uhmani | TDM #7

If the main hub and its features don't appeal to you, that's perfectly fine. This is the perfect time to configure your Digitized Technical Friend or your DTF status. A DTF is similar to a dæmon from His Dark Materials in that it is connected to and a reflection of a character's soul. These DTFs take shape accordingly and are projections similar to the NPCs. Think of them as your own personal Clippy except less annoying. Hopefully.

Once that's set-up, there are other locations of the main hub to investigate! You can visit the training grounds, music lounge, library, and onsen. Also, feel free to leave an offering for the resident deity of sleep (Hypnos) at his shrine! You can even visit The Peacekeeper themselves on the second floor. They're always happy to have visitors! They're also conveniently where you might place a complaint about that status of the main hub and its amenities. Even if you do complain, The Peacekeeper will encourage others to set off and find their own place to live out in the simulation.

Granted, the housing market in the afterlife isn't exactly robust. It doesn't help that every place you find has a leaky roof or broken window. No, unfortunately that will need to be fixed the peaceful way. If you'd like more lighting or even cozier clothes, simulation inhabitants are reminded that 'peaceful interactions' are very important!

It might be a good idea to stick close to someone you know, for now, since even the smallest amounts of intimacy might see subtle changes occurring where they're staying. Perhaps that broken window is now fixed, the grime and dust seem a little less, or the floor doesn't creak quite as loud.

Larger changes, however, will only come after demonstrating the more powerful peaceful interactions. If you want new hardwood floors or a fresh coat of paint on the walls, you're going to have to demonstrate how well you 'get along' with others against them first.

A FOUL WIND BLOWS

For the last couple of weeks, The Peaceekeeper has been relatively quiet save for the mandatory greeting of newcomers. In fact, it doesn't even make the usual announcement that it has before to alert inhabitants of the sudden shift in weather. Blue skies and sunshine gradually begin to darken over. The wind picks up to a frightening gale that will see people likely needing to strap things down and fasten their shutters tight.

However, it's not anything physical that inhabitants will likely end up losing. The forceful rain, wind, and ensuing storm will instead strip away their inhibitions if they're unlucky enough to be caught in it.

What was holding you back, anyway? It's hard to remember or seems so suddenly trivial. It's not an issue anymore. that's for sure! Whether this is about something intimate, secrets kept, or things you know you shouldn't say for any number of reasons don't matter. Self-consciousness and doubt feel like a thing of the past and you're free to chase whatever whims you want!

Hopefully, you won't regret it when the effects wear off in a few day's time.

CLEAN-UP CREW

Although not everyone may be in the mood to buckle down and get to work after the storm blows through, the mess it leaves behind is literal as well as metaphorical. Time to get cleaning! The Peacekeeper has graciously provided a whole host of tools to assist inhabitants in clearing the debris littering the beach and floating in the ocean, including...

Inflatable Rafts

Skimmer Nets

Brushes

GET LAID

Liquid-Air Impulse Device

JUST KEEP SWIMMING

All your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed!

The mermaids that live beneath the waves of Taasunni Beach are extremely grateful that the inhabitants have taken the time and effort to clean up their home. To show their gratitude, they've decided to let everyone experience the beauty of the once-again pristine ocean for themselves!

Upon request, one of the mermaids lounging in the shallows will kiss inhabitants to fill them with magic. This gift will transform them into merfolk themselves for about 6 hours, allowing them to breathe underwater, swim swiftly, and explore or play in the depths to their hearts' content.

Those who indulge in this, especially repeatedly, may find themselves feeling unusually buoyant and free--as though a weight has lifted from their shoulders, and their troubles are simply washing away on the tide.

SEXY STAMP CARD

If you're wondering about these 'peaceful interactions' that keep being mentioned or what the kinks of the month are for... Here's your answer! Upon arrival, all characters will receive a digital copy of their very own sexy stamp card.

