#temporary wearer

[j-fashion-wearer-otd]

Today's temporary J-fashion wearer is the Digital Stars Miku and Gumi version of Hatsune Miku! She wears uchuu kei with some girly kei elements!

[uncanny-tranny]

You know, I think many people understand the idea that disability can be a social problem, even construct, in that as more visibility man lead to more accommodations and even educate (regardless of accuracy), but not that disability can still disable regardless of society. Many people understand the idea of a social construct so long as there is still a consise understanding of the social construct, with little wriggle room for nuance and discussion.

[randomtable]

a table of odd magic items that may or may not be useful

“…the GM will only tell you something interesting—it’s on you to make it useful.” — Dungeon World

1d20 Magical Items of Mild Utility

A doorknob that can be easily affixed to any door by simply holding it on for about thirty seconds. Once affixed, it permanently transforms into an ordinary doorknob and lock, to which you have the key.

The Shaker of Infinite Salt

A pencil that significantly improves the user’s penmanship when writing with it.

An orb containing a very small pocket dimension, into which one can transfer their familiar so that it may safely rest.

A palm-sized stone figurine of a shark, which will bite any fingers that come near its mouth.

Self-Fluffing Pillow

Watch that shows you what time it was the last time you looked at the watch, instead of what time it is now.

Piece of string that, when tied around your finger, actually helps you remember to do that thing.

Temporary Scissors: They can only cut the normal things you’d expect from a pair of scissors, but if you hold the cut pieces together tightly they will magically re-form into a whole, as though they’d never been cut.

Robes that make the wearer an inch or so taller.

Magic Eraser (erases pencil, ink and crayon!)

Hand-sized stone that, when thrown, always lands 5 feet in front of your intended target—whether your aim is perfect or abysmal.

A bucket that transforms any liquid poured into it into seawater.

A bar of soap that temporarily changes the color of anything washed with it. The color is random, and changes each time the bar is used (1d6: 1: Red, 2: Orange, 3: Yellow, 4: Green, 5: Blue, 6: Purple). The color lasts one day.

Goggles of Shrimp-Color Vision

A ring with a single very round stone. When you say the magic word the stone pops out and transforms into a bowling ball. It turns back into a small stone after 2d4 hours and must be manually returned to the ring before it can be used again.

Boots that produce an animal sound of your choice when you jump up and do a jaunty little bell-kick while wearing them.

A small glass bottle that, when filled with water, appears instead to be full of a swirling, shimmering potion.

A quiet trumpet.

A knife that can only cut sandwiches. It is up to the GM’s discretion what does and does not count as a sandwich for this enchantment, but the rules are consistent.

[astrobolical]

What In “Hell” Is Bad - Limited L-Grade Banner “Guide”

Note: Now available on android as well! Unsure of any differences. I may go through and update this later with images from my phone rather than my iPad.

Looking for other guides? Check out my WHB Guide List!

Okay… not sure where to start with this one other than it’ll be nice and short. However, this is the first guide I’ve made that I hope I get to change quickly.

To start though; new L-Grade Devils to pull, and pretty, blood-covered versions of Leviathan and Beelzebub. I currently do not have them, however, so I will be unable to show their skill/ultimates at all. I’m not willing to pay for it, though, despite that I do spend money on this game… but yeah.

What’s this all about?

PrettyBusy has given us a brand new temporary banner to showcase their new devils and artifacts, basically. (With some added drama, but we’ll get to that.)

Get Leviathan (Bloodshed) or Beelzebub (Bloodshed) guaranteed within 220 pulls.

Use the new item “Solomon’s Seal” to pull (50 Rings for 1 Pull, 500 for 10 pulls)

DO NOT pull on the standard banners for these devils! Right now they’re only available on this one

The pity (220) is absurdly high, and I’ll get to why soon

You can also get two new artifacts from this new banner.

Wing-ripping Sword

“The wearer’s HP and ATK SPD increases by 20%. If equipped on Leviathan (Bloodshed), has a 30.00% chance of immediately killing the enemy with under 15% HP he hits with a normal attack.”

Cracked Sunglasses

“Upon an accurate hitting of a normal attack, recovers as much HP as 4.00% of HP of the wearer. If equipped on Beelzebub (Bloodshed), recovers 100% HP upon using skill.”

Both really good artifacts! Especially for the new devils. If you have the seals for it all.

What? What’s Solomon’s Seal?

This is the unfortunate part— and it wasn’t properly communicated from PrettyBusy. We knew the new currency was coming, but not the means to get it.

This is only purchasable with real money.

There is four purchasing options, and none of them seem overly well priced? Let’s go over that though. We get 50 Seals for the update (1 Pull).

Prices for Solomon’s Seal Packages:

241 Seals - $11.99 (4 Pulls)

717 Seals - $49.95 (14 Pulls)

1,312 Seals -$59.99 (26 Pulls)

2,200 Seals - $99.90 (44 Pulls)

Just looking at them, it’s like… okay? But thinking about the pity, and the 0.63% chance to draw an L-Grade from the temporary banner, it’s not great.

Assuming you don’t get lucky, and you go all the way to 220?

You would need to buy the $99.90 package around 5 times. Which is ~$500. Being real, you’ll usually get them before pity, but there’s four things to get through this banner if you want everything. That’s a lot of chance.

Why is this not good, though?

Because there is no free-to-play alternative.

These seals are only obtainable in the shop, as I said before. It’s not the first game to do this, and won’t be the last. It’s not the end of the world, either. But it’s not great or motivating to the ftp players or community. I’m not going to keep ragging on this, though.

If you have an issue with this, contact PrettyBusy POLITELY. Not with anger, or profanity. Be nice.

So… I can’t get them?

You can!

Just not now, unless they change how this works. When this banner is over (Nov 14, 2023) they’ll be added to the Standard Banner to pull like all the rest.

Oh! There is one more thing to add!

Story Prologues

On the bottom left of the banners you’ll find story prologues you can read to get an idea of why the boys are bloodied up. Just click the circular icon of the one you want to read!

[deadlysoupy]

Who You Used to Be (We Want to Know You)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Characters: Bumblebee (Transformers), Twitch Malto, Thrash Malto, Nightshade Malto, Hashtag Malto, Jawbreaker Malto Tags: Angst, Self-Worth Issues, Temporary Character Death, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Cybertronian Civil War, Time Travel, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

Bumblebee never discloses his past to the Terrans. Why should he? He is the adult here, and the kids have enough on their tiny shoulders to carry, destinies and spark bonds to keep them busy.

But when Nightshade invents a device set to transport the wearer into their happiest moment, the Maltos travel to Cybertron via Bumblebee’s memories, not expecting to experience scout’s life from the outside. As their helmets start to malfunction, the kids are forced to relive Bumblebee’s worst (and best) memories alongside him.

