[someone does not look like they're having the best of times. He's got books scattered about the table, all flipped open and dumped on eachother haphazardly and a good look might tell you he's not been having the best sleep for a while.

That's not what he's here to talk about today, though. He rubs the bridge of his nose and sighs]

Think I've seen this kind of thing get mentioned before, but I was just thinking-- have we got any kind of system for dealing with these attacks? First responders, field medics. People to lead district evacs if shit gets too hairy. That kind of thing.

'Cause I wouldn't doubt this kind of thing is gonna happen again, far as I can tell we did alright with the [...] fairies. But whatever comes next is probably gonna be harder to fight off.

Can't help thinking we'd only benefit if most of us were on the same page with this. [shrug]


[Filtered to Cloud]

If you've got a minute, I wanna talk to you.

[it's not really a request so much as a demand for your time, Cloud]

[It's been a common thread in many of her conversations with friends - slow down, relax, have fun - and she's been thinking about it more since losing Jr., who was always so eager to cheer her up and keep her enjoying herself. But she gets most of her enjoyment from working and doing things for others, so she's at a bit of a loss. Shopping with Yukari was a bit stressful, so she doesn't think that will ever be a hobby of hers. But maybe she can find out some more from the network.

She still won't waste time, and certainly won't get involved in the gods' games. But it's worth trying out a new hobby, isn't it? She does have some downtime...]

Hi, everyone. I keep being told I need to find ways to relax and have fun between my work and my training, but my favourite hobby is my work and has been for awhile, so I'm looking for new ones. Favourite books, movies or video games - easy ones, please, I've only played one before - or other things you like to do, whichever. I'm open to just about anything.

[Well, open to just about any suggestion.]

If you can help me out, it'd really be appreciated.

[This kind of had to happen, seeing that Finland arrived almost three weeks ago now... But he wanted Finland to settle in first and thought everything would be fine, but then people started talking to the smaller nation and while none of them seemed to be particularely dangerous and the other nations seem to have left him alone so far... you never know.]

Nobody touch my wife.

Name's Finland. Short, blond. Is mine.


[LOCKED AWAY FROM FINLAND]

Need a nice place for a dinner for two. Recommendations?

[Here's Gau, standing dressed in an apron in a professional-looking kitchen. Everything around him is spotless, of course. He's grinning broadly, and holding himself very straight, as if proud of himself. In fact, the bracelet is obviously propped enough away from his body to show off the scenery on purpose.]

Hey, everyone! If I could just have your attention for a moment? I'll be opening a bakery of my own - known as Rainy Day Treats - very soon! I know a few of you stopped by Sigyn House not long ago when I had brought some things home, so you might know my baking style!

[He hadn't really planned it that way, but hey, if it worked, it worked.]

Anyway, I'll actually need to do some hiring before the doors open, so if you're looking for a job and can either bake, work a cash register, deal with customers, or wait tables, let me know? We're located in Sigyn District, but of course everyone is welcome.

((OOC note: Jobs are basically first-come, first-serve, unless your character is very rude to Gau or something, but the application is on his journal here. Feel free to just post the application there, respond here ICly, both, or just... heckle him or show support.))

Hello, hello!

[Yep, Ayame is back. After having been strangely quiet for a while, this man is here to indulge you once again. You don’t want to know what he’s been up to, oh no. Instead here he is looking fabulous as ever. His long hair is braided and rests against his right shoulder. Wearing what looks suspiciously like red robe with golden trimmings, he stands there looking once again rather androgynous. A charming innocent smile is given as those amber eyes stare straight at you. Such an honest display or at least it looks that way.]

I’ve been hearing a lot of things. Some really uninterested things, others very troublesome and some of utter most importance! Of course someone with my personality can’t just sit back. Action is needed!

[He’s been learning stuff, probably not the right things though.]

Thus I come here with the utter most innocent intentions. I ask of you to help me!

[A hand is placed on his chest, which only seems to intensify the intense appearance of sincerity and determination that he’s showing. And then he’s looking away, a hint of rouge stains those cheeks. Why is he suddenly looking so delicate? Well…]

These lips of mine are looking to bestow a kiss on someone.

[He’s staring again at the screen and now he looks resolute in his decision. Yes, you heard him right. Blame it on the power-talk going around. Ayame is curious if he has any skills.]

I promise to try and not overwhelm you. I am very aware of my kissing skills and what can I say, girls and boys alike seem unable to handle my prowess. I’m like a lion~ A red lion with a marvelous silver mane.

Maybe I should open a kissing-booth instead.

[Coy look]

I will gladly teach some of you how it’s done! Oh those with stinky breath, please do not apply. The rest of you fill the application form~

[Laughs wholeheartedly or is that obnoxiously. With that the feed ends]
( [Text, Kissing Application, Ayame style] )

... The rumor about what happens if you lose your bracelet is true. Don't do it.

