melodiesofeternity | FABULA NOVA CRYSTALLIS || INTRODUCTION LOG

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FABULA NOVA CRYSTALLIS || INTRODUCTION LOG

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?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He'd laid down for a while to recharge so he could approach whatever came next with a fresh mind. Normally he sleeps light. Shiro had slept like the dead until there's a change in the air. Even then it takes shouting and the rattling of his bedroom doorknob to drag him out of sleep.

The doorknob turns out to be Wimbledon. He scrubs sleep from his eyes and stares. Right. He had locked the door. "Don't just stare like that! Get over here and help me!" He makes him wait a minute. The door clicks and the moogle shoots through the house like an arrow. "Does this old nose smell greatness, kupo? Ah, what a wonderful-" He hovers in the doorway of the kitchen and is moved aside by Shiro.

"Find everything you need, Hunk?" His voice is only slightly slurred. He leans against the doorframe watching him work. If he felt any more relieved to see him and know one of his team is alright, maybe all of them he'd break his own face with his slightly sleepy smile.

(( Do they know they're living together already, or is Hunk too engrossed in cooking and Shiro too sleepy to register all this? ))

"Sure did, Shiro!" Hunk hasn't quite turned around yet, because man is he neck deep in some much-needed culinary therapy. Balmogra takes note of Wimbledon and waves at him, silently pointing to the roasting kupo nuts. They had it made.

"Oh, and I made some coffee too. It's over there somewhere." Hunk looses an arm from his exploits for a moment and gestures wildly behind him. If Shiro cared to follow the hand... or, well, like anything within a 90-degree angle of it, he might see that coffee pot, softly bubbling. "Apparently they've got a lot of options, just like Earth!"

((Their swordlady roomie did let him know Hunk was around. But I'm game for them not yet registering they're going to be living together. Or knowing it already. Leaning towards knew it already for the sake of convenience.))

"I did see the food in the cafeteria had a lot of variety. I never thought I'd be that excited to see things I actually recognize." He pushes away from the doorframe and snags a mug from an out of the way cupboard. The idea of coffee hadn't occurred to him when he'd been pouring over books like he was a young cadet in the Garrison all over again.

Wimbledon spreads his paws wide and bounces. He can practically imagine how amazing their kupo nuts are going to be. Perfect.

Shiro pours himself a mug of coffee and stares at it. It's been at least a year and some change since he last saw even a sniff of the stuff. "There's actually a lot of worlds that have recognizable features. It's nice to hear."

(( Let's go with them already knowing then. They've had an inconvenient enough day already. ))

"I know what you mean!" Hunk starts laughing, and he turns down the heat on the stove-top just a bit as he gestures to Balmogra to keep an eye on everything. The moogle hangs his head dejectedly and obliges.

"I saw a girl who looked like an Altean, except she wasn't. Some people had been in space. And some were from Earth!" He rolls his eyes with a smile, like this was all just so peachy, before taking a swig from a coffee mug he'd hidden in the corner of the kitchen.

"Shiro, I even found a dog-person." His eyes go wide with excitement and childish glee, and he lets out a mirthful little cackle. "Isn't that just wild?"

((Perfect. Gives them a bit of a bright spot to the really weird day.))

He cracks a smile and takes a swig. The bitter brew he normally doesn’t drink Black is just what he needs to rip the last sleep from his mind. “Most of the people I’ve met can’t even fathom the idea of space travel. It really does feel like...what Earth might look like in a few centuries. Don’t you think?”

It’s a nice vision at least. “A dog person though. That’s new. I assume they were friendly.” He grins, it’s a joke but also a question. Another swig. Damn it’s been so long he’s already a little wired. Shiro pushes his bangs out of his eyes and gestures with one hand to indicate the whole house. “Nice to know there’s more people who have been to space here than just us. More pilots or researchers?” He raises an eyebrow in question. More pilots would be pretty cool.

It’s common ground at least.

"Red's the dog, and he's great, plus he likes engineering and tech!" Hunk's grinning ear to ear, and he starts to talk so quickly he might go blue in the face.

"There was this young girl about my age who piloted a military mech, and there's even a space cowboy." Hunk begins to bounce up and down on his feet as he giggled, because the variety of the humans was astounding to him. Sure, there were plenty who weren't from space-faring or hi-tech universes, but they didn't matter quite as much.

"This would be a better Earth if there wasn't all this magic." And Hunk rolls his eyes, looking visibly uncomfortable. "Some people seem to know a bit about airships or magic or whatever else, but it's still a little much for me." Almost as much for him to grasp as 'ancient alien space lion mecha,' honestly.

“Well we’ve grasped magic before. It’s just like getting used to the lions. Right?” A space cowboy. That he has to see. He leans one hip against a kitchen counter. “Tell me more about the military mech if you can. I’d like to know a bit more about that.” He can bring up the Jobs with their powers in a little bit. Letting Hunk just talk will give him time to pose his thoughts on it.

“And just to check, your armor isn’t working right too, right?” He glances back towards his room and decides for now. Not to ask about home. They need to relax for a little bit. “I’ve met some interesting people too. I think the most interesting was a man named Noctis. From the sound of it his world is a lot like Earth but full of magic and monsters existing along side what we’re familiar with. He brought up cars.”

