melodiesofeternity | Anniversary Event: Defying Fate

The world had ended. Vaikuntha had fallen in despair. Ramaa and Bahamut had won. Following their victory, everything had faded to black and you should have ceased to exist. You no longer had a body. You could not move nor speak, you could not see nor ear or feel.

Is this... What nothingness is like? And yet—

"Don't give up."

A voice rose from the void.

"You may have lost... But it doesn't have to remain that way."

A few may recognize the voice of the little girl who identified herself as Ashelia.

"Your power is that to change the face of the world. It is written Vaikuntha fell and the Calamity returned. But... Perhaps you can change it."

The voice pauses.

"I do not know how. All I can do is send you back. But you can do it. You are the only ones who can. Please, don't give up!"

The voice ends abruptly, and suddenly the void is gone. Your body is back, as are your senses— You are back in Vaikuntha. But something is different... Nothing has been destroyed yet. No riots. No Bahamut. The sky is clear as the sun is setting, the people are still holding onto hope. You are back in Vaikuntha, but it is 17:24 on April 08th. You are at the exact same spot you were at, as if nothing had happened.

Except you remember everything that happened, and may still happen should the future remain the same. And you will keep remembering even as time loops again and again. But you're the only one remembering— You and your fellow Heroes of Light.

It all depends on you whether the future changes or not.

[ Please use this thread for mingle during the first or one of the first loops, at any point during the loops. ]

Edited 2019-03-14 15:00 (UTC)

[One moment, Frisk is clinging desperately to their very existence, mind a whirlwind of emotions all feeding into the determination running through their veins, the soul beating outside of their body, keeping them alive— and then they're not. And then they are again, tumbling unceremoniously from their bed. They've spent a lot of time there, recently. There's so much horror in the world, and nothing they can do about it, not without their power—]

[But they weren't in bed a moment ago, were they? The sun wasn't shining through their window, the world was ending, and their slate says today is...]

[Their eyes widen, and for the first time in who knows how long, they yell.]

"RESET!"

[A second after that rather unfamiliar sound, there's a series of loud thumps as they come crashing out of their room, down the stairs, and across the house with more energy than they've felt since they got here. They reset. Someone reset, they think they recognized that voice, but it doesn't matter they're back in time and they could kiss the first person they see—]

[They don't, actually, but as they're rounding the corner of the hall at breakneck speed and see their double, all impulse control vanishes. They grab Frisk.bin by the front of their shirt and shake them violently, eyes shining with their grin.]

"Frisk do you remember too?! Reset, Frisk, there was a Reset! We can do something!"

It was strange, really. Even after almost a year on Vaikuntha, after day in and day out of slaughtering monsters, after everything she'd done, after everything they couldn't do... When reality was crumbling apart, Frisk.bin's first instinct was still to give Ramaa a hug.

You can take the kid out of the Underground, but apparently you can't take the Underground out of the kid.

But then they woke up in their room, seventy-nine hours earlier. And Frisk started laughing. It was hard to identify the emotion behind the uncontrollable chuckling. Fear? Relief? Regret? Anger? Nostalgia? Whatever it was, it was powerful.

Dragging a hand down their face, Frisk stumbles down the stairs, still bleary. Was this a dream? The afterlife? Their soul was a roiling storm of conflicting emotions and mental nausea, and--

--the last thing Frisk needed was the very person who represented the dangers of this kind of event squeeing right in front of them. It's more of an instinct than anything else, really. Their files were autoloaded, they were still feeling the echoes of adrenaline, and they were really, really angry at themself.

Frisk.bin punches Frisk.exe in the face.

Edited 2019-03-14 20:40 (UTC)

[Frisk.exe reels back, confusion flickering over their face for a split second before they remember who they're dealing with. They've been avoiding their double for a reason, and part of that reason is related to why they don't look at their reflection in the mirror— but also because they'd definitely get punched.]

"Should've 'xpected that," [they mutter, wincing as the press a hand over their stinging eye.] "Forgot we're different."

