[video]

[red_planet_blues]

[Today you are all graced with the visage of the Mars marshal, who has finally decided maybe it's time he brings something up here on the network.]

Howdy folks. Name's Sparks Nevada, if we haven't met yet. Before this planet, I was on one called Crystallis. Though before that, I was on Mars, and originally, I'm... from Earth. Thing is, I know a few folks who're from Crystallis that are here, too. It was kind of a similar situation. Y'know, the whole getting dragged outta yer home to be forced to live on another planet with crazy magic and chocobos and all that stuff. The difference there was that we were all considered to be somethin' called "Heroes of Light" and we had to basically save the planet -- the whole multiverse, actually -- from gettin' annihilated. Yer welcome, by the way.

Thing is, there are sure a lotta coincidences on this planet. If the jobs and the races 'a folks and all that ain't enough of a clue, the place names are a dead giveaway. Half of them are named for the Heroes from Crystallis. Even I got one - Sparks Goldsaucia. Pretty cool. Reckon it's all a bit too much to be a coincidence.

Bonnie also brought up the map to me, and... [He looks that over in a separate window.] If ya squint just right, and slide some bits around, sure as heck does look like Crystallis. Durin' that whole apocalypse thing, the planet did get kinda messed up and broken, so I guess we wouldn't have known what the continents looked like after all that. Woulda taken some time to re-map, and I was only there for a month after the whole ordeal was over. Had a planet to get back to marshaling, ya see.

What's my point to all this? Guess my point is that I don't believe in coincidences. The universe is, like, both too big and too small at the same time for that nonsense, if'n that makes any sense at all. It does. I think.

Comments

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[conniemaheswaran]

Hey, Sparks. This is Connie. Don't know if you remember me, but could you do me a favor and keep an eye on the name of the Kali Shashidhwaja linkshell today? It will randomly change to instead say Heroes of Light every once in awhile on my end, I want to confirm that it's happening to other people too. Considering that Ira, another Crystallis vet, told me that both names mean Heroes of Light, it's pretty strong evidence that something fishy is going on here.

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[red_planet_blues]

Yeah, I remember you. I haven't seen that happen yet, but I might just not have been paying enough attention to it. I'll let you know if I do.

( video )

[cidsgirl]

( This bubbly weirdo tries to copy his accent ) Well how-dee-do, Sparks! I'm Rikku and this here's Bun. ( She gestures to her moogle and sends a wink Sparks' way. Bun just gives a dainty wave. ) Heehee!

I hear ya though, on the whole ( she's just gonna whip out the poorly done accent one more time here: ) 'not believin' in coincidences' thang.

I've noticed some of that too, mostly with people, like Biggs and Wedge... and Cid. Just names though, but I'd be in some serious denial if I said things weren't a little fishy around here.

( video )

[red_planet_blues]

Reckon I knew a Cid back on Crystallis too. You knew one where yer from, too?

[Is... Is he being made fun of right now?]

H-Hey now, just so you know, it's the rest of y'all who talk funny, not me.

( video )

[cidsgirl]

( nodnod. ) Yeppers. He's ehh... erm. ( She scratches her temple with a finger. ) My dad, heh.

( Maaaaaaaybe >.> )

Pops talks a bit like you, actually! ( She clears her throat, preparing herself for a deeper and raspier version of her own voice to mimic her dad's. ) So don'tchu worry there, boy - I'm a pro at this here kinda talk! ( no she's not. )

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[promiselisting]

[ Between this and the linkshell glitch Futaba is feeling v i n d i c a t e d today. She wants to go find all those Curti Center natives that blew her off and rub this in their faces but actually doing that sounds like effort and probably would get a scolding from Makoto anyway, so she'll... focus on something more productive. ]

Ira Nakagawa and I have been working a bit on the possible connection between Crystallis and Vaikuntha as well. So far we've done some digging on this world's creation myths. Or myth, really.

I can share what we've found so far if you're interested.

text;

[red_planet_blues]

I'm guessing it's time I get to a library and start hitting the books, huh?

Wish there was a way I could bring any info from Crystallis here, that'd be a bigger help. I mean, I remember it pretty well, I lived there for a few years, but it won't be everything.

[promiselisting]

Well, from what we understand, Crystallis is kinda... gone? The running theory is that this is the world that it turned into.

Either way, anecdotal evidence is probably gonna to be all we'll get at this point.

[ It's better than nothing. ]

photo of handwritten note

[rivieran]

Greetings, Sparks.

It's brilliant to hear your input. You have essentially confirmed what I have been thinking about since happening across the first bulletin. I was unable to respond since I did not know how to use this slate at the time.

