#Canach: good start!

[hiddencarpet]

Please do not lick cacti

*id in alt*

featuring oc commander Kamon. (any pronouns)

[sylvaridreams]

Inhales. You know what gets me when I think about Heart of Thorns. The anti-sylvari sentiment in-universe was SO real for a while there. During the period of time where the whole world of Tyria learned the secret that Wynne had died to protect, that sylvari came from the jungle dragon, that they were made to serve it. Everyone turned on them. Friends, lovers, commanding officers, it didn't matter anymore. They COULD turn mordrem at any time, so you had to assume that they would. You couldn't trust something that belonged to a dragon. Even Laranthir (of the Wild) right after the crash, being held captive by his own people, waiting for him to go feral and tear their throats out. The sylvari Commander was granted a little wiggle room, a little space to walk around freely, but it's all very conditional. Prove you're a good one, that you won't fall to the dragon. There's the event in Verdant Brink where they round up all the sylvari in a camp and ask you to interrogate them, to break them down until they confess to being mordrem. And inevitably a few of them are hiding among the camp, but an equal number of sylvari run from you in fear, more afraid of you and the Pact than the certain death of the jungle beyond. The other innocents that stay don't have a choice. It's keep your head down and don't say anything or be killed, one way or another, while the Commander that you've worked under for the past couple of years interrogates a crying novice, asking if they've heard a voice. And who hasn't heard the voice at that point? The Commander admits to hearing it too. Canach likens it to a buzzing fly. Irritating. Nothing more. Strong willed sylvari don't stumble when Mordremoth speaks. But even that's not true; maybe not everyone's played Heart of Thorns on a sylvari Commander, but the closer you get to the dragon, you start to falter, to black out and lose time. In its domain you actually do fall to it. Briefly. Just for a while, you forget who you are and what you're doing there, and mordrem start giving you killing orders. And you snap out of it and never tell anyone, never. They can't know how close you got.

But what GETS ME is that after the dragon is dead, no one talks about it. It all returns to normal. Like the tension was never there in the first place. I'm sure there might be some loaded quips about sylvari in Living World Season 3 right after, but the next time I actually can recall it coming up is in Path of Fire. Right as you get into Desert Highlands; Canach says something about "I always knew this whole human/gods arrangement wouldn't work out" and Kasmeer shoots back "This coming from someone with a DRAGON in their family tree." And that's that. No one actually really discusses it in-game. They all moved on and don't care if you're a dragon minion or not.

Which. Augh. WHAT!!!!! NO ONE CARES? I'm sure it's a better end-user experience than if everyone you encountered as a sylvari player was like "OOOOOH I DON'T TRUST YOUR TYPE... YOU WRETCHED DRAGON PLANT FOLK" but narratively it's a little boring. At least in the sense that it doesn't feel finished. There should still be tons of anti-sylvari sentiment in Tyria and propaganda spread to force them out of parts of society and stupid hoops to jump through to be considered safe. Just as I think that sylvari should still hold anti-asura sentiment--you're telling me their small second generation had a huge group taken away and tortured to death and there's no ingrained fear of it happening again? I want my sylvari commander to have met Gorrik in LWS4 and been like haha. uh. 😥 (do I really have to work with this guy. An inquest...) (and EVENTUALLY come to like and trust him!) instead of the game plowing over it like oh yeah don't worry about it n_n the facility exploded and all so he doesn't work there now don't worry n_n NO I'M WORRIED!-- again I'm sure that the smoothing over of Everything is a better end-user experience. rather than everyone you meet being rude to you or vice versa. However----💥 (I am killed by a sniper from a long distance so that I stop talking before I begin delving into the prejudices that are already baked into the narrative)

[amnyatas]

Wasn't sure where to reply to the post about there not being enough content about the Guild Wars 2 ladies but I will say for me personally, I definitely do tend to prefer playing with, fantasizing about, my male characters more. My experience irl as a woman has been in some areas traumatizing, or there's been a lot of shame associated with concepts I wanted to explore as a character, for example: fighting, sex, being ugly, getting hurt. It feels safer or more comfortable with a male character because it provides a kind of distance that allows me to explore and experiment with feelings and ideas that may not feel safe or open to me as a woman with certain experiences.

