#Worlds Converging

[talesofourworlds]

@mistralxsoul continued from here!

Today was, decidedly, a little bit strange. And even that felt like it was putting it mildly, Guy thought.

His travels had brought him to a city called Zaphias for the time being. It was a much needed break, considering everything he'd been helping to achieve back home. Finally putting a stop of Van's plans and concluding everything at the Absorption Gate hadn't been an easy task, after all. Even without that, he'd been kept plenty busy in Grand Chokmah in the immediate aftermath. Whether that be with walking Emperor Peony's rappigs or settling into his own life, it had been a busy time for Guy. Fortunately, the Emperor had understood his need for a break. Much the same as his friends would have, he imagined.

So far, the stay had been pleasant! Zaphis itself was a nice enough city, or at least was presenting itself to be. In some ways it reminded him of Baticul. That likely had to do with the way the city was structured, Guy concluded. Nobility higher up in the city and the rest of the citizenry further down. In turn, the similarities had reminded him of Luke.

Oh, Luke... he hoped his friend was doing okay now that he had a chance to try and figure out what to do with his life. Knowing his friend, though, that wouldn't be an easy task. So, Guy shook his head and decided to go about his day. Luke wouldn't want Guy to dwell on wondering what he was doing with himself, Guy decided.

Ever since he'd arrived in the city, though, people he had taken the time to talk to had kept mistaking him for someone else. Someone called Flynn, he'd gathered pretty quickly. First it had been some of the knights he'd seen, then just regular citizens. Each calling him that name. One particular man who'd had a dog with him had greeted Guy like they were old friends before realizing the mistake. He hadn't really understood it, but politely cleared up the confusion before the man and his dog were on their way again. Apparently the two had had somewhere they needed to be outside the city.

Still. To repeatedly get mistaken for someone? Strange...

"Whoever this 'Flynn' is must be pretty well liked," Guy concluded as he continued to walk. It was still bizarre, but he could brush it off. Still, as he started to make his way down one particular street, his mind wandered. People kept mistaking him for someone who, he imagined, must have looked remarkably similar to him. Back home, given everything that had happened before he'd decided to take his trip, there would have been an easy explanation. But surely that couldn't be the case here... right?

All too suddenly, Guy became aware of what sounded like a scuffle. The familiar sounds of someone in armor was among the mix. Guy figured it was one of the knights he'd run into earlier that day, and from the sound of it he thought maybe they had it handled. He could help, but as he started to turn his head to see just what was happening, it happened. A yelp first, then a sudden weight crashing into him.

The knight in question, a blond man with his hair styled in an oddly familiar way, had gotten knocked right into Guy. The additional weight of his armor added to the force to the collision made it, in a word, memorable. Guy's own yelp mingled with the knight's as he fell to the ground with the armored man on top of him, and for a few long moments he took in the pain. Not the worst thing he'd ever endured, Guy knew, but it still hadn't been pleasant to get knocked into.

Fortunately, the knight's apology reached him as he found himself being helped to sit up.

"Don't worry about it," Guy told him. "I'm just as much to blame since I wasn't paying attention." Then, he got a good look at the knight in question.

For a heartbeat, Guy was stunned into silence. It almost was like looking in a mirror when he really took in Flynn's features. From the way Flynn's hair was styled to his eye color, they looked eerily similar.

A replica...?

No... no, that couldn't be the case, Guy reasoned with himself. The more he looked, the more he noticed differences. Flynn seemed a little more youthful in his facial structure. His eyes were a slightly different shade of blue. His voice, too, Guy realized as he was asked if he was okay, was different.

Van hadn't replicated him. He couldn't have. Guy knew there was a possibility of everyone having a sort of twin in the world somewhere, but he never thought he'd actually be seeing living proof of that.

"Oh, yeah," Guy finally answered, giving his head a small shake. "I'm okay. A little sore, but I think I can manage. This is hardly the worst thing that could've happened." A light laugh punctuated the thought. Getting knocked over and having a man in armor fall on top of him certainly wasn't as bad as the pain he'd endured when the curse slot seal had been at its worst, after all.

He looked past Flynn for just a moment, noting the fallen dagger and the nick on Flynn's cheek.

"What about the guy you were after? Is it really all right to let him get away?" If he could, he wanted to help. It was the least Guy could do after what had just happened.

