Summary: Investigating a plague of nightmares infecting the pixies’ dream world.
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Manic Pixie Dream Realm
-The pixies will be my first Shadowbringers beast tribe. It starts in the Crystarium.
-Kids
are terrified of the pixies (as one spies on them). Afraid if they
don’t behave, the pixies will suck them into nightmares.
-A pixie spying on them is pissed. “And to think that they pin the blame on us! We like fun dreams, not scary ones! Hmph!” Tyr Beq, leader of the Dreamspinners. Seems fun.
-Recently, the dreamland of Lyhe Mheg has been strangely beset by nightmares.
-Hee! A nightmare-devouring porxie named Ezel Il will help us out by slurping up unnatural kid nightmares. This is gonna be trippy.
-A pixie called An Lad appears to stop us. This must be the nightmare creator.
“That child understands my loneliness. I sealed the gate, that she might be my friend – and mine alone.”
The kid is an orphan, parents killed by sin eaters. An Lad claims her heart welcomes the nightmare.
-We leave the girl so the porxie can vomit up the nightmare safely. AND ITS DESIGN IS AMAAAAAZING!!
A stuffed animal monstrosity.
-Dispatching it cures the girl’s nightmares. She feels strong, like she conquered her fear. Comfortable sharing her feelings of loneliness and alienation now. This is kind of beautiful.
-The pixies invite me to Lyhe Mheg. It’s empty now, but as the dream gates here re-open the place will repopulate.
The Lakeland gate allowing dreams through again.
-I love the visuals of this place! A faerie dream realm with magic dream bubbles floating and gates to the minds of those in other lands? Really imaginative.
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Sustenance for the Soul
-Hey, Lyhe Mheg’s music is a a bouncy variant of Titania’s theme! That’s awesome.
-A Nu Mou has some insight on An Lad:
“A pixie is born when the soul of a mortal who died in childhood gathers new aether to itself… Should a soul defined by unfulfilled needs take on aether laden with extremely adverse emotions…”
We’re gonna have to help An Lad, aren’t we?
-The next nightmare-haver is another kid who lost his family, also dealing with starvation.
-This nightmare manifests as a horrific pudding. They’re knocking it out of the park with these designs.
-As before, the kid feels better on awakening, more open and in touch with his suffering. Willing to eat again, without fear of privation when there’s plenty around now.
-An Lad appears again. Interesting… they seem driven more by instinct than a master plan.
“Since being born, there are two dreams I see. One where I can never reach someone I love. And another where I’m crying alone in a cramped old castle. When I awaken, I’m driven by a burning desire for them. For that someone, though their face is a blur…”
-Back in Lyhe Mheg, the dream gate to Kholusia opens, turning the land into a gingerbread candyland.
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The Heart’s Oasis
-Amh Araeng is next. The nightmares there often center on water shortages and going thirsty.
-More childhood trauma. This kid’s sister died of thirst when traveling through the desert.
-Ezel Il does the trust ol’ nightmare slurp-n-spew. This creature is a water worm.
-The
kid can now confront their trauma safely. He can now focus honoring his
sister’s death to fill the desert with flowers. He can deal with
lingering guilt for her death.
BOY: “Thank you, pale pixie, for helping me remember.”
FHDJKLSFHDJKLS HE’S GRATEFUL FOR THE NIGHTMARE! I love this.
-Was An Lad Tyr Beq’s friend in their former life? Not sure. Tyr Beq’s old friend was the former Titania, pre-pixie king.
WAIT SHIT, IS AN LAD TITANIA REBORN? That makes sense. During the fight, Titania complained about being locked in that stuff old castle, just as An Lad dreams.
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A Cry from the Ashes
-Even if An Lad was Titania, they aren’t anymore. They’re a new person dealing with inertia.
-The next nightmare comes from a child in Rak’tika. She dreams of her animals burning in a past war.
“I can’t – I won’t let any more animals suffer the same fate! I’m going to become a priestess, and then everyone will listen to me!”
Again, we see here how nightmares can be productive. When younger, she had visions of fire and the town burned (since nobody could listen to her). Her nightmare manifests as a fiery lion.
-Four of five gates in Lyhe Mheg are now open. What could the last one lead to?
-An Lad is here in the dream realm! They’ve never been here before.
“It’s
warm and inviting… to think that dreams could be so beautiful…” They
fear that if they dream again, they’ll be back in that locked castle
(where Titania was trapped).
In that dream, a monster whispered: “You were born to bring nightmares – a plague.” The Sin Eater’s voice?
-As they leave, they try cast some magic on Tyr Beq. Trying to infect them with nightmares. Ruh oh.
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As the Heart Bids
-Tyr is getting sleepy. Are we going to see their nightmare?
-I
learn from others in Il Mheg about the former Titania. They used to be
as playful a pixie as any, bffs with a pink best friend (Tyr Beq).
BEQ:
“<gasp> I see now… An Lad – they’re the pixie I used to be! Like
me, all they need is for someone to accept them as they are!”
Tyr used to be a lonely weirdo, the only among the pixies fascinated by
dreams. They need to give the same unconditional support they received
from An TO An.
-The fifth gate in Lyhe Mheg leads to An Lad’s dreams. We’ll head in to save An.
-Lyhe Mheg is dark, smoky now. An Lad’s power and mind are unraveling the land.
AN
LAD: “When I was thirsty, no one gave me anything to drink… When I
wanted to play, they drove me away. I just wanted a friend. Wanted
someone to tell me that I did well. But everyone treats me like a
plague. I shouldn’t have been born.”
God. How traumatic must
their time as Titania, chained up in the castle, have been? Remember
that pixies are basically eternal children.
-I really like how
An Lad isn’t a villain in this case. They’re a pitiable victim who lacks
control of their power. We roam across the landscape, blowing up the
nightmares that spawn in their wake.
-The final boss here is a giant, and legitimately unsettling Ahriman type named Destrudo.
The embodiment of An Lad’s despair.
DESTRUDO: “The wretched world has given you naught but torment. You will reward them in kind. Give them your deepest, darkest nightmares.”
-One boss fight later and we disperse the nightmare.
-I even love this afterward here. Tyr wants to go back to making dreams with An Lad, and An Lad – quite reasonably – is terrified they’ll just spew nightmares.
TYR BEQ: “There’s no need to rush. Just do what you think feels right, and all will be well. And if [you make a nightmare], we’ll just fix it up, add a pinch of pixie magic to make it fun again! Here, you can always be yourself.”
I LOVE TYR BEQ. And An Lad smiles for the first time… well, ever. This is beautiful.
Speaking of beautiful. Lyhe Mheg is now complete.
A true kingdom of dreams and rainbows.
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Random Stuff Around Eorzea
Ququshu’s new porxie mount, a reward from the pixies:
-Some great player names seen:
Anony Mouse
U’niq Glow
Vincent Wallace (a “Pulp Fiction” ship name perhaps?)
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Next time: Starting the 5.3 main story quest.