Further more, it's hard to identify with Guild Wars 2 female characters, as non of them are allowed to be ugly. Middle age does not exist visually in Guild Wars 2 for (human looking) women, nor do torn ears and split lips. They can't be fat, or even particularly muscular - even if they are a war marshal. You can't look monstrous without it coming across as some kind of joke either. There is a kind of unreality, or an over idealization of female characters in mmorpgs whether it's a lack of customization options, or a lack of down to earth female characters. It always leaves me feeling like they're still forgetting their female player base sometimes. Still, I do have female characters. I keep them pretty private because they feel more personal I guess. I'll try to make more effort to share them.

i really don't even know where to start here but i'll do my best.

i think in general i wasn't clear enough, i don't mean the game is misogynist at its core(or that it isn't), i don't even mean individuals are for the most part, i mean little things like that add up and then we have discourse like people shitting on Eir for being a bad mom (on a poll with Cadeucus like. hello?), but being wholly lenient on Rytlock for being in a similar situation where he was far less responsible. Or Caithe being hated eternally for her egg-tastrophe vs Canach's vigilante streak being widely ignored or joked about.

really, its got nothing to do with personal trauma, i can't tell you how to deal with that and if your way is good or bad for you or anyone else. i had someone approach me because they saw their bad relationship with their mother in Eir and admitted they were taking out personal frustration on a fictional character. we all have issues and hangups and ways of dealing with it, that's not the issue, the issue is if it starts affecting how we treat others because of it.

you don't have to sit and try to appease the criticism i make either, just...think about it?

like honestly bringing up womens' appearance ingame is a valid point if it were actually related to what i was saying, but also none of the men in gw2 are really fat either. its a problem persistent in the wider video game industry, not just gw2--i'm talking specifically about the gw2 fandom on tumblr, and my experiences here. which i'm finding i'm not alone in feeling this way, and its kind of frustrating to have an ask like this show up, missing the point and making it personal. its really not about anyone specific!

maybe i wasn't clear enough but its not a gw2-only problem. its the same thing that happens in every fandom. which doesn't make it right, it just...goes unspoken about and it makes people feel like no one cares.

just asking folks to think about where their biases lie, and hell, not even to stop at how they think about fictional women, keep asking yourself if your hatred or dislike or boredom with a character is because you genuinely feel that way or if you have some internalized things that you maybe need to work through.

[just-eyris-things]

I've been tagged by @the-elven-star and @archesa, thank you guys!

-- B A S I C S

name: Eyris

nicknames: Ris, Rissie,

age: she's 27 this year! she started personal story as 15yo

birthday: May 29th :)

race: sylvari

gender: female (she/her)

orientation: pansexual

profession: Aurene's champion.

-- P H Y S I C A L A S P E C T S

hair: a mix of dark blue, blue, green and purple

eyes: blue

skin: green

tattoos/scars: scar on the right side of the face, a scar wrapping around her waist (thanks Balthazar).

-- F A M I L Y

parents: The Pale Tree

siblings: Caithe and Canach.

grandparents: Mordremoth, I guess?

in laws and others: Trahearne is like this weird cousin to her. She considers Airell family too, but it's hard to give them a role. It's not really sibling-like relationship, but "sibling" is the closest term to it i guess?

pets: Airost the fern hound (old boy's retired :) ), Aiari the jackal (they parted ways in the middle of LWs4), currently there's [Name] the skyscale (I'm working on that)

-- S K I L L S

abilities:

Ranger: her core profession

Thief: Eyris was Caithe's student, so she has some thief skills

Soulbeast: Eyris is able to channel the power of an allied creature

Dragon Champion: Eyris is able to summon/create crystaline arrows

hobbies: travelling, animal care, drawing, fishing

-- T R A I T S

most positive trait: honestly, i dont know. i drew a blank so hard I had to talk to my friend. apparently she's good at thinking on her feet so...let's go with that

most negative trait: stubborn, selfish

-- L I K E S

colors: blue, teal, sea-green

smells: forest after a heavy rain, fried fish, cocoa/hot chocolate, old books/scrolls

textures: soft fur, silk, soft sand underneath her feet at a beach, wet animal nose, tree bark, smooth stuff

drinks: strong ale, cocoa, tea, mulled wine, carrot juice, aloe juice

-- O T H E R D E T A I L S

smokes: sometimes, socially

drinks: yes, but as long as the time is right.

drugs: she was offered a few times to try, she did, she didnt like it, so nope

been arrested: way too many times.

~~

alright, im gonna tag... @i-mybrunettelady @the-tired-commander @charico @mystery-salad @ascalonianpicnic @moonlit-grove :)

[vampiricsheep]

[A small scroll wrapped in a red silk ribbon appears in your hand. You're not sure how it got there.]

"Greetings, recipient! You are invited to the Doomed by the Narrative Social, a mixer for the dead, the damned, and the really, really tired. All are welcome. This includes your other selves in the mists, so don't be surprised if you see your reflection despite the lack of mirrors!

To attend, simply eat this letter, and a shadow portal will open to whoosh you into a temporary mists pocket for the event. It should stay open long enough for up to five people to make it, so feel free to invite some friends or guild-mates along! This letter is good for...forever, really, since the portal is temporal-adjusted too!

Oh, don't forget to read the fine print at the bottom. (I didn't want to kill the formatting).

