uhmani | TDM #14

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 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 new inhabitants 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 nearly 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.

THE SEXY COMPENDIUM

Upon arrival to Amani, new inhabitants will be notified almost immediately of the sexy compendium that's uploaded to their DTF! This compendium lists all of the flora, fauna, unique geography, and miscellaneous items in Amani that might be worth looking at.

This database will update with seasonal highlights or places and items that might follow a theme! For example, the current theme is love for Valentine's Day and dragons for The Year of The Dragon!

While established inhabitants already know about all these things, it can't hurt to be reminded of what this simulated afterlife has to offer!

The Dragon Onsen

outdoor pool

dragon statue

blue tint

They suddenly look a lot more draconic than they did before.

Heart Jellies

jellyfish shaped like hearts

Wyverns

Taasunni Beach, and can range far into the Aditus Grasslands

Love Blossoms

gorgeous, pink flowers

pheromones

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

★ Feel free to check out the sexy compendium and also use whatever is listed there as you like! What's mentioned on the TDM are just suggestions and not only what's available! We want interested players to be able to make their own fun with what Amani has to offer and not feel limited to just the prompts provided here.

★ We are currently at 24/40 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

Deja vu strikes everyone, now and again. And yet Ignis doesn't think it's ever struck him in this particular way, where it's not the situation that's familiar, but - the voice that speaks up behind him. It sounds so similar...

And that similiarity only gets worse when he looks behind him to follow it to its source, and finds a strangely familiar face. Ignis knows him - it's Noctis's best friend that goes with him to the same school, and has since elementary as a matter of fact. (Ignis might have looked into it the first time that Noctis hesitated for a just a second after school one day.)

Or, rather... Does he know him? Because this man is older than the Prompto he knows walks alongside Noctis after school every day. His first inclination is to wonder if this is a brother, but, no, he remembers that Prompto was an only child. Maybe a distant cousin? Sometimes, family genes can bear a startling similarity to one another even when separated by cousins...

Alternatively, he could be a complete stranger to Prompto. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

(It is going to be very strange in about two minutes or so.)

Ignis's reaction is a little more subdued than Prompto's 'distressed wiggling puppy not understanding how glass doors work' act, however. Just a raise of his eyebrows, confusion flashing through his eyes, before he takes in the question. "Yes, if you phrase it like that." He still thinks it's kidnapping or a very strange hostage situation, but, sure. They can phrase it like that. "Should I take it to understand this sort of thing is common, then?"

Holy crap. That is him. No mistsking it head on- the man glued to Noct's side back in the day, and the man who would later become so much more to all of them.

The accent helps too.

Prompto now looks like the dog seeing a favorite person coming home, but maybe dressed in a way that confuses- say, with a hat, or a new coat. He's practically vibrating in place now. This is crazy! Noct missed him so much. Hell, Prompto's been missing him too. Worrying sick, as he does.

"Holy crap- Iggy? For real? Uh- whoa- I- this isn't a trick right?"

He hesitates. Then his eyes cloud up the ever-so-slightest bit.

"Thank the Six, man...You're ok..."

-Alright, nevermind, this actually is Prompto, and Ignis only looks all the more confused.

"Prompto, you-" Got a haircut, but that is honestly the least surprising thing about this scenario. "Yes, this isn't a trick." But it looks as though Prompto is going to fall apart, so he reaches over, hand resting gently on the blond's shoulder. "I'm here."

If he's honest... It's actually a surprise that Prompto is having such a reaction over him. Ignis isn't downplaying any of his own qualities, but just being objective, in his opinion, when he said he imagined that Prompto only saw him as Noctis's retainer who perhaps bothered him about his dirty apartment. Ignis wouldn't have begrudged him that. If anything, he's been glad that Noctis has someone he can call a friend, and view life a little more brightly.

He knows Noctis has shared the food he's made with him, time and before, but Ignis is fairly certain his cooking isn't so good that it makes people weep with joy from seeing him.

Something is up here.

Another couple of soothing pats, and then the clink of china draws Ignis's attention. Right, the coffee he ordered. He'd missed out on some of the coffee making process, but things hadn't been particularly strange. It's at least enough for him to take the cup closer.

