Archana XD (plus lengthy addendum)

I should be doing ED stuff, but right now I can't stop thinking how *awesome* writing this was, 'cause I usually play such compassionate chars. Ahhh, I love playing Archa! <3

P.S. Warning for violence. :O Not that bad, but I worry about people just randomly stumbling on my posts and getting disturbed by it.

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Archana Avanti: The bright splash of blood does not make Archana pause. She had been steeling herself for this. Though they worked for the dead, yes, they themselves were not dead. They were very much alive, as much so as she.

The grisly stain remains, stark crimson against ivory white, as she faces the kneeling brother.

"I will remember you," she intones quietly. "You have fought grandly. Embrace your death with pride, Brothers of Clay."

A single flash of her Windcutter, and his head parts from his neck, falling some distance from his crumpling body. She does not keep her eyes off him until the body twitches no more.

Goodbye.

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I think what I like about this post, and the way I play Archana in general, is not that she can be violent. It's that she won't hesitate to do what she must to complete her mission, and keep her allies alive in the process. I'm not sure whether people thought she'd spare the guy when he surrendered to her, but my thought process was something like this:

- Archana's not high compassion (only 2, average).
- At the beginning of the battle, both Archana and her opponents agreed they both fought for a cause they believed in, and it put them squarely on opposite sides. Basically, Archana accepted at that point that they would be enemies regardless of what similarities or sympathy they may have for one another, and that means they would do *anything* to get in one another's way.
- She and Deirdre had just killed the man's four brothers. Besides being on opposite sides, he had every reason to try and backstab them later if he was spared.
- It would be cruel to leave him alive with the memory that his brothers were slain and he was spared by the ones that killed them.

Despite all the trains of thought there, the decision wasn't a hard one. It was a logical choice for the character. I will say, though, that Archa wasn't unaffected by slaying a fellow Terrestrial that way. She just isn't inclined to show it -- besides being generally secretive about her feelings, she believes it inappropriate to hesitate or show weakness for the death of an enemy on a battlefield.

I imagine she might confide to Seventeen later though. (Whether I play it out or not.) 17 is her "indulgence" so to speak. Their relationship is still outwardly platonic, but she keeps him close to her a lot nonetheless, and tells him some of her feelings and concerns that she'd rather others don't know. It's not necessarily a lack of trust in others, she just doesn't want the others in her command to lose faith in her because yes, once in a while she does have doubts. And even desires of her own. Gasp!

Deirdre is the other she feels close to, but there's a difference between the Archa/Deirdre dynamic and the Archa/17 one. Not sure exactly what. Archa and Deirdre are more like sisters -- Deirdre being kinda a lil' sis at times, and sometimes more of a mentor when it comes to tactical things -- and Archa and 17 are, hrm. I guess they are more like lovers, without actually being lovers. If that makes any sense. It probably doesn't, 'cause it doesn't to me either. XD

I guess they are lovers in an emotional sense though. Jon and I play out some hypothetical situations with them that we don't express to anyone, so that's been fleshed out mostly in secret. I like it because I'm normally a very physical person and so the omission of that in a relationship (which is more implied than admitted to, even in private) is intriguing to me. In a way, there's something more... pure, I guess? about it? Not that I think love without sex is superior in any way (hah, yeah right, I'd be a hypocrite to the extreme) just it seems to emphasize a motivation beyond just companionship. Beyond the physical reassurance of someone being there for you.

I suppose it all boils down to loyalty, and how much I value it. Seventeen is a man who gave up his freedom, and nearly his life, for a cause he truly believed in, for a promise to a friend he truly cared for. He allowed his name to be driven into the dirt and taken away from him, all for that cause. It's a very Scorpion way of doing things (as in L5R Scorpion clan) so it doesn't surprise me that Jon plays that type. He is the one watching from a careful distance, the one who cares more than he ever would dare speak of it, who will take the fall for one he loves without a second thought even if he or she would never appreciate it. That's the man I married.

For Archana, Seventeen is a comfort that she allows herself rarely, because she is not usually one to confide anything to anyone. Even so, she rarely needs to speak, because he knows her -- he knows the way that Jon knew about me, all the years before we really began to talk and fall in love. I guess you could say there's some meta there. I can't help it. BUT! I very rarely make mention of it in game. It's more of a nuance really. Something that flavors my posts now and then, or the way I conceive my char.

I suppose if Pasiap ever starts getting pissed about 17 getting too close, then it'll become noticeable. But Archa's still riding that line and riding it well... um... wait. That sounded perverted. :D