__

You found the fine print! Good job, you! alright, here's the deets. 1. Fighting is allowed in The Fight Pit only! Duke it out there so that your injuries can be looked after and nobody's drinks get spilled. 2. We're here to have fun, so keep it lighthearted! 3. This place is temporary, so you COULD trash it, but please don't! -- OH, and venue deets! Check out the tavern for dining and refreshments from far and wide. If you can think of it, we have it! Mists traversal perks 'n all."

_____________________________________

HELLO friends! I'm hosting a Mists Pocket RP event, a multiverse-style gathering where characters from all timelines and canons are welcome!

The event is January 15th, 2023 (Sunday) from 6pm to 10pm EST. NA server this time around.

We'll convene in the Lost Precipice guild hall, so you'll need to be in the squad (listed on LFG) to get in. If you don't have access to HoT maps but do have a free guild slot, you can reach out to @dasozelotvonnebenan to request an invite to the guild that he has so kindly allowed me to host in! (Please ask him well in advance if that's the case for you).

Due to the nature of this event, you are free to bring NPC clones, AU characters, commanders in their canon, and characters at any point in their stories! Just remember that if you see an npc your character would know in their canon (e.g. canach), that specific player npc might be from a timeline that wouldn't know your character! It'll be confusing, but hopefully fun.

event rules:

be respectful to one another. If you're not sure if something would cross a boundary, you can always ask OOC!

If you want to start a fight, make sure to check in ooc with those involved first - and then move it to the Pit (guild arena) if it gets too heated!

you can ALSO use the arena for friendly sparring. Go wild :)

don't actually trash up the place, please! We wanna be respectful of the space (and it's a REALLY nice one)

nobody is required to arrive on time or attend the full duration. You can always blame it on sheep's unstable portal magic and general mists instability.

[friesian]

[FLIPPING THE LETTER OVER REVEALS THE TIME, AND MORE IMPORTANT DETAILS!]

You get this letter? Invitation? Whatever you wanna call it?

Good. This is Marwyd.

Fuck everything you just read on the front of this. I know Canach don't check these things. He tells me 'just make sure they have the info, Commander', and that's that. Never bats an eye at anything else. So! I'm adding the info now, motherfucker!

Class? Style? Merriment? Naw, naw, naw. We ain't doin' that. We're going to TRASH this fuckin' joint. Here's the plan;

Canach's gonna give a word, linger for a few minutes, then head back to his office-- I'll bring out the REAL party then. Just act natural, don’t let the cover slip, otherwise we’ll be relegated to a night of whatever the hell a ‘night of merriment and class’ is. I want y'all to bring out the real party in you, too. Bring your booze, your worst behavior, go wild, go crazy. I don't care. I want to make this HURT on the pretty boy. I don't want none bars held back. I'll shoulder the blame for anything that goes wrong, and at this point? I don't give a shit.

>> Party starts at [ 7 PM EST, NA SERVERS ]. Don't be late, and don't be civil. <<

Let's make it CLASSY everyone.

[smokinsid]

Carmen Rush is not very good at being sylvari.

No Wyld Hunt, no courtier corruption, no mordrem stink. Soundless, you could say, but not by any effort of her own- it's as if she's in some way deaf to the voice of the Pale Tree.

As such, she tumbled out of the Grove while the other Secondborn were getting their bearings, and found herself in sitting in the back of a Lionguard supply wagon heading out of Brisban and back toward the Arch.

She could've been anything. A pirate, a politician, a sellsword- but being knee-deep in gore didn't hold much appeal, and neither did being up to her neck in paperwork.

She tried the life of a troubador, but had little talent for music. She spent some time with the circus, but the whole Uzolan ordeal put her off of a career.

As the world changed, she eventually came to realize that she didn't want a profession, and didn't have to be anything. She started listening to garage bands in the Black Citadel and going to free pottery classes on weekends. She got a dog.

Then she got another dog. And then a cat, and a bird, and a turtle.

And then a huge explosion went off over Lion's Arch, and there were fires in the little Gendarran town she was calling home. But Applenook survived, and so did she. In the process, she and her pets, along with a sledgehammer borrowed from the nearest tool shed, did a lot of work to scare off the mixture of riled-up pirates and aetherblades coming out of their hiding places.

She still comes back to Applenook from time to time, but since then she's been traveling. If you see her out there, schmoozing with wizards or spending her spare change in Club Canach, be sure to say hey!

[storm-called]

oh! #2, #9, and #13 for your Commander ask game!!

x @/scourgeblooms

(thanks for the ask! answering for Glaw like usual)

2. Who among the canon "allies" does your commander most relate to?

My first instinct was Canach, so I'll go with Canach. Both are people who started out in some sort of opposition to the "good guys" but somehow found themselves in the thick of it all. Canach has never been one to judge Glaw for their choices, even if he does enjoy pushing their buttons. They're not besties, but they do enjoy commiserating over a cup of strong spirits.

9. How is your commander perceived by their allies/colleagues? Does this perception differ from how their close friends see them?

