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

[He raises an eyebrow, seeing how oddly high spirited this guy is compared to the others who- look a bit pale. If not green around the gills. He's honestly concerned for those who are, but at the same time, is starting to think it's good he doesn't know...

Ah well; more for them, indeed.]

Their loss.

[He has half a mind to get his own plate, because hell yeah free food. But he also isn't about to turn down a cookie.]

Guess not, and sure.

[He takes exactly one cookie, still surprised at just how many types of food he recognizes in this place considering. Different worlds.

Nom.]

[ Hunk snags a mini-sandwich from the plate, and unceremoniously shovels it into his mouth, like any Gourmand worth his organic, dried-from-the-tears-of-his-terrified-foes salt. ]

Sho. [ Chew. Chew. Swallow. ] I feel like I've seen you around, but I don't think we've met. I'm Hunk.

[ One hand reaches out for a handshake, while the other snatches up one of the cookies. The plate rests on his knee, while that cookie quickly gets bitten right in half. ] S-sorry, I shkipped breakfast.

[Noctis blinks briefly, before chuckling. Well someone sure did pick up this particular asterisk. Rest in pieces, broski.

Wait. He recognizes that name!]

One of Shiro's team, huh? He mentioned you on the ship. [Yes. That ship. The one they all woke up on, packed like a bunch of sardines.] Noctis.

[Well, it's not the worst first impression he's gotten from someone. ~~Just ask Prompto or about 7/8ths of his former classmates ayyyyy.~~ Kind of up there, though.]

Nah, it's cool. I did, too.

[But he has decorum. Or rather, etiquette was drilled into his brain since he was three. Still, he shakes Hunk's hand.]

Noctis. Nice to meet you!

[ Oh good, Noctis knows what a handshake is! But something about this exchange is familiar. And then the realization hits- ]

Yeah, Shiro mentioned you! I think he mentioned a car?

[ And then Hunk just starts to laugh before his eyes dart towards his half-finished cookie. Chewing makes talking hard... ]

Honestly, I've met so many people that I'm surprised I can remember my own name!

[ And now he takes the chance to scarf down the rest of that cookie. ]

Nice to meet you, too- [He raises an eyebrow at that.]

Yeah? [Well then.] Dare I ask what he mentioned about it?

[Though to be fair he didn't really say much about the Regalia, he's still curious. He says while continuing to eat the same cookie from earlier, because it's good, okay.]

...be kind of sad if you forgot something like that. [Munch munch. Aw, it's gone.]

[ Hunk shrugs, because if he actually forgot his name, there'd probably be bigger problems to worry about. ]

He said it was a car. Cars are apparently less of a universal constant than cookies.

[ And he offers the plate to Noctis again. ]

This is the part where you tell me it's fueled by the [ And his voice takes on a theatrical, horror-B-movie bass for a few words. ] souls of the dead.

He mentioned there was magic, so I'm just assuming the worst. [ Hunk laughs, but there's an edge of unease to it. What if he's right?! ]

[Nooo kidding.That aside, he'll take one of those sandwiches - silently promising to get another plateful if they all end up disappearing one way or another.]

Fair enough. Certainly haven't seen one here, yet-

[Oh. Sweet Astrals, that. That's actually hilarious. Not that it shows, save for in his eyes. Because seriously, man?]

Oh yeah, but pretty sure that's just the airships and the enemy military back home... Ah, and my ring.

[He says it so matter-of-factly, said black band hanging from a silver chain around his neck. Does Hunk believe it though.]

Nah, it's just gas. Unleaded 75 to be precise. No big deal.

[ Hunk's attention hangs on the mentions of airships, an enemy military, and a ring. There's no way that his horror movie joke was right, was it? Robeasts seemed to be real people at one point, so... ]

What's your ring do?

[ It's the simplest out of the three options. And since he almost forgot it in the list, probably the safest. But Hunk's looking more than a little creeped out, because magic is apparently horrifying? ]

[Okay, he can't help it. He laughs. Of all the things to focus on, and he has to focus on the tiniest, but most powerful, piece of them all.]

Back home? Not something to talk about over food. Here? Apparently give my dad's bodyguard nightmares.

[And that's all the warning he's going to get before he takes a bite of that sandwich.]

[ Hunk takes a bite of a sandwich himself, because stress demands more fuel. And this conversation took a turn he didn't see coming. Creepy appetite-stomping ring? a bodyguard with nightmares? He could go back to talking about airships and an enemy military, but that didn't seem to positive. ]

What about your dad?

[ If he needs a bodyguard, then he's probably important. If he's important, it'll probably be a happier topic, and it might get Noctis to smile. Maybe. Please? ]

[Wow Hunk; he thought the laugh would help assuage things, but guess not. Natural worrier and panicker. Got it. Though at the question, he sobers up a bit. Oh, he definitely was important alright.]

What about him?

[You need to be more specific than that, Hunk.]

[ Hunk did not expect that question to backfire. He expected Noctis to take it and run with it, to drag them away from the topic of nightmare rings. Oops. ]

Why does he have a bodyguard?

[ And he pauses for a moment, clearly struggling with a follow-up question, until it became very clear that his brain demanded answers. ]

What does he think of the ring? If it gives his bodyguard nightmares...

[Look man, it didn't so much as backfire as it did kick him back into a habit he picked up the last few months. On the run. He looks vaguely apologetic as he bites into the sandwich, thinking on how to answer.

Fuck it, the guys likely spilled the beans (ugh, beans) already. So, he removes the ring from the necklace, placing it on his finger again. Nothing happens, Hunk; don't freak out.]