[talesofourworlds]

"She doesn't live here in Leronde," Jude admitted, "so she isn't here today. But I could write to her. See if she could come for a visit." It wasn't exactly promising anything, but it was the best he could do. Though considering that Sharilton was a decent journey away from Leronde, it might still be a bit of time before Elize even could arrive.

One thing at a time, though, Jude told himself. He listened as Zack provided his answers. He wasn't wrong. Every action did have a consequence, even if it wasn't an immediate one. It sounded as though where Zack was from, those consequences were having a grave effect on the world around them. Not too unlike spyrix, then. He nodded his head in agreement.

"Fascinating... I've never heard of anything like materia before now," Jude confessed. The closest he could think of would be spirit fossils, but even then that wasn't a completely accurate comparison. At least, that was the case as far as Jude could tell.

"I guess it is, unfortunately," Jude agreed. "And the people that do give in return seem few and far between a lot of the time. So... the world needs people who can try and help others understand why they need to do their part. Otherwise..." A vague hand gesture was given. The world would fall apart, he supposed. That was why he was working as hard as he was. Why all of them needed to do what they could to use the time Milla had given them.

He still hoped it was enough.

"It would be a lot easier if people could all just come to an agreement. But you can't exactly force people to change."

"Is Elize, you know? Around?" Had she moved on to bigger and better things, broadened her horizons to beyond the familiar that she knew all too well?

"Everything we do has a consequence, though admittedly, some are graver than others." He frowned. "I guess it's easy to take things from granted, not think too deeply about the damage you're doing or about anything really beyond the moment." It wasn't like everyone who used Materia was in it to destroy the planet. It was just part of their daily living, like.... flipping on a light at home.

Even Avalanche used technology ShinRa created, even while the members of the group condemned them for their actions.

"Materia can be naturally grown or artificially developed. They're little orbs that contain spots of the magic plucked from the planet itself. Anything from healing to fire, water, wind, anything! I'm damn sure there are sorts that haven't even been uncovered yet." Especially in areas where mako had been permitted to linger without interference. As unlikely as such a thought was, he didn't doubt it still existed.

"I guess it's just human nature to take and not think about giving in return."

[ulteri0rm0tives]

It's actually so heartbreaking that in the temperance ending Johnny just.. leaves. Gets all these calls, maybe even texts, from people who don't know the extent of what happened. Who are accusing him, that are mad at him. Especially in the frame of reference that this was V's last wish. That it was V who gave the body up. That it was V who wanted this, wanted to save Johnny, Johnny essentially powerless to stop them ('just scared for ya').

And the thing is.. Johnny just lets everyone. Lets them make their own conclusions, lets them be mad at him. Lets them blame him. Lets them think, that after the love of his life the person who's ever wholly understood or cared about him the most like no other ever could had 'died', that it's his fault, that he could do that to them... Or just lets them think the worst of V as their final lasting impression or mark on this world. Doesn't try to defend himself nor V. He just leaves. Just takes it.

And you would think. You would think the one he would at least tell is Kerry. That the one to actually understand the most would be Kerry. I don't think any of the other love interests could get the whole engram situation like him, they don't have that personal history or connection to the code on the relic like he did after all. Kerry knew Johnny. Enough at least. But Johnny doesn't tell him, and Kerry just thinks V ghosted off on him and Johnny just lets him think that. And it just makes you wonder.. why would Johnny do that? Why would he do any of this?

[jerweedaily]

YOU SHOULD DRAW ALASTYR CROSS PRETTY PLEASE

I LOVE HIM A LOT.

[talesofourworlds]

@mistralxsoul continued from here after longer than I intended oops

The monster attacks in this particular village hadn't escaped Velvet's notice, even before Flynn and his squad had showed up. She suspected the attacks had something to do with an Incarnation that might have been in the nearby area. Perhaps that was what was stirring up the monster population. If the ache in her left arm was anything to go by, it seemed a fair assumption. She hadn't gotten there in time to do anything more than help out in driving out the remaining monsters.

She also had played witness to the way the villagers reacted. Hence the comment she'd made to Flynn when the rabble had calmed down. It wasn't really her place. She didn't know the man, nor did he know her. What she was keen to pick up on first was how noble Flynn seemed. So willing to take on the brunt of the blame if it meant that his squad didn't get the worst of it. In the past, Velvet might have been the same way.

How different things were since her little brother had been killed.