Glaw's outward appearance in a professional capacity is often split between being seen as inexperienced/not the original commander/never quite up to snuff and holy hells that's the person who killed the last Elder Dragon. Tack on their overall mysterious self-presentation, and you are left with a person that no one is quite sure how to approach. So often they don't.

This does differ greatly from how their close friends see them, as Glaw is a veritable goofball beneath the mystique and brooding.

13. What is your commander's relationship with other authority figures? Do they often agree with the political situations they find themself in?

Absolutely abysmal, and no. Glaw has always had an issue with authority figures, and gaining that status themself has certainly not alleviated those feelings. If anything, they feel even more vindicated in disregarding them.

Glaw is not really the planning type, so politics often go right over their head or bore them half to death. To them, politicking spends too much time on bickering and infighting than actually helping the people they are squabbling over.

[hawkepockets]

Can we hear about prem and Rama or is that still being developed 👉👈😶 prem has a personality that makes him so funny in romance with people like Rama or canach it's entertaining to read

ok sorrysorrysorry i have been sitting on this ask. i have so much to say about these two but didn’t wanna drop it as an unbroken word wall without any new doodle comics … PRAMA NATION LETS GO !!

prama nation lets pause to note prem & canach have been broken up since mid icebrood saga. F. but prama nation, thats another story. LETS GO !!!!!!!!!!

prem met rama in seitung while the commander was still unconscious in jail. since he’s visibly canthan & zephyrite, prem could walk freely around the province, getting the lay of the land and passing as more or less local. obviously people knew he wasn’t from seitung, but they figured he was from some close-ish island. the mystery of who he was, how he’d been scarred, whether more zephyrites would be coming soon with goods to trade, was local gossip but not something that tripped any minsec alarms. lacking gold, provisions, and information, prem spent a week or so sweet-talking local merchants and fishermen into telling him about the area and giving him free food.

he also batted his eyes at rama, bc a cop is a juicy source of intel, and bc rama’s handsome! their conversation turned into a really long, really nice skiff riding date, rama bought prem crab rangoons, ran his mouth a little more than he should’ve about working for minsec, and went back to his office blushing to the ears like

but of course prem wasn’t from a close-ish island. he was an outlander who’d been here under minsec’s nose. he’d let rama think he was canthan-born and only casually interested in minsec, lying big time by omission, and he’d used rama to find out where they were keeping gorrik and the comm. all of this was a sucker punch to rama when he found out, and he naturally assumed prem had faked his interest in rama and the whole date was a trick.

he was hurt, pissed off, betrayed, humiliated… but didn’t want any of that to come across, so settled on acting just kind of disgruntled and sticklery about government rules.

(the whole date wasn’t a trick. prem honestly liked him.)

when rama warned dragon’s watch that their unsecured comm channel was basically a public radio show, prem took it as encouragement instead of the “shut the hell up” rama intended. like what better way to win over ordinary canthans while kas handled the imperial court !

he started actually treating it like a podcast, taking canthan commoners’ questions live, talking about the guild’s exploits, and airing extended jokes and bits with his friends, and he’s funny, he’s fun to listen to, so every time he tuned in on his radio, rama would be taking torment damage trying to decide whether or not he likes prem despite it all, like

and the more prem talked on the comm about things he’d done like wrestling a mordrem axemaster in the shell of a wrecked pact airship, following a dead dragon’s memories to find the lost city of kesho, seducing a mummy on istan to break out of a mordant crescent prison, using glamours to infiltrate the moon palace of gandara, out-talking jormag… the smaller rama felt by comparison to prem’s stories, and the smaller prem’s betrayal of him seemed, and his temper cooled but it also sort of felt like shit.

in person, though, it’s different. when they’re out on the skiff in new kaineng’s canals, prem is interested in everything rama says, leaning forward, eyes meeting his squarely, laughing at his jokes, asking about how he ended up at minsec, making him feel large and deep and attractive again, like he’s one of the most important people prem’s met in all that traveling.

in person prem also feels so much less daunting. kinda washed up. rama hasn’t seen him fight, since the monastery is dedicated to dwayna and prem swore he’d never enter one of her places of worship again, so he wasn't at training. looking at him out of combat it’s easy to believe he exaggerated his past adventures, or at least that his grace has faded now.

so rama opens up about being kurzick, his childhood in the slums that drove him to become a cop. and prem surprises him again by really getting it! because he grew up zephyrite in kryta, he joined the shining blade in part to bring gold and honor to his mothers in the soon-to-collapse canthan district, he bought into the copaganda too ! and as they’re passing the grub lanes prem’s looking at the reflection of the buildings in the water, saying how much rama’s neighborhood looks like where prem grew up, and rama stops short and asks if he wants to get out of the boat and explore the place, but prem says no. he’d rather just look at the reflection. because the canthan district is gone forever and he doesn’t want his memory of it to get confused with new, similar streets.

