#` about / shadowstep `

[bcneheaded]

HELLO gmorning I am..... awake shdhqufj I am also just thinking about. how many of Artemis' relationships could be irreparably damaged by the other person finding out thst he's ACTUALLY a God, and not the demon he's played himself out tl be <3

[tgcg]

argument

its a big one

TG: alright this is probably a bust

TG: more i think about it how the fuck do you even make a marinara

TG: can i even alchemise cheese or do i gotta like alchemise the milk and curdle it myself

TG: how do you even curdle

====================

TG: make a goddamn

TG: curgler

TG: whatever

TG: internet archive gonna pull through

====================

CG: ALRIGHT DAVE

TG: shit

====================

CG: YOU BETTER BACK THE FUCK OFF. I DON'T KNOW WHERE IN BULGEMUNCHING VIRULENT FUCK YOU GET THE IDEA YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD THINK ABOUT MY OWN GODDAMN PLANET. SORRY TO HAVE TO DEAL A BLOW TO YOUR IMPOSSIBLY INFLATED FUCKING EGO, BUT HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED THAT YOUR SIDE-EYE SLACKJAW HOPELESS DEADPAN BULLSHIT BEHAVIOUR IS ACTUALLY INCREDIBLY FUCKING CONTEMPTIBLE AND DOESN'T PUT YOU ABOVE OTHER PEOPLE? HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THAT?

CG: OR DID YOU JUST ASSUME FROM THE MOMENT YOU FOUND OUT I'M A REVOLTING FUCKING MUTANT LOWBLOOD FREAK THAT I'M SUDDENLY NOT ALLOWED TO LIKE THE IDEA OF MY LIFE MEANING SOMETHING AT SOME POINT?

TG: okay you are wildly misquoting me where the fuck did that come from

TG: also you scared the hell out of me

TG: im just trying to science some pizza here

====================

CG: OKAY THEN, DAVE! EXPLAIN TO ME AS WELL AS YOUR AMBLING ONE-NOTE SMOOTH EXCUSE FOR A 'THOUGHT'SPONGE CAN

CG: IN SOMEWHAT COHERENT TERMS, ALTHOUGH I KNOW THAT'S A TALL ORDER:

CG: HOW YOU SAYING MY ADOLESCENT DREAMS OF BECOMING A THRESHECUTIONER ARE "FUCKED UP AND IRONIC IN A NASTY ASS WAY" DOESN'T QUALIFY AS UNDERHANDEDLY KICKING ME IN THE MANDIBLE PRONGS!

CG: YOUR AUDIENCE AWAITS YOU WITH BATED BREATH! TAKE IT AWAY, M.C. BRAIN HEMORRHAGE.

====================

TG: okay i dont

TG: know how you got a hold of that phrasing because i said that shit in confidence

TG: get out of my business bro

CG: NEWSFLASH, ASSHOLE: THIS METEOR IS A PHYSICAL, LITERAL LOCATION WE'RE BOTH IN. IT'S NOT A FUCKING PRIVATE CHATROOM. THIS MIGHT BLOW YOUR PITIFUL MIND BUT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY HEAR OTHER PEOPLE TALK WHEN THEY HAVE TO SHARE A SPACE! BRO!

TG: ugh

====================

CG: AND IT'S VERY INTERESTING YOU ACCUSE ME OF MISQUOTING YOU, AND THEN SUDDENLY TURN AND SPOUT FROM THAT SHITTY DRONING GROANSHAFT OF YOURS THAT I'M INVADING YOUR PRIVACY WHEN I DIRECTLY QUOTE YOUR SMARMY LITTLE SHAMEGLOBES!

CG: WOW! TURNS OUT KARKAT IS ACTUALLY BEING GENUINELY FUCKING UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING — WHO KNEW, RIGHT? WHO WOULD'VE GUESSED THAT I ACTUALLY HAVE GENUINE COMPLAINTS TO LEVEL AGAINST THE PEOPLE WHO GO SPOUTING HOOFBEASTSHIT ABOUT ME BEHIND MY BACK TO THEIR ECTOSIBLINGS?

TG: no dude can you shut up a second

CG: I MOST CERTAINLY FUCKING WILL, THANKS FOR THE OFFER! I'M NEVER TELLING YOU A GODDAMN THING AGAIN, SO I HOPE YOU MANAGE TO GAIN SOME WRINKLES TO THAT VESTIGIAL FLAWLESS ORB FLOATING AROUND IN YOUR CAVERNOUS NUGBONE FROM ALL THIS. I HOPE IT WAS WORTH ALL THE EFFORT ON YOUR END.

TG: listen!!!!

====================

CG: MHM! MY AURICULAR CHAMBERS ARE WIDE OPEN!

TG: jegus

TG: okay

TG: i have no defense for my literal phrasing but how expeditiously did you shadowstep the fuck away after i said that

TG: because that is some shrek tier "princess and ugly dont go together" level misrepresentation of my sweet self

TG: like if this wasnt obviously a heated platonic argument we were having i would probably be digging what the reference even if it was a shitty trope

====================

TG: i just

TG: have been thinking about some things and none of those things have got an iota of a thing to do with you or your blood

TG: thing

TG: man

TG: i dont know why you think id be so pressed about your vein juice its like

TG: a normal ass color for a normal ass guy

TG: and obviously it was a major fucking deal from how you talk about it but it doesnt need to be anymore

====================

TG: the thing is i just dont like have the same attitude as you about fighting and stuff and thats not something i am getting into right now but i am gonna make it expressly clear

TG: that its just kind of fucked up for me to sit my ass down and listen to someone spew gold and medals and confetti colored shit going googoo all over tall and loathsome ass bloodletters he never knew

TG: and have him tell me he wants to be the best guy at combat since samurai fuckin jack

TG: and thats my capital B business believe me the emphasis is there

====================

CG: SO IS THIS ABOUT ME WANTING TO BE PART OF SOMETHING YOU DON'T AGREE WITH? BECAUSE THRESHECUTIONERS DON'T EVEN FUCKING EXIST ANYMORE. I LITERALLY COULD NOT DO THIS IF I TRIED AT THIS POINT, SO YOU CAN UNKNOT YOUR “KNIGHTY WHITIES” ABOUT IT.

TG: being anti-military is not my point but damn if it isnt a thing thats probably true anyways so good job sleuthing that out

CG: WHAT IS YOUR POINT, DAVE.

TG: bluh

TG: i just said i dont wanna talk about it man

====================

CG: OKAY,

====================

CG: OKAY.

CG: I MEAN. IT FEELS KIND OF IMPORTANT TO THE CONTEXT OF THIS WHOLE UNAMBIGUOUSLY PLATONIC ARGUMENT WE'VE BEEN HAVING

CG: WHICH I'M RELIEVED WE AGREE ON BY THE WAY

CG: BUT IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO KNOW I'M NOT GOING TO WRING IT OUT OF YOU. IT'S FINE.

====================

CG: …IF YOU DECIDE AT SOME POINT THAT YOU WANT TO TELL ME THOUGH, MY RUMBLE VESSELS ARE STILL OPEN.

TG: i swear youre making those up on the spot at this point

CG: I'M KEEPING MY LANGUAGE'S ART ALIVE, DAVE. IT'S BASIC DECENCY TO THE PLANET THAT RAISED ME.

TG: heh

====================

TG: yknow we got these things called anatomical snuffboxes

TG: its got that right amount of vague nose wrinklage to it that i feel like youd be right at home saying that

TG: snug as a grub even

CG: WHAT PART IS THAT???

TG: its that little weird bone bit that sticks out on the back of your palm when you flex your thumb right

====================

TG: look

CG: HUH. LOOKING AT THAT IS KIND OF WIGGING ME OUT.

TG: yeah its kinda gross rose told me about it

TG: but anyways

====================

TG: are we cool

CG: I MEAN… I GUESS SO. YOU WEREN'T ACTUALLY INSULTING ME, RIGHT?

TG: hell no dude never

CG: OKAY. I COMPLETELY RESCIND THE MYRIAD OF WAYS I JUST INSULTED YOU. AND I'M SORRY.

TG: nah i know its just fluff at this point

====================

CG: I STILL DON'T APPRECIATE YOU TELLING ROSE THINGS I SAY TO YOU IN CONFIDENCE. THAT WAS BETWEEN YOU, ME, AND MY NOW NON-EXISTENT HOME PLANET ROTTING AWAY TO A CRATERED GRAY HUSK IN ANOTHER DEAD UNIVERSE.

TG: i swear that was like the only thing its just that she gets it and i cant keep my mouth from going on about the gettable stuff

TG: they call me the babbling brook the way my flows so audible

TG: i wont do it again

CG: NO,

====================

CG: I GET IT HONESTLY.

CG: I'M BASICALLY THE NUMBER ONE PROPRIETOR OF AIRED GRIEVANCES IN ALL OF PARADOX SPACE AND THEN SOME, AND I'D ALSO BECOME ITS BIGGEST HYPOCRITE IF I HELD IT AGAINST YOU.

TG: thanks

TG: but i mean

TG: at the gigantic risk of sounding uh

====================

TG: ………..

CG: ?

====================

TG: well

TG: i kinda just think youre better at being a guy to chill out and watch movies with than a guy to tangle fists with

TG: and i dont think theres anything wrong with being that

TG: i think its cool

====================

CG: …THAT'S AN ALARMINGLY BRAZEN OBSERVATION TO MAKE OF SOMEONE YOU'VE KNOWN FOR ABOUT THE SPAN OF SEVEN SEASONAL EQUINOXES, DAVE.

TG: i dont know what that means but it sure is probably

CG: AM I ALLOWED TO ASK WHAT EVEN GIVES YOU THAT IMPRESSION????

