uhmani | TDM #13

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 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.

BASKETS OF PEACE

"Hello, inhabitants," speaks The Peaceekeper, "have you had a check-up recently? While we don't have to worry about disease here in Amani, your sexual health is still important in so many other ways!" It was recently suggested that perhaps they haven't been the most mindful in terms of encouraging inhabitants to have healthier sexual habits. No time like the present to work on correcting that oversight though.

How? With a gift basket, of course!

Each inhabitant - either new or established - will receive a gift basket full of fun things to try. Each one includes (but is not limited to):

Have some kinky fun! Enjoy yourselves! Don't be afraid to ask your fellow inhabitants either about the contents of the basket if you aren't sure. This is what being peaceful should be all about.

TRIPPING OVER TROPES

Due to the influence of Dirk Strider and Rose Lalonde both, The Peacekeeper has learned about an interesting phenomenon known as 'fanfiction.' It has studied the topic intensely for the last couple of days to try and learn more about its literary significance amongst the multiverse. It is an interesting insight in some of the inhabitants' cultures and what 'tropes' appear to be more common depending on the circumstances.

Unfortunately, such an influx of information sees the AI running Amani a bit more distracted than usual. The simulation - at least for a few days - is a bit more prone to glitches as a result. Only these aren't the usual ones like a hole in reality someone falls through and ends up somewhere unexpected.

No, these ones are as if the NPCs and inhabitants both residing in the simulation are having their pathways forcibly rewritten. It isn't very obvious, at first. Perhaps you're feeling a bit clumsier than usual and need to chase after a rogue piece of paper carrying on the wind that leads you running right into your current crush. Or maybe something gets unexpectedly spilled on you and the person you like is suddenly offering the shirt off their back (and leaving them shirtless, of course) even if it's out of character.

Finally, inhabitants might really start to catch on when whatever dwelling they enter there is only one bed. Have roommates? Too bad, looks like you might have to share for a bit! Oh, no, how unfortunate... However do you think this scenario will end? The Peacekeeper knows since, well, it's the one unwittingly writing inhabitants into these romance trope scenarios.

Thankfully, it will snap back to 'reality' within a few day's time having learned that, as with most good things, fanfiction should be taken in with moderation in mind.

FRUITS OF FALL

Last year, there was an emphasis on apples but there are plenty of other common fruits to be found growing throughout Amani. Due to The Peacekeeper learning about tropes though, some of them will have a temporary effect in that vein on any inhabitant who eats them.

And what are those effects, exactly? Well...

Pomegrante

malleable

new sliding scales

Blackberries

personality flip on its head

Peaches

swap kinks

Grapes

shared experience

swapping bodies and all that means

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

★ *While this effect of the gender sliding scale will be opt-in entirely and only temporary, it is a feature that inhabitants can purchase in the future with stamps if they'd like!

★ We are currently at 30/40 slots taken! Anyone wishing to claim a character must have an invite from someone currently in the game and follow the proper rules in place to be accepted into the community!

NAVIGATION

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

☙ arrival.

"So, that's it then?" he asks, once again, but this time to the pretty blond behind the bar at a 'record shop' rather than the machine that he awoke to. Some Fallen mechanism bullshit, he thought at first, but it was a lot friendlier. Even so, Gav couldn't wait to get away from that suffocating room once he was told the fate of his star.

"Just oh, hey, good morning! Yer dead." He takes a deep drink of his ale. He slams it on the bar and gives the woman a wink as she wanders off to refill it. "Don't even remember how I went out!" he adds, to anyone who might be also taking up their cup nearby.

"Could at least let me know if it was honorable or memorable or something, y'know? Crying shame, it is."

☙ basket of peace + tripping over tropes.

"Ah, fuck," the man swears, chasing after a rogue die that's bouncing away.

It ends up at someone's feet and he stops short before straightening up and exhaling dramatically.

"Thanks for catching that for me. I was trying to get a good look and it slipped through my fingers." They'll see why he needed a closer look since he's only got one good eye to look at it with. "Such tiny print on those things. Didn't even know they could carve that small."

☙ network. (video)

Hey, hey, hey- Get back here, you little scamp.