and rama is possessed to tell him about the love tunnel.

when things get real, though, is after minister li comes out as a purist and gets his ass kicked. prem & rama see each other in action for the first time, and the only surprise that could follow up rama activating his gunsword is prem becoming a dash of colorful light as he uses zephyrite aspect crystals to navigate the rooftop battlefield and take apart li’s task force armed only with his hands, feet, and a single war fan. there’s no longer any doubt in rama’s mind that this dude is still one of tyria’s best martial artists, but whether or not prem’s out of his league is not really a concern as he reckons with finding out his mentor/second father figure is a career racist who always held rama’s background against him, and that the ministry he’s been working himself to death for at the cost of every other relationship is corrupted to the top. of course gorrik and the comm feel bad, but they’re too focused on ankka and soo-won to slow down and take care of him.

so prem does that, staying behind on the rooftop after min takes li away, to offer rama a distraction.

he catches a crab and makes it into a (small, and honestly just mid) dinner for the two of them at rama’s apartment. then they break into the soju. a tipsy prem lets a progressively drunker rama talk about li and pretends not to notice as he cries it out. and then,

prem finally talks about why he left the shining blade—the corruption, the bad orders, the impossible expectations, finding out anise was messing with his memories—and about dueling his own mentor for his freedom. he doesn’t like talking about it, but he wants rama to feel less alone. at this point rama hypothesizes—not correctly, but close enough—that anise gave prem his scars as punishment. out of it and overwhelmed, rama starts making out with him…

aaand cuts it short in a second as he’s SEIZED by paranoia that purists will find his apartment and kill him for what he knows about li and they shouldn’t have been drinking bc at any fucking minute the assassins could break in !!

prem reminds him that the fight happened on public rooftops, and there’s nothing rama knows about li that min, minsec, the pact commander, and half of new kaineng don't also know already. rama feels foolish, and freshly devastated bc he thought he did know li better than anyone else in cantha, and that’s been taken away from him and the memory ruined. he calls himself stupid. prem says he's not. rama says fine, he's confused, and he's calling it a night. he asks if prem needs money for a raptor cab. prem declines, and rama crashes into bed. dead asleep before prem can stand to go.

at 4 am rama wakes up needing to take a leak, and when he opens his bedroom door prem is asleep on the floor right outside it, stretched out across the doorway like a guard dog, hand loosely over his war fan. just in case.

rama doesn't forget that casual act of devotion, or how nice the kiss was before he freaked himself out, and after soo-won's death, min's promotion to security minister, and prem's decision to stay in cantha with the "friends' detective agency" until rama's ready to travel, there's a growing feeling between them of like, "you're half stuck on canach. i'm half waiting for min. in the meantime can't a couple of messed-up ex-cops enjoy each other's company?" they start flirting and sizing each other up and testing out how much they can joke about a relationship before it becomes real.

this is long enough so i'll leave off there at the end of core EoD, with the final thought that i think prem works with serious characters romantically because he doesn't always take them seriously, he thinks a straight face is funny and a sharp tongue is cute, and having their stoicism laughed at and their moments of silliness and vulnerability rewarded gives them a chance to act more rounded. the same way his insistence on treating people like braham very seriously when everyone else is laughing off their expertise as a joke lets them feel more whole.

and who's not into that?

[chaoticstrata]

"Would you let me take care of this for you?" - whoever you've thought of most recently among your ocs

So this is WIP of sort, although was 100% started because of this ask. lol My GW2 pair has been on my mind recently, even though I'm pretty certain no one else cares for them--either that or the fanfic community for GW2 is very small. In any case, here's what I've written so far!

--------------------------------------

A frustrated sigh escaped Rhetton’s lips when his lover batted his hands away from the armor piece he was trying to remove. Those same hands then took over, carefully peeling the gauntlet off. “Canach, I can undress myself…” the former commander trailed off when amethyst eyes glared daggers at him. Wincing, he turned his head away, knowing full well the look was warranted…. ...because he once again ran off head-first into danger, causing the older man to worry over his safety.

