mistfallengw2 - Tumblr blog

[mistfallengw2]

Ask game idea! Have your followers send you NPCs and you describe your OC's feelings/relationship to that NPC!

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Let's see if I can get myself to go to the party this time around, else I'll have to wait till the July one x_x

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Well, I had more than a whole day of sleep-deprived, horror-fueled brainrot on the Gyala Delve stuff for the Commander!Tocchix AU, and now the docs file has doubled in size.

Hey, at least this is helping me get some re-training in writing complex stuff :')

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when you spot someone’s toon you recognise from gw2 tumblr in game

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... I mean, I do kinda see the resemblance with Lord Vanquish... long lost brother or is Cerus actually a gamer? 🤔

... huh.

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... huh.

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being mentally ill about your ocs, is waiting for someone to read your mind and ask about the 457643235 ideas that even you don’t know about

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anet. anet look at me. release the npc outfits.

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The fave lil' tidbit of change in the AU is that Tocchix is taller and physically stronger due to the influence of magic. Like, five cm taller and barely buffer, and since it happened mostly in quick bursts (after Mordry's and Kralk's deaths) no one really noticed. Still, more than enough to throw Iotta for a loop when she's back in the picture.

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The AU brainrot continues and I've been eyeing the Dragon's Watch Regalia, True Assassin and Wandering Weapon Master outfits for Tocchix's look... but all of them have something I don't vibe with (too pointy, too non-protective, too bulky).

Oh to have more medium chest pieces that fit a daredevil 😔

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Height gap romance except the shorter one is frequently depicted in situations where they are contextually taller. The taller one sitting while the shorter one looms over them. Both of them lying in bed with the taller one’s head pressed to the shorter one’s chest. The shorter one straddling the taller one’s lap and leaning down for a kiss. The taller one on their knees as the shorter one tilts their head up. Please, it makes me go feral

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Insomnia is getting bad again, but I'm sure fighting it by writing self-indulgent AU stuff of my OCs will fix me.

Right?

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Goodbye

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Really love this page I did for @adurolobe 😭featuring Jaehm (who belongs to him) and Yitu (who belongs to me!)

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old man hours 🦂 (aka outfit simplification, color palettes, and naps)

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At long last, I can post the finished art! I had been sitting on it for some weeks, waiting for the inspiration to hit to write a short piece to accompany it. Definitely recommend full viewing.

oOo ----------------------------------------------------- oOo

Glittering motes of dust hung suspended in waning late afternoon light shining through the skylights. The upper levels of the City-Beneath-The-Cube were lighter and airier than outsiders realized, but the walls, planters and walkways of planed and etched stone that went down many stories made the whole of the place feel like some kind of precision-wrought canyon dotted with workshops, passages and arcades where the locals and laborers bustled.

(continued under the cut)

Lorr still knew this place well, despite the many years separating his former life and younger self from his current one. It hadn’t changed much, the smells and the noise were the same but he noted that there were new, more effective safety railings in the Public Commons and that the local favorite dive, Pi’s had updated their signage (finally).

The bounty hunter rubbed a hand across his face, closing his eyes momentarily as he let his ears take over, picking up all the sounds surrounding him. He would need to move further away from the Commons to better filter the urban background static. Lorr had just sent out his hawk Deputy to scope out the area in case they got lucky and found their mark momentarily out in the open. Both he and Deputy were already familiar with her, so that wouldn’t be difficult. Problem was, it also meant she’d immediately recognize the hawk for who he was and what it meant as well. A part of Lorr secretly hoped she’d get tipped off early.

Why did I agree to this? It wasn’t the money, not this time. Am I trying to make a point? She nearly got us killed and then ran for it. But I know her. Knew her. I can’t just erase all this history just because of one incident, one indiscretion can I? Maybe this is how I have to get through to her.

