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

[damn_juicebox]

[Rukia listens without interruption. She's a little surprised that his Moogle found out about that, but it isn't as if her childhood past is some great mystery hidden from the eyes of the world. There's just no need to really bring it up in most social conversations. So she takes another sip of water and continues to listen.]

[When he finishes, her lashes lower, and her smile is sly.]

Oh? And I suppose you expect you should have stuffed socks in your ear that day to prevent something so completely unpreventable?

[Rukia grins, thumping his shoulder playfully with the back of her knuckle. He's such a sweet young man, fretting over something like this. She's not angry at him. Of course she's not! If anything, she's a little flattered that someone took an interest in her, enough that it prompted them to spend the time to read her history. But she understands his feelings on the matter nonetheless.]

[Setting her water down, she smiles, holding lightly to the edge of the bench with her ankles crossed beneath her.]

Remember that I have lived for decades. What happened in my childhood took place many, many years ago. The time for grieving has long since passed, and my memories of the pleasant times we spent together as children are far stronger than my memories of sorrow. There is no need for pity on my behalf.

[Her smile is warm, to indicate that she needs no repentance or requests for forgiveness.]

What of yourself? It sounds like you're still having a difficult time coping with your own loss.

[silencesfate]

I--maybe not socks but... I could have said... something?

[ There go smooth wordings--Rukia's considerate nature seems to just be making this worse. It's like "please get mad at me, why was I so worried!" He's not the most obviously flustered person, but when his reaction is like this, it should be clear enough to someone he's spent enough time with.

He can't maintain eye contact for very long, still really... unsure. But he's able to return an odd glance to Rukia as she continues on with her words. Her nature as a shinigami... they were in different worlds. Was Kharon serious that he believed they could grow from something as sadly common as having gone through death? That seemed a bit optimistic but...

Rukia was really nice, huh?

Minato rubs the back of his head subconsciously, as he tries to think of a way to really... talk about himself. He was never good at this. ]

Do you think it's 'broken' to stop caring?

[damn_juicebox]

[Some people seem to think she's nice. In all honesty, she just has no reason to be upset about this. Her past isn't a secret, and she's not ashamed of her childhood or what she's been through. It doesn't even cause her any pangs of regret or sadness anymore. Kaien is another matter, but she's guessing he doesn't know about the late lieutenant.]

I suppose that depends on what you've stopped caring about.

[Rukia gives him a considering look, before giving him a faint nod as though to urge him on.]

Why don't you tell me what happened?

[silencesfate]

[ He's so used to whichever guardian or authoritative figure he's being forwarded to to have the details, incomplete details sure, but the essence intact. It feels strange to attempt to elaborate on it now; and more than that, he was worried if, the coldness of his recounting would again strike someone as unnatural. It did, after all, for his relatives. ]

It's been about ten years. I've lived longer without a family, than with one.

[ He breathes it out: words that may sound harsher, than he intended. ]

But... I don't care. [ Minato shakes his head, looking again to the direction of the floor. ] I barely knew them. It feels like everyone thought I should have been sadder, and it's why I'm the way I am. [ "But I've never felt sorry for myself." ] I'm not an idealist who thinks, "how can I grow from this", or dwells on "what could've been". [ "To think, I got trapped by something so worthless." I'm tired. Leave me alone. ]

[ Did they want him to forever be in mourning, for parents he couldn't recall any special fond memories with? He recalled those faces they made: Disappointment. Uncertainty. Fear, perhaps? Maybe it really wasn't outright disgust for his lack of emotions--but that's what it felt like. It was like passing through a hall of eyes, judging his face, his words, and his actions. He didn't stir or look up, he didn't care for any of it. Eventually, he got better at not paying attention. ]

Maybe it's wrong, but their pity made me feel even more ill. Mortal lives will all end one day... it just comes earlier for some. [ He can appreciate the sentiment of "this is reality", more than any of these cheap sympathies. With the dryness of his tone, Rukia can draw an easy enough conclusion Minato wasn't lying, he felt neither sorrow nor anger for the past events in his life; he really was just exhausted. ]

[damn_juicebox]

[Rukia listens, and she pays attention to the way he holds himself, the emotions that register ever so faintly on his face. He seems to be earnest -- she doesn't see misery or sorrow. Just weariness, and perhaps a need to be accepted as he is, without having to fulfill a role out of societal expectations.]

I don't think you're broken. Practical, perhaps.

She crosses her ankles as she stretches out her legs in front of her, holding to the edge of the bench.]

And you're honest about your feelings. If anything, I would see something far more alarming in trying to force emotions that don't exist. As you said, you were very young when they died. It's understandable.

[Her head tips forward as she closes her eyes.]

I believe you may actually be stronger than I am.

[The corners of her mouth turn upward as she regards him with a sideglance, then faces forward.]

I died in the world of the living as an infant. I cannot miss something I never knew, and I never wondered what it would have been like had I survived. And yet, there are some things that still draw my curiosity.

[Her shoulders hitched as she chuckles.]

There's so little I know about the living. Maybe it's just a desire to know them, than a yearning for what never was. I don't know myself well enough to say one way or the other. But you have a clarity most your age don't possess, and a wisdom beyond your years.

You are far from broken, Minato.

[silencesfate]

When they said "emotionless"... I did wonder sometimes, if they filtered it from "soulless" to be nice. [ He sounds amused. ] --Not that anything really offends me, anyway. [ There's a hitched sigh that follows. ]

[ When Rukia mentions strength in him, he's surprised, and turns to her with a stunned blink, as she continued on to tell more about herself.

This was truly ironic, he lived through his tragedy but would oftentimes rather he didn't, and here Rukia had her fascinations with the living world despite having practically only touched it briefly at an age that would remember nothing. Maybe it really was some kind of irony that they came to know each other, Kharon was right. Minato would argue about her putting herself down like this to maybe make him feel better, but he was never good at arguments.

In the end he's looking down once more. There's a distant sound of other people: some children playing it seemed, which carries into the silence, but it's a comfortable silence. What comes out of Minato's mouth are two words; two words as if he finally felt a tight shackle come off, despite his continued confusion for his place in existence. Right now, he was truly grateful for the person beside him. ]

... Thank you.

[damn_juicebox]

[Rukia smiles. She's not sure she did anything special that deserved his thanks, but she doesn't want to dismiss his feelings so readily either. If her honest opinion is what he needed to hear, then she's glad she could give that to him.]

You are welcome.

[Now that she knows more about him, and why he behaves as he does, she feels like she has a better understanding of him as well. The daze in which she first found him makes more sense, as does his calm reactions to things others might respond to with far more vehemence. That quiet certainty as to how he should act and react to difficult situations is a boon, not a flaw.]

[She rises to her feet.]

We still have a few hours before the time loop resets. Come. Allow me to treat you to a hot meal, and you can tell me more about the world from which you hail.

[silencesfate]

[ There were still more layers into it, of course. The who's, the whats, hows and whens, and a sense of foreboding... But not being someone who wanted to dwell very much on his own feelings on things, that he got out a not-insignificant part into the open feels like a massive accomplishment... he would surely think of this as a victory.

His eyes follow her as she gets up, and he blinks, before also getting up himself. ]

I'm afraid it won't be that interesting, but if you'd really like to... [ And food, can't forget the food. He nods gratefully. ] Mm. We can go.