genessia | First Arte; ["Accidental" Video/Action]

Entry tags:

First Arte; ["Accidental" Video/Action]

[Jade was rather calm for someone who’d just woken up from a cocoon in an entirely new world. He wasn’t confused, nor jumpy, nor any of the normal things one would expect. Instead he walked about with a smirk, adjusting his glasses periodically when he stumbles across something of interest. Before he’d even left the cocoon, he’d already scrolled through the feed on the video phone, read the pamphlet that was so kindly provided, and (somewhat grudgingly) even placed the necklace around his neck. He’d already taken a stroll around the city, studying the people, the landmarks, mostly keeping to himself unless he was called out.

To any passers by, it may look as if he’d been around for ages, simply by how at ease he appeared. However, this was simply a facade, in case anything in the city was hostile in nature. He had many questions, most earnestly about the necklaces. They were to prove he wasn’t a fake, hmm? Yet, he didn’t want to broadcast such sensitive inquiries all throughout the city, even though it did seem the one sure-fire away of communicating to as many residents as possible, and quickly, which could be useful. In fact, this could be a golden opportunity to gather more information about this place, but he didn’t like that fact that he wasn’t aware of who would be listening. After a silent moment, Jade ‘accidentally’ switched on the video recorder.]

Ahhh… I do wish they would include a map upon arrival. I’m so horribly lost. If only my sight was what it used to be… [Jade trailed off forlornly, but to anyone listening intently he didn’t sound concerned at all, and through the video feed he clearly didn’t look lost, lounging about on a bench in the park. He even had a bowl of steaming hot soup. And a drink. To go. Fancy that.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[While Jade was ~~off enjoying himself~~ getting acquainted with the city, this guy was finishing up at his job. The redhead stopped to grab a bite to eat, finishing up the sandwich right as...

Wait...was that...?]

Jade...?

[Green eyes widened in surprise as he gaped at the familiar person on the bench. Once shock wore off, however, he was quickly rushing over. Sure, the two had their problems, in the past. The last memory Luke had of him, they'd been saying their farewell. Seeing Jade- in spite of it being in a world that was not their home, brought happiness...relief...

Maybe a part of him believed their chances of returning home had just increased, with Jade being there. He considered the guy to be one of the absolute smartest people he knew, after all. Not to mention...Luke had genuinely missed him. Back in the hotel, Luke had wished for at least one of his friends to appear. He'd wished it every day, as selfish as it was. Yes, he'd had Ryuuji, but look...how well he'd been able to protect that guy...

Forcing away all thoughts of negativity, Luke put on a smile and stopped a couple of feet from the bench.]

It really is you! [Upon the confirmation, Luke's outright grinning.] Go figure I'd find you just sitting around!

[Teasing to distract from the fact that there's just the hint of tears in his eyes. Vanishing, reappearing in another world, dying, vanishing again, then...reappearing in another world? Yeah, that...would have anybody ~~that wasn't Jade, anyway~~ emotional upon seeing someone they considered one of their closest friends.]

Edited 2014-05-07 09:53 (UTC)

[Jade was… surprised to see Luke, to say the least. The last he saw of him, well if you could call it him... Needless to say, this Luke wouldn't have been the one he was expecting. Yet, Jade shook off the shock the moment Luke's first words were out of his mouth. There was really no denying it. This was the Luke they'd come to know and tolerate. Or, that was what he'd been made to think.

…Alright, perhaps he thought better of him than that, but he'd never been one to admit it. At least not with any sort of frequency. In fact, the… Could he call it relief? Happiness? Perhaps that was the simplest way to explain it. He kept the happiness he was experiencing close to his chest. Luke being here should not be possible, not at all, but Luke had no need to know that. Instead, he responded to Luke in kind.]

Ahh Luke, is that truly what you think of me? I'm not like you youngsters you know. I don't have the stamina I once did… [Complete and utter lies. Jade was fit as a fiddle relatively speaking, and thirty was by no means old, but Luke of course, knew all of that.] Likewise, it seems I should've expected to see you prancing around. As eager as ever, are we?

