#2000starfall

[starlightsuncrow]

Clearing my canvases means I have a lot of cromo to post <3

[starlightsuncrow]

Finally have a free momence, I was curious what your Starfall is generally about, and how it compares to your GW2 alt universe! And any character differences as well, since you mentioned a few different alts (sorry if you’ve explained this in a post before !)

- @magitechbatt

omg,,,, you want to know about Starfall? Buckle in!! It's gonna be long. I've never got the chance to explain so thank you!! Starfall is an original setting @cheddargoblin and I created, the story's premise is: "Long ago a star fell, and changed the world forever both physically and magically and even in it's current day societies across the world struggle to re-find their place in a world grown more wild and hostile around them."

Medieval-ish fantasy with themes of freedom, change, healing and bonds, a good story about found family and overcoming entirely different kinds of bias and classism.

Gw2 has some shared themes and the setting isn't too far off ! Starfall is darker,cruel though. One big difference tho is Starfall happens mainly in snowy regions! Now onto the characters!

I'll speak about my main two, since the rest are still a big WIP.

In Starfall Crow is an ex-mage hunter who escaped the Guild ( main place where hunters are trained and also big anti mage propaganda between all the things, even if they are mages themselves). In escaping he's constantly hunted, due to being an important figure and...a big weapon that was trained specifically for "purposes" by his mentor. The black arms are tattoos ! Cruel symbol of how many mages you captured/killed and so on. Has to learn to fight his own life of bias and brainwashing to live "outside". He's like a caged dog who finally tasted freedom and will fight for it to death if needed. Closed off with MANY issues, they haven't lost a small spark of naivety and hope though. Big part of the character is the revelation they're a fae ! No, they didn't know it. It's complicated. Hehe's also a "cursed" fae, courtesy of the mentor again. Describing the cursed fae as magical beings who have to survive on blood and magic, since they're made of magic. Without feeding they end being feral beasts who won't ever go back to being sane. They go through addiction and withdrawl usually. He's a fighter and adapts easily, someone give him a break please. He's the struggler but keeps going , a love for freedom keeps him going. Crow in Gw2 is a saltspray who fled from the Jade Wind, searching for a cure or something to help back home. After centuries of disguises he fell into the end of the Inquest and got basically " cursed". Vampirism about blood and magic, for a being like a lesser dragon it's...not fun i'd presume. Got saved by Dragora, lived and learned under Drago's wing and then joined the commander's gang in s2. Revealed their true identity much later during EoD<<< caused some drama. They're Starfall's Crow without the harsh environment they lived in, in gw2 he got a taste of it but not enough to compromise his whole life. Marked by it but doesn't let it control them. He's an exploration of who Crow would have been if he escaped sooner from the Guild.

So both keep that duality of self, same coin, just a little to the side in gw2. Neither of them are too different. Fun story about Cardamomo, he comes from gw2 actually! He's my commander and that's part of his core personality. Never make me think of jokes with characters and pairings because 90% of times they end up happening <<< Cromo happened this way. In Gw2 he's the sylvari commander, a naive and full of wonders sylvari who learnt fast war changes you. Forever.

Cute guy who sees the horrors and comes back angry, frustrated and not much hope and will to fight again, but that's all he knows how to do after all. That's why Gyala and part of Soto hit hard. They're tired, they don't know how to rest. Big trust issues? Or more about they can't let be seen weak and vulnereable. The important thing to know about Momo is that he wasn't Cardamomo at first. He starts as Caoimhe until the Departing. He dies, he comes back. He comes back different. I love the mirror theme so much he IS a mirror. A broken one. Caoimhe died, Cardamomo came back with less memories, some gone forever and a personality made to withstand the trauma just to fight Balthazar. Oops, Caoimhe took too much time to recover and now this commander has two pilots. They're the same guy still! Momo isn't a new different identity, he's more of...some aspects put together to give time to heal. Similar personalities to the point there's no much difference unless you know what to look for ( they have a slightly different behavior and manner of speech). It's like a fragment who learnt to be its own thing, while still following the main purpose of protector.