Through hardships and pain, the Terrans convince Bumblebee they want him to come out of hiding and share his stories. After all - he's part of their family too.

[arctic-shard]

scp-012 causes whoever saw it to continue the notes using their own blood and if that person were to finish a section of the sheet, the person will kill themself declaring the piece is impossible to finish, I just thought it would be interesting gift for the Yellow Lord.

Bumping this up the queue because the furnace is broken and my office is too cold to work in, so drawing is out for now ( I can set my laptop up anywhere, but hauling out the peripheries like the scanner is Too Much Effort and I have no space for it in my temporary workspace. ) But I can write, and while I could just do a little illustration for this, the idea intrigues me too much to leave it at that anyway.

Dunno how old you are @randomlbirdo, so here's the warnings: No sex happens but there's a couple mentions of Odious as a sexually-active being. Self-harm, sort of, does it count when you're not doing it to hurt yourself, you just need to feed blood to a cursed artefact?

----------

The Unending Crescendo

The Yellow Lord Odious has an anomalous object stolen from the Foundation. It can resist the curse, but it can't resist a challenge …

---

The Lords of Alagadda, much as they considered Earth a backwater world, still kept an eye on it with their agents and cults. It was a wild place, full of emotion and stories and creativity and Alagaddans craved those things.

The Earth also contained the SCP Foundation - not a threat, but something to keep tabs on. The Foundation meddled with Alagadda occasionally, which was what initially drew the attention of the lords, but what kept their attention were the artefacts the Foundation had hidden away in storage. In their attempt to keep anomalies out of the hands of their fellow humans, the Foundation had gathered them up into convenient boxes that a determined Alagaddan Lord could borrow whenever it pleased.

There were ways to smuggle things in and out of Alagadda unchanged. They involved complicated alchemical wards and rituals, but it was doable.

This was not what the Yellow Lord, Wearer of the Odious Mask, was thinking about at the moment. It had put such plans into action weeks ago. It was busy in its study, sketching out musical notes as it played them - primary hands on the violin, secondary to write. The wastebasket nearby was overflowing with torn and crumpled sheets. Aside from the desk, the room contained dozens of musical instruments, including the organ it used for practice. The grand pipe organ of il Palazzo dell'Ira was in the audience hall.

Odious snarled as a knock on the door distracted it. Not that it was making any more progress than usual, but what if this time the notes were correct? It set down the violin with uncharacteristic gentleness, crumpled the sheet and threw it in the general vicinity of the wastebasket, then stalked to the door and flung it open.

A servant stood there, struggling with the weight of a gold case covered in alchemical symbols and the Yellow Lord's brand. The servant tried to lift the case to present it, but the gold was too heavy. "My Lord, I have the artefact. But do be careful with it."

The servant flinched under Odious' glare, the Yellow Lord not deigning to answer vocally. How dare this lesser being be concerned for it and not hateful? Odious was no apprentice alchemist who needed warnings, Odious was one of the great powers of Alagadda. But it did note how reluctantly the servant parted with the case, not because it wanted to protect Odious but because the artefact inside pulled at it. Odious had prepared for that - once the case was locked, only Odious could open it again, protecting its lessers from the artefact's curse. Odious needed the servant alive to deliver it, after all.

Odious chased the servant away, locked the door, and set the gold case on its desk.

It was one of the contradictions of Alagadda that Alagaddans were not themselves creative. The Humours were muses, sparking creativity in lesser beings but incapable of true creation themselves. Mirth was too stupid to care about this and Diligence even seemed to prefer copying, but Odious was different. Its role to be discontented, and one of those sources of discontent was that it was unable to compose its own music. Every time it tried, it only heard other composers - not mere influences but the core of the work. Nothing in its own compositions was Odious.

Deep in its twisted heart, Odious longed to be heard. Perhaps the only one who truly knew Odious was the Hanged King itself as it plundered Odious' mind for new sensations. But did the King really know it? Was it only interested in the hate Odious was created for and ignored its soul?

Odious could scream and use telepathy and fuck and torture, but these were all crude methods of communication compared to music. Music was pure. If Odious could just compose something of its very own, if it could write its Self in musical notation, maybe it would finally reach someone. Maybe someone would finally understand.

Maybe the King would be proud.

Millennia of failure had left it desperate enough to dabble in unknown magic. It drew a key from one of its pockets, licked the teeth to coat them in its bile, and opened the gold case.

Inside was a single sheet of music, penned in blood.

Perhaps it would accept Alagaddan ichor as a suitable ink.

Odious could feel the pull of the artefact. The page wanted blood. Odious denied it for now - no mere artefact could usurp the will of a Humour. Instead it set it on the desk. It hummed the melody as it read the score.

An interesting piece. Bold and jarring, but Odious quickly determined that this artefact wouldn't solve its problem. The score didn't change with each new blood donor, the music was using the blood to complete itself. Odious could add nothing to it but ink.

Odious lifted a hand to rip the paper to shreds in frustration, but changed its aim at the last instant to tear scratches in the table. It had put in an effort to claim this artefact. It would be more of a waste to destroy it immediately. Perhaps Odious could figure out the mechanism of it, to craft a page that it could wring out its heart over and write its own soul.

The melody had intrigued it. How would it sound with more parts played? Music was the purest language, playing the score would help Odious understand the artefact. It set the page on a music stand, settled itself beside the organ, and picked up the violin again.

Odious played perfectly. It always did. It had a passion for instrumental music from its awakening and had practiced for millennia. Two hands for the violin. Six on the organ - it didn't need to look at it to hit every note and pull every stop correctly.

The music was a discordant cacophony, mere noise to someone without Odious' experience. There was something in it, a pattern just at the edge of understanding. And the music just kept building. It shouldn't have been possible - a crescendo can't build forever, there needs to be a release or at least lessening of tension, but it never came. The single page somehow held thousands of lines of music, and the music swelled and built up and up for hours, frustrating and leaving Odious desperate for a conclusion, like an orgasm that just wouldn't come off …

The score ended so abruptly that for an instant Odious thought it had died. But it couldn't be dead, it had been dead before and its dead husk's hearts didn't hammer like this, its lungs didn't heave like this when it was dead. With shaking hands, it lowered its violin.

The violin had a chin rest made of Alagaddan porcelain-chitin, one of the few substances that Odious' bile couldn't destroy. It hadn't helped - Odious had leaked so much from its eyes and mouth that the bile had overflowed and scorched the instrument. Odious threw it aside and glared down at the music sheet.

"Where are you going with this? How do you end?" it hissed, taking the glove off one of its secondary hands and slicing the soft palm open with a talon. Thick, black ichor dripped onto the page and formed more notes.

Odious read the new lines. No conclusion, just more build-up. But it had to be near a resolution. It had to end. Odious ruptured some inner chambers in its body to send more ichor out of the wound.

The notes continued to form.

Odious wasn't going to let a piece of paper defeat it.

