INTRO LOG - SEPTEMBER 2013

[rekindlemods]

Who: Everyone Where: The Welcome Plaza When: 18th September, 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 Unlike a few waves before, the only people in charge seem to be the people behind the desks. They look a bit busy. However, before you can go over and give them a piece of your mind and ask 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 two 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. 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

[luxuriant]

[Okay. Not what he was expecting to happen at any point. He was in the middle of things! Just arriving back with Pronyma and setting off immediately to find that Aionis stuff that Kratos said would help... And now here he was.

Crap. However this happened, wasn't everyone going to be dealing with Mithos? He needed to get back there!

And yet all he's seeing now as he rubs his head and stands is welcome signs and confused individuals around him.]

You've gotta be kidding me...

[What is this, a convention??? Saeng Seong. He'd never heard of it before. Without any other leads, he'll stand and head into the Welcome Center, accepting his packet and reading up on things before he eventually settles better into the casual state of being most are used to seeing him as.

This of course means that any stranger who gives him a glance for too long is met with a wink and a teasing wave. Physical contact city how funny is that right?? Right?]

[cruxified]

Chosen.

[Kratos is nearby. Not sure when he got there, but there he is, nonetheless. He is trying to be civil for Lloyd's sake. Mostly, though, he just doesn't care.]

[luxuriant]

[Zelos had been so focused on the crowds, the letter, the meaning, the worry, that he hadn't been on guard as best as he should have. Of course, now he'd be approached. Of all the people to manage to sneak up on him... He turns, surprised though it doesn't show on his face. And then there's a short, muffled breath of a laugh as he pockets his thumbs and leans forward the slightest bit to eye the other.]

Whoa, look who it is! Bet you're having a hell of a time in this place. [A beat, as he straightens himself, clearly suspicious.] Unless you're secretly a higher up here, too.

[cruxified]

[That should hurt, but it doesn't. Zelos has every right to be suspicious; Lloyd was too. Maybe they're from similar times? It would make some sense. He approaches this conversation from a logical standpoint, gathering what clues he can from Zelos' words and his posture.]

Lloyd is here. [Straight and to the point.] They seem to have pulled him from an earlier timeline. It would behoove you to be silent on certain topics.

[luxuriant]

[That's one way to get him to shut up. News that Lloyd is here changes a lot of things. Like that rush to get back home. That worry that everyone was still stuck dealing with Mithos-- and wait. Timeline?

Different timelines?

It really bugs him that this guy talks to him like this, but he has no choice but to ask for more information, if he has it.]

How early do you mean?

[cruxified]

[Kratos crosses his arms. He doesn't want to give away too much, either. Despite what Lloyd told him, he's not a hundred percent sure that spoiling things here won't affect the way the cards fall back home. He'd rather not jeopardize that precious future any more than he already has by existing.]

He remembers fighting me, then being tossed into prison with the others. I have memories of the events beyond that, but he recalls none of it.

[luxuriant]

[That was... Before Zelos' time as well. Which meant before Flanoir, before he made up his mind, before he seemed to betray them and disappear with Pronyma and Colette.

And now he was here.

Great. How was he supposed to pretend none of that ever happened? If Lloyd found out now, he's not so sure the reaction would be the same as he was hoping for this time...

Shaking those thoughts away quickly, he shifts his weight to one leg, raising one arm in a half shrug.]

Figures... And what about you? [It's worth a shot. And he sure as hell isn't going to just blab his own memories of the last event.]

[redcladidealist]

[When Lloyd first showed up, wandering through the crowd of newcomers, he knew, of course, that there was a chance that he'd spot someone from his world. He'd even worn his swords, just in case that someone was bad.

But knowing that something is possible and seeing a familiar flash of red hair are two entirely different things. Lloyd stops in his tracks, eyes widening, then lighting up.]

Zelos? Hey! Hey, Zelos! Over here!

[luxuriant]

[And there he was. Not too long after his conversation with Kratos, and a little too soon to be properly sure on how to deal with this whole time thing. But he'll take it one step at a time like always.

It's easy enough to glance over and raise an arm in returned greeting.]

Hey, Bud! [Seeming pleasantly surprised, he drops his wave to head over, waiting until they were close enough to speak again.] Man, is this whole thing trippy, or what?

[redcladidealist]

[Whatever doubts Zelos might have had about what Kratos had said, at least one thing should be confirmed once they get close enough. The former mercenary had been telling the truth about the point of time that Lloyd was from. The grin on the teen's face shows absolutely no sign that he has any reason to be anything but excited to see his friend.]

You're telling me! I've been here a couple months and I'm still not used to it. But you just got here, right? Did you read your papers yet?

[luxuriant]

Yep! [And now he's going to take the time to place his hands on his hips and laugh cheerfully.