Yeah, yeah... [The grin softened into more of a general smile, one hand reaching to scratch at the back of his head. Yeah, that was definitely Jade, alright. Always with the jokes about his not-so-very-old age...Which was refreshing, to say the least. It'd been annoying, at first, yes. Like he'd told Gaara, however: to care about someone is to accept everything about them. Jade's sense of humor was probably how he dealt with things, and was something Luke had grown used to. Or maybe it was more than just that?

Well, 'you don't realize how much you care about a person, until they're gone', right? Or, in his case, 'until you're gone away from them'. Whenever he wasn't fighting for he and Takasu's lives, back in that hotel, he'd spent a lot of time thinking about all of his friends.

Things were changing really fast, in the current world, at least. In a good way, even. First Tear, then Jade. Not to mention, he still had Takasu. And, he was becoming friends with Gaara, Ishtar, Jounouchi. If there was anything he never wanted to be, it was alone. Maybe the Genessia place wasn't so bad, after all.

A part of him didn't want to return to Auldrant. He couldn't help but wonder what would become of him, were he to appear back in that world. Then again, he wasn't sure what was going to happen to him in THAT world. The theory of whether, or not, death was permanent hadn't been tested, just yet. He knew it wasn't a done deal back at the hotel, but... Well, as Gaara had said, there was only one way to find out.

He gave a glance to the side, smile turning sheepish.]

Well, I just got off of work- ["Off of work" were the words he'd been hearing people use. That was the first time he'd been able to use them, though, and it had felt a little- well...strange, coming out of his mouth.] -so, I guess I have some energy to burn?

[Looking back to Jade, he let his smile soften somewhat.] By the way, Tear's here. And, there are a couple of people I'd like you to meet.

Normally people are tired from a long days work. If they've done their jobs properly, anyway. [It seemed like scolding, but there was amusement in his voice. You never could tell with Jade. Oddly enough, Jade continued to be surprised. So this Luke had gotten himself a job, and he'd completely brushed off the fact that Jade had referred to his movements as 'prancing'. Interesting. If he was a fake, he was either doing a fantastic job, or he was indeed real… because somehow Jade had the feeling that Luke had grown a bit more since they'd last spoken.

The way he saw it, there were two options: one, Luke was indeed a fake. Sent here to make Jade drop his guard, for some unseen nefarious purpose. Of course, that would be a waste of a great deal of time, resources, and energy, especially considering whoever had brought them here could have simply kept him under lock and key, and had the power to not only capture him without him knowing, but somehow transport him here. Not to mention a great risk, considering how long they'd traveled together.

Option two, they were both "real" and the idea that others could somehow be "fake" was planted to cause doubt and mistrust between the citizens of the city, especially those who have originated from the same place. It would also be a useful decoy to hide their true purpose. This was by far the more plausible option. That, and the fact that Luke kept looking at him as if he'd been gone for a very, very long while, where a fake would be trying to hide any differences between how he would remember Luke and himself, was what made Jade decide to believe this was his Luke, at least until he had further evidence to the contrary.]

Tear is here as well? How very odd… [He have to track her down too, and come to the same conclusions.]

I wouldn't mind becoming more acquainted with the people in this city, but I believe they can wait until after I've finished my lunch. [Jade pointedly shifted on the bench, and with a slight nod, indicated that Luke should sit down.] I have this curious feeling that you have a lot to tell me.

Edited 2014-05-07 11:46 (UTC)

[Honestly, Luke hadn't even paid any mind to the "prancing" comment. With so many other things on his mind, that's the last detail to worry about. But...Okay, that remark implying he hasn't been doing his job properly? That did earn a bit of an exasperation within his smile. Hey, he was just glad to even have a job; and, besides, he actually liked where he worked.