It picked up a new violin and readied itself beside the organ. There was no place to start from but the beginning - to begin in the middle would be an insult to the piece.

Odious could focus on regenerating its ichor to drip on the page and play the violin and play the organ. And, just to show the page who held the power, it sang the melody as well, a sharp, wordless soprano. It was the greatest musician in Alagadda, in all the lands of the Nevermeant, possibly even the multiverse. It was going to play the piece perfectly and to the end.

Hours later it reached the part written in its own ichor and kept playing. Odious was going to make it to the end. It was going to find the conclusion.

---

Odious woke up stiff and aching, staring up at the ceiling of its study. It tried to strech but couldn't move.

Finally awake, my lord?

The Ambassador. Odious managed to turn its head to find the hateful creature delicately unfolding the crumpled balls of paper from the wastebasket. It had no face, but Odious knew it was sneering at its attempts at writing music. Odious flexed its arms, recognising the feel of rope around them. "What are you doing here?"

Amusing myself by reading your pitiful efforts to create, my lord.

"Fuck you. You interrupted my practice."

The Ambassador huffed. Practice? You allowed yourself to be possessed by a mere artefact. I had to bind you to pry you away from it, all while you screamed that you had to finish the song.

While the Ambassador prattled, Odious managed to curl around to drip bile on some of the ropes to burn them away. With a few arms free, it began untying itself. "Where is the cursed music sheet?"

Back where your stooge took it from.

Perhaps the artefact was more dangerous than Odious had given it credit for, if the Ambassador itself had deigned to remove it from Alagadda. It was the humans' problem again. "What do you care what I do?"

I do not.

Which meant that it had been ordered. Which meant that the Hanged King had sensed something wrong with Odious and sent its servant to sort things out -

Odious' thoughts were interrupted by the Ambassador's laughter. Is that sentiment I sense in you, my lord? Does the Seething Prince long for daddy's approval? For shame. Our King will be most disappointed.

Finally free of the ropes, Odious lunged for the Ambassador. It stepped out of the way and Odious ended up tackling its own desk.

When Odious untangled itself from the furniture, the Ambassador was gone. Odious howled in rage, at the loss of its prey, at the Ambassador's taunts. You twist my thoughts! I don't want love and approval! I don't want softness! I am everything I am meant to be - I am hate and anger and passion and violence - and I am the best at it! I play my role perfectly! I want -

Odious needed to be perfect. Nothing less was enough. It had to be so perfect that no one could ever find flaw, not even itself. It was a hard way to live, a crescendo without end. If it was perfect, then people would finally notice all it did for Alagadda and appreciate it, instead of taking the rituals and concerts and efforts for granted. It did what it was meant to do but nobody cared that it did it well, they only noticed when Odious made a mistake, so Odious had to be perfect, perfect, perfect …

I want …

The ending Odious craved was to become so hateful, so despised that the Hanged King itself grew angry enough to blast it out of existence. To be seared into oblivion by the hate of a god … glorious. Perfection.

But Odious also wanted to lay its head in the Hanged King's lap, feel the desiccated fingers stroke its hair, and know its efforts and work were seen and appreciated. To know that it had succeeded at being the Yellow Lord, at being Odious. To know that the King was proud of it. To be able to rest, just for a little while.

Triumphant fine or quiet diminuendo, there could be no applause, no rest, until the play was over.

I want to know how it ends.

[the-griffons-saddlebag]

🛡 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺! Armor of the Stone Citadel
Armor (plate), legendary (requires attunement) ___ This armor is made of stone and reduces the wearer's speed by 10 feet unless the wearer has a Strength score equal to or higher than 17, instead of 15. Castle-like crenellations run along the tops of the armor's various pieces. While wearing the armor, you can't be petrified, and you have a damage threshold of 10. In addition, if you are blocking a friendly creature enough to grant it half cover against an attack or hostile effect, that creature instead has three-quarters cover against it. 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙡. While wearing the armor, you can use an action to transform into a Huge stone tower. The tower is a 15-foot-square that's 30 feet tall, centered on you. It resembles your head and upper torso, complete with a pair of powerful stone arms. If there isn't space for the tower, you don't transform, and the action (but not the use of this property) is wasted. Your equipment merges into this form when you transform and has no effect for the duration. For the duration, you use your normal senses, but your speed is reduced to 0. While in this form, you gain 100 temporary hit points and have an AC of 18, your damage threshold increases to 20, and you can't be moved or knocked prone. You are also immune to any spell or effect that would alter your form. You remain in this form for up to 8 hours, at which point you return to your normal form. You return to your normal form early if you lose all of these temporary hit points or if you end the effect using an action. While in this form, you can't cast spells, and your normal attacks are replaced by unarmed strikes using your massive stone fists. These unarmed strikes have a reach of 30 feet and deal 4d8 bludgeoning damage on a hit. You can make two unarmed strike attacks on each of your turns when you take the Attack action, even if you can normally make more. Alternatively, you can use an action to hurl a boulder from your arm. The boulder is a ranged weapon attack with a normal range of 60 feet and a long range of 180 feet. On a hit, it deals 6d8 bludgeoning damage. You are... ...Continued in the comment below! ___ ✨ Patrons get huge perks! Access this and hundreds of other item cards, art files, and compendium entries when you support The Griffon's Saddlebag on Patreon for less than $10 a month!

[heckcareoxytwit]

Sam Wilson, Black Panther and Scarlet Witch are standing on the pile of destroyed Stark Sentinels when they hear a distress call from Impossible City. They figured out that someone is Orchis is smart enough to come up with a dirty trick by sending the Stark Sentinels to attack Impossible City the temporary shelter for mutant refugees, instead of attacking the Avengers. Iron Man gets a distress call from a girl called Yuna Yang who tells him that Impossible City is under the attack. Yuna Yang is the girl who obtained the Nega-Bands which allows her to swap places with Carol Danvers by clanging the bands together like the previous wearers used to do on other Captains Marvels (e.g. Rick Jones used the bands to swap places with Mar-Vell a long time ago) and Yuna is from the recent Alyssa Wong's Captain Marvel series.

Anyways, the other Avengers - Iron Man, Thor, Vision and Scarlet Witch go out to destroy the Stark Sentinels in space. Yuna Yang clangs her Nega-Bands to let Carol take her place so that she could join her teammates. Meanwhile, the other two Avengers - Black Panther and Sam Wilson go to Orchis space station to confront Delroy Garrett Jr, a.k.a. 3-D Man the former Avenger. 3-D Man had joined Orchis because he believed that the Avengers were ungrateful for his actions with the Skrull invasion (actually 3-D Man killed Crusader the good Skrull who helped the heroes and this pissed a lot of heroes off), even claiming they threw him out of the Initiative instead of him actually leaving on his own. Sam Wilson and Black Panther fight 3-D Man until the latter (Black Panther) utters his Old Wakandan language to seemingly deprogram him from brainwashing. Black Panther manages to get into 3-D Man's mind and tells him that he's needed to help in shutting down the Stark Sentinels. It turns out that 3-D Man is an undercover agent and the hypnosis was planted into him to keep M.O.D.O.K from probing his mind and getting suspicious. Once 3-D Man regains himself, he manages to shut down the Stark Sentinels.

