[ open ] birthday time!

[picky]

WHO: Marcille, Ryoji, and YOU!
WHAT: A party for the April (and May) birthdays!
WHERE: LILICO Game Center in Akihabara
WHEN: April 20th
WARNINGS: TBA

No matter who you are, you receive a text early in the morning from Ryoji (memors):

Good morning! Did you know it's a special someone's birthday today? Actually, we have several birthdays to celebrate, so join us today at the LILICO Game Center! There will be cake! Lots and *lots* of cake. Hope to see you there!

This is an open log, so feel free to tag out or top level or respond to the prompts below. Have fun!

Comments

2! spoilers are all good 🤡🦁📚!!

[bruisehaver]

Gith lives are eternal, once we make it to the Astral Plane. There is an absence of time there.

[ Her eyes narrow a bit at being pointed at, especially once she sees the schwasted nature of the other woman's stare... even if she's been drinking herself, she's considerably less lost in the sauce at the moment. Her chin tilts up proudly. ]

But I would never assume to know the exact answer, elf. A well timed blade could prematurely end the life of someone meant to live for centuries. [ a beat, and then pointed: ] Are you so certain of how long you will live?

[picky]

[ It takes Marcille a moment, but even her alcohol-addled mind can process why this person seems familiar. She's seen them around the base—the only green-skinned individual in sight, with a strong build and slicked-back red hair. Marcille could never parse exactly what race this person might be. (An ogre, most likely, but even that doesn't seem like an apt description.)

It's a little jarring to see all of those traits suddenly muted and transformed and coated with human skin. Marcille could have mistaken her if not for the way she's addressed. Elf.

Also. Lbr. She won't pretend she understood those first few sentences. ]

M-My name is Marcille.

[ She folds her arms over the bar, attention still fixed on this stranger. She has a civilian name but she's drunk! W/e!! ]

I'm not certain, but I know what my lifespan's supposed to be.

[ Her consonants drag a little. She frowns and drops her temple onto her folded arms. ]

Z'at your race? Gith? I think I've seen you around. How d'you get to the Astral Plane?

[bruisehaver]

And mine is Lae'zel — remember it.

[ She also knows she has a civilian name, but, like.... no way in hell she's gonna use it to introduce herself as it to Outsiders. Doing so feels like an insult to her pride, as do most things she's been prompted to do by LILITH while being outside the base. The cloaking device is still the biggest offender, though. ]

Githyanki were said to only be permitted entrance to the Astral once we've claimed a ghaik head — the head of a mindflayer. They are our mortal enemies. Though customs have... well, let us just say "evolved," recently.

[ She waves a hand, clipping the line of questioning with her blunt and matter-of-fact tone. Slowly, she takes a big gulp of her drink. ]

If you are wondering if you can reach there, the answer is no.

[picky]

[ Girl. I am so sorry but there's a chance she's not going to remember it. Marcille still furrows her brow and nods like she absolutely will anyway.

Some of the next few words that she hears are new and therefore harder to grasp. She squeezes her eyes as she thinks, trying to visualize what a mindflayer could possibly be. It sounds terrifying. Something that breathes fire? That cooks heads?

Marcille pushes her fingers through her bangs and tries to shift away from the image. Instead, she looks at Lae'zel again. ]

Because it's only for Gith? Right? [ She leans her elbow on the counter and perches her jaw on the heel of her hand, fingers curled. ] Your race really has the secret to eternal life?

[bruisehaver]

[ Lae'zel watches her carefully as she shifts about, squeezing her eyes and making herself more comfortable. On the contrary, she herself remains stiff as a board, always sitting with her back straight and her head tilted slightly up — proud, in every sense of the word. ]

"Access to it" is a more accurate way of describing it.

[ Her voice loses some of that irritable tone, leaning in to something more thoughtful and pensive. ]

There are other beings there besides gith — though likely none that you are familiar with.

[ If she's not familiar with gith or mindflayers, she can't imagine that Marcille would know anything about the other beings that reside there. That's par for the course, being an alien to two (2) planets now, so it doesn't bother her. Instead, she quirks a brow. ]

I was under the impression other methods to immortality aside from the Astral were more widely known.

[picky]

[ Marcille reaches for her martini glass with her free hand as she listens, her half-lidded eyes focused on the Lae'zel's tall, imposing stature. When Lae'zel finishes, however, Marcille's gaze lowers and narrows at her drink. Her takes on a lower, softer pitch, trying to form words out of the storm brewing in her alcohol-addled thoughts. ]

I dunno about how immortality works on other worlds, but there is a way to make people immortal on mine.

[ By doing what Marcille did. She brings the glass to her lips, but her gaze doesn't move, concentrated on a spot on the ground. She looks tired, suddenly. ]

Those people... They were miserable. They wanted a way to finally end it.

[bruisehaver]

[ She's silent after hearing that, contemplating. She thinks of Astarion, cursed to live in the dark forever, compared to her people, who burn as long as they can before being extinguished in the heat of battle. Had she never met other immortals, she might have said something harsher and crueler. But she's been wisened by her travels, and sits back in her chair. ]

Then they lack the freedom or the resources to make the most of their life.

[ The way she sees it, to be immortal is the ultimate goal; she cuold never see the onward march of time as something to dread. So, she has to assume that these people, whoever they are, do not share the circumstances that gith do. Perhaps they could not travel the stars, invent new technologies and arts. It's no fault or weakness of their own, only bad luck. ]

Eternity is long. Having no pursuits to chase, or precious things to protect, would make a life like that worth ending. [ She certainly wouldn't want to live like that, so, tbh, she gets it. ] Githyanki ensure we always have both close at hand.

[ Which, to her, is why they're able to bear living for so long. ]

What was life like for these people?