crystalnexus | Welcome to The Nexus!

Entry tags:

*admin,
*event

Welcome to The Nexus!

The Nexus is no stranger to new arrivals, welcoming approximately 0.83 Drifters a day on average. Today, however, is unusual. A great many more Drifters seem to have appeared all at once, a major influx unlike any seen in over a century. Unprepared to handle so many new faces needing explanations all at the same time, the Welcoming Center is positively abuzz with activity - and all of their brand new citizens are thrust into the fray of the ensuing mayhem of volunteers attempting to calm them.

A. Arrival

One of the main rules of those tasked with receiving new Drifters is to be prepared for anything - for anyone to show up in any state of being, including but not limited to: being in need of immediate medical attention, being in a fit of violence and rage, being completely nude, and any combination of such dramatic situations.

While this is relatively simple to handle if there are only one or two new arrivals on any given day, the number of arrivals this day has greatly exceeded expectations, and so has the chance for those dramatic situations to occur.

It is clear that the Welcoming Committee was not prepared to handle an abundance of these situations happening simultaneously.

Whether you as a new Drifter are experiencing one of these situations, or are simply caught in the crossfire of such circumstances, the typically calm and tranquil setting of the Welcoming Center's rooftop is currently one of chaos. Colorful uniforms of flowing linen denote the volunteers clearly familiar with what is going on, attempting to keep people orderly and diffuse the tension, though they seem to be having mixed results.

B. Orientation

Over the countless years since the Welcoming Center had first been built, a great number of different approaches to integrating Drifters into the populous had been attempted, until it had been decided that one on one personal greeters who took the time to approach new Drifters with empathy and undivided attention was the most successful at curbing the stress of arrival.

Such an approach is practical when dealing with the typical trickle of Drifters; it is, unfortunately, impossible to assign individual greeters to a veritable flood.

Having to resort to some of their more archaic methods, whole groups of Drifters are assigned to singular greeters, with yellowing brochures that had to be dug out of storage being passed around for the masses. Even an old film has been unearthed, and is being projected for all to see on one of the large white walls within the Welcoming Center.

Welcome to The Nexus! Assuming you are calm enough to make it through orientation, you are given this general overview:

The Nexus is a city existing in the crossroads of an interdimensional Rift, and you have been pulled here from your own place and time - and unfortunately it's a one way ticket no one can control, so everyone present is going to do everything they can to make sure you live here comfortably for however long you may be here. You are given access to housing accommodations, a communications device, a map of the city, and the contact information of whichever lucky greeter was assigned to your group.

Assuming you aren't calm enough to make it through orientation - wait, no, where are you going? Please don't just leave through the front door, we haven't finished explaining everything yet, and -

---

This is a special open event post to get the ball rolling on this sandbox! Feel free to use the prompts here, to come up with your own, or to simply start posting to the community! You may have your character be one of the many new arrivals, or you may have your character be an already established citizen dealing with all the discord, it's entirely up to you. Expect there to be several vague arrivals and volunteer characters that aren't player characters, and use them within your prompts however you see fit!

Have fun!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Emet-Selch was, in a word, unimpressed

Really, after all he had been though, after all he had endured, finally he was to have a rest... Only to have it denied. And now he faced the indignity of a poorly-produced orientation video. Those had always been his least favorite invention of Allag...

"If some kind soul manages to somehow make my stay here a pleasant one, perhaps I shall do you all the honor of directing a better introduction to the place."

That was, of course, an unlikely prospect.

Edited 2020-04-02 13:27 (UTC)

"I've been working here for a year and a half and I've never even seen this thing," Touya spoke up from beside Emet-Selch with a similarly unimpressed look on his face. "I don't know where they found it, we've never had to use something like this before."

He pinched the bridge of his nose in utter embarrassment and frustration.

"Hopefully we won't need this thing ever again. We're supposed to do one-on-one in person greetings... this feels more like one of those beginning-of-the-year school assemblies everyone hates."

"Hm, at least some one realizes it."

Emet-Selch supposed he ought not abuse the help right away, if he was to be here in lieu of his repose... And in any case, he had no particular reason to sow strife here, though it had rather become habit, after so long.

"What would you prefer to say in your won words then, as you seem to have some sense of taste?"