He was falling. Opalescence was dead, Frisk was dead, Snow White, dead, his Trance was fading, and all he could think about was how he had, somehow, against all odds, managed to end another world.

I'm sorry, Zidane. I tried.

And then fire had consumed him, and that had been it. Not for the first time, he'd found himself adrift in oblivion, alone. And then there'd been a voice.

Not for the first time, Kuja found himself coming to in a place he did not recognize. The world was spinning, the terror of death never quite having lost its grip-

"-comes to thirty five thousand three hundred and seventy-five gil, would you-" He'd reacted in panic, a spell arcing between his fingertips as a blameless, terrified shop clerk dove for cover, a bolt of lightning narrowly missing her. "What..."

"Boss, the hell was that?! You just attacked that girl for no reason, what's wrong with you-" Mojito. Alive. Not at Frisk's, just confused and concerned and- alive.

"Sorry," comes the mumbled apology, and he's rushing out of the store without his ethers, hyperventilating. That wasn't a dream. He'd died, he knew the feeling of it. It wasn't a dream. They'd failed. He'd failed, played like a damned fiddle, a doll dancing on strings once again. He launches into the air and starts flying. He doesn't care where.

It had almost taken him by surprise, when the roof of Kiddilion had been caved in, and the fires of Mega Flare had finished the job. He couldn't shake that cold, dread feeling, the sensation of failure and of death. He hadn't had it in him to do anything other than run and hide.

"-comes to thirty five thousand three hundred and seventy-five gil, would you like to pay cash or... sir?"
Kuja looks up, sees the concerned cashier. Sees the unmarked wall behind her. Sees the blue sky and the setting sun outside. "Just- charge it," he replies, quietly. The purchase is scooped into his... well, wherever the Chemist stores objects, and he staggers towards the exit.

"Mister Tribal, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

He stops, turns, afraid of what he might say, but in the end he settles on a reply. "Quite fine, just- It's nothing. What was your name?"

"Um. Marie, sir."

Kuja turns to leave. "Thank you, Marie."

Not a second chance. A time loop. It's impossible, completely impossible, the sheer amount of magic involved-

But how?

For the first time since Bahamut, he checks his iMog. 5:47 PM, April 8th.

Without thinking, he starts furiously composing a message. Frisk, Frisk, Asriel, Papyrus, Madhuri, Matilda, Snow White, Conway, Red, Chara- Everyone he knows.

Has anybody else been reliving their last three days on Vaikuntha over again? Asking for a friend.

"You're damn fucking right we are."

[Frisk takes a sharp breath, ready to snap something back— but they catch themself, shut their eyes, and let their shoulders slump.]

"Whatever. Y'don't have to care 'bout saving people if y'don't wanna."

[They push past Frisk.bin, heading in the vague direction of the kitchen. They're pretty sure there's some ice there, and they can already feel their eye swelling a little. Better to get that covered before going tearing out of the house.]

Frisk grinds their teeth, following their counterpart through the kitchen. Oh, no. They did not get to run from their problems. Not this time. "You know that isn't what this is about," they hiss. "Oh, sure, you'll start with good enough intentions, but how do I know that you won't eventually go completely nutso again and decide that hey, maybe Ramaa has the right idea after all?"

Edited 2019-03-15 17:18 (UTC)

not precisely

i didn't punch other frisk in the face last time

how are you holding up?

[Frisk makes a face as they dig around in the freezer. There's no proper ice, but a bag of frozen peas should work, right? They shut the freezer again, pressing the icy goodness over the forming bruise, and brush past their double again.]

"You don't. I know, 'cause I'm me, but you're not gonna take me at my word."

Not the best

Total deaths: 3
Total times caused universal destruction: 3
Total times succeeded on previous: 2

not a score i exactly wanted to improve, frisk

I have and it's a lot to take in right now. Not gonna lie, I'm feeling pretty stressed.

Space altering shenanigans I'm familiar with, but time? Not so much.