It's a toughie to describe I'll be honest, if I can finish that fanfic i'm writing maybe it helps understanding it (or i can simply ramble on another post <3) In Gw2 he's a dryad, beings born with a specific purpose ( in this case it's about balance). I'm still working on many details but he keeps the commmander "role" so to speak and absolutely gains the Caoimhe/Cardamomo duality again. Loss is part of his character in many ways too eheh. He's a bit more off putting and warms a bit slower than his gw2 alt though! Playing more on the fact this guy isn't human at all. I've been trying to keep both my ocs' cores for both settings with some modifications but more or less the alts end up being "what ifs" and explorations of a part of the main character that can't be explored easily in the main setting. They aren't as different as I make them sound probably.

Fun fact, dryads and fae are rivals, this didn't stop Cromo happening( one half didn't know, the other didn't care). The main alt i can explain is Dragonheart for Momo! Selkastra ( saltspray is just an appereance change and plays more on Crow being young but still... a dragon) Dragonheart is Momo's champion self? so to speak? That one transformation in EoD but what if we can access to it under circumstances and what if it follows the different aspects too? Otherwordly momo <3 Each aspect affects Momo differently and he acts as consequence too. Physically and mentally. If Aurene is the Prism Dragon, Cardamomo is the prism itself reflecting, each side something different. There's Fae Crow to explain too, but nothing too big changes apart from making him extremely ethereal and fey-like. Not to be mess with, fae are known to bend rules and twist them to their like. Even tho Starfall Fae are...a bit particular. I hope these are enough to answer your questions, which im so so happy u asked!! (it got so long he l p) I'm terrible at summaries but this made my whole day, thank you so much again !! <333

[starlightsuncrow]

Heyyy :3 can I hear about how Crow and Momo met each other for the first time in each version? I know you mentioned in Starfall at least that there should've been a rivalry between them, but how exactly does that go? And at what point in GW2 do they meet? (Am also curious to hear more about the Starfall Guild if you'd like to talk on that as well!) - @magitechbatt

Oh this will be so fun to explain!!! I'll start with the meetings and if i got space, the guild ! If not, i'll make a post <3 In Gw2 Crow stayed under Dragora's wing for a long time, but in s2, right after the meeting in the grove and its disastrous ending, Dragora urged Crow to join the commander and the others, since he couldn't. Thing is... Crow is very quiet in general. So you got this weird sylvari who barely talks and has a piercing gaze following you around because a firstborn told you they would be helpful. Okkk. Caoimhe wasn't impressed, but hey, any help is appreciated. At least he was extremely cuuuurious in understanding them though!

Crow who doesn't care about titles and actually despises them , which didn't help in this case, it's less about Momo as a person and more because...of the role? and Caoimhe who doesn't quite know...how to approach warmly this guy. Very formal for a long time! Until HoT starts and that's where formality was thrown into the wind. Working together closely and for survival truly does wonders to relationships. It's not as serious as I make it out though. They trip on each other because social stuff is neither strong suit.

As for Starfall! The meeting is funnier. Crow was scraping for money ( he's wanted by the Guild and so hunted constantly. I mean it) and went for bounties in small areas where the help is highly needed but less "seen". Momo was staying in the same area, driven by his purpose, meaning slaying anything that was a danger to a magic imbalance. So uh... Crow was looking at the bounties on a wall and uh.. Momo kiiinda was asking him to move, putting a hand on their shoulder but uh. Crow reacted and punched immediately. Startled them. Not a great impression. Crow decided to work together with him because it's safer and as a ...favor? apology? for that. It was supposed to be just for one big bounty. They kept going. First it was for safety, then to test each other, became a sort of amicable rivalry in who was gonna deliver the final blows and such, friendly competition. As for last...well, the company was nice wasn't it? Crow doesn't know yet he's a fae and Momo frankly didn't care in telling anything, because he thought it was gonna be a fleeting moment with a person. Too bad Momo <3. The rivalry was in part due to the dryad/fae thing, it isn't easy to surpass this eternal hate the two have, but ...neither Crow or Momo are quite normal for their own race standards. The other part is because they are goobers. Both isolated and tripping over social cues and stuff, they bonded over spars and fights and moments of reprise until it got harder to imagine going back to be alone ( It happens in Starfall for a while sadly <3)