TG: i just got that inkling about you man

====================

TG: and you can do whatever you want with that info

TG: throw it in the load gaper or whatever if you want i dont really care

TG: give it a swirly and slam it in a locker call it a nerd break its glasses whatever

TG: but beyond this whole lord english thing weve got going on i am pretty content to never aggress my fellow man slash alien slash monster again if i can help it

TG: i think thats pretty fair given what thats been like so far

====================

TG: and yknow its cool to have some company when im waxing emotional over the narrative depth of click starring adam sandler which we are watching next by the way

CG: UGH, FIIIIIIIIINE. JUST TO MAKE UP FOR CALLING YOUR THINKPAN SMOOTH AND SUPERFLUOUS.

====================

TG: score

TG: we should argue all the time

CG: SNRK

[estuaryghoul]

Horror Ghoul Yapping :}

The ghouls aren't /human. It's easy to forget sometimes, they're so good at pretending on stage, but they aren't. Offstage, out of practice, in the dark cold halls of the ministry, it's much easier to remember.

To see one, just a silhouette at the other end of the hall. Feel the lights seem to get dimmer, glinting dangerously off the blank eyes of their mask. The terror stirring in your gut as neither of you move. You have to approach or leave (turn your back), and both are equally terrifying. The silent standoff drags on.

You take a step back, bracing yourself in a deep instinct of danger. The ghoul does not move. You take another step. There are stairs behind you and you know this, you sacrifice a glance. Just momentarily taking your eyes off the figure. When you look back, it's gone.

individual headcanons under the cut

Swissarmy is teeth, obviously. Too big, too sharp. Always bared. He seems to move /too fluidly, too quickly. Seemingly slithering. Sharp, confident. Appearing and closing in with nothing you can do but let the razor sharpness surround you and tear you to slivers, dusky smoke filling your lungs as the fangs fill your skull.

Phantom is too long, limbs just a little too pointed, bending unnaturally. He can contort his body in ways that seem like he has no bones. Plus his shadowstepping is practically teleporting, and he loves to be high up (in the rafters, hanging off the ceiling, lol). Twitchy teethy thing, spindly and spiderlike.

Cumulus feels like intoxication. Like a cloud of venom slowly and sweetly sinking into your lungs, displacing all the oxygen. Drawing you in while a tiny part of your mind screams to run, but why would you? All you've ever wanted, all you can remember is her. Unable to look away as her jaw unhinges....

Mountain is similar to Panto, too tall, too long. It doesn't feel the same though. The mind wants to look over him, not notice him, blend him into the environment. Outside is the worst, though he looks nothing like it, he becomes nothing more than a tree. Until he begins to move of course, jerky and unnatural. Too fast, unphased by damage, bloodless. Hollow. Roots piercing your flesh like paper, growing around (through) you.

Cirrus is directly terrifying. Average height, weight. Slender, still. Danger however very evident. Everything colder, darker, seeming to swallow you in fog. Suddenly you aren't where you were, everything is a maze, you cannot see, but she is approaching. So slow, deliberate, taking her time. Letting you shrink into nothing before the claws flash.

Dew is threatening the way a rabid animal would be. Especially post transformation, there is something wrong about him. Dead, rotten, lunging for your throat. The hiss of smoke escaping his scorched lungs, his thin bony fingers twitching in anticipation of digging into flesh. He's fast, violent, consuming. He has no patience to hunt, only to rend, tear, and consume.

Aurora (Borealis) does not teleport. But she also doesn't NOT teleport. Her image flickers, sparks and glitches mixing pieces. A buzzing hum seems to eminate, filling your mind. Her skin glitters, glistens, light contouring around her as she flashes, close, far, lunging, laughing. Thin fingers closing around your throat from behind, so hot it feels cold as the claws dig in.

Rain is so pretty, how could he ever harm anyone? (Your mouth tastes metallic). He walks like a creature not meant for two legs, unsteady, stiff. Like a harmless baby deer. (You can't breathe). Maybe you should get closer. (Your lungs are so heavy). Hold out a hand, feel his cold clammy skin, like a dead thing (Your vision is spotting). You feel so tired now, letting his hands crawl up you (Maybe you should just close your eyes). It doesn't even hurt.

[lioma-gaming]

Noctis: "What're you doing here? Didn't you say you had no interest climbing down 'this filthy hole'?" Ardyn: "Oh, I did and I still do. But then where would you be without my guidance? I suppose someone will have to drag your sorry remains back to the surface when things turn sour, and from what I've seen, you are entirely incapable of staying out of trouble." Gladio: *smirks* "Will you look at that. He cares." Ignis: "Hardly. I suspect it's rather his personal investment in our endeavour that he worries about." Ardyn: "Your Royal advisor's observation is as astute as always. But then again, does it truly matter why I've come to help you?" Noctis: "Yea. Yea it does." Gladio: "A lot."

So, I tried bringing Ardyn with me into the Crestholm Channels dungeon, which didn't work at first, I guess because he doesn't have an animation for climbing ladders. But, once I've walked far enough away from the entrance, he just shadowstepped teleported after Noctis & Co.

Learned a couple of things about this supposedly broken party member:

Ardyn can take damage, but won't enter Danger state or drop dead. HP and Max HP recover at a normal pace.

It's not possible to use items on him, as he doesn't pop up in the selection.

He uses different walking animations when exploring a dungeon, just like the Chocobros. Also wears a more tense look.

It's possible to equip swords in Ardyn's primary and secondary weapon slot, but he can't use them or attack in general. He does, however, rush at enemies from time to time so his battle AI might not be entirely broken. Would love to have given him the Mutant Rakshasa Blade, but since it's a great sword, it's not part of the "sword" selection.

He ended up getting stuck on the ledge when I dropped down to fight the Nagarani (which is a pity, because I have yet to find out if he can suffer status ailments) and I chose to teleport out of the dungeon because frankly, I've gotten lost way too many times in Crestholm Channels in my previous playthroughs.

Will try the Bavlouve Mines with him, though!

Also, love Prompto's dungeon commentary. <3

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

Okay, but consider a secret competition amongst sinners in the hotel to try and get a clear and legible picture of the radio demon.

Bonus if you make it a selfie.

It starts not so subtly, with several pic attempts that were just selfies the others were taking and alastor just so happened to be around. Wink wink etc.

It takes him all of three seconds to work out what they're up to and in the spirit of entertainment, doesnt really try to stop them per say. Not directly... but he's also not going to make it easy for anyone either.

A few attempts are thwarted by his shadowstep ability just before the shutter clicks, other times the distortion seems stronger than anticipated. But he hasnt worked it out yet right? Nah they're being super subtle about it and he's always humming something, distracted.

They up the ante.

Holes in books people nonchalantly read on the couch. Hidden camera in a picture frame.

One person attempting an obvious photo while another tries covertly.

Even attempting to sneak into his room (bad idea) which only cost a finger.

Trying to catch him whilst he's cooking and relaxed but those damn ears always twitch upright and swivel their way. Fucking stupid deer powers!

Putting a phone on a timer in certain halls when he's supposed to do maintenance... or on his way to his room.

Making up issues with plumbing for maintenance reasons in your boobytrapped room. But even mid task, he comes out a pixellated mess.

Charlie even tried to get a pic through a series of well angled mirrors whilst alastor was reading page 146 of her latest ideas for redemption activities with a grin so strained you'd think he was contemplating second death by tickling. But he'd done it. Read the qhole 231 pages. Which definitely should have been soporific enough...

Husk tried to trick him into getting too drunk to maintain the filter... to no avail. It made it stronger.

Niffty tried through the vents. Poppets hauled her back out with admonishing finger wagging.

Vaggie tied her phone to the end of her spear and threatened him... and he laughed. At that point they started to suspect he was onto them.

Nothing worked.

Lucifer, because it was annoying him now, tried snapping a pic through the tower windows from several metres in the air because wings. Vaggie kicked herself for forgetting she could also do that...

"Are you quite done with your little teamwork activity?" Alastor asks one evening, startling a few who hadn't realised he'd known. "Really, it was admirable how creative some of you were but i have been putting up with the picture box's attempts for several decades now... i know when a camera is pointing my way. Their frequency is i��̨͇̈ͅr̸̻̈̐̈́̈́r̴̳̞̈̓̓î̷̻̍́̔͐t̴̫̱̻͌ä̴̡͈̯͙̻́̄̓t̴̹̠͎͚͙̒̾̉į̷̨̮̟̲̔́n̴͍̬̍̃̌̊ģ̵͚̼͓̠̑̓̊̿̈́..."

"Can i take a pretty picture with you sir?" Niffty asks.

He considers it as several others start protesting that that didn't count if you asked. Angel's stance was that if bribery was allowed, then he had some things to put on the table...

Alastor gave a long-suffering glare and told the spider not to put anything on the table he didnt want to lose to tomorrow night's stew. Angel retorted that at least he could then say he'd told the big bad radio demon to eat a dick and it would be technically true...

The starlet got pained static warble tha made the lights flicker, and a whack over the ear from a truly disgusted Vaggie for that one.

Alastor ultimately declines Niffty's offer. "Afraid not, my dear."

She stomps her foot. "I'll tell Miss Rosie you're not being fair..."

He laughs, "HAH! Please Do. She'll find it simply hilarious... she's been trying for years to do the same and not yet succeeded despite her best efforts. Quite putout about the whole thing."

"You know I could just nullify your little static field thing with a snap of my fingers, right?" Lucifer points out.

There's a pointed blare of an air raid siren in response.

Through narrowed eyes and clenched teeth, Alastor replied, "Of course you would need to resort to cheating to win, i assumed locating a break in the field was half the challenge... or is that too tall a task for you, your lowness?"

