☆MINGLE IN THE CITY

[interdimanagers]

Who: NEWBIES FROM EVERYWHERE.
What: More rescuers and musicians have arrived. This is a non specific mingle log for whatever you want to do that is intro related!
When: March 9th, 2055
Where: Anywhere in Vista City!
Warnings: Could be anything, or possibly nothing.

☆VISTA CITY

You'll quickly notice that Vista City comes with multiple levels - the ground level, that actually touches the earth, and then a second level of streets and walkways that occurs halfway up the mountainous buildings. Cars streak down both sets of speedways, and the signs of life scatter every inch of the towers surrounding you. At the same time, though, a city of this magnitude leaves a lot of nooks and crannies left frequently unseen - something you'll definitely have to take advantage of. In the outer ring of the city the population is less dense than it gets towards the center, so at the least it gives you the opportunity to get your bearings.

You'll find that there is no shortage of people stalking around in the darkness, even as the sun sets and night totally takes hold. A lot of them are dressed pretty funny, too, and any insecurities you had about looking ridiculous can tentatively be put aside. The costumes you were left do allow you to blend in about as well as you could hope. You've been advised to avoid talking to locals as much as possible, at least until you've figured things out better. There is a notable absence of homeless people on the streets, which could mean any number of things.

RESCUERS WILL BE GIVEN THE FOLLOWING LOOT:

• ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING: if your character doesn’t already speak English, they will be given some time with a crown like technological device that seems the be able to psychically teach people languages at a rapid pace. Whatever has been enabling communication so far won’t cover you once you enter the city, so it’s important that you’re prepared. How easily a person’s brain accepts this information will vary based on unseen neurological factors, and can range from perfect fluency to an uneasy second language. (On an OOC level, whether or not your character struggles with picking up English is completely up to you.) Most of this training will be done on the trip to Tera.
• THEIR DESIGNATED TOOLS: any items your character was designated on your application will be given to them now. They’ll have some degree of choice in what they get, but everything is limited in supply. There are manuals for everything, but how much you can be fucked to read them will vary. Also, some of them aren’t in English or anything else even remotely recognizable.
• COMMUNICATION DEVICES: Everybody will get a communicator, which are worn around the back of your ear and project a holographic field over your eyes when activated. The device itself must be manually switched on with your fingers, and from there on out your exact method of controlling it depends on the settings. Some of the more basic functions can be manipulated with “brain waves” (though nothing very complicated) and the rest is mostly voice or touch activated, though you can also set it up to be controlled with blinking and eye movement if you are a “pro”. Its functions include voice, voice-to-text, and a sort of janky manual text mode that you have to touch the screen to use. Video chat is not available, though it is capable of recording video from your POV to be shared manually after the fact. It can also share still images. Various channels can be set up and accessed, both private and public, much like a Teamspeak server is used in gaming.
• HOLO EMITTERS (LIMITED): The amount of these available are limited by “plot convenience.” Do you want your character to have to struggle with their alien appearance to get by constantly? Then imagine there wasn’t enough of them to go around and your character was unlikely or benevolent enough to not receive one. Would you rather they have access to one? Then you can have one. A holo emitter is capable of projecting a holographic image around your character and disguising their appearance, the complexity of which is entirely up to you. The major problems with it are that 1) it can’t conceal things that the hologram doesn’t actually touch – cow horns could be covered in a hologram to look like a hat, but it couldn’t make them look as if there is nothing there at all, and 2) the holograms have no mass, and so if anyone tries to touch them they’ll realize they are just light projections. Also, like most of the equipment, they only work for a few hours before running out of power.
• AMERICANA DISGUISES: Clothing, make up, the works – everything the average joe needs to pass themselves off as a resident of Vista City. Outfits are perhaps a bit more eccentric and flashy than you’re used to...or maybe a bit less, depending where you come from. Either way, it’s a specific look, and there should be enough here to accommodate new outfits for all the humanoids. If you’re a horse, you’re sort of on your own. What your character ends up with is up to you, though “space rave” is a good way to describe common aesthetics. There are also a lot of hooded coats, hats, and other articles that would be good for hiding inhuman characteristics.
• RATIONS: Enough food at water, tightly compact, to last everyone for a few days. It’s going to start to run out quickly, though, so the group is going to need some breadwinners sooner rather than later.
• FAKE IDS: Complete with each individual's image (or a human approximation) and a made up name. It's enough info to get a job with, they'll explain, if you can manage it. Avoid pushing the forgery's limits, though, if you can. Silver and Gold made them themselves so they expect they are excellent quality, but you can never be too careful.

