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!
Final Fantasy Adventu is a roleplaying forum inspired by the Final Fantasy series. Images on the site are edited by KUPO of FF:A with all source material belonging to their respective artists (i.e. Square Enix, Pixiv Fantasia, etc). The board lyrics are from the Final Fantasy song "Otherworld" composed by Nobuo Uematsu and arranged by The Black Mages II.
The current skin was made by Pharaoh Leap of Pixel Perfect. Outside of that, individual posts and characters belong to their creators, and we claim no ownership to what which is not ours. Thank you for stopping by.
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“The Heart of Melting Magic”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]She gave him a deadpan look as he seemed overly amused at her story of her husband’s forgiveness. Could he not delight in another’s misery so readily or for a small moment with her. He spoke his half apology to her with a soft laugh. She acted out as she did for those who half listened to her words. She delicately poked his forehead to deflate the ego that prevented him from HEARING her fully. She gave a soft huff. No. That would not do this evening at all.
“You need not an apology for that.” She gave a slight wave of the hand. “It is easy to see me as forgiving while I am merely amiable. Though I hope you remember my ferocity well.” She teased at the word. Ferocious. What a word to describe her. Was she really so savage? Though it seemed he had more thoughts on the matter of how she treated others, which surprised her. She kept a small smile to herself as she looked away again.
"Are you so worried about me valuing myself? That makes me beatific and solaced. It’s rare that someone considers my feelings on the matter.” She chuckled at the thought of someone WORRYING for her, a slight blush on her cheek. Cid only worried for her when he realized the danger she was in and not before. Even after, Cid had not stood by her side for very long after her kidnapping, opting to leave her in the war room alone to recount her story. His true love was engineering.
Is this how Kuja turned Queen Brahne? Words were quite the weapon indeed.Or was he truly supporting her in his own way? She tried to mentally hand wave the thought.
“If I treat you the way you did myself, then would we be here chatting now? Suppose I suggested some private place on the mountain to tussle. …And hopefully not start a second avalanche.” She raised a brow and tapped her finger along her glass. “Or if I ensnared you in a book and made you my personal Tantarian.” She hummed thoughtfully. Would that be any different than how he locked her away? “If any of those were to happen, our current sentiments would be very different.”
Wouldn’t they?
She took a gentle breath and thought about what he said. “Let’s say I did unleash my wrath upon the noble court. What would I earn but a few moments of satisfaction and someone’s ire? Doing so burns away bridges of opportunity I would rather not lose.” It could land her in the dank prison cells awaiting a sentence at worst. “I’ve also no fury here on Zephon to unleash. Do you suggest I take it out on those who hardly know me? Then, how ever shall I start anew here?”
There was a gentle pause as she sipped her drink and studied him as he looked up at the details of the ceiling. He really was quite handsome and dressed like a Lindblum noble, no less. Was the latter intentional?
She thought about his words of restraint and his satisfaction of seeing her fury. Both he and Garnet believe she was acting in a restrained manner. Was she, really? How should she really be behaving? “I see your point, no matter how much I may rebuke it.” His suggestions were extreme, but if she pulled back the layers, she could see his core intent. “However, I was raised to not be a wild woman, but a regentess. The less human I am - the less feelings I show and the less sides I take - the more regal and fit for duty I am.” How did she find the words? “It’s hard to know anything else. It is my trade and I have plied it here.” She looked longing towards the window, just beyond them. “It’s hard to change, isn’t it? Yet, I desire it and have the opportunity now to do so. Perhaps I need your out-of-the-box thinking to guide me.”
As she rose and made for the door, the bird followed her. Ah. She did not trust the hotel staff to handle such a delicate automaton. So, she let it rest on her shoulder and preen itself. As for the sampler she ordered, she directed the server to give it to a family sitting in the corner. Her treat. She smiled as their eyes lit up, before turning to go out the door with her own drink.
