Event || Window of Opportunity

[melodiesmods]

Characters: All Heroes of Light.
Where: Aqures Ixen - Everywhere
When: September 25th - From 12:30 to 22:30.
Summary: Heroes of Light will relive the same ten hours over and over again until they find a solution. This may be a blow to what's left of their sanity, but that's also a window of opportunity! The OOC Post is here for more information! It's not too late to sign-up, anyone can still jump right into the event! However, your vote for the total number of loops will not be taken into account any more.

Speaking of which-- Votes are in and this time displacement madness will be solved after 191 loops. Practically speaking, this means characters going through every single loop will live 2 months, 2 weeks, 3 days and 14 hours in the span of half a day. Hopefully they won't mind the food for the day, the clothes they're wearing or what they were doing when the loop started, because that's what they'll be stuck with until the end. There are some events described below, but there will be no NPC replies. Feel free to partake in these events and of course, make your own!

Warning: Too many time loops may be bad for your mental health.

The Flence Salesman
— All Day Long —
There is a salesman from Flence in the city, and he is going for every person he sees in the streets. Adults, children or elders, humans or tarutarus, it doesn't matter to him so long as he can make money! He will try to sell to the characters specialties from Flence and some crystals at absolutely awful prices, but he's open to negotiations and beyond that, he's extremely persistent. Normally, nobody would care about this, but given the salesman isn't be aware of the loop, he'll keep doing the same things over and over again... Hopefully he won't see your characters, otherwise he might just bother them for every single loop.


Moogle Demonstration for the Future of Mognet
— 12:30 => 16:00 —
For a surprise one-day long strike, the Moogles are demonstrating! There are roughly 800 Moogles together (250 according to the government, 5000 according to the striking Moogles) in the demonstration, all singing slogans and some even holding placards with "More Gil and Less Work" or "Give us Kupo Nuts" signs.

They started at 10:00 and left from the 09th District, but they will go throughout every district and explain what their protest is about. They'll finish at 16:00 and will be back to the 09th District to eat Kupo Nuts and drink Chocobo Milk together.


Biggs' Grand Return
— 14:00 => 22:30 —
After a month spent in the hospital, Biggs is finally back! He leave the Hospital at 14:00 and head straight for the Castle of Aqures Ixen. Noticeably he still has a broken and bandaged arm, but he'll pretend to be totally fine and for that matter, he will be as rude and as unfriendly as ever. He will spend most of the day in the Castle, but will go in Palitutu's Lab by 19:00 to meet with Cid. Among other things, he will side-eye everyone and will accidentally splash Cid's coffee on a Hero of Light working there (or on a Moogle, should the Hero have the good sense to avoid Biggs next loop).


Renovation of the Blitzball Stadium
— 15:30 => 20:00 —
The repairs are going steadily and today, a special dome from Trano Golsaucia is being transported and placed on the Blitzball Stadium, brand new and much more modern than what Aqures Ixen used to have! On the downside however, the airship bringing the dome and the work being done on the stadium are all very, very noisy. So noisy that everyone in a two-district radius will be bothered by it.

Under normal circumstances it would have been only for a short time and easilly bearable, but here it will happen for every single loop.


Have You Heard of the Heroes of Light?
— All Day Long —
Throughout the day, a few people are going to go and knock on every doors in the city, to talk about a most fascinating topic: the Heroes of Light! They will speak about how it is said the Heroes of Light are in Crystallis and how they managed to defeat the empire without difficulties back during the attack! Then they will go on and ask for a contribution (hear: money) to help the Heroes of Light in their cause. Of course, these people are dishonest and the money will go into their own pockets, as they don't believe in the Heroes of Light to begin with.

And of course, they'll go knock on doors during every single loop!


The Accident
— 22:29 => 22:30 —
The one minute that started it all. Who is the imbecile who committed the mistake on Palitutu's computer? Is this a Moogle or a Hero of Light, maybe Cid or Biggs? Whoever it is, after the first time, at 22:29 the program will start again on its own and will activate the loop right at 22:30, sending everything back to 12:30. The characters may try to run more programs to block the computer, cut the energy source or even bomb the building if they so wish...