"The fuck did you call me, sinner?!"

"Someone who seems to like the easy way out, is that not accurate?"

"Okay now you've done it, say goodbye to your little radiowaves cause this is a royal timeout!"

"Stop." Charlie commands, freezing the two men in their tracks, one about to snap his fingers and the other manifesting shadow tendrils to try and rip his majesty's face off.

Maybe wearing that would confuse cameras until the king saw sense?

"I'm sorry if we got too competitive and it impacted your privacy, Al. I should have checked you would be okay with this, knowing you've already been dealing with a stalker..." Charlie said, chagrined. "And dad, I should have remembered how competitive you get over these sorts of things. But that's not an excuse. Neither of you have the right to be so rude to each other. Now apologise!"

"I would rather go vegan, my dear. " Alastor drawled, the strained grin easing slightly as the tendrils receeded into his flesh.

"And I'd rather you stay away from my daughter, you manipulative pinstriped fatherfucker, but here we are. " Lucifer spread his arms wide, theatrically, before deflating and rubbing his temples. "So I'm... sorry for threatening to tear your powers away, I didn't like it when heaven tried that with me. But I will get that picture. There has to be a way."

Alastor's expression flitted from fury to intrigue and then a general neutrality. "Well, if you can be cordial... so can I, I suppose. For Charlotte. I apologise for intending to rip your face off." He sees the blanche on Charlotte's face.

"Ah, I believe my apology was supposed to be around persistently mocking your stature, your tiny-but-mightiness. Apologies, then... but if it will soothe any hurt feelings I will tell you all a secret... there is at least one time when my distortion is not active. Two, if you count being dead, ha hah!" He pointedly ignored Charlie's flinch at his statement. "However I must stress that neither instance involves sleeping or bathing so do please understand that any further attempts to enter my rooms unbidden will be met with harsh penalties."

"Awww..." Angel pouts, then waggles his eyebrows. "I got an idea how to catch you offguard, radio daddy..."

There was a loud audience booing sound from the cane. "No, thank you. Now if that is all, I have a broadcast this evening to prepare for... hmmm?"

Alastor left in a cascade of shadows.

"Do you think he meant when he was broadcasting? Maybe when his signal is already bouncing across the rings, the distortion goes quiet?" Husk says.

"You mean Pride ring only, right? None of these overlords should have the power to reach other rings." Lucifer frowns.

"If you got tv or radio down there in the other rings, that's on vox and alastor. They're the source of it for some reason... apart from my collar, the fact that the phones and radios still worked while he was gone was a good indicator of him still being alive. Otherwise it'd be dead air. Vox can't push his tv as strongly without the ambient support, not with how vast his network is nowadays." Husk shrugs.

"Thats not how sinners are designed to work, how did that even happen? I would have noticed."

"Maybe its not strong enough to catch your attention when you're hyperfocused on other projects?" Charlie offered.

"Maybe. Alright, I actually have to go stop your Aunties in Envy from rampaging, duckling, but I'll be back by dinner. If not, send Vaggie and her spear, I might need the backup." Lucifer smiled, clapping his hands and summoning a portal to a very blue looking place.

If he left it for a few seconds longer to let the sinners see what another ring looked like, who could fault him?

----

Alastor switched out the record and returned to this evening's topic of discussion... Dismemberment: the right tools for your (or their) bodytype. He allowed his larger self to slip the confines of the soul-ly physical and expand out into the radio waves. Much like with his shadows, he could exist as something intangible but definitely alive and aware.

The soothing sensation was ruined by the flicker of several cameras going off around his body, snapping him back like a rubber band. Someone would get eaten for this at the next music break.

He continued the light hearted patter about ensuring you had a hacksaw the same length as your arm and no more to disjoint, because too large and you'd end up tired before you got through the first joint! Too short and it would add hours onto the task.

In the background, several people screamed as shadow tendrils pulled them from the ceiling, vents, in the record cupboard and under his writing desk to toss them out of the recording booth.

The tendrils jabbed pointedly at the On Air sign before retreating.

There were groans of disappointment when several photos were checked and found to have nothing of note to report.

Really... he'd outright told them as much!

Well, seems he may have to try showering at Rosie's tonight if no one was willing to behave. The indignity of being known...

Out the window he spied a number of drones gathering. Hmmm, the television was being bothersome... perhaps a stroll would be in order?

---

Attempting an aerial shot whilst the sinner was distracted in conversation admidst town didn't work out how Vaggie had hoped. She texted the messy attempt to Charlie with a sad emoji face.

The smug fucker then grinned right up at her! The audacity!

She did have to glide through several obnoxious whirring things on the way back to the hotel that removed a few feathers much to her chagrin. Well, at least they needed a preening anyway and Charlie liked the task...

---

Tremors were the first warning that something had gone wrong.

Angel bursting through the front doors calling out that there was an Overlord battle a few blocks over, was the second. He'd been halfway to the hotel, after Val had called him in for a quick fuck and to try on a new little number that Velvette had whipped up for the next club night, when power had shorted out in every direction.

Explosive lightning and laughter echoed around the place, and he (like any sinner with half a braincell to their name) skedaddled to safety. You did NOT wanna get between the bigwigs throwing down.

Pink smoke had begun to flood the area, and he'd vaguely wondered if Valentino and Vox were havving a public breakup again. It happened a few times a year... but they didn't normally get this out of hand.

Speaking of...

There was a wet spine-rattling thud as a large purple arm crunched into the ground outside, destroying part of the driveway. Vaggie swore in frustration, Charlie reminded her that her dad could fix this in a snap, it'd be fine!

There's a rather animalistic roar, and then a too-familiar static shriek, and a rending bone sound that was far too visceral for anyone's mental health as another arm was half ripped off the gargantuan moth overlord.

Vox intersecting Alastor by blasting him with concentrated electricity to drive the Radio Demon from his partner. Allowing Valentino to grab hold of an extended antler and tear it off with several of his hands.

He lost a chunk of flesh for that, but loudly taunted Alastor over this little victory. Buildings were annihilated as wings spread, only for them to fall into shreds as a massive pale creature of too many teeth and voidless eyes enlarged into the battle.

"Is that... Rosie?" Charlie felt her jaw fall open at the revelation.

Niffty was giggling beside her, and patted her hand kindly. "She's really REALLY good at biting when she gets all big!"

"Er... I can see that..." she murmurs back, seeing the way half of Vox's massive screen was shattered into cracked, bleeding lines by her primary jaws. Talons grappling at the moth's wings.

Quite the multitasker.

Alastor's own assualt on the moth pivoted to Vox, as the television clearly readied a charge for Rosie. Tendrils hurled the overlord away and into a nearby 'parkland' (that sinners rarely attended because if the plants didn't kill you, the animals would eat you alive). Several angry fire-breathing ducks set parts of his coat abalze for disturbing their nesting area.

The pair grappled at one another, tearing bloody gouges, blasting static in a way that seemed painful, and using their powers to shred the other. As Rosie circled Valentino, or what was left of him, and deftly tore pieces apart. Without his guns, and when his size didn't give an advantage... he wasn't the best fighter.

Rosie would shred his tongue if he tried to dose her with his venom, and the smoke didn't do much for them at their size. A mild calming effect at best. Probably for the best, who wants an overlord suddenly desperate for stimulation raising your insurance premiums in a way that would have the imp on the other end of the phoneline howling with laughter at the reason for your claim?

In any case, it's a mess over there.

Vox finally seems to be unable to fight back and there's a moment where it looks like Alastor might just kill the man... when Valentino manages to knock Rosie right into the Radio Demon, sending both into a barely-standing office block.

Valentino, what's left of him, maintains a protective stance over Vox, who is starting to lose size. The cannibals grin, acting rather like possessed dolls as they unhinge their jaws and launch forwards, tearing chunks off the nearest wings.

He claws back, violently, and bites at them. Not with the finesse of others, but enough to disorient as some small faction of his spit hits their bloodstreams. Not enough, not when they're titanic in size... but enough to give them a split second's pause as the world tilts slightly, and he jams a claw into Rosie's abdomen.

She snarls, her teeth clacking on bone as she bites at what she can reach. Alastor bites the moth's throat, hard, an audible crunch of windpipe is heard even as Valentino's scrabbling gouges out an eye.

Vaggie has to turn away or throw up, trapped in her own head.

A cry of outrage as the whole powergrid goes dark and a semi-recovered Vox unleashes it at his adversaries, sending the pair reeling. The barely-alive remains of Valentino disappear as he shrinks, a tattered almost-corpse whose flesh sits between painfully clenched teeth as the enlarged overlords are turned into conduits for everything pentagram city has to offer.

"What the fuck did I just portal back to?" Lucifer breaks in, startling more than a few of the horrified spectators.

"I don't... know. One minute we were in here and then Valentino's arm landed outside and... this." Charlie murmurs, bewildered and worried as she sees the two overlords she actually likes start to smoke, char and even catch fire from the sustained charge. "Can we do something? Can we interfere or does that put them at greater risk?"

"We can't. If someone challenges an overlord they can't really turn it down without losing their status, or their life. Part of the whole schtick I really hated most. One minute you're having breakfast, next some whacky motherfucker with a disco theme and some sort of ice powers comes bursting into your house demanding to fight. You just gotta." Husk replied, watching the whole shitshow with a detachment born of too many years of exactly this mess. "I think it'll turn around though."

"And Rosie won't get in trouble for interfering? Or, does that mess with Al's status?"