Mostly he's being overly obnoxious to make up for the fact that Lloyd should be angry at him and confused agh guilt is terrible.]

Hahaha! This could almost be paradise, though! Have you seen all the cuties around here?

[redcladidealist]

Are girls the only thing you can see?

[There's a note of goodnatured exasperation in his voice. Honestly, Lloyd's gotten used to Zelos's weird behavior around girls, even if it still baffles him to a degree.

The comment helps remind Lloyd of something important, though, and in a moment, Lloyd's hooking an arm around his friend. It's a hug in the spirit of horsing around, mild heckling - but still a kind of hug.]

Paradise, huh? You better just make sure you get plenty of hugs. Trust me, it's not fun if you don't hug people enough. The papers are telling the truth about that.

[Which is why he's preemptively hugging Zelos right now.]

[arsnova]

[There's a gasp from somewhere nearby, and suddenly, a girl appears! She is a good head and a half shorter than Zelos, maybe more. Despite the flowery flip-flops and white sundress, she looks like she means business.

Which means getting up in his personal space and being cute.]

Zelos! It feels like it's been forever! Did you just get here?

[luxuriant]

[Whoa. Suddenly: cutie. Though it's not like that's unusual for him, what does stand out is that she seems to know him...

...He hates when Kratos is right. How does he... go about this...

He'll try for a grin and a cheery greeting as usual. See how long that goes over well.]

Oh, hey there, cutie pie! I sure did. Just a few minutes ago, in fact! You've been here longer?

[arsnova]

Yep! I've been here for a couple months now, and so has Emil! I think Yuan's been here long--

-- wait... Cutie pie?

[She eyes him, hands on her hips.]

Did you get into something?

[luxuriant]

Haha...

[Is he losing his touch already?]

What's that supposed to mean? I just got here!

[arsnova]

[She peeeeeeeeeeers up at him, a process that involves standing on her tiptoes.]

Hmmm...~ Just a feeling.

[She settles back down soon enough. She is happy to see him, even if the situation isn't that great.]

You probably have a lot of questions. I've been here for a little while, so I can tell you everything that's happened so far.

[cloakand_danger]

[Yuan is here, looking through the crowds for familiar faces. Like every month, he's secretly hoping to find Raine, hoping that if he finds her, she might have some ideas about what the hell this place is and how they might find their way back.

He pauses when the crowd parts for a moment, and he sees Zelos there. He's right at the edge of the area where it would be plausible for Yuan to claim he hadn't seen him...if Zelos happens to forget that Yuan has angelic senses, at least. Yuan hesitates, staring right at Zelos, wondering if it's too late to turn aside and ignore the former Chosen entirely.]

[luxuriant]

[...Blue hair sure does stand out in a crowd. And they seem to lock eyes for a moment, both probably considering the same thing... But Zelos knows he has to see him. Hear him. And if he dealt with Kratos for a couple of minutes, Yuan was going to be no problem.

Maybe it could even be a chance to have some fun!

Grinning cheerfully from his spot, he gives an obnoxious, hand-scrunching wave, and calls out along with it. THINKING HE COULD ESCAPE? Nope. Suffer with him.]

Hey, if it isn't Yuan!

[cloakand_danger]

...Wilder. [Yuan sighs in an epically long-suffering fashion.] Of all the people they could have drawn here. [Anyone else would be more useful. ...Then again, Yuan tends to forget it, but Zelos is craftier than he lets on. This may yet prove interesting.]

[wontdoanyless]

[Steve didn't mean to stare at anyone for too long, he had seen aliens and giant robots so it was getting difficult to be phased by things now. But he was looking over in Zelos' direction when the guy winked and waved at him. Steve looked behind him for a moment to see if Zelos was waving at someone else, but it didn't look like it. Uh, guess this fella was a friendly sort then. He awkwardly gave a little wave back before responding.]

Um, hi. [He was the one familiar with this place, he should be a little more helpful honestly.] Take it that you're new here, sir?

[luxuriant]

Yep! Just showed up.

[Taking casual steps over to Steve, he pockets one of his hands as the other gestures with his words.]

So that means you've been here a while, right? What's it like?

[wontdoanyless]

A couple of months now. [Which probably wasn't that long in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes it felt like the days moved slow here.] Besides all the touching? It's normally pleasant, don't need to worry about starving at least. Can't take that for granted, right? [He gave a small dumb smile because that was super important to him.]

[luxuriant]

Oh, so is all the food here free? What about everything else?

[Important questions-- though 'free' makes him worry about quality, but for once he'll keep his spoiled opinions to himself.]

[wontdoanyless]

Not exactly. We're given a card that has money, which we can use to spend on the basic essentials. They're kind enough to refill it every month too. [He really should get a job though, he wasn't too keen on relying on others for money like this.]

Long as you budget, you should be fine.