Avengers v9 #13, 2024

[dragon-drop1477]

Written transcript under cut

THEORY TIME!

• Permadeath is a disease

• Every player is equipped with a watch

• The watches also administer a cure that prolongs the wearer’s life (however temporary)

• The bogeyman is actually a malfunction in the watch in with the wearer will lose an unspecified amount of cure (and precious time) unless they can find more to replenish their stores

• Players are the only other source of cure

(about the watches)

timer display and buttons change color

watch vibrates if you need an emergency replenish (bogeyman)

(Physical appearance)

stage 1: cure is green & quickly dispersed into bloodstreams

stage 2: cure desaturates & spreads

stage 3: blood fills empty false capillaries, very little cure left

[cosmohause]

Wyvern reveal !! He’s still similar appearance to my personal Bright design bc… it’s what the brain demanded and I felt if I changed too much it’ll be hell on earth for me (idk how to explain), but uuuhh! Clothes are temporary till I think of something more unique lol! Gonna call the hair extension looking bits “tassels” bc that’s a funny word and I like it- I did take them from an older OC grins. The injury is from falling off a horse similar to what happened to me, bc if I don’t imprint even a little I will explode.

Also not on the quick ref bc I forgot but his eyes can turn to like… slits but not necessarily cat like. A secondary side affect of the amulet. There’s still a lot of things I’m trying to work out, if you have questions on wyvern don’t be hesitant to ask! Also! Unlike other rewrites/amulet wearers he isn’t a site director at all! Still a researcher!

[j-fashion-wearer-otd]

Today's temporary J-fashion wearer is Hello Kitty! During a collaboration with the Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku, she wore decora with some lolita elements!

[echo-goes-mmm]

Old Friends #4

Masterpost

Previous

Next

Note: Charlie, the doctor, uses they/them pronouns.

Warnings: implied past starvation, violence

Laith picked at the food on the tray. He’d been stuck in the complex for a week, and there was no end in sight.

Techmaster had wheeled in a tv and dvd player a while ago, but Laith had already exhausted the stack of movies and there was only so much on Netflix he was interested in.

Currently, The Two Towers (extended edition) was humming along on the screen as he pushed around the potatoes on his plate.

He wasn’t hungry, but he should probably eat anyway. The doctor, Charlie, had told him he was nearly fifteen pounds underweight.

Nightclaw had always been stingy with food.

Laith scratched at the power dampener on his ankle. It was at an awkward place; he’d rather it be around his arm or something. But he wasn’t going to ask.

The other restraints had been removed, but Guardian didn’t want him using his powers to slip away. 

Begrudgingly, Laith could see how it made sense. He had information; they weren’t going to let him go. 

He ate another forkful of potatoes. At least the food was okay.

___________________

Theo sat back in his chair, twirling a pen. He was barely watching the upload progress on the computer; it had been three days and it was still stuck at 68% progress.

He hated the waiting game. He’d run out of things to tinker with, his desk a mess of screwdrivers, wrenches, and a bolt cutter.

He didn’t feel like working on his big projects either.

Theo stared up at the high ceiling. Mateo wasn’t taking care of the cobwebs like he said he would.

The computer beeped, so suddenly he nearly fell out of his chair.

He righted himself. The progress bar shuddered forward in a lurch, and there it was.

Nightclaw’s entire server system, available right at his fingertips. Theo settled his hands on the keyboard.

Where to start?

___________________

Nightclaw’s filing system was clean and organized, which made it easy to navigate. But the sheer volume of notes and documents was overwhelming.

Power dampeners, power, p, p, p…

Power dampener was not under ‘P’. Or ‘d’. Or even ‘w’ for world domination. Not that Nightclaw had a folder named ‘world domination’.

What was under ‘P’ was ‘Pictures, Laith’. The tiny pixelated icons splashed with red and pale peach dots, blood on skin.

Theo hovered over the icon of an image, hesitating. 

He clicked the back button. Laith didn’t need more invasions of privacy.

___________________

Theo had thought about worst case scenarios when Beatrice told him Nightclaw was experimenting with power dampeners, but his imagination apparently had nothing on the supervillain’s. 

He scanned the blueprints. 

From what he could tell, one of the designs was explosive, throwable dampeners. When they hit a target, the dampender exploded, covering the victim in a fine powder that stopped their abilities.

Temporary, but enough that Nightclaw could kill or capture whoever he wanted.

The other design was a much nastier version of Laith’s shock collar. There was no lock, designed to be soldered onto the neck. Tiny, needle-like spikes poked towards the flesh of the wearer. The metal had been switched out for a sturdier alloy.

He zoomed in one of the lines of notes, but the screen went black.

White text appeared on the screen.

Catch me if you can, before Clarksville gets leveled. Two hours. XOXO

___________________

Laith caught them just before they left.

“It’s a trap,” he warned. “He’ll kill you.”

“He’s tried before,” shrugged Beatrice, “and hasn’t managed it.”

“Yet,” muttered Laith.

Theo pulled on his kevlar. “We’ll be fine,” he said, but this time he was unsure. Those dampeners looked flawless. It was only a matter of how long they could dodge.

“Be back soon,” winked Mateo, scooping up Theo and climbing up into the sky.

___________________

“Come on,” said Charlie, “we’ll watch on the computer.”

They led Laith over to the massive desk, pulling up the feed of Clarksville news cameras.

Laith never understood the fascination of watching superpowered people thrash each other. He looked away from the screen, his eyes falling on the bolt cutters and wrenches on the table.

Charlie pulled up a tab of another news station, and then another, until they could see the fight from four different angles.

Laith looked up.

It was going well, it seemed. Three on one, until a boom sounded in the distance. From the shake of the cameras, it must have been a huge blast.

Guardian zoomed off to save lives, and it was just Warrior and Techmaster dodging Nightclaw’s weapons.

Laith watched the blurs on the screen move. He bit his nails in worry.

Nightclaw threw a- a something at Warrior, and this time she wasn’t fast enough.

She went down, cratering towards the earth.

Techmaster shot a grapple towards a skyscraper, intercepting her fall. Laith let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

But with Warrior down, and Guardian busy with yet another bomb going off, Techmaster was alone.

Nightclaw advanced on him, twirling his blade. 

Laith knew the specific stalk of the supervillain. He was aiming to kill.

Laith snatched the bolt cutters off the desk, severed his dampener, and left for Clarksville, Charlie’s shouting still in his ears.