"Nah, if it's 2 on 1, you can call on an ally to fight them. Or take them on yourself if you're strong enough. I've fought alongside Al more than once, when another triad or duo or whatever upstart overlord group decides to take him on without any notice. Pentious wasn't the most powerful up and comer, but he was usually pretty polite about his attacks; if you let him know you really couldn't do a battle right this instant, he was always open to scheduling one in for later. Think that's why Al never really hurt him, when he could've. You don't punch down and all."

"Oh please, that guy would punch babies if he had half a chance..." snarked Lucifer, automatically.

Husk snorted, but rolled his eyes. "Actually, your majesty, you touch a kid wrong around him or rosie there and they'll turn you inside out. It's fascinating in a way that ruins any chance you'll ever have of sleeping again without seeing it behind your eyelids."

But Rosie and Alastor are moving against the current, and it must surely end soon. The power substations and relays were already exploding all over the city from such a massive drain.

Vox was snatched up and held aloft in a shadow tendril that seemed to glitch a little too hard for cosmetic effect. Rosie delicately snagged up a purple and red thing that must be Valentino.

Whatever they were saying, was lost... but voices grew angry, then frustrated, then petulant... and finally, something blue and lust pink passed from the defeated to the other overlords. Reparations, one would assume.

Almost courteously, Rosie and Alastor then carefully returned Vox and Valentino to a semi-destroyed floor of Vee Tower. Where a rather infuriated Velvette was standing, looking ready to tear everyone involved apart.

Rosie made pleasantries with the younger overlord, and then nodded. The pair moving away from the tower as they began to shrink, shadows overtaking them from the ground up.

"Incoming." Husk warned.

A writhing black pool of shadow coalesced behind them all, inside the lobby and just enough away from the doors as to be hard to see from outside. It spread and shrank, like a too-slow heartbeat.

Eventually disgorging two pale, worse-for-wear overlords flat on the floor in a mix of blood and viscera. Neither appeared conscious, not properly, at any rate.

"Oh shit... how do we even fix this?! Can we...? Niffty, can you get the first aid kit? Ohgosh I can't remember the last time I went to aunty bel's triage training course!" Charlie began to panic.

Vaggie was at a loss. Exterminators didn't GET hurt, at least so they believed, so this was... well, shit, she didn't know what to do?

Husk and Niffty were already in the thick of it before anyone except mabe Angel snapped out of the momentary surprise. The starlet used a disinfectant by the kit and then got stuck in, he'd seen weirder shit when he was in the Family and you couldn't duck off to a doctor, not to mention what they did to the snitches. And of course, you got good at fixing yourself and others up under Val...

He compresses where husk tells him to, all six hands needed for this endeavour. Heh, Angel was gonna be able to brag he'd played a fucked up game of twister with two overlords and be telling the absolute truth. Niffty was wiping at blood with her cloths and dousing anything she could reach in antiseptic. Angel winced and thanked everything these guys seemed utterly out of it.

There was a very pointed whirring click, almost too quiet to notice... but it caught everyone's attention. Lucifer was staring at his phone screen, eyebrow raised.

"He didn't lie... looks like there's one specific situation where the distortion doesn' work." The king explained, fascinated, and honestly a bit perturbed. "Was he expecting one of us to fight him to find out or what? Maybe he does need like, hug therapy or something, Char Char."

"Can you delete that as fast as possible, your majesty? I dunno if he's conscious but Vox is kinda connected to all phones and devices from Voxtech... and if he saw this, well,it'd be all over Pride in the hour. And then we wouldn't be able to keep sinners from trying their luck on rising to Sovereign real fucking fast." Husk said, putting a patch over empty eye sockets so there was at least something keeping out infection until everything reformed.

"He... what? Wouldn't they go after the tv and the moth first?" Lucifer frowned. None of this made sense.

"Yes, and no. See Vox and Val have a lot of airtight contracts keeping them safe in their tower and territory, there's also Velvette who's a goddamn nightmare when she fights. Not to mention, if the two overlords they fought left 'em alive, then a small piece of their protection extends to the spared overlord until they're healed. Or at least mobile. Because to hurt them would be to defy what Al and Rosie wanted by keeping 'em alive, right? It's all politics and backstabbing nonsense." Husk rambled, watching Niffty sew up some rather deep lacerations from the muscle up.

"That's ridiculous."

"That's keeping every one of 'em safe right now."

"Okay, I deleted the picture and emptied my bin. Did you need me to ward it or something?"

"Should be okay. It's YOUR phone after all. Any of us did it, Vox'd know immediately... also yeah, he's probably seen your nudes, so you have to move through the stages of grief on that one on your own. It's not a sex thing, he just values information and turns it into targeted ads. Wasn't nearly as twisted before he joined the Vees."

"That's... not comforting. At all."

"Never said it was. Hey, can you like, heal people? Even enough to give these two a jumpstart? I saw they ate some of Val and Vox, and got some souls in their bargaining, but it might not be enough to fix them given how little blood is on the inside right now."

"He's right, Short King, there's more in the carpet based on ow weak everyone's pulses are. Wonder what the fuck triggered a fight like that?" Angel adds, whistling and trying for flippancy despite the internal panic. This was bad. Like, these two hurt was bad, yeah, but Val being hurt that bad was Real Bad and it was public too... he was going to reduce the studio workers to bloody messes when he got back together.

"...hrrkkkk..." chattered the staff, startling more than a few as Lucifer deigned to ruining his white trousers by kneeling next to Rosie. His hands glowed, and something passed from himself to her, sealing a few of the more superficial wounds and lessing the severity of others. The rest was up to her, of course... but it helped.

Angel felt his chain manifest, and his heart leapt into his throat... until he noticed it trained down to a point on the floor between the downed overlords. It was an odd mishmash of green and a dusky pink that suited Rosie well.

"...renegotiated some assets in the ceasefire..."

Lucifer was reluctantly it must be admitted, holding glowing hands over Alastor with less than stellar enthusiasm. Still, whatever he was doing seemed to have aimed right for the eye socket because that fleshed out quickly enough.

"You two got my contract? From Val? Why? What? I mean, I don't do chicks unless I get paid double, but for this I'm willing to give a discount..." he laughed, semi-hysterical. Which only increased as the chain shattered. His heart was thundering. "What the fuck...?"

The bodies under the hands of so many were shuddering back to life. Clearly more mentally aware than physically at the moment, but that was rapidly changing as the moments wore on.

"...if someone wouldn't mind... getting me a bloody mary... I rather need to flush the taste of... insect from my mouth..." Rosie quips stiltedly, sitting up. "It's like those chalky candies, if they also had a hint of grasshopper. And those wings! I'd rather dust my house with my tongue than do that again."

Husk grumblingly went to grab one now the immediacy of the moment had passed.

"Hmmm, this... feels too much like we're surrounded by bleeding hearts, Rosie dear... so I'm going to hazard a guess we didn't rematerialise anywhere near Susan." Alastor said, sititng up and opening the functional eye warily. "Ah, blast. Do-Gooders. I think I can get us to your emporium if you give me a moment..."

"Noooooo no! Please don't go anywhere you're safe here!" Charlie interjects, having found her voice again as things progressed. "I mean, I'm angry about whatever that was out there and we will be talking about it, but... you're safe here, and I can't believe you managed to free Angel somehow, but there was so much blood so I need you to stop trying to get up or I'm going to have a panic attack!"

"This is, literally, nowhere near the worst thing that has ever happened to either of us, Charlotte dear. Don't worry your pretty head over it." Rosie assured, checking on the tattered state of her attire. "Well, this won't do..." She snaps a new outfit for herself.

Alastor glances down at his own and the ever-present smile is tight. "Ah, yes... one moment, it's quite improper to be seen in such a state of undress." His clothes mend easily over the bandages and fading scars thereunder.

Husk courteously hands Rosie her drink and after a moment of lashing his tail, gave Alastor his preferred Rye. He then had to grab them before either overlord could down them in one gulp, because suddenly Angel was a trembling mess in their arms. Or rather, they were trapped in all six of his.

Rosie reacted with a soothing tone and gentle patting. Alastor appeared to be frozen, like a buffering webpage, before relaxing enough to pat the sobbing creature on the back.

"Oh sugar, I'm pleased our negotiations got you out of that bind but it wasn't just you. All Valentino's stars and a few of the more annoyingly important members of Vox's staff are ours now, to free or renegotiate terms with in whatever way we see fit." She leans in close to share a stage whisper. "We just set you free first 'cause Als fond of you. that's all."

"Don't go giving him ideas, Rosie, he keeps making sexual offers at me as it is." Alastor's tone is mildly strained at that, and she laughs at him. "Oh? Should I perhaps go and tell Rosie you suddenly want to spend time discussing her concerns for town each Tuesday at noon?"

Rosie gasped. "You wouldn't dare, I'd tear you limb from limb!"

"Oh I would, now stop encouraging this emotional... whatever this is and do your soothing thing so he'll let go."

"Pfft, Angel Dust would you mind releasing us? I know you're thinking through a lot in that head of yours but if you show too much affection in Al's direction, he may catch fire. Or, worse, he'll set susan on me." Rosie cajoles, until Angel feels able to transition over to the waiting arms of husk.

"I'm also kinda worried about what Val's gonna do when he reforms... normally if he loses something, or gets caught in public, he takes it out on his contracts." Angel admits. "Sometimes he has bits of you torn off for more fucked up videos, and sometimes he just fuck ya til... til you gotta reform. He can get through a whole studio when he's in a rage."

"Never you mind that, he agreed to our renegotiation and now all the contracts have to be approved through us. New and old, and the first thing we demanded was an enthusiastic consent clause, any attempt to void it will breach contract and we will be forced to eat the fool."

"With the right spices, I'm sure we can bear the indignity." Alastor commisserates.