Heh, was that almost a compliment? Touya couldn't help the small smirk that quirked at the corner of his lips.

"Depends on the person and their needs. Everyone responds to their new situation differently, which is why we do the one-on-one approach to begin with. I think the main thing I try to get across to every newbie I encounter, though, is to try and make the most of it." The teen waves his hand to the general populous all around them. "This place... isn't ideal. But it isn't so bad. For a lot of people, it's an improvement compared to their old lives. And even if it isn't, there's no use grieving over your losses forever."

"Oh, come now. View it through a different lens! What a wonderfully satirical piece it could be made into."

Ardyn was likewise unimpressed. No, that didn't encapsulate the depth of his feeling: he was seething. Five years since Noctis had gone into the Crystal, and now he had been dragged away from Eos? To... what, some multidimensional crossroads?

Bahamut did like his games, didn't he? What was the old lizard afraid of?

Still, he smiled jovially to the man who had been grousing, betraying not one whit of his true emotions.

"Mayhaps it just needs a new voiceover."

Shabby-looking as this strange man was, he did have a point, although...

"I concede that it would, were I in the mood for such things, and perhaps it will, in time... But I have, you see, recently had a rather trying time of things. I fear it has left me in something of a sour mood."

Well, a different sort of sour mood than the usual one, at least, but that was too personal a subject to be discussed with strangers.

Ah, but wallowing would get him nowhere. The show must go on and thus so, too, must the mask. A well-practiced smirk returned to his lips.

"But it is something to consider for the future which, it seems, will be spent here for some time. Perhaps there will even be other such amusements to be found."

Ardyn was too good a false-facer not to realize he was dealing with another one. It wasn't because any masked slipped, or any true inkling of discomfort had been let out; he just had that hearty suspicion that any suspicious person themselves learned to have. He wondered what exactly this man's 'trying time' had been, and then reminded himself that he didn't care.

He had other things to be doing himself. Let a stranger keep his own to himself.

"Oh, I do hope it won't be too much time! I'd rather not stick around for too long. I have an appointment I'm just dying to get to, you see."

His smile widened at the private joke. He was so tired.

"I assume everyone is rather like of mind, however."

All considered, this was one of the better arrivals in a strange place Malms had gone through. Any number of people were arriving in far worse condition - he had his clothes, his staff, some food he'd had in a pocket for the road, and no injuries he could see.

The lalafell has found where they have the coffee, and is currently sitting on a chair near that, staying out of the way of things, his feet kicking as he sips from his cup. Eventually someone will come ask him to do things, he's fairly sure. But for now, he'll take a moment.

Well, this whole situation certainly was troublesome. And though Jean had searched high and low through the crowd, he'd seen no sign of the usual partner-in-crime who helped him out of tight spots. It seemed his best option now was a bit of socializing among his fellow Drifters.

That kid over there looked calm enough... Or was that a kid? Actually, he looked more like one of those people like out of those cartoons Jean's sister used to watch, about fairies and gnomes or whatever... Huh.

"You don't seem too put out by all this. Got any tips for the rest of us?"

So asks the man with a perpetual case of Resting Bored Face.

Malms looks up at the man speaking to him. No uniform, so presumably an arrival like himself. "If you're not in pressing need of something, staying out of the way of the people here feel like to be the quickest way to getting actual useful help," he says, smiling wryly. "Find yourself a chair and something to drink, and surely trouble will get around to finding us soon enough. There's coffee over there, and I think tea, though I couldn't see well over the table."

Not a Welcoming Committee uniform, at least, though he had been unfortunate enough to show up in his work uniform.

"Just kick back and let other people deal with it, huh? That's almost a nice change, despite the circumstances."

Jean offered a small smile of his own in return. Yeah, this definitely wasn't a child he was talking to. Good thing he'd thought things through before embarrassing himself.

"This really wasn't the sort of break I was hoping for, but I guess it'll have to do... Ah, I'm Jean, by the way. Jean Otus."

"Malms Vovokosi," the tiny person replies. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"So what kind of work do you do when you've not just been unceremoniously yanked from your star and dropped gods know where?"

