melodiesoflife | Intro Log || The Deep Breath Before The Plunge

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Intro Log || The Deep Breath Before The Plunge

Characters: All the "Heroes of Light" (only new characters can start threads).
Where: Aqures Ixen.
When: The 5th of July. The new Heroes of Light will awaken early in the morning.
Summary: The new Heroes of Light awaken in Aqures Ixen and are informed by their assigned Moogles of what the situation and what their destinies are. This a log for them to react to the situation, meet each other and be welcomed by the former batches of Heroes of Light.
Warning: N/A.

Where you were or what you were doing— It does not really matter. Not any more. Within an instant, the world around you collapses. Reality twists and shatters... Or maybe you are the one who is collapsing and shattering away from reality as you knew it. No matter what the answer is, it will only take a few seconds for you to find yourself sinking into a void, your world vanishing into the distance. There is nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see. Even you feel different: all the powers you might once have had, are now gone. It is silent, cold and it feels as though life itself is slipping out of you.

At this moment, when it looks as though nothing but a never-ending void awaits you, a red Crystal forms before you. In this void, its warmth compels you to grab it. Upon doing so, you can hear a soft, soothing voice speaking:

"Wake up."

Soon, the void itself vanishes and is replaced by distant noises of engines. Had it all been nothing more than a dream? The soothing voice repeats its call one more time, but is soon replaced with a much less graceful "Wake up Kupo." Hand clutched on your Crystal, the call of the Moogle may finally wake you up. But you are no longer in your world, nor in the void. You are before the Crystal of Fire, in the third district of a city called Aqures Ixen. At this point, you may realize the engine noise actually originates from an Airship flying low over the city and headed to dock beneath the castle. As if it wasn't strange enough, your clothes have changed as well. They are now a reflection of the Jobs you are wielding. Last but not least, you are surrounded by Moogles, small and fluffy creatures who are more than happy to tell you about everything you want to know, about your 'destiny' as a Hero of Light, about what awaits you.

Or at least, they will tell you everything they do know, which isn't much in the end.

The only people around you are like you-- There are quite a few of them, all clothed in their Job garbs and most likely wondering what is happening. If somehow you do not realize it, the Moogle who woke you up will be more than happy to inform you there are others like you around. In fact, there are other Heroes who have arrived in the course of the past year and they will come soon! Like you, they have Jobs and a Crystal.

If asked, the Moogles will mention that the Heroes of Light - that is to say you - are fighting against time to save Crystallis from the Calamity that is about to awaken to devour the entire world. Well, that is if you don't die or crystallize first.

The Other Heroes
— Shortly Thereafter —
Thanks to the efficiency of Mognet, it does not take long for the other Heroes to come around: those who arrived in this world within the past year. You may have imagined heroic and charismatic figures when your Moogle told you that there were other Heroes of Light in this city. You may have imagined persons with fearsome powers when they told you about how they managed to push back the Empire and defeat gigantic beasts in the past. And more importantly, you may have imagined them as people who would have all the answers to your, doubtlessly, numerous questions.

If so, you may be up for a tragic disappointment. Still, for the most part they know more than you on the situation and may be more than happy to fill you in, especially if your Moogle didn't tell you much.

The City of Aqures Ixen
— Anytime —
With the Festival of Light nearing, there are a lot of folks working hard to set up the upcoming event! And besides this, there are a lot of things to do in the city for newcomers. Moogles are working hard in Mognet Office of the ninth district! Characters are also free to visit the city-- They can visit Airship Port in the twelfth district from where characters can board for free Airships from Shoopuf Airline. There is however the impression that everyone is on edge, and a lot more officers from the law enforcement in the streets. Why could it be...?

Or maybe you could visit your new house in the 11th District, and get to know your new neighbors and housemate. Hopefully your neighbors are people you will get along with.

The Laboratory
— Anytime —
A location where a lot of Heroes of Light seem to be gathering is Palitutu's Laboratory. It is a place where employed characters can research into various topics. It seems all the computer shut down recently, but the people working in the lab are restarting everything. The screens seem to indicate the "summoning process" is over and that the Crystal of Fire's energy level are dangerously. However, most importantly, characters can see a file with their name...

Should your character decide to go there and peek at their file, there are two possibilities. Either the file is corrupted and they cannot access it: too bad for them, but at least their life will remain a mystery. Or should you decide the file isn't corrupted, they will find a summary of their lives up to their canon point, as if written by a third-person omniscient narrator. On the column left to the text, to the top there is a portrait of them, and beneath it there is a 3D model of them. Said portrait and model can be switched to any year of their life. At the bottom there is a percentage, indicating 0%. On the right column, there are various links, most of which are grayed out. The clickable links lead to their Homeworld History and their future post-canon point history (corrupted file for unfinished canons).

At least, they can lock this file away if they don't want anyone to see it.

The Hospital
— Anytime —
Characters who have already been in Crystallis before do not wake up by the Crystal of Fire like everyone else. Instead, they will wake up in the Hospital of Aqures Ixen, in a room where there are over a hundred of other Heroes of Light like them-- Maybe even some familiar faces... Except they're all in Crystal Stasis.