"It's a noble thought. Wanting to take all that blame on yourself," Velvet commented. There was more that could be done, though. She'd intended on flying solo, at least until she could reconvene with Milla, but in this case? Flynn might need the help.

She sighed.

"...Hear me out," Velvet finally said. "Those people may hate you right now, but if we find where those monsters are coming from? We could change that." The idea was so far outside of what she would normally do. She almost wanted to take it back. Then she remembered what that boy she'd met when she was dealing with Alicia the Incarnation had taught her. Phi wouldn't steer her wrong. Maybe it was worth her while to allow a little help.

"I have a feeling about where ought to be a good place to start looking. I'd planned on checking it out on my own, but... you look like you need this after how those people just reacted to you and your squad."

[talesofourworlds]

It was honestly sweet that Beebz wanted to compensate Kisara for offering to teach her. However, Kisara just smiled and shook her head as a soft laugh escaped her. There was no need for that. Adults may have liked getting paid, but it wasn't always necessary.

"There's no need for that," Kisara assured her. "Keep your coins. I'm doing this because I want to, not because I want to be paid." She did look at the coins, though. They certainly weren't gald. They must have been worth a lot more than your typical gald coin, now that she thought about it. If she accepted them, she'd have more funds than she knew what to do with. It might even have helped fund the future fishing pond that she wanted! But no... Kisara was not that sort of person. As much as she liked to focus on making sure overspending didn't happen, that didn't mean she wanted to money grub.

Carefully, she took the coins and passed them back to Beebz.

"If you really want to repay me, just enjoy the food. That's all I can ask for."

Beebz's ears perked up at the mention of Kisara's brother...but she decided not to ask about him otherwise it might ruin everyone's appetite. What definitively sparked Beebz's attention, however, was Kisara's offer to teach her!

"W-Wait.....really?! Y-You'd teach me?! You're not pullin' my leg or anything, are you?!" To say Beebz was ecstatic would be an understatement. She dug through her pockets, tossing out useless junk like lint and crumbled candy wrappers before finally pulling out what looked like a bag of coins. She gave it a hearty shake, a few coins spilling out and rolling onto the floor before stopping near Kisara's feet. "Adults want to be paid for that kinda thing, right?" Beebz asked hesitatingly.

As for the gold coins themselves...well...If Kisara looked at the ones near her feet, she could see that they weren't your average Gald pieces. These were pure gold! A handful of these could buy your own castle! And this kid was just casually carrying a pouch of em like they were nothin' but spare change!

[talesofourworlds]

@unwaveringblade liked for a Graces starter! Sophie because opposites are fun.

There was something different about this person, Sophie thought. For one, he didn't look like he belonged to the Fendel forces. Nor did he look like he belonged in Windor or Strahta, she realized. At the same time, Leon was wearing a cape that reminded her of Richard. His appearance was interesting to her.

The others, particularly Hubert and Cheria, might have advised her to be cautious. Sophie felt secure enough in her observations to think she wasn't in immediate danger, though, and so she set down the sopheria she had been prepared to plant to make her approach. Lhant was a quite little place, all told. If Leon was there, not far from Lhant Manor, chances were good he wasn't there to make trouble. But then what did he want there? Sophie's immediate thought went to the idea of him being lost. Perhaps a silly assumption, but given what she remembered of her own time when she'd first arrived in Asbel's life...

If there was one thing Asbel and the others had taught her, it was that helping others usually wasn't a bad idea. A soft smile was visible on her face as she approached.

"Hello."

"Are you looking for someone?" Or did he need help? It made more sense to ask the former, though. At least, in Sophie's opinion.

[rna-world]

headshots + broadcast colors of all my iterator ocs (with finalized designs anyways. oh and sorry fester isn't here either I really didn't feel likeit)

you can tell I did the last row way after I did the other rows because its inconsistent :sob:

[talesofourworlds]

@vigilantevesperia continued from here!

Frankly, Velvet hadn't even been trying to sound that smug or anything about how she'd taken down that monster. She'd hoped her dismissive tone about the whole thing had made itself pretty clear when she'd finished taking out the monster in question. Apparently he was about as bored with her display as she'd been with needing to fight yet another monster. She couldn't tell whether she should be impressed that he hadn't reacted differently, or annoyed that he was bored.