Charlie squeaks in delight. "Are you saying Valentino can't hurt anyone anymore? His souls?"

"Not unless they give consent, and only until they say stop or revoke it in some way." Alastor shrugs, already mentally thumbing through his cookbooks for the right recipe for the moth. Let's be real, he won't last a week without trying something, and then it will be insect for dinner.

"What started this off?" Vaggie asked, suspicious gaze on Alastor.

"Oh, you will love this Vagatha..." he pauses for dramatic effect. "You did! All of you with your little camera game trying to take a photo, it somehow sent Vox into quite the spiral of jealous rage, and he tried to use drones to 'win'. When that failed, the fool confronted me as I was out on a leisurely walk with Rosie..."

"Right through the entertainment district, huh? What a strange route to take from the hotel to cannibal town." Husk quips at them, not falling for their shit for a moment.

"Indeed, how strange that Vox and his paramour waylaid us as we accidentally moved through their territory." Alastor shrugged, and stiffened as that pulled at more than a few stitches. "Ah well, mistakes were made... like those idiots assuming they could confront us and not be dealt with accordingly! Ha-HAH!"

"Are they going to hurt the hotel?" Lucifer jumps in, glaring at the overlords.

"No, and any anger will be aimed directly at Rosie and myself.The residents are safe..." Alastor replied.

Rosie claps her hands, "Oh in all the excitement I forgot that Vox was forced to promise that any reporting he completes on the hotel or associated residents will be neutral at the least, unless he wants to face reprisal. He was quite put out."

They laugh again, the sound as jovial as it was exhausted.

Charlie seemed to be dealing with a whirring mind. "Wait, that's ah-mayyyyy-zing! But... this was our fault? The game triggered all of..." she gestures at the blood and chaos before her, "THIS?!"

Husk returned the glasses, and both overlords swigged it down to chase away lingering bad tastes. The feline watched them, but merely took the glasses withour an offer to refill. he's not handling drunken, injured overlords whose tolerance was as low right now as their percentage of blood inside their bodies.

"Don't worry about it, dear. Vox would have found any reason at all to confront me, that's just how he is. Have you concluded your game yet, though? I would assume at least one of you has worked out that the distortion field is nullified by circumstances wherein the power is required to heal or manage damage. Hmm? I would..." he paused like the word was acidic, 'trust... that you will not be sharing that with Vox? He would devote his afterlife to ensuring I could never block his view again, the perverted voyeur."

"Of course we won't!" Charlie assures.

"I might, if you keep making short jokes." Lucifer says, just to be contrary.

"Now Alastor are you treating a man of his majesty's stature with anything less than respect? He's going to get short with you." Rosie deadpanned, not quite stiffling her laughter.

Lucifer dragged a hand down his face. "Oh Father, there's two of you..."

He was just preparing to send them to sleep for a little healing nap, and to stop them from mocking him again but that was definitely not the main focus here. Of course not.

When Rosie frowned and put a hand to her temple, swaying into an equally confused Alastor. He was glaring at the bartender... but only momentarily as the pair ffell bonelessly onto the floor again. Dazed and blinking slowly a few more times before succumbing to sleep.

Lucifer grinned at the cat. "You dosed them in their drinks? Devious."

"You ain't never had to deal with how infuriatingly peppy those two get when healing, all manic energy until they collapse in the middle of some important task and things go to shit. Easier to let them sleep it off and regain a bit of power first. Can't recall the last time I had to do that... think I used something in a sinner meat sandwich then, though."

"Alright, can we at least get them somewhere comfortable and safe? I don't like that they're laying back in their own blood again..." Charlie interjects. She has an expression on her face that said she was going to Talk to husk very shortly about drink spiking, even if it was necessary.

Angel, still shuddering with aftershocks of relief and fear and just general Holy Shit I'm Free, bends to collect up the Radio Demon as Lucifer deftly carries Rosie into the staff-only lounge area to set them down.

"What?" Lucifer says, when a few people glance at him in surprise. "Char Char, your mother is taller than Rosie, and I managed to carry her around for millennia with no issue... heck, I could carry both of them if I wanted to. now let's get them clean so we don't ruin the upholstery..."

With a snap the newly conjured clothes and sinner's flesh is wiped free of all traces of grime. Only scars, bandages and bruises remain. Rapidly healing before their eyes.

"Niffty, can you fix the stain by the door?" Niffty?" Vaggie looks all over and the maid is just Gone.

So is the stain.

"How did she do that?" the ex-orcist shuddered.

"That's my secret!" comes a barely-sane sing-song tone from the wall to her left, making Vaggie startle. "I cleaned it real good!"

"That you did, kiddo." Husk agreed, unaffected by the horror movie style situation. "Now come outta there so you can take a nap with Al and Rosie, I know you wanna."

"I can?" she gasps and pops out, heading right for the couches the pair were draped upon. She seemed at a loss, but ultimately picked up Alastor's staff and curled up on Rosie, falling fast asleep with her eye wide open.

"That's terrifying and cute. What the fuck is wrong with me that I think that's sorta sweet?" Vaggie murmured.

"So, you get to sleep on Smiles, or can I take one for the team?" Angel nudges Husk in the side and grins.

Husk rolls his eyes. "If you wanna get eaten, sure. I mean, he'd let me, s'long as I purr at some point, but like niffty I wouldn't go putting pressure on those chest wounds til they healed."

Angel's mouth was open. "He what?! Is it a pressure thing? Cause I am very good at playing weighted blanket... and also, go back to the part where you purr?"

"Let's not. And let's be real, if we need something about Niffty sized, his majesty would be the ideal sacrificial... goat or serpent, I guess."

Charlie seemed to adopt a puzzled, musing expression there as if trying to picture it. Vaggie was clearly doing so and her expression was both amused... and haunted.

Husk grinned maliciously at the King, who was spluttering in horror back at the cat. "I mean, if you want to get technical... sure. But the fight they'd have on Al realising it wasn't Niffty wearing a weird hat for some reason, would be legendary. The hotel might not survive."

"I could get behind that..." Angel murmured, picturing something no one wanted to ask about in detail. "I could get Fat Nuggets though, if you think it'd help?"

"...actually, I think someone volunteered already." Husk replied, amused as KeeKee took the chance to sit on the ever-warm Radio Demon. he only ever pet her in private, of course because the Big Bad Reputation might take a hit if he's seen being kind to animals and not punching crying babies or something.

"Okay, I know he'd hate it, but I really wanna take a photo right now..." Charlie groaned, frustrated at the impulse but t was soooo cute and her drawings never came out quite right.

"And start this mess all over again? No thanks. I've had enough of an emotional rollercoaster today!" Angel jokes back, collpasing into an armchair and only vaguely eyeing the drink husk brings him with suspicion. "Reckon I need someone to sit in my lap and purr for me, yeah?"

He nearly drops the drink when Husk does. In full loaf form.

Alastor's cane crackled to life. "Get the picture. You may never get another chance, my dear!"

Charlie frantically takes a number of rapid-fire shots of the rather serious looking Husker and the truly blessed and slightly dazed Angel Dust.

"Char-Char, today has been ridiculous, I think we should all sit down for an hour and just relax. Sound good?" Lucifer offers, conjuring more plush furniture as his daughter and her girlfriend sink into the softness of a couch. He wiggles between them and wraps his wings around the pair, drawing them in.

"That looks cozy as fuck, I'd be jealous if I didn't have a lapful of gorgeous man." Angel mumbles, half-asleep already. Lucifer realised the rest of them were still a mess and snaps away the remaining blood and grime. "Thanks short king, lemma suck ya-..." it trails off into a soft snore.

"Phew, that could have been weird." Lucifer mumbled, feeling Charlie rest her head on his shoulder and snuggle close. Vaggie tried, but was somewhat stiffer, until he made a rather pointed soft trill that angels shared when roosting with one another. And she settled instantly.

"Okay, maybe sinners aren't all bad... even if they do insane shit that turns out altruistic in the end." He murmurs, looking at the two overlords, who stirred lightly but settled easily enough when Niffty and KeeKee redistributed their weight accordingly.

"...high praise... from a not-too-terrible father..." crackles the cane.

It makes Lucifer laugh, rather than furious. "Oh, coming from you Captain daddy issues?"

Angel murmurs something suspiciously like "...c'n be ya daddy...' before his head lolls.

Lucifer can't contain the snort. "Alright, will you actually go to sleep if I put on one of your radios?"

"...deal, your Majesty."

With a snap, something slow and soft fills the air, coercing the last few eyes to close after such an oddly eventful afternoon. At least it was never boring around here.

---

End

Random idea i had, not meant to be THIS LONG, couldnt work out how to end it, its 1am fml

[shintaru]

Before I die, I'm tryna fuck you, baby Hopefully we don't have no babies | Dom Kang pt.1 part 2, & part 3

Goes with these nsfw head canons

m.list ♡ taglist You and Shelly got stuck with babysitting thanks to her grandfather volunteering her to do so and of course she had to drag you along. Even though your original plans to go shopping with Shelly got postponed for another time due to unforeseen circumstances you don’t mind.

You love kids, you'd like to have some one day. You and Shelly study as the kids you’re babysitting are napping. “Shit I forgot my homework at school” you tell Shelly. “The guys had to stay back with Jay for a meeting with my grandfather because of their last race you can ask Dom if he can bring you your homework” she responds. “Thank you!! You’re a lifesaver” you tell her as you text Dom asking him to bring your homework. He agrees to bring it to you and you tell Shelly.