He asked if a position with a school interested her. Was he worried he was not following her heart now? It was odd for a villain, wasn’t it? She searched in her heart how she felt about the position. “I am unsure, but it is something new for me to try short term. I figured I should spread my wings until I find the proper wind to take to them.” It was her attempt to do something different. Was commanding a classroom very different from commanding a regency? “I know a bit of the harp and music. Dame Maxillar and I both know of dance… It is a start, but in time it will need to expand. If you are ever interested, your critical eye would be welcomed.” She looked over the railing at the people with him. “You needn’t be a teacher, you could be an observer with feedback.” She tested the waters to see if he had any interest.
She smiled in thought for a moment. “I miss playing the harp. Most believe it is meant to play gentle music. And while it is very capable of that, it can also show more passionate music.” She closed her eyes before looking up at the mountain peaks that towered over them, the sun slowly setting. “If I played a harp song for us, it would be Toccata and Fugue in D minor.” Ominous, tempers, tip-toeing, sometimes floundering, but full of passion. She could hear the music swelling in the wind for her. She closed her eyes at the feel of the breeze.
“This school will give me an opportunity to play again and share that with others. So they can be just as passionate. I could leave a lasting impression.” She could leave a legacy in her name, not Cid’s. “As far as my patron’s concerns, she is giving me time to settle. You needn’t fret. It will take time to advertise and bring in students again.”
She turned to him as he considered the situation he laid out for her regarding the curse and the love potion. The mystery of this potion seemed confounding to him as well. “I could give you a sample of the potion, if you are interested. Though, rest assured the suspicious individual…well…” Hilda frowned. “It all came about because a jilted suitor tried to force himself on the girl. She broke free and ran. He committed suicide in her family garden to protect his honor and, using his life, cursed the her and the land to keep her under his power. His curse was amplified by a peculiar statue.” She seemed to glow at its retelling. The mystery and action had intrigued her. “I suppose he hoped to drain her passion enough for her to join him.” She shook her head. “I removed his curse, but just in case, I will keep an eye out.” Could the young nobleman have acted with the help of another? Was the statue planted?
Kuja admired the scenery in his own way and for a moment, Hilda wished she could capture it in a painting. There was something intimate, and yet removed, in the way he took in the natural surroundings.
She listened as he did for her. “It is strange to live at this pace. I think both of us are people of action. When there is none to take, we feel out of place. Bored perhaps. That something is missing from our lives.” She empathized with him. She turned away from the view of the people to regard him fully. “I think I am coming to accept this as a truth of the self.” It was why she kept herself so busy with inventing, socializing, solving mysteries. “If you ever feel this way, you may always come to me to fill that strange, empty space.” She smiled and tilted her head to the side. “Maybe we could aid each other in finding something to satisfy that need for productivity. Or inspire the other to tip over the liminal threshold.” He needn’t go through such things alone.
“What do you do currently to occupy your time?”
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"]Kuja It is so strange for Hilda to do the talking.
[attr=class,bulk] How very strange it was to speak in such a way. Stranger still in such a setting. Kuja had much experience perusing the gathering of nobles, playing at their mannerisms and adopting them as his own. He’d always felt like a spy, an intruder in plain sight, dressed up in learned habits and charms that soon became as natural as breathing. He breathed in slowly, eyes closed. When he opened them again, the same mountains greeted him, the same gathering of the wealthy below, and he stood above them, no longer a stranger to himself.
This was no act. He had no foul intentions. He could simply…live.
How very strange indeed.
Hilda spoke – of course she did – and as she spoke, he imagined her as a part of the mountains themselves. She seemed to belong here among the cliffs and the hills and brilliant array of turning leaves, splashed across the horizon as though painted in watercolor. He imagined her as a kind of alpine bird, white feathers ruffling as she prepared to take flight. He could have painted the scene if he’d been so inclined. Perhaps he would one night in the quiet of the moonlight when he had nothing else to distract himself from his own sleepless anxiety.