...And then start pouring in a decent amount of sweetener and creamer into it. He's noticed that Prompto prefers his drinks a little on the sweeter side, save for Ebony. But then, Ignis is fairly certain that most sensible people learn to appreciate Ebony, once they've had a sip of it.

"Here," he says, handing the warmer drink over into Prompto's hands. "This will help calm you down. Now, what on earth is happening here?"

The feeling of Ignis' hand on his shoulder actually helps Prompto to calm some- Iggy was always a bit of a grounding factor in everyone's lives out on the road. Even if this is Ignis from a time before they knew one another quite so deeply, he is Ignis all the same. The man who always reminded him to take a step back, to think, to observe the world around him outside of his usual rushed frenzy. The man who more than once regarded Prompto fondly whilst doing that same gesture.

If he needed any further confirmation about this being Ignis, the man prepping his own coffee how Prompto likes only to hand it to him cinches it. Part of him knows caffeine may not be the best choice right now, but who is he to reject a warm drink? He takes the cup and sips from it gingerly, the warmth indeed settling him, for now. He sucks in a breath.

"Okay. This is gonna be a whole lot. Buckle up, man. To start, you already knew what the lobby told you. We're all apparently dead. Great, cool. So the first catch I'm gonna have you know about is that sometimes, the versions of us yoinked from home come from different times. Like, Gladio? He's here, and two years ahead of me. You're a whole bunch behind."

Prompto shakes his head, looking down into his mug.

"It's too much to ask someone to believe but, where- no, *when* I'm from, we all have been through a lot. You, me, Gladio, Noct. I um, like to think we got a bit closer on the road."

Honestly, a rundown of the situation from Noctis's friend from school isn't how Ignis thought he would be getting information on this place, but Ignis isn't going to fault it. In a situation like this, one can't afford to be picky.

...Even if it is sounding completely and utterly unbelievable.

The end of the world? Hard to believe. Being stuck into a sexually-based simulation of some sort? Incredibly hard to believe.

And now he's being told that those he knows are all from different times, especially his boyfriend. Truly, this situation is testing him, in more ways than once.

Ignis can't help the furrow that pinches his brow together, although he does his best to keep it from being too severe. It doesn't look like the Prompto in front of him is being deceitful, or at least he's not showing any signs of it... It wouldn't do to take out his confusion on him. "I see." He doesn't. "So, from your own recollection, the four of us were traveling together?"

Well, Iggy is taking it quietly. Not a shocker to Prompto, really, but the furrowed brow is telling to someone who knows him so well. "I know it's a lot. Reads like one of me and Noct's comic books, doesn't it? Heh."

He takes a sip of the coffee- just how he likes it, nice and sweet- and takes a long breath. Sorts his thoughts. He can't just overload poor Iggy with their entire journey. That's going to be too much on top of the 'you died and are in a sex box now!' Bit. Plus...

"You could say that. We all went on a road trip that ended up way more than just a road trip. All stuck together with Noct and each other. You always took care of us, kept us fed, kicked serious tail in combat...I like to think you and I became pretty good friends, Iggy."

Impossible as it always seemed to the commoner outsider to their little royal entourage, if Prompto really gets to specifics, the signs of Gladio and Ignis accepting him were always there. Maybe even more than just accepting him, but Prompto needs to take reflecting on that in baby steps.

"I just- sorry, I really am so glad you're ok. Noct is going to lose his shit. We, uh-"

He considers how much to reveal. Hell, Iggy is smart enough that he might hit the conclusion without Prompto spelling it out; even as 'school friends', the vibes between he and Noct were there, in hindsight. They both just took way too long circling around it.

"Me and Noct live together here."

For however nervous Prompto is, it's clear he's making a sincere effort to explain things as best he can. He's not even trained like Gladio and Ignis were from birth; Ignis can appreciate his attempts.

It's just... He can also pick up that a few things are being glossed over.

Hm. Sometimes it's jumping the gun to assume malice instead of, say, pure anxiety rimmed around a coffee mug. He's just arrived, so getting a lay of the land can be higher on his list of priorities for now. Later, he'll pursue that line of inquiry.

In the present... There's news that he can't entirely be surprised to hear.

