FABULA NOVA CRYSTALLIS || INTRODUCTION LOG

[eternitymods]

Who: All characters (New Arrivals and Native OCs) When: April 11th Where: The Dream Width (Airship), the Curti Center, and the Housing District What: For the first time in 10 years, outworlders have been found the Dream Width. This unprecedented number of new arrivals are rescued and brought to Vaikuntha, and must now try to start adjusting to their new home. Warnings/Notes: All players can put up a toplevel. Please post to the NPC toplevel if you have an IC question for them. 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. The makeshift infirmary is becoming uncomfortably warm, packed to its capacity with people. Stepping out, there is a lobby space that bears the signs of having once held some furniture, now cleared away to make space. Even with the sparse accommodations, the space quickly fills to standing-room only. 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 to play again. ] ’Welcome travelers’… CURTI CENTER [ Finally after hours of flight, you arrive at the Curti Center. The other NPCs await you along with the Native OCs. 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 today. Indeed, here you are. No one knows why such a large number of people has been found at once, but the Curti Center is a place dedicated to piercing the Dream Width's secrets. Cid also introduces the other ones: his assistant Jessie, Claire, the woman looking at the group in horror upon being pointe 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 despairs at the pile of paperwork she must complete by the end of the week), 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 specifically during this introduction, please respond to the toplevel with the name of the NPC in the subject header. The mods will try to reply at least once a day for each NPC. ] 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. ] A BAD OMEN [ Wandering around, you may stumble upon an old and tired-looking moogle wearing what can only be described as a decrepit fortune-teller attire. Upon seeing you, or any of the new arrivals for that matter, he will slowly approach and tell you all the exact same speech. ] If you stay here, you're doomed. She will find you and make you suffer hell. [At which point his eyes will grow exorbitant.] This world is cursed. You will die and never be free. [And finally he'll fly right into your face.] Never! [ Then he will leave and go say his speech to someone else, without doing anything but repeating different variations of his warning if asked for details. Should you ask your assigned Moogle, Biggs or Wedge, they will mention this crazy moogle can't be reasoned with and sometimes stick around the center, even though he's always chased away. He never says anything besides doomsday predictions. For unknown reasons, he's always been particularly nasty with Biggs and Wedge... And with you as well now, it seems. ] 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 the sudden and unexpected number of 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?]

Comments

Dylas | Rune Factory (CRAU)

[sullenstallion]

i. snakes and ladders

[On this part of the tour, guests get to take a better look at the airship in the hangar. Dylas is mildly interested himself—it's a good distraction from what's going through his head. He's surrounded by people who...have no idea who or what he is, after all. But airships are interesting. He's ridden in an airship before, even flown one, but that's from a lifetime or two ago.

All's fine and well until they get to a viewing platform that offers a better view of the middle of the airship. There's a decent-sized ladder that leads up to the platform, but Dylas...'sits' beneath it, arms crossed while he looks genuinely unhappy at the way things are going. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he has no legs? Whether he can or can't climb the ladder, he rests next to it, his long tail coiled around him.]

What? What are you looking at?

ii. when you're part-snake do they call a veterinarian?

I'm not heavy!

[Dylas has had enough of all the poking and prodding. He'd like to go back to drifting in space. One moment, a nurse is plucking a scale from him for studying. The next, a medical student is asking him to stick out his fangs, retract them, and stick them out again.

But a certain doctor has just said aloud that they might need to move Dylas to a bed for 'heavier patients', which has him looking appalled.]

It's just...there's a lot of tail! It's all muscle! W-wait, come back!

[But it's too late. He's left in the room with whatever other patients have been watching the 'what can a naga do' show. Dylas' face flushes a little with embarrassment at his own outburst.]

iii. monster mansion

[After a long day of trying to 'people' and clinging to machinery to warm his aching, cold-blooded body, he's glad to have somewhere more private to rest. Salmog leads him into the large house, hands him his key, makes Dylas promise not to eat him...just, you know, standard moogle-monster interactions before leaving to fetch a few things.

Dylas slithers upstairs and helps himself to one of the double bedrooms. The larger bed? Nice, even if it creaks underneath the massive weight of snake tail. The thermostat? Don't mind if he cranks that up a little. And then he makes a nest out of blankets to finally get some sleep.

Surely, no one will come up here and bother him in his new room.

Absolutely no one.]

[ooc; As a reminder, here is an opt-out post and a reference since his appearance isn't reflected in his icons/he's from a CRAU in Ryslig which involved eating people and other intense subjects. Feel free to hmu if you have any questions!]

Snakes and Ladders

[shinra_dog]

[Reno jolted at the sight and stared.]

Fuck, Dylas! What the fuck happened t' you?

[sullenstallion]

What—

[He contorts when he hears his name called, the mass of coils beneath him shifting as he turns to look at Reno.]

Who the hell are you? And who gave you my name?!

[shinra_dog]

[Oh that's gross.]

You did! Years ago! What the -- ?

[He stopped. And stared longer. And cringed.]

