oh, I met them! They're cute and funny~" If anyone would be able to change that negative opinion, she felt like it might be Frisk.

[einspine]

"OH, SO YOU'RE ALREADY FRIENDS?! Pardon the GIANT GRIN on his face. GOOD. VERY GOOD! THEY NEED MORE OF THOSE. MAYBE IT'LL HELP BUILD SOME CONFIDENCE IN THEM."

If enough people befriended them, their poor self-esteem would surely heal, right? It made sense to him, anyway. Frisk's own friendship certainly had helped Papyrus.

[doodlebuginette]

"I'm not sure if we're friends yet, but I like them!" She's just going to assume by that ridiculously bright grin that Papyrus liked them, too. "They don't have many friends?"

Oh, maybe that wasn't the right thing to ask, but it was too late to take it back now.

[einspine]

His grin shrinks a bit at that, and he nods slowly. "SADLY, NO. I MEAN, THEY'VE MADE A FEW IN THE UNDERGROUND, BUT THEY ONCE TOLD ME HOW THEY... DON'T CONSIDER THEMSELF A GOOD PERSON. THAT DOESN'T STRIKE ME AS THE SORT OF ATTITUDE SOMEONE WOULD HAVE IF THEY WERE SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS."

[doodlebuginette]

Her smile shrinks just a little as well. "I'm not sure why. They seem like a good person to me, and I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of character," she mused. Frisk had been charming and flirty when she met them, so it was a little hard to imagine them as someone with a less-than-stellar opinion of themselves. "Maybe they don't need a lot of friends. Just a few very good friends can help. I know some people do better when surrounded by a lot of friends, but some are just fine with a couple close friends." Either way, she'd already decided that she liked Frisk and that she wanted to be their friend.

[einspine]

Oh. Hrmmm... That's actually a fair point. While Papyrus admittedly is the type to crave all sorts of affection, he'd hate to overwhelm Frisk. What if they get intimidated? What if it's too much? He sighs softly, contemplating further.

"TRUE. AND THEY DO SAY THAT QUALITY COMES BEFORE QUANTITY. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY FEEL APPRECIATED! BECAUSE IS THAT NOT THE DUTY OF A CONCERNED FRIEND?"

[doodlebuginette]

"I think we can make them feel appreciated even if they don't have a ton of friends," she mused. After all, it wasn't the amount of friends that made one happy so much as the level of friendship with the people one was closest to.

"Don't worry! We'll just have to figure out a way to let them know they're special to us that doesn't necessarily require a ton of people. We wouldn't want them to get overwhelmed, after all."