uhmani | TDM #15

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 'M' for May which means mushrooms,mermaids, and more!

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

Mushroom Madness

thriving

changelings

immediately change their species

Thunderwyrms

Mermaids

(Docile) Daggerquills

personality shift

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 ♡

❤

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<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 21/40 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

The technological aspects of it are a bit over his head but not too much, not when one considers the extravagant plans some of the Niflheim scientists had and the strange magitek in the Solheim ruins scattered across the land. They'd managed to reverse engineer so much, created an army of machines, even worked out how to transfer one's consciousness into one such machine.

Who could say what someone's consciousness would experienced if it were stored instead of being uploaded into... Whatever the hells Besithia had made himself.

"Outside of logic." He repeats the words, brows raised slightly. But Ignis goes on to explain that none of their ages match up and he sighs heavily. "So long as you are all here... that alone is more than I could have hoped for."

The finality in those words is sure to strike a chord with Ignis. He's a clever man, even without the age and experience, never mind context, there are few enough things that would leave Cor so grievously wounded. Fewer still that would also give him such a visible measure of relief to know all four of them were alive and in the same place. And maybe... that information will stop Ignis from fussing so much and Cor can get out of explaining everything that's wrong with him.

A foolish thought, certainly, but it's so habitual to ignore any inquires after his own well-being that it isn't exactly a conscious choice.

There is... a lot to take into just those simple words. Things for Ignis to patiently chew on, piece together with everything else he's managed to pick up from the others that they likely don't even know they've let slip.

The most blatant meaning explains so much of Cor's current condition.

Ignis takes in a slow breath, letting it settle in his chest. Back in Insomnia, this would be cause for so much concern - worry that whatever it was which had harmed Cor was still a present and nearby threat, the military concerns, all of that. But here, he reminds himself, whatever it is would still be back on Eos. They can just focus on the most immediate things.

For that, Ignis meets his eyes squarely. "Noctis is in good health," he tells him, quiet and sincere. "As are Gladio and Prompto."

And with that said-

"Now, allow yourself to get looked at. If your injuries and old age have made it difficult to recall or understand the full extent, then I am certain that the machine here will be able to do that for you. Afterwards, I can give you a proper update on the situation here. If it would reassure you, I can step away for a moment to give you some measure of privacy."

It's fine, Ignis. The thing that did this to him did so with its dying breath and now... well if all goes according to Bahamut's twisted plan all others will fall in the hours to come.

Still the boy's assurance that the others are fine eases some of the tension in Cor's posture. At least enough to allow him to lean to one side, relieving a little of the drag gravity puts upon his ruined shoulder. Then, abruptly, he's tipping all the way to his right to brace his elbow against the cot, struggling not to make a pained sound after the sharp snort of disbelief and... well as close to a laugh as the Immortal Marshal has possibly ever gotten. The sound in his throat, the angle he was leaning at, it all cascades into something agonizing and he's reminded again that he was really supposed to be dead by now.

Death would be preferable to this.

No, that's not true. Not if, somehow, Noctis was able to be here safe and sound and free of the Astral's miserable game. "Good to see your youth has not softened that sharp tongue of yours." Cor snipes back, half-hearted even as he slowly lowers himself down onto the cot properly. Even the Immortal cannot entirely stifle the grunt of pain as his weight settles on his back (and more importantly his shoulder).

"I would rather you observe if I am going to trust my health to-" His gaze cuts aside, looking to the ominous equipment in the room with them. Which is probably about when the Peacekeeper chimes in to inform them that it will ensure the Marshal is well cared for.

"I'm only being perfectly polite and factual," Ignis says, which is absolute bullshit, but it's absolute bullshit that he's capable of saying with a perfectly straight face. But far more sincere is, "I will be right here with whatever you need, Marshal."

See? Marshal this time. If he said anything else in any other way, no, he didn't.

At least things seem to go smoothly enough. For all that it may have too many similarities to magitech armor to be comfortable, the Peacekeeper is also more... personable, one could say, than machines made for the steady advance of war. It is additionally knowledgeable enough to get the job done, which is Ignis's primary concern.

So when everything is said and done, Cor's shoulder in a sling, Ignis helps escort him outside. It's a strange mishmash of a city, that can't be denied, and the mimicry at a busy hub only makes it more uncomfortable...

But still there is sunlight falling on them, as they are out there together.

