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shadowbringers
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 ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small} parser. |
TEMPLATE CODED BY valoirs
valoirs
same person new journal!!
mykha's touch is by no means unwelcome, it never is, but that does not keep alisaie from flushing warm, her cheeks bright, the tips of her ears a telling pink. her gaze drops pointedly away.
but alisaie cannot focus on her own embarrassment long, not when the desert sky is at last black above them, certainly not when mykha mentions tesleen. ]
I would like that.
[ she says, quietly, her voice tightening in the way it always does when speaking about tesleen; the memory is still so fresh, so raw, and alisaie has hardly given herself the time to mourn properly. she cannot. not now. not yet. she cannot risk breaking down, falling apart, like all the rest she must push forward until it is done, she must use her heartache and grief to propel herself forward and keep her motivation strong and sharp. she fights for tesleen, now, and for halric, for every last meal she delivered, for every afflicted still clinging to some semblance of themselves. amh araeng may now be freed of the tyrannical light, but there is still work to be done.
but for now.. for now, visiting tesleen with mykha seems a natural conclusion. it seems right. ]
O yaaaaaaaassss
[It seems so small a gift in passing, yet a gift for those lost to help them find their way. To reassure them they were still tied to those they left behind and were not forgotten. In a desert the tradition seems ill-suited, her ears shifting with her thoughts as she mulls it over.
The churn of Alisae's aether is all too familiar as well. It had been years, but the wounds were still fresh compared to the passing of seasons she'd lived through. Watching companions die, wishing she'd been faster, clinging to them with a quiet desperation and feeling helpless. The need to hold tight to it and use it to sharpen blades and make the fire burn brighter when she cast it at foes was understandable.
Later they could mourn. Once the night was fully restored, then they could grieve. Until the battle was won the merciless press of duty was ever present.
Tearing her gaze from the sky, she bowed her head to glance back to her little fire sprite, for once reigning in the urge to tease over the faint flush of her skin.]
Would she like such a gift?
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Aye, I think she would.
[ she says, at last lifting her eyes to mykha's face again, a warm if weary smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. ]
She enjoyed flowers, though they were hardly easy to come by in a place like this.
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[After all, Tesleen seemed the sort that would have loved the blossoms of Il Mheg, as well as the vibrant blue blossoms of Rak'tika. She was certain if she went to Fanow and asked, the chieftaness would grant her this small boon.]
I hope the night sky has brought hope to the other patients of the Inn, at the least. Would that I could do more for them.
[For all the fighting, she felt as if it was never enough. She was no healer, her curative magicks a poor match for that of Alphinaud's and Urianger's, and bathed in filth and blood she always felt a bitter sort of helplessness at the sight of those she always arrived too late for. What good was it if she could not spare them?
Logic told her this thought was the path to madness and despair. Yet her heart ached no matter what. A part of her chided herself, a voice that sounded much like her sisters back in her old home, chiding her for being too reckless in her youth. For thinking with her heart and not her head. One cannot be everywhere, and must accept that which can be done.
No matter how bitter the medicine is to swallow.]
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[ alisaie would like to wonder why it is that mykha feels the need to do more than she already does, she's the godsdamned warrior of light, after all, but truth be told.. she does not need to ask that question, for its answer is reflected in alisaie herself. she may not be as strong as mykha, as capable, but she shares that selfsame conviction, that need to do more, and more, and more, to work her fingers to their bones and even then it still would not feel like enough. alisaie's year in amh araeng has been long, exhausting, some days blending into one another in a blur, and yet even now with the light torn from the sky, it does not feel like enough.
there are those still in need. those still in pain, in mourning. alisaie must grow stronger still, and faster, and smarter. she was not fast enough to save tesleen. she could not help emery, or ga bu, or her grandfather. she could not help the hundreds of people who came to the inn for their final meals, and never rose again. she is not fast enough to save anyone. it eats away at her insides, the goalposts are ever moving further and further forward, out of reach. she knows why mykha wants to do more, because alisaie is the same way. worse, perhaps, for her blatant and painfully apparent insecurities.
alisaie's eyes lift to the velvety sky again. ]
With the aether in Amh Araeng returning to normal, the afflicted at the Inn should, with hope, begin to show signs of recovery. This is the miracle that they have hoped for.