But these archaic and barbaric solutions won't prevent the next loop from happening. Only hard work and scientific solutions shall prevail!

Comments

2

[not_most_days]

Kidd was taking advantage of the loops to observe and spy on all the people she could. With her presence effectively reset every few hours, this gave her the perfect chance to gather information. The repetition was a little infuriating but she made a point of trying to change her path regularly.

The 12th loop brought her to the training facility and there she was amused to find Ramza deep in his training. She watched him for a few moments before she recognized the sword he was holding.

An eyebrow went up as she wondered first why he was using it and second why he wasn't using another particular sword. Watching him a bit longer, she finally spoke up as she walked over. "Ahoy there. Looks like that dummy is getting the best of you."

Her presence was certainly not something that happened in previous loops.

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza turned to face Kidd. After their time together in Aerilon, her tendency to sneak up on him startled him less than it had. He still had trouble detecting her when she did not wish to be seen, though.

He looked down at the sword with an embarrassed frown.

"It...um...it is a good training sword. It does not dull or damage the equipment here." Of course, a regular sword would have served just as well, under the circumstances, since any damage done to the blade or the training posts would be undone at the next loop. But no need to point that out to his friend...

[not_most_days]

Kidd frowned. Loop aside there was still something to be said for using a weapon of any actual quality for training. "Are you sure? That doesn't seem like the easiest of swords to use. And as I hear it the blade is so dull and stubborn that you might as well be using a spoon."

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza shook his head. "It has the weight and feel of a normal sword, but with less danger of harming someone. Here, strike me with it," he said, offering her the hilt.

[not_most_days]

Kidd took the sword, looking incredulously at it and Ramza before swinging it at him. She trusted him to know what he was doing and if he didn't...well at least there was the time loop.

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza did not flinch away as she swing, even knowing she was a skilled assassin. The sword made contact, but then seemed to slide off of him as if he had an invisible magical barrier. He felt the slightest pin-prick, but it was barely even noticeable.

He gave Kidd a smile. "See, I could practice even killing blows on a live target without any bloodshed. The perfect training sword." He hoped that explanation would satisfy her, so that she'd have no need to comment on the sword he was no longer wearing on his belt.

[not_most_days]

Kidd gawped at the sword for a moment. Even if he was unharmed it was shocking to see a weapon so utterly useless that it couldn't even strike someone properly.

"I'm not so sure that I agree with that. The moment of striking is an important part of the practice. To get a solid killing blow you need to control your weapon all the way through. If you practice with a weapon like this then you're training your body to do what it does."

[zodiac_brave]

Kidd did not seem inclined to let it go. Ramza sighed, his smile fading from his face.

"I have to make what I can of this sword. It came to me at too high a cost not to." He had not wanted to make this admission to Kidd, but she was too observant to dupe.

[not_most_days]

In all honesty, she respected Ramza too much as a warrior to believe that he'd seriously consider using such a 'blade' as a weapon. He did himself a disservice to even say it.

"What was the cost? You can tell me? If need be we can see about recovering what you lost?" She had her suspicions but needed to know for sure.

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza studied the blade for a moment, watching the gilded patterns glitter in the sunlight. It was a pretty weapon, if nothing else.

"A wandering swordsman was accosting the merchant peddling this blade. I challenged him to a fight to champion the merchant, but the brigand cheated, and stole my sword before he fled. The merchant gave me this blade in consolation...but it is a poor substitute, I must admit."

But he was determined to make use of the damned blade until such time as he could reclaim his rapier. Either that, or be driven to distraction with thoughts of revenge upon the coward and his dog.

[not_most_days]

Kidd's expression was a mix of shock and disappointment, but somehow it likely wasn't as harsh or judgmental as what Ramza was expecting. When she finally spoke up she confirmed it.

"Ah him. I ran into that man as well and nearly lost my hidden blade if not my life. He was a strong fighter Ramza. Nothing to be ashamed of for losing to him."