"The four of us have taken a house for our own purpose, but it is a small distance outside of this city proper," he explains. "I could take you to it while explaining what I know of the situation... or there are places here that we could take a seat at." They're in public, granted, but they're also closer. Ignis will leave it in Cor's hands as to what he feels most comfortable with.

It takes far less time than he would have expected and the machine speaks of data corruptions instead of injuries and it's all very... strange. He doesn't like it. But.... his shoulder is stabilized as well as it can be, his collarbone set, the burns largely healed though some scarring will remain.

By the time they're able to leave it's been quite some time and Cor is certain Ignis has already informed the others of his presence here. As strange a place as here seems to be. As soon as they step out into the sunlight, though, Cor's steps falter. He was careful before this point to keep Ignis on the side with his injured arm, trusting the boy to be able to react more effectively than himself in this state. But under the warmth of the afternoon sun...

Cor just stops, eyes closed against the brightness but face tilted up towards the warmth. His brow furrowed, his jaw tight, and he has to release his breath slow and measured to control the rush of emotions. What this is supposed to mean, failures and victories all in one. The entire situation so pyrrhic.

But Ignis speaks, keeps him from getting lost in his own head and his gaze is drawn back to this impossibly young man at his side. "And you say His Highness is well?" It must seem so odd for Cor to continue asking, he's not one to need reassurances like this, but in the moment, standing there in sunlight that shouldn't exist. He can't help but doubt. Everything they've found, himself, Ignis, Talcott, all the research they've spent decades collecting between them... everything says that the dawn will only come at the price of Noctis' life.

"Show me where you boys are staying. You can explain while we walk." Is he entirely sure he's up for a trek across the whole of the city? Perhaps not but this place is not half so large as Insomnia herself and he's spent his time rushing from one end of the city and back for the better part of a decade. What harm could such a short distance cause?

...He doesn't like that. And you say His Highness is well? Why wouldn't he be? What would happen in this terrible future that can down Cor the Immortal? What danger is Noctis in?

What can he do to stop it?

The hand on the side furthest from Cor curls into a tight fist, until the pinch of his fingernails driving into his palm is enough to cut through his emotions neatly, keep him focused. "Of course, Marshal." He forces his fingers to ease up, loose at his side. He can feel the light throb of pain there along his palm. "Then, this way. And please inform me if your injuries exhaust you in any way."

Of course, he'll be paying attention to Cor regardless and not give him a chance to lie about it, but still. Perhaps they can do this like civilized people, instead of Ignis bullying an old man.

"There are approximately fifty 'real ' people in the simulation as of present, as far as I can tell. Most others, especially those you see here within the main city, are merely mimicry to make the space feel less empty," he explains, walking along and careful not to go too fast. "The exceptions appear to be actual mermaids at the coast and ocean, who are apparently connected to one of the entities connected to the creation of this place. Otherwise, the people here in the simulation are from a variety of other places far beyond Eos."

And they could get into the details of that, the things Ignis has learned from patiently combing through the network, but... Another time.

It's low on the list of priorities compared to certain other factors. "There are apparently ways to leave the simulation, but not back to Eos. One way is through a large wooden gate out on the waters, which takes one to a place called Hiromitsu. Another way is through an elevator, with the assistance of another one of the entities behind this place, to Sikalina. Both are dangerous in their own right, but... it does seem to prove that this place is a simulation. The difference in senses is stark."

What that means for them in the long term, and Eos... That's still something Ignis is chewing over as he gathers information.

"In comparison to the overall population, those of us from Eos don't make up the majority of this place, but... it is a decent number in contrast to seem the only representative of their own homes. Seven, now, including yourself. His Highness, in his early twenties, and the same for Prompto. Gladio, upper twenties. Myself. The four of us have taken to living together."

Because of course they have.

"Ravus of Tenebrae also has shown up fairly recently as well, although with no affiliation with the Empire, and so on favorable relations with us." And that alone, quite frankly, would be a lot to talk about with Cor. A prince from a fallen nation, that had once been rising up quite high in Niflheim's military forces at astonishing speed - no doubt even higher just by Prompto's time alone - and yet quite firmly on their side.

However... It'd be a much better world if Ravus was all they had to deal with, and his lips thin.

"There is also Chancellor Ardyn Izunia."

Without the haze of pain and with things being explained by someone he trusted it was much easier to actually absorb the information he was given. A simulation, different worlds, places beyond Eos. Perhaps if such places existed there was hope for them. Some way to escape Bahamut's little game of chess.

