IC diary (Austice)

[finalbows]

Kuja's 'journal' takes the form of a glowing crystal a bit bigger than a backpack. Until he decided on a permanent residence, he left it stowed in random, out of the way spots around town - in empty houses, dead ends, maybe a stray gazebo (that is a PRIMO mysterious glowing crystal location).

Now that he's picked out a house he wants to settle in, he just keeps it in a room he uses mostly for storage. He doesn't want to soak up random knowledge beams when he's just going about his day, even if they're comprised of his own face and voice.

It's way too heavy to lug around with him, but he's extremely confident no one other than another Genome would be able to get information out of it.

He is wrong, ftr. Characters with psychic ability or mind-based magic can totally interact with the crystal.

Kuja's journal entries are videos basically. By basking in the light of the crystal, the information within will impress itself on your mind, rather than it being, like, a video you're watching.

Once you've used it for a little while, it's not hard to sort through what's older and newer.

Comments

NOVEMBER 2022

[finalbows]

On the fourth of the month, Kuja arrived to the game setting. He spends a while getting his bearings before he feels the urge to start vlogging.

WEEK ONE

[finalbows]

Kuja hasn't made the crystal yet! Give him some time.

WEEK TWO

[finalbows]

11/10
Not quite yet. He spends today looking for Judai, plays some Duel Monsters, then passes out in the church for a while. Too busy of a day to mess around making crystals!

11/11
Kuja puts the finishing touches on the record crystal, sets it up in the middle of his storage room, and starts his first entry.

Kuja's hand is held up very close when the record begins, but he slowly lowers it to his side. "This will be the test. I had to work with some subpar materials, but the result should still serve my purposes. Let's see. Basics. Today is the eleventh day of November. I have been in this town -- I do not know its name -- for.. nearly a week. I have not spoken to every erstwhile resident, but I believe I've seen them all -- for now. It seems like stragglers like myself continue to show up. ...Finally... It seems my body's condition has not deteriorated in any way I can tell, since I came here -- but there's one very curious thing."

He pulls out his gem, holds it up, tilts it to and fro to catch the crystal's light. It's currently red on the outside, blue on the inside. "This gem. I woke up here with it. I prodded it in one of the cracks by accident, and it.. hurt. Not as pain, per se... it felt like dropping down out of the sky. In a bad way."

"...Besides that, there's a little mystery that has popped up since I came here. A coffin in a church, accepting sacrifices. When it first came to us, it was filled with blood... I have been trying to examine some samples, to see if there's anything special to it."

11/12

The first thing Kuja does today is heave a sigh. "Still not dead. Still not any closer to a Trance. The nights here are eerie, but I've seen not hide nor hair of the 'hellhounds' I've been warned so fastidiously of. I feel... the same as when I arrived. How long do I really have...? Will there be any warning signs? At the least, I can always look back on this record-- if I look any different, sound any different..."

"Anyway, Papyrus and I have been talking. I'm near certain the fog here is Mist, of a sort, and he and I toyed with an idea that the souls within it could be bound to those restless bones that keep accosting everyone. If we succeed, I'm sure they'll all be terrifically miserable in such a form, but that's no concern of mine. And maybe I'm even wrong. Papyrus and his brother seem to manage quite fine. Anyway... we'll be testing the theory soon enough."

11/13

"Dreamt of roses again. I'll never deny they're pretty things, but they're not even one of my favorite flowers! Why can't I dream of a room adorned in countless crocus? I'd gather them all up in my arms and just lay there a while."

"I think it's been ten days now. The dreams are strange, but at least I'm having them -- getting to sleep has become somewhat of a chore. I keep settling down, tucking myself in.. then I sit up with a jolt fearing I won't wake. Just one more fun little obstacle..."

"Finally... That beautiful voice I've been hearing in the night... It turns out it belongs to a pretty fairy named Christine. She's as sweet in person as the melodies she sings... ah, in a different time and place! She's just the sort of young lady I like best."

11/14

"What a day! Barnaby -- that fellow who was, quite disappointingly, not actually a magical construct -- called a town meeting in the church. We talked and talked and talked. A fight broke out, at a point. Barnaby really is quite promising. If I could get him and Wild Tiger to team up together... it's promising, is all. It's very promising."

