#shrineshadow

[stgzr]

🔥🔥🔥!

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion.

____

Maybe this is cynical of me but I have lost my ability to fully trust anyone who comes in OOC with high energy positive attitudes anymore. I want to believe, because for a lot of folks who also struggle with socializing too being a ray of sunshine seems safe, it's a defense mechanism. But at this point I've run into too many snake oil sellers trying to dodge criticism and shill their own ideas as the one true way.

[eternalshredder]

@shrineshadow sent a meme

‘is there anything else you’d like to tell me?’

In such recent years Saki had come to hate the impertinence of the American people. Impatience in conversation and being they rushed through every interaction like their lives depended on it. Being as old as he was he had long learned patience, and it was refreshing to meet another who treated life without such brevity.

He is, however, still a shadow. Clinging to the wall, remaining hidden away from the prying eyes of the larger world, and shadows are known for their secrets. Especially ones that span so great a stretch of human history as he had, as the head of the mighty Foot.

"If I am honest, you know far too much already." And it was a blessing that she did, The Shredder was not loose with his tongue like many others may have been. "I am not known to speak so freely, especially to one who hasn't loosened their tongue."

[beastialshimmer]

There had been a moment where she had thought she'd been a goner. While Zaahen had once told her of the voidborn, his words on them had been sparse; and she doubted even if he had spoken for hours, even days, she would've understood just how terrifying they were. However, then there had been a chorus of caine calls, and a pack quickly frenzying on the creature, ripping it to bloody shreds. Yunara managed to throw in one or two blows to help finish it off. As she heaved in air, and the hounds spoke, she looked over at them, and finally realized who had come to her rescue. Naafiri, the dagger wielding Darkin. One of the ones dealt with in Shimura. Her heart pumped even faster, the danger was not over.

"Who are you? Why did you help me?" Her voice was hesitant; she wanted to try to pretend she didn't know who or what Naafiri was. Wanted to avoid Naafiri being able to make connection between her and Zaahen.

Darkin hungered, just like any other creation. With their new body, Naafiri had tasted many different things in the short time they had carved out their feeding grounds, ever since the pack had devoured their dagger. However, even with all these new experiences, the Darkin hound detested the taste of Voidborn flesh.

Something about these creatures had always felt difficult to pin down. Whether it had been the indescribable terror they invoked, feelings which seared into their brains and made them question their reality, or the fact that their taste was strangely fake, yet not artificial. More like something which tried to evoke the shadow of a flavour, yet somehow could never get it right.

Even the consistency was wrong, slimy and gummy like chewing on some kind of hardened and at the same time spongy and rubbery skin. The flavour made the bodies want to wretch and throw up. Yet the pack had taught Naafiri to not be wasteful. If you made a kill, you picked the carcass clean, for you could never tell when you might have another success in a hunt.

The main body scraped its tongue over the roof of its mouth. Bubbling saliva crusted at the corners of Naafiri's chops. Still, that strange, alien flavour refused to leave their mouth. Eventually, the massive dune hound shook its head. The large blades, the remains of the weapon, rattled along the neck, shifting in size. A perfect adaptation to the main body.

The remaining pack mates had trained their eyes on the woman, whom they had coincidentally rescued. Experiencing the world like through a kaleidoscope had been disorienting at first, given that Naafiri was the entire pack; however, eventually, they had gotten better and better at piecing together details, even when the information seemed to come from half a dozen eyes.

The woman before her did not look Shuriman. Her eyes and nose held the wrong shape, her skin tone was fairer than what Naafiri would have been used to, and her wardrobe held none of the colours and fabrics the Darkin would have been familiar with, even in her old life. Those silken and satin robes of purple and rose were held in a strange, yet beautiful style. It made Naafiri think of the petals of flowers, which bloomed for a precious few days during Shurima's tragically short rainy season. Bronze orbs hovered around the woman. They hummed with magic.

The main body stepped closer. Lowering its head so they were eye to eye, the Darkin hound spoke with a raspy, echoing voice, which seemed to come out of a dozen throats: "You may call us Naafiri. We were not here because of you. We were here because of them." They pointed at the remains of the Voidling in the sands. "They dared to hunt in our domain. We took them out." Their nose twitched as Naafiri leaned closer, trying to get a read of the woman through her scent. "But we've never smelled one of your kind before. Who are you?"

@shrineshadow cont. from here.

[noxiies]

@shrineshadow | X.

It was a stray thought—perhaps one he should have left deep inside him. Time was growing uncomfortable and with it seemed a writhing withering sense of self. An offhanded comment—yet to his companion, he felt that it should be spoken. He was aware of the sacrifice that she made and what that may mean for them both. The time in the spirit world was intangible and indecipherable to him as they were locked away in infinite stasis.

The silence between them loomed like heavy fog on a chilly spring night. He was trying to pretend as if he hadn't spoken at all—what laughable excuse to ignore what was said. She deserved to hear it for she could not heard the praises that her people sang her. Just as he saved the Third Lands—their teamwork had saved her own. Meanwhile the spirits were eerily silent.

“I do truly mean it.” His voice crackling as he spoke low and gravely. “Time means more to your kin. To say and do as you do, is unlike all that I remember. Yet you do it all the same. I suppose you find me just as perplexing as I do you.”

[apolytia]

@shrineshadow was invited in for tea.