It really didn’t help that he had nearly gotten himself cut in two by an enraged Ascended chasing after the refugees trying to flee. Rhetton had stepped in to help but was injured in the process. He could clearly remember the panicked look on Canach’s face--even from under that helmet of his--as an Agent named Kossian dragged him back to the Order of Secret’s outpost where his friends were. Thankfully, he had sustained only minor injuries--just a couple of bruises and scrapes…and the rather long and bleeding slash across his chest. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to hide the blatantly obvious injury from his partner. Not that it would have been a secret long, especially with Canach dead set on looking him over.  The older sylvari had practically thrown Rhetton over his shoulder to get him to a healer--much to the amusement of the man already helping him. While Rhetton found the action endearing, he knew he scared the shit out of the warrior…again. “Would you just…” Canach started to say, pulling the engineer’s attention back before he shook his head and sighed. “Never mind.” “No, Nach, don’t ‘never mind’ me,” Rhetton said, stopping the warrior’s hands from peeling him out of his sylvarin armor. He held them and squeezed lightly. “Talk to me.” A long silence followed before Canach sighed again, leaning in to press his forehead against Rhetton’s chest. “Would you just let me take care of this for you?” he asked quietly. “I’m aware I’d never be able to stop you from stepping into danger. You’re too much of a good person to just stand aside and do nothing--especially when you know you can help. All I ask is when you do, at least allow me to take care of you in the aftermath.” Rhetton could not keep the smile from his face, even if he wanted to. Pulling the older man closer, he wrapped him up in his arms and hugged him tightly. “I can do that…although you may need to remind me some days,” he chuckled softly, “I do tend to have an issue knowing when to rest.” The soft laughter that left Canach was deep and rich. “Yes, dearheart, I am well aware of that issue of yours.” Rhetton scrunched his nose at the endearment. “I take it dearheart is not to your liking?” the warrior grinned. “It is not…heard Foalin call Caithe that far too much,” Rhetton replied, “It’s rather ruined for me.” “Hmm, understandable,” Canach said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, “I’ll work on coming up with something else.”

[silvesi]

Today in Sketches I’m Never Going To Finish #2

They're good friends when they're not under duress I PROMISE

I just can't see Canach NOT having a problem with Fedsy attempting to order him around (he is covering for Larry at the start of HoT. He doesn't WANT TO but He did also deal with the egg so Larry could fly out with the pact, so-)

He's been allocated second best choice with dragons through no will of his own. He hates it. He hates CAITHE. WHERE IS LARRY. Will order you around and then teleport halfway up a vine real quick to have a breakdown where nobody can see him. Comes back. Yeah I'm fine I was um eating a sandwich. YES, CANACH, I'M PERFECTLY CAPABLE. fuck you. *goes to rip apart some mordrem to calm down and prove a point*

[fleshgardens]

Get to know me better?

Tagged by @plavigmaz in the ‘9 people you’d like to get to know better’ game.

Thank you Plavi! I usually just post art and don't talk a lot, so this might be nice for a change! It makes me feel pretty nostalgic, games like this were going on all the time on deviantart 10+ years ago

1. Top 3 ships: Aside from my own OCs, Zagreus x Thanatos (Hades) might just be my favourite (Zagreus is almost as oblivious as me haha), other than that I really like the idea of Nyx x Persephone (also Hades). Also maybe Canach x Pact Commander? (GW2) Canach reminds me of my partner a LOT in some aspects so he has a special place in my heart

2. First ship: I can't remember for the life of me, my whole childhood is very foggy tbh

3. Last song: Reptile - Nine Inch Nails

4. Last movie: not 100% sure, I mostly watch series lately, last one I remember is Corpus Christi (2019)

5. Currently reading: Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 by Simon Reynolds (actually re-reading it after like 9 years) I love postpunk as a whole and I'm a bit into modern music history, so I'm just really glad this book exists. Postpunk is very often neglected/forgotten when people write about music, and to have a well-written, accurate book written by someone who was there at the time and clearly cares about the subject is amazing!

6. Currently watching: Better Call Saul / Castlevania: Nocturne, only just started Castlevania, in love with the character designs , obsessed with Edouard already... I NEED him to get a happy ending ;_;

7. Currently consuming: Pumpkin gnocchi with spinach and garlic, recipe if anyone wants it! I sometimes sub the all-purpose floor for 1:1 mix of potato or tapioca starch and rice flour and it turns out great!

8. Currently craving: the coffee that my partner just brewed that is right there next to me but I will feel like crap if I drink too much

I have decaf too and it's still pretty good but it's not the same thing, even the best decaf tastes a bit flat compared to regular coffee :<

edit: guess I'm gonna feel like crap later today, coffee was delicious though

zero pressure, feel free to ignore! @friberchi @kaapora @diesvitae @sariannearies @astin-the-silent @ependasketchpad @tetraethyl @anna-yells-stuff @akuras-stash

[sylvaridreams]

20 19 questions for writers

<- why did they lie to me about the #? i demand answers.

I was in bed and going to bed and then I saw that I was tagged by ANTA MY FRIEND @antariies so i got out of bed to answer these

tagging: um. well i dont know. teensie. do you write...? you have to do this then. even if you are in bed.

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

39 right now, but I know I've orphaned about that many as well

2. what fandoms do you write for?

right now... all guild wars 2.

previously I've done a lot of metro 2033, half life, jojo's bizarre adventure, digimon, katekyo hitman reborn... and then less of hlvrai, final fantasy vii, and fruits basket... gw2 is all i do for right now. <:)

3. what are your top 5 by kudos?