While you both wait on Dom you continue using Shelly’s homework to study as you both talk. “Do you think my mother in law would approve of me having Jay’s kid?” Shelly asks. You make a semi shocked expression. “First you both need to get married then maybe you can think about the kids” you tell Shelly “I know but you seen how she was when he stayed away from home for a few days it makes me worried that she won’t like me”  she responds pouting with rose colored cheeks “Shelly everyone one likes you, she’s going to love you” you reassure her. Which has her bouncing back to normal. “What about you?” She asks. “Huh what about me?” You ask “well do you want to have kids one day?” She asks “yeah I’d love to have them some day” you respond before Shelly could say anything else Dom walks in and announces he has your homework.

You rush over and hug him, thanking him for bringing it to you. You can’t afford to have another failing grade. Little did you know Dom had overheard your conversation with Shelly about having kids. He’s had a crush on you for ages and thought about you having his kids. So the fact you want to have kids makes him ecstatic. 

Dom can’t get it out of his head the whole time the humming birds make him train for a full week without breaks except to eat and sleep. You and Dom didn’t have the chance to hang out much during this time. 

“The end of the week is finally here”  Dom shouts to Minu happily. Their training sessions with Shelly’s grandfather are finally over. Dom was supposed to go to the mall with you a few days ago but Shelly’s grandfather made them have a meeting about their race saying they needed to train more and made them train right then and there with no exceptions. So to make it up to you Dom decided he would go to your house and surprise you with watching all your favorite movies together. 

Dom walks in on you bent over pulling the stockings up on your lingerie giving him a full view of your ass and pussy .Dom immediately gets hard, you don’t notice him at first still struggling with the garters attached to your stockings. If you were anyone else Dom would leave without mentioning anything to spare the person from embarrassment unless it was one of the boys then he’d laugh seeing them naked or he wouldn’t even think about it but with you he just can’t take his eyes off you.

He takes in the sight of your red lingerie set as you struggle fixing your stockings you had on a thin lace bra on with a mini skirt that conveniently for him does a horrible job at covering anything. 

Especially since you had no underwear on, having your pussy and ass on full display for him. You had matching  stockings that squeezed your thighs just right. He was in a daze when you raised back up to look in the mirror after you get  your lingerie situated. You take a second to admire yourself when you notice Dom in the mirror behind you. Shocked, you try to cover yourself.

Dedicated to @cozyunderworld @samuelseowife

[shadowstep]

Florian found himself back in the last place he expected to be in, Area Zero. While he tries to head back to the surface, he soon realizes that the Paldea that he returned to may not be the one that he had known. And with a certain Pokémon’s powers leading to the return of an old opponent resurfacing and different timelines exposed, he will have to work with old and new friends to return things to normal.

Juliana never expected her life would once again be turned upside-down when all she wanted was to show her friends from Unova a summer vacation in Paldea they would never forget. But life for her had never been normal ever since she started her Pokemon journey. At least she could spend time with her friends by saving Paldea once again from another major threat, alongside the boy she never expected to meet.

All Kieran wanted was to enjoy a wonderful summer vacation exploring Paldea with his friends, thanks to the invitation from the one trainer he had grown to love. But of course fate seemed to side against him. Well, as long as he’s got his most treasured friend by his side, he could overcome any obstacle that stood in his way.

Hello everyone! I've made a new fic, an AU set after the Indigo Disk DLC story with a cross between the Scarlet and Violet universes. Expect a new adventure with Juliana, Florian, the rival characters, along with romantic bonding between specific characters like Dipplinshipping, and lots of timeline shenanigans. Two chapters are currently out right now, but I'm looking forward to expand on this story even further.

If you have any comments or questions about this fic, you can send an ask/message on my tumblr @shadowstep or send a comment through Ao3. I hope you enjoy reading my story if it catches your interest.

[the-desert-beast]

I want to just go insane about my sylvari and their shapeshifter stuff, okay so- The twilight tree is an elonian sylvari tree.

All 9 Firstborn after the death of Primordus gain the ability to shapeshift after completing "in-universe collection acheivs"- basically, their mom has to teach them about what The Fuck Just Happened. Maelgwyn is so so so out of it for like three weeks. The rest of the Firstborn are recovering from the absolute SHOCK of the [ORDEAL] (I have to eleborate another time i dont wanna get distracted also its like a whole thing anyway-) They start with this "collection acheivs" thing and it's just. Long. not difficult or anything. Also I will detail the collection acheivs thing eventually instead of just referring to it like that LMAO The actual shapeshifting is something "adult" twilight tree sylvari have full control over;

they have their humanoid form which is a basic twilight tree sylvari form.

They have the "second form" which is a sort of demi-human design (this is just digigrade peets and a tail)

the third form is also demi-human but it's much MUCH more creature; "horns" more "scales" almost-snouts, digigrade peets, tail etc last and final form is beastie-mode; four legged cryptid cat creature. Full on Monster.

I'm describing these like "tiers" but honestly it's more spectrum-like it's just that it's easier to explain like this.

The common trait of the beastiemode is that they are all ambush predators. cat-like. cryptid. monsters. absolute monsters. Beastie-mode is just a tad shorter than the large cat-like creatures the firstborn use as mounts (more on that another time teehee :3) Each of the firstborn has a unique beastie-mode that goes off their normal Motifs, builds, fighting styles, choice of combat, etc.

Maelgwyn is bulky but agile; he can overpower others with ease. His design is primal, it's like, bestial. It's spiked, his scars are still visible, he LOOKS like a BEAST, a monster.

Kynwyl is much like Maelgwyn but less bulky- still lithe and agile. His design has a dual-blades motif. He's very fast, and tends to overwhelm his opponents; Maelgwyn does this as a humanoid but doesn't really Need to as a beastie. Kynwyl's design keeps his sleek vibes. Keeps his markings. He stays calm he stays focused, he's VERY formidable in beastie mode and a very hard target to pin down. (Also retains his willbender shadowstep abilities. because I say so. <3)

Rhosyn is a monster, absolute beast; muscular and STRONG. Just, barrels into enemies and they all die. (/joking) But she's so goddamn strong and vicious. She can turn FAST and while she's extremely dangerous, she is still Rhosyn. (Berserker-brained, himbo, easily distracted/fucked with in battle.) Her design is very, firey, very berserker-esque.

Faeryl is smaller, FAST, sneaky, retains her mesmer powers in beastie mode (I.E can fucking teleport and just PELT you with a series of smaller attacks very quickly.) She keeps her little, "royal fae" vibes within her design.

Llacheu is, right between Fae & Kynwyl for fighting style. Sleek, fast, hard to pin down, sneak attacks a lot. Very very difficult to account for in group fights. Bastard. Continues to be Bastard in beastiemode. extremely annoying to fight but exceptionally easy to piss off so you can gain the upper-hand.

Evnyssyen's form is SO sleek and clean, colorful, made to escape and to run. He can get herself into SO many little spots and ledges and just. Leave. He's still not to be fucked with when cornered. His magic is kept around even in beastiemode aswell, though it's more like, enchanted claws for an attack bonus. Being an elementalist and all. She keeps her DECORATED eleborate and regal design. So many colors all over her.

Morven is fucking huge. I mean it's already nine feet tall in humanoid form; imagine it in beastiemode. nightmare. fucking huge. It's style of combat in beastiemode is to. Intimidate and scare the shit out of you with it's beloved little companions and it's larger cat-like companion. If you see it's eyes; it's too late for you. Scary and nightmare fuel and just. yeah, terrifying. Morven's design is, shadows. You cannot spot it. it's just. MAXIMUM cryptid.

Cerwyn is. Gigantic. and to paraphrase in a jokey way; his fighting style is "good fucking luck." cerwyn doesnt have a solidified design or motifs yet. and last but not least-

Lynette, who is also, fast, agile, hard to hit, but CLEVER. Pinning her down is extremely difficult, you can barely succeed if ever. Her fighting style includes condition damage; in beastiemode she is venomous, just so fast and violent as well.

Each of them also has their own personal realtionship to the shapeshifting thing.

Maelgwyn fucking despises it he has SO MUCH baggage attached to shapeshifting that he just never addressed.

Cerwyn absolutely loves beastiemode and basically lives in it once the twilight sylvari gain the ability to transform.

Kynwyl enjoys beastiemode and shapeshifting in general a normal amount. It's not anything he's super attached to but it IS fun. and he does feel freer with it as an option. He'd feel like he lost a part of himself if he couldn't shapeshift. (he's also not against using it for nsfw reasons. why tf not honestly. he has the same attitude with his guardian magic tbf. also it is hot to him too. anyway.) The rest of them basically just feel normal about it like it's just a facet of their being and they enjoy using it. Rhosyn & Faeryl really think it's fucking awesome to just. be Creature for awhile. some of them just chill out in a demi-human shapeshifted state. some of them prefer beastiemode. and some like Kynwyl or Maelgwyn prefer daily life be just humanoid mode no shapeshifting. Saplings of the twilight tree are banned from shapeshifting before they can handle the magic-management related to shapeshifting. The ones who break that rule and try to shapeshift anyway have a bit of a moment, go a little bit feral, kind of overstimulated-cat mode. in this state they have to rely on a mentor (kynwyl or cerwyn) to help them calm down and ease out of it. most saplings don't try to shapeshift again for a while. Twilight tree sylvari generally have a favorite shapeshifted state and for most it is humanoid or demi-human but it's not too uncommon to see some of them chilling out at home around their tree in beastiemode.

[raptorix]

Used my Beacon access to buy a ticket for the Live Show next month (Yay!) And also listened to the first 3 episodes of Re-Slayer's Take podcast. :D

Thoughts on Re-Slayer's Take:

Great for newbies who are familiar with but not caught up with all of Critical Role. The GMs spell out more setting unique character descriptions, (What's a Tiefling? What's a Firbolg?) but also reward veterans with references we would know (like Vox Machina's brief run with The Slayer's Take.)