"Likewise," he replied. "Hm, I'm just a mid-level bureaucrat, really. I'm part of a government department that does inspections of other government departments. it's... usually about as exciting as it sounds."

"What kind of inspections, exactly?" Malms says, smiling wryly. "Because I've aided in a few customs inspections where 'exciting' is probably the most polite word to describe what happened."

"Mostly checking records against other records, making sure branch office data matched up with central office data, that sort of thing. Just making sure people are doing their jobs properly, mostly. What sort of inspection have you been involved in?"

"Oi, where'd you get the coffee, kid?"

A young man approached the lalafell wearing a bright red firefighter's jacket that said 'Burning Rescue' in bold yellow letters across the back. The rest of his clothes were black - a black turtleneck and black leather pants - making the jacket somehow stand out even more against his body.

He looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes and a hand pressed to his forehead like he was staving off a headache from hell.

Malms nods towards the table with the coffee. "You'll want the one on the right - apparently decaf means they take the stimulant out of the stuff, gods only know why."

He was... quite eloquently spoken for someone who appeared to be no more than four years old.

But then Lio didn't know too many four-year-olds that would drink coffee. Just another tick on the box of absolutely bizarre things he'd encountered today, and frankly he was too tired to question it now.

"Thanks."

Lio grabbed one of the styrofoam cups and poured the steaming hot (caffeinated) coffee into the cup. He didn't bother with sugar or creamer, instead bringing it right up to his lips and taking a large gulp.

And burning his tongue in the process.

"Augh, damnit," he grumbled as he tried not to spill the hot coffee all over the floor while coughing into his cup. "I swear I will never get used to that."

"I'm curious as to what they insulate those dispensers with, that keeps the heat in so well," Malms comments. Hopping down off his chair, he walks over and offers a small bottle filled with a bluish liquid to the person. "That should take care of the burn for you," he says.

Lio looked a bit mortified that he'd even burned himself in the first place - but he wasn't going to mess around with any injuries. He couldn't afford to anymore. Reluctantly, he took the bottle from the lalafell's hand, and popped off the cork.

"... Again, thanks," he replied softly as he lifted the bottle and took a small sip.

The taste was bitter, and none too pleasant, and he almost spat it out then and there. But, he noticed, as soon as the liquid had hit his tongue, all the tingling and pain had subsided as if it had never been there in the first place. Whatever that stuff was, it worked.

"Ugh," he groaned, passing it back to Malms with a wince. "What in the world is that stuff? It helped, but... I've never tasted anything like it."

"A mild healing potion," Malms says. Taking the vial back, he gives it a sniff. "Probably one I picked up in the Shroud, if I'm judging it right - smells like Tinolqa mistletoe. And it's not supposed to taste good; a proper potion for someone out in the field should make you consider whether taking it is in fact worse than the alternative. Like your coffee there, with neither sugar nor cream to blunt the bitterness of the bean."

"Hm."

A medicine, then. Lio couldn't remember the last time he took medicine of any sort. He wouldn't call coffee a medicine, per se, but he understood the idea of something getting a job done without regards to the taste.

"Sugar wasn't easy to come by for us - cream even less so, so I got used to drinking it black. The temperature didn't used to bother me either," he explained, picking his coffee back up and taking a much more careful and considered sip. Still hot, but he was going to do his best to avoid burning his mouth again, if only to avoid needing more of that medicine.

"Coffee, but no milk or sugar? What a strange place that must have been," Malms muses. "Oh, but forgive my manners, I've failed to introduce myself. My name is Malms Vovokosi."

Lio bristled a bit at that comment. He couldn't blame Malms for not understanding what he meant - how could he possibly even know what Lio's situation had been? - but it had still rubbed him the wrong way.

He tried not to let it show.

"Lio Fotia. And you're mistaken. By 'we' I meant me and my people - not everyone from my world."

"No, I understood your meaning, and it's what perplexes me," Malms replies, tilting his head to eye this new acquaintance. "Unless the star you hail from is very different from mine, coffee isn't something that grows just anywhere. Unless you hail from somewhere they farm it, it's likely to come with a fair bit of expense for the shipping. Sugar you can get from sugarcane, from beets, from the sap of certain trees if you know what you're doing, and cattle of some sort seem to show up nearly everywhere."