"Early twenties?" He repeats, surprised. However one wanted to qualify Noctis' age was up for interpretation. Did those 10 years within the crystal count? But that still left Prompto at 30, Gladio nearly 34. He doesn't say Ravus' name, biting his tongue so as to not sound like a confused parrot. There was just so much of this that made so little sense. Ravus? He knew of the displaced Prince's fate, of course, but he'd been dead nearly a decade now. So how in the world.

But then Ignis offers one more name and Cor stops in his tracks. Pale eyes widening briefly with surprise and concern. A single word muttered so softly that even if Ignis did manage to make any of it out he would have no context for it. "Adagium-"

He clears his throat, picks up his pace to return to Ignis' side and continue their walk. "The Chancellor. Do you know... when he's come from?" As odd a question as that is. People don't come from whens. But that does not seem to be the case here.

When Cor comes to so abruptly a stop, so too does Ignis, that displeasure on his mouth exchanged for confused concern. The name makes absolutely no sense to him - assuming it even is a name.

Something always in Cor's past, that he knew? Or something from a future Ignis has yet to see? He doesn't know yet.

"I'm unsure," he says slowly, gaze searching Cor's for a trace of any hint before he follows alongside him. "Having never met him before, I cannot say what age would be accurate." There's a joke here, but hey. "However, he seems to not be acting in the Empire's interests here... and I do have to concede that Noctis has him handled so that he is not doing anything... aggressive." A breath. Goddammit. "They do appear to be romantically entangled in some capacity as well."

Ignis would say he couldn't be less pleased, but there's a future version of him that would disagree.

That certainly implies Noctis knows a great deal more than Cor might have expected with the vague "early twenties". He must know- well... either everything or nothing and he's not entirely sure even the notorious Adagium would play such a game. What fun would it be if Noctis knew nothing of their bond? And if Gladio is as old as Ignis has said then he would certainly have stepped in if His Highness was being toyed with in that manner.

No. Far more likely it is two people that have been forced into molds made for them by divinity sharing in the pain of having so few choices. Kings, perhaps, but chess pieces all the same. As are they all in some way. A bishop- His gaze drifts back to Ignis, so young and so unaware of the horrors that await him. A knight- Gladio of course, the Shield ever at the King's side. He supposes that would make Prompto the rook, appropriate for a man that relies on a clean line of sight for his shots.

And that leaves himself, like so many others, only pawns to get the other pieces where they need to be.

Cor follows Ignis' lead as they work their way through the city but he's quiet for a long time to process that information. It's easier, in some ways, to consider the implications of what it must mean for the interplay of their relationships than to try wrapping his head around the impossibilities of the place they are in.

"If there is no Empire to serve here then I see no reason we should suspect the Chancellor or the High Commander to be acting in their interests. Both were, so far as I can tell, using the Empire as a means to an end." Ravus, of course, lost everything in that gamble. Ardyn... Well... it was impossible to say what the story truly was in his regard. Too many hypotheses and no evidence to confirm or deny any of it save the very little the man himself let slip to the boys.

As many questions as Ignis has, as much as he wants to so desperately know, he stays quiet. Lets Cor has the silence that he needs to go through everything that Ignis has told him. If anyone, he understands quite all of that.

And he can be patient, when he has to. Often, he does.

When Cor finally deigns to speak, Ignis shakes his head. "Ravus is no concern to me. I do not understand the entire story, but it appears that our individual relationship is on good enough terms, and he has shown no hostility towards any of us." Technically, neither has Ardyn, but...

...It can't be helped. He's kept quiet on the matter, store it away, because so many other things with Noctis and the others was taking priority, but -

"Marshal, do you know the full extent of what the Chancellor can do?"

"As I understand it he did right by you and... respected Lunafreya's wishes, regardless of his own feelings." The pause is noticeable and the way the following words begin so carefully. There's something there that he's choosing his wording carefully to avoid. But he's also making no effort to hide that's what he's doing. It would be useless and disrespectful to Ignis' intelligence to think for a moment that he could fool the boy.

"As for what the Chancellor can do... I'm afraid I am aware of a great deal of it." That icy gaze cuts to the side once more and his brow quirks ever so slightly. Not a question but an offer for Ignis to continue, to ask more questions if he wishes to.

Lady Lunafreya is involved too.... But with the state Cor is in, how close she is to Noctis, and so much more connecting threads of information, Ignis supposes he can't be surprised.