This is super skewed because I orphaned a tooooon of my more popular stuff but Nuclear Option, two other vrai fics, Lent (<- should be number 1 if we're being honest and true) and a fruits basket thing that i should have probably also orphaned. the overwhelming urge to orphan things to skew the data further. you have to hold me back

4. do you respond to comments?

yes but not in a timely fashion (last round took me. over a year before i replied to anything. pensive.

5. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I dunno about actually angsty.... the fic that makes me cry every time is butterfly bridge; I wrote it after having to put a pet to sleep. if I ever got around to writing more "portal to the metro" the ending would probably also rank up there. due to. the tragedies.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

proooooobably Lent? idk I feel like I get a lot of "fuck yeah that ending ohhh the catharsis" type reactions on Lent.

7. do you get hate on fics?

I have a number of times. sometimes anon but sometimes people put their names to it?

8. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

yes. sorry. the apologetic kind.

9. do you write crossovers?

not often... usually a crossover is a pretend thing just for me in my Imagination. however. portal to the metro... it was a roleplay between myself and a friend. and then i started writing it in earnest. and then i got tired. then i started writing primarily gw2 stuff. you understand. but someday I'll return to it. and then they'll all be sorry.

10. have you ever had a fic stolen?

um. kind of. when I was 17-18 I plotted out a fic I was working on and shared it with a couple of dear close friends. and then like a couple weeks later a massively popular person in the fandom in question posted my fic: their version. down to every little detail. 🙈 never found out which of my friends shared the planning with them.

11. have you ever co-written a fic before?

yeah, Pluto's Moon -- started 8 years ago, finished almost a year later... I wouldn't bother rereading it at this point but. it was a fun experience. we had fun. I also cowrote several chapters of a Reborn crossover fic with my long distance mmo friend when I was a freshman in high school. I don't think we ever got anywhere with it let alone posted it to FFN or anything-- I was handwriting short chapters between classes lol. I might still have those pages somewhere...

and then I think I would also consider portal to the metro a co-write in many ways. because it came from both of us :)

12. what's your all-time favorite ship?

well. I think Canach/Alba has been too prominent for too long for me not to say it. canon/oc numero uno!!!!!!

13. what's one WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i dont even wanna answer and jinx it nooooo cry2. I yearn to finish everything... i guess maybe I have some weird misc smut fics I don't anticipate finishing. due to the strangeness.

14. what are your writing strengths?

dialogue is my dearest sweetest friend. my sweetie pee

15. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i LIKE it! thumbs ups. am I GOOD at it? thumbs in the other directions

16. first fandom you wrote for?

Kingdom Hearts before I ever touched any of the games. (like 17-18 years ago)

17. favorite fic you've written?

I feel like my most recent is always my favoritest 😭 uhhhhg

The Echo (current project)

Drochshúil (recent work)

18. what are your writing weaknesses?

I have no pacing control. I can't meet goals, OR i'll go full crazy and write 160k in 2 weeks. you have to watch out because that can happen to you too if you just go off your antipsych meds for a while

also filling in the stuff AROUND dialogue. so often i'll be editing a fic and just (sighs) dama (me) you (i) can't just have 8 lines in a row of dialogue. what are these people doing in between talking. and then dama (me) is like alright wise guy why don't you take a crack at it if you're so smart. and i do. but in the moment of writing i'm not super good at figuring out the in betweeeeeeens.

also I feel like ending scenes and such is really hard. also getting characters from point a to point b (locations) without doing a timeskip to "well here we are at point b!"

19. have you ever had a fic translated?

I had someone ask to do so with one of my metro fics, to repost on a Russian fanfic site; I wasn't particularly attached to the fic so I told them go ahead. but also I have no idea if it ever happened. heart hands. so maybe. there may have been another but I don't rember.

[eparch]

Thoughts on What Lies Within, not really gonna be careful about spoilers so cut:

TL;DR: I am whelmed.

The bad stuff first:

I tried not to expect too much in the way of the Commander Has Trauma Arc but I'm still disappointed the recollector just worked exactly as planned. And needing to grab more energy on the fly is not really a setback when it was immediately solved. I did think we would get a fair amount of NPC stuff instead but I didn't think it'd be to this extent in the final instance compared to how much we got of Commander. If they try to go back on this and do a whole "it didn't ACTUALLY work", my immediate reaction will be "that's an asspull" since that's the sort of thing I'd hope would get some kind of foreshadowing somewhere (unless I missed text somewhere).

Gameplay wise, the mini events are new and immediately overused after the first two times and felt very FFXIV-y which is not good to me. Felt like there was too much busywork before the big instance too compared to past releases but maybe I was annoyed because I wanted to get to the big stuff faster. I was lucky the mini events didn't bug for me but the crate one bugged for my partner and I could see all the random shit other people brought Chul-Moo.

