shadowbringers

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shadowbringers

beneath the stars It's been a week since our newest expansion officially launched! And, I know, I know... some of you already have a lot of feelings that you need to air out. But canon updating in your games is a struggle! And so is finding PSL partners! Luckily, that's what we're here for. This is a post for you to play out all the Shadowbringers-related content you might be dying to write. Behind-the-scenes nonsense? Between-the-scenes angst? It's all welcome here! 1. Toplevel your character. Include any details you might think are relevant. Or don't. As always, we're not the cops. 2. Reply to other people's top levels! 3. Have fun! ⚔ Please clearly mark all spoilers in your thread subject lines. Clearly indicate whatever spoiler preferences you may have. We're only a week into the expansion, officially, and there's no shame if you're not far in it or haven't started it yet. ⚔ You are welcome to play characters who are new to Shadowbringers. However, please try to avoid topleveling with icons and descriptions that convey major plot-related spoilers. If you aren't certain about a character's playability, feel free to PM parser.

TEMPLATE CODED BY valoirs

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post-game spoilers!

[astralera]

[ It has been... Era isn't quite sure how long since she ended the legacy of Emet-Selch. A sennight? A fortnight? Perhaps more. Time is an odd thing when you find yourself slipping back and forth between worlds, telling nary a soul when you come or go. The inn keep at the Pendants has already grown accustomed to her comings and goings, and no one on the Source pays her much mind — it's easier to slip about unnoticed there, particularly when it would be so unwise for her to return to the fray of war without the Scions at her side.

So she has tried to take some time for herself. A break of sorts that is more than earned, yet she still feels undeserving of.

She is scared to stay too long in the Source lest something happen and she lose her the family she made for herself. The family that she now knows loves her in return just as dearly. It is... Era sighs, letting herself sink deeper atop her bed for one moment longer before getting up.

(It is lonely without Ardbert.)

A quick stretch and a glass of water later, Era is ready to visit the Exarch in the Ocular as was her original purpose in this particular visit to the First. She did not forget his words to her that day under the shadow of Mt. Gulg. What he so dearly wished for. Things that she cannot give him, she knows. Not at this juncture. His condition is delicate, and too strongly linked to the Tower. Perhaps in a few moons, after she can be sure his strength has fully recovered...

Era shakes the thoughts from her head, making her way to the Ocular. He cannot venture too far from the Tower, but there is no need to travel far to have a small adventure of sorts. She has a bag with culinary delights from the various nations, and a desire to explore the beauty of the Lakelands without the hanging dread of her possible, horrific demise and the fate of two worlds on her shoulders. She can only imagine that the Exarch would enjoy indulging in a similar experience, after centuries of being weighed down by duty.

At the doors to her dear old friend's room she knocks loudly and calls out his true name. ]

tmw you get distracted rewatching stuff in the unending journey and then fall asleep sjdakfl

[extrarch]

[If Era had visited a scant bell or three sooner, she might have had to wait on him, for the Exarch has not spent whole time simply waiting in the Ocular or his own private, bookstrewn chambers beyond. Though, perhaps, not yet fully recovered from his trevails even at this juncture, being by the crystal has certainly left him rejuvinated enough to see to his more pedestrian duties in the Crystarium. And even beyond that, after well over a century spent constantly pushing himself, it feels... strange to be idle. Besides, he yet has research to do that he might return the Scions home (real research rather than the cursory investigations he did before to placate them and obfuscate his true plans) and contingencies to plan for and...

... and adventures to dream about that he has not dreamt of in a long time. A restlessness stirring in his chest that he has not let himself feel in.... well, in a very long time. He is a little afraid to let himself feel it, now, but even so it is nice to dream of what could have been - what might yet be for his past self in a new timeline...

If it is coincidence that Era knocks on his door just when he is contemplating such idle fancies, then it is a welcome one, and his ears - free from their confines in his hood now that the need for disguise is past - twitch at that familiar voice and that old, wonderfully nostalgic name. Smiling, he dismisses whatever he had been watching through his portal and turns toward the door.]

Enter.

[Blessedly, Era will find him looking haler than when she left, but a shadow of exhaustion lingers in and around his eyes - still a brilliant Allagan red but so very much older, now.]

"i'll just rewatch this one scene..." ... and then watch it three times to get all the dialogue

[astralera]

[ The rest has done him a world of good, she's pleased to note. There is still a ways to go, of course, but that is what friends are for. Era smiles, tail curling briefly as it perks up behind her. ]

Might you be convinced to leave your tower for a time, old friend? I find myself in need of an escort.

PRETTY MUCH and to see it with and without relevant past quest completion...

[extrarch]

[His own tail twitches beneath his robes, and his ears flick in obvious delight at her request. 'Old friend', though - ah, something in his chest tightens at hearing her call him that. He never expected - never dreamed - that she would forgive him his lies and his trespasses enough to think of him that way (never expected to survive long enough for it to happen), but he is honored and warmed to hear it all the same. He is, at the end of it all, glad to be here.

Regardless, he quirks his eyebrows at her request.]

If anything, I would think you might be the one more fit to do the escorting. [But he is teasing there.] Still, I have nothing pressing.

[He steps towards her and wonders for a moment if he might dare offer an arm - a play at being a gentlemanly escort. He has avoided much in the way of touch out of caution and the necessity of protecting his identity and, at times, his tricks, as it were, but... perhaps... ]

Where would you have this old man take you?

[astralera]

[ Era is not one to hold grudges under most circumstances. It was upsetting to learn the truth of the Exarch's plans, but after the vision the Echo had gifted her in his chambers she could hardly fault him for what he did. When worlds are at stake...

No — she is merely happy that things worked out in the end. That the Scions are alive and well enough, and that G'raha did not need trade his life for hers. Were his original plan to succeed she may feel differently, but it did not, and so it does no good to dwell upon it. ]

This hero is taking a brief vacation. [ Out of unfortunate necessity rather than want, but Era will make the most of it. ] But I should like to picnic in the Lakelands, and need an old man's expertise in locating an appropriate spot.

sweats in butterfly weapon farming and replaying shadowbringers instead of tagging sdklfj

[extrarch]

[With his hood down, the Exarch's feelings are even more baldly apparent than before. His smile at the notion of a vacation (well-deserved, of course) dances in his eyes, and his ears perk up at the thought of a picnic.]

A good picnic spot, hm?

[He considers for a moment.]

I can think of several likely locations, though the best of them might necessitate borrowing an amaro to ride there in a timely manner, but which I'll suggest depends on you. Would you prefer a view of the countryside or the lake?

[Or both? If they borrowed amaros, they could even ascend one of the cliffs to get a higher view, even.]

that's an absolute mood

[astralera]

[ It's nice to see his ears again, and Era has always found ears to be so fascinating as they are something she herself lacks. Miqo'te ears in particular are so lively and expressive, it's such a joy to see them move.

She smiles. ]

I am in no rush. And I've no true preference... But mayhap a view of the lake? It is the Lakelands, after all.

[extrarch]

Of course - then I know just the place.

[There are several choice places approaching and even in the small fishing village of Sullen that afford both beautiful views and a lower likelihood of some of the more volatile wildlife coming to investigate their food.]