Luke probably would have a million theories running through his own head about...fakes, and whatnot- if he hadn't gone through the hotel period, first. He'd quickly dismissed any doubt about Genessia being real--or the people being real, even--after he'd remembered that transporting between worlds was a possible thing to experience. Between prior experience and current evidence, Luke had decided he'd simply follow Takasu's advice. To top everything off, he still had that same feeling that served as a reminder of his fonons separating. That...was still there.

...And, it hadn't helped that- well, he'd had a recent experience with having to use Artes; and, since that day, the feeling had increased. Become more apparent, and more difficult to ignore.

Luke had to work extra hard to keep his face steady during those thoughts and worries. Not that he had done a very good job. He nodded to the mention of waiting until Jade was finished eating, and sat down next to the brunette.] Alright.

[Luke wasn't surprised at the mention of the 'curious feeling', and could only scratch at the back of his head.] Heh...well, you're definitely right about that...

[Where to start, though? ...Well, at the beginning, right?]

After setting Lorelei free, I was pretty sure...that'd be it. I was wrong, though. Instead of vanishing, I woke up in some place called California. I was stuck in this hotel with a bunch of other people, all from different worlds. It was...kind of like here, only- [His expression darkened just a bit, and he was suddenly having to look away.] Well, really, it was...nothing like this place. Every fourteen days, the sun would go down and not come up for another fourteen days. It sounds unbelievable, I know. I wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't been there. But-

[His head turned so that he was looking at the ground. He swallowed, holding a blink a moment longer than necessary.]

During that...time, the staff would turn against everyone. Heh...I didn't even have a weapon, while I was there. I made do with what I could find, but- in the end, it wasn't enough. I learned...that death wasn't permanent, there. [His tone became a little bitter, with that last sentence.] My friend, Takasu, and I were killed by some of the kitchen staff. Then, when the sun returned, we woke up. It was like it'd never happened. The staff, they...seemed to not even remember any of it. They all just... smiled, like nothing was wrong! Like nothing had even happened!

[Then, when he realized he was yelling, Luke blinked. His heart was racing. That was the first time Luke had expressed any serious anger, since he'd left the hotel. Maybe it was because he was with someone he felt comfortable expressing that, around? After all, Jade had shared things with him, that he'd yet to really share with other people- that Luke knew of, anyway. Closing his eyes, a moment, Luke exhaled.]

Well, we were only there a month. [To him, since months in Auldrant are sixty days, not thirty.] But, it'd felt like much longer.

Then, we...woke up, here. Minutes later, we ran into Tear, and... Well, we all just decided it'd be better to become functioning citizens of this place, until we learn more about it. If we fight and struggle against it, whoever brought us here, would probably work harder to hide secrets, right? [Ideas Luke had obtained from the things Takasu had said.] Heh...

[With that, Luke finally glanced back over at Jade. A forced smile rested on his lips, a likely poor attempt to mask any worry.] So far, I've only had to fight once. So, the place seems fairly safe. Well- I can't help but be a little glad about that, since...

[Nobody can blame a guy for being glad about something that could be extending his life, right...?]

Edited 2014-05-07 12:27 (UTC)

[Jade would've been happy to keep eating while Luke was speaking, if the information contained hadn't been so… delicate. To his credit, Jade had listened quite intently, all stupid smirks and smiles gone, taking everything that Luke had said seriously. Luke was aware of his fate and… well, it seems he'd faced death, in one form or other, even on top of that. How very troublesome.]

[When Luke had raised his voice, Jade gained the nagging feeling that anyone else would've offered comfort in some shape or form. Jade, however, did not. Or could not. He let Luke continue, waiting until he had said all he needed to say. Until he'd had some air to breathe.]

Luke, I must say I'm… [Here, Jade paused, wondering idly if it was best to say all he thought, and immediately decided against it. But he did continue, voice just a bit softer than was usual.] … impressed. You've handled this quite well.

[As his brow tenses, Luke's eyes widen. He'd never expected to hear Jade say something like that, really. Well, now that he's thinking about it, he's really not all that surprised. He's...flattered, to say the least. To have Jade compliment him is nice, since...

...Well, Jade had been the last one to accept his change. He and Anise were the last two to forgive him and believe he'd changed for the better. Never had Luke given up on proving to them...that he'd become a better person.