He sighed inwardly and braced against his spear as he rose from a crouch, the movement preternaturally smooth and deliberate, like a predatory animal. He looked down from his high vantage as he faced the section of the Undercube that was known to the denizens as the Plexus. It was a network of tunnels, access ‘ports, antechambers, quarries and dwellings that confounded natural senses of direction. Less public-facing, much more closed in and easier to hide. Or lose a pursuer.

The slim asura made his way down the ledge he was using to survey, walking along a catwalk only just wide enough to admit a mid-sized labor golem at most. His ears twitched and he sniffed, feeling the minute air currents of a service tunnel cleverly tucked behind a cleft in the worked stone. Still not certain this was were his mark had proceeded but knowing it would get him into the center of the Plexus quicker, he decided to go for it anyway. Forced to stow his spear in such close quarters, he kept a hand on his dagger as he stalked forward into the passage, the inside only dimly lit by a track of dim yellow quartz-lights along the floor.

Infrared imaging on his monocle made it easy for him to get an idea of the topography of the inner workings of the maze of service tunnels he found himself in, but he was careful to not rely on it solely. He stopped every so often, using his eyes and ears but also a generous amount of intuition to pick the correct course. Chambers became somewhat larger and more spacious as he passed golem foundries, making his way steadily downward. He was becoming more aware that he knew where he was going, it was like retracing steps from his childhood back to the colorful yet rundown living warrens and slums that he grew up in.

She wouldn’t go all the way back there, would she? Lorr was starting to think it wasn’t just him that was trying to make some kind of point.

The smells and noise were subtly changing and it wasn’t long before he found himself in the center of the Plexus. Part bazaar, part manufactory, it acted as the working class nerve center and was a riot of activity, industrial clamor and smells.

He was certain of where he was going now. He didn’t know why exactly she came all the way down here where they had all met in the early days before the nonsense with the Whispers and fighting dragons happened, but he was determined to find where this chase ended. He’d get answers, and if it meant having to fail his mission and come back to his current boss empty handed, then so be it.

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Full Inquest (or former Inquest) ask game for Iotta

(under cut because it got pretty long oops)

1, 5 and 7 answered here, 12 answered here

2. How well do they get along with their coworkers and superiors?

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All in all, not great, but she is feared and respected, so that's good in her book.

The only person she willingly spends time with is her mentor and direct superior Xud, though their relationship is pretty cold and based on mutual trust. She's able to navigate the social part of her job with cold diplomacy (and the right amount of veiled threats), but she can't stand most people, be it the rest of his team or anyone else in the immediate vicinity.

She is cursed with having to deal with Kedd on a nearly-daily basis, who is the official leader of Xud's team and, crucially, his nephew. They go way back, much to her dismay. They've always been the thorn in each other's side, and he never recovered from the fact that she's Xud's favorite and better than him in any way.

3. How and why did they join in the first place?

Her parents (Zekr and Xillo) were both researchers in the Inquest and entered a contract of convenience after they were assigned to the same krewe. When Iotta "happened", they only saw her as someone who could continue their research, but within a few years she turned into their biggest disappointment. She was a talented progeny with a bright mind, yet she became a "rowdy brat" from the moment she had manifested necromantic powers at a very young age, preferring to "fool around with magic instead of doing as she was told".

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When Xud got wind of this skilled progeny and the drama surrounding her during an assignment at the base they were stationed at, he immediately saw the potential in her and offered her parents a chance to train their daughter for something great.

Iotta didn't really have a say in the matter, since her parents had agreed to it without even asking her, but Xud insisted on talking to her as well.

Initially she was diffident and a little scared, then eagerly agreed to it after that high-ranking operative praised her for her magic and promised to teach her more of it. He was the first adult to care enough to recognize her skills, and he had her full trust from that moment, becoming a sort of father-figure to her.

4. What would be the final straw that would convince them to (attempt to) leave?

Iotta was in fact considering leaving after a series of "final straws" chipped away at her for months, but she died before having the chance to do so.

