93rd moon [video]

[paladinlost]

[The view: the ceiling of the most enpensive restaurant in Celadon. The background noise: dozens of customers enjoying their meals, and Cecil tapping his fingers on a wooden table.]

When I first awoke in New Bark Town, four years ago, I was... unwell. This whole world's very existence confused me, and so did my presence in it. The relatively weak and harmless-looking monsters were also a shock. Had it not been for Rosie's sweetness, I surely would have attempted to fight her. You could say that day was very unpleasant, though still far from the worse I've had.

[The background noise: a liquid hitting glass. The view: a quick flash of a wine bottle in a corner.]

And yet... when I finally managed to use the Pokégear, I was contacted by friends I'd not seen in seventeen years. Friends I'd not remembered in seventeen years, and that I would not have expected to ever see again even if I'd kept those memories. I also met kind people, good people, who made my first few weeks here much easier than they would otherwise have been. All have been gone for years, now, but I still find myself thinking of them fondly. Therefore... you could say that day was a good day, too.

[The action, unseen and barely heard: Cecil making a silent toast to all those people, and downing that glass before setting it back on the table.]

...Well! Now that I've shared my first day experience, it's only fitting that you do the same. Surely you all have interesting stories to share.

Comments

voice

[a_sin_for_him]

My first day was much the same, actually.

I didn't understand why I was here, how I'd come to be here, why this animal that didn't look like a proper animal was bound to me...

But it wasn't long at all before someone very important to me contacted me through the Pokegear, then other people I'd known back home and thought I'd never see again.

This place gave me back my family.

[video]

[paladinlost]

Those opportunities are this world's greatest kindness, though it is not shared with all. Are all of those people still here with you? Have you had the chance to welcome other loved ones on their first day in return?

[Video]

[a_sin_for_him]

[After a moment's debate, Lust switches on the video function as well.]

They are. We're lucky.

And something of the sort. Not a loved one, but someone I knew and was pleased to see well.

[Video]

[paladinlost]

That's wonderful to hear. I'm happy for you, truly.

[And if he's a little jealous too, well. He's used to it by now.]

How did your starter react to your initial confusion? I hope its feelings were not hurt.

[Video]

[tearsofademon]

Four years, huh. I'm just shy of that myself, by a few months...

Honestly, the most memorable part of that day was Rose pounding me to the ground while Mammon laughed at me...

["Clefairy~" Rose, who is on his shoulder, leans over to rub against his head a little, because she knows his memories are fond~]

[Video]

[paladinlost]

Congratulations for lasting this long. She pounded you to the ground? To think that I once complained that Rosie would pull my hair while teaching me the subtleties the Pokégear.

[But since they're talking about Cleffas, he doesn't sound particularly worried about the pounding.]

[Video]

[tearsofademon]

Same to you. And she used to do it all the time. Nowadays she sticks to pulling my hair or using Thunderbolt though...

...Is it just a thing, with the Clefairy line? To torment their trainers until they do what they want? Or is it just our two?

[video]

[ardent]

[He hasn't been making much of a practice of answering with video lately, but...there's no harm in making an exception this time, he thinks. He's having a fairly good day, after all. About the only thing truly off is that he's got a scarf on despite the warmth of the weather; it's patterned after Ho-Oh's plumage, from the look of it.]

Four years...that's quite a long time!

[Thank you for that highly astute observation, Ishimaru, everyone needed that.]

I've been here for over a year now, but I can still remember the first day I came here - it was the first time that I'd been outdoors in a while, so I spent a lot of it on a street corner, appreciating being able to see the sky again.

I was reunited with a couple of my friends from home before the day was over, though, and I met many of the people who would later become my friends here as well! Not all of them are here anymore, but I still have reminders of them here and there that I keep close to me.

I find this place better than the one I left; I'm glad I came here, it's been worth it! How about you - have you come to like it here, despite your reservations at first?

[video]

[paladinlost]

[My, that's a very pretty scarf. Please don't mind the Milotic sneaking behind her trainer to look at the lovely colors.]

...You know, now that you mention it, by the time I was brought here I'd not seen the outdoors for some time either. It's a shame I was not in any state to appreciate the view; was the weather pleasant on that day, at least?

[It probably would not have mattered, he thinks, but pleasant weather tends to improve any situation.]

The chance to see friends from home in peaceful circumstances and meet new people is the best aspect of this situation, truly, even if it does not always last. It's also why I can say I like this world, though I'd return to my home in a heartbeat, were I offered the opportunity.

[video]

[ardent]

[...that is a very pretty serpent you have there, goodness.]

That seems to be what most people here want - to go home eventually, I mean! I wouldn't, personally, but our situation is a bit different from most; at the same time, I still find myself missing familiar things and people like my family and what have you, so I can understand the feeling even if I don't really share it.

[Empathy, honey. You just described...oh, never mind.]

I remember the weather being pleasant that day, though, yes! I don't know if it actually was or if I just wanted it to be, but I remember the skies being clear. Someone was standing next to me for a while trying to work out what I was looking at, and I don't think she would have been doing that if there was actually something to see.

(Video)

[bestofthebest]

Hmm?

I think it's been nearly 2 years since I showed up, being in a coma not counting. Anyway, when I first got here I had to literally walk from New Bark Town all the way to Violet with my Charmander Blaze!

Hehe, my friends didn't have Fly back then so they couldn't come get me. It took me 2 weeks before I got to Violet and met up with my friends!