Comments

Kairi - OTA - Sorry I'm late to the party

[radiant_bloom]

Okay. She needed to talk to Riku, she needed to get where they were living settled, she needed to get used to this place. It was just so... so... Loud. It was almost too much. She was used to the island, and the small town on the main land, she was used to the quiet peace of Sora's heart. She was used to Radiant Garden, not that she remembered much of it. Battle and combat noise she could handle, but this was just constant and loud and everywhere. It was going to take some getting used to.

All she wanted to do was hole up somewhere quiet and calm down, but she couldn't. She wasn't going to let this, or anything, stop her from saving Sora. So she had to get used to this. Had to focus. Had to learn. So she'd go to the loudest places she could stand and just... wander around, trying to adjust to the tremendous noise and press of people.

[thetruehistorian]

[It's so easy to get lost in a crowd, as Robin well knows. The key is using it to your advantage. Matching pace, matching posture, appearing to know where you're going- it all comes so naturally after years of practice. So when someone deviates- looking stressed, out of place, lost, and overwhelmed- Robin notices. She strides toward Kairi deliberately, and drops a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder.]

Would you care for a bit of company?

[Robin tilts her head, part of communicating the question. It also happens to give her an opportunity to make sure the girl can see the communicator hooked behind her ear. If this is an ally, she'll know what it means.]

[radiant_bloom]

She saw the communicator. But did the other side have something similar? Oh... she hated all this secrecy. She just wanted to find Sora, help him, then help him to help[ save everyone else. All this secret agent stuff was fun to play at when they were kids, but more recently she's come to crave the real and straight forward.

But for Sora she'd do anything, go anywhere. Just as she would for Riku.

She smiled, and nodded, doing her best to try and push her own discomfort aside. It was easier to do when there was someone around. She tucked some hair behind her ear, to let the other girl see her own communicator. That would be something, right?

[thetruehistorian]

It was enough. Robin smiled brightly, taking the girl by the arm and guiding her through the crowd, cutting through as effortlessly as a dolphin wades through water. There'd be a bus stop not far ahead, judging by the way a bus in the street suddenly downshifted and hit its brakes. There'll be a bench, some semblance of protection from the elements. A great place to sit for awhile without drawing attention.]

I'm afraid I forgot your name from last time we met. Mine's Attila. What do you think of the city so far?

[radiant_bloom]

She went with her, hoping she hadn't just made a huge mistake. She didn't want to put anyone in danger, she just wanted to help save the people they were there to save. She was still more than a little distracted, however, and used that to her advantage to put off lying for as long as possible. the problem was, she wanted to both avoid giving her name and to avoid admitting how overwhelming the city was, and she wasn't sure how to do both at the same time. Either of those could have been a test trying to catch her out. She hated having to be suspicious and worried. She just wanted to be herself. That was who Sora and Riku loved, that was who they were friends with.

She finally decided to answer the actual question, hoping that if the so far was a trap, her answer wouldn't drop her into it.

"This area is a little crowded for my taste," she said as if admitting something sheepishly. She was terrified it came out too weak. Did the this area qualify it enough? Were other areas any quieter? Had she just put them all in danger?

[thetruehistorian]

"I prefer places a bit quieter, myself. But you get used to this. It isn't as bad as it seems right at first," Robin said. She dropped gratefully onto a bench under the bus stop's awning, stretching long legs luxuriously before draping one over the other.

