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

[sullenstallion]

[Truth be told, it's his third time. The first time around, Ventuswill had stolen his memories—waking up not knowing who or where you are isn't much different than waking up in a new world.

But...]

I don't have time to talk about that.

[He scoffs. He didn't have the luxury to feel threatened. Everyone else was put to work, but because he looked different he was turned away. He almost starved and froze to death those first few nights.]

But if you're comparing yourself to me, that's your first problem.

[chefbayardee]

I- Argh. [ Hunk just facepalms for a moment, before just sighing. ] I'm not comparing myself to you- [ And then for a moment he's grumbling under his breath as he glares out of the spaces between his fingers. ] that'd be like calzones vs escargot- or asking you to talk about stuff, just to remember.

[ But then the hand falls away and returns to his side. Hunk looks visibly annoyed. ] This can't have been easy for you the first time, and it's definitely not easy for me now. So just... have a heart, y'know? [ And he's smiling as he says those words, but it quickly sours back into a bit of a scowl. ]

Unless your cold blood froze it over? [ Have some more glaring, Dylas. ]

[sullenstallion]

You just were. I heard you.

[He's not going to let it drop. Feeling restless again, he shifts his coils on the bed that he's been stuck with. It creaks beneath his weight, which makes him tense before he relaxes again. He hangs off the edge, now watching Hunk upside down, his hair falling around him messily.]

I do remember. It was cold and wet, and they wouldn't let me work for my own food because I wasn't human. [He closes his eyes. He still remembers that village. He'd been mostly human back then save for his tail and ears...he closes his eyes. For a moment, he looks thoughtful.] I would've died if I didn't steal what I needed. Help didn't come for days.

[It wasn't like this, not like the Curti Center. He was shunned by the natives from the beginning, long before his blood stopped running and congealed within his body, hunger blossoming to compensate.]

But you're right. My blood's ice cold. I don't need my heart anymore.

[chefbayardee]

I... [ That was not what Hunk expected to hear. The glare softens and his shoulders slump- he's got a big appetite, but starving in the cold? Cast aside by the people around him? That's terrible. ]

I'm sorry. [ He's not often one to apologize, but this is... a unique circumstance. On so many levels. He felt like a jerk, and the snide remark he'd made was used against him like a punch in the gut. Speaking of guts, after moments of being unable to even look at Dylas, Hunk's eyes meet his and the human is just smiling. ]

But that's nothing we can't fix with a nice, warm, home-cooked meal. [ Everyone loves food, and Hunk loves to cook! ] If you wanted, I could cook something up for you later.

[ But that raised another question. ] What do you even eat? [ And, of course, how does he use a bathroom? Did they have bathrooms where he came from? ]

[sullenstallion]

...What? No. Don't...don't start doing that. I'm not looking for any pity. I've had hundreds of home-cooked meals since then, and I'm a damn good chef.

[You have to be when you're a wendigo. Sure, he's snek now, but he remembers all too well that feeling of being hungry every second of every minute of every hour of ever...so on and so on.

He only knows how to cook bread, fish, and human, though.]

I eat people, Hunk.

[But this time, for the first time ever in his life? He's telling it as a joke. He wants to see the look on Hunk's face when he freaks out! But he's not so cruel as to let that hang in the air.]

What do you think I eat? I eat the same things everyone else eats...but nothing sweet. ...Why am I even telling you that?

[He takes his coffee bitter and with no sugar or cream because he's a monster who doesn't know how to have fun.]

[chefbayardee]

(( ooc- we should try to close this out soon because it's super old and theyre about to get into super awkward territory ))

[ Hunk was showing hints of a smile as Dylas mentioned knowing how to cook. They had something in common! Hunk had something in common with a mean, dimension-hopping snakeman. That was cool! Common ground is nice, at least until Dylas said he ate people.

Hunk let out a yelp that almost crescendo'd into a scream, but then he slammed his hands over his mouth. Nope. Not making a scene here. Especially since, well, it was a joke! He was joking. He confirmed the joke. Dylas doesn't eat people.

This is fine. ]

You, uh... you really had me for a minute there! [ Awkward. Laugh!!! ] That was a pretty sweet joke. [ Defuse with humor. If Hunk's laughing he won't be screaming instead. ]

Could you even eat anything as big as a person? I'm just imagining a little snake trying to eat a donut... [ And then he starts giggling at the idea. It's obvious he's trying to forget that scare even happened. ]

[sullenstallion]

Yeah. I sure had you.

[Awkward. But kind of funny. Dylas doesn't push for jokes often, but with Hunk's reactions he just couldn't resist. The scream, however, was not worth it. He's a sensitive snake with sensitive ears, and he grimaces at that. Whoever lives with this kid at his home must have strong patience.]

I, uh...you know, I think I'm feeling fine enough to get going. You look like you're thinking about something weird. And the giggling's creepy.