___________________

Laith stumbled out of the shadow. The air smelled of smoke, and there was screaming in the distance.

He was on the right street, certainly. In fact, he’d landed exactly between Nightclaw and Techmaster.

What was he thinking?

Nightclaw stared at him, dumbfounded, before his face curled into a sick twisted smile.

“Aw, here to join the fun, darling?”

Laith scrambled to his feet.

“Get out of here!” shouted Techmaster behind him.

Nightclaw flexed his grip on the blade, a horribly familiar gesture that made him want to run.

He didn’t have the energy to teleport away, using all his juice to get there in the first place.

Nightclaw made a single step forward, and Laith turned and bolted.

___________________

“Bea, come on,” he muttered, shaking her by the shoulders. He managed to get off most of the powder that downed her in the precious few moments Laith had bought them, but those moments were almost up.

He didn’t want to find Laith dead on the pavement, but the more he waited for Beatrice, the more likely that would be.

She groaned, still groggy.

He couldn’t wait for her any longer.

Theo grappled into the skyline, scanning as he vaulted across the rooftops.

The streets were empty, but the smog still made it hard to see.

But then, he saw a blurry figure on the ground.

He ziplined down.

___________________

Nightclaw’s fist dripped with blood, but he didn’t stop hitting Laith until Theo tackled him.

Nightclaw shouted in surprise as they rolled on the ground. He shoved him away with his super strength, and narrowed his eyes at Theo’s interference.

A chill ran up his spine at the expression of hatred on Nightclaw’s face, wholly different from the detached “my-toy-is-no-longer-amusing” demeanor he was used to.

Laith pushed himself up to his knees. “Don’t, Master,” he whimpered, tugging at Nightclaw’s cloak.

Nightclaw kicked at his hand, stomping it into the ground. Laith cried out, and Theo watched in horror as Nightclaw’s boot heel twisted into his hand.

Theo took a step back as Nightclaw stepped forward. He tripped on a pothole, falling backwards to the ground, and Nightclaw took a blade from his side.

Theo’s heart pounded in his chest. He knew what to do, logically, but fear prevented him from reaching into his belt for a weapon.

Nightclaw made another step forward, raising his dagger.

Laith leapt up from the pavement, slamming into Nightclaw. He wrapped his arms around the supervillain’s neck, and they were swallowed up in shadow.

taglist: @paintedpigeon1 @loserwithsyle @cepheusgalaxy @ohwrite

[randomtable]

I've got a request for a random table - d20 fantasy body modifications (tattoos, piercings, etc.) for a character / NPC to have. I'm talking things like elf-ear piercings, horn caps, living tattoos... stuff like that!

1d20 Fantasy Body Modifications

“Fairy Ladder” Piercings - a set of three or more industrial piercings for Elves and other long-eared folks

Claw Enhancements - popular among folks without natural claws, and those who want to strengthen or emphasize their natural claws. Minor transmutations can be used to add claws, and to harden, sharpen, and even re-color or re-shape existing claws.

Tattoo Pets - living tattoos of animals that run and play around the bearer’s skin.

Tooth Alteration - folks with sharp teeth want blunt teeth, folks with blunt teeth want sharp teeth. The decision to have one’s teeth magically altered can be influenced by dietary choices, sexual preferences, medical needs, and aesthetics.

Horn Caps and Cuffs - made of precious metals, sometimes set with stones or connected by lengths of chain.

Portal Gauges - jewelry for stretched earlobe piercings which form a pair of teleportation portals. Passing tiny objects from one side of your head to the other is rarely more than a party trick, but is pretty cool.

Almanac Tattoos - calendars, moon phases, weather, etc, these magical tracking tattoos are popular among mages, farmers, and more.

Tail Tip Piercings, which are all the rage among folks with tails these days.

Horn/Tusk/Antler carvings - tattoo-like carvings on the horns, tusks, or antlers of those who have them. Patterns and images are usually carved in rings.

Gills of Amphibious Breathing - having a pair of gills on one’s neck is both visually striking and incredibly useful for long swims. The transmutation ritual for permanent gills is quite costly, so temporary gills are popular for beach days and pool parties.

Tattoo Gardens - the growth and blooming of these plant images can be attuned to anything from the bearer’s mood, to actual weather and natural surroundings.

Illuminated Hair - why stop at regular hair dye when you could have hair that literally glows in the dark? Illuminated hair potions are applied in a similar manner to regular hair dyes, with similar longevity and similar risks of staining the bathtub if you aren’t careful.

Mithril Earrings - Mithril jewelry doesn’t come cheap, but it is prized for its striking blue-silver appearance and for being lighter weight than most other metals but still extremely durable. It is especially popular for creating large dangly earrings that would otherwise be excessively heavy.

Warding Tattoos - protective sigils can be tattooed in magical inks to ward against just about anything, from general protection to shielding against highly specific curses. Their effectiveness depends both on the potency of the ink and the skill of the tattoo mage who applies them.

Tongue Ring of Tongues - a tongue piercing which grants the wearer the ability to speak any language.

Third Eye - generally cosmetic, although a cunning seer might be able to leverage their third eye for more credibility among less magically-inclined folks.

Warlock’s Brand - sometimes called a “mark of eternal servitude”, their appearance varies depending upon to whom the bearer has sold their soul. Anything goes, really, from always-smoldering singe marks to patches of skin replaced by iridescent crystal.

Hair Snakes - usually all of a person’s hair is polymorphed into snakes, though some might choose to keep most of their hair and only have one to three snakes.

Feather/Scale Patterning - a magical alternative to tattoos for birdfolk, half-dragons, and other feathered or scaled people. Each scale/feather in a chosen area is dyed to create an image or pattern.

Tattoos of Warning - any individual bearing one of these magical tattoos can send a signal to the others who bear an identical mark. The signal is typically a feeling such as warmth or tingling on the location of the tattoo. More complex versions are available that allow the bearers to establish multiple signals represented by different sensations.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e76

the new intro is so good!!! I adore the little details, especially Will and Derrig turning into flowers, and the way they highlighted everyone's best scenes/moments in battle.

Time to teleport! FCG rolls a 05 first, but they get to Whitestone without too much issue.

"Lord Percival gave the order—" "Oh, that crotchety old fucker..."

I like to think that every year on Exandrian Halloween, Caleb gathers the Mighty Nein together under some guise or another just to cast seeming on them for the day.

When they arrive, Percy is in his workshop with Imahara Joe, Verna, and Dancer. The thing looks like a windowless, much more dangerous high school science lab, complete with artificial light, and they're nearing a breakthrough with the harness.

The entirety of Whitestone Castle is warded against scrying, and Percy himself wears individual protection from it (likely an amulet against proof of detection and location).

ALLURA DESCENDS THE STAIRS! She's been working on the harness alongside them.