"And here I'd thought the arm would at least get a reaction," she commented. Most people were at least a little taken aback by her therion arm. Maybe Yuri had seen stranger things than that. Speaking of, she allowed her arm to return to its usual shape after a moment. When it resumed its shape of a bandaged arm, she returned her blades to their hidden position and looked him over. Yuri must have been a skilled fighter if he had handled himself that well. Interesting.

"I take it you're used to this sort of thing?" Odd people showing up out of the blue? Or did she mean something else? She wasn't going to clarify.

[talesofourworlds]

Now, Raven didn't have faces to put to the names. So names like Luke, Spinoza, and so on didn't mean all that much to him. He could at least surmise that Luke was probably a friend. A friend that had done Anise and the others wrong, he imagined, if the way she talked about him was anything to go by. It made sense that he needed to earn that trust back. Guy and Spinoza, Raven obviously wasn't sure about. He had no context for them.

But then, Anise mentioned herself.

Raven watched her, surprised for a moment, before she abruptly turned away from him and looked like she was on the verge on breaking down. In an instant, Raven moved from his spot to join her once more. He knelt on the ground beside her, hand hovering over her shoulder to rest but uncertainty preventing him from actually following through. They didn't know each other. They were just two strangers that happened to cross paths. But oh... Raven knew. He knew how painful that sort of thing must be.

"Hey... hey, hey..." Finally, he committed. Hand rested against Anise's shoulder as sympathy filled his eyes. She had no reason to listen to a stranger, but she'd ended up offloading. Maybe it would help her. Raven could hope for that much.

Whatever had happened, Raven could tell it had been eating at Anise for a time. She was still beating herself up about it. He could only surmise that it might have been on par with what he did.

"Obviously, I ain't got context fer what the others did. I ain't gonna ask," Raven told her. "But... whatever ya did, yer pals must care about ya a lot if they were willin' ta forgive. Ya don't gotta tell ol' Raven... I can tell it still hurts a whole lot ta think about." His voice was softer now. Maybe it would help. Maybe it wouldn't.

What to do now, though? He contemplated his options. He'd already told Anise she didn't have to tell him what happened, and he stuck with that. But maybe, just maybe, it would help her if he could tell her that he related. She hadn't pressed him for information before, which had been fine, but now he felt like it would help her if she knew that he knew what it was like.

Here went nothing, he supposed.

"Y'know... people can be strange. Especially the ones yer close to. Something could happen, you could mess up real bad, and ya think to yerself 'Well, this is it. They're not gonna be forgivin' ol' Raven this time.' But then they do," he said. He looked upward, away from Anise, and let a sigh escape him. He wasn't ever sure he would understand why Yuri and the others had welcomed him back after everything. Maybe it wasn't his place to know for sure. He was blessed enough to just have their forgiveness, wasn't he? Even if it came with the caveat of his life belonging to Brave Vesperia. It wasn't such a bad deal. Could've been a lot worse.

"Lemme tell ya, ol' Raven's managed ta piss off his pals on more than one occasion. Made it real hard ta accept me hangin' around when I first joined up with 'em." He paused, putting on a joking sort of smile. He wasn't even sure if Anise would look at him, but he did it anyway.

"I know. 'Whoa, Raven how could yer friends not want'cha around? Yer so great,'" he joked. Then his expression softened again. He shook his head.

"Eventually I built up a rapport with 'em. We worked together, stayed together... I felt like they accepted me fer the most part. I felt like I belonged. But..."

"Sometimes," he said, "ya end up hurtin' the ones ya love. And I ain't exempt. I really hurt 'em. At that point, I didn't have anything left to lose. 'Cept my life. And I still can't fully forgive myself for it."

Head tilted away, not specifically trying to put distance between her and him, but simply because she would be having trouble facing anyone while this was the topic of conversation. Sure, she'd brought it on herself, but that didn't mean...

Didn't make it easier.

"I... guess."

She faltered through the acknowledgement. In the case of, as the other obvious example, Spinoza, she understood exactly why the others were willing to give him a second chance, and it wasn't because of anyone seeing some innate 'good' in the researcher: it was just that they needed his brains. Even understanding that didn't mean she agreed with it, though.

And when it came to herself...

She shook her head.

"See, when Luke came back, at first we just let him tag along because whatever, and it was only when we actually saw he'd changed that we started to trust him again. That's how it should work."

Perhaps not strictly true in all their cases, looking at Guy and Tear here; but for herself and the Colonel, and even Natalia, that had been how it had played out. That made sense to Anise; trust, once broken, had to be earned and, whatever other faults he may still have, Luke had certainly done that.