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[A small thing that she has never once admitted before any of the others. A thing she has to tell herself over and over; after Ul'dah, after Haurchefant, of Papalymo and all the Crystal Braves, every loss cutting deeper and yet. And yet. Insecurities piling up until it stifled. Choked her dreams at night. Perhaps it was the loss of the surety of her Wood's voice. A soothing balm, a sense of rightness with the world, of belonging to something ancient and far more vast than herself. Even should she be allowed once more to set foot beneath her own Wood's sacred trees, she would not hear her soft reassurances. No, that was long lost to her now, and in Fanow she had felt such an ache for it that it had distracted her from the pain of laying low the Lightwarden and siphoning its aether.]
Seems a bit mad when I speak of it. Yet perhaps I am a glutton for punishment, as it has never stopped me from pushing forward. When I saw you and your brother fast asleep on my journey to Eorzea's fair lands so long ago, never had I expected it would lead us here.
[She had wondered if they'd ever remembered that fateful day. She'd been a little ill from the imbalance of aether, and Hydaelyn had taken that moment to reach out and pluck her from her somnolence, all the while the twins had been dozing just a stone's toss away. Between that and Alphinaud's shockingly snide remarks when she'd listened to the leaders of the alliance expound upon all they would defend their peoples from, not once had Mykha expected what would come. She might be young, but looking back now was a...very odd feeling.]
I know I will walk more steadily. If...hmmm.
[ The words catch in her mouth for a moment, and she bows her head, brow furrowing as her ears twitch. She stays like that for a moment, then speaks again, softly.]
Mayhaps if all the Lightwardens are slain, I can only hope we might cure them. I pray we will, for all their sakes.
[Because she could not bear to think of that small boy with a face like plaster and not want to weep. It was beyond cruelty. The patients who lost their voices, yet she could see the fear and suffering in their eyes clear as day. The ones whose hands were still yet warm, but the wretched whiteness was already showing in their knuckles, stealing their strength. She could not bear to see them and know they would meet an end like Tesleen were it not for the gentle blessings of the caretakers at the Inn. The burden of knowing, and that Alisae had fought to end their suffering for so long.
So she gazes up at the stars instead, hoping the chill of night holds answers in its vastness.]
I do not know what I would do if slaying the Lightwardens does not lift their burdens from them.
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[ without the light thick in the air above them, ever bearing down on the world and people below, alisaie is confident that their aether will begin to sort itself out soon enough. it might take some time, but.. they will heal. halric will survive. and that much is of.. great comfort to her, more than she can express. tesleen's great sacrifice will have not been for naught.
tonight, for the first time in a long time, alisaie thinks she may sleep well. ]
We're nearly there, now. It's almost difficult to believe..
[ she's been here only a year, and yet it some ways it feels like a lifetime. not only does time feel static with the sky always bright as day, but the work she has been doing, the connections she has made, the tears she has wept - alisaie feels.. connected to this place now, it is not home, but it is home, and she has been so very busy and invested that it is easy to feel as if she has lived here all her life.
she casts mykha a weary smile. ]
Thank the Gods you finally saw fit to arrive.
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[Mykha agrees, then arches a brow, glancing down at Alisae with something very akin to amusement making her eyes shine. With a shrug and a wave of her hand, she gives a little head waggle that sends her ears flopping, earrings jangling with the gesture.]
My arrival was not of my doing, I should think one might take umbrage with our dear Exarch instead.
[She huffs, and it's easier now to tell that yes, she is smiling, and almost chuckling as well.]
He is lucky I was not of the mind to hurl him at the nearest window for all the scare he'd given us, snatching you all from me as he did.