Sexy Stamp Card

Issued by: The Peacekeeper

1 2 3 4 ♡

6 7 8 9 ♡

❤

<div style="width:100%;padding:10px 10px 0;font-family:garamond, georgia, serif;font-size:20px;font-style:italic;letter-spacing:2px;text-align:left;">Sexy Stamp Card</div>
<div style="width:100%;padding:0 10px 10px;">Issued by: The Peacekeeper</div>

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<div style="max-width:300px;width:100%;margin:-10px auto 0;text-align:right;font-size:10px;"><a title="code credit!" href="http://10billionghosts.dreamwidth.org" style="text-decoration:none;color:#eee;">❤</a></div>

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Completing peaceful interactions (i.e. kinks) will reward characters with stamps that they can turn in for re-gains and many other things! While the example one here is the standard issued card by The Peacekeeper, players are more than welcome to customize it how they see fit. Have fun with it! NOTES

★ The effects of all the influences can, as always, be as heavy or light as you'd like! It can be chalked up to differences in resistance, non-humanity or not, etc. etc.

★ Please thank Love Bug Infy for helping out with this TDM!

★ Make sure to dunk your questions/feedback in the thread below!

★ The locations page is undergoing a revamp! While originally I wanted to have it done in time for this test drive meme, that didn't quite happen. But it is coming soon, I promise!

★ Due to moderator error meaning we are over the player limit already and repeated requests, the player cap has been increased to 50. We are currently at 47/50 slots taken! Anyone wishing to claim a character must have an invite and follow the proper rules in place to be accepted into the community.

★ Also in light of that announcement and since I totally forgot the monthly meme due to being sick... Why not check out the ATP/EMP Meme now up? See who others want to try out, enable your friends! Fun all around!

NAVIGATION

F.A.Q. ★ RULES ★ CHARACTER CLAIM ★ LOCATIONS ★ MAIN NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Miqo'te senses are certainly keener than hyur, to be sure, but not quite strong enough to pick up on the (in)humanity of someone approaching. So when they turn to look at Soren they have no idea what to expect--but they weren't expecting an Ishgardian's imagining of an Au'ra to say the least. They don't startle, but their eyebrows do shoot up as they take in the other's appearance.

"Ah...no, I just arrived." Their ears flick back slightly and their tail curls; not unfriendly, but cautious none-the-less. "Is something the matter?"

It's when he gets a better look at his facial features that a connection clicks.

"No, not with you." The storm is the biggest issue of the moment, but that's between them and their artificially constructed environment, and it's not pressing. "I was simply curious about a new face. Besides, it's mostly... hyur-like people who tend to arrive."

Hyur might as well be the equivalent to beorc, which he stopped himself from saying before he ran into a blank look. It didn't seem like there was an equivalent to laguz on Eorzea, however.

G'rhyf frowns a little bit--it definitely feels like there's something else going on, but for all they know this guy has met one (1) Miqo'te before and she happened to be an asshole. The rest of what he has to say turns that frown to a grimace, however.

"Only hyur? Really?" They wrinkle their nose in disgust--not like racial discrimination is foreign to them, of course, but... "That's kinda fucking racist."

...a beat. "Er, not that I'd really want anyone pulled into whatever farce this place is, but. You know."

"Well, there are plenty of hyur, but for some reason people who can change into wolves are also disproportionately common," he amends. "Perhaps the Overseer simply doesn't find feline features all that appealing."

He says it so dryly, without smirking like it's the facetious remark that it is. It turns out that if anyone is 'kinda fucking racist' toward catlike races around here, it's Soren. He's gotten better over the years, though. Nevertheless, remarks at a cat's expense never fail to be satisfying.

Fortunately (or unfortunately?) for Soren, G'rhyf doesn't recognize the needling for what it is. Or maybe they just aren't bothered.

"I don't know why it grabbed me, then. I'm more beast than most of my kind." They run their tongue over their teeth with a small grimace--teeth that are definitely not the type any human by any name would have. "I've met wolf-men before, but not men that turn into wolves."

"More beast?" asks the dragon, curiosity stimulated. Miqo'te aren't all that unfamiliar to him given he had the opportunity to get to know a couple, so he might be able to appreciate this difference. "In what ways?"

"Ah, my teeth and some...bad habits, let's call it." G'rhyf hooks a finger into their mouth to pull back their lips and show off a set of teeth that would look more at home in a lion's mouth than anything humanoid. "Happened due to an overload of magic I was subjected to."

They grimace then, tail swishing back and forth. "If I'm honest it's a minor thing in the grand scope of it all, but people do notice the teeth a lot."