"I see," he says, and manages a small smile. "I'm glad to hear that. You have always been very dear to Noct." Even when Noct hadn't made double digits yet, just a boy constantly looking behind him for a certain blond hiding behind trees (badly), that much had been clear. It'd been something of a relief when he'd come home from school one day, and mentioned a new friend with enough energy for the both of them.

Maybe politically this could be difficult to manage, but, well... They're not in Insomnia right now, so it is the least pressing matter to deal with.

And anyway... If it would truly make Noctis happy - and Ignis is positive that Prompto has helped make Noct happy in a way he never could - then he'd do all he could to help make this manageable for his prince.

Of course, although it's a relief to know that Noctis is here and in good health if Prompto is any indication, well, that likely means Ignis will have to look for his own accommodations. That's fine; they did much the same in the time Ignis is from. He hadn't even lived in the same apartment that Noctis did. He'll simply have to manage.

With regular visits, of course, because he knows that at least a third of the mess that was present in Noct's apartment was because of Prompto.

He can't just leave either of them alone, now, can he?

Did he just-

"Oh! Haha, I um, guess even back then, huh?"

Prompto's cheeks go pink at the implications of what Ignis says regarding him and Noctis. Even this long ago, when Ignis didn't know Prompto especially well (or at least definitely not compared to how Prompto knows him now), he could see that the blond meant something to Noct...There's no one in the world who knows Noctis quite like his retainer does.

At least, Prompto assumes Ignis didn't know him well. Perhaps he is woefully underestimating that keen sense of observation that he's always possessed.

Ignis smiling like that might also be helping the blush along. It feels like he hasn't seen it in forever. He missed it. Relief washes over him anew- this is real. Really real. He has to refrain from text-bombing both Noctis and Gladio right away! Step at a time, Prompto. Step at a time.

He manages to slow himself enough to get his questions in order. The coffee buzz sure is starting to creep up, though. His left leg is now bouncing incessantly.

"How recently didja get here? Like, is this cafe here your first stop?"

Neither of them were subtle, as a matter of fact, but Ignis won't really talk too much about that while Prompto is getting embarrassed.

And also, frankly, very hyper. That must be the caffeine kicking in, most likely, and Ignis takes his own cup when it finally comes around. Slightly different amount of sugar for this one.

"Yes, it is. I only came to perhaps twenty minutes ago. I had thought this to be a good a place to investigate as anywhere else, so that I might further get my bearings."

Some of it is the caffeine. Some of it truly is just Prompto being Like That. The excitement of seeing Ignis again compounds it even more yet. So many thoughts of what it means, how Noct and Gladio will react...Prompto may as well be slowly rising to another plane of existence.

"Twenty MINUTES? Dude what good timing then?! I took a break from studio work and here we are. That's where me and Noct live- I opened a photo studio. Its called the Quicksilver! Got a loft up above it and everything."

Prompto, in all his attempts not to blast Ignis with everything at once, has an idea he insists is brilliant:

"Okay well...How about this. You got questions, I might have answers. Fire away!"

Aw yeah. Nailed it. He must look cool and collected now.

...Prompto is practically vibrating now. Still sipping away.

Prompto looks as though he is two seconds from leaping from his seat and materializing a corkboard full of red string.

Ignis keeps this impression quietly to himself as he sips at his own coffee, thinking carefully. A full round of questions, directed to a particular party, would be a valuable thing to have. He'd already been in the quiet mental process of figuring it out, but that had been coming at it from the belief he'd have to speak with strangers on all of it.

Going to someone who he knows - who apparently knows him even more, if this whole absurd conversation can be believed - changes that approach greatly.

...It's an approach he thinks he will reserve for a time when Prompto can sit on a stool without vibrating off of it.

The coffee was perhaps a mistake.

"I didn't know you were going to pursue photography so intensely," is what he opts to go with instead. Prompto clearly needs an outlet. This seems easier. "What is it like?"

Prompto is full ready for questions about Amani, or the state of home, Ignis' own future. The last thing he thinks the stoic advisor would care about is him, especially from the point in time he's from.

He's so taken aback that he fumbles his words for an entire minute, staring at Ignis like he's grown a second head. What is it like for him?

Then he lights up with a big, bright smile.

"I mean, it isn't super important, but I am happy I get to do it. Running a photo business was a dream of mine back home. It makes me pretty happy. The studio has some cool technology I designed based off the Armiger!"