"I'm surprised you aren't wearing any headphones. Most girls your age are lost in the things." It's one part helpful tip for blending in, one part suggestion to take the edge off the noise of the city. Robin leaned back, lacing her fingers behind her head. "Too many amazing bands to keep up with, I suppose. Do you have a favorite?"

[radiant_bloom]

She sat beside her. "Adding more noise?" she asked, almost horrified at the thought. How would that make it any better? Not that she had ever listened to any big groups before, mostly just locals who got together at parties. And she spent most of those parties just hanging out with her friends, and really didn't focus on much of anything else.

"Ah, no favorites," she said trying for casual to cover her earlier flub. "Just... you know... whatever." Lame, Kairi. Lame lame lame.

[thetruehistorian]

"Headphones sit right on or sometimes a little inside your ears, so other noise gets muted," Robin explained. "I think silver or gold ones are quite stylish, but a little over the top. I'll probably find some white ones, myself." Robin hoped that hint would be enough to ease the girl's concerns a little. She dropped her arms down to her lap.

"In any case, if I can help you find a favorite band, let me know. Most things are better with friends, no?"

[radiant_bloom]

She relaxed a bit, hoping she was right to trust, and nodded. "Is there a way to choose bands based on who is in them? To... find a particular musician? That might be less daunting," she said. Was that too obvious? She wanted Riku to be here, but she hadn't seen him since she arrived in the city.

Then she smiled, a real honest smile and she nodded, finally having at least a moment where she felt like herself. "Yeah. Everything is better with friends."

[thetruehistorian]

"I can't see why there wouldn't be," Robin said. Her eyes took on a teasing glint. "Have you got a crush on a certain musician? We could visit a music store and find them if you'd like."

[consocius]

Sora hasn't been getting out as much as he used to, since one of his band mates had all but disappeared off the face of Tera. But since spring was arriving, a new season, he'd be needing new clothes. In all honesty, he could get his stylists to do this stuff for him, and they'd probably prefer it, but getting out again seems like something important he has to do.

The Wave Boulevard Mega Mall has become a familiar place to Sora over the months, since he'd gone shopping there for Solstice presents in December. It's big enough to get lost in the crowd pretty easily, and has plenty of stores and other amenities to explore. He still hasn't been to all of them.

He'd just finished shopping at one of his favorite stores to get clothes and carries his bag with him as he heads to the food court. When he'd left Pride HQ, he'd donned a pair of sunglasses and a newsboy cap that does almost nothing to hide his distinctive spiky hair, but it's better than his usual hoodie-wearing approach. He's trying, but he's still not great at disguising himself in public. He's also not one of the most popular members of Flashstep though, so that always seems to be to his advantage in the not-getting-bombarded-by-fans department. Being here with Jamie, who was more popular, would probably up his chances of being recognized by about tenfold, so he's shopping alone, but keeping in touch with him on his phone by occasional texting.

He picks a nice spot beneath an indoor planted palm tree near a loud, gushing fountain in order to do this, placing both his shopping bag of clothes and the napkin-wrapped soft pretzel he'd just bought down on the bench beside him.

[radiant_bloom]

She had been looking for a quieter place where she could try and call Riku on the communicator for a rescue, thinking that maybe this was too much too soon, maybe he had some advice for how to handle the noise, the press of bodies the glimpse of spiky hair. Wait. What?

She spun to try and find what she had seen out of the corner of her.... That hair. Who else could have that hair? She headed for him, apologizing as she slid past people with various levels of success. She was not used to a crowd like this, and more people seemed content to shove past her than to move out of her way. She pushed through, apologizing where she had to, desperate whenever she lost sight of that hair. Finally the crowd seemed to break... or rather... thin.

She all but fell out of the crowd, stumbling forward in front of him like a scene from a shojo manga. And it was him. Sunglasses and a weird hat did nothing to change that.

"Sora," she whispered, her heart filling. She found him. Tears leaked from her eyes as she rushed forward and hugged him. "Sora. I found you. I found you." She kep whispering the words, desperately. "Just like I promised."

