[Video]

[songbird_slayer]

...Excellent! My Lady, it's ready!

[The interior of a sparsely-decorated room flickers to life over the feed, and it's immediately apparent that the room belonged to one of the newcomers pulled fresh from the Dream Width, and someone is playing some sort of music. But as someone hoists up the slate and swings it to the right, the figure seated in the chair is currently occupied.

Ring-covered fingers are strumming the strings of something guitar-like, and the figure is rather lost in it, singing nothing in particular. This goes on for about ten seconds.]

Ahem... Lady Madhuri?

[The figure sits up a little taller with a start, eyes fluttering open. The music resumed as she continued to strum, but the smile was sheepish as her eyes turned to the screen.]

Oh. Oh! Yes, thank you. I'm sorry, my instruments seem to have been left behind in the last jump. Makes a bard's fingers itchy. This loaner suits me nicely until I pay this world's bard college a visit.

[With a flourish, she raised a hand and wiggled her fingers in greeting.]

Good afternoon. I am Madhuri, a bard and a dancer by trade. I found myself curious, so I had to cut the ribbon on this little network as it were and pose a question:

Where are you from? What's your tale? ...Of what you're comfortable sharing, of course. Perhaps this can grant the opportunity to build a little bit of a... a... ohh, what's the word- rapport! Yes. A rapport.

Tell me tales of adventure, of victories and defeats, of loves won and loves lost! Perhaps I'll create a song out of a few, and it will be a little gift. Free, of course. Unless of course you're willing to tip.

[She pulled her feathered cap from atop her head and gave it a tip.]

That's all from me. Enjoy your day. For those of you still panicking about your situation? Breathe, dear. In and out. It'll be alright. Find friends and hold them dear.

Bye-bye~

Comments

[ancientlute]

Oh, that was wonderful! Did you play string instruments back home, or something else? I do hope you can find something to your liking with the bards.

[ A brief pause, and then she actually remembers to listen to the rest of the message. ]

Oh! But you had a question. My name is Sarah, and I come from a country to the northeast of the center. My homeland excels in metalwork and technology, and I'm sure you shall find your way there if you ever mean to study in the use of mechanical weapons. I don't have much of a story of my own, I'm afraid, but I came to the center so I might play a part in the stories of you newcomers.

[songbird_slayer]

I played a little of this and that depending on the situation. In some ways, a flute can produce better results than a guitar, for instance. Woodwinds are more effective in charm spells upon beasts.

[Ooh, now this was interesting. Mechanical weapons... she'd seen samples in the pamphlets! But hold on- everyone had a story, didn't they?]

Oh? None at all?

[ancientlute]

Ah, I play the lute and fife myself, though very rarely in combat. My parents would be horrified were I to try, I should think.

No story at all, I am afraid. Though I am looking forward awfully to being part of the story of you and your fellows.

[songbird_slayer]

Well, alright then. Then I should hope that someday the bards will all come together and have something of a jam session, hm?

Though I'm tremendously curious as to what this bard college has to offer!

[mech_and_mutt]

Haha! You got into this real quick, huh?

[It wasn't that his words seemed insincere; it was merely a little curious how he was speaking from well out of frame, the camera focused on a croissant and a small, frothy cup of what appeared to some kind of coffee... thing.]

Think I toldja mine already, didn't I? Ridin' a robot, savin' the world, that kinda thing?

[The drink was lifted by a gloved hand as a quiet slurp seemed to hit the microphone...]

[songbird_slayer]

Yes, of course! That's you, isn't it, Red? I never pegged you as the type for food imagery.

[mech_and_mutt]

Wha--

[The camera shudders and shuffles a bit once the mug's placed back down.]

Wait, I don't have foam on my face, do I?

[voice]

[garyoutensei]

-Despite how soothing the playing had been, Baiken couldn't set aside something that was bothering her...-

The hell happened to your face? -It was gruff, but more noticeably, there was distrust there. As if nothing the woman had actually said mattered because of it.-

[songbird_slayer]

My face...? I thought I washed it well enough this morning- did I miss something?

[The tablet is tipped here and there to try and get a visual on what she may have failed to catch.]

[garyoutensei]

You didn't wash off the goddamn horns. -A bit more blunt.-

[Video] (he rambles I'm sorry)

[zanarkandian]

[Here's a contemplative-looking Tidus. He doesn't answer right away, he's taken a few moments to consider the message, but he clicks the button when he's ready.]