So, to have Jade telling him that he's impressed by something he'd given his all to live through, it is an incredibly big deal. In spite of this, he forces his expression to soften and he shakes his head.] Heh...Thanks, but a lot of credit goes to Takasu. At the hotel, he's the person I kept focusing on protecting. Even with how it turned out for the both of us, I still held onto my drive to survive...because of him being there. Then, when I arrived here, it became that much easier to move forward, after learning Tear's here...

[He can feel his face redden at talking about her in that way. He has to turn his head to the side, face away from Jade. Certain other parts of Luke's personality have grown, in regards to a certain Seventh Fonist. Guess who's admitted to being in love with Tear?] I was able to not dwell on the past having, because of them.

That fact that you can admit that it wasn't entirely your own doing, only further demonstrates the progress you've made. [Still, Jade was a bit vexed to hear that Luke still wasn't entirely driven to protect his own life for its own merit. He found himself pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation at the notion of it. Of course, he may have been reading too far into it. Perhaps… Wasn't it Luke who'd decided he wanted to live?]

[But that was a conversation to be had at a later date. Especially noting the color that had arisen in Luke's face. In an instant, his devilish smile was back in place, and Jade went back to his lunch, but not before marking the change.]

My, my… Have the seeds of love finally blossomed?

[Well, he had been wanting to protect himself, as well, of course. It was just a matter of him clinging to that guilt he was currently feeling. He'd let a helpless guy die, after practically promising to protect him. Plus, some of the growth he'd managed back on Auldrant had been messed with, in that hotel.

In all reality, Luke had never...truly had time to deal with anything he'd found himself facing, on Auldrant. For Luke, it had always been about moving forward, never looking back. Luke might have become someone considered better than who he was, but he was still nowhere near perfect. He still didn't completely think things through, and he was still bound to mess up when it came to trying to do things solely for others. Which...he tended to do a lot of, no matter how it was looked at...]

...?!

[Luke blinked and quickly turned to look back at the colonel.]

H-how did you... [Oh, come on, who was he even kidding. Of course Jade had figured it out...Luke quickly looked to the ground, face never altering in coloration.] W-well, uh...yeah. Guess...that's the best way to put it.

[He let out an awkward laugh, reaching up to scratch at the side of his face.]

[ Well, at least Jade's arrival wasn't a heartbreaking as Luke's was. Tear was rather caught off guard by the fact that Jade suddenly appeared on the network but nothing too bad, since she knew that there would be people from Auldrant would come up here. It's really not that big of a surprise for her. Though, it was nice to have her allies again.

The fonist walked over to Jade to greet him, her expression seemed a lot better than when she was there the first week or so. His half assed attempt to look lost was ignored since Tear was fairly used to Jade's dry sense of humor when it came to these subjects. He didn't look lost at all. ]

This place is called Genessia, Colonel Curtiss. You do not seem to be lost in any way.

[ She mused giving him an answer to where he was. ]

It seems there are many people gathered her.

On the contrary, I have no idea where I am. [And neither did anyone else here to be fair. How they got here, who was in charge, why they'd came… No one here had any answers. They were simply all jumbled up far from home. In no way was he lying.] There's no need to be so formal Tear. I doubt my rank means anything here.

[Still, she was right about the people. It was odd, that the three of them should wind up in the same place, under such extraordinary circumstances.] Indeed. I've already had the pleasure of running into Luke. Is there anyone else here I should be aware of?

I am certain that you are well informed with your situation, Colonel Curtiss.

[ The fonist replied to his words. He was pretty good with lying but she wasn't the kind of person that would believe what he had to say completely. She knew he needed more information but she's certain he wasn't that lost. ]

My apologies. It's a habit. How would you like me to address you, Colonel Curtiss?

[ Being what she was made it hard for her to be informal with a military personel. ]

This place has many strange occurrences that could be questionable. I haven't been here that long.

