Welcome to Adventu, your final fantasy rp haven. adventu focuses on both canon and original characters from different worlds and timelines that have all been pulled to the world of zephon: a familiar final fantasy-styled land where all adventurers will fight, explore, and make new personal connections.
at adventu, we believe that colorful story and plots far outweigh the need for a battle system. rp should be about the writing, the fun, and the creativity. you will see that the only system on our site is the encouragement to create amazing adventures with other members. welcome to adventu... how will you arrive?
year 5, quarter 3
Welcome one and all to our beautiful new skin! This marks the visual era of Adventu 4.0, our 4th and by far best design we've had. 3.0 suited our needs for a very long time, but as things are evolving around the site (and all for the better thanks to all of you), it was time for a new, sleek change. The Resource Site celebrity Pharaoh Leep was the amazing mastermind behind this with minor collaborations from your resident moogle. It's one-of-a-kind and suited specifically for Adventu. Click the image for a super easy new skin guide for a visual tour!
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Oh no. The whole mood of the day changed within a heartbeat. Vivi winced as Kuja turned to give the most disdainful of looks. There it was, what he had been worried about since Kuja had found him earlier. He didn't think he had done anything wrong though, and he made fun of his best friend. Vivi wanted to say something but stopped himself. Maybe he had provoked Kuja into thinking about things he wasn't ready to think about yet out loud, so Vivi sighed and looked back down into the plumage of the dragon's back. "Ok," he said loud enough Kuja could hear but not as a shout. Vivi crossed his arms and looked back out at the sea of sand upset and silent.
Soon enough, they began to descend onto a plateau high above the raging sand storms. It was barren for the most part save a few cacti in bloom. It wasn't a very large landing. Even if he walked all the way to the edge of the cliff, he wouldn't be out of sight. Vivi waited until they were completely stopped before he slid off the dragons back. "Thank you, Ms. Ava, that was a wonderful ride." His voice had deflated just a touch, but he still made sure to sound excited and thankful to the dragon. "I'm..." he started to Kuja. "I'm not running away." Vivi thought he should tell him that before he was knocked out for wandering away from Kuja. Vivi would give him some alone time to think as he began walking towards the first cacti.
Vivi began making his way from cactus to cactus picking the flowers off them as he went. He thought that a little bouquet might brighten up his room in the lair. He had a nice arrangement going when he came to the next one. The flower growing on the cactus was a beautiful pink orange but a little higher than Vivi could reach. Perching himself on his tiptoes began to reach for the flower very cautiously, but as he did so the cactus began to shimmy. Vivi backed up slowly as the cactus turned to look at him.
Oh no. Vivi remembered this monster from his journey before. He tensed up waiting for the spray of needles to puncture him badly. Nothing happened though. Vivi looked at the Cactaur, and the Cactaur looked back at Vivi. "I'm sorry," he stammered as the continued their staring contest, "I didn't mean to hurt you if I did." Vivi continued to wait for the thing to attack, but all of sudden it just burrowed its way underground and began to retreat. How had he forgotten about that? They wouldn't attack unless he had attacked first. Shaking the incident off, Vivi continued trying to pick flowers now more cautious and aware if the plant showed signs of life.
Even Kuja didn’t understand it. It wasn’t logical. It wasn’t advantageous. There was absolutely nothing to gain from winning the mage’s favor. If someone else had done the same, he would have mocked them mercilessly. Why show compassion for a worthless puppet? Why waste it on a being that can’t benefit you in return? It was ridiculous. It was absolutely nonsensical.
And yet…
The dry wind of the desert calmed him as it always did. It felt so different from the dim, half-dead corpse of a planet he’d once called home. The sunlight and the heat had always done wonders for his mood, and now was no exception. He stood at the edge of a cliff, admiring the view before him as his dragon curled lazily beside him. There was nothing at all to draw his ire except…
The shuffling of clumsy feet. Kuja pushed his hair over his shoulders, turning his head to the clear sky as a means of distraction. The creature was harassing a cactuar by the sound of it -- an eternally risky game; the black mage would only have itself to blame if it met a barrage of needles for it. Kuja touched his head and ran it back through his hair.
What was he doing here? He still didn’t have an answer.
”Vivi, was it?” Kuja kept his eyes on the sky. With any luck, it would keep him calm. ”Tell me, when did you gain sentience? A soul, I mean. It’s an uncommon defect, but it can’t be helped. Not with Gaia’s spiritual atmosphere, at any rate.”
Kuja crossed his arms and considered the horizon. ”Ironic, isn’t it? That I should go about creating soulless dolls. It was no small task mimicking such advanced technology on a planet that had hardly discovered steam engines, but then, it was the most efficient use of my talents. He would only be satisfied with the slaughter of thousands, so slaughter I did.”