"But since then it feels like they've just been throwing out forgiveness to anyone. Just because Luke earned it, doesn't mean the same's going to be true of Spinoza, or Guy, or..."

It felt like it would tear her heart out to finish the sentence; but she'd come too far to stop now. And maybe... maybe offloading to a stranger - at least without going into any details that contained sensitive information - might help get it off her chest. Still, her voice was very small, very subdued, compared to what anyone would expect from irrepressible Anise.

"...or me."

Don't get her wrong, she was grateful for the chance to make up for what she'd done; she didn't rightly know where she'd be if everyone had refused to let her come along with them, it gave her a sense of purpose amidst the all kinds of ways she was feeling. But that didn't change the fact that it was hopelessly naive of them.

And she was wrong, saying it aloud didn't help; it just made her feel sick to her stomach all over again. What she'd done was unforgivable, why would they possibly--?

She abruptly turned her back on the guy, unwilling to let him see just how badly this was affecting her. They weren't even talking about her here, why had she brought that up? Stupid, stupid, stupid--

[lobslobslobs]

* i did another freaking lineup . this one specifically ties into my stupid little au so hopper's there, nightcat's "the night" and inv's "the glitch' . really these are just unsimplified versions of my last lineup

* also just for fun comparisons sake bc i love comparing here are my first ever, much more game-accurate designs from may 2023 !

[talesofourworlds]

@thosetaleskids liked for an Aegis birthday starter!

Truthfully speaking, Aegis had been keeping his expectations pretty low outside of not wanting to be the butt of anyone's jokes that day. Maybe he'd been mildly paranoid over that much, and that had led to him stumbling into the so-called 'Calamity Crew.' Some he vaguely recognized from a certain festival months prior, and among them was Laphicet. And when he'd explained his situation after they'd agreed to let him stick around, well...

To say he was surprised anyone had wanted to wish him a happy birthday that day would have been an understatement. But Laphicet had done that much. Aegis had to admit, it made him happy.

"Th... thank you. Laphicet, was it?"

"Would it be sad to admit that you're the first one to say that much today?" Aegis almost hated asking. Truly, though, he was happy enough just having someone wish him a happy birthday.

[isbergillustration]

This guy is a warped and unwilling servant of the angels I draw (as opposed to the person who is an enthusiastically willing servant but only because they've been brainwashed by them since childhood). Used to be a trans dude now he's trans... something. You can read the first eight or so chapters about him on my writing blog @outgridwrites

[talesofourworlds]

@pastelfates liked for an Arise starter!

Rinwell didn't remember seeing this particular building before, but curiosity had gotten the better of her. The sign had made it sound like a blacksmith, but it looked a bit different from the ones she was used to. Then again, Rinwell reminded herself, the blacksmiths she and her friends had been to in the past had usually just taken up residence in the inns they'd visited. So this one must have been around for a while and she'd just... not seen it.

There's a chance they won't be willing to make spellbook upgrades, though, she reminded herself. It always had been lucky when the ones she'd been to before happened to have printing presses to make specific books for her to use in battle. As Rinwell walked inside, she didn't immediately see anything of the like. That didn't mean it wasn't worth asking. Now that she thought about it, though, she didn't immediately see anyone that might have worked there.

"Hello?" Rinwell called. "Is anyone here?" As soon as she found someone, she could inquire as to what sort of business they did. Mostly, Rinwell hoped to maybe get a new spellbook made. Provided, of course, that whoever worked there didn't have a problem with mages.

[mochiiniko]

commission for @sirwow :>

rotating these two in my head i love them sm 😭

[talesofourworlds]

“Well, at least we’re on an island…” (for whichever muse you're in the mood for!)

Holed up somewhere starters

"Aye..."

Not the worst situation they could have ended up in. They were alive, at the very least. Eizen was soaked to the bone and looked about as miserable as a wet cat, but he was alive. To think they'd end up shipwrecked was... not unexpected. The Reaper's Curse was a fickle mistress. Still. Not the most convenient of situations.

As far as Eizen could tell, neither of them was hurt. How true that was remained to be seen. One thing at a time, though.

"And it's not storming now," he commented. Kind of funny how that had worked out. It almost was like the storm had wrapped up as soon as they'd ended up wrecked. Or maybe it just was luck.

"Well. We've got our work cut out for us if we want to get back," he said.