Prompto puffs out his chest proudly.

Ignis doesn't think he's ever seen Prompto be this excited before - not when directed to him, at any rate. Just the average cheerful smile of someone who has been fed his food before.

(Usually anything Noct can immediately identify as having veggies in it, along with the occasional shared pastry.)

And yet, Prompto is certainly one of those who seems to shine brightest when his passions are brought up, something made clear now. Ignis nods along as he has his own coffee, only to stir at that last sentence. "In what way is it based off of the Armiger, then?"

Of course Ignis asks all the right questions, it is Ignis, after all. Prompto wiggles in place, almost spilling the remainder of his coffee on himself before placing the mug down on the counter.

He's real excited. Coffee on top practically has the boy ascending to another plane of existence.

"Well it is a loooootta tech talk but! Basically it taps into a 'storage' like the Armiger does- a bunch of furniture and other items hidden away in a warehouse space, and 'spawns'them into the room on command. Just like this!"

Prompto reaches an arm out and one of his trusty pistols, the Lionheart, materializes in his hand in a flash of blue light. He flips it in his hand a few times, tosses it in the air, and just like that it vanishes the same way. His pride is so tangible Ignis might as well be able to touch it.

"But, uhm. Really? All you want to know about is, well, me? I know you Iggy. Er, well I know you pretty well later. There's totally more going on in that smart head of yours, or my name's not Prompto."

Well then... This is good to know in its own way. The Armiger has always been something unique for the royal family, after all. That it can be replicated in a manner like this is something he should know, as Noctis's retainer. And it's good to learn this from Noct's friend (and now lover), who can at least be slightly more trusted - especially if he's trusted enough to use the Armiger on its own.

Ignis's thoughts are knocked out from place when Prompto speaks up again, and he blinks up over at the blond. "Oh, I would like to know much more," he confirms. "However, one must start somewhere. You've already given me a great deal of information as it is."

Also, this is really probably one of the better ways to work off that caffeine energy.

"So it looks as though Noctis has no problems with the Armiger."

"Not any that I know of, no. He had it and was using it before I showed up here. Let me tap in, and it was just like our time on the road fighting together, after I was made Crownsguard. I don't think he ever told me how it worked out without the Crystal around..." Prompto hums thoughtfully. "Probably somethin' with stamps. You can do all kinds of crazy things with those. Noct was here all-"

Prompto hesitates. He wasn't quite alone when Prompto arrived. Ardyn was here. But that is not a bridge the flighty blonde wants to cross with this younger Ignis, let alone one closer to his time period. One who knows everything. With how complicated it is, Six knows he shouldn't bring it up.

"Ehehm. He was here all alone before I showed up. Then Gladio came around maybe a few months later. We've all been worrying about, well, you! We aren't the gang without Iggy."

To prove the Armiger is shared, he rummages through it, only for a fishing rod and tackle to spill onto the floor in a blue flash. "Oh yeah, see? We always put groceries in it too."

Ignis will remember that.

But true to the title of royal retainer, Ignis doesn't let it show on his face. Instead, he preoccupies himself with what he's also familiar with: cleaning up other people's messes. Setting his coffee to the side, he crouches down to start picking everything up. "I can see that," he says, perhaps a bit of that dryness Prompto has grown to be so familiar with apparent in his voice. "Were stamps also responsible for helping you mimic the Armiger's function with your studio?"

"Oh, hey- you don't gotta-"

Too late, Ignis picked all the fishing gear up off the floor. Prompto will happily send it back from whence it came once he gets a hand on it. He actually blushes a bit sheepishly. The guy just got here, and already he's fussing over a kind-of-but-not-exactly? Stranger. It isn't like he hung out with Iggy much back then, right? Just saw him fussing over Noct, or scolding him over them leaving comic books everywhere.

Though... He can remember a time when Noctis started bringing extra food with him, packed by Ignis. How it all just so happened to be his favorites. How Prompto definitely cried the first time, at the mere concept of someone cooking for him outside of a fast-food joint. It didn't really occur to the young boy back then to wonder just how a total stranger knew his favorite foods. Now, his brow furrows a little, and he stares at Ignis quietly for a few beats, explaining none of it aloud. Huh. Weiiiiiird...