"I bet you were thinking the first time you reset that it would just be this once, right? One more try, and you'd let them go free. And look where that led you." Admittedly, this was only tangentially related to the topic at hand. It was just... Frisk had barely talked to Frisk to make a point, and they needed to get all of this off their chest at this point. And to convince themself that they wouldn't do the exact same thing in Frisk's circumstances.

Edited 2019-03-15 18:58 (UTC)

"No."

[They have to put the peas aside in order to put on their boots, and they pause halfway through lacing the first one up to wonder exactly what they're planning on doing. There's a million tragedies all over the world, and they need to pick just one to start with.]

[They shake their head, returning to the conversation at hand.]

"First reset was 'cause I messed up. First reset-reset, knew it'd take tons of tries. Thought it was worth it."

At least I'm not delusional. I feel like I need a stiff drink and a nap. How are we supposed to even attempt to fight without drawing from what we were before? I'm a skilled mage, but without channeling Gaia's power I barely even touched her. I might as well have been throwing stones at Bahamut

i don't understand what the hell we're supposed to do

There must be something we missed. Or likely a lot of somethings. Technically, we have a lot of time to figure that out, but that's what scares me.

Admittedly, I've been a bit thankful for not having all of my magic here. Being empathetic with so much despair in the air is something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

The world shatters. He'd tried, in the end, to keep going, and perhaps to Serge's credit he'd lasted longer than most. Time twisted and bent around him, and he heard the chord- not the one that Ramaa had been talking about, but the one that happened every time he used the Arbiter's skills. The one that brought to mind the feeling of whalebone beneath his fingers, of incense and bells, the soft and far-off sound of a voice in prayer he can't quite remember... The feeling of sunlight on his face, and a fleeting image of feathers falling from the sky.

It hadn't been enough. Abandoning a timeline to bounce back once, compressing time to do it again, all the while trying to save- everyone. Anyone. It hadn't been enough.

In the darkness beyond time, he'd heard a voice, and, in a strange way, the faintest hint of something- deeper. Another note, something familiar but forgotten, not a chord like he'd heard before, but an actual song. The power to heal. To fix. To make everything better.

And then he was standing in his room, with a phone in one hand. "Serge, please don't shout at me. I'm coming to the Center. No matter what happens-"
April the 8th. He'd been on the phone with Mom, arguing about the evacuation. She hadn't listened to him, and when the hamsters...

"No," he says, louder than he'd intended. "I'll come to you. Stay put."

He practically flies out the door, mind racing as he runs for the airship hangar. He'd steal one if he had to. He has an opportunity- a second chance- to fix everything. To make it right.

"Hey! I need an airship and I need it now! Who's going Hisan way?"

MISTER VIMES?

Vimes looked up, into a grinning face. All the face could do was grin, really. He had the sense to at least look apologetic about it. "Yeah, alright. What is it? I'm a bit busy, if you can't tell!"

There was a pause. ER. IT WOULD SEEM I AM HAVING ANOTHER NEAR-VIMES EXPERIENCE. THIS IS MOST IRREGULAR.

"Oh. That... means I'm technically having a Near-Death Experience. Right?" There was a glimmer of hope, there.

NO. There wasn't really any arguing with a voice like that.

"Oh."

IF IT HELPS, DO NOT THINK OF IT AS DYING. THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY TO AVOID THE-

And then Vimes was gone, whisked away from the world to... somewhere. The grinning, robed figure stood there for a moment, as though confused, and fished a tiny, golden hourglass from the depths of its robes, examining it with a careful eye. After several seconds' rumination, there was a faint grumbling, and the hourglass was carefully stowed away again.

A TIME LOOP. I ASK YOU...

The world came back into focus as Sam Vimes' foot slid out from underneath him. There was a shout, and an explosion of profanity loud enough to make the snow fall from the roofs of the buildings nearby, as the Captain landed on his rear in the street. "What- what in the hell-"

Edited 2019-03-15 22:01 (UTC)

The First Loop 17:24 – House B-06

Even though Selphie knew she was being manipulated, getting strung along did a hard-emotional number on the usually cheerful SeeD. A certain Empress who shall remain nameless had spun pretty words together that had her in a doubtful state of mind. The battle had gone by so quickly that it blurred to the point of being difficult to discern what all had happened. Yet, it seemed that as quickly as it had started, everything was over, and the world had ended.