Yet he won't pursue any questions just yet on what exactly might have gone on between him and Ravus. That... might be something he has to admit may be more personal than he'd rather the Marshal get involved in if he can help it. Perhaps he will find out for himself. Perhaps Ravus will tell him. Either way, he'll deal with himself.

The matter with the Chancellor is a different thing all together and Ignis meets that stare with a frown. "Then... You understand his connection to the daemons." And thus, whatever else happens in the future... Ignis has no doubt there's a connection there as well. How could there not be?

"He's been fairly honest with those abilities, as far as I can tell - both on the online network which all inhabitants in the simulation can access, and recently, during a murder trial where he was a potential subject."

What murder trial? Don't worry about it.

Sighing, Ignis glances up to the sky, where a daggerquill has been patiently following them all this time - Brandt, keeping an eye on things as usual. "...Noct acts as though he has it under control. And I understand that there are events and context which I do not know. He is my King, so I should trust in him, especially with how much he's grown compared to the time I knew."

Another curls of his fingers, the crescent marks in his palms still a faint ache.

"...But he is my King," he says quietly, with a kind of bone deep emotion that Cor might find uncomfortably reflective. "I can't let anything happen to him, Marshal. I won't."

That's getting a little too close to home, he thinks, and he steels himself again as those verdantly bright eyes look to Cor once more. "So you say that we should not worry on the Chancellor acting in the Empire's interests. Yet with what you know, should I worry on him on his own?"

A murder trial. Well. Then even in this place where nothing is truly "real" there is still such tensions.

Oh but the tension in Ignis with that, the familiar ache with those words. His own hand curls into a fist, a similar bite of pain, sharp and focusing, stops his mind from following the well-trodden paths of what ifs. If he'd known more. If he'd refused the reassignment. If he'd stayed by His Majesty's side when the city fell. If Regis had simply allowed him the honor of dying at his side knowing he would not want to carry on without him.

His jaw clenches hard and this time his steps slow instead of stopping abruptly. He nods in the direction of a bench not far off the street and it's there he settles a moment later, certain to leave Ignis with room by his side. The side with the functional arm, even. The reason for that is apparent as soon as Ignis joins him, that hand settling on the boy's shoulder and squeezing tightly, firm and unyielding just as his words are.

"You don't, Ignis." Pale blue meets that startling green again and there is the faintest flicker of pain in his gaze. Meeting Ignis' eyes... it's an almost physical ache, remembering how sharp that gaze had once been, no matter how proud he is of the man that he's become. "Never doubt that. And he knows it too. That you would give everything for him."

Whatever Ignis may or may not know at this young age he has seen the man suffer for years now searching for a way to do the impossible. Just as Cor had for so long before him. To hear him doubt, now, when he has seen this man prepared to move mountains and overthrow the gods themselves for his King. He can't let him just... say something like that.

"But there are some things we cannot take from them, either. He is your King and you have to trust him. Knowing there is something that might hurt him is agony but taking what choices he can make with the weight of the crown on his head... that is a pain all its own. And one I fear Noctis knows far better than any of his line." He sighs softly, loosening his hold to instead pat Ignis' shoulder in something approximating an apology for the intensity of both his words and his grip.

His gaze drifts up to the clear sky overhead and for a moment he thinks the combination of blue skies, sunlight, and those pristine emerald eyes will be the thing that finally undoes him. After all these years, after finally coming to the end when he could lay down his sword and join his Kings. He leans forward, elbow on his knee, head bowed and the weight of so many years and so many losses an almost visible weight upon him. It's there in the grey of his hair and the tightness in his shoulders, the scars that mar his bared arm and the heaviness of his voice.

"Should you worry? It doesn't matter. You will worry regardless. But I think, perhaps, there are things that Noctis and Ardyn share that... no others in this world or another could possibly understand."

You don't Cor tells him, that grip tight on his shoulder, keeping him right where he is. And yet, still, something will hurt Noctis.

How much? It's a noose around his throat, that question. How much? Will it just be a physical injury? An emotional one? Mental? Worse? All the fear and anxiety he's patiently swallowed down as they've been born from so many details he's picked up, it burns at the back of his tongue like bile. The same questions that have nicked at his heels sting at him now again with renewed vigor.

What happens, and how do I stop it?

But he thinks he knows the answer that Cor would give him. The answer he's giving him right now.

Noctis is his king, and he has to trust him. Ignis must accept that.

And he doesn't know if he can.