Edited 2022-09-03 06:07 (UTC)

"It doesn't sound like you want to go into much more detail than that," notes Soren, granting more focus to his eyes than to his teeth. It's not the heterochromia itself that seems off; both feline races he is familiar with tend to produce them quite like the animals they share characteristics with. It might be best not to pry by asking more questions right away so as not to seem like some interrogator rudely demanding sensitive information right off the bat, but it is a curious feature. Related to this overload of magic, perhaps? Who can say when he hardly knows anything of him or his experiences? Soren then decides to take a seat at one of the stools. "Still, that sounds like quite the experience."

"It's something of a complicated story, yeah." G'rhyf smiles with relief, ears perking up slightly. "Not that I'm a stranger to odd experiences, to tell the truth. I think I've wound up getting involved in half of the mysteries buried in the history of the star by now."

The Exarch and his Bonded spoke to him of Eorzea from time to time, and then there was Tataru, of course. He'd learned of the Crystal Tower that he claimed he was the keeper of, of Hydaelyn and its reflections, of Emet-Selch and his designs. Of Miqo'te and Lalafell, of the Warrior of Light and the Echo. Many concepts had been opened up patiently to him, but not nearly enough to garner a picture of this foreign place he had never traveled to in full, and Soren is aware of this shortcoming. Hearing that remark reminds him of the Warrior of Light, how it's possible that despite getting to know K'rihnn a little, there had been more than one iteration of the Warrior of Light present at the time. Could this be the same, then? But what a presumption to make when he only sees a snapshot of the world he comes from?

It's interesting to possibly meet with someone else like that. Still, there's a better way to approach the subject and keep the conversation moving. "Half the mysteries? I don't have to come from your star to consider that quite impressive. You must be a seasoned adventurer or something."

Oblivious to the weighty nature of that comment G'rhyf laughs and blushes slightly, rubbing at the back of their neck. "Ah, you could say that. I've made something of a name for myself where I come from, but it's nothing I really try to boast about. I just want to see what the world has to offer, and wind up helping people along the way, and..."

Shrug!

"Though even I have to admit, toppling the ambitions of a massive empire three times over is already itself a story to be told for ages."

He sees K'rihnn in the show of bashfulness. The unexpected sense of nostalgia rises up to lap at his heart again, though his feelings never rise to the surface to be seen.

"Not the sort of feat to sniff at, no. What sort of name did you earn for yourself?"

Grooooooan.

"Ugh. Too many titles. Eikon slayer, savior of the realm, Eorzea's champion...most know of me as the Warrior of Light, however."

Would it be too big a bomb to drop if he admitted he'd met another version of the Warrior of Light? No, it probably won't blow their mind.

"I see. This isn't the first world I've been transported to. In the last one, I got acquainted with another adventurer known as the Warrior of Light. You must be one in the same, though from a different timeline and with a different form and personality."

Their tail, ears, and eyebrows raise in shock, but as Soren expected it's fairly mild.

"I...there are others in history that have been called as such, even across the shards." Even as they say it, though, it somehow feels like a weak argument. Could Azem's soul have...? "Are you truly certain?"

"I have encountered no reason to doubt the claim. Especially considering there were a few others bearing the epithet present at the same time, and I was also acquainted with... the Crystal Exarch," he adds with a slight pause, not quite sure if this particular Warrior of Light knew the cat was hiding under the cowl. "I trust his information. He verified that the Warrior of Light he remembered had been different from the ones he met in that world, and he was certainly no stranger to the idea of alternate timelines and dimension-hopping." He directs his attention to the counter instead of G'rhyf. "I'm no stranger to it anymore, either."

"Raha was--?!" G'rhyf cuts off their interruption to let Soren continue, but their tail lashes as their thoughts tumble almost faster than they themself can follow. He wouldn't have hidden anything like this--he promised--but if this had been a separate shard--

G'rhyf looks down at their drink when Soren looks away, a deep frown gracing their features as they think over this information. They can...conceive of how this could be possible. Many different timelines, tracing similar paths but not inherently the same... After several long silent seconds, ears that had laid flat to their head perk up as part of what Soren said floats back up to the surface and they look back over to him curiously.