They give her the gem they took from the simulacrum, and she identifies it as something Ludinus would use to gather what knowledge the simulacrum would have gathered, because it can't learn or remember on its own.

Now that it has been almost entirely repaired, they see that the harness is incredibly intricate and beautiful, scrawled with extremely fine filigree and rune-work.

"There are devices like this tat have been used throughout arcane history, referred to as power stills -- they are much smaller than this. At this scale, I would call it a quintessence array -- they're carefully regulated, extremely difficult to craft, but used to extract and refine arcane power from natural magical materials or used to transfer magic. Attempts to craft one on this scale have historically led to tragedy... even aiding and repairing this device gives me pause, and I warn you that its use against living beings is extremely amoral. I support you in using it to gain an advantage over Ludinus, but I ask you, when this is over, to turn it over to the Council for containment or destruction." They agree to do so.

Ashton reveals the shard of Rau'shan and puts it on the table. "So your intent is to use the shard of an ancient enemy of the gods to save the gods?" And their stance is kind of as you'd expect — saving the gods is secondary, stopping Ludinus and saving Exandria is their first priority, and if it happens that the gods go in a package deal with that, then so be it.

Allura recognizes Orym from her times in Zephrah and says that he looks more... confident. (I, personally, am taking this as a direct allusion to the idea that Orym should take the shard.)

As she carves the final rune, the entire harness lights up like it's coming to life, the leather itself glows a faint blue, then green, then purple -- from what Allura can tell, it can permanently take the magic from items or creatures and imbue the wearer with temporary or permanent alterations. Not necessarily the exact enchantment, but something of a similar nature.

They want to put it through a test run, so Chetney puts it on. They can't decide on anything they own to give up, so they ask Percy, and he gives them some enchanted dishware they got as a gift and don't want. Percy holds it up to the funnel, and as he does, both begin to glow; after a moment, the silverware curls, bends, and scatters to dust.

Chetney gets 5 temporary bit points and, more importantly, the item sheet for the harness. (in a different post)

The harness likely can't awaken whatever's dormant in Ashton, and it's highly possible that imbuing the second shard into Ashton would destroy them.

Allura takes an interest in Ashton's head and the beacon juice in there. She casts something and starts poking around — "ah. You... This is very odd. You are like a shard of the impossible... have you ever heard of dunamancy? It is a particular esoteric form of magic that dates to before the gods and Primordials, the very nature of the cosmos and beyond, the creation and destruction of all, the balance of the universe itself stems from these energies — gravity, time, entropy. What we think of as magic uses some parts of it... What you have lodged in your head is somehow a condensed focus for it -- the Kryn Dynasty worship pieces of an ancient entity that history has said disseminated itself into crystals, beeacons. They represent artifacts that focus dunamis, and are the most sacred artifacts to the Dynasty. It is said that there are many still hidden without Exandria, and they seek them -- I do not think you have a beacon in the classical sense, but an approximation, a half-beacon, something new, not quite the same but of similar essence. You have a party of your mind that rests between reality and destruction -- the fact that you're standing here is a marvel, and the fact that you walk the path that you do is equal parts worrying and hopeful."

She describes the beacon, and they make the connection between that and some parts of the Malleus Key.

Allura also says that Ashton's fragmented nature may very well be what keeps them together — if the chaos in their head were to reign in a whole, unfractured being, it would tear him apart, but holding the pieces of Ashton together like planets in an orbit is easier than holding them seamlessly in harmony enough to traverse.

Chetney and Laudna draw a tentative connection between Predathos' prey and the Luxon — "maybe Predathos is a messy eater." They contemplate finding a beacon to use the vest on, which is actually completely fucking possible because even though it SEEMS like the Luxon beacons should be artifact-rarity items, they are, in fact, legendary (as per EGtW).

The Bells Hells go to rest before attending a meeting with Keyleth and other political leaders in the afternoon, but Laudna leaves Pate behind in the workshop to eavesdrop on Percy and Allura.

"Lady Vysoren, this is extremely upsetting." Percy's face gains a softness, a worry. "I'm not against making Whitestone a sanctuary once more, but historically, that's always brought with it its own danger — we've already had to rebuild once. Can you assure me that we can take this struggle elsewhere?" "Percival Misc. Derolo, I can guarantee you that right now, very few care about Whitestone. We have a red moon locked in the sky, and as some would say, we're being invaded by aliens. So I think you have the necessary protections. Your wife is doing good work with the council, we're gathering all that we can — let's see what this meeting brings."

After a short rest, their presence is requested in the War Room. It's decorated with tapestries that depict moments in Tal'dorei's history, including many that have the members of Vox Machina on them.

Percy, Allura, and Keyleth are all here, as is Professor Ebonold Kai (of the Grim Verity) and Vilya, Keyleth's mother.

Kai notes that the Grim Verity has made diplomatic connections across multiple continents, with the exception of Issylra.

Vilya has made contacts in Wildemount, and notes that the reach of the Ruby Vanguard's ideas is sowing civil unrest.

Meanwhile, Keyleth notes that the release of legendary threats to Exandria has kept its most legendary heroes busy and divided "in a time when unity is paramount."

Allura confirms that the source of the befuddling of magic is indeed the Malleus Key, and that Vasselheim is the only military force that has been free enough to surround the site. However, Reilorans appear to have some innate ability to suppress divine magic, including healing (though it is lessened, it is not entirely disabled).

Additionally, the longer that the key holds the apogee solstice in place, the more strain is put on the weave of magic, on the leylines themselves. It's unprecedented, but she worries that with enough tension, the weave itself could tear apart — rearranging it at best, and destroying both it and Exandria at worst.

They need to destroy the key to restore the weave, but that would cut off access to Ludinus; they need to know what awaits them on the moon before they can send forces there, and the Bells Hells offer to scout it. The fact that the gods still exist after all these weeks means that releasing Predathos is not as simple as Ludinus shaking the moon awake.

Not only do they have Imogen's connections to Liliana to get them close, but they have a man on the inside, too: Ira.

Meanwhile, Matt: we are not rolling for pregnancy.

They mention Beau and Caleb — Allura immediately recognizes their description. She hasn't heard from them specifically, but has been in contact with other members of the Mighty Nein, and could find out.

Teleporting directly to the moon has been ruled out — the "fragment of the Divine Gate that surrounds Ruidus" also prevents teleportation to and from it.

Ludinus appears to be "casually walking" toward his goal, and they don't know how long he'll take to reach it. But you know what they say — if something isn't chasing you at full sprint, there's a reason it doesn't have to run.

As part of their preparations, the Bells Hells ask for the components for a heroes feast.

Keyleth approaches as they depart the chamber. "You've all done great things, but it seems that fate has us all intertwined in ways we don't expect. It's funny; I hoped these days would be done in my lifetime, before I realized my lifetime is far longer than I anticipated. So I suppose it's just part of enduring. But what makes me heartened is knowing that people like you will rise to the occasion. Sleep well. Be careful. Be brave, but don't be stupid. And good luck."