"Yeah. Stamps are the like, way to get anything done in this weird place. The gysahl-greens on a stick for everyone to chase for...Whoever the heck runs it." Prompto shrugs, finally opting to take a seat next to Ignis. A very wiggly, twitchy one.

Yeah, weird how he knew all about that, huh, Prompto? However, if Ignis has an inkling of just what's gotten Prompto's brain stuttering on the latest program it's trying to run (thinking.exe), he doesn't show it on his face as he simply hands him the fishing equipment to be put back into the Armiger.

Was it training that had him be able to do things with a complete straight face, or is that just something that was bone deep before he ever learned how to say Touch Noctis and I will gut you? The world may never know.

"I see..." And he's not liking what he's seeing necessarily, considering the way his brow pinches in on itself. On one hand, since Prompto is here, then he could somewhat rest assured that Noctis would have someone which he could rely on for something like this. On the other hand, Prompto himself admitted that Noctis was here "on his own" (citation pending). Who knows what he had to deal with before anyone from Insomnia arrived here?

Quite a pickle he's found himself in just from the start... Ignis supposes the responsible thing to do would be to trust Noctis acted responsibly instead of doing a background check on anyone who might have gotten in bed with him. Noct would be the least upset with that.

...Noct would also probably not appreciate Ignis of all people inquiring about his sex life. At least, certainly he wouldn't appreciate having to associate Ignis with sexuality. There's no doubt in Ignis's head that Noct probably would never view him that way or want to view him that way.

...He'll stew on this issue at a later time.

For now, he decides to focus on how much Prompto is still moving far too much, and decides to address that before anything else. Just talking isn't going to be enough to exhaust him.

Some people might mean that as an innuendo.

Ignis doesn't.

Unfortunately.

"Have many people used that system to change the city?" he asks plainly. "I need to familiarize myself with it. Perhaps you could show me around." This might make Prompto break some sort of speed record, but that's fine.

Prompto watches Ignis rather intently. As he often did in their time spent together, he wonders just what the stoic fellow might be thinking. Ignis is one of the hardest reads he's ever met- and that is even despite picking up on how to do it better over time on their journey. In a place like this, it really could be anything. He's probably considering how to watch out for Noctis in this new place.

Eh. Too much thinking, not enough moving. The caffiene is sending Prompto into a veritable tizzy, really.

"Uh yeah! It basically is how you get anything done in a place like this. Totes weird, to be honest."

There he goes, hopping in place with an excited gleam in his eyes at the prospect of giving Ignis a tour. He can do that! It'll be so fun, just like-

Prompto's expression falls. His shoulders slump a little. It can't be like old times like this, actually. Maybe it sort of can be for Noct, for Gladio- the people who have always been in Ignis' life. Not him, though. He's the outsider of their little royal entourage, especially this early on. At the age Ignis is now, they were practically two ships passing. He mentally kicks himself. He can't be too casual with an Ignis who hardly knows who he is.

What a stupid mistake.

He falters. Prompto bites his lip and gives a shrug, next words a little quieter but no less still 'excited' as the boy works to mask any level of worry he's harboring with more vibrating. "This place is pretty big! You've only been here, so I guess I should show you the different shops and stuff. Lots of them are run by different people who live here. There's uhhm...The bakery, the butcher shop, the toy store..." he counts holding his fingers up for added effect.

"The studio, but I think that should like, be a last stop if anything. You see a place on your way here that caught your eye, Ignis?"

Alright, now this is just getting silly.

The first time, Ignis had been content to simply note that flicker of soft despair on Prompto's face - so easy to read that it may as well be displayed on a blimp. Clearly something serious was underneath that cheery depth; it just would be rude to pry during a first remeeting. (While Prompto is extremely caffeinated.)

However... It just seems to keep happening, doesn't it? That surge of sadness as Prompto looks at him, as though having lost something invaluable.

Prompto has managed to explain just enough for Ignis to understand that they were close at some point in the future, alongside Noctis and Gladio. That had meant comrades, friends, Ignis had assumed, but would a person like Prompto truly react in such a way to a friend he's finally gotten to see? If they were friends already in his future, then Ignis can't possibly imagine that a slight time discrepancy would change that. After all, if a future version of him decided to like Prompto enough to be so close, then surely the same would happen again. So what could make him react like this, look at him so sadly and with longing?