He didn’t turn to her as she spoke. Hilda and the scenery were one in his eye.
”Shall I consider that an invitation?” he asked, lips twitching with a smirk. ”I wonder how we would fill that space. There is art, of course, and any number of passions.” He laughed quietly to himself. ”Perhaps my curiosity will get the better of me.”
Such scandalous propositions from a woman of her status. He knew the courts well enough to read between the lines. Her secret letter, stored within her corset and smelling of perfume. And now these coy invitations to her time.
He knew better than to think she was suggesting anything beyond the realm of decency, but to a woman of her station to invite the private company of a man at all was…questionable to say the least.
”As for my time…I suppose I’ve passed it no differently than yours. Before one can strive for higher ambitions, one must first have the means to survive. I’ve returned to my old trade, dealing in charms and magical weaponry.” He glanced at her, smirking slightly. ”Nothing nefarious, I assure you. A sword blessed with the spirit of flame. A staff meant to enhance one’s curative magic. A pendant which wards off deadly poison. The people of the desert pay quite handsomely for such things. Their environment demands innovation.”
Below them, something hissed and he saw the stovetop of some kind of food vendor erupt into flames. Apparently this was all part of the process because no one had any particular reaction. The smell of seared meat drifted up to them, and he was reminded a little of Lindblum.
”I’ve had a few altercations with heroic types seeking justice. Some of them warranted. Others less so. I have little to gain from starting trouble.” Little but not nothing. He hoped that she wouldn’t learn of his less palatable actions. Though she could likely imagine them regardless.
”I’ve always loved the sound of the harp. I would like very much to hear the range of your music. Though Toccata and Fugue is meant for the organ, isn’t it?” He tilted his head thoughtfully. ”It’s a haunting piece nevertheless. It feels like drowning in the waves of one’s own sorrow. Music is hardly my strongest point, but I do have some skill with a harpsichord.”
She had given him so many thoughts to interest him and so many ideas to catch his eye. He hardly knew where to start, but it seemed they had time for whatever they so wished.
”I hardly think your classroom would need my critical eye, but it seems as good a place to find your means as any. More so if it follows your passions.” Still, it all seemed rather dull and unambitious to him. He’d always preferred the simple exchange of goods for wealth and wealth for power over the complications of patronage. It felt far more in his control.
To each their own, he supposed.
”What would you do, I wonder, if you had the fortune and reputation to apply yourself to anything?” It was a difficult question, one to which he himself had no answer. ”Where would the winds take you?”
[attr=class,ooc-notes]
[attr=class,tagline]@ladyhilda
Your letter gave me inspiration. Hope this is okay. Still rusty!
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“The Heart of Melting Magic”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]“We are only limited by our own imaginations.” She retorted thoughtfully. “Art. Science. Sorcery.” She gave a gentle sweeping gesture to what was in front of them. “Food and festivities.” A soft smile touched the edges of her lips. “It will all depend on the space at the time.”
Ah. Was he teasing her for the forward invitation? Is that why he quietly laughed? She turned to regard the people below, her fingers being sapped of their warmth from the chilled stone railing. It was easy for them wasn’t it? They were wealthy, but they weren’t nobility. They could simply choose to meet with whoever they desired. Her husband got to keep all the female company he preferred. No one batted an eye then.
Or was Kuja trying to goad her into being more concrete with her invitation? She would not. If he was concerned about their reputation in Lindblum, then he need not worry. They already talked. Being alone with him for months and then returning relatively unscathed stirred a commotion. Her noble rivals already have a nose out for proof of her dishonor and treason. Regardless of the truth Kuja and she knew, the letter would be enough for them to convict her. She was well aware.
Her reputation was even the first thing her husband called her out on upon returning to the castle.
‘Kuja didn’t touch you, did he?
An accusation. ‘His soul was filled with hate, but he was polite to me. He just talked an awful lot.’