Never talked about it, so can't say I know what he thought. But it's the mark of a monarch in my country.

[He smirks faintly, letting that sink in.]

... No need to look like a mouse cornered by a cat, man.

[ Hunk just watches in awe and, well, a little abject horror as Noctis touches that ring. And puts it on his finger. And says it makes him a king. What kind of king has an heirloom powered by, like, the souls of the dead? One that's probably sketchy! ]

So if you're a prince or a king or whatever...

[ Hunk notes that Noctis has the ring. That he mentioned his dad's bodyguard. That someone mentioned dying before coming to Vaikuntha. There's a conclusion there, but hoo boy does he not want to say it. ]

Should I call you, like, Your Majesty or something?

[ Hunk one-shots a cookie, because he's honestly met too many kings and queens and whatnot for this to faze him. Especially one who fell asleep and is so cool as to rip apart this pile of snacks with him. ]

[Honestly, he wouldn't blame Hunk for it. At all. He knows his country's history reads like a cross between Halloween and a soap opera. Heck, so does his entire world. Still, he shrugs.]

Just Noct's fine. And I was kidding about the whole 'souls of the dead' thing.

[He just ran with the joke.]

Well, the foreign army part wasn't. This is just fine. [It's only his ancestors inside it, or should be. It's kind of... weird. Not sensing their power.]

[ There was a bit of a pause from Hunk. Not just because the "souls of the dead" thing came back. But because apparently someone was doing that. ]

So, Noct... [ He looks nervous. He had to know. If the Altean castle ship could have an AI mirror of a dead king, maybe this was similar. Or it was spooky evil magic. Maybe this worked on concepts like quintessence, and he could come back with knowledge to help Allura and Lotor. Or maybe it's just spooky evil magic. ]

What'd they do with those souls?

Honestly, I'd rather not know.

[And yet a Certain Asshole decided to leave a nice little paper trail for him to find. Bastard.]

Weapons, robot troops, various magitek... [He frowns.] Still not sure what to make of how they use the same term here.

[He is really, really hoping that they aren't using the same sort of shit here. Otherwise he might just want to burn some factories down. Because his weapons are kind of stuck at present, so that option is out of the window.]

So, [subject change, go] What do you think of this job?

[ Hunk doesn't mind the topic change. He prefers anything but this dark nonsense, but it makes him feel a little safer knowing that the Necromancer Guild is far from the Magitek Knight guild. Maybe he'll send that info Noct's way later. ]

I already picked up the asterisk, then I ran into Shiro, that was fun. [ He's casual, particularly nonchalant given that he just learned he's speaking with royalty. ] But Ganeshan said I can support my friends with my cooking, so it was a no-brainer.

[ His voice raises just a bit, more from excitement than boisterousness. ] I'm gonna be the best Gourmand they've ever seen- I mean, I might be already, given all the cooking I've done.

[ He giggles, and takes another sandwich. Hunk is wholly oblivious to the few gasps that echoed from bystanders who then hurriedly left the room. ]

[He would appreciate it. So much. But given how much he hates both by the mere concept alone, it'll probably take him months to even look at Magitek Knight.]

Oh really. [He leans forward slightly, returning to polishing off the sandwich.] I thought Specs would be interested, considering his hobby's cooking, but apparently not.

[Hunk might not notice, but he does notice the movement in the corner of his eye. He blinks, looks over, and shrugs. Again, more food for them!]

Specs? [ Hunk gives the guy a look. Because that sure is a name, especially compared to Noctis. ] Tell me that's not his real name.

[ And then a smile slithers across Hunk's face. ] And is he a good cook?

No, it's just a nickname. Real name's Ignis. Just call him that because he keeps messing with his any time he has an emotional response he tries to hide.

[And at that question, he grins.] He's turned things no one's thought as edible into some of the best steaks or lasagna I've had, despite the veggies.

[And he ate. All of it. Without complaint. It's a godsdamned miracle.]

[ Hunk's got a bit of a grasp of how to make miracles out of weird space foods, so he's thrilled at the idea of Ignis being a cook with similar skills. ]

Lasagna? What sort of crazy stuff did he put in lasagna? [ Steaks, sure. There are some weird things you can kill and eat. But that's not the weirdest part. ]

You... don't eat vegetables? How do you survive?

Oh, just jabberwock meat. No big deal. [He pauses before telling him what that is.] Giant bipedal lizard? About three stories tall?

[And that certainly is a few more bystanders slowly shrinking back and toward the councilors. Huh.]

Oh, I eat them. Begrudgingly. Just can't stand the taste all that well.

A jabberwock is a... [ A three-story bipedal lizard sounds like a T-rex, honestly. And that's not very comforting. ] ....it's a peaceful herbivore, right?

[ But Hunk kind of turns his nose up at his peer with this admission. ] Man, just fry 'em up and drown 'em in soy sauce. Or drown them in cheese. [ And then his eyes go a little wide. ] What sorts of vegetables do you have in your world?

Not. At. All. Considering its teeth. [He grins. Because-] We had to kill it because it ate one of my ancestor's weapons. It's a long story.

[Noct makes a face at that though.] Don't look at me. I tried before and nearly destroyed the pan in the process. [Granted that was, what, five years ago? Eh.]

Oh, potatoes, sweet potatoes, shallots, aegir root, alstrooms and at least three other kinds of mushroom, tomatoes, onions, green peas, chocobeans, [he shudders; guess who hates beans]sweet peppers, beetroot, carrots... Just to name a few.

[A few that he had to find at the markets and stores. A lot. Save the carrots, which somehow earn even more disgust than the beans.]

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