I wonder if this will be an unpopular opinion but the final boss didn't feel like a GW2 story boss at all. I understand a lot of the previous instances of major story releases are regarded as too difficult by some but this felt like an extreme over correction in difficulty. Zero urgency compared to What Lies Beneath, huge AOE telegraphs, rinse and repeat phases.

Ok, the good stuff:

The memorials and memory steps were so good. I predictably picked Vlast and Blish but I was very tempted to choose Cinder. She was a surprising option to be included but thinking about it, she was as much of a "sacrificed/out of my control" death as Vlast and Blish. And I'm curious what the Aurene one would look like.

Voice acting was top notch as always and always the best part. I actually did enjoy the dialogue throughout the chapter.

And tiny Gorrik! And actually seeing Trahearne!

AND THE TRIPLE DATE. Yes I picked Canach, though for Luci he's like a brother, and he was great as always. And Taimi and Gorrik???? I'm happy for them.

Also Commander just literally yeeting the glass and then "oops clumsy me", perfection.

I think forcing commander to relax a bit was a great end to all that. I hope we'll start seeing more of Commander in social and casual situations with their friends. It would be nice if it was like. Dragon's Watch making an effort to invite Commander to relax with them, especially if everyone hears about the events of What Lies Beneath/Within.

Also I haven't done the new parts of the meta yet but I did enjoy THE TUNNEL in the story instance. There was a lot more verticality in it than I expected. I don't know if my thoughts on this will change once I do the meta tomorrow.

So, again, I am just kinda whelmed. I did enjoy the story! And I think it ended on a good note. But boy there are things I wish they'd done a little differently.

[kerra-and-company]

Does Kerralind have any particular opinion of Rytlock? (@commanderhorncleaver)

Thanks a bunch for the ask!! :D And yes, yes she does.

Kerra, during the personal story, was kinda...friendly acquaintances with Rytlock, I guess? She didn't know him all that well, but also didn't dislike him and thought he was a pretty damn good fighter, and was more focused on bringing Destiny's Edge back together than on him individually. HoT was the start of them actively Not being on the same page--Rytlock was kinda in the "they belong to the dragon now" mode re: sylvari, and Kerra (as a sylvari) did not appreciate that, to say the least.* The fact that he wouldn't say exactly what happened in the Mists was also frustrating, but she'd mostly let that go until PoF.

After learning the whole story about Balthazar's release, Kerra is furious with him. That broke her trust in him entirely. She does believe that he didn't know who he was releasing, but considering the fallout and the fact that he did it entirely to relight Sohothin, it doesn't matter all that much to her that he didn't know. She assigns partial blame to Rytlock for all the havoc Balthazar wreaks in Elona (including the lives lost)--and for Vlast's death. (Kerra blames him a bit for her own death as well, but wouldn't say that out loud and barely acknowledges that even to herself.)

Rhi (her kid) awakens after LWS4. They don't meet Rytlock until a solid year/year and a half after that, and that's only because they're tagging along with their mom to the All-Legions Rally.**

I guess the gist of Kerra's opinion on Rytlock at this point is that he's a friend, but one where their relationship has a lot of baggage. She wants him to be happy, but that trust is never going to come back.

(bonus facts for the asterisks under the cut!)

* - I mentioned this here, but it's worth noting that Kerra takes Canach and Caithe with her into Mordremoth's mind at the end of HoT, and Caithe is someone else that Kerra went through a period of not fully trusting. Kerra and Caithe also were on rough terms for a decent bit, but while Kerra didn't trust Caithe not to keep things from her at that point, she did trust her to fight against Mordremoth. And she was very angry but wanted her sister with her regardless.

** - Kerra brings her kid to the rally, which also happens to be where we meet Ryland for the first time. Part of the reason Kerra and Rytlock are on as friendly terms as they are at this point is because of Icebrood and the fact that Rytlock is so focused on his son during it. There are also things that happen that aren't great for their friendship (the bit where Rytlock and Crecia fall fully victim to the whispers for a bit, for example), but the first time Kerra and Rytlock ever sit down and actually talk about personal things is during Icebrood, when he tries, with limited success, to ask for (very late and also definitely too late) parenting advice.

[archesa]

heard you wanted relationship asks--have a whole bunch! (feel free to pick and choose if this is too many! just wanted to give you space to talk about them if you'd like :) ) 2, 5, and 6 for canach and galaed; 4, 17, and 22 for lucianora; and 38 and 39 for anwen and trahearne :D @kerra-and-company

A happy New Year to you 🎇🎆and thank you so much for the asks ! 🥰 I had a lot of pleasure answering these ! A good note to end last year and start this new one 😁

2. Any sleep habits either had to get used to?

Canach is a very light sleeper. As life becomes kinder, he learns to let his guard down but there were a few tumbles along the way... especially considering Galaëd gets extra clingy in his sleep... Galaëd might have found himself pined to the bed once or twice before Canach realised it was him and not an assassin, in the room with him...

Now... as to what sort of assassin