Do you think it is safe to say that those of us that arrived on the airship together may have been brought for purposes similar to your previous ventures as a Hero of Light? If so, then I am happy to know that we may be here for a purpose, and some of our deaths were not for naught. My assumptions may be premature, however. We will just have to wait and see.

- Ena

text;

[red_planet_blues]

[Sparks is momentarily distracted by the fact that someone sent him a photo of a letter. It takes all of his willpower to not make a crack about this, but it helps she admitted not knowing how to use the Slate very well yet.]

Reckon that's the idea I'm getting. Honestly that's what I thought was going on the second I arrived, even if the people here don't know why. This sort of thing doesn't happen just for laughs, right? There's got to be a reason behind it. At least I hope there is.

another photo

[rivieran]

[ Typing is just a hindrance when there are so many things to discuss! ]

Indeed - this seems too much to be just a simple joke. I hope you don't mind me asking you what you got up to on your previous bout as a Hero? While there's no way to tell the future, it may better prepare the rest of us newcomers what sort of thing we might expect.

Video

[despairing_hope]

So... this world is most likely the future of the other world some of you came from?

It's like we're stuck in a sequel or offshoot spinoff.

If there was a lot of sudden continental shift though... that sounds like a bad end.

Ah... we're in the strange bad end offshoot of something then, aren't we? That sounds so unpleasant.

Video

[red_planet_blues]

That's what I'm thinkin'. Which is... honestly probably not good. We weren't brought to Crystallis to just prance about 'n have a good time. The "Heroes of Light" got brought in to rave the world, and eventually all worlds. It was, uh... intense.

I mean, I wouldn't say we had a Bad end, I... [Please, the great Sparks Nevada was on the home team, there was no way that was a bad end! Right...?]

I mean, it didn't go, uh, perfectly, but things worked out. Just a little continental shifting. Nothing to worry about.

video

[twomeals]

So you're saying this is...the same world, but different?

video

[red_planet_blues]

Reckon that's the idea. So it seems, anyway. If it's true, the question is, how long's it been since I was last here?

[daggercubed]

It sounds like this shit just got more complicated.

You think this is a good thing or a bad thing?

[red_planet_blues]

Reckon I don't think it's good, but I don't know if it's bad yet. We were brought to Crystallis to save the place. That ended up spreading to needing to save multiple planets. It was, shall we say, intense.

Things are similar but still pretty different. If this is the same planet somehow, I'd love to know how much time has passed since I left.

video;

[acceptedlife]

Been a while, Sparks.

[Ira rolls his eyes, but- there's so few of them from Crystallis here. He'll play nice, despite an old grudge.]

Been working on writing down what I remember and comparing those similarities with Futaba, like she said. Maybe we and the others who remember that world can compile what we know.

video;

[red_planet_blues]

Ira. [You get a slight nod in greeting at least. Honestly, any familiar face is a good thing right now.]

That's probably for the best. Think we can work out a Crystallis map?

later; video call

[shinra_dog]

Nevada.

[Reno smirked onscreen. He and Sparks had had a tumultuous relationship, to say the least. One of them had ended up dead before, to say more. But Reno had to respect Sparks' moral drive.]

Ira said you were tryna' compare the maps. I think yer right, there's too much similar here.

video;

[red_planet_blues]

Reno. [Reno gets the same nod in greeting Ira got, but really, Sparks is relieved to see more familiar faces, even if it's theirs.]

There's coincidences, and then there's all-- this. I dunno what any of it means, other than stuff that, y'know, probably ain't good. There's a whole big multiverse out there, and they're dragging us back.

[voice]

[garyoutensei]

Give me a reason why I should believe a word of what you just said? Maybe you're just some hokey rambling madman.

[voice]

[red_planet_blues]

[Seriously?]

Uh, well, technically, I can't make you do squat. Seems like a real weird thing to lie about, though, first of all, and second, I ain't the only one here with the same story to tell. [He looks over his contacts list and picks out the familiar names.] Ira, Bonnie, Selphie, Reno, Johnny... you can ask any of them about it if'n ya don't believe me.

Video

[whirluendo_of_puns]

[...Huh. So Sparks was in that Crystallis place too. They saw people talking about it on the network before, but until now they had nothing to contribute.

Listening to all of this now, though...]

Say, Mr. Marshal. You mentioned Crystallis had a lot of things in common with Vaikuntha. Does that include Eidolons?

Video

[red_planet_blues]

Yeah, they had those. Stuff summoners, uh, summoned. Usually some kinda mythical-like thing that showed up, people fought it, and then it got to be summoned when they won. Um, I think that's how that happened. I didn't really deal with a lot of magicy stuff.