[ Ah so he met Luke. ]

Well, I've made due with what I had at my disposal. [Which, to a man who liked to have all the answers, admittedly wasn't much. Still, there was time to kill, and that meant he had plenty of time to figure out the inner workings of this new world and it's inhabitants.]

Jade would be fine, or simply Colonel, if you must insist. [Despite carrying on the Curtiss family name in place of Balfour, he'd never developed any sort of attachment to it.]

Strange occurrences, hmm? In what way? [But yes, she hadn't been here long, but still, longer than he had, which begged the question:] What have you been doing in your short time here?

That is a wise decision.

[ Tear did the same thing after all. She made the effort to use what she could at her disposal. ]

Jade.

[ She replied giving it a try. Though, it's not like she ever really addressed him by his name. It was a common thing in the military to address others by their last names if they were in the military. ]

I am not certain but from my knowledge, people have mentioned things.

[ She replied giving him a look. ]

I have been attempting to adjust to this place...and...Luke.

[Gray isn't very inclined to believe he was as lost as he claims, but suspicious aside, he's certain he's never seen him around before and the detail regarding the map proved it.

Jade will receive a transmission from a half-naked man...did he have all his clothes on?]

You're taking this well.

[As well as Gray took it when he first arrived, actually.]

[That was the first question that came to mind, actually. Did this young man have his clothes on?]

[…]

[No, it was probably better not to ask. He decided that in the grand scheme of things, he really didn't need to know. However, that doesn't mean he couldn't comment on it.]

Likewise, you seem very comfortable with your surroundings. Even on video. That's quite unusual. [Perhaps he'd get the hint.]

[Well he did have his pants on, but that was hard to tell by the shot of the camera.]

What's unusual?

[Stripping was never intentional, and being that Jade was a man and not a woman, he likely wasn't going to make a deal out of it.

With that in mind, he changed the subject to something more relevant.]

So what's the point of this feed?

[A bold question, straight to the point. There was no way this was accidental, and Gray was curious about his motives.]

[Jade knew by the way he carried himself, the young man was well aware of what he was referring to, however, if he didn't want to talk about it… Perhaps the poor boy couldn't afford to keep himself clothed. Jade responded with a lilting tone, completely dismissing the question.] Oh nothing! Nothing at all!

[My, my. He'd caught on quickly. Jade didn't feel like fully explaining himself, especially on a recording, but he could offer him some part of his true motives.] To see who would respond.

Edited 2014-05-08 08:41 (UTC)

[It was the simplest of bait, but effective. Gray was impressed with his tactic. Unfortunately, whomever this man was intending to bait, probably didn't exist, or didn't care.]

That's a big gamble.

[He was tempted to ask if it was successful, but given how careful this man has been already, he doubted he would get a straight answer. Instead he chose to drag it on.]

Oh? Well, if that's the case, I'd consider myself a man of fairly average luck. [Meaning, if said plainly, that it had been successful, but not as much as he'd hoped. It had garnered the attention of at least three individuals, and one of them was one of his companions.]

[Jade was impressed, not only did he pick up on the hint, but he managed to keep the conversation going without outright stating what he wanted to know. He wouldn't have guessed he would be so perceptive, given his appearance.]

Though, if I was luckier, these necklaces would've been more to my taste.

[Did that mean he didn't catch the intended target(s)? The vague response was still broad depending on your definition of average. Not to mention he was from a different world.

It was the last part regarding the necklaces that threw him off.]

The necklace is only important if you want to travel between cities. It claims to validate your identity, but no one has gone without theirs as far as I know.

[This bit was Gray not being coy to fish information from Jade, but to be upfront with him. He wasn't the enemy and he was almost positive the other was a victim like himself.]

Edited 2014-05-08 09:13 (UTC)

[There. There was a bit of information that Jade was fishing for.] It's a bit odd that no one has tried it, wouldn't you say? No one decided they hated the thing and flung it off into the distance?

[No one ever questioned the necessity of these necklaces? If no one goes without, then perhaps there weren't any "fakes" at all. It would be highly conspicuous. It would be wildly inconvenient to go without the necklaces, yes, but life was theoretically livable in the main city.]