Ah fuck, not again.

[sullenstallion]

[His scales aren't gross? Except they are. He's still not entirely used to being a naga yet, it's the worst.

But those scales are coming closer. He slithers towards Reno with about as much speed as a person walking with urgency would have.]

You need to give me a better answer than that. Spit it out!

[shinra_dog]

[There was that good ol' familiar angry Dylas attitude. Reno sighed and raised his hands, though he knew better than to tell the naga to relax.]

Okay, so this is gonna sound really weird, but I swear to any an' all gods that I'm not full a' shit. I met a Dylas before, on a different world, but -- well, obviously it wasn't you, or it's possible the memories are gone, that's been a thing, too...

In any case, I'm sorry to 've freaked you out because it's hella awkward all around. But my -- the last Dylas I knew wasn't a snake.

[sullenstallion]

['The last Dylas I knew wasn't a snake.' Dylas scowls. In theory, that could be true. He hasn't always been a snake, just like he hasn't always been human, a unicorn, some combination of the two, or a wendigo. It's a small miracle he doesn't feel dysphoric every day.

But at the same time...]

You sound full of shit.

[...he feels like being contrary.]

[shinra_dog]

[Reno shook his head and shrugged. He wasn't surprised]

Well have you always been a snake-man?

[sullenstallion]

[The answer is no, but he doesn't feel like saying that.]

Have you always been this annoying?

monster mash

[transect]

( a b s o l u t e l y . . . n o . . . o n e.
what were those, famous last words or something?

by the time rutile arrives at this, assigned residence, the temperature inside is noticeably warm. more than warm, really, but perhaps that was standard in these strange human homes? honestly, what was more strange was just how... normal it all seemed. tables, drawers... admittedly, the kitchen was a bit confusing, but thankfully also filled with useful looking tools...

still, it would be prudent to claim a room for their own, they supposed. it wasn't wholly unlike the school in that sense— and their search for personal space brought them upstairs. right into... the room of an unsuspecting dylas.

standing in the door frame, arms crossed, there's a tilt of rutile's head as they try to make sense of what they're seeing. namely that— ) It seems a creature from the sea has found its way into this room.

( they're only seeing that tail so far, apparently. )

[sullenstallion]

[It's warm. And he really wants to drift off to sleep. Salmog has left him for now. Dylas assumes it's probably for good; he did threaten to eat his Moogle, after all. He feels a bit bad about it now. But it's thoughts like these and more that are keeping him from falling asleep entirely. He rests his arms on a coil that hangs off the bed just slightly.

He's interrupted from his thoughts, some hopeful, some hopeless by the sound of approaching footsteps. He slowly lifts his head, golden, reptilian slits of eyes staring at Rutile with disdain (the sort of disdain that comes with being grumpy, tired, and Dylas).

Sea? Does this person think he looks like a fish? The very tip of his tail, somewhere behind him, vibrates excitedly at the complime--wait, that isn't a compliment! But he can't help but feel like it is.]

Hey! Do I look like a fish to you? Don't make that mistake again—fish are much more appealing than snakes!

[twomeals]

[Yue's just wandered in as well, curiously exploring the building--as a harpy he naturally gravitated to the upper floor, and seeing the shiny stranger in that doorway, he couldn't help but wander in that direction.

...Is that a naga in that bed?]

......Fish?

[transect]

( a snake? hmm. perhaps something more akin to a slug of the land, then... not yet turning to see the newcomer, rutile simply pointed inside of the room towards dylas. ) I thought perhaps this one had wandered too far from the water, but it seems that's not the case.

( finally, there's a shift in yue's direction, and a marked pause as they... look at those wings. and those feet. and that tail...
were these ones... even human?

and if they were more like 'animals' then... was rutile hearing things, or were they actually speaking?
they glance back towards dylas, then to yue... dylas again and... when they look once more to yue, they reach up tapping a gloved palm against the side of their head, making a loud tapping sound as they made an attempt to clear it. )

[sullenstallion]

Another one?!

[Dylas shakes his head in frustration. First, there's this...this...thing? He has no idea what to make of Rutile. He's never seen anything like them, but they're definitely not human, right? Just...human-like?

But then there's the bird across the room standing in front of the doorway. That's...a harpy. He knows those from sight by now. It fills him with a certain kind of anxiety, one that could be hopeful or bad, but.

But.

Something occurs to him and he suddenly lunges for his blanket and pulls it back over for him, wrapping it over his upper torso so only his head is sticking out.]

Dammit, you two! This is my bedroom, and I'm not wearing anything!

[... ... ...but even then, he's just shirtless? He's a snake. There's nothing indecent showing.]

[twomeals]

[While he understands that some nagas like wearing clothes, and he's learned that some girls don't like him barging into their rooms without knocking...this naga's male, right? So it shouldn't be a problem?

Yue tilts his head curiously at the blanket-wrapped stranger, then turns to look at the...other stranger. Honestly he's not sure which one he's more curious about, the unfamiliar person or the screechy snakeman.