More spoilery thoughts behind the 'Read More'

So this is a far more produced & edited podcast than an actual-play. You're not going to hear out-of-character jokes or discussions about gameplay rules. Fully sound edited & music score.

Did my best to endure the constant squelching noises they used for the Gelatinous Cube encounter in the first episode. Someone recorded extended sessions of playing with slime or slurping on Boba *just* for that foley. DX

As for characters: Good charming cast! They utilize the 'DM PCs & player PCs' play style. One of the DMs plays as Timpani the Firbolg to help guide the story directly, while the other does narration & gameplay, and I think plays as the Goblin sidekick, Poogs.

I think I need to go back and re-listen to the first episode for intros. They don't spell out what classes the characters are playing. D:

I can't for the life of me understand why Farah the half elf (???) uses a gravely voice besides 'She's older.' Guessing from her choice in crossbow she's a ranger, though she might be a blood hunter/ranger build? She's been working as a monster hunter prior to her audition to try and join the Slayer's Take, and seems to be looking for a more consistent employment with them.

Heera Agniheart is possibly an Inquisitor Rogue, since she has a high intelligence & insight ability stats, and used sneak attack and a finesse weapon. Also an ochre yellow tiefling w/ water buffalo style horns. The artwork crops that feature out and I'd love to see a full portrait of that :O

Frog is delightful, and I hope to see more Aeormaton characters in Exandria. To make it easier, lore-wise, she was revived w/ full amnesia & is fully unfamiliar with current day Exandria. But she apparently trained with some Monks first, so gets to be the dodge-tank for the group.

Idrin Shadowstep is a Half Elf/Half Orc (I think of the lineage Matt designated as common in Jrusar) and appears to have a sorcerer lineage of either clockwork soul, or an Exandria-Dunamancy variant of it. He has a special time reversal ability he can use to re-roll his or his party member's failed rolls. Very noble of intentions and the neophyte adventurer.

DM PC Timpani Guff took Matt's Midwestern/Canadian accent he used on Pumat Sol and ran with it. A circle of spores druid who fills in as the party's healer & guide. He's trying to get the Slayer's Take to listen to his observations of an extra-planar force bringing old Slayer's Take monsters back from the dead. But because he's lied about his affiliation with them before, the members wont listen to his warnings. So now he's leading this little adventuring group to investigate this while the Slayer's Take willfully ignores it.

Re-Slayer's Take is a difficult title, IMO. RST might be a good acronym. Maybe shorten it to 'Reslayers'?

It's also all-ages friendly. No curse words!!! Injuries also are not graphic. (PCs get bruises or get knocked out, but nothing deadly.) Stakes are challenging, but like in an action cartoon and not infantilizing. I have listened to another podcast attempt to an all-ages spin-off after the prior story setting was explicit, and they started out with kid-gloves and low stakes that almost put me to sleep. Thankfully Reslayers doesn't go that route. We're playing DnD and we got DnD monsters to fight!

Setting timeline-wise is between The Mighty Nein and Bell's Hells. So maybe if we revisit Issylra in the current campaign, we might see/hear of the Reslayers. We'll have to see later, however, as the Reslayers progress their storyline.

Reblogs with any lore corrections from a re-listen or future Encyclopedia Exandria entries.

[bonefall]

so i translated a few names from a warriors au thing im making into Clanmew and i wanted to share some i really liked! please let me know if i made any mistakes fhsjfsd, i just thought it would be fun

Riverrunner - Ssbasspyrripyrapp (River swift-walk; i couldn't find a translation for "run" lmao. i considered adding "ya" somewhere in there so it would potentially be something like "may you run as swift as the rivers" but it would be way too long HGFJSHF)

Greypaw -> Wolfpaw - Shubpwyr -> Urrbayaopwyr (She changes her name to Wolfpaw part of the way through the story; since "urrn" means stormy-grey i thought it could be some sort of "evolution" from Greypaw if that makes sense? ideally her name means "stormy-gray-large-dog" or something along those lines :,) )

Shadowstep - Washapphass (Shadow walk-quiet; ideally "walks silently in the shadows")

Windweaver - Fofwarra’a (weaves wind-that-changes-pace)

bonus fun fact: shadow, wind, and river are in a poly relationship :D wolfpaw isn't related to them, i just wanted to share her name HGSFJKGDF.

sorry if any of these are wildly incorrect lmao, i discovered this blog yesterday and immediately got obsessed with clanmew lmao. hope you find it neat tho!

I do! Welcome to the fray!! I love the way you've combined multiple words-- I made it so people could translate the two-part names directly, but this is a completely valid way to use Clanmew if you'd like! Great job going ahead and making new words using the contraction system!

If it makes names too long, you can always invoke the way that Clan cats use nicknames. Take part of the prefix and part of the suffix, and combine into a shorter word. "Squirrelflight = Squilf" & "Pishkafsheek = Pishee"

Riverrunner, SSBasspyrripyRApp, could become Ssbra! It could translate as "Rivrun."

Onto vocab,

Just today, I made a word for wolf; Uruoo! You can use that for Wolfpaw if you'd like to make the name more accurate.

It's time for me to make some more words for different types of paces. I currently have one for Gallop which I was using for 'Runner,' but we're going to need some more.

As always these are in past/present/future tense,

Gallop -> Nyoopabar/Nyoopab/Nyoopa This is WindClan's running technique specifically, and almost always the one being used for the 'runner' suffix there. You curl your spine a certain way and maximize the stride.

Sprint -> Fwioonee/Fwioon/Fwioo Running as fast as possible. Breakneck speed. Zoomies.

Running -> Panpeanpe/Panpean/Panpea General running, quickly going somewhere, implies more endurance than Fwioon.

Travel -> Paohaoha/Paohao/Paoha The sort of walking you do while you're going somewhere or looking for something. Walking with purpose. "Seeking." BB!Harespring's Dishonor Title, Darkseeker, was Loerpaohaoha.

Mosey -> Pi'ahiaha/Pi'ahia/Pi'ahi Walked leisurely and without purpose, not seeking anything and not going anywhere in particular. When your cat is standing with their little baby tail up and just meandering about, they're doing a pi'ahia

March -> Hupbhar/Bhar/Hupb An irregular stem, it means to move for a long period of time in tandem with others, usually after being commanded to go somewhere. Bhar/Hupb can be used as a chant to keep pawsteps in perfect sync.

Walk -> Pappap/Pappa/Papp Just walkin'

[msvblight]

Thinking about an idea I had for a modded custom class. "Agent" or "Operative" Based around staying concealed with reduced detection radius (similar to reaper) but with a variety of hacking options or utility options.

So one branch could be "Saboteur" which involves hacking, damage against machines, setting mines/claymores and the remote start ability, and weapon malfunction.

Another would involve them carrying gear. Such as having a free battlescanner and the poison ammo etc

The other branch is about staying in stealth, so all the standard stuff for returning to concealment and whatnot. Maybe also shadowstep

Weapons-wise They'd be pistol and combat knife only. Maybe an optional trait on one of the branches that lets you give them a bulpup

[dasozelotvonnebenan]

6, 15, 25 for Aerana AND the OC(s) currently taking up a lot of space in your mind 👀

I have been thinking about the co-mmanders again, so I'll throw in those when relevant.

6. What combat situation are they better suited for? Can they handle a 1v1 fight or do they prefer to have someone always on their side? How do they deal with larger-scale combat and what's their role in it (frontlines/leading the charge, backline/support, as far from it as possible, etc)? What happens if they are ambushed or outnumbered? Is there any situation that stressed them particularly?

Aerana: Should not be in any combat situation. She gets sick at the sight of blood and can't control her magic at a sufficient strenght. She should be sitting somewhere indoors looking at a holographic projection of the area telling people where to go.

Commander Aluen: Best suited to fight against large groups on her own, simply because she is big and strong enough to take out multiple enemies in one swing. Her real heart is in tactics though, she stays out of fighting unless her strength is really needed.

Commander Wurmslayer: Right at home on the frontlines. Excellent teamwork, very aware of his surroundings and very quick to figure out how the people around him tend to move.

Commander Fenquin: Talented Duellist and as such best in single combat, though don't be surprised when he uses his shadow magic to punch much above his weight in group engagements.

Commander Posh: They consider themselves a scientist and wouldn't seek a fight ever, but of course working for the pact doesn't always give them the freedom to stay away from that. This is their enemies greatest boon, because Posh's portal magic enhanced marksmanship makes them probably the most dangerous of the commanders.

Commander Steelforge: Prefers to work in a group, magically enhancing their weaponry, or tending to the tanks and siege weaponry. Absolutely capable of making a stand on his own too though.

15. How powerful is their magic compared to their peers? How do they feel about it? Is it their limit?

Aerana: Excellent person to ask this about. This is a complicated topic. Aerana has trouble controlling the flow of magic. Even with strong foci she only dares use very weak magic, barely enough to hurt anyone. Anything more, and she simply lets loose at full power until she falls unconscious from exhaustion, often further hurting herself in the process.

Commander Fenquin: Not powerful, but extremely adept at utilising it to it's fullest potentional. A little shadowstepping goes a long way if you know how to integrate it into your fighting.

Commander Posh: Mesmer Collective level powers and the intellect to use them very efficiently.

Commander Steelforge: Averagely powerful, but implemented in an unusual way which makes it hard to compare.

25. Do they use a weapon or magic unique to them/that's not present in-game? If so, how does it work?

Aerana: Uses air magic as a welding tool.

Commander Aluen: Well she is a Vinetooth Prime shaped

Commander Wurmslayer: Still uses weapons while Wolf shaped

Commander Fenquin: Shadowsteps only work in shadows

Commander Posh: Dual Pistols that work kind of like mesmer rifle

Commander Steelforge: Elementalist magic enhanced engineer weapons.