[Jade was not a man to be straightforward, even in person. If Jade did trust this stranger, there still was a question of who (or what) was listening. So far, this place seemed peaceful, but appearances were often deceiving.]

Edited 2014-05-08 09:25 (UTC)

If they have, I don't know about it. [It's true many of them have let their guard down here. It was peaceful, too peaceful. Gray didn't see the need to be tense unless the situation called for it.]

It could be a lie for all I know, but the necklaces don't have any obvious ill effects.

[Gray hiveminded with his guild, and they went on as if nothing were wrong with the accessory, so would he.]

That's a relief. [Lies. All of it, and Gray could probably tell from his tone how very little he believed it. People weren't simple creatures, but they often liked to go with the simplest solution. Too be blunt, all of this seemed too good to be true.]

[But perhaps he was jaded. ~~Bah-dum, psssh!~~]

Is there anything you find interesting about this place? Any popular landmarks? I'd like to explore the area.

[As far as popular goes, the other will be able to indenting what was and wasn't if he hung around long enough, so Gray wasn't going to bother sharing that information.]

If you're talking about what stands out, the only important thing in Genessia might be the library, but I didn't find anything worth wild. [He didn't spend that much time looking either.]

In Attleton there's a Battle Colosseum which you might find useful.

Fayren is probably the most interesting. With the Cloister of Trials landmark. [He didn't look too far into that because of the effects it gave and none of his guild made it a point to avoid.] the castles are of some interest but there isn't anything to do there. There's also The Maw.

[None of those locations had any substantial information, but he also didn't investigate hard enough to find out.]

[That was… a little too perfect. Exactly what he'd been angling at.] Mmm. Interesting. Thank you.

[Jade could go ahead and ask him to expand on each of those points, however... It would be easier if he went and investigated each place in turn. That way, he could draw his own conclusions about each area and what they were there for. Gray was proving to be very useful, but he couldn't be sure he would be aware of the things Jade would find odd or out of place.]

Overall, this place seems quite… normal. Would you agree?

[Too perfect or too obvious? It was like he said. The setting was too mundane. While Gray wasn't as prone to seeking information, it was some of the standard suspicion that crossed his mind since his arrival here.]

I'm not sure what you mean by normal, but as far as impending doom goes, there hasn't been any. Strange animals started showing up several days ago, but the people here have for the most part been taming them. [In other words, they weren't a threat.]

[If that wasn't blatant sarcasm, Koenma didn't know what was.]

Yes, it seems you have suffered quite horribly.

[Except there's not an ounce of sympathy from him.]

Edited 2014-05-08 02:58 (UTC)

Is it not a horrible thing to be ripped from everyone and everyone you may have known and loved? It's rather heartless of you to think otherwise…

[No, Jade was definitely not the bad guy here. ~~Ahem.~~] Even the most steadfast man would be rattled.

Edited 2014-05-08 08:04 (UTC)

I agree. To be burdened with such a tragic fate so suddenly.

[He sounded about a serious as the guy he was talking to.]

You're best off buckling up and going along for the ride. If there was a way off, I'm sure many of the people you see here would have left by now.

That's assuming they had the knowledge and the ability to attempt to do so. [Perhaps they'd all "bucked up" and "gone along for the ride." Humans could go great things, if it's the only option they have, otherwise… Not so much.]

Either way, that's a very defeatist attitude.

I'll admit they are quite resourceful.

[Jade will see what he means when he finds out Koenma isn't actually human. His existence is known to only so many people outside of his realm even in his own world.]

IT'S NOT A DEFEATIST ATTITUDE! [Oh no. He blew up!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

First Arte; ["Accidental" Video/Action]

[ACTION]

[ACTION]

[ACTION]

[ACTION]

[ACTION]

[ACTION]

[ACTION]

[ACTION]

[ACTION]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Audio]

[Audio]

[Audio]

[Audio]

[Audio] 1/2

[Audio]