Meanwhile, Ashton and Fearne contemplate contacting the followers of the Betrayer Gods, because "you don't negotiate when you're drowning." I mean, he's got a point — especially with the lawful Betrayers like Asmodeus, they do indeed follow their word to the absolute finest detail, and the danger is in reading the fine print.

FCG just got access to planar ally, and it is indeed very different than how Sam is interpreting it. They couldn't summon a specific devil; they would beseech either Asmodeus himself or another devil lord to send a lesser demon to assist them.

Laudna wants to explore Whitestone to see what they can find, because she's less afraid now and you never know what you're gonna find when you wander around a mysterious and rebuilt town.

They decide to explore the castle a little first, and Orym notices that they're being followed -- chasing the shadow, he finds Gwen, Percy's daughter, in a reading nook. Orym takes her over to introduce herself — "I am Lady Gwendolin Derolo, I am the queen of the house, and everyone shorter than me has to do what I say."

Okay, the Bells Hells being good with kids is actually fucking adorable, especially Chetney (because he's a crotchety old fucker who's rough as the sandpaper he uses) and Laudna (redemption for the fun scary!!).

Gwen reaches out to touch Laudna when she offers, and she runs — Fearne, Laudna, and Imogen pursue. "I'm afraid of her, and I don't know why... why does she hate me? I've never felt hate like that." Gwen is sensing Delilah — it's not Laudna who hates her or who she's scared of, it's Delilah.

Chetney, Orym, and Ashton visit the temple to the Raven Queen within the city, and find that the path leading to it is covered in snowdrops. They also see another cloaked, white-masked figure kneeling in front of the Raven Queen's own statue, and they recognize it as Vax'ildan — the figure they saw defend the Voice of the Tempest, the "guy with the move and the one-liner." There is a plaque there: "the Champion of Ravens, in memory of friendship, sacrifice, and the day he will carry us over the threshold and beyond."

They enter the central room of the temple, and find sarcophagi whose faces have no discernible features. Ashton pushes one open, and it's empty. "How do you meet a death god, do you think?" They jump inside, and the groundskeeper pushes the lid closed on them. Chetney and Orym share one, feet-to-feet.

Orym offers reassurance -- "I hope we can help." Chetney offers lenience -- "take your time." Time passes -- minutes, hours, alone, with nothing but the sound of their own breathing... "did you stop breathing? No, you can hear him breathing, but not anymore — you feel for a shift in rise or fall of your chest, you are uncertain if your eyes have been closed or open this whole time, and the minute you think of it, you force them open, and darkness still surrounds you but for a faint white light, like a spotlight on the horizon." They all see the same thing, and can hear each other but not see. Orym steps forward to the light, confidently, and the others follow — it highlights a sphere, an orb. Formless. Distant. The closer they get, the more it takes detail, the more it looks like a hill or the back of a chair— "no, it seems like it's miles away, then but feet away, then it begins to move. What was once just a mound, a colorless shape, it rises and elongates until it has a humanoid outline, facing away. All you see is a cloak of black."

Chetney calls out. The figure turns to face them — from beneath long, black hair, a pale, white, expressionless porcelain mask, feminine and cold. A hand reaches to pull the mask away. Behind it, there is a black void, nothing. It rushes in, and they are pulled into a second wave of shadow, lost, floating in absence — metal hits metal, clinking, jangling ike chains dragging against chains. Looking up, they see a ring of light, like they're staring up from a grave, and looking down is the masked figure, chains around their wrists that dangle into the grave.

They climb, Ashton first, up the chains toward the exit. The masked figure of the Matron raises her arms, and the chains are affixed to shackles around her wrists. Another pull, and they break — she lowers her hands and looks up as giant raven wings release, flap once, twice, and she flies as they fall. She breaks into hundreds of black ravens, flying free and away as the light diminishes and they return to darkness. They don't feel scared — that's important to mention. They don't feel perturbed or exploited, they feel noticed and, oddly, appreciated.

Then, pins and needles numbness, feeling in their body, awareness of time, and they're back in the coffins. "Is there a gift shop?"

Ohhh, I think I get it now. The Bells Hells questioning whether or not they want to save the gods is the point — their chaos and ability to help is based not on their existing or even their potential faith in the gods or otherwise, it lies in their state of flux, the fact that they are neither beholden to faith nor committed to the lack of it.

Lastly, FCG goes to the temple of the Changebringer they visited before. "I feel like something bad's gonna happen, there's doom on the horizon — but I think it's right that we're going. I wanted to ask you, not for guidance or answers or anything, but if you could look out... if something goes bad, if you could make it happen to me and not them, I would really appreciate that." FCG swears they see the stone eyes of Avandra blink, and when they open there's a deep burgundy color that sinks to a deeper red. They see crimson tears run down the cheeks, the head seems to shift and look down to address them, her bloody gaze — "dark days are ahead for all. But those who walk the path of bravery can save that what they care most about. [Am I walking the path of bravery?] You are. And you're not the only one. There are many who do; the road before you is fraught with peril and loss, but that is what it is to be a hero, to be a paragon, to be a child of change. [Is it a— thank you. I don't think I want to know any more than that. But maybe, just — it's just nice to know that you've been watching me, and will continue to. You will, right?] Always. We watch over you always. [We, meaning all the gods? Or just you?] We are all in danger. [We're coming. We might see you tomorrow; it seems like it's gonna be a pretty bad day. Or maybe it'll be a great day! Maybe it'll be smiley! Anyway, thank you for this coin, and for all the guidance you've given me in the past. I feel like I've realized that you're not given a purpose, and you don't choose a purpose -- you just sort of make one as you go, and I think I'm ready to make one.] That is true freedom, and one of the great many meanings of life. [Can you — this is the only thing I'll ask. Can you make some crazy sign for Ashton? I want to make them believe — that's minor, actually, never mind, just strike that, I just think that would be neat.] Guide him to the path that inspires you. One must be open to miracles for them to be believed... be safe, and do not forget: if the road ahead is frightening, you can choose to walk another, for freedom, freedom, freedom."

To the arbiter of the temple, the Changebringer seems distracted, but aren't they all? There's solace in knowing that even the gods can be fallible, anxious, for does that not bring them closer to mortality?

Laura as a player picks up on something — the Changebringer here seemed to be different. Combined with the crimson tears, she seems to think that FCG's vision could've been hijacked by the Vanguard. But with a very high insight check, FCG gets the sense that her nature is semi-mercurial — an aspect of her faith, a very tenet of her being, is adapting herself and changing her message in response to the changes of a follower. If forceful direction doesn't work, then coercion, reverse psychology, or enticement might. There is no malice here, nothing to distrust, just a unique understanding of the Changebringer's very being. Much like the wind, she can buffet her followers in different ways.