But then she frowned and this time she WAS upset at the boy, "But why didn't you come to any of us for help to track him down?"

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza hunched in on himself a little at Kidd's scolding.

"I could not during our time in Aqures Tosf, not when we were trying to figure out why we had been sent back and how we could save anyone we could. It would have distracted the Heroes from our true purpose..."

He sighed. "...and after, it felt too...selfish, I suppose, to care so much for a sword when so many lives had been lost." The sword-peddler, the innkeep, the Bard who had played to help him fall asleep...it felt dishonorable to their memories to fret more over a sword's fate than theirs.

[not_most_days]

Kid nodded quietly. She could understand and she'd be lying if she said otherwise. The boy had his pride, and certainly not an unhealthy amount of it. While she'd seen him cast that sword away before she knew he wasn't handling it so lightly. And to lose it in such a way was...

"I have...an important question then. Are you aware of our...present predicament? She was happy to offer her help but she wanted to know if she'd have to have this conversation again.

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza nodded. "This day we live through again and again? Yes. Good for learning new techniques, but it gives a mind too much time to linger on what might have been."

He, for one, would not be sad to finally see the dawn of September 26th.

[not_most_days]

"Aye. And it's a bit maddening to see problems that you could easily fix be undone with just the passing of time. Still...I have a mind to use this to my advantage." He eyes drifted to the castle.

"I want to be sure we don't have anyone else fixing to stab us in the back."

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza sighed. Kidd's suspicions were likely well-founded, but... Ramza did not know if he could live with that constant paranoia.

"It must please Palitutu and Kalki, that even in their absence, they are still able to plant the seeds of dissent among us. Have you found any more threats?"

[not_most_days]

"It's not entirely them. I never completely trusted anyone native to this world. I was just foolish in how much slack I offered Palitutu. It may yet come to cause me trouble."

Turning away she stretched a bit. "My own world gave me a life of piracy but also a life of conspiracy and working in the shadows. I've grown comfortable there. It helped me do a bit of good in my life to balance out all else I did."

She took a breath and then turned back to the young man, "I've found nothing yet, but I plan to be thorough in my search."

[zodiac_brave]

"That seems a lonely way to live," he commented. He wondered how much trust Kidd placed in the other Heroes, though it seemed too personal a question to ask aloud. He hoped she found them more worthy of trust than she had the natives.

"If there is anything I can do to help in your investigation, I will," he offered. Failing to deduce 'Jessie's treachery had been a mistake shared by all the Heroes, and it was not solely Kidd's responsibility to ferret out any other backstabbers.

[not_most_days]

"Not as lonely as one might think. There's a difference between being untrusting and being vigilant. Trust is earned, but it must also be maintained and watched over. I've had trusted allies turn on me back home, even if not directly. It's just the way life goes. Convictions and circumstances change."

With all of that said, she shot Ramza a friendly smile. She did trust him, at least as a friend. She could tell the young man still needed time to find himself though.

"For now I simply aim to find them. I will let you know if something is discovered."

[zodiac_brave]

Constant betrayal was something Ramza could well understand, though he hated that it was the case. He nodded. Kidd was probably wiser than he was, keeping herself on guard against treachery.

The smile he tried to summon for Kidd was less convincing than hers had been, with Ramza's thoughts turning to the friends he'd left in Ivalice. He could trust them completely, he was sure. He missed them now more than ever.

"Be careful in your search. We never know when the loop will end, or who might be aware of it."

[not_most_days]

"I will Master Beolouve, and thank you for your concern." Fake smiles and noble names tossed around in sarcastic manly posturing. The truth was she was worried for him as well. She just hoped the next time he needed help he wasn't so stubborn to avoid asking for it.

"And when this is all done we should see about your own search. We can't let some vagabond keep that sword of yours any longer than he has."

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza gave her a more wry smile at that. "Indeed. The time will come for that. But for now, I think the fate of this world rests a little higher on the list of priorities than my sword."

He nodded his head at her, a less formal version of a parting bow.