The realization that the Lions are, to some extent, magical is soothing. Baffling, because magic, especially based upon quintessence, is just something they don't know the science behind. Coran did say that Zarkon had researchers studying the stuff. But his mind bounces back to the discussions of technology and new friends, and his mood becomes earnest again.

"So she said it was bright pink, because apparently she could just get away with that. Had guns. I got the impression it was a smaller craft, or at least smaller than the Lions." He shrugs, because he knows that doesn't mean much. But Noctis's home? It raised an important question.

"Were the cars magic?"

He pauses. Had he asked about that? It takes him a second to realize he didn't. "I...have no idea. That's something to ask about later. He brought up land birds they ride like horses and we were both pretty distracted." Having mild meltdowns and pretending they weren't. He keeps that to himself.

"He also had no idea what a horse was. The closest thing they have is something like a very violent unicorn." Shiro takes another swallow of coffee. "Another person I met in the library knew about the riding birds. They both called them Chocobos? I think that's what they said."

As Shiro dished the dirt on the unique forms of wildlife he'd heard about, Hunk began to smile and that smile only grew and grew. Violent unicorns were absolutely horrifying and not something he ever wanted in his life, but...

"Were they from the same world? Because chocobos sound great." The image in his head is like a peacock, but with four legs and a longer body, covered in sleek, smooth feathers. Also, it sparkled.

"I hope Vaikuntha has some cool animals." And he sighs longingly. Moogles don't count, because they seem a bit more sentient, and some of his new friends don't care much for theirs. But elegant, gorgeous chocobos? That'd be cool. Cooler than the monsters that apparently want to kill them everywhere.

“We have seen a lot of cool animals and life in our time as Paladins. I can bet we’ll seen even more here.” Shiro smiles, and gestures with his free hand. “They have a beastary in the library if you want a preview. I didn’t check it but I know it’s there.” There has been rows of volumes. He’d decided to get right to what he wanted to know and space the rest for later.

“But they were from different worlds. Miss Nanamo recognized my family name. Noctis didn’t.” It had been a little weird to hear people from where he was born in another reality have horns and some patterns of scales. He finishes his coffee off and washes the mug out in the sink. He cleans and dries it, putting it back where he found it. “Have you looked at the maps yet?”

Part of him again wants to ask about what Hunk last remembers of home. He shoves it down. “It looks like a lot of this world has been explored already.”

"I haven't done much reading, honestly." For Hunk, part of it is that he's used to the crazy holographic displays of the Lions and castle ship. The other part is that he's spent most of the day screaming, crying, and making friends. "I know we're on an isolated island that's safe, and that's about it."

"But I might have to check out the library soon! Monster books, maps, the works." Hunk starts smiling and it was readily apparent that he was lining up quite a bit of his time just to do reconnaissance. "How much of it wasn't explored?"

"A fair portion. It looks to be in the north but I didn't get to study the maps for long." He'd been distracted. They told him who he was rooming with and that had been a relief. He'd left the library after that. He leans back against the counter and nods. "Other than studying it doesn't seem like there's much to do on this island."

It seems a given. Recuperate then step out into the world. It really does feel like starting again and as he stares at the floor with a frown he adds. "I'm not giving up on going back. We'll find a way home, Hunk." Somehow.

He has to get back into that battle and end it. Whatever the outcome will be.

"I'm not giving up either." Hunk sounds confident, almost forceful. "We have work to do back home."

Hunk scans an empty wall, clearly deep in thought for a moment, before- "We'll need to buy winter clothes. We tend to end up in places we shouldn't be." Like when Shay didn't want them to endanger themselves standing up to the Galra. Or that planet of fish people. Or the space between dimensions. Or Oriande. Point is, he's convinced they'll end up in the frozen north, if only because it's uncharted.

"You know, later. We need to figure all this out first." Hunk scoffs and gestures to the impossibly mundane house around them. From a futuristic spaceship to this? Definite downgrade.

He sighs. "Yeah. ...yeah." It's been....a long time since Shiro has been living on a planet. The Castle of Lions has become his home. "It can't be that hard to fairly divide up the tasks and switch off so no one is stuck with the same thing all the time. I made all of the beds, speaking of that. I figured anyone who wanted to get some sleep could do with a bed waiting for them."

He had really needed that nap. "...you're probably right about winter clothes. It wouldn't hurt to get formal wear later on down the road. Making a good impression with local authorities could make things a lot easier. For now our armor will do."

"Th-thanks for making the beds, Shiro." Hunk turns a bit sheepish with the utterance, because he's pretty sure he wouldn't have made his own bed, let alone everyone's. "I think I'm the only one who can cook, though..."

And then Hunk laughs, because even if it's not true, he'd volunteer to cook anyway. Familiar stress relief in an unfamiliar world can't be discounted! He makes a note to try and schmooze with the powers that be... and makes a conscious note not to go too near the Curti Center again.

"People don't seem to recognize our armor here. Which makes sense..." And Hunk trails off, bristling a bit at the words he wanted to convey. So he starts awkwardly chuckling. "...But it's kind of nice not to be the first ones people come to with problems, yknow?"

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FABULA NOVA CRYSTALLIS || INTRODUCTION LOG

Housing

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