The first pile of straws was what happened in Rata Arcanum, which did a number on her between the nearly-successful (mostly accidental) attempt on her life and the conversation with her ex-partner immediately prior to that, plus the weeks of rest and recovery that allowed her to extensively stew on it and what she had left behind.

Another big straw was the fact that her job in Rata Primus was the opposite of what she wanted to do, but she had to do it well now that it was her duty and Xud had trust in her. Besides, Xud wanted her there for her safety after that attempt, so she couldn't say "no" without a valid reason.

The straw that made her consider leaving was Xud's underreaction to (the completely accidental) Kedd's death a few months later. He was never a warm and emotive man, but he always cared for his nephew even as his behavior changed in the prior months, and yet when she delivered the news he just accepted his death like nothing.

That was the moment when something in Iotta's mind snapped, but she was stuck in a demanding position in Rata Primus (on an island in buttfuck nowhere near Elona), and that made leaving the base pretty much impossible, let alone finding the chance to slip away unnoticed.

-

Final straw was being left to die when Rata Primus was invaded by the awakened not too long afterwards, when Xud closed the portal instead of sending reinforcements to get her and what was left of his team to safety. Too bad it was too late for her.

(and that's what the AUs are for)

6. What would they be doing if they had never joined?

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Her parents were already in the Inquest, so her path was marked one way or the other, but running away from home was a possibility she was heavily considering before Xud showed up.

Had she done it and gotten picked up by someone not as shitty, she would have still picked a path that included the use of magic and getting her hands dirty, with the difference that she could have maybe considered doing something research-related from time to time. For sure she would have been less of an emotionally tangled mess, though still a tad constipated.

8. How valuable (/replaceable) of an employee are they?

Iotta is a valuable operative, skilled in spywork, combat and magic, so that makes her a valuable asset to be thrown around. The Inquest's higher-ups never had much negative to say about her, and even granted her lots of lenience during her undercover mission.

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Now, is she replaceable? Xud often said that she's not while still lowkey threatening the possibility, but she was sure her being always excellent would have kept her around no matter what.

I mean, she's the third "right hand" of his. Sure, he never stopped looking for prospect substitutes, but it makes sense due to their line of work. After all, he kept Vihhu as his long-time secretary even after she ended up partially blind and unfit for fieldwork, and as long as she didn't die as his sister did before she was even around... Too bad that didn't stop him from leaving her behind when he feared for his skin.

9. Current Inquest agents: Their least favorite aspect of their job. Former agents: Parts they miss.

Having to deal with people in general, and the paperwork.

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Bonus: Former agent (AUs!Iotta)

She misses the perks of being in the top part of the food chain in the security department and being the pupil of one of the most feared security officers, especially in Rata Primus: access to personal quarters and a variety of comforts depending on the base of operations, relative freedom of doing as she pleased, deference of subordinates and most researchers who feared getting on her bad side...

10. What do they do outside of work?

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Nothing, really, aside from maybe more work?

Xud kept her close at all times and strongly encouraged her not to leave the safety of the Inquest, as it was a fair assumption that the Order had it out for her, and she preferred to keep busy with work, wanting to prove to him at all chances that she was more than worthy of being his second. Due to that, the only "hobby" of hers is enjoying her time off by finding the most secluded spot available and stay there by herself.

After what happened in Rata Arcanum, she was spotted being lost in thought while staring at a pretty dagger she had since returning from her mission, but that can't really be considered a pastime.

11. What are/were their long-term goals in regards to being a part of the Inquest? Becoming an Overseer? Performing an otherwise banned experiment? Or just surviving?"

Obtaining as much power and recognition as possible" is what she believes, but really? She is just loyal to Xud and wants to make sure he is safe and proud of her, so she followed in his steps, even though the sudden turn to administrative work in the higher ranks is the opposite of what she trained and loved to do.

During the months in Rata Primus, she tentatively wished to become his equal in position, but the cracks were already deep at that point.