(Video)

[paladinlost]

Two weeks is not so bad at all. When I first arrived, very few people had gone as far as Goldenrod, and it took my group two months and a strange distorted path to reach Violet. Then again, we did wait for newly arrived friends in Cherrygrove three times...

(Video)

[bestofthebest]

No, but when you're traveling in really cold weather when the season's changing it's pretty hard to find anything good to think about.

Wait, three times?

[Video]

[babel_hacker]

My first day...

That's over three years ago for me. I got lucky that my best friend and teacher was here to give me the run down of this place. Although someone told me that I died and this is hell before my friend get to me...

[Which...Atsuro almost believed. When Babel went all GLOWING WHITE after they defeated the security system, it almost give credence to that explanation.]

So I was lucky, since I probably would have a harder time believing anyone if it weren't for my friend or teacher.

[Video]

[paladinlost]

Hell? What a harsh thing to say to a newcomer. Then again, some arrivals do seem to sincerely believe this is their new afterlife; that person might have thought they were telling you the truth. Did your friend and teacher return to Cherrygrove or Violet to meet you?

[Video]

[babel_hacker]

I would've believe it since I was in the middle of a big [Hm...] battle with demons around.

[More like he's working on a terminal while trusting his friends to protect him.]

Yeah, my friend did. We met up in Cherrygrove, since he was in...Violet at the time, I think? Yeah, Violet.

[video]

[solas_ion]

Man...that's almost cruel of you, makin' me remember that.

The day that I died a second time was the day I woke up here. I'd been workin' with a couple...friends, I guess you'd call 'em. They were here too; a loudmouthed girl named Rin Tohsaka and a thickheaded guy named Shirou Emiya; they were both here too, had been for months. Since I've been here I've run into all kinds of people I knew and others I never thought I'd see again. Rider, Archer, Rin, the dumb kid, even...even Saber and Connla.

[Lancer looked distinctly uncomfortable with what he'd said for a moment before shrugging it off.]

I mean, it ain't that I'm unhappy to be alive, don't get me wrong. But I'd kinda hoped I wouldn't keep up the pattern of losing so damn many people, y'know?

[video]

[paladinlost]

Every shard of cruelty that any of you might feel at the moment is also felt by me, I assure you. This is the second anniversary I've had to celebrate alone, after all.

[And even for the one before that, Bartz had still been in this world but not in the same city. He's not sure if that counts.]

Learning that people you'd just seen had preceded you here, especially by months, must have been extremely confusing. But I've no doubt everyone's presence was worth the initial confusion and the loss that followed.

[video]

[solas_ion]

Hey, I wasn't tryin' to call you out on it. Just calling things what they are--and that doesn't make me feel better. Wouldn't wish this shit on anybody, y'know?

[Lancer sighed, leaning back and supporting himself on one arm; it looked like he was sitting on the roof of the Breeding Center, of all places.]

I'm used to weirder things than that. Wasn't a big deal, to tell you the truth. Only thing I didn't expect in all this was Connla--kid wasn't someone I ever expected to see again. [A shrug.] Guess I should just be grateful I met any of 'em, but it's a little hard to be grateful for anything when they keep runnin' off.

[Video]

[lovechronicle]

My first day? Ah, that was... We're talking about the actual first day, right? [Is there a little sigh? There might be a little sigh!]

I was 12 and fatally ill back home, I had just ran away from people, who had been trying to become my friends. I thought a car hit me just before I woke up here... Then suddenly I was here, very confused by everything and I was suddenly cured from my fatal illness too. [That --- wasn't exactly an entirely new situation, but considering the circumstances, it had been extremely weird.] I didn't get along with my first starter at first, or rather didn't want to get along with her since I was just hoping to get back home soon...

Then I accidentally connected my gear to the network while I was singing a song, and suddenly people started commenting to me. That really surprised me, but they also made me realize that this isn't such a bad place to be stuck in and they become important friends.

[Video]

[paladinlost]

You were cured from a fatal illness...? In that case, I'd say your presence in this world is a blessing, even if it might not have seemed so at first. Out of the people that responded to your song, are many still left in Johto or Kanto?

[The moment he finishes that question, he wonders if it might destroy the mood with a painful answer. Oh well, it's not as if he can take it back.]

[Video]

[lovechronicle]

Yes, and yes, I agree. Though it was really weird to be healthy so suddenly again... Ah, no. Unfortunately they all went home a long time ago, but we'll always have the memories, right? And there are always new people to befriend.

[No, it's okay. She is very calm even after that and the good mood is still there.]

[video]

[enjoymyatelier]

Ah, I remember my first day.

It was horrendous, actually. Some woman told me that it was my tenth birthday and kicked me out the door, and then I was given a Pokemon that can't really do anything except imitate other Pokemon poorly...

...and then a Rattata stole the food I'd been given and I was picked up by someone I had known of but never properly met to spend several weeks in the wilderness.

...needless to say, it's mostly been uphill from there.

[video]

[paladinlost]

In that poor woman's defense, she's obviously very damaged.

[Not that it makes her wake-up call more pleasant, mind you.]

Still, with such a first day you could at least tell yourself that the situation would necessarily improve. And a proper meeting with an acquaintance sounds positively lovely, compared to the rest.

[video]

[enjoymyatelier]

Oh, no, I'm quite aware of that. It just... wasn't particularly pleasant, though I'll admit I found the whole thing asinine rather than unsettling.

...well, we were enemies of a sort before arriving here, though our conflict was extremely specific to something that was going on back home, so there was no reason to keep it going here. The fact that he was a gentleman about it was fortunate, at the very least.