"Have you...met other selves of your own?"

Naturally, their strong reaction to "Raha" snags his focus back over. He takes note of the recognition of his identity and the familiarity with which he addresses him. Could they have also been...

If anything, they're friends, and this particular Warrior of Light also cares quite a lot about him, is exceedingly upset by the knowledge that he had been spirited off against his will into another realm entirely. There's more to say on that for sure. This time, Soren keeps his face focused on his conversation partner's rather than toward the counter when the topic shifts back to himself, but he does take a long glance toward it. It's difficult to tell what the dragon is feeling just by reading his sedate manner of expression, but it's anything but pleased. There's a sense that he's trying to stuff something unpleasant down so it doesn't spill over.

"No." How coincidental for a stranger unaccustomed to the whims of Amani to prompt him on this. "Had you asked me this question a few weeks ago, I would have had a slightly different answer. I had to remember what alternate versions of me had gone through instead."

They can't help a wince in response; anyone with the Echo would understand what having memories forced upon oneself is like...but somehow a different life of your own seems that much more disconcerting.

"From your tone I imagine few of those memories were pleasant..." Or perhaps given the nature of this place, uncomfortably pleasant.

He nods his head down and shakes his head, no sorrow seeping into the way he stares at the bar counter but distance. "Not all of them. Still, perhaps... that's what makes them especially unpleasant now."

Discomfort wedges in as he predicts some turns this conversation could take now that's he's opened up even that much. He gives G'rhyf his attention again, reeled back to alert proximity to their present moment and not another life. "But I would prefer not to go into detail. Seeing as we've met, I do not believe we've exchanged names. I am Soren."

More than willing to let the details go without prying, G'rhyf nods with a smile and offers a hand to shake--if he's willing, of course.

"My name is G'rhyf. It's good to meet you, Soren." They pause for a moment, debating something for a moment before plowing right on ahead. "The Exarch that you knew...was he still bound to the Tower?"

Ugh... Handshakes. He's so awkward with them. He definitely spends longer than he should staring at it like he produced something peculiar in his palm for him, but the little Titania that lives in the back of his brain insists he at least make an attempt at showing some manners... especially if keeping even the non-sexual definition of 'peace' appears to be the solution to what problems lie ahead. Gingerly he takes half of his hand. G'rhyf ends up putting at least three quarters of the effort driving the gesture in.

At least they can quickly put it aside and focus on something he'd rather talk about. "He was. When we first met, he was still hiding beneath the cowl. He had reason to obscure his identity, seeing as Emet-Selch was also there."

G'rhyf doesn't seem bothered by the less-than-enthusiastic handshake, but they also aren't so rude to do more than a small chuckle to show their amusement.

"Ugh...that certainly is reason enough. Especially considering--" Wait, hang on. "What...ah, what point in time was he from? Specifically, I mean? If you know, that is."

Wow! Don't laugh at him!!

Oh, boy. He hasn't even mentioned this part yet. This poor cat's head is going to spin again.

"I'm afraid I can't promise to be as specific as you want me to be. The Exarch naturally wasn't aware of what was in store for him, and I only know some major particulars of his future by some stroke of luck. Let's see..." His thoughtful gaze drifts upward as he retrieves memories from years ago and superimposes the ones from mere months over them, tries to decide which parts would best help G'rhyf understand.

"...By that stroke of luck, I mean to say that you just missed him." Before they can interject (which they surely will, he's quite sure), he adds quickly, "Here on Amani. That version of him was quite different. I mistook him as his younger self at first until he corrected me and explained that while the crystalized body of the Exarch I knew was no more, his aether, his memories, had been fused with his body on the Source." He stops there so he can let it sink in.

It feels like an icy cold hammer right into their gut. Ears laid flat to their head, tail stiff and puffed to twice the size, if Soren had any doubt as to the depth of G'rhyf's attachment to G'raha before he certainly wouldn't be able to miss it now. Their mind whirls as they try to process this, eyes wide and fixed upon the other man as if hoping he would admit this all some horrible jest.

But it wasn't going to be, was it? "He was...here? And now he's gone?" What was that supposed to mean, if all here were supposedly rescued from dying worlds?

TDM #7

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wow this is LATE ahahaha if you don't want to continue this i understand