...Were they lovers?

...No, that's silly, Prompto is clearly dating Noctis. In that case, Ignis would rather cut off his own hand rather than ruin a romantic relationship of Noct's. Which isn't to say, of course, that a more open or intertangled sort of relationship is impossible, but Ignis ~~suspects~~ is fairly confident that Noct doesn't view him sexually and probably would never want to think of him in that life. (A disappointment, in ways, but that's neither here nor there.)

And that's even before going into how he's dating Gladio from his own viewpoint, and Ignis wants to believe he'd never be unfaithful. He supposes maybe they could have broken up in the future, but that still doesn't explain all the other prior points.

Yet all that does is cut out all the uncertainties instead of giving him an actual solid answer for Prompto's reactions. What's going on here...?

Ignis holds off on giving an immediate answer, instead taking a long drink of his coffee to mostly finish it off. He doesn't plan on hanging around this place for very long. "Why don't you show me the places in the city that you most frequent?" he suggests, getting off of the stool he was on. "I'm interested in where you and Noct go here."

And just to try and test theories, he offers Prompto a hand.

As easily startled as Prompto is, it is likely no shock to literally anyone in the world that the offered hand from Ignis throws him for a loop. Based on the headspace he's in currently, so convinced about his worries, seeing this younger version of his friend just do that absolutely blindsides him.

He panics. Thinks about the longtime crush he had on Iggy, and how he only came to terms with it so late, and after time worrying over his fate during his own time in Amani. All the things he thought he may never get to say to the stoic, yet intense fellow.

Here he is, back in his life. Different, sure, but it is Ignis.

The sheer emotions that assault his being in this singular moment sees Prompto giving a just as jumbled of a response.

A glorious, mixed, and utterly embarrassing response. He gives Ignis a high-five (a low five?), and a "aw yeah!" Before his brain catches up and connects the wires to tell him that he may or may not be offering it to hold. Impulsive as the young blonde is, and as mixed up as he is, well...He sure does just leave his hand there after the low-five, staring wide-eyed at Ignis like a deer in headlights.

Whoops.

Edited 2024-02-23 21:53 (UTC)

....What.

There's a beat of silence. Ignis, very slowly, raises an eyebrow. The open palm curls back its fingers, and is retreated.

"I'll let you have a moment to get ready, then, and wait for you outside," he says simply, before nodding over to where Rosie is behind the counter and going to walk off.

...It's only when he's outside and out of easy view from indoors (he's already looked over everything to his satisfaction) that there's a flick of a smile and Ignis shakes his head. This answers absolutely nothing.

Probably not gonna get clear or easy answers from a guy like Prompto on matters of the heart, Ignis. Keep at it! Maybe he will make sense one day.

Maybe.

For now, Prompto sits for a few beats staring blankly ahead once Ignis takes his leave. Takes time to reboot his brain. Said brain is still frazzled, he's still mortified, but it works enough to get him out the door. Go outside. Show Iggy a place me and Noct go to. Stay calm.

There is no calm. But he manages all the other parts.

"Okay! Follow me, I got a perfect first stop in mind!!"

Prompto's legs practically move on their own. In the end perhaps it is his subconscious speaking, because the pair end up at Amani's very own onsen.

Holy shit. What has gotten in to him?! He brought Iggy to a six-damned bath house! Prompto tries not to panic and plays it off like an informative tour. He prays Ignis won't read into it. He knows praying will do absolutely nothing.

"This is the uh, magic onsen! All kinds of magic baths and stuff here. Some encourage moods and I think one turns people into dragons?"

Perfect. Stuck the landing. Don't mind his pink cheeks and fidgeting.

While Prompto might be dying at the end of this trip, Ignis personally finds it fairly informative. Granted, he's taking that into consideration as a man who is dedicated to memorizing every little side path and location of interest on the way. Mapping out the area is just as important ass the actual destination.

So by the time they finally get to the onsen... While Prompto is rapidly going through the process of repeated deaths, Ignis leaves him to that, instead inspecting the lobby area with some interest.

"Dragons?" He raises an eyebrow. "How do they turn back?"

TDM #14

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