melodiesofkupo | ( video ) Curti Center Employee AMA

[ The feed starts with the image of a dark-haired young woman, brows furrowed in concentration as she seems to be fiddling with the slate. Following several seconds she pulls back, seemingly satisfied. ]

Steady… There, it’s started.

Hello everyone, I hope many of you are doing well. We are the employees of Curti Center charged with assisting outworlders and newcomers to Vaikuntha.

First, I want to extend our apologies in our failing to answer all questions from the start. We found ourselves overwhelmed by the number of people and severely understaffed for the endeavour. Though not an excuse, we are always ready and available to assist you to the best of our abilities.

That said, I do feel it is our responsibility to inform those who were guided by Sarah Cornelia that she has departed from the Center, and we wish the best for her. The rest of us will do our utmost to carry on in her stead, which brings us to…

[ Stare. Staring off-screen. Yo, new guy, that’s your cue unless someone else wants to take over this part. ]

You’ve made it sound like she died-- what, is it my turn already?

Yes, in fact it is!

[The new guy turns out to be a blond man, but he doesn’t appear onscreen until he’s done talking, everyone else moving to allow him to be the center of attention.]

Hey, I’m Gi. I’ve met some of you and talked to some of you. I just got hired at the Curti Center, so I don’t know a lot of what goes on there, but I can tell you anything you want to know about the rest of Vaikuntha!

[ This last sentence earns him a small nudge from the third companion - a stern-looking, brown-haired young man, who decides it’s time to switch before his newest coworker gets too carried away with his enthusiasm. ]

As long as they’re questions we’re capable of answering. Anything from school or employment applications to Asterisks and housing - we would be happy to fill you in on the knowledge required should you wish to blend in with the local community.

[ Well, simply speaking it’s kind of their responsibility. He takes a moment to adjust his glasses before resuming. ]

I’m aware that many of you have taken interest in discovering the secrets of Vaikuntha and what lies beyond it. While I could point you in the direction of books that cover the subject in more detail, the Dream Width in particular is subject to an on-going research, so that the accidents such as the one we’ve witnessed recently can be avoided. And, of course - perhaps this shouldn’t be left for last - we’re continuously searching for a way to get you all home safely.

It’ll--ah, hmm, nevermind.

Nevermind…? [ Sylvarie takes a moment to look politely confused, but shrugs afterward and continues with addressing their audience. Ah, why did the screen have to be this small? ]

I suppose if… you want to ask questions about ourselves, we can discuss that as well. We do reserve the right to not answer, but the truth of the matter is—we don’t want to be strangers.

[ Well, some of them didn’t, anyway. At least, not completely. However, in that instance it occurs to her that there is one important detail they have yet to bring up. ]

Wait, I haven’t introduced myself. Everyone, we may need to start over—

[ A small groan can be heard off-screen. ]

Just drop our contact details below, this is already taking longer than it should.

We can’t be that crude about it!

Say your name, then. Nothing crude about that.

S… Sylvarie Aila Jue, of the Royal City of Myste Aura…

[ Was there anything else she was meaning to say? Nobody will ever know, because upon hearing that, the man with glasses accepts defeat and leans in for a brief moment, awkwardly bumping against Sylvarie’s shoulder in the process. ]

Lean. From Min’To...-

Kweh!

[ Hold on, that didn’t sound like a person… ]

Machi? How did you enter—? Saku—? Machi, no!

[ Alas, the perpetrator seems to have a mind of its own as a ball of fluffy black feathers charges right toward the screen, chirping merrily as it begins pecking at the glass. Feel free to sit down and enjoy these precious seconds of rare Chocobo footage before the feed abruptly shuts off. ]

[ ooc note: this is a joint video post of the following Curti Center employees: Sylvarie (purple), Gi (orange) and Lean (green) - guest starring Machi the Chocobo. As such, the replies might come from any of them - this is a completely open post where all sorts of threadjacking are allowed. If you have any questions, feel free to PM any of the players or poke us on Discord!

IC-ly, this takes place after the event. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Geezards? That’s quite a bold comparison. [ Hunk may not see it, but he’s actually managed to make her laugh a little. ]

Though I expect you came across many hardships, the ability to travel to other worlds sounds amazing. The Interdimensional Cloud keeps us from doing that. As you saw, spend too much time there or be ill -prepared, and you’ll find yourself trapped in a memory until someone breaks you out of it. It could almost be considered a miracle Biggs and Wedge were able to recover everyone who arrived in the first wave, considering the circumstances, Unfortunately if you enter the Interdimensional Cloud again, it is a risk.