What was this odd feeling that had grasped him? He’d only ever felt this when he was alone or standing beneath the twin moons at midnight. He decided not to fight it. The mage could tell no one.
”It was all so simple, really. Arm the most insatiable of kingdoms and watch them all destroy each other. I didn’t have to raise a finger, and if all had gone well, I could have let it all play out without doing a thing. The mages would break down, and the kingdom of Alexandria would be left defenseless with the entire world as its enemy. A perfect plan, wasn’t it? Exploiting the nature of Gaians to their own destruction. I was almost blameless.”
He gave a short laugh without any real heart to it. It had all gone nearly according to plan, but to what end? If the mage was telling the truth, Garland was dead and Kuja couldn’t even remember it. A cruel irony.
”And here we are as though nothing ever happened at all.” The desert stretched out in all directions, beautiful and deadly. It continued without end. A desolate expanse. ”Tell me, what would you do? I have nothing to plot towards, nothing to plan, no goals, no machinations. I’m merely going through the motions, I suppose." He closed his eyes, tilting his head to the side.
"And you? You’ve babbled on about friendship and love and all other kinds of drivel. What would you do alone in a world that isn’t your own?” Kuja smirked bitterly. ”I know the feeling all too well.”
Vivi had quite the little bouquet going on. Hues of pink and white splotted and speckled among the petals and Vivi couldn't help but to suck in their aroma multiple times. He could almost forget about where he was and what he was doing, but furtive glances over his shoulder to make sure Kuja was still there or worse preparing an attack kept Vivi grounded in this reality. He finished the last cactus he could find before waddling back over to near Kuja and the dragon. Vivi wouldn't put it past Kuja to just leave him alone up on this empty plateau.
Vivi paced behind Kuja a few feet away before sitting down. He would sit and wait patiently as he arranged and sorted the flowers by color and size. He thought it would look very pretty next to his bed. His little room was so drab and he was excited to bring back a pop of color to it. He wondered how long Kuja had been here? It was long enough to have a place, but it wasn't nearly as decorated as his palace had been. Vivi then began to wonder how he had built such a structure underground in such magnitude. Vivi settled on magic as the answer and quietly continued to busy himself with his arrangement.
Vivi was lost in his own thoughts when Kuja spoke to him again. Was it time to go already? Vivi's eyes widen and brightened as Kuja began to ask him questions again. Did this mean that he wasn't still mad about what Vivi had said while they were flying? He was still nervous to talk, but he wagered not talking would be worse, and ignoring people was just very rude behavior even if it was Kuja. "I think," Vivi said standing up and moving a closer behind Kuja to make sure he could him, "It was when Grandpa fished me out of the sky. My first memory is of when Grandpa was checking me over for cuts and bruises and measuring me." His heart tugged remembering Grandpa and he sighed as he thought about everyone he missed.
Vivi listened quietly as Kuja recounted what had transpired on Gaia. It still made him angry the way Kuja had just used everyone, the way he had pitted the kingdoms against one another, friend against friend, daughter against mother. Still, his anger was stilled as Vivi felt a sadness for Kuja. Wasn't Kuja just basically just pushing himself against someone else's plans for him, much like he himself had done with Kuja's vision for him and the other Black Mages? Vivi just wished he could have done something other than hurt everyone.
"What would I do?" Vivi echoed the question back at Kuja. Was he genuinely interested or was he just going to mock whatever he would tell him. "I'd do what I'm doing now," he replied blinking up at the back of Kuja. He wondered if he should elaborate or not but decided he would so Kuja really understood, "I hope. I'm alone here just like you. You're the only person I know. Still, every day is a new day. I hope my friends are all okay wherever they are, but here, now all I have is hope. I hope I can do better than I did before. I hope you know you can too."
Vivi winced knowing he had not just toed but jumped over that delicate line where he was talking about Kuja's feelings. He looked down hurriedly and tried to change the subject, "Do you like my flowers?" Vivi held the small wreath of flowers up for Kuja to see if he wanted. "If you like it you can have it, I can make another one for myself some other time."
”What would I do?” The question returned to him with a kind of thoughtful curiosity. ”I’d do what I’m doing now.”
Kuja smirked bitterly. Of course, what had he expected from not only a puppet but a child at that? Nothing. He’d expected nothing but empty sentiment and naive expressions of hope. And that was what he received. Kuja couldn’t be angry nor could he even let his frustrations rise, not when the outcome was so thoroughly expected, yet he couldn’t help a kind of wry wariness. Would he ever meet another capable of satisfying conversation?
”I hope I can do better than I did before,” the mage finished. ”I hope you know you can too."
”Better?” Kuja opened his eyes and turned his head just enough to catch the mage out of the corner of his eye. What on all of Gaia was it talking about?