Of course I'd tip! If you feel like it, that is, no pressure. I hope you don't mind if this is a little long. I've been told I need to condense it.

I used to have a dream life. I was a star blitzball player, everything taken care of, in an amazing city that never slept. Sure, I hated my old man for disappearing on us, and my guardian was a total stick in the mud, but all in all, life was pretty good.

Then this giant floating creature called Sin invaded and destroyed the city, sucking me up and dropping me in another world called Spira. It was cold, uncomfortable, and they didn't have any good food! All I wanted was to go home.

But it all started to change when I met a girl, Yuna. The first time I saw her, I knew she was special. She was caring, kind, willing to believe my crazy stories...and she was beautiful too.

Then I learned that she was a summoner, someone who learned to summon aeons and use their power to beat Sin. Sin had been attacking Spira for a thousand years, destroying cities whenever they got too big. Summoners and their guardians went on pilgrimages to get stronger and defeat Sin, but it always came back after a little while.

It got really weird when I learned that my dad, the one who'd disappeared? He'd come to Spira before me and become Sin, somehow. He was frozen in that giant thing flying around killing people, and Yuna was going to have to stop him. So I joined Yuna and her friends as another guardian, just trying to figure out what was going on.

And...eventually, I fell in love with her. She showed me another way to live: that peace was worth fighting for, that everyone deserved a chance at a good life even if they'd been cruel to us. No one deserved the constant fear of death that Sin brought.

Then I learned that finishing the pilgrimage and beating Sin the old way would kill her, and it broke my heart. At that point, I'd given up on going home---she was all that mattered to me. So I swore I'd find another way to defeat Sin. Yuna deserved to see the peace she'd journeyed for, and eventually I had my answer.

It turned out that Sin always came back because it was powered by an ancient summoner, and he was the one who'd corrupted my dad, and what he was summoning was the city I'd come from. That city and everyone in it, including me and Dad? We were all just dreams. We could kill the summoner at Sin's core and end that suffering forever, but it meant the summoning would end. It meant my life would end too.

But it had to be done. We led the charge, saved the world...and I disappeared. I don't regret making that choice. I just regret that I left everyone behind and made her cry.

[songbird_slayer]

[She'd been playing a while, figuring he had a succinct story to tell. But it wasn't too far into his tale that she realized he was actually gonna give her a story she was hoping for. By the half she was drawn in. By the beginnings of love and a life changed for the better, Madhuri was hopelessly hooked.

By the end, the tiefling shook her head in wonder.]

To give yourself entirely for the sake of another... I don't think I could do such a thing. What a wonderful story, dear. You've a very good heart. What's your name, selfless knight?

[zanarkandian]

[He blushes, awkwardly scratching at the back of his neck. As usual.]

I'm Tidus. Pleased to meet you, Lady Madhuri.

[He's not normally so deferential, but she's earned it.]

( video )

[cidsgirl]

Wow. Heeey, you're pretty good!

( Rikku claps daintily. )

I'm Rikku! From a world called Spira, yadda yadda.... It's a long story, ( said without the same bubbly tone as her previous words. But she shakes that off fairly quickly. )

Back home, I was taking up singing lessons. Wanna hear? ( ...evidently, a rhetorical question. )

Na, na, na, dooo, la, la, la, la, daaa~

[songbird_slayer]

Nice to meet you, Rikku! I don't mind long stories at all. I'd be a terrible bard if I did.

[Oh, she's all ears. Well, horns. But Madhuri's all smiles.]

That's great! Ah, what's the word... 'idol'. Is that something familiar to you?

[cidsgirl]

Heh, fair enough. Maybe we can catch up later and tell eachother's stories!

( Rikku touches her chin as she tries to find anything familiar about the word )

Can't say it rings any bells. What's an 'idol'?

[conniemaheswaran]

The video feed shows a young girl sitting at a desk, thick, leatherbound books on human biology and magitek on either side and complex notes in indecipherable shorthand in front of her. "H-hey!" she says, waving. "So, um, Nanamo told me that one of my adventures back home would catch a, um, bard's eye. Or ear. Whatever. Would you be interested in hearing it?"

[songbird_slayer]

Well, well...! I'm all horns, sweetheart. Let's hear it!

[conniemaheswaran]

"Alright, then." Connie glances at the papers on her desk, filled with notes on the Prism War alongside scribbles on some of her more... ambitious plans.

"5,879 years ago, the ancient and mighty empire of the Diamond Authority landed on Earth, with one goal in mind: draining the planet of all its resources to transform it into a colony for the inorganic Gem race. Like the thousands of other planets before it, Earth would've fell if not for one heroic Gem: Rose Quartz.