They reconvene. At the end of the day, they go to a crepe stand, and find WHITESTONE FUCKING ANDY. They harass him for a while. "It's like he didn't matter to anyone but you [Laudna]!" Thank god someone finally said it—

Meanwhile, Ashton scours the castle for history books to figure out what made the Derolo family so fucking weird.

After resting in a smattering of challenged spaces, it's welcome to sleep in a plush, warm bed. They think of the strange day to come, the stranger device their friends repaired, and the burning crystal that still thrums in the workshop below.

[csphire]

Cleric Astarion?

Yes, I can hear him barking out that bitter laughter of his too at the very idea. But hear me out, he's on a new path in life so... maybe a deity gives him a chance after being silent for so long.

It would be only just a few levels and more if you like it. He's got a decent wisdom stat for it too. Second best right behind Shadowheart out of all of the companions. With a feat, one can bump up his wisdom and dexterity a little higher as well.

As for gods Ilmater, Corellon Larethian, or Lathander would be excellent fits he might gain favor from if you want to really overthink it. But the god might not even matter, at least at lower levers as far as I can tell.

Here are also a list of items I've given him to use to be a bit of a tank and healer too:

Circlet of Hunting - You'll need to use it on enemies with a hunter's mark, true strike, faerie fire, and guiding bolt to gain a +1d4 bonus to Attack Rolls.

Hunting Shortbow - This will give you a hunter's mark ability but someone else can always mark the enemies with what's needed instead if you want to give him a better bow or crossbow. Holy Lance Helm - An alternative to the Circlet of Hunting. Creatures who miss their attack rolls against the wearer can take on possible radiant damage. Putting this on a high dex companion is a win because it ups the chances it will activate. The + 1 in Con saving throws for Astarion is nice too. Derivation Cloak - Works to help heal him when poisoning a foe. Broodmother's Revenge - To help activate the healing of the cloak. Gloves of Archery - An additional +2 in raged weapon attacks and proficiency on long as well as short bows.

Boots of Aid and Comfort - When he heals someone it gives him +3 in temporary hit points. The Whispering Promise - When healing he get's a +1d4 to attack rolls and saving throws for two turns. Just try to remember to cast say, healing word or mass healing word first to take full advantage of both turns. Sword of Life Stealing - On crit hit +10 Necro Damage on anything except a construct or undead. He also gains 10 temporary hit points. Who else crits the most?

Knife of the Undermountain King - Alternative weapon for constructs, undead or in general. If he rolls a 2 or less he can reroll the dice and take the highest result. If he rolls a 19 it's an automatic crit hit. Also, there is advantage on attack rolls on lightly or heavily obscured targets. You know, like in a crypt. I actually might have him use this from now on and give the life-stealing sword to someone else. Lastly, True Love's Caress - Gentle Warding Bond Activated and True Love's Embrace I put on my Tav who has the blessing of Loviatar. Once activated he's got resistance buffs on everything and with his high dex sta most blows won't land. (That and derpy romantic me like to think they're kinda like wedding or at least promise rings :p)

Adamtine Sale Mail and Shield - Because if the bond is activated if he takes damage so does the wearer of the other ring. There is a price to pay for all of those wonderful buffs. So whoever has the True Love's Embrace ring on needs to keep their distance in combat with ranged attacks and would benefit from a little extra damage. Again, like someone basking in Loviatar's Love. To save some typing here's a screenshot of the cleric spells I went with him.

As for a god, I personally went with Lathander, given I always have him pick up the "giggle" pendant. I like to think out of anyone he could use some cheer and he does well with the wisdom saving throws to counteract the effects.

Later on, we stole Lathander's Mace and I'm really looking forward to using it to beat Cazador into a bloody pulp. So it just feels right to offer a little bit of thanks and service to Lathander after all this.

If you made it this far, thank you. Hope this was a helpful build guide and you give it a try sometime! ^_^

[gazeoffice]

Since Limbus Company’s release we’ve gotten plenty of looks at E.G.O and what it’s like corroded and how that works, which has been pretty cool! It works differently than how we’ve been shown in Wonderlab, and I can’t say I agree with it, but overall EGO works completely differently. I thought I’d give a big infodump about my headcanons regarding EGO corrosion since many of my characters are suffering from it, and it’s nowhere near as temporary of an arrangement as it’s been shown in Limbus.

In essence, corrosion is a slow and often agonizing process typically brought upon by the wearer being “unqualified” to wear the gear. The wearer’s personal virtues aren’t strong enough to withstand the EGO, so the EGO erodes at the person until it completely overtakes them and changes them into something mostly unrecognizable. Due to the nature of humans, each case of corrosion is essentially personalized, though the symptoms are consistent. Corrosion very rarely can happen in tools through pure exposure, but this is going to focus more on gear.

EGO corrosion has a lot of factors that play into how it progresses. Things such as the wearer’s level compared to the suit’s, the wearer’s personality and emotional state, and their “compatibility” with the suit in question can all contribute to corrosion. The end result isn’t another abnormality, or a minion of the abnormality the suit came from- corrosion happens regardless of whether or not the abnormality can form a minion, and the resulting monster cannot produce enkephalin and is very much so mortal. It comes in stages and the speed at which it progresses varies on the aforementioned factors.

For instance, if you gave an aleph suit to a clerk to wear, their corrosion would be rapid and incredibly painful to undergo. If you gave a lv 3 agent some gear just one step above their level, the corrosion would be a lot slower and easier to catch. While curing EGO corrosion is in theory easy, as all you have to do is remove the suit, the wearers are usually incredibly reluctant to do so. Corrosion has a psychological effect on its wearer that makes them unwilling to remove the suit or recognize that there is something wrong, whether it be for their own gain or protection. There comes a point too where the suit fuses to the wearer, and the only way to stop it is to kill them and destroy the suit.

The beginning stages of corrosion are light and don’t manifest physically yet, the wearer simply complains of stiffness and aches in their body and displays slight behavioral changes in line with the abnormality in question. The second stage is when the body begins to change with most physical changes like horn growth, eyes changing color, etc. happening to match the suit. The physical symptoms worsen, though the wearer will play this off as a new ego gift or overworking. The suit can be safely removed in this stage, and this is when you’d want to catch it with little risk to the wearer. The third stage is when the suit begins to fuse and become more of a second skin. Depending on the person, additional abilities develop at this stage and are used frequently while their appearance degrades and becomes less human. The pain of corroding becomes near-unbearable, and outside of works the wearer becomes less and less social. At this point the wearer would likely be executed to cut losses. The final stage is transformation and the point of no return. The victim is typically drawn to someplace isolated to do so but it may happen unprompted at any time. Though the victim is a “monster.” their mind remains intact throughout the whole process. The pain and shock often results in them lashing out and attacking others, at that point they need to be suppressed to prevent employee loss.