Or so Selphie thought as she opened her eyes to glance down at a frying pan full of eggs that were beyond saving. The heat on the stove was turned off and the pan was tossed in the sink with water. The sizzling symphony from the water hitting the pan left her in a confused state.

It was Trabia Garden all over again but on a significantly larger magnitude.

“Wha…?” she murmured before her eyes widened in recollection. “Bahamut! We were all on Bahamut’s back and…” she trailed off as Jaelyn came into the kitchen, scowling at the ruined dinner. “We failed.”

“Selphie…?” Jaelyn queried as the SeeD began to piece a few things together with a panicked look. “What’s wrong?”

“Something’s wrong…” Selphie muttered as she abandoned the frying pan and was dashing to the door to grab her boots and jacket.

“What’s wrong? Wait, Selphie!” Jaelyn pressed. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

Selphie cast a worried look at her moogle before she opened the door and finally nodded. “I did, but I need to find out what’s going on.”

Selphie dashed out the door and began sprinting toward the Curti Centre to try and find out what was going on.

Locked to Minimus – Pick a Loop

Enough time had passed and Selphie finally slowed down enough to process the Empress’s words. The words that were so wrong and incomprehensible, that the SeeD had denied them within moments of hearing them. According to the Empress, everything that had been sacrificed on Crystallis had been in vain. The four heroes – Sephiroth, Tear, Sayaka and Minato – had given up their lives for nothing. Everything had been undone in a matter of minutes and Selphie had been powerless to stop any of it.

Selphie knew that everything hadn’t been done in vain, but the way that the Empress had said it all, had left the brunette in a state of shock that hadn’t completely worn off. The anxiety crept back up and left her utterly speechless as she eventually sank onto a nearby bench and stared off into the distance. The timeline of events eventually reduced the young woman to tears that she didn’t bother to hide.

Devastated didn’t even begin to describe how Selphie felt about the Empress’s words.

Wildcard! – Pick a Loop

Come at me! Send me a message on Discord, Plurk or send me a message!

This... being was not unfamiliar.

Nothing anyway.

Everywhere... nowhere... waiting.

And with a gasp, he was back, standing in the kitchen in Arito, home in tact, lions outside, nothing had happened. Looking at the date though, everything was about to happen. Staring at the date, breakfast burning, it took a scratch and nudge from Plagg and Blanc respectively to bring him back to attention. No attempts were made to salvage breakfast at this point; just start again.

Try again.

Don't give up.

Lavode and Sparks Golsaucia were the two places he headed to after a bare breakfast, his stomach rolling at the thought of what would soon come. People could stop him in either location, but he was in a hurry to the library (requesting the day off and checking out a few books) and then Lady of Bliss.

After, he would be found in Arito - just Arito - as Adrien to prepare himself for later. He had to stop it this time - this time he would make sure the riots didn't get out of hand and that explosion didn't occur. Pidge would know how to get the lions out while he tried mitigating the situation and Marinette could help with evacuations, but he had to figure out a way to stem the violence. He didn't get help last time so he couldn't assume he'd get that much again.

[OOC: While the set-up for the first loop, can be played with on subsequent ones. Just be advised that he might become gradually more frustrated and died during a few. Also, encounters further in Arito will be as Chat Noir. Fortunate that he's patient enough to keep trying as he'll gain details where key points of rioting occur and know where the explosion takes place.]

Around noon on the 8th, a Moogle with an electric blue pom can be encountered fluttering at high speed around the Curti Center. If she sees you and recognizes you as a Hero of Light - or anyone friendly looking, honestly - she'll fly up to you, wringing her paws.

"Please, come help, kupo! It's Terra, kupo, he's - something's wrong with him, and he won't listen to me, kupoooo!" She realizes she's shouting and quiets down. "I'm really scared, kupo..."