...It's easier to focus on the noisy one, for the moment.]

Maybe he's shy?

[transect]

It would appear so... ( the one adorned with feathers is making a little more sense than the long-tailed one, at least. sorry about that dylas, looks like your life is getting harder.

whereas yue doesn't think this indecency(?) is a problem for one reason, rutile has another one completely as they shake their head— ) There's no need for that, I'm a doctor.

( because that makes it better, somehow? anyway... they'll ignore your little outburst dylas, turning to the more sense-making yue. ) Does this mean the two of you have been assigned here for living quarters?

[sullenstallion]

I'm not shy! You're just intruding!

[He grabs a pillow and he throws it at Yue. Why Yue? He looks softer and like he's less likely to dodge. After throwing it, he wraps the blanket around him, and slithers onto the floor, holding his torso up to mimic standing.]

Do you both walk into whatever rooms you feel like just because it's funny, huh? I want better roommates. Or none at all.

[He crosses his arms, pouting.]

2

[chefbayardee]

[ Hunk has seen some things. Some really weird things. This guy, with his lower body like a snake, is on the far right end of that bell curve. ]

If you don't want to be a heavier patient, can't you just chop the tail off?

[ Hunk, getting poked and prodded by a nurse, is completely serious. Y'know, discounting the giggles from the cold implements on his skin. ]

Wouldn't it grow back later? Or are you not that kind of reptile?

[ He's earnest about this. Trying to help. Seriously! He's just more jaded than these doctors. ]

[sullenstallion]

[Dylas stares, his eyes golden, unblinking reptilian slits. The tip of his tail flicks idly somewhere behind him. Or. In front of him. Look, he's coiled on top of a bed, where each inch of his tail is at any given moment. It's like "tail, it's still there" sometimes.

And it's also where a lot of his organs are? They're stretched out along his system for some godawful annoying reason.]

Hey. Can you come closer and repeat that? My ears aren't working great.

[Don't listen to the snake.]

[chefbayardee]

Oh yeah, sure, I-

[ He seems oblivious to the disdain, and even moves to get off of his own bed until the nurse sternly tells him no because she's doing a quick blood draw. ]

-guess not. [ He groans, resigning himself to his own bed. He will instead just talk louder, because that's the easiest way around ears not cooperating. ]

I mean, salamanders can lose their tails and regrow them. I've probably seen some aliens who can do it! Are you a salamander?

[ He's too tired and stressed to admit that he hasn't been to Earth in so long he might actually forget how some of their flora and fauna work. ]

[sullenstallion]

[Saved by the nurse. He glares at the nurse, disappointed he's been robbed of a chance to strangle Hunk, but that situation is probably better left as a fantasy.

Probably.]

Why are you even bringing this up? I'm not a damn salamander, and what kind of reptile would cut off their tale in a doctor's office for kicks?

[He's so annoyed that, just for a moment, his tongue flicks out. It's forked.]

I'm a snake, I guess. And you...were dropped on the head when you were little.

[chefbayardee]

[ Hunk takes the insult in stride, sneering back at the snake. ]

No, I've just seen a ton of aliens. There are, like, no rules.

[ Then he starts to laugh at the memories, sighing wistfully as he continues. ]

One of my friends can shapeshift and her butler started sweating hair gel. I know some people who can tell their planet to drop rocks on things. And one time I went onto a planet filled with fish people, and man were they weird.

[sullenstallion]

[This person is so incredibly unpleasant. He's so...so cheery, but not in the way the Earthmate is. It's. Different.]

Why are you still talking? Why do I have to know these things?

[Why is the image of a certain butler from back home popping into his head, only know he's sweating some sort of gelatin? Dylas shakes his head, regretting that he tried to picture that.]

Have you ever been to a planet where you shut up and don't bother people?

[chefbayardee]

I mean...

[ Hunk rolls his eyes. He can't joke his way through this stressful check-up with doctors he didn't trust if he couldn't joke with someone. ]

Would you rather be bothered by the doctors or by me?

[ The nurse wanders away for a minute, grabbing some other supplies or noting down some information- Hunk didn't really care. ]

I could start screaming. Mean snake guys are pretty scary. I kinda wanna scream. Should I scream?

[ The question, while barbed, is still earnest. Would fear be more palatable than jokes? Snakes are weird. Hunk doesn't claim to understand them. ]

[sullenstallion]

The doctors.

[Dylas doesn't even hesitate before answering, but there's an unfortunate side-effect to his answer. He feels clever. He feels funny. So there's just a hint more emotion in his voice, even if it's smugness. He's even smirking a little.]

But you can go ahead and scream if you want. But make it a good one. I've heard lots.

[And because Hunk brought up the scaring part? After the last word, sharp, serpenting fangs burst down from Dylas' lips. They're retractable, and given his size? Pretty big.

By now, it should be clear that Dylas is trying to freak Hunk out. The nurse is rolling her eyes, unbothered. Apparently, Dylas has been acting like this for hours.]