"She grew to love life on Earth, and mounted a rebellion named the Order of the Crystal Gems against the Diamonds. Many other Gems rallied alongside her: the terrifying, renegade Pearl; Garnet, the incarnation of the love between two star-crossed lovers; Bismuth, the builder turned weaponsmith; and many, many more.

"Chief among their enemies was Hessonite, a perfectly crafted Gem with a terrible weapon always at her side: the Prism. With the ability to create an army of powerful Light Warriors in a blink of an eye combined with Hessonite's fearsome skill, they were thought unstoppable. Until, in a pitched battle, the Prism disappeared.

"Only a few centuries afterwards, the Crystal Gems prevailed... but at a great cost. The Diamond Authority retreated, but unleashed one final retaliatory strike. The Corruption transformed almost every Gem on the planet into mindless beasts, even the soldiers the Diamond Authority had abandoned. Only Rose Quartz, Pearl, and Garnet survived. Bismuth's tale is for another day, however.

"With me so far? For this is only the prelude to our story."

[uponjade]

Oh I love a good story. My life is rather boring so far. Studies and school and all of that fun stuff. The tale of the empire I come from however I far more interesting if you'd like to hear the tale.

[songbird_slayer]

Do you even need to ask? Please, if you'd be so kind! I'll brew a little tea in the meantime.

[uponjade]

I love tea let me know what kind after! Ahem!

Over eight hundred years ago, the world faced a war so great it threatened the very fate of all people. The two warring factions were at constant odds with each other. Terrans, or humans, constantly fought the methuselah. Over the course of the war the methuselah started to lose their advantage. The threat of being completely wiped out lay before them unless they could find somewhere to retreat to.

However the war between the two had done irreparable damage to most of the planet. Since terrans had overtook what was left they had no where to turn. It was in this dark hour that her majesty empress Augusta Vradica appeared. She protected all who would follow her. Instead of taking revenge for those who were lost she led the methuselah east.

The land she brought them to was one that had been ravaged by the war. So great was her powers and knowledge she breathed life into the land. She began to form the tzara methuselah empire. Terrans would learn of this and try and strike the blossoming nation but she would not let her new land and subjects fall.

Ever since she gave life to the land she has ruled as the one true and eternal empress. For her kindness towards the methuselah and her protection she's earned the title "great mother of methuselah".

I don't know how she did it all but I think that might be a secret of the court.

[video]

[chefbayardee]

[ The video feed blips on, and Hunk is sitting on a couch, awkwardly shifting the slate to get the best angle. But then a faint bobbing motion grabs the frame, and- ]

Bal, just stand on the table.

[ He laughs, and the moogle lets out a dejected "kupo" before plopping on a firm surface. No more shifting and shaking. ]

Sorry about that! Wanna hear the story about how me and my friends successfully inspired a slave revolt?

[video]

[songbird_slayer]

[Her eyes brightened.]

Do dragons gobble gold? Please, indulge me!

[video]

[chefbayardee]

D-do dragons gobble gold? I've never... seen a dragon.

[ He looks little spooked, because dragons sure seem scary. But he takes a deep breath, partially to cover a lot of ground with this story. ]

So our castleship got attacked by the Galra Empire, who was trying to kill us. We couldn't get anything up and running, so our buddy Coran, an ancient alien space elf butler, took us in a shuttle to a Balmera, which is a living, conscious planet. We had to get a crystal from it, and use it to power the castleship.

[ Hunk looks excited at this part of the story, and he's even grinning just a bit. ]

So wormhole over there but our shuttle takes some damage and we crash in a mining tunnel. Except we find this native rock-girl Shay, and she and her brother help hide the shuttle and take us to the rest of their family. They tell us that the Galra have kept them as slaves for as long as anyone has known, and that they all live to mine every possible resource from the Balmera, bringing it closer and closer to death.

[ And by this point Hunk looks sad, depressed, and even a little frustrated. ]

We got the crystal, but Shay's brother ratted us out to the Galra, because he couldn't comprehend a life without their oppression. Shay seemed on board with it, with being able to see the sky for the first time. So she spoke to the Balmera and distracted the Galra, giving Coran and I enough time to get the shuttle back to the castleship.

[ By this point, Hunk just looks exhausted. That's a lot of talking in a pretty short amount of time, and he's catching his breath. ]

So... what do you think so far? The story's not done, I just need to... catch my breath!