”I don’t know what you’d expect me to do,” he said dryly. ”I’m not much for grand shows of benevolence. Nor minor ones for that matter.” Kuja gave the mage an odd look. Surely, it should have learned of Kuja’s true nature by now? The events of Gaia aside, Kuja had abused the mage often enough that any belief in his “better nature” were surely some sign of a mental dysfunction. Yet still, it rocks on its heels with its simple, dull look as it twisted some desert blossoms between its hands.
”Do you like my flowers?” it asked, holding it up so he could look at it. Kuja gave it a steady look. ”If you like it you can have it, I can make another one for myself some other time."
”You want me to-?” Kuja said and then he laughed, covering his mouth behind his hand. ”Why would you-?” he started and then stopped, hesitant. His eyes slid back to the flower wreath. ”Why would you do that?” The laughter was gone from his voice now. The desert blossoms reflected back at him in a sickening perfume of petals.
”Are you expecting I’ll release you if you appeal yourself to me? Because it won’t work. I have no intention of letting you run off and disgrace my name, whether you’re feeling charitable with flowers or not.”
Vivi stopped looking at the ground and once more looked up at Kuja. His head was now cocked to the side paying attention to him. He felt his resolve strengthen a little bit as he wasn't outright dismissed. Vivi did have hope that Kuja could be better. Wasn't that the same hope Zidane had when he went back for him in the Iifa Tree? Vivi trusted Zidane more than anyone in the hole world, and if he thought Kuja deserved kindness and a chance then Vivi would too. He smiled and eyes grew brighter at the warmth he felt in his heart. Vivi inched ever so cautiously closer before saying, "Sometimes all you have to do is remember to be nice to yourself."
"I know you like pretty things," Vivi responded his voice happy hoping Kuja would accept the gift. He had seen how lavishly decorated things had been in Kuja's palace, and he bet that he wanted to decorate this place too. He couldn't make a statue, but he could make this. It was simple but it was all that he had, Vivi held the mix match of flowers even higher for Kuja to take if he wished.
"No, no, I," he stammered as Kuja accused him of just wanting to be freed. Yes, Vivi did want to keep exploring the world looking to see if any of his friends or family were here, but that's not why he had offered Kuja the flowers. "I was just trying to be nice. I thought you might want to brighten up your home. I know how pretty you made your last one. I wasn't trying to trick you or anything. I promise." That was it the whole honest truth of the matter. Vivi sighed as he thought about his own freedom. "And even if you let me leave where would I go?" The question was more to himself than Kuja. What would he do if he searched the whole entire world and found no traces of anyone except Kuja? What would he do besides be alone?
The mage held the wreath up higher for him to take it. Kuja did not.
"I know you like pretty things," it said and Kuja wanted to laugh but didn’t. What a trite idea! An act of pure sentimentality without any grounding behind it. Yes, Kuja marveled in all things of beauty, but that hardly meant he went out of his way to pick flowers.
The mage stuttered a response to his accusation, clearly nervous. "I was just trying to be nice,” it said. ”I thought you might want to brighten up your home. I know how pretty you made your last one. I wasn't trying to trick you or anything. I promise."
Kuja gave the mage an odd look somewhere between skepticism and shock. It certainly wasn’t wrong. His current lair was established more for practicality than for aesthetic, and he’d hardly had the time nor the wealth to customize it as he saw fit. He supposed a wreath of desert blossoms wouldn’t hurt anything, at least not until they wilted. Perhaps his magic could rectify that. Kuja hesitated, eyeing the thing the flowers as if they were a deadly snake.
What was he supposed to do?
The mage sighed, and an oddly introspective look flashes across its loathsome yellow eyes. ”And even if you let me leave where would I go?"
For a moment, Kuja was speechless. He hadn’t thought the black mages capable of any amount of self-awareness, let alone one so dismal. His gaze flicked between mage and flowers before he finally gave a short huff and swiped the wreath away.
”You’ll doubtless bring them back regardless of my opinion,” he said. ”And without my magic, they’ll die and look even more dismal than they do now. I’d rather they not offend my senses.” The petals were soft in his hand, and their flowery perfume had only strengthened. He supposed it wasn’t unpleasant.
”And I don’t know what you were talking about ‘being nice to myself.’ I hold myself in the highest regard.” Kuja pushed a handful of hair over his shoulder. ”I suppose…” he said. ”That I wouldn’t be opposed to bringing you along again. If I’m going out anyway. And you don’t get in my way.” He glanced to his dragon. The glutton was already in the palm of the mage’s overlarge hand. She’d certainly enjoy the company at any rate.
Kuja called magic to his hand and levitated the flowers above it so as not to damage them. A time-altering charm would take only a few minutes of concentration, but he was unlikely to manage that now. Perhaps he’d place the wreath at the mage’s bedside when he was done. Kuja certainly didn’t want it.
He moved towards his dragon, whistling to her as he vaulted easily onto her back and folded his legs beneath him. ”Well? Are you coming or would you rather die of exposure?”
