logs | Hacking Up Posies (CATCH-ALL/OPEN)

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Hacking Up Posies (CATCH-ALL/OPEN)

WHO: Augustine & You! (open prompts below)
WHERE: Throughout most of Stygia (the Harbors, Serene, the Gallows & the Hinterlands)
WHEN: November catch-all & event prompts
WHAT: Just the random goings of a flower-loving dhampir who may or not be suffering from the dreaded hanahaki virus.
WARNINGS: Possible mentions of violence, blood, and self-harm in the form of blood sorcery magic.

[ I'll be adding more prompts throughout the week featuring the event stuff in question. If you would like to plot with me, feel free to drop me a DM or hit me up on

devillady. I'm always more than happy to make a starter or two. So don't be shy. Also, you're welcome to make your own starters as well. ]

PLOTTING 🌹 EVENT🌹 WILDCARD

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[ Augustine's on the right track. What the creature needs is truth, but it has to be a deeper truth than what the dhampir is giving. 'Cedrik' looks across his shoulder at Augustine, answering the questioning tone with a wan smile.

He looks so tired.

The creature, meanwhile, has stopped cold, looking around the scattered stones. It reaches for one, clutching and turning it over in his hands. It's part of a woman's face, her lovingly painted eye the only recognizable feature. A very soft shade of green. ]

I...I must...?

[ Cedrik comes closer, close enough to cover the thing's hands with his own. It's a phantom touch, he's still not able to physically interact, but the gesture is what matters.

His voice is so terribly gentle... ]

It's all right. Even if you stayed, kept creating until time's end, it would still all fade to nothing. Why continue?

[ The creature is wavering, its formerly vehement protests are gone, faded into whimpering uncertainty. Cedrik asks him one last question, full of concern. ]

Haven't you suffered enough?

[ The simulacrum breaks in a silent crash of dust, the stone it clung to falling to the ground. ]

[It’s the melancholy in Cedrik’s words that gives Augustine pause. While he has witnessed something similar from others, it’s almost as if Cedrik has been swallowed by grief. His entire demeanor feels like a mélange of anguish and gloom. He feels so much colder and distant now. Gone is the familiar warmth in his eyes and his usual cheerful little smirk. It’s all been replaced by this oppressive gloom that threatens to push the man towards the brink of the void. While he’s fully aware that each of them possess a “shadow” version of themselves, Augustine simply can’t rationalize what he feels right now.

This feels…wrong. Horribly wrong.

The Cedrik he knows isn’t this glum or morbid. Yes, the adventurer can be a bit of a rascal at times but he’s not like this. He doesn’t like whatever “this” is and he plans on saving Cedrik from it.]

Enough.

[He commands once the last remnants of the simulacrum suddenly fades into nothingness.]

While their prolonged existence didn’t serve any reason beyond destruction, you are not the same as them.

[Augustine chooses his words carefully as he regards Cedrik. He feels as if the man is teetering over a knife’s edge right now. One false move and the Cedrik he knows will cease to be.]

[ The gentle expression fades as 'Cedrik' regards Augustine, slowly twisting into a wicked smirk. The dhampir has been a fine comrade to Cedrik these past weeks. He'd go as far as to call him a friend, in fact.

That won't do. That won't do at all. ]

Aren't I? Or...oh, was that too much?

[ He gestures carelessly behind him to where the simulacrum once stood. ]

All we've ever done is destroy. Merely being close to us is begging for death. He doesn't like to talk about that, though...

...but if you're still so 'fascinated', oh, the stories I could tell...

[Augustine meets his smirk with a glare. This is no longer the mild-mannered adventurer he has come to respect but rather the man's awful shadow born from his sorrow and self-doubts. He has learned much about those shadowy entities that lurk within them but this marks the first time he ever seen one emerge. It’s a little unsettling to say the least, especially since this entity seems to loathe its host.]

Even if you were the world’s greatest raconteur, I know better than to believe in your tall tales since you’ll twist the truth.

[While he’s certain that Cedrik has a couple of skeletons in his metaphorical closet, he doesn’t believe the man to be anything but genial and well meaning. That’s why he’s so willing to stare that malevolent entity down with such a rueful gaze. He trusts Cedrik.]

The road of good intentions is often paved in blood and I trust Cedrik was only doing what he deemed right throughout his journeys.

[His thoughts stray back to that one tale regarding the young girl he found within the forest. Cedrik could’ve easily shooed the child and her family away but he didn’t. Instead, he chose to help them and acted as their stalwart protector. How can anyone that kind and generous be anything but good?]

'Intentions', tsk...as if they matter.

[ The Shadow's distaste is obvious. It's just so frustrating. This is something Cedrik knows to be true but continues to deny. To hear it from his 'friend' is just as irritating. He's never going to learn if he keeps hanging around such blind, foolish people. ]

Tell me, what were your intentions when you defied the Empire? What did they amount to? Naught.

I know--none know better, in fact--what his intentions were. Whatever good he managed was ephemeral, his victories hollow, his righteousness a lie, because it does. Not. Matter.

[ Something slips in the Shadow's expression. A flash of anger instead of the calm acceptance it had been showing so far. If its control were to falter further, maybe...? ]

I defied my empire because I knew right from wrong.