A coy answer. One that seemed to satisfy her husband.
She took a breath of the chilled air. It was getting colder as the light left the sky. It grounded her to see her breath slightly steam the air. She was more interested in the now than that of the past. She wanted to enjoy this time, not fear for when it might be lost.
The angel spoke in dealing in charms and weaponry. She simply listened and shook her head with a knowing smile. Then she finished off the remains of her mulled wine. A watchful hotel staff came by to relieve her of it, before walking away to avoid being a distraction. Weapons and charms were never inherently nefarious. It was only in the wrong hands did they become so. “Your wares must be popular. You seem to be doing well for yourself. Perhaps, I can aid you in your business endeavors?”
A brief glance to him, before further studying the gathering people. “My magic allows me to extract jewels and ore. It could save you money on the front end.” There was a thoughtful pause as she turned back to him. “Or I could aid in some new designs. Not that you need my help of course.”
A desert people? Was he doing business in Aljana? He seemed to have an affinity for hot, dry places.
It seemed he had seen many justice seekers too. Though she knew of a few from Gaia, she wondered how many were of Zephon. She supposed in time she would find out. Garnet’s upset face came to mind when she thought about it. A soft frown touched her lips.
“Toccata and Fugue was originally created for the organ, yes.” She gave a knowing smile, “Do not blame the music for the instrument sounding the way it does - drowning in one’s own sorrow. On the harp, much of that overtone has been removed to reveal the lighter notes beneath. You truly must come to hear it played on harp. It is a different experience entirely. Like a stirring of a tempest under a curtain of stars.” She laughed quietly to herself, ''an organist told a master harpist it could not be done. The harp simply did not have the depth! Then, at the next recital, the harpist had proven him very much wrong! The entire room was in quiet awe at the divinity of talent.” Oh she did love it so. Harpists were a headstrong lot.
“Harpsichord? I would very much like to hear you play. There is an academy room to practice, if you so desire.” She imagined sitting next to him on the harpsichord bench as she watched him at work. Then perhaps, joining him in the notes with a four hand technique - two persons playing in harmony on the same instrument. It would be quite lovely to hear his melodies and respond with her own notes. A musical dialogue between two people. A gentle way to connect without words.
He asked her how she would take hold of her future. She listened to the wind rustle through the trees. The sun’s light filtered colorfully through the trees to color the ground. Live music began to swell. “What would I do, I wonder?”
The birds danced across the tree tops. The sky was clear and so deep with color. The warm lantern lights lit the atmosphere with a gentle glow. The scents of well seasoned food and the glow of the stoves.
“It’s beautiful here.” She said softly.
“How many other places hold such beauty and wonder?” She seemed almost in a daze as said it. “I want to see them all in their splendor. Unravel their mysteries.” She gave a soft smile as she closed her eyes. “Upon seeking respite, I would return to my grand duchy where there shall be no lack of wine, entertainment, and scholarship.”
“Or perhaps I need no duchy. Only a private chateau to rest and write down all I learned. A library and laboratory of my own to practice alchemy or other studies.”
Then she opened her eyes again to look down at her fingers on the cold stone. “It would be very delightful if I could share those experiences with someone.” To not be alone in it all.
She shook her head, “It is fanciful to think of such a future. I am not satisfied with my answer, but I also know that my mind will change the more I see. Perhaps, as I explore the beauty of the world, I will find my place in it.” She simply had to trust the journey. “Maybe I will decide to be a fairy doctor instead.” She partially teased, a soft twinkle in her eye.
She turned to walk down the stairs, holding the skirt of her dress so she did not step on it. She began to lead them down to the event below. She looked over her shoulder at him. “I am curious. You seemed dissatisfied with my current job choices. Is there something you imagine me doing instead?”
She released her skirts at the bottom of the stairs and looked over the crowd. Another server walked by to offer her a blue wine in small crystal glass. He gave detail that they were frozen high bush blueberries from one of the higher points of the mountain. She gave a nod of appreciation as she took another glass. "Let us join the festivities and talk. There is much to be enjoyed here tonight." She turned back to Kuja a smile on her face.