[ The beginning of the video is wobbly, unfocused, and of some random patch of grassland. It pauses and swivels around to show Gav's face as he squints into the camera lens. ]

Gotta right mind of their own, don't they? Bugger me. Anyway, this little... DTF? Was it? It told me that this might be a better way to find people from home than me scouting the place out on my own.

[ He does not seem to believe this. ]

So, well- Hey. The name's Gav. Looking for a fellow who goes by the name of Cid, first and foremost... [ A thoughtful rub of his chin. He probably shouldn't mention any of the other Rosfields, just in case. ] But if you've come across a lass named Jill or an uptight fellow named Dion, they'd be a sight for sore eyes as well.

Hey, welcome to Amani. We actually have two guys named Cid, and I know Dion, too. You from their world, I take it? Oh, uh - I'm Noctis.

Nice to meet ye, Noctis. I am from the same place, yeah, but... [ He furrows his brow slightly at the concept of two men named Cid.

Surely, it couldn't mean-? He supposes if this is the afterlife, well, it's entirely possible that might be the case. Still, he does his best to keep his hopes from getting too high. ]

What do you mean by two men named Cid? Describe them to me, if you wouldn't mind.

It's a pretty popular name across worlds, apparently. I know a Cid back home, too.

But sure - one of them is, uh...pretty laid-back, smokes a lot, good with machines? The other one I didn't meet in person, only heard his voice on the network, all...deep and growly.

You don't say, [ he comments, to the mention of Noctis also knowing a Cid.

Still, the men he describes are unmistakable even if only from voice alone. ]

Yeah, that would be the younger Cid. His voice sounds gruff and sensual no matter the conte-

[ He pauses as he realizes what he just accidentally let slip. Part of him wants to blame this stupid simulation and its emphasis on peace that it's even in his head at all.

The other part knows that it's just in his head anyway, no outside influence needed, but he isn't about to admit that. ]

[ Before it gets too awkward, he coughs and gives a little wave of his hand to try and just... breeze past that slip-up. ]

Anyway, right, yeah. Those would be both of the men I'm looking for.

Who would have thought, huh?

[Noctis' eyebrows lift and he tries not to laugh. That was adorable. If he'd known Gav for more than, oh, sixty seconds, he would definitely say something. As it is, he can accept that lack of segue, even if he can't escape the awkwardness entirely.]

Uh...right, yeah. I mean, good - that's good. [A pause.] Actually, now that I think about it, if they bring one person from any given world, there's a pretty good chance there'll be more where they came from, and they almost always know each other. Gotta hand it to the Peacekeeper, it's not a bad strategy when you want people to build relationships and, uh, get peaceful. Get a jumpstart with people you already know.

[ Gav appreciates the permission to keep his dignity mostly intact. For now. ]

It does make a fair bit of sense, I'll give them that.

Speaking of though lad, is all that... peaceful stuff true? I mean, I get what they're hinting at, of course, but it just seems a bit far-fetched.

Uh...yeah, pretty much. It's not like anyone's obliged to do anything, but it's how you get currency around here and Amani likes to...encourage things. Watch out for your DTF posting on the network for you without asking. They try to 'help.'

[ At that, Gav shoots a stern look at his DTF (a moogle) just a little above the camera's eyeline. ] Yeah, you would get up to some funny business.

[ Little shite. Already giving him a headache. Ah, well. What's to be done? ]

Currency though, really? What exactly is there to buy in the afterlife?

All kinds of stuff. We've got shops, restaurants, bars, an arcade...but what the currency mostly gets used for is getting the Peacekeeper to bring us things from home or give back powers we lost, or get new ones. Or to upgrade Amani itself. All those shops and restaurants I mentioned are here because somebody spent stamps to add them to the city.

[Noctis pauses.]

Uh, this place isn't really an afterlife, though. Not the way you'd usually think of one. It's kinda more like...a temporary home for our souls until our worlds can be restored and we can go back to our real bodies.

Huh, you've all made yourself a proper little afterlife here... [ He muses. It makes sense, in a way, when he supposes there was not much else to do. With all the time in the world now, Gav wonders where his own interests will take him. ]

Or, well- Like you said, maybe not an afterlife exactly. And not quite purgatory.