They're enemies by race, rivals and friends by progression and then something more i dont have the right label for it and neither do they ahah. There's always that sort of friction with them but they make it work! As for the Guild... that's all me ! It's a place, a bit isolated from the big city, where the mages get "reformed" into mage hunters. Starfall is a world where magic in the big towns and stuff is considered scary and kind of forbidden. So if people got caught or seeing a child with magic? Guild time. In Northward ( city) a mage child has to go to the Guild. Mandatory. In the public's eye it's just normal! Nothing bad happens to them after all. ( wrong). There's a lot of propaganda and brainwash. The Guild is formed by recruits, hunters, teachers, professionists, a leader and its right hand. Plus other mansions that don't need soldiers like librarians and such. Recruits go through a period of training and learning, slowly forgetting the outside and learning rules and what's needed to survive. Passing the test, which gives you a lovely magic brand ( tracker), you are now bound to the Guild, going out needs permission and the brand acts as a leash. Fun, i know. Hunters then go through actual training, where they can slowly decide what profession they wanna be: Spellbreaker, Assassin and Reflector. Each of them is to stop a mage to cast and be captured/killed ( the black gradients on the body is a tattoo that indicates how many tasks you completed. It's painful. It's a stain) In picking one or more, you get your own mentor. Not many can pick 2 or even 3, it's a lot of work and dedication ( or high ranks want you to shine). The more you prove you're a good asset , the more you're sponsored? That's how Crow ends up with two professions and a lot of people who wanted to see him rising up in the high ranks. This is where they form teams too, after seeing how the hunters work together in the trials and missions. It's where teams solidify , due to mentors being friends too or smth. (In my case... Crow and Swan were a team, no i've never shown Swan here aaaa) High ranks are mentors usually, people who can go in the fields but usually are the trainers and the ones with power to discuss and decide with the Leader. One of them is also the right hand. Hunters usually ...die in the fields. Not many had the chance to retire and work in the Guild, even less Hunters who were able to retire out of it ( these...usually are killed from the Guild itself to protect secrets ) It's a bleak prospect for a future but the brainwash is so powerful they don't quite realize or fight against it, and when it's too late...well... you know. Mentors don't treat you bad per se, but... it's all to create soldiers and weapons after all, there's affection or care but rarely it goes beyond that. You're numbers to them unless you're ,again, sponsored and quite loved in the Guild due to status etc... Let's not add the fact Crow got the worst mentor ever , that added even more fucked up things to the training and we're good /jk. There's some snippets still but they're related to Crow mostly. Like...you have no contact with the outside even if your family is alive. Yeah, it's a secret, yeah Crow found it, no the reaction to know it wasn't pretty and it was one of the small sparks that made him fight back. In Fallen Au... Crow becomes the leader of it and it's 10x more fucked up. I think this is the gist of it! Sorry about the length! And thank you so much for asking!! The Guild is my personal playground >:)

[starlightsuncrow]

@magitechbatt WAAA tysm for liking it this much, it fills me with confidence in sharing!

Crow needs soo much enrichment, putting this guy in many situations for it.

To answer the questions...

Crow started as a Spellbreaker, with a normal mentor! A strict one, but very normal thank god.

Once he decided to pursue Assassin, he got Luzrov, the main mentor, and that's where things got worse ;)

Escaping took a lot of time and like...a year of slowly planning actually, but what was needed was :

-how to disrupt the brand's tracking. Crow kind of...fucked up his own hand there by nicking the lines very carefully and during the years he muffled the signal with gloves ( and even more " tinkering")

-breaking down the Guild's barrier in order to leave without consequences. Blood pact kind of situation. Leave something of yourself behind and it has to be...a bit bloody and painful. His left ear nick is due to that. Did it himself.

And then they jumped out of their window. And ran so much to the point they were out of the city :) ( but not free because the chase started soon after)

I REALLY NEED to show Swan,,, ill do my best ! She's super important to Crow's story. And yeah!! Fallen Au is bad ending au and it's the right universe to see how twisted Crow and co. can be!

<< needs to clean sketches again

[starlightsuncrow]

This could be them if i wasnt shaking them like maracas for fun and pain

[starlightsuncrow]

Call it chromatic collection...because...haha...crow and cardamomo...cromo...get it...

[starlightsuncrow]

More maids for fun

[starlightsuncrow]

He’s fun to doodle