"So I'm trying to figure out how you get coffee, and yet lack the sugar or cream, and running into a failure of imagination. My apologies if I offended, Lio, it was not intended."

Lio took another sip of his coffee, sliding down against the floor to sit by Malms with his back to the wall.

"We lived on the run. Tinned coffee, instant coffee, that was easy to steal - and for us, easy to make on the fly. Sugar wasn't commonly something we went looking for, since it has no nutritional value, and was heavy and less portable. And milk spoils - completely out of the question if you're looking for food to bring to a distant settlement."

Someone did come along to ask him something, but it wasn't quite what he had been expecting.

"When did the cat drag you here?"

Soft Ghost grinned at the sight of Malms and crouched to be on an eye level with him. Her knees cracked ominously and she winced, but soon she was grinning again at the sight of the tactical nuke in lalafel form.

"Hope you're staying out of trouble."

Malms' pensive expression changes to a smile when he sees who's found him. "A couple of bells at most," he says. "Since nobody was dying or asking anything directly of me, it seemed wise to stay out of the way till things calmed down. I've no doubt someone will find something they need an adventurer to do soon enough, but I don't feel any need to hurry that along."

"Aye, true enough." Soft chuckled slightly, shaking her head in sympathetic affection. How many times had she been on the end of that? "It's always when they see you with your feet up, isn't it? The sound of my nightmares isn't the thundering of Magitek or the screaming of Primals, it's a pleasant voice asking: 'Oh, Ms Ghost, I see you're not busy right now...'"

She pulled a face of horror, as if she'd just seen something dreadful, and then laughed.

"But that's as may be. You've been introduced to the place, aye?"

A

In roughly the year and a half he's been a member of the Welcoming Committee, this was probably the second worst day he'd ever experienced. All the noise was bad enough to deal with on its own, but worse than that, they were simply too understaffed to deal with the physical volume.

Touya allowed the medical professionals to take care of the more pressing emergencies; his job was to quell the panic among those having total meltdowns, which involved jumping between quite a few people in a very short amount of time.

Wearing the colorful uniform that denoted him as an official greeter, Touya approached anyone that seemed to be handling their sudden change in setting with, well, anything less than grace, with his hands held up in a calming gesture.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be alright. Try to take a few deep breaths and I can explain what's going on."

B.

Well this was a less than ideal way to handle the new arrivals. But what choice did they have? Touya found himself wishing, probably for the two hundredth time in his life, that he could be in six places at once, but as it was, his workload was about to get quintupled in only one day. He still had three or four newer Drifters he'd been assigned to still relying on his help, and now he was being assigned at least twenty more...

As the (pretty cheesy looking) orientation video faded out and the lights in the hall were being turned back on, Touya turned to his group of newbies and held out a set of pens and brochures.

"Well now that that's over... hey everyone, I'm Kinomoto Touya, I'll be the one to help you get adjusted here in the interim. Some of the information in these pamphlets is a little outdated, but these should help with some of the bigger questions. If you have any other questions, I'm here to answer them. I'll give you my cell number, too, so you'll want to write that down for when we get you your own device. You'll be able to call or text me pretty much any time if you have any troubles. Just... try not to bother me at three in the morning unless it's an emergency, yeah?"

Jean stepped away from the crowd with a sigh after the welcoming video. In a way, its corniness had been almost comforting. This was just something routine around here.

Still, he needed to think, and thinking was best done while smoking. Thank goodness he hadn't forgotten his cigarette case and lighter today. He took a cigarette from the case and lit it, cupping it to shield the flame from the breeze. He took his first long drag and exhaled slowly.

"Ah, I'm really stuck."

"That makes two of us," Lio spoke up from behind.

He'd come out here to get some fresh air, to get away from all the crowds, but when he saw someone pull out a pack of smokes, he'd made a beeline towards them, desperate for something to calm his nerves.

"Sorry to ask, I don't know how hard they are to come by here, but may I...?" Lio held out his hand for one with a tired, sad look on his face. It probably seemed a little ironic for someone clearly wearing a firefighter's jacket to be asking for a cigarette, but pretty much everything about Lio wearing a firefighter's jacket was ironic anyway.