❝ I've never quite seen a technique like yours. And certainly not wielded with as much precision, and ... care as you do. I find myself burdened with questions, and I would hope to trade them with you, if I could. ❞

[viioletvale]

@shrineshadow - Continued ask

Jinx had always been better at stalking prey then Vi. Its not that Vi couldn't do it, but her instinct was to pounce, hit, and drag away. Both Tiger and Fox within her did not care for the slow stalk. Vi slowly moved on top of the building, her eyes narrowed upon the thief. Lowering down, her hands pressed against the ground, watching from above. Her silver blue eyes narrowed, and her left metal arm tensed.

In truth, Vi didn't care that the man stole; no doubt doing base instinct needs. She had stolen before, everyone in Zaun did. Opportunistic hunting for food, for money, for anything they could get their hands on.

However, the reason Vi chose him was quite literally the need to attack. Her eyes narrowed on him as she visualize her hands crushing his throat. Perhaps Warwick needed something to eat as well, the wolf had been quiet for some time. Her fangs bared as the itch intensified and it became harder to ignore. Moments like this, Vi knew she had to act. Better to do it in Zaun where the laws were not about killing but survival. If the Thief managed to survive to see another day then he would. But Vi's apex predator nature knew that was a slim chance. Her honed instincts and skills made it where she was the king of these streets. What did the books call the giant creature from prehistoric times? The Tyrant Lizard? She prized herself as the Hellhound, Kere, the death spirit. The tyrant who commanded fear and authority from her killer instincts and deathly punch.

Just as Vi found the perfect place to slam down her fist from above, something attacked first. Vi hissed in annoyed turning her eyes to the side to see some kind of heavy object flying forward as the thief ran. "Dammit!!!" Vi shouted as she jumped down and started to chase after the thief. Beside her came along a smaller woman, lithe and deep purple hair. Her sunkissed skintone and attire screamed Ionia though she looked ancient.

Weaving and twisted, one of her object flew forward, and caused Vi to skid to a stop so not to get hit in the process. The hunt ended and Vi threw her hands up, pacing back and forth.

Maybe she just fed this purple hair woman to Warwick instead!

"With your small bare feet and no tail?" Vi laughed and rolled her eyes. "You couldn't catch a mouse in Zaun much less a thief. Where you raised in Piltover?" Vi crouched down and pressed her hands against her head with a grumbling annoyance. Her metal hand pressed against the bridge of her nose, taking a few deep breathes.

What did Caitlyn say? Now she couldn't remember as she shook her head. Her sleek fox tail thrashed around a few times before standing back up. "Whatever… I'll find someone else," She said before turning to look at Yunara and raising a brow.

"Hold on, why are you in Zaun anyway? Its clear you don't know our ways. What… exactly are you doing? Got a death wish?"

[stgzr]

@shrineshadow from here

"Well. I was probably still inside of an incu-pod when my attending Assembly members cleared Earth orbit... then I was born shortly afterwards. It was more like the reverse: I took trips back to the 'old country' and the likes from Earth. Had my fair share of adventures growing up, before I became a superhero proper. Some afterwards. And I'm still at it, if with a few speedbumps."

A stranger in a strange land. Never quite fitting into one part or another.

"It's complicated in the way people expect secret oranges-- origin stories, egh-- to be. But not as epic or glorious as it coulda been, I guess."

[beastialshimmer]

"To be honest, I'm not really sure," She chewed on her lip. It really did serve her right for going to a pawn shop without getting the thing priced beforehand. "He said he was going to the back to grab some tools to look at it before everything went crazy,"

A sigh, she pinched at the bridge of her nose. Nothing seemed to be going right in her travels. "I've got to ask, is it normal for bombs to go off in shop backrooms here; or have I found your city at a bad time?"

Caitlyn gave an understanding nod when the young stranger revealed they sadly did not know how much the pawnshop owner would have owed them. She had been taking the girl's statement for the last fifteen minutes, as Yunara had been the only witness and survivor of a sudden burst of flames, coming out of the back of the shop as an explosion went off. The ringing sound of it had prompted the Sheriff and her little patrol to rear sharply to the right to investigate the scene instead of continuing their patrol.

"Was the item taken as well?", Caitlyn asked, "If you still have it in your possession, I could have a specialist examine it at the station and pay you what the pawn shop owner owes you out of pocket."

Her gaze briefly turned to the pawn shop. Billowing smoke rose out of its behind like an animal which had been struck by surprise. Most of the fire had dimmed down due to the Wardens' quick intervention. Even now, her officers were going in and out of the building like busy ants carrying any of the non-broken items outside and taking inventory. The dead pawnshop owner had been carried out on a stretcher. His body showed signs of burning, traces of soot, and his limbs were bent in strange angles, indicating broken bones. All the while, the Wardens were looking for any sign of the bomb.

"I cannot believe I am saying this", Caitlyn admitted as Yunara asked whether an explosion like this was normal, "but it depends entirely on who planted that bomb. Currently, I doubt it is a foreign attack, for outside of Ionia and Bilgewater, Piltover is the only nation with access to gunpowder. Neither of these nations is prone to attacking foreign soil. No, it is a lot more likely that this was an interstate attack. The question is not about who attacked us, Yunara. The question is, how serious are we supposed to take this attack?"

She smiled, calm and relaxed. Caitlyn said: "Honestly, to some extent, our city is always caught in a bad time, but that is just the cost of having as volatile and experimental-happy neighbours as our sister state, Zaun. I am just glad if we can contain most explosive adventures to the Undercity as opposed to up here. Zaun's much more used to dealing with its own volatility than Piltover, I am afraid."

@shrineshadow cont. from here.