As for the memory itself, it did contain that. Two of those who were in our group identified it as an event in the past of the world called Crystallis so many outworlders came from.

Okay, so it had to be someone's memory, right? If people knew it was from Crystallis, then they should be able to figure out whose it is.

[ There's a moment of pause, of typing... notifications coming and going. ]

A lot of the memories I went through just kind of... ignored me. Except for the person who owned the memory. Maybe the person whose memory it was got picked up by the airships and we don't know it?

And what do we need to be better prepared for next time? Two people ten years ago, and then tons of people twice over the past few months. We're gonna go back out there one way or another. Can we have some kind of way to get back to the airships?

Like a grappling hook. It's hard enough breaking people out of memories, we shouldn't have to risk getting stuck there after we're done. I was an engineer back home and magitek is coming pretty easily to me, so I'll draft something up if you guys need it.

Also a lot of things don't seem as bad compared to a moon that was actually an egg for a world-destroying space bug. That was crazy.

In terms of what we may need, the answer might simply be raw manpower. If the pattern repeats where we welcome a few dozen more every month, each of those people will need the appropriate looking after where we may have failed with you all. Consider we were expecting the usual pattern to repeat itself again—four basic level workers to the Center to two outworlders at most. That was the situation we were most prepared for, each able to contribute their own part to help with acclimation. Yet when the signals and points came, the situation turned out to be so much more.

A grappling hook, simple as it is in theory, might work even if it’s execution would be more difficult in practice. If others are willing to donate their time and experience to developing even that, it could save us perhaps more time to dedicate to researching the Interdimensional Cloud and organising the information.

[ Yet here she pauses for some time, as if she were going to delay commenting any further. In reality, she had to retype her reply several times, for the possibility Hunk had just brought up in combination with her theory and worries just turned her blood Cold. ]

In the memory I speak of, we were ignored by the subject as well. And there couldn’t have been another the dream had belonged to, for she was the only person present.

How much are you familiar with the story of Vaikuntha’s creation?

[ As much as he wants to touch on their staffing problem, he knows it won't get either of them anywhere, especially when there's more important stuff at play. ]

My Paladin armor has a grappling hook in it, but it doesn't work right now. Most of cooler features don't. It can take hits though! Lucky for us, I can probably reverse engineer it pretty easily.

Let's just assume I don't know anything about Vaikuntha's creation.
Start from the beginning.

[ Rather than type out or paraphrase the myth, Sylvarie seems to have gone and uploaded several pages from an old storybook reciting the tale, with few black illustrations. Though none of the figures in those illustrations have distinct features, one seems to have purple eyes.

There is one version of this tale where the Heroes live, more appropriate for children, but overall this is the one regarded as having any factual basis, if it indeed exists. Many generations ago, farther than anyone can remember, a Great War caused the loss of records and knowledge to the point that it could have taken thousands of years for civilisation to recover on a global scale. Yet this is the myth that survived, and likely the only one your group may have come across in any searches for information.

There is still much more, but perhaps it would be better to discuss this in person. Would you be willing to have such a meeting?

[ Honestly, it wasn’t information she wanted to indulge on the network based on Hunk’s observations and the lack of replies from the Mognet Director in regards to the glitches. Either way, she sends coordinates to Hunk’s slate where he would find her if he wished. ]

If you feel you must have others accompany you for your comfort or protection I understand, but please limit it to two.

[ Her apartment isn’t that roomy. ]

Edited 2018-07-02 04:08 (UTC)

Yeah, I think something in-person could work.

[ He makes sure to save copies of those pictures and her explanations to his iMog Slate. There's probably other people who want to see this stuff. ]

When's a good time? And how do you feel about dessert?

(( Would it be easier to just do the discussion in a separate log? Goodness knows this post has been busy enough! ))

Simply state a time that works next for yourself and I will arrange to be there.

[ But his second question? Was definitely not expected, maybe she can whisk away some extra cutlery from the cafeteria. ]

Desserts are... lovely, if you wish to bring something I would be open to it.

(( a log definitely sounds like the better option, holy moly ))

( video ) Curti Center Employee AMA

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