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

[soldiernoclass]

"...Yeah. Sort of." He doesn't feel so good admitting it (or at all, if he's being honest), but there's no reason to lie about the hazy details. There's no suitable excuse even he can think up, for wearing around a bunch of blatant evidence of the kind of violence he was just at the epicenter of. Was just the epicenter of.

Anybody who could come out of a fight like that without a few new battle scars, he doesn't want to meet. Not again, at any rate.

"It's a... long story, though. And I'd hate to bore you to sleep, since we only just met. Maybe some other time, huh?"

[wontdoanyless]

It was obvious to Steve that Zack didn't want to talk about his recent battle, so he let the topic drop. He doesn't really know him and badgering for more details now wasn't the time. As long as Zack wasn't about to pass out or bleed more.

He nodded in response, before shifting a little in place. "Oh, and I'm Steve." Where were his manners honestly, Zack gave his name and he didn't even say his. "Not sure how truthful this information packet is, but the part about people being from different worlds looks accurate." Steve wondered if Bucky would be excited to know that 'aliens' really existed, but his friend was off at war, so he squished that line of thought down.

[soldiernoclass]

"Geez, first he says I look rough, and now he's calling me an alien." Zack rolls his eyes, but he's half-smiling beneath it, and the look's a little too dramatic to come off serious, anyway. The whole extraterrestrial shtick is almost easier to believe than that there's something as simple as touch that could power an entire city, but that doesn't make it any easier to swallow. He's had better days than waking up on what he's being told is another planet.

"Where're you from, anyway?" Half of him expects nowhere familiar at all - but they can't possibly all be from different worlds, can they? That'd just be too many to think about.

[wontdoanyless]

"Oh, wasn't tryin' to imply that you were an alien. I mean, you don't really look like one. Um, not that I know what aliens really look like!" Steve was just full of open mouth, insert foot lately. He was gonna get better at this, hopefully. Never But Zack doesn't seem upset at least.

He smiled a little, looking somewhat sheepish as well. "Brooklyn- well, that's from Earth."

[soldiernoclass]

"Relax. I think we'll know the aliens when we seem them." Too bad for his foot and his mouth. Zack's laughing at him, either way, but it's a surprised, friendly sound, nothing mocking in it. If he's upset, it's not Steve's fault - and easy for now to keep under wraps. There'll be plenty of time to look at things seriously once he's gotten his bearings. And as much information as this place can offer.

He raises a hand, pointing a thumb at himself. "Gongaga. And that's from Gaia, I guess. Not many people on my planet have heard of it, either, though. Is Brooklyn a small place like that?"

[wontdoanyless]

"Yeah, but guess we can't always judge a book by its cover." He couldn't help but chuckle along with Zack, finding him to be friendly enough. His laughter wasn't mean-spirited, something that Steve was familiar with.

"Brooklyn's pretty well-known in my country. It's one of the five boroughs that make up New York City; Brooklyn is the second largest."

[soldiernoclass]

"So it's kind of like the Sectors that make up Midgar." Or close enough, maybe. He's not too sure what a "borough" is, but it sounds similar enough, in the given context. A little less heartless, too. But there's no getting away from the type of place Midgar is, even on another world.

"A real big place, then, huh? Is there an Old York City, too?"

[wontdoanyless]

"Is Midgar a large city in your world then?" Any city that had to be divided into different regions must be pretty big, or it seemed that way at least. Steve always grew up in big areas, even though they were usually in the poorer regions of it.

"It's real big, most populated city in my country too. And it sometimes really feels that way, people always on the street. But it's home, wouldn't trade it for anythin' else." Steve was proud to be from Brooklyn, even with the difficult times. "There's no Old York City, well, not that I know of."

[soldiernoclass]

"Biggest on the planet, actually. Nowhere else even comes close." Thanks to ShinRa, and the power supply, and the military... And a whole lot of poverty. But the city'll always be a part of him, even if it's no wonderland of opportunity and wealth. Or, at least, there'll always be a part of him there, trapped and waiting. Unfinished business. What a crock.

"And maybe they just built the New York on top of the old one. Then it'd be a whole lot like Midgar, actually."

[wontdoanyless]

"Go there a lot? Haven't been out of my city that much, mostly couldn't afford to." But with the war and everything, guess he had a chance to visit other countries. Although, that was one of the least important reasons why he signed up for it.

"I don't think that's what happened with New York. It was named after York, if I recall..." The details were a bit fuzzy to him, he should brush up on his history later on.

[soldiernoclass]

"Uh-huh. It's almost more like home than my real hometown, these days. I was on my way back when I wound up here, in fact." Within sight of the place, actually. But dying ten million miles away or ten still amounts to dying, unfortunately. At least there's no need to expound further on the details, going this route.

"...Plus, there's a real nice girl there I'd like to see again, someday." And it's been a while, judging from the wistful note in the quietly amused afterthought. "I guess we all have people we're gonna miss while we're stuck here, though, huh?"

[wontdoanyless]

"Sounds like she's someone special. Hope you get the chance to see her again, Zack." Steve doesn't really have a girl to see, but he got his wish about joining the army, so it's not a big deal to him. Of course, Agent Carter was a swell lady, but he barely knew her. "Yeah, someone we miss and wish to return to... although, I wanna go back and join the war."

Maybe he would find Bucky and be on the same squad as him.

[soldiernoclass]

"The war? You're military?" Well, maybe they've got something in common, after all. Although - just from looking at him, Steve can't have been long in the service, already. Color him surprised.

"Hey, I am, too. Or, uh, was. I'm kinda - retired, now. What're you? Infantry? Cadet?"

[wontdoanyless]

"Yes." He smiled, Steve didn't blame Zack for looking surprised. "Joined the army back home and just got through basic training." Well, sorta, it was more like a test to be chosen for the super soldier project, but that part was confidential.

Oh! It was good to meet another soldier, even if he wasn't from Earth. And apparently retired. "I have't been deployed, but I want to be part of the infantry. What were you?"

[soldiernoclass]

Well, that explains that. A soldier's still a soldier, though - even a green one. And Steve seems like good people, on first impressions. (Anyone not trying to kill him does, actually, but he's trying to be a little less cynical than all that.)

"I was in SOLDIER. First Class - that's the top of the heap, to you." Being the last one standing he's considerably less proud of, though it doesn't change the outward show of confidence. "Infantry's not bad, either, though. I knew some really great guys in the army, in my time."

[wontdoanyless]

Wow, top of the line? And Zack looked pretty young too. "You must've really proved yourself in battle. What type of combat did you specialize in?"

[soldiernoclass]

"Up close and personal. SOLDIER's swords only, though. We let the army do the shooting." Which is probably for the best, considering his somewhat lacking marksmanship. "I'm a lot better at dodging bullets than firing them."

Somewhat guiltily, he remembers the state of his shirt. "Well, uh, usually..."

[wontdoanyless]

Swords were definitely unique to hear. A little old-fashioned, but as long as it got the job done. "We can't dodge them all. And hopefully no one will shoot at you here." Steve tried to be a little encouraging, but he felt that it wasn't really a topic to be too lighthearted about.