INTRO LOG - JULY 2013

[rekindlemods]

Who: Everyone Where: The Welcome Plaza When: 18th July, afternoon Summary: The new arrivals, freshly pulled from their worlds or others, awaken in a strange plaza... Warnings: Inbox death may occur. System overload at own risk. SOME NPC RESPONSES WILL BE SLOW UNTIL THE ONE WHO PLAYS THEM IS PRESENT. The first flickering of a lantern... It's a shuddering breath, a sensation of being pulled to elsewhere and finding oneself pressed against something rather hard with the sound of water coming from nearby. However, before one can fully stir, there is something that lifts you up from the rather warm (yet why did it feel like a chill going down your spine?) stone when you begin to drift off once more. It felt as though someone had thrown you from the frying pan, and then into the freezer - all you wanted to do was sleep... Yet the feeling passes quickly, and when you awaken, you begin to realize your surroundings. It looks like...a plaza of some sort? As they look around them, the ground beneath them is an intricate mosiac - a water fountain at the center of the plaza in this foreign world. There are many buildings around its perimeter, making this location seem like a central hub of whatever town this was. Some may even recognize the peculiar design of the buildings and sloped tiled rooftops as a Far Eastern theme. Were they somewhere along the Pacific? Who knows! But what is quite apparent is this: Along with the many buildings surrounding the plaza, the first thing that is noticeable is the amount of people sitting or standing around you in a similar daze. You are not alone... One building seems to stand out among all the others; one that seems large enough to house all of the completely lost and confused masses gathered here to the welcome plaza. A sign outside the door reads: WELCOME CENTER Newcomers: Please come inside for refreshments and your welcome packets! Odd... This wasn't written in your own language, and yet you find it easily understandable. Soon enough, if you don't enter on your own, someone comes from inside the double doors to usher you and everyone else inside. "Welcome to Saeng Seong! I know you must be confused as to where you are and what's going on, but we promise to explain this to you once we're inside and away from the hot sun!" Whether you go inside immediately or linger outside a little longer, eventually you must come in from the hot summer day, and sooner rather than later would probably be better. You'll find yourself in a well-lit lobby, filled with comfortable-looking couches and chairs. Along one wall are refreshment tables, loaded with all sorts of food and drink, including some you probably aren't familiar with. On the wall opposite are a pair of desks, each with a sign and a person seated behind them - Irene, General Assistance Devin, Technological Assistance However, before you can go over and give them a piece of their mind and ask for questions, the same person who ushered you inside hands you a manilla envelope that contains your welcome packet, urging you to read this before asking the three figures questions that the packet likely answers. Inside it, you will find: a ring with a key and apartment number on it, some kind of cash card, a map and informational guide to the city, and a letter folded neatly on the top - Welcome to Saeng Seong! You are among a new group of arrivals to our city, from many far-apart worlds. We have gathered you here because our city is in a crisis, and we are at our last resorts. The energy of the city is in a slow downward spiral, and is dangerously close to expiring altogether. That's where you come in - you and everyone else we've brought to the city. Unlike those of us here, you have the potential to generate the energy the city needs, but you'll need to work together to do it. Why? Because the energy can only be generated when two people touch each other. Any touch will do, but it must be between two of you who are new to the city. If you don't keep in contact with someone, eventually your energy will begin to drain as well, making you dangerously ill. A few other things: The closed-off sections of the city are closed off for a reason; approaching them will cause your energy to drain very rapidly. We're working to open the rest of the city to you as soon as we can, but for now, please remain within the two central districts of the city. You have been given a key to a one-bedroom apartment in a complex set aside for you and the other new arrivals, near the riverside in the 1st district. You're free to change your living quarters whenever you like, and we encourage you to move in with someone in one of the larger apartments. When you want to change, just come back to this building to exchange your key. We've also included a cash card with a living stipend; if you're unfamiliar with this system, or the network established for new arrivals, you can talk to Devin in the lobby for help. It's what he's here for. If you need medical assistance, contact Mai, one of our nurses - she'll be going around today for anyone who needs help. Again, welcome, and thank you for all your help. Irene Arrival Liaison Back behind you, others still linger, and through the translucent glass you can see a banner hanging from the tiled roof of the building across the street in the blistering summer day: WELCOME TO SAENG SEONG (ENJOY YOUR STAY!)

Comments

[arsnova]

[Wow, this kid's a looker! He seems really sad. Marta mistakes him for someone who just got here, and she has no reservations approaching him straight up. She has her welcome packet tucked in her elbow, but...]

Hey, are you okay?

[flamesfanned]

[Thank you Luke for Pretty Fabre Genes.]

Um...

[Time to look a little awkward and sheepish. Because that's basically how he functions on a day to day basis.]

I'm fine, really. Just kind of lonely.

[The thing about being socially awkward is that you're not adjusted to being dishonest in response to that particular question.]

[arsnova]

[Awww, he's lonely! He says it with absolutely no sign of flirting whatsoever. She's surprised, but her expression soon softens.]

You're kind of straightforward, aren't you? [A little giggle.] Since we're kind of stuck here, do you want to talk about it?

[flamesfanned]

[Flirting? Ember? Dude, please. Even when he tells people they have nice butts, he's not flirting. He's just appreciating butts.]

I guess so.

[That's kind of to both - he can dodge awkward questions well enough, most of the time, but there's not really a point here, is there? It's not like it matters that he's Luke's replica when Luke isn't even here.]

There was someone I knew from my world when I got here - he just disappeared this morning, before you guys arrived.

[arsnova]

[Marta's mouth makes a little 'o' of surprise. She touches her chin.]

Oh, no... I'm sorry to hear that! Is he going to be okay? Did they tell you where he went?

[It seems fishy for them to whisk someone back to his world when they're bringing other people in droves and telling them they can't go home yet.]

[flamesfanned]

I think he'll be fine. He's got people to watch out for him back home.

[Like Anise. Actually, mostly Anise. There's no need to worry about Ion when Anise is around.]

Just makes it kind of lonely here, I guess.

[He's not good at meeting new people.]

[arsnova]

Pardon me for asking, but... I thought we couldn't go home.

[She'll tackle the other parts of their conversation in a minute.]

Does that mean we have a choice?

[flamesfanned]

[That brings a pause.]

Well, if he's not home, I don't want to think about where else he might be.

[So he's going to hope and assume that Ion went back, because that's the safest place for him.]

They won't send you back if you ask, though.

[arsnova]

[... That's some nice logic you have there, Ember.]

I... guess you could be right. These people don't want to hurt us, or at least that's what it seems like.

[She touches her bottom lip.]

I wonder why they'd send your friend back but not the people who ask.

[flamesfanned]

[He's the best seven year old.]

Well, if they hurt us, we're not really likely to do what they want, you know? There's enough people mad about coming here in the first place.

[He sighs a bit.]

I dunno. I think some other people have disappeared, too, but no one I bothered to keep track of.

[arsnova]

That's true. They're definitely desperate. I just... worry, you know?

[Hmm.]

Maybe the people they send home don't make enough energy or something. That would definitely put your friend in danger.