What's this about our bodies though? Here I thought there'd likely be nothing left of me.

[Cid's not a hard man to track down, should a fellow follow the scent. Should Gav check the likely places- The head shop, the butcher, the bar, he will sooner or later be informed of Cid's home address and his most recent whereabouts.]

[Cid is at the grocery, considering his options. He's never dealt with so much choice like this before, it's almost overwhelming. He had to think about feeding Clive too, now. Though he could have sent Clive on this particular trip, Clive seemed eager enough to stay behind.]

[His leathers are with his tailor after so much Barnabas-based wear and tear, as well. So it is almost as if Cid is disguised, in totally different clothes. Today it's a fresh pair of black jeans, a well-fitting v-neck, and a tan bomber jacket. Though the way he swings his shoulders even as he stands in place as well as his penchant for smoking indoors does give him away. ]

Edited 2023-10-01 20:45 (UTC)

[ He isn't a hard man to track down, no, but Gav admits to having the unique advantage of familiarity. The places that Cid seems to frequent come as little surprise; what does come as a surprise is the casual way he's dressed and at the market like it's the most normal thing in the world.

His chest tightens a little as he simply watches the other man for a moment. Is this what life could have been for Cid if not for the way things in their world had transpired? Could he have lived an average life, smoking inside and looking at produce with his only care being what was for dinner that evening? He knows that Cid chose the life he did - as all of them did - but Gav still has to consider what might have been.

Or, he supposes, what could be here in Amani. ]

Almost didn't recognize ya', [ he says, finally stepping up to the man's side near silently with arms crossed. ] but I'll admit that style suits somehow.

[Though it is more of a holding station than a proper afterlife, as he's come to understand it, it is no less shocking to see a familiar face. With an unfamiliar addition. Cid tries to speed run all the feelings he feels right now, to cut to it, to reply like he's not at his wit's end most days.]

Oh this? Ah, just something I picked up. But oh, aren't you a sight for sore eyes. ...No offense, don't mean to rub it in.

[ He reaches out with his cigar hand and takes his shoulder firmly, giving him a squeeze and a small shake.]

But between and eye and your nose? I'd rather you kept your nose. Gives you a roguish mystery about you either way. Not a bad look.

[A beat. He knows it's been five years for Clive.]

...Sooo. How long's it been since you saw me last?

Edited 2023-10-03 21:05 (UTC)

[ It's perfectly Cid. The right combination of sentimentality but a sharp wit to disguise it. Gav can't help the way he smiles even before the hand to his shoulder. ] Please, [ he says, moving one arm to wave his hand dismissively. ] you have to know I've heard - and told - my fair share of japes about it.

Roguish though, huh? I do like the sound of that.

[ At the question, he sobers a little. His shoulders relax as he sighs away tension he hadn't realized he was holding. ]

About five years or so now. Ya' left with Clive to shatter that crystal, then... [ He didn't come back.

And Kupka found the Hideaway instead. ]

I should have figured that you're from when Clive is. He's got some new scars, too.

For what it's worth, I'm sorry for leaving everyone like that.

[Clive had said something about the Hideaway. Utter tragedy.]

But. Now we're all dead, as luck would have it, but it's not over. We did our best, but now all we have to do is regroup. Think you can manage that for me, Gav?

Edited 2023-10-15 02:20 (UTC)

[ So, Clive is here too. He figured if anyone would be... Well, they'd all gone on a bit of a death march near the end. Hadn't they? Although it was possible they might have returned, Gav hadn't been holding his breath. ]

Ah, well- I know you wouldn't have if you could have helped it. [ said a little softer. Sincere. He isn't about to make Cid feel worse about it than he likely already does. But it was, in fact, tragedy.

They picked themselves up after that catastrophe though. Who's to say they couldn't again? This time, back to his usual pep: ]

But of course I can. You know better than anyone nothing keeps 'ol Gav down for long. Even death, as it turns out!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TDM #13

gav | ffxvi | ota (spoilers likely!)

video | @fishfearme

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1/3

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Wildcards you

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