[ Yeah, so, guess who's found herself 'lost' for the last who even knows how long-- along with everyone else from her world, no less? Perhaps the four of them taking their bracelets off all at once wasn't such a great idea...?

Lightning looks exhausted and unusually unsettled, running a hand through her pale hair. She could definitely use a shower over here. And a nap. Whatever she was doing while lost in the faceless crowds? It must not have been sleeping, that's for sure. She's trying not to think about it too much, though- the idea of being one of those anonymous drone-people is a little disquieting, to put it lightly. Yet... at least now they really know.

She pauses, narrowed eyes on the 'camera,' but if she had any intention of saying more, it goes unfulfilled- in what's apparently becoming a habit, the video just ends right there unless anyone replies. It's then she switches right to attempting to call each member of her little family here in turn to make sure they're all 'back' and still alright.

....

And then... well... things get complicated.

Those in Heimdall House are in for an unpleasant surprise, for those close enough to Lightning's room on the seventh floor to hear the crash that sounds out from there some time after her return 'home.' Same goes for anyone who's anywhere between there and the common areas as she rumbles her way down the stairs--

In full, feathery armor, even, and looking somewhere between angry and confused in the process. After all, it's not every day you roll out of bed almost an entirely different person than who you went to sleep as....

OOC: Since Lightning's been updated to Final Fantasy XIII-2, if you'd like to opt out of even the vaguest mention of spoilers, please tell me here! ]

Damn, if I would have know how real everything was going to get, I would have gotten a few more cupcakes. Looks like the honeymoon ended up going down in a ball of flames.

[Shifted from side to side in his seat, looking kind of antsy]

You know, I just came from being in a bad spot that was way out of my league? Real big deal, way bigger than a simple guy like me, but I had no other choice. It was either do nothing and watch everything fall apart and turn to shit, or play ball and put my neck on the chopping block. Hardest decision I ever made. Almost got me killed.

[He pats his chest with two fingers a couple times, right where his heart would be] Almost took a bullet to the guy here. Saved by a "fuckin miracle" as this one big guy I know put it.

[He leans forward in his chair, looking all serious now]

So now the stakes are all laid out. Chips are down, cards dealt, so on so forth. Well, I'm done mulling it over myself. The first time, this was hard. This time round, couldn't be easier. No no, the real question is much harder. You kids ready?

What now?

[ He is contemplative for a time before eventually turning the video function on. His head bows slightly as a show of respect to his unseen audience. Credo will not lord over these people, but he does not like what he saw during that attack so he cannot coddle. Not completely. ]

The Gods give power, but it seems will not fight completely with us. It seems the rest will lie with us.

[ Lowers his head slightly before he raises it once more. ]

If you wish to learn to fight, I will do my best to teach you.

Those who do not wish to fight, who do not wish to partake in this war, do not feel as though you must join in for no one should blame you for your decision in peace and know only that you are protected. It may not be by the Gods of this land, but there are those that will look after you.

Thank you.

[At first it looks like the video might be an accident, given how he never really looks at the screen. But as he starts speaking it's pretty clear that this is deliberate.]

Though these gods have attempted to deceive us once, if their words are true this time, then there is no other choice than to fight this war for them. I care not for their incompetence, but I can not let this miserable world end my own.

So how many of you intend to fight? Your reasons are not of importance, only your decision.


[a BIG pause]


I am also... [oh god he doesn't want to do this YOU CAN TELL HE DOESN'T WANT TO DO THIS AND HE'S SO ANGRY HE EVEN HAS TO but it's been days so this looks like his only option. he'll say this with the biggest scowl on his face, sounding like he wants to murder someone. which he does.] looking for a man. He is from Hi-no-Moto, claiming to know Tokugawa Ieyasu and spreading vile lies about the Toyotomi clan. Should you meet him, inform me at once and tell him that Ishida Mitsunari will tear the skin from his body and make sure his head leaves his neck in the most gruesome manner possible!

[and the feed ends there, with a death threat.]

[The video opens on Akito, who's idly rolling what seems to be a glass ball around in his hands. It's a pretty little thing, plain glass but there's an inner part that's varying shades of blue. Every time he tilts it, a different shade seems to be revealed. It's the reason he decided to buy it]

You know...I never thought I'd have a job or anything before I came here. I mean, I guess I worked for Onii-chan for most of my life, but that's family, so it doesn't feel like it counts as much?

But now the man I met in that glass store over in Baldr district says he'd be willing to teach me how to make things like this. And maybe if I'm good enough, he'll let me keep some of the price. It'll probably be hard...but I think it'll be fun. [He smiles, clearly looking forward to it.

Though it fades after a moment and he sighs] I'm worried though...fighting, to save this world and home? We've never fought like that before, in a war...Agito doesn't mind fighting, but this...without our AT working properly...I don't know. I can heal, but...