Terra's little apartment at first seems to be empty, sword in its sheath hung by the door and everything lived-in but not particularly messy. Mogila, however, flies straight into the bedroom, whence comes a Mooglish scream.

Terra's not on the bed, or even in the chair; he's wedged into a corner with his face buried in his knees. This is somewhat impeded by the fact that Mogila is patting him over frantically, looking for injuries perhaps. The perceptive may notice that while Terra's greatsword was hung up, there's a shorter blade resting on the bedside table.

"I'm fine, Mogila. Go away." He does not sound fine, at all.

She really should be going and getting a head start on some things that need to be done, but Naomi does turn her head to the sounds of the shouting Moogle. Terra... right, the one she had made rather disturbed upon that ship some time ago.

"I can see what I can do." That's all that really can be said because nothing's a guarantee. "Tell me along the way about his behavior."

Castor couldn't have ignored Mogila if she'd wanted to, if only because her shouting had gotten Bernadette all worked up, and an unhappy Ben was not something Castor was about to tolerate right now.

But her blood chills a bit upon hearing Mogila's plea for help and she's running towards Terra's rooms even before the moogle finishes.

"Terra? Terra where are--!"

Oh.

Oh.

Castor creeps in, moving down to her knees even before she's within arm's reach of him. "Terra...?"

Loop 1 - Relapse Locked to Chara (and possibly Papyrus/Asgore)
The door to Asriel's room is closed. A while back, the sounds of smashing and furniture getting thrown around could be heard muffledly from outside the room, and the thump of something falling over to hit the door. All in all, it's remarkably similar to what happened with Frisk months ago.

Asriel's slate signal reads "connection lost". Chazz is nowhere to be found. The door is partially blocked with something in front of it, and there's only silence on the inside.

Asriel in his room, locked to UT characters, Kuja, Conway, Corrin, Megatron.

Talking About It Locked to UT cast, Kuja, Megatron, Conway, Plague Knight, and anyone else who decides Asriel temporarly borrowed their soul during loop 0
Asriel's imog slate lights up again. His status message has changed, simply stating "I'm sorry. @home.". It looks like he's online. And at home in his room, too.

[Private Group] Locked to Kuja, Frisk.exe, Megatron
>hey
>i guess you allxkij
>i guess i should tell you all the purpose of this group

Asriel is typing...

Asriel has stopped typing.

Asriel is typing...

>things went bad
>i don't know
>i had a therapist back home
>someone to talk to
>i was doing really well
>but now we have three days over and over again
>can't really get a new one. nobody would believe us anyway, we'd have to get past the "no i'm not crazy i'm just part of bullshit time travel" phase
>people talked to me
>it helped bt

Asriel is typing...

>i just think
>we need to talk to each other if nobody else
>to people that might understand
>the specifics
>not like these logs are gonna get saved anyway. Might as well right
>nobody will remember except us

Asriel is typing...

>you can just leave if you don't want to deal with this. password for all future groups is omnicide if you ever want to
>no caps

Asriel is typing...

Asriel has stopped typing.

Edited 2019-03-16 03:23 (UTC)

Asriel, right? Right address for messages?

Right, good, yes. You'd think I'd be more experienced with this slate thing after a couple months here, hee hee!

Soooo ehh. That was a thing, eh? That thing you did. During that final fight. Ehee. What exactly was that? It felt like when I used my essence for brewing my greatest work, but more so.

Anniversary Event: Defying Fate

The First (Few) Loops || Mingle

Locked to Frisk.bin

Vriska meeting (Vriska), 2019, colorized

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Kuja

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cut to 30 loops later when frisk.bin is covered in bbq sauce and jumping into the great devouring

[IASIP title card] Frisk.bin Exploits Time Travel For Fun And Profit

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But the world refused to change | Anyone with an airship

A Near-Vimes Experience

Curti Centre | OTA (now in the right place)

Adrien | OTA

Curti Center [cw: suicidal ideation/thoughts/possible attempt]

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Prince Asriel Has A Total Meltdown

Re: Prince Asriel Has A Total Meltdown - Talking About It (Text post from the worst possible person)