A couple Moogles and a few nurses will be waiting by the room, and they will welcome all characters waking up. Upon exiting the room, they will also meet a lot of guards, and they all have for order to shoot anyone that comes out of this room without a Moogle. Hopefully you won't try running out without waiting for your Moogle. As for why the guards are so on edge, it might be a good idea to ask the other Heroes of Light about what happened last year.

Very Close Encounters of the Thirteenth Kind
— 14:00 —
Characters venturing by the Ninth District at this time will be able to see a most peculiar and unexpected sight. They will see a strange blue creature running after a Moogle, with the later looking particularly distressed. Before anyone could have a chance to react, the two of them entered a building... And a few minutes later, the blue creature could be seen emerging from the building, running away with a Kupo Nut in hand. In a surprising reversal, this time the Moogle is the one pursuing the blue creature. Needless to say, the Moogle looks furious at this turn of event.

Trying to pursue the blue creature will result in failure and it will disappear. What could it mean...?

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Crystal of Fire
For Simon, finding himself in this utterly surreal situation was a 'just when you think things can't get worse' moment. Frankly he didn't take it so well, breaking down into ugly, hysterical laughter while his poor moogle tried first to explain what was happening, then simply to calm him. It took some time for him to quiet down, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes and tugging at his new outfit in bewildered frustration.

The moogle seemed rather at a loss. "A-are you okay?"

"Fine," he replied, not making eye contact. "Can you go over that again?"

And so the diligent creature began its spiel once more...

Laboratory
Being of a curious nature, as one might so diplomatically put it, Simon naturally found his way to the lab. He'd formed something of a friendship with the moogle by that point, and it was no difficult matter to convince Kulaun to stand guard while he perused his file ("I can't let anyone see my original hair color! Nowaynowaynoway, I'd die of embarrassment!").

He fully intended to delete it, of course, but became immediately engrossed, fascinated and horrified at seeing his personal history so plainly laid out. Of course, the second someone came too close to the screen that he was so fixedly hovering over, his moogle valiantly cried, "Stand back, kupo! Simon is erasing his embarrassing secrets!"

14th District
Simon wandered around the area, carrying his moogle on his head and looking rather lost (after all, it's better to be caught lost rather than snooping). Kulaun would occasionally attempt to give him directions, but he'd misinterpret or pretend not to hear them, heading wherever he intended to head in the first place. He was very interested in his fellow 'Heroes'.

When confronted with the moogle, Ed stopped in his tracks and threw his arms up in an innocent gesture.

"Whoa, um, okay? Trust me, I wouldn't want anyone reading my file either, so I won't try to muscle in on anyone else's."

That was a lie. Well, the first part of the sentence wasn't, anyway. Ed tried to address the person behind the moogle.

"You know how to work that thing, then?"

Thanks to his moogle early warning system, Simon immediately backed out of the file and whipped around to greet the stranger.

"N-not really! I have a laptop at home, so I was just guessing!"

"I have no idea what that is, but if it's anything like these computers, you're already doing better than me."

He sits down at a nearby console, dropping a notebook down on the desk next to him.

"I'm trying to get more used to these things, but computers are so different where I'm from. They're massive. Giant consoles, or even taking up rooms. Not--" He gestured the computer, figuring it speaks for itself.

"Well, I'm not an expert or anything..." He cracked a sheepish smile. "But maybe I can help you out?"

"Thanks. I'll let you know if and when I hit a roadblock, I guess. I'm supposed to be helping with a project here, so I need to get used to this on my own at some point. Thank god for the Scholar Job."

Considering what Simon was up to, Ed put two and two together.

"So, if you're locking up your file, you must be new here. Damn, that time again already. Well, welcome to Crystallis, and good luck. I'm Ed."

"I'm Simon." He preferred to leave the last name off even when he was saying his real name. "And I'm totally overwhelmed by all of this! I'm just a normal guy, not a hero." Much like the name that he gave, that statement was at least half true.

"You and like half of us, at least. A lot of people would agree with you on that."

Ed was hardly normal himself, but he definitely was no hero. Some might even consider him the opposite sometimes.

"I'll warn you that this place never gets any easier, either. Be prepared for... well, anything. Dangerous stuff, weird stuff... sometimes fun stuff too. But with everything going on lately, that last bit comes up less and less lately."

He frowns, feeling bad being a bummer on the new guy, but it's good for people to know what they've be brought into.

"I think that if anyone can fix everything, though, it's this group of so-called Heroes. If we get can get everyone to agree on something, that is."

Welp, that sure sounded like a hot mess that Simon didn't want to touch with a ten foot pole.

"Nowaynowaynowaaay, there's absolutely no way I belong in a group of Heroes who are fixing things! Is there a shelter or something for people who were pulled here by complete and total mistake?"

"If that was the case, almost all of us would be there already. But I'm afraid not." Ed gave him him a sheepish look and a shrug. "Everyone's got something to contribute, though. Even if you think you don't, yet. And you would have come in with a Job set, which is way more of a help than you think."