Jean took a moment to asses the young man who had addressed him. huh, that wasn't like any firefighter's jacket he'd ever seen... but then, he supposed it wasn't one of ACCA's.

He opened his cigarette case again and took a moment to look at its contents. Hm, he was well-stocked for the moment, though he might have to ration at some point... but if ever there was a time to be in need of a smoke, this was it. He pulled out a cigarette and handed it over, along with his lighter.

"Sure. I didn't see anything about tobacco one way or another in that video. I'll have to ask around."

"Thanks," Lio said with a small, grateful smile as he took the cigarette and the lighter from him carefully. That he even needed to use something like a lighter was frustrating to him, but beggars couldn't be choosers. He brought the cigarette to his lips, struggling to strike the lighter a few times, before managing to light the end. He let the tip smolder for a moment before taking a long drag, holding the lighter back towards Jean.

This wasn't the flavor he liked best, but it still gave him the buzz he was looking for, and he let out a breath of bliss.

"I try not to carry them on me when I'm at the station, so I didn't have any when I showed up here."

Jean took back his lighter with a small nod.

"Ah, yeah, I can see how that might not be popular where you work. I only just get away with it at my office."

The corners of his lips quirked up into a slight smile.

"Are they expensive where you're from, too? I wouldn't be able to afford them, if I had to pay."

"I don't work there," Lio corrected, taking another drag. "They've offered us a place to centralize while we try to find some place more permanent. But I needed some clothes so they leant me a jacket."

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "As for the price... I dunno. Didn't make a habit of it til a week ago. My..." General? Ex-general? He wasn't sure how to refer to Gueira honestly... "My friend usually grabbed packs for me. I didn't ask where he got them."

Huh... Jean wondered who "we" was, but it probably wasn't his place to pry.

"Ah, my mistake. Hm, they're expensive where I come from because of taxes... Something about making them hard to get out of respect for the ex-smoker king, or something like that."

It was still strange to think about said kind being his grandfather. Lotta had had a much easier time adjusting, it seemed. The advantage of youth, maybe?

"Hopefully that won't be the case here, if they even have them."

"Strange reason to tax something. It isn't as though taxes would affect a king - simply sounds like an excuse to bleed the people dry. Not that I have much a clue about such things."

It's not like Lio paid any taxes a single day in his life.

"For both our sakes, I hope they have them here."

He blew one more puff of smoke before holding his free hand out to Jean amicably. "Lio Fotia."

Jean shrugged. It seemed a little silly to him too, but that was royalty for you... Well, the real ones, anyway.

"I'll look around, one orientation is done and I know where I'm going to be staying." He sighed, exhaling a long cloud of smoke. "And then if I'm lucky, I just have to figure out how I'm going to get hold of them. It's not like I know any owners of manufacturing companies here..."

He reached out and shook the proffered hand.

"Jean Otus."

Edited 2020-04-12 05:34 (UTC)

Lio shook his hand back, the tiniest smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"You'll probably have better luck than I will at finding the kind you like. I can't stand the taste of menthol."

It had essentially the exact opposite effect that he'd been looking for - he didn't want any sort of cooling sensation in his throat, he was looking for a burn.

"I had a pack of Kreteks I left stashed with my things - those I do know are harder to get a hold of and it's funny that's one of the things I'm most upset I'd left behind. Speaking of which... You don't have an extra lighter by any chance, do you, Jean Otus?" He felt a bit naked without some source of fire on him, even if it was artificial.

Another shiny world, another sandbox, another place to pretend to be new to, to adapt to. At this point in his life, fine, whatever, he'll live. He just wanted a pizza, a place to sleep and shit, and maybe a cat to pet.

What did matter was pizza.

"Yo, what greasy food's around here?"

"Ah... That's a good question. I'll be happy as long as there's bread, I think."

That was more important than greasy things, as far as Jean was concerned... Though he'd probably need something more substantial eventually, huh. Well, He'd worry about that later.

"I haven't seen anyone around who looked like they were starving, so that's a good sign."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Welcome to The Nexus!

B

no subject

no subject

no subject

who tf is this

no subject

so sorry for delay have been very busy

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

things have been so busy i'm literally dashing this reply off during my break lol sorry for delay

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

everyone line up to get shit on

no subject