Maybe we need to learn to use a weapon or something...Agito's power is manipulating shadows, but will that keep us safe? He'll do his best, but if he gets hurt...

[He trails off and is quiet for a little bit, before deciding to end the video there. Maybe someone can give him an idea on what to do in this...war]

Alright--this has been bothering me for a while now.

I don't know what the hell kind of messed-up worlds most of you come from--an' I don't really care either--but in what kind of fucked up world is it normal where everyone and their haggy old mom is a freak of nature???

All you people with your rainbow hair and your eyes-on-acid or whatever the fuck you've done to them! You are all freaks. What the hell is wrong with all of you? I mean I'm a fuckin' freak and I still think you guys are freaks! That pretty much makes you all like...three times as fucked up. And you all act like it's normal--! Even when you're wearing a freakin' garden party bonanza for hair or look like you had someone shoot paint into your eyes.

Let me just tell you now: hair the color of the fucking rainbow an' all it's inbred cousins isn't normal.

But does anyone think it's weird?? Nope! You all just show up from J-pan with name likes "Mantaro Yuckimushi" or whatever the fuck they are. "Impossible-to-pronounce-ibamumamu". Anyway, you show up and act like all the freaks with hair and eyes as fucked up as yours are totally normal. Which means you're brain damaged or your world is just as fucked up as you are.

Where I come from? Only old people have white hair. Magical...sparkling, whatever-the-fuck eyes only come on the things that look like people, but who actually just eat other people. Like demons or vampires or...I don't know. Mutant frogs.

So congrats! You guys must have won the fuckin' freak show lottery or something because now you get to live in a city full of people just as messed-up as yourselves! Because when even the non-humans think you guys are freaks, something has gone seriously wrong. And humans were pretty fucking weird to begin with.


...Actually yeah, I guess if you already ain't human then it's a different story. Like if you're one of those Termites or a fairy or goose or whatever...well you're already abnormal so this shit doesn't really matter.


[ ooc; KAZ IS THE WORST AT MULTICULTURALISM I'M SORRY sjkdfgdsjkgsjk i love all animu characters no matter what acid trip their eyes and hair are on I promise ;; also termite = MSPA TROLLS sob ]

I can’t believe this! Who gave this lady the right to bring me here!? [Growl!] I don’t care if some God told her to. I was in the middle of something really important!

[Seems like Raimei didn’t waste any time figuring out how to use her bracelet. But it took a while to figure out. Guess who wasn’t listening when the maid was explaining the instructions?

And right now, she is currently ticked off at the entire situation. Maybe the bracelet can be used as a way to reach her?]

Look. I don’t have time to save this world of yours. I need to get back home and now! My friends are in danger, and need help! [Hearing no answers, she begins to grow impatient.] Hello!? Can anyone else hear me? Anyone that isn’t plain-looking or missing a face would be great to talk to. [Then she notices the natives walking past her, and she gives them a more friendly and embarrassed expression.] No offense, but you guys aren’t as helpful as the maid from a few moments ago! And not to mention creepy to look at.

[Returning her attention back to the bracelet, she really does wonder if the braclet was working the way it should.]

...I’m in some place called Freela, I think. [Yup, she really didn't pay any attention to the maid at all. Well, at least, she's calmed down a bit.] If anyone else is nearby, then I would appreciate the help. Thanks.

[It took a few days, but Kirei managed to find the information he was looking for - but that doesn't explain why he was covered in snow, nor the nasty looking cut on his cheek]

That woman spoke the truth: there is no way out. No entries or exits, with the parameter closed in. The residents supplied information about three gates in the North, South-West and South-East area, but only of warnings and vague descriptions. The residents themselves see nothing wrong, nor do they seem to notice the state of this world.

[...though if one is to look closely, the tell-tales sign of a frown are beginning to form.]

To what extent do these “gods” need us to achieve their goals...

[The last thing the maid and the paper should have ever said was that Agrias had a new duty. After all, she'd not been commanded to move from her station, especially not be anyone she didn't know. A last ditch effort to save the kingdom was about to be put into action and she needed to be there. So when she instead finds herself in a dull room instead of before her old church, she became livid, naturally.

The video feed turns on, showing her standing proudly in her armor, a determined, stern look spread on her face. Better get used to that expression, she'll be using it a lot today.]

Gods? Holy? Your words are a jape at best and it would behoove you to still your tongues.

[A small tch escapes her before she tries to reach out, flicking this odd device on her and focusing it.]

If anyone out there can indeed hear my words, tell these so-called gods that I belong not with this Heimdall, but with the Princess and her country. My duty lies there, as it always has. They mock the very concept of honor and duty by thinking they could replace mine so easily. The sooner I can return to their side as a trusted swordarm, the better we all will be. Thank you, and good day.