Those are not words which he reveals to Cor, at least, he won't today. Not when the other man seems as though he might turn to stone and root from sheer exhaustion right where he sits, like one of the buildings out past the wall which Ignis has seen photographs of. Old and worn down, cement battered by the elements and exposed metal foundations rusting as the leaves crawl inbetween them. That is what his scars remind him of. What everything about Cor right now reminds Ignis of.

"...I see." Ignis finally breathes, eyes looking down to those rough hands of his. "Then, I will keep that in mind for the future." There's nothing he can do about it anyway, not right now, is there? So he forces another breath out, inhale exhale, and looks off to where a daggerquill is perched on a streetlamp.

"...This walk must be bothersome. I can have Brandt retrieve a drink for you, if you would like. There are shops run by our fellow inhabitants which can get coffee for you. I recall as you like it."

It's precisely how Cor feels right now too, a structure on the brink of collapse and yet... there are still those that need shelter within its walls. Time and circumstance grinding him to dust but that desperate need to defend refusing to let him rest. Even now when he should be dead.

His hand comes up to touch his shoulder once more, not quite rubbing it but putting gentle pressure where it aches with each breath. The offer of coffee gets a bitter little grunt, something not a laugh but as near to one as Cor ever gets. "I have had Ebony enough for a lifetime and then some." He tips his head back, looks skyward once more. "But... perhaps some water."

Another thing that speaks volumes. Ebony, canned and convenient, is so abundant that something as simple as cool, clean water is the luxury. No corruption, no miasma tainting it, no decade old bottles of stale water that tastes like plastic and chemicals. Not enough power to ever spare for something as frivolous as cold water, even. Not when there are lights to keep on and the ever-scarcer rations of meat to keep from spoiling.

Even as he says it though he glances back to Ignis. "I know what you're thinking." He's watched Ignis grow up, seen him, trained him, watched his devotion grow, seen himself in the boy more times than he cares to count. Ignis' mind, even with so little information, is already 10 steps ahead. 10 years ahead. trying to figure out just what he can possibly do to avoid the things Cor has only hinted at.

"If there was anything we hadn't tried... do you think I would be here now?" Not here precisely but here like this. He knows he looks like hell, looks and sounds and feels as though he is ready to collapse.

"Water can be arranged." And it doesn't even take much more than a nod over to Brandt before the massive bird takes off. The retrieval probably won't take long. Water can be fetched from multiple places in all sorts of forms - even Noctis's store might have it. Wherever the source, he's sure it will be fine.

Better than this conversation, at any rate, and he doesn't meet Cor's gaze. Being read like this so easily is - frustrating, but it's not a surprise to him that Cor can manage so easily.

"I would never say that you ever gave anything less than your all, Marshall. I know how much you value your duty."

"No more than you value yours." He answers softly, hand coming up to squeeze the boy's shoulder lightly. And, for as odd as it is for the Marshal to ever indulge in any kind of extended contact, he leaves it there, resting firmly on Ignis' shoulder. He's not sure who it's for but the fact that he doesn't question it is the only reason he can allow himself to maintain it.

"You.... have some connection with that bird, don't you?" To absolutely no one's surprise Cor's dtf is perfectly content to remain a simple piece of jewelry, one he hasn't even noticed over the existing cuff of his uniform.

Perhaps one more curiosity of this place will ease the weight of the moment... Cor's not entirely sure he can carry much more.

...And he can't argue with that simple little phrase, can he? No more than he can that hand resting upon his shoulder, the weight all the more noticeable for how much it's never there. Not for so long.

Even if he doesn't quite look at Cor, not in the eyes... It's easy enough to see the way he silently seems to ache, for want of always desiring to do more.

A flickering ghost of the future, where that look will never quite disappear every time Cor crosses paths with him.

It's a relief, quite frankly, to turn their attention to other matter, and Ignis looks in the direction he knows Brandt went. "It does. Every individual here is partnered with an artificial intelligence of sorts within the simulation. It can take two different forms - that of a creature, and that of an item on your person. I've found it beneficial for my own to be more mobile, often than not, although the choice of that form was not up to me. It's unsure of what decides such a factor."

But it's not been a problem for him or any of the others yet, so, who cares.

"You should have one of your own as well."

"An AI." His voice drops a little in disapproval, eyes narrowing as he too looks off in the direction the daggerquill went. It certainly seems there's an awful lot of advanced technology here that makes him supremely uncomfortable. "Is there any tech here that doesn't sound like something the Empire came up with?"

