melodiesofeternity | Event || Worldwide Tourists

Event || Worldwide Tourists

Who: All New Arrivals and Curti Center Staff
When: April 15th-30th
Where: All over Vaikuntha, starting outside of the airship hanger
What: Ganeshan, the resident Job Expert, will be taking the new arrivals around the the various Guilds so they can collect their chosen Job Asterisks as noted in their applications.
Warnings/Notes: Guild prompts can be found here

Enter the Master

[Each new arrival's iMog buzzes with a message instructing them to gather for a worldwide adventure to obtain the power of Vaikuntha. If they follow the invitation's instructions, they will arrive at outside of the airship hanger on the morning of the 15th, with their meager belongings packed.

An Enterprise-Class airship, the Ragnarok, hovers outside of the Curti Center. There is a flash of light on the top of the ship.]

"WELCOME!"

[A figure, minuscule at this distance, launches itself off of the ship and hurtles toward the ground. As he draws closer to the ground, he starts to flip, landing with a flourish. An armored figure, sans helm, turns his toothy Zora grin to the crowd. With a shimmer, his armor transforms into a white mage's robe, and he sends a rush of wind through the crowd for dramatic effect.]

"I AM GANESHAN, THE JOB MASTER! GYA HA HA HA! TODAY, YOUR LIVES WILL CHANGE FOREVER."

[Ganeshan shimmers again, ruthlessly abusing the Chemist's Modifier skill to once again shift Job Classes so he can lower the airship's loading dock with a wave of his hand.]

"I BELIEVE THAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU HAS THE ABILITY TO MASTER THE JOB CLASSES. SOME OF YOU MAY MASTER MANY, OTHERS WILL PURSUE THE PERFECT MASTERY OF JUST ONE. BUT EITHER WAY, YOU'LL BE INCREDIBLE!"

[Ganeshan gives everyone a big thumbs-up. The out-worlders who are not scared off by this booming speech can feel free to enter the airship and prepare for their ride around the world. Hopefully some of the Curti Center's newest hires can serve as ~~non-crazy~~ less exuberant tour guides for the new arrivals.]

Around the World

[The Ragnarok will be stopping at every major city in Vaikuntha, with the exception of those cut off by the Imperial border closing. Characters can create top levels to respond to the Guild prompts and explore the cities themselves as the ship makes its stops. Each Guild provides information sessions, free food and trinkets for potential applicants, and once you're ready to receive your Asterisk, all you have to do is take some introductory lessons and fill out forms. Characters can receive up to two asterisks. Time to get to know your new world!

Questions for Ganeshan can be directed to the Ganeshan top level post.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yep! My name's Hunk. And apparently it's a holiday." He laughs, but in more of an uncomfortable sort of way rather than someone who's actually found something funny. This holiday isn't funny.

"I was excited because I thought it'd just be people hanging out and talking about their feelings." Hunk trails off for a moment to sigh, but it sounds like he's participating in the holiday by complaining about the holiday. "But no, people just run around and whine at random! There's no conversation!"

Hunk stops dead in his tracks in the middle of a temporarily-empty intersection, and looks up. Balmogra's in the sky, gesturing with his pom-pom for them to turn right. So Hunk obliges.

"So... Nyx, right? You uh... probably aren't a fan of complaining then, huh? S-sorry." And now he looks sheepish, because he got this guy out of an awkward situation and... immediately subjected him to the same.

"Maybe that was the point at first but it's definitely devolved into something a little more frustrating."

He glances around, seeing that the locals at least didn't seem all that frustrated. They were obviously used to such things. He supposed growing up with it would certainly change the perspective but Nyx would need to remember this date to avoid coming here the following year.

If they were still here.

"Look, there's a huge difference between what they're doing and what you're doing." There was at least an even exchange between them. Hunk had saved Nyx from an unknown amount of time listening to someone babble on about problems he had no context for.

Relateable complaining was far easier to listen to.

"I was in the demonstration but I saw something on the wall... You ever end up somewhere that's similar to a familiar place but things are just slightly off?"

Honestly, it was nice for Hunk to get validated by this total stranger. From their acknowledgement of this crazy holiday and the fact that Nyx thought that there was a difference between Hunk's frustration and the locals', he was almost smiling. Almost, because the guy poked a topic that was anything but happy.

"Back home, we went into another world and our friend was an evil space Empress who took away people's free will to make sure her rule was unopposed. We left as soon as we could." Hunk doesn't know how to follow that up, so he just laughs nervously for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts without launching them like a fire hose.

"That's got to be darker than what you had in mind, right?"

"Honestly I didn't expect you to say you had a similar experience."

Nyx did have to agree it was a bit darker than he'd had in mind since this place hardly seemed like a terrible place. No evil versions of anyone he knew had shown up yet at least. Perhaps he just hadn't explored far enough.

"I suppose I'm having the opposite experience, since something that had tried to kill me in my own world is painted on a wall and apparently might be a helpful summon."

He glances up to Hunk's moogle, idly wondering where his had gone off to yet again. He rarely kept actual track of Malbo since the moogle always managed to keep up.