[He proudly states without a single shred of regret in his tone.]

I’ve long come to terms with my decisions much like Cedrik has long come to terms with his.

[While there’s still so much he doesn’t know about Cedrik, he can tell that his friend is a man who stands upon his convictions. Whatever missteps he made along the way were surely righted by him as he continued to venture across Eorzea and beyond her. Augustine trusts that Cedrik does his best to live his life without regrets. That’s why he can look Cedrik’s shadow in the eyes and deny all of the foul things it may say on his friend’s behalf. Nothing will sway Augustine from thinking that Cedrik tried the best that he could for those who needed him.]

While my story may have ended far too soon, Cedrik accomplished everything that he could to ensure a future for others.

[He states firmly in hopes of shaking the shadow’s morale with his words.]

I’m certain the little girl he once saved all those years ago is eternally grateful to him.

[ The Shadow doesn't bother to hide the way his eyes roll at first. He still doesn't understand...but that's fine. There's only so much he can do to convince Augustine of the truth. Right and wrong are all well and good in the moment, but in the long run they amount to less than dust. Augustine's actions caused no meaningful change, the Empire would have crumbled with or without the dhampir's actions, no matter what they were. It's what Empires--what everything--eventually does. Everything...including-- ]

That girl will still die.

[ The Shadow's patience has finally snapped. His expression twists into raw, frustrated anger as Augustine dares to bring her up. ]

Illness or old age...it doesn't matter! All he did was buy time before--

[ Cedrik does not like where this has been going. The Shadow's voice stops short as if seized by the throat, eyes widening briefly before shifting into a different sort of anger. He's not quite looking at Augustine anymore... ]

--she will die...happy and free...safe after a long, worthy journey...

Yes, she might still die. [He admits plainly without a hint of remorse in his tone.] However, she will live a long and happy life all thanks to the very same man you profane with your presence.

[Nothing is eternal, nothing at all. Long ago, Augustine once thought that his family would live forever in bliss ignoring the lullaby of Death. However, he was sadly mistaken. When he lost his entire family, he swore that would be the end of him. He didn't think he could go on after witnessing such horrors and often wished he had died with them. Thankfully, he managed to find the will to continue. The will to live a long and happy life. Although, this revelation came a bit too late for him.]

I'm certain that little girl will grow to ripe old age with a smile on her face long before she breathes her last breath.

[Augustine purposely approaches the Shadow once he realizes it's trying to escape his gaze. He won't let it run and hide now. The only way for this malevolent shadow will vanish is if it faces the truth.]

There's no such thing as buying time, but there is such a thing as saving lives.

[ The Shadow isn't 'running' as much as it's actively being hunted down. Cedrik's wrestling control back from that part of himself, the anger evaporating from his eyes as he blinks, finally seeming to become aware of Augustine's presence again. ]

...she's reached her 30th summer by now, I expect.

[ He wonders if she's had children of her own. He hopes so. Even if she's forgotten the scary rabbit man who found her in the woods all those years ago... ]

Thank you, Augustine. I...lost track of things for a moment, there.

[A sigh of relief escapes Augustine once Cedrik slowly comes back to himself. This whole notion regarding one’s Shadow honestly baffles him. While Augustine has contested against the darker side of him who wants nothing else to destroy and hurt, he doesn’t quite understand how such darkness can engulf others.

Cedrik is a paragon among his kind, a gentle soul with a strong sense of wanderlust. He’s as mundane as they come at first glance, a good natured fellow with a cheerful disposition. However, the shadow he casts is that of someone who is wrathful and hateful towards themself. It’s a rather disturbing realization, one that Augustine memos for questioning later. What is it about his dear friend that makes him so angry and remorseful? The question is upon the tip of his tongue but he doesn’t dare ask it now.]

Welcome back.

[He states with a half-hearted smile as he regards the Viera. The last thing he wants is for Cedrik to lose his way and become like the gargoyle they slain. That would be a dismal end for his close compatriot, especially after spending so much time with the man.]

You had me worried there for a moment.

[The dhampir admits with a sigh before glancing at the broken statues nearby. There’s nothing that can be done for the victims here. Everyone who's been turned to stone surely perished in the process. While there might be a means to revert them back to flesh, Augustine is certain that the souls of these victims have since vanished into nothingness.]

I suggest we quit this place.

[He whispers to Cedrik.]

Ha, my apologies...

[ Yes, Cedrik expects Augustine has a lot of questions after that little display. He's not looking forward to them. Not just because of the ugliness of it all, but it can be so hard to put to words. Showing him would be better, even if it meant a trip to the Shadowlands, to his door--

It's too great a risk. The fewer people who see beyond your door the safer it will be.

--but he may have to settle for words, in the end. ]

...but yes, agreed. We'll need to report this to the authorities in Serene, as well. They may wish to send someone to retrieve the remains...

[ A pointless gesture, perhaps. But one that may bring solace to those who knew the departed. That small bit of good would be worth it.

Cedrik puts a hand on Augustine's shoulder and gives him a firm, reassuring squeeze before moving past to help guide him out. Without the simulacrum it's gotten a lot darker again, but not as bad as before. Perhaps the magic was effecting it somehow? They'll never know for sure. ]

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Hacking Up Posies (CATCH-ALL/OPEN)

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