['Given us' she'd said, yet it was personal. All too personal, seeing the Scions drop one at a time. To be handed their bodies as a thousand thousand nightmares flashed before her eyes as if ready to come to life should they have felt cold at her touch. Such things are best left buried. A loud snort escapes her then, and her gaze returns to the sky, her tone kept light when she continues speaking.]
Or been less cryptic by half. I'd thought somehow an Ascian or some other fell beast had stolen within my skull, only to find him to blame when I arrived in the city.
I may still fling him into the nearest lake should he not find a way to send us all home safely.
[She's teasing, really she is, and yet...a part of her is torn. They...they need her to go back, don't they? And yet somehow this world was sinking its fangs deep into her heart. Her sisters were right, mayhap she was too soft yet.]
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[ not a one of them had been consulted, after all, when the exarch saw fit to begin tugging them one by one from the source. never let it be said that alisaie did not give him a piece of her mind - in fact, she's relatively sure that the exarch still shrinks away from her, a bit, whenever she draws too near.
really, though, she's only giving mykha a hard time. ]
Still should you choose to fling him anywhere, please honor me with an invitation. I've not yet forgiven him myself.
[ no matter how well things might be turning out, in the end.
alisaie exhales hard, her expression softening. ]
But we had best be on our way. No doubt you are weary.
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[She pauses then, a thoughtful expression settling into place, then a playful and almost wicked smirk steals across her face and she doesn't even try to hide it.]
I wonder how far I could fling him. Perhaps we should practice by tossing Alphinaud into one of the lakes? He is wanting for practice swimming, after all. I would even start off with gentle pushes, get him used to the water before I pitched him in.
[The jests come easily, though twelve know she would never do anything to hurt either of the twins. From the first she'd grown fiercely protective of the pair, teasing them and doting on them in equal measures as if they were her own family. Still, the yelps Alphinaud made whenever forced into the water were difficult not to laugh over. Somehow she'd managed thus far.]
Aye, I could do with a hot bath and a soft bed. I should think we've all earned such luxuries.
sorry for the delay my lovely!!
her voice is soft, tired, but warm. ]
I look forward to it.
[ and then a deep sigh, alisaie's normally rigid shoulders falling just a little slack. ]
Both of those things sound excellent. I can hardly recall the last time I enjoyed a decent bath..
is okay, bb!! I am now All Caught Up on MSQ ahhhhhh
[After all, she'd heard him mumbling about the water, it didn't take a genius to make connections. Instead she simply finds herself chuckling at the thought of having to hold either of their hands while talking them through staying afloat.]
Swimming lessons once the world is saved. Please remind me, fire sprite, one never knows when it will be useful, Kojin blessings or no.
[Little does she know how useful it would be sooner than later, but for now, blessedly ignorant of what the future holds, she stretches, groaning noisily as her shoulders pop.]
Aye, 'tis one thing I was full glad of, being guests of Doma and of the Crystarium. Clean beds and baths, I should think I have grown spoiled these last few years.
YOU ARE, at last!!!
[ many hands have attempted to teach alphinaud to swim.. alisaie spent much of her young life trying to wrangle him into the water tbh, but the boy is simply incapable. it's fine. alisaie likes to be better than him at something, at least, even if it's something so mundane as swimming.
if nothing else, however.. it earns a soft, if weary smile. ]
But aye. Let us be about it, then - the sooner we get moving, the sooner we will find a comfortable bed.
/throws flower confettis!!!!
[Her chuckles are deep and throaty, her ears flicking back as she makes a quiet chrrr-rrr-rrrr sound. It's subtle, easily missed, but a sign that she's relaxed enough to purr in her own way. A sound that had been rare enough from the start, but had grown rarer still since the Dragonsong War. It came more easily to Mykha when she was near the twins, and always had.]
If I should prove loathe to leave it come the morrow, I should hope you all might forgive me.
[Her huff comes with a squint that makes her eyes almost disappear beneath her wild hair, and she playfully tousles Alisae's bangs once more before trotting to rejoin the others.]
At least you do not have someone threatening to make Alphi trade his garments with you where we are going.