[consocius]

At the sight of her, his eyes widen and Sora drops his phone. Again. He's lost count of how many times that has happened now, though thankfully this time it ends up landing in his soft bag of clothes.

She says his name, and it's not just her face that's familiar, it's her voice too.

"Sora! Riku!"

He hears her call out in his head, sees her waving from the ocean shore, even as the real Kairi, right here in front of him, tears in her eyes, comes forward to hug him. He remains still for the moment, arms at his sides, too shocked. "You're..."

The image of her in sunlight comes back, smiling at him.

"W-we're back." That was his own voice in his mind. It doesn't take long at all before he realizes this is another vision... A memory? And just like many times before, there are emotions that come with it, and they wash over him like a tidal wave and pull him under before he's had a chance to take a breath.

"You're home." Kairi's voice again.

Instead of overwhelming relief, a heavy weight being lifted from him like when he'd first seen Riku at the charity concert and had ended up in tears... This time it's joy, exhilaration. A laugh escapes, half-suppressed, and he briefly returns her hug before he's pulling away to look at her face again, his own eyes visible over the sunglasses slipping down his nose. He brings his hand up to wipe some of her tears away, the grin that had spread over his features at the return of the memory fading into a look of something more like concern. Worry too, sneaks up on him.

That had happened when he'd seen Riku as well. A concern for their safety. A suspicion that they're in trouble, and he needs to keep them both safe. He looks around them quickly, to see if he recognizes anyone from Pride. He doesn't immediately, but it doesn't assay his worry any.

"Come on. We gotta walk," he whispers back.

[radiant_bloom]

"Alright," she said. Of course, if he told her she had to go tightrope walking over acid, she would have agreed at this point. Sora. Here. And he seemed... he was okay. He wasn't hurt. And he was clearly concerned about her. Which meant this was him, he remembered. He had to remember. She stood, pushing away the rest of her tears, unable to stop the smile, unable to stop more tears from flowing. She found Sora. She kept her promise.

Everything would be fine now. She offered him a hand, so he could stand to. The breeze caught her hair, so different, yet so much the same, as that day when they came back from the ocean. Sora. Her heart filled. Sora was here and safe. Riku was safe. And this time Kairi wasn't going to be left behind. This time... This time she would protect them both. With everything she had.

[consocius]

Smiling, Sora takes the offered hand and stands, picking his bag up to swing over his free arm but pretty much forgetting about the pretzel he'd bought. There were more important things.

He leads them away from the food court area and on an aimless walk around the mall, eventually dropping her hand when he realizes he was still holding it. He quickly shoves both hands in his pockets. "You're with Rick, and his cousin Nora, right? Uh, do you know Roxas from Nuclear Parliament too?"

They were all people from his dreams and visions. His memories. Though Kairi is the first to pretty much outright tell him she knows him. He'd kind of gotten that feeling from Rick, though.

[radiant_bloom]

Rick? Nora? She remembered one of the girls saying Riku was going by Ricky, though she still had issues with the whole lying thing. It made no sense. She guessed Rick would be Riku. But who was Nora?

So she focused on the part that shocked her more, that she could speak to.

"Roxas is here too?" she asked in a startled whisper. Well, she supposed that made sense, since she had been told Namine was here too. Both of their nobodies. She'd just have to make sure Roxas was next on her list after Sora. The more help they had, the sooner they could save everyone.

[consocius]

So she did know Roxas, then! He still wanted to ask the other two that. But this is good, he's getting answers, and they aren't drawing too much attention to themselves either.

"Yeah, he's in a Virgo band called Nuclear Parliament. He's the drummer. I've only met him once before. But I'd only seen him in those... In my dreams once, too."

Memories. They definitely had to be memories, there was no denying it now. It was the only thing that made sense, though he's still not sure how he got from there to here, or why.

The guys in the robot masks. The one that he'd played music with, hadn't he said something about things being taken from him? That must have been his memories, and some of the stuff that he could do in them. Like call on his keyblade. But he can do that again, and he's remembered some things, so he must gradually be getting the stuff back.