[harukehn]

Unusual muse associations - Harukehn

Tagged by @lyhil ty <3

Seasoning: Cinnamon, ginger, vanilla

Weather: A calm but heavy rain in the aftermath of a storm

Colour: Deep red (thinking about bloodwood sap)

Sky: The darkest part of night, just before dawn

Magical power: Shadowstep/mistwalking

Plant: Lotus... (obvious. but i have read so much about lotus plants recently and there's SO much about the plant that I have incorporated into his biology I should write up some stuff about it. I went hunting down some plants irl for research lmao)

Weapon: Axe

Subject: Creative writing

Social media: Livejournal (he would have 0 followers)

Make-up product: Shimmery gold eyeliner (drawn very thick)

Candy: Liquorice (soft, chewy liquorice. i dont know if thats actually common everywhere else in the world or no? especially the stuff with the sweet white centre)

Fear: Failing others, not living up to expectations... basically, not being seen as Totally Perfectly Capable

Ice cube shape: Large sphere

Method of long distance travel: Skyscale or the Mists

Piece of stationery: An ornate wax letter seal

Three emojis: 🪷🌌♨️

Celestial body: Jewel Box (the star cluster!)

Tagging @commanderthalys and @sunsrefuge! (but of course no pressure ❤️)

[manasurge]

GW2 30 Day Challenge

6. Favourite Elite spec?

(I couldn't find any fancy pics of my own to use, so instead have a couple angles of mirage cloak glitching out and turning the Mirage into an eternal swirling and glowing vortex. These are old screenshots before the Aurene mounts were released as well since I use those for my main) It's... Mirage!! (surprising to absolutely no one who knows me). I just LOVE being invulnerable and hard to hit, plus all the mobility that comes with the spec and the SUPER fast gameplay (I love very fast inputs and reactions, which makes playing slower classes difficult for me bc I'm impatient and spam click abilities lkdjflsf). Being able to jaunt/blink everywhere, shadowstep, clone+phantasm distractions, and evasion hax dodging (mirage cloak my beloved) made dodging part of my rotation, making me really dumb with a lot of other classes bc I instinctively want to dodge all the time due to muscle memory. Also fun fact: Mirage/Mesmer was the first spec that I used a 80-boost on, and I was able to learn it just fine! (and even became my favourite!) so boosting a class to learn it is totally okay in my opinion!! Just do cozy open world map comp to ease your way into it and it'll be cherry!

Granted I also don't exactly play the class as intended. While I have 3 builds for her (guess I should say my main, Vespaura), I tend to just use her power build (since Mirage is moreso meant for Condi and boons or w/e, which I have builds for and also never use lol). I think this build I like to use was originally made for the Labyrinth (tagging everything with GS), but I tweaked it a bit with other preferences since it has pretty good survivability and is an absolute monster when I attack huge groups of mobs (Greatsword lasers are the best invention and it NEVER gets old. Also the amount of laser ricochet gets me pretty high damage and looks absolutely bonkers on my side (what a lightshow!), plus my lasers are HOMING lasers, which means they will automatically hit any enemies in the vicinity around me and helps out if I don't notice them from a different angle, allowing me to re-orient myself. I also don't have to worry too too much about aim bc of this too! (oh yeah, and especially with relics being a thing now. Mabon relic has been pretty neat so far cuz I can take advantage of that boost being used to hit all those targets!). Though power GS does fall a bit against single targets, but that's fine! (I sort of have the daggers for that at least!). I also play with a trackpad, which is a funny thing to tell ppl, especially when playing a class like Mirage, lol. I just hate using a mouse and only have it for certain games that force me to use it. I just don't want carpel tunnel and my wrist is more relaxed this way (never had problems! so far at least). I just love playing at ranged with non-ranged weapons (Greatswords, daggers. Mine actually has all 3 types of blades (very lesbian of her) bc she has a sword as well. I literally gave her both of Caithe's weapons askjflfj. I'm so glad that I can give my Mirage daggers now!! much more fun than another sword/axe!). It's just so much fun, and I CAN'T WAIT to see what rifle is gonna be like!! I just love ranged classes bc stacking ALWAYS gets me killed constantly... so yeah I'm the annoying person who doesn't like stacking bc I'd rather not be dead!!!!! (I'm sorry I just HATE stacking. I can't see SHIT and it's just so much visual noise for me!! let me breathe!!) and plus I revive everyone in fights thanks to invulnerabilities allowing me to rez through attacks. You're welcome!!! (I rez so many people during metas and other fights) I also just love Mesmer in a class in general bc it's unique in comparison to a lot of other fantasy classes, and I just adore the concept and the aesthetics (flamboyant fancy dramatic magic user? HELL YEAH. Literally the gayest magic user ever and I'm eating it up). I also love the ability to make clones and all the pretty butterflies, and phantasms and all that! I know a lot of ppl don't like clones/phantasms, but they save my ass every time and I appreciate them very much.

[call-me-shadowborn]

Well, these random inked smokes are a result of a bargain with Jeele who is the leader of the aeterna minstrel group (running with the name "Messengers of Fate") not far from Giliad. (More about the guy later, because, oh boy, he is special in my fanfiction :D) To put it simply, she received an extra treat by a ritual, which is basically an inking process mixed with an enchantment. This allows her to "Ghostwalk", or "Mistwalk", or "Shadowstep" (or how the fancy fuckever I wanna call it, still don't know xD). Can't really articulate how it should look like, I'm really bad at this. xD The closest thing i've found that somehow illustrates the thing is: https://geektyrant.com/news/amazing-animated-cinematic-to-the-dd-game-neverwinter Actually it was based on the Ghostwalk ability of Enderal. I just changed the visual effects into black smoke. So maybe for the sake of consistency, I'll call it just like that :D On the flip side, it drains her "magical resources" (which is not much to begin with) and increases blood pressure (nose bleeding when severe) and "arcane fever" (=headaches, dizzyness, nausea) soon after the effect wears off. So she has to use it wisely. Similar to the arcane fever, that can moderately improved by Ambrosia; according to Jeele, the symptoms can be improved by Rhodiola potions. Heck, Maybe i'm gonna have to draw how Rhodiola potions look like - cuz it's rare. She has to make herself, because those are illegal in the Middlerealm white markets. :D

[meeeeeeese]

Time to introduce my Thief: Captain 'Powderkeg' Rowan, ship captain, pirate hunter and former slave.

Rowan's origin is a bit of a mystery, even to himself, as he was kidnapped in a pirate raid at a young age and forced into slavery aboard one of the pirate fleets menacing the sea of sorrows. Due to the young age at which he was taken and the trauma associated with the event he has little memory of his parents, his home or even his last name. He was branded with a slave tattoo and forced into hard labour, doing whatever the pirates didn't feel like doing themselves. His early years were hard, but they would have been a lot harder had it not been for the ships quartermaster, an aged norn woman who was always kind to him, let him take his time cleaning storerooms and pretending not to notice when he pinched some extra food.

One day when he was ordered to once again clean the gunpowder storage, the quartermaster locked the door behind her and said "from today on, rough seas will spill several barrels of gunpowder, and you be cleaning them, every day. That's what you'll say if anyone asks you why you're spending so much time in here." Before he could respond she threw a dagger at his feet before exclaiming "come on, attack! Show me what you can do!". She began to train him, spending an hour every day showing him how to fight in the ways of the thief. Several years passed, and he spent every moment that no one was looking to practice the moves he'd been taught. With each training session he began to feel more confident, more defiant, less accepting of his lot in life and soon, he began to dream of freedom from the ship that he'd been confined to for so long.

However, as he was first starting to dream up a potential plan of escape he was woken up in the middle of the night by his mentor, dressed differently than usual, instead of her usual loose fabrics she was clad in tight leather, the lower half of her face hidden by a mask. She knelt down and spoke. "Don't say anything, no one can know this talk happened." She sighed, " Rowan, I have to go away now, I wish I could have spent more time teaching you but it seems that time is something I'm in short supply of right now. Listen to me, you're going to escape this life of slavery, you're more than capable of it. When you do, head to Lion's Arch, theres an apple seller there. Show him this" and she placed a small seal next to his head, "and he'll be able to help you." She got up to leave, paused, and briefly turned back to place a dagger next to the seal "may snow leopard guide you" then she turned away, muttered something under her breath, and shadowstepped away.

The seal had a symbol of three linked circles emblazoned apon it. Rowan didn't know it yet, but it was the symbol of the order of whispers. The following morning the ship was abuzz with rumours that the ships quartermaster had absconded with several pieces of Orrian treasure. Luckily, no one paid attention to the slave boy swabbing the decks and, taking her words to heart, he started to develop a plan to escape. He struck while the pirate were in port, with a sit of stolen lockpicks he broke into the gunpowder storage, and lit the fuse before booking it off the ship, the pirates didn't spend much time chasing him before they were distracted by a massive hole being blasted in their ship.

He did as the quatermaster instructed, seeking out the apple seller ,learning about the order of whispers and finding out that he was trained by one of their covert agents. He spent some time working with them, enjoying his new life as a free man and building up wealth to buy his own ship, because while he got one ship, there were entire fleets of pirates looting, pillaging and enslaving others just like him. When he had enough money, he left active duty in the order to buy a ship and hire a small crew, becoming a privateer focused on taking up bounties on notorious pirates.

While happy with his crew and adventurous life, he still wishes he could discover where he comes from, meet his parents or at least learn about them. Most of all, he wants to find his mentor again to thank her, as the order wasn't keen on disclosing the status of agents without an active need to know.