"In addition... I met a young fellow named Albedo, an alchemist, who I mean to ask for help looking over the blood. When I've the time. For now... I need to test another little theory."

WEEK THREE

[finalbows]

11/15

Kuja pops up with a slightly less magnificent cockatoo crest, today. He's idly playing with a peacock's feather. "Feathers for feathers. I oughtn't be surprised, after that nothing for nothing with that little ticket. At least these are quite pretty -- I think I got a deal, seeing as mine will grow back just fine..."

11/16

Kuja's not really got much important to say today. He's leaning onto the little table the crystal's resting on. He puts his elbows on the table, rests his head in his hands-- then puffs up his cheek on one side and hits it gently with the other hand to let the air out his mouth with a little pop. It is a gesture he would NEVER let another person see him do. "I miss my dragon." That's it. He stares sulkily at the crystal, until his brows slowly furrow.

"...You know, I can't really, ah, remember everything clearly about that day, but didn't I.. set the hoard of them loose behind me? How did I get them all to follow me out of Terra like that?"

He used telepathy, but Kuja cannot remember that he has telepathy. He spends a while thinking about it, but in the end shakes his head, and cuts the entry there.

11/17

"Today's the day~! We'll be meeting in the graveyard, at the stroke of midnight. I've woke up earlier than I wanted, so I think I'm going to crawl back into bed for a good nap later today... wouldn't want to be falling asleep on my feet while we're doing important work."

11/18

Kuja's drawn up a chair by the crystal today. He just doesn't feel like standing there pouring his feelings out. In his lap is a rough bouquet of marigolds, some looking a bit beat up. He's fussing with a length of blue ribbon, trying to use it to tie together the flowers' loose stems. "My kingdom for a good vase."

He's quiet a long time after that, weighed down by all the different things he could say. "...the pain of the petrification was... excruciating. I haven't-- I've never been in pain like that for one long, sustained time. It was torture. I don't call it that lightly, considering-- well. I barely know what to do with myself after that. Just.. go about my day? I keep feeling this jolt of panic like my whole body's going to stop in place again on some cosmic whim. ...I think I just want to go sleep."

11/19

"Lark came to me with a package today. No words about a sender, of course. I tried to test him to see if there was information he knew he shouldn't -- the man is SUSPICIOUS! -- but he didn't give me much. Anyway, it was.. something very nice. Something from Gaia. I don't understand how it could have got here, but it's not like I know how I did, either. Forgot to bring it in with me or I'd show it off. I'll get Phil to use his -- exoflecty, was it? Something like that -- to make a copy, I think, just in case it gets damaged."

11/20

"Spoke a little more with Albedo, today. He's living with that little.. green imp with the lute, apparently. Saw him there in passing as Albedo showed me downstairs to his laboratory. His sort of alchemy seems interesting! It's much different in Teyvat to what I've seen of it at home... if I could bring him a sample of a potion or an ether, I wonder if he could replicate it?"

11/21

"Judai owes me another round of cards, we had plans! Where has he BEEN? I'll be quite cross if the hounds finally showed up just to eat him." Kuja fronts being annoyed, but it gives way in a bit to.. a much emptier expression.

"...well, if he's gone, so it goes, I suppose. But if he's just distracted I'm going ahead and teaching him Tetra Master in retaliation. He's too polite, he'll play at least a round."

WEEK FOUR

[finalbows]

11/22
wip

11/23
wip

11/24
wip

11/25
wip

11/26

"So. We couldn't find Ala." Kuja's arms are crossed tightly, end of his tail curled around one of his lower calves. The hour is very late, room only lit by the record crystal itself. "There was.. so much else that happened today! I ought to be writing it all down. Saying it all, or-- something. It's a bit of a pain to listen to these when it comes to sitting down and working on a theory, actually... Same reason it always drove me spare, how few books were left in Terra... 'for what purpose, Kuja,' 'it is inefficient, Kuja' -- I'll tell you inefficient, inefficient is sorting through some overstuffed crystal's memories for an hour looking for the single time it's described how you make a specific growth medium by hand--"

He's rambling. He takes a deep breath.

"I'll figure out a proper plan of attack, tomorrow, use the daylight while I have it."

11/27
No entry for today.

11/28
No entry for today.

END OF THE MONTH

[finalbows]

11/29
aoi thread here?

11/30
yuri thread here?