"My life is really strange, and I've just had to accept it. Otherwise I'd probably lose my mind." Hunk starts to laugh, but then a handful of pebbles crash into an alleyway wall to their left. He glances up, sees a yellowy-orange pom-pom from the roof, and just starts increasing the volume of his voice.

"Angry helpful summon? Oof." Hunk nods towards Nyx as a citizen rounds a corner and starts approaching. "The Emperor of a once-evil space empire tried to kill us but now he's our friend after we helped him take over." Hunk takes a short breath, and then goes into full-on forced shouting.

"So now we're friends, except it's awkward because he almost killed us. So I might understand whatever you wanna share about this thing that tried to kill you." And Hunk stares at Nyx, with a pleading look of his own in between gasping breaths.

Nyx frowned a little at the raised voice, then followed Hunk's eyes. Oh, time to avoid another problem. The problem was finding something worthwhile to complain about, but .. well, there were plenty of complaints from his world.

"Oh, right, it..." He takes a breath, before raising his voice to match Hunk's. "It's a giant purple squid or octopus. It was a little hard to tell, what with the attempting to kill me thing. It killed quite a few of my comrades in arms but the princess and I managed to escape!"

This was a very strange thing to be shouting.

"Then we headed back to the Citadel and you wouldn't believe it, my captain, in a massive suit of armor mind you, just murders the king and his shield!"

Yup. This was awkward.

Hunk sighs deeply at all the screaming- it was really messing with his nerves! But a purple cephalopod would be cool, if it wasn't terrifying and murderous. Luckily for them both, the pedestrian quickly made their way from earshot- were they too loud? Perfect.

"That sounds terrible, Nyx. I'm sorry." And Hunk just takes a moment to stare straight at the ground. A moment of silence for the dead, and because he doesn't know how to follow up, at least at first.

"Is armor that unusual? You just mentioned the king had a shield."

Nyx takes the moment as well, sighing through his nose. At least Clarus was receiving another chance here. He wasn't sure why the king hadn't. Perhaps something to do with the ring. Or just the desire of a father to see things through with his son.

"It is the result of war. They all died bravely."

He looks up at Hunk, raising a brow. Well, he supposed he could understand the assumption, even if it sounded a little odd to his own ears.

"The... King's Shield is a man. He is specifically tasked with guarding the king above all else. It's simply a title. One that I see is not common."

Though, Clarus Amicitia was certainly built like a shield. At this point, Nyx couldn't say impenetrable considering... but intimidating, yes.

Hunk's next sigh shudders a bit, showing he's more than a little rattled by how horrible the situation sounds. The worst part was that it felt familiar.

"So your boss murdered your king and his personal guard." His volume and tone have cooled considerably from the shouting, and a perceptive eye would notice that his hands have balled into fists. "Why... why would he do that?"

It was like if Shiro up and killed Allura and Coran. Or when Zarkon killed King Alfor and most of the Alteans. Hunk was realizing that betrayals happened far too often.

Nyx crosses his arms, looking down at the ground. He wanted to make sure he explained it correctly, even if it wasn't a decision he had made himself. It wasn't one he respected, to be honest but it wasn't one he didn't misunderstand.

"He was afraid. He saw no hope for the future except through the enemy and we all were afraid at the time. I'm not surprised he and so many others turned their backs. I understand, even if I'm not fond of the decision."

Betrayal was still betrayal. Drautos simply hadn't seen all the possibilities. He only saw the coming darkness, not the light after it.

"Though it sounds as if you are facing your own battles as well."

They gave up. It's something that Hunk, in his earlier days, would've done too. Faced with impossible odds and insurmountable fears, he wasn't sure if he could fault them. Would giving the Galra the Lions have been worse than murder? Probably. And then Hunk finds himself dwelling on a lot of his own struggles.

"We... we were supposed to be winning. We'd won the war." He sighs. "An evil, oppressive dictator was killed in cold blood by his son, who took over the Empire we were fighting. There was peace, and we even started working together to solve our problems."

There are hints of optimism in his voice, and flickers of warmth when he started talking about peace and problem solving. "But... now I'm here. And that peace might be fragile. And I can't do anything to help it."

Doubt was something that Nyx no longer needed to feel but he still did. There was nothing to be done and he would probably never learn the full scope of what would or already had happened after his death but he couldn't shake the feelings that came with it. Of course, people weren't supposed to feel anything at all so this put him at a disadvantage.

"That sounds positive." He says softly, giving Hunk a nod. "You should have faith in the people that were left behind."

He reaches to give Hunk's shoulder a squeeze.

"Focus on getting back. Don't worry about what's going on back home right now, or else you'll end up in a deadlock."

The Paladin lets out a little 'meep' at the squeeze, not unlike a dog's obnoxious chew toy. And then he starts to chuckle, some of the mirth returning with each breath.

"You're right. The more I freak out, the less I'm doing about it. And they... they'll be fine!" So Hunk sighs, trying to let out the tension and anxiety that this stupid holiday is forcing into the atmosphere. He's not sure if it's working, but he's going to tell himself it is. His team survived with four Paladins for a while, they can do it again.

"I, uh... I'm sorry your war isn't going so well. Are they gonna be okay while you're gone?" He doubted it, what with a murdered king.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event || Worldwide Tourists

tbh I'm glad this went over well because it was kinda a lot

It was pretty great tbh

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