"I've seen you four times now," he whispers.

[radiant_bloom]

"You've seen me a lot more than that," she said back, just as softly. She knew that they told her this was dangerous, but she couldn't believe it. Sora would never hurt her, just as she would never hurt him. She trusted him to protect her, so now she had to step up and protect him. That was what being best friends was about. She didn't care about the danger to herself, so long as she could save Sora, because then together, they could save everyone.

"We made a promise. I know it's hard to remember, there was a time when I couldn't either. But we're together again now, Sora," she said softly. She squeezed his hand, holding it tight. "We don't every have to be apart, if we don't want to. And even if we aren't physically together, I'm always with you. And you're always with me."

She hoped the words would resonate with him, help him remember. But if it didn't work, she had her lucky charm. And that had never failed to keep him safe, to bring them back together.

[consocius]

It wasn't Sora who'd hurt her. She's right, he never would. But the CEO of Pride had already questioned him and done something weird to him just for drawing Kairi and Riku. So of course he was worried what would happen to them if she discovered that they were actually there.

He still remembers the dream he'd had with Kairi making the charm, and how she said the three of them would always be together. He takes a deep breath as she squeezes his hand, but he has to let it go.

"You need to find Rick. Find him and stay with him whenever you can, okay? Look after each other. I'll see you again," but you've got to be careful, he doesn't add. He needed to be careful with his own words, too. He'd already accidentally called Rick 'Riku' once. He couldn't do the same with Kairi.

"What do people call you?" That was a safe question, right? Hopefully she understood it.

[rising_wing]

"Something else isn't it?"

Riku walked up and stood beside her.

"Sorry I couldn't get to you earlier, I was making a delivery for my job." He paused. Oh, he was going to have to tell her to get a job too. "Which... we should probably get you one too. We don't really have a lot of resources here."

[radiant_bloom]

She hugged him as soon as he spoke, clinging to him, clinging to this anchor of home and heart among the chaos and noise of this place. She did step back after a moment. "A job?" she asked. Then she shook her head. She needed more than that. "Is there somewhere" safe "that we can go and talk? I'm still confused about a lot." She'd admit that to Riku. She had nothing to hide from her friends, never had. That she had been told she would have to hide things from Sora... that wasn't sitting right with her. At all. She wanted to work everything out with Riku. She trusted him, completely. Even if she hated what he said, so long as he wasn't leaving her behind, she'd do what Riku told her. He's been here longer, he'd know more. Oh, she might question, discuss, possibly even argue - though she doubted that - but ultimately, she would listen to him. She trusted him more than she trusted even her own heart.

She trusted Sora the same way.

[rising_wing]

"Yeah, of course. C'mon."

He takes her to a park, and when they find a nice bench to sit on. "Something on your mind?"

[radiant_bloom]

She went and sat with him, leaning slightly against him. "Only everything," she said quietly. "I don't understand how lying to Sora, to anyone, is going to help them remember, I've hardly even seen where I'm going to live," if that, "I don't know why we'd spend time on things like jobs when what we most need to do is get people to remember who they are and fight their kidnappers, and how are we supposed to get anyone to believe the truth if we lie to them just as much as their abductors do?"

She wrapped her arms around Riku's arm and rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Why aren't we fighting?" she whispered.

[rising_wing]

"This is different," Riku said gently. "We're not the ones leading this battle, so we need step into line here."

He sighed. "I don't like it either, I really don't. But sometimes taking the low road is the best."

He put a hand on Kairi's knee and give it pat. "Just... just keep your head down, and we'll be fighting soon enough. We need to be smart. Because," he paused. "Some of us have gone missing since we've came here. So we can't go charging in without knowing what's happening."

[radiant_bloom]

She closed her eyes. "Missing how? And why?" she asked softly.

She sighed a bit. "I'm not so good at keeping my head down, Riku," she said softly. "NAnd I'm not as smart as you and Sora are. Maybe he was right back then. That I'm just in the way, trying to help."

She curled her legs under herself as she leaned against his arm.