"That's right, the Jobs. I'm grateful and all, but the outfits..." He squirmed slightly and tugged at the midriff that came with his Beastmaster job. "Don't you think this is a little immodest?" His tone sounded sincere enough, but it might have very well come off as a humblebrag, considering the rock-hard abs that really didn't seem like they belonged on such a wimpy-looking guy.

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has_been_faking - 2016-07-22 02:47 (UTC) - Expand

"Is that the truth," a silky voice replied with a throaty chuckle. Lust might have passed right by otherwise, but this was interesting. Another guilty 'Hero' of Light with some dirty laundry? That was somewhat rare. It wasn't as if she could judge, nor was there any point to it.

She settled a hand on her hip as she walked straight into the room, ignoring the Moogle completely now that he'd served his purpose.

"You might have better luck just locking the file. Deleting the data is impossible," she smirked. "But people will wonder what you're trying so desperately to hide."

Lust's file was wide open for all to see. She wasn't ashamed of her past, and she thought she'd honestly enjoy it if someone were to confront her about the genocide, manipulation, and murder of her days spent in Dante's employ. But no one had.

Edited 2016-07-11 20:45 (UTC)

"No!" Simon yelped, locking down the file as quickly as humanly possible. He hoped she didn't see anything; his history was one in which the word 'murder' was sprinkled rather copiously throughout.

Gasping exaggeratedly, Simon made a mental note to look at the woman's file later, just in case blackmail might be warranted. But for now he would endeavor to be as distracting and pathetic-looking as possible. And you had to hand it to him, he was certainly both of those two things.

"I don't have anything to hide! I'm a natural redhead, I swear!" he cried pitifully. It was a lie, of course; Simon happened to be the sort of guy who both killed and dyed.

"No one cares about your insipid vanity," Lust remarked coolly, nudging past him to see if she could get a glimpse of the file. It seemed her advice had worked a little too well, however, and there was nothing left to see save for the spinning avatar bearing Simon's likeness.

Disappointing.

She sighed and straightened, tossing back her raven hair. "Well, have it your way. But I hope you've got a better cover story than that for the others."

"E-excuse me?" Had she seen something incriminating or was she bluffing? Simon put on his dopiest smile and cocked his head slightly to the side. Clearly, he could not possibly> imagine what she might be referring to!

Lust ignored him, moving to the door. She paused there, smiling enigmatically over her shoulder, then moved on. She was interested to see how stubborn he was about keeping up his foolish facade, or if desperation would drive him to chase after her. He might drop more details, he might not. Either way, it had been an amusing way to pass the time while she decided what to do about some other matters that demanded her attention.

Ales was walking back to his house after another day at the lab. Not a successful day, considering how angry he was in general. The recent murders were the last thing that convinced him that no matter the world, it was full of idiots who couldn't do anything right, and he was the only one wise enough to do anything.

He expected that the people walking on the street avoid bumping into him by now. They had plenty of experience with avoiding small residents like the Tarutaru, and Ales' appearance was clearly noticeable.

Without even looking at Simon, the Teensie kept trudging down the sidewalk with his head down and muttering to himself.

Well, that was certainly intriguing! Simon slipped a nut to his moogle to keep him contented (and more importantly quiet) and then discreetly took up following the little guy. He wasn't lurking in the shadows, but rather casually meandering behind, as if they were simply headed in the same direction.

For all he cared, Simon was just another pedestrian. Ales had no time to greet people, even if they were followed everywhere by a Moogle. He continued down the street and turned left towards his house.

Was this guy going home? Boring.

"Hey, blue guy!" called out Simon's moogle, having just finished its nut. "My master's a little lost, kupo! Can you help him?"

Simon was going to have to get a cage for this thing.

Blue guy. Only one person that could be. Ales turned around and tried to hide his tired eyes, but instead looked like he was squinting.

"Of course. Friendly neighborhood Teensie, right here." He spoke in a monotone that did not match his words at all.

"I'm soooo sorry!" Simon cried, slapping his hands over the Moogle's mouth. "Kulaun didn't mean to speak out of turn! We can find our way home on our own even if we are lost beyond all reason or hope!"

This guy was going to give Ales a headache. If this guy with a Moogle appeared today, there was a huge chance he was a Hero of Light. Great, another idiot.

"Have fun getting lost and sleeping on the streets," he sighed with a smirk. "Such a shame, considering that I'm also a Hero who's going home."

"I thought you might be a Hero!" Simon squeaked. "You just have that sort of vibe, like somebody who actually knows what he's doing." Tiny guys, Simon figured, tended to have inferiority complexes that were easily exploited, and he wasn't afraid to kiss a little ass (pun intended).

"Er." That was a compliment he had not expected, especially from someone he just met. Simon was right that there was a small inferiority complex deep in Ales's heart, but not because of his size. If that were the case, the Teensies would be a race of mopey, adorable creatures.

No, Simon targeted his competence. That was a good pick.

Ales visibly relaxed. "Well, I would assume that my unique appearance would be the biggest hint that I'm not from this world, but you reached the same conclusion nonetheless."

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