"The basic necessities, fortunately." Ignis thinks he'll accept basic toasters and ovens with no strange frills attached, thank you very much. "But this place's very nature as a simulation means it will push the boundaries of technology at times simply as a matter of fact. For example, being able to switch between animal and item as need be, in the case of these artificial companions."

He has no doubt that they're used to keep track of them as well, of course, but... That's just a consequence of things.

Brandt returns soon enough, a small water bottle delicately held in its talons. Ignis show cases exactly what he means, one hand passing the bottle to Cor while the other is held out to Brandt. In a flicker of light and pixel, the massive bird shifts into a neatly folded handkerchief right there in his palm.

Cor's frown deepens into an outright scowl as he stares at that little bit of cloth. Still... he accepts the water bottle, just savoring how cold it is for a moment first. Then he pins it between his knees so he can open it with one hand. It's when he lifts his hand to put it to his lips, tipping his head back despite the ache just so he can take a few deep pulls from the bottle, that Ignis is likely to notice the small flash of color on his arm.

Over the silver band embroidered into the Kingsglaive jacket sleeve rests a braided leather band cinched snug above his bicep, a green gem glitter at the clasp. The green is not the deep emerald so common among the simulations' jewelry, though. It's a lighter green, a warm gold-green that Ignis, especially at this age, might find familiar. A color very close to that of his King's gaze.

"If it can be a simple item that, at least, means it will be easy to shut into a drawer somewhere."

Certainly, he does know it. While Ignis's main priority has always been Noct and has been for a long time now, he's been spending a decent amount of time with His Majesty especially considering the meetings he's had to attend. Enough to recognize that color at a glance.

...But some things can simply be coincidence. Or, at least, they are coincidence to a polite society.

And so Ignis merely nods with what Cor says. "That is certainly one way to go about it, although it should be noted that these items are the only common way for people within the simulation to converse with one another outside of face-to-face. Additionally, there are... social games, of a sort, which are regularly posted to the network all of these are connected to. Since they are with a personality of their own, in a way, they may opt to post to those games without your input, if you are not careful and keep an eye on them."

Ignis hasn't had that problem yet, but he's seen it happen more than enough in his browsing.

"Now then, Marshal. I believe your own DTF is attached to your arm as of present."

Cor frowns, lowering the water bottle for a moment in an effort not to just chug it immediately. "Are you telling me cellphones don't work here?" Is that what this is? They managed to keep connectivity up, at least in the Leide and Cleigne regions. Through the end of the world and this simulation won't even give them functional phones that aren't also troublesome creatures?

Social games? Cor rolls his eyes at the very idea. Internet... what do these boys call them? Memes? Of course. Wonderful. Forced to participate in internet culture.

He'd rather fight the Blademaster again.

It's not until his attention is directed to his arm that he tries to twist so he can see it better. Between his injuries and the bulk of his coat, though, it's impossible to examine too closely. The effort, however, is enough to have the leather uncoiling from around his arm, slinking up over his shoulder to perch like some sort of bird. Except with four legs, wicked spines, and a strangely gryphon-like build.

"This thing?" Poor Ignis never got to see Enkidu in its full glory but Cor recognizes it immediately.

"I have no idea on the state of cellphone service here, but that would still mean making sure that everyone has the appropriate technology." Which is a whole thing unto its own. It's also, granted, a whole thing that Ignis is more than perfectly willing to go into, so maybe it's for the best that it's around the time that Cor's DTF opts to make an appearance.

The shape is strange and foreign to Ignis - nothing like any beast he's read about before. So his little frown is more curious than anything. Then again, there's only perhaps three other people who would recognize it, and he's not one of them.

"Well, it is more striking than I would have imagined for you, Marshall."

Cor shoots a glare past Enkidu's wing towards Ignis.

"And what did you imagine?" A lion, Cor. Anyone would. It's literally your name.

Enkidu, for his part, preens under Ignis' praise, jumping into the air and sailing in a wide circle around the both of them. It's as he's coming back around that his form shifts once more- only this time to the size he should be. Which will be terrifying to any passersby, this massive dragon landing before the two men, wings spread and teeth bared in a threat display.

"Ah. That's more familiar." Then the glare settles on the lizard and Cor barks a sharp command. "Enough!" Which is all the order Enkidu needs to flicker back to his original size, swooping towards Cor and dropping into his lap as that belt at the last second.

"The Blademaster's pet. What drove Besithia out of Taelpar all those years ago. And tried to kill me. Then Gladio. One cannot fault it's enduring loyalty, if nothing else." And that would be precisely why he came to Cor.

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