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"]Kuja Totally just business partners. No mutual pining to see here. Fufufufu.
[attr=class,bulk] They spoke of their business. A comfortable topic. Kuja raised his eyebrows as she offered her aid in his endeavors. He certainly hadn’t made them sound glamorous or fruitful enough to warrant such an invitation on the merits of profit alone. Though perhaps it was his methods that interested her. They had something to offer each other, it seemed, and he knew the value of a resourceful business partner.
”You will have to show me your extraction process,” he said. ”And the resulting product. I’ve generally outsourced the metalworking to local smiths then I buy, add value, and resell. I haven’t put much thought into innovation. My time has been occupied by other endeavors.”
Namely, by his many failed efforts to thwart his own mortality. But he wouldn’t think about that now. It would only serve to sour his mood.
They had other matters to discuss. Art, beauty, music. She seemed particularly passionate on matters of the harp. Kuja touched his fingers to his lips, laughing softly as she chastised him for his limited perspective of the instrument. Amusement lit his eyes as he tilted his head to consider her. ”It seems I’m in need of a demonstration. Perhaps you could assist?” She was far too invigorated to have been mistaken, but Kuja simply couldn’t imagine it for himself. What was the piece without the tragic and sorrowful tones of the organ? Could it truly be played by a single musician without the organ’s multiple rows or keys and pedals and switches? He wondered…
She said it was like a stirring of tempests under a curtain of stars. He found he could relate to that feeling.
”We could play together,” he said. ”Though to be honest, I’ve never been fully satisfied with the harpsichord. There’s an instrument here, the piano, which seems of a similar kind but which produces a superior sound. I’ve been meaning to try its keys, but I haven’t yet found the chance.” He paused. ”Perhaps if I visited your conservatory…”
It was a tempting thought. An almost seductive thought. But he had other work to do – work on which his life depended. Though one could hardly fault him for taking a break every now and then.
There was a long pause between them as she considered the beauty around them, her voice wistful, almost a whisper. Kuja watched her thoughtfully. She painted quite the portrait of words, so bright and vibrant that he could almost see them for himself. It wasn’t so different from how he might have answered, really, should he have been prone to such fantasies.
She turned and started down the stairs, carefully leading them closer to the festivities. Kuja followed, his tail sweeping the steps as they descended.
”I think it a fine place of temporary employment, but I’ve never been fond of patronage. With your ingenuity, I think you better suited for enterprises on your own terms. I examined the structure of your messenger bird, between its form and function, I found myself quite impressed.”
They came to the landing and merged into the bustle of the crowds. It was quite lively here, energized by the scents and spices and colors of it all, loosened by the free flow of wine. Hilda was offered a glass almost immediately, and she took it with a smile. She seemed as natural in this setting as a bird in flight or perhaps a fish to water.
She turned to him, still smiling, and he wondered again how it had come to this. What strange twists of fate had brought them together again, here of all places, and how did she seem to so genuinely enjoy his company? Without the satisfaction of his deceit, he felt strangely exposed, almost uncomfortably so. His tail swished in kind, and he hated it.
”It would seem so,” he answered. He kept his tone light and his expression as pleasant as ever. He hoped beyond hope that she wouldn’t know to read the traitorous motions of his tail as it threatened to reveal his unease.
”Is there anything in particular that has caught your interest?”
[attr=class,ooc-notes]
[attr=class,tagline]@ladyhilda
Definitely no chemistry here at all, what are you talking about?
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“The Heart of Melting Magic”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]He seemed unable to accept her aid in his business until she had proven her value. How very prudent of him. “Very well, at our next meeting I will have products available for inspection.” She looked away as if inspecting the horizon thoughtfully - as if considering their future business prospects. “I fear, though, if I reveal my process, then you may attempt to replicate it.” She gave a small knowing smile, as she turned ever so slightly to him. Just enough to see him out of the corner of her eyes. “If that were to happen, my use would be very much dampened, would it not?”
Though she was curious if he could work such Gaian magic. Jewel was a talent reserved for the most skilled white mages. Even then, it took someone knowledgeable in alchemy to refine it for proper use. Hilda was confident she could do both. She had been impressed with his work at the auction house, even before she knew it was his work at all. A gentle hand touched her throat where the necklace she purchased was not currently resting. It had been left in safety.
Lady Hilda grew curious about what his other endeavors were, but did not bring it up, at least for now.
She smiled then looked to and fro for a moment. She spotted the live music, but there was not currently a harp on stage. “Before we retire for the night, I shall play the song for you in the main lobby where they have one set up.” The staff most certainly would not refuse a Lady. “A piano? I believe I have seen one still filmed in dust at the conservatory. I would very much like for you to visit and give me a lesson in its discourse. Or to play together would be a welcomed respite.”
She could hear the small whisper of his tail as they descended. Then his words spoke fondly of her work and she humbly lowered her lashes, as if to examine the wine itself. “It is true. I have been a victim of patronage such that I am nearly subservient to it naturally. However, this world has granted me something I never had on Gaia. The chateau is mine to keep and the money I make is also mine to spend.” Not Lindblum’s. Not the Regent’s. Not even her family’s dowry or however else they sold her wifedom. “It is nice to possess property I’ve earned of my own accord.” Her voice was laced with a gentle bitter-sweetness. “All I expect now is, that, if I am industrious and prudent I shall be, in time, independent." She looked up and met his gaze with more confidence now. In time, she could manage her own work.
Perhaps, in her world, if she succeeded at running away, it would have been a much easier task. In a world alien to her, it proved more difficult. She thought she was making decent strides in finding where to place her roots. She was sowing the seeds of relationships so that she may be successful later.
“You honor me with your compliments. I did not think the messenger’s range extended this far. Did you have to guide it much when you tested its performance?”
As she turned back to him, she could not help but notice the flickering movement of his tail. To cover up her traitorous glance, she took a sip of her wine and looked towards the festivities. Her face reddened again. The tail was too revealing and it felt like an intrusion into his privacy. But it was also terribly…
Well…
Cute.
What was wrong with her? Evil sorcerer genius. Killed thousands under his scheming. Now suddenly with a reveal of a fluffy tail. It was not like he was the only person she saw with a tail. Burmecians. Cleyrans. Zidane. A mechanic in Lindblum who resembled a racoon.
Still, with colored cheeks, she wondered what was making him uncomfortable. Was it the topic? Perhaps he was not fond of crowds? Or maybe she was keeping him from his other endeavor? It was impossible to tell. She could not guess it was her mere joviality around him.
“Ah. I did wish to partake in the wine pairings. Unfortunately, I am unused to eating at such public events…” Walking around and stuffing her face with food from booths was not something she was often doing. “I was hoping to provide an order, and have it delivered at the gazebo I reserved on one of the mountain side paths.” It was still close to the festivities and she could enjoy the music at that distance. However, it was far enough to enjoy her meal in peace, until she was ready to return to the activity. “You are welcome to join me. Perhaps we could work on the magical cipher. Afterwards, we can moon gaze and practice our poetry, as is tradition on certain nights here.”
Would being away from the crowd help him be more comfortable? She took another sip of her wine. It was thick and sweet. Maybe too sweet. Then, she breathed a soft huff as if she realized something. “Is there something, perhaps, you would like to do? I am intruding on your time and you have journey so terribly far. Perhaps, we can look for this flower you mentioned instead.” Hilda knew a great deal of herbalism. She could aid him, if he so desired. She felt like he was simply following her lead. “Or whatever else you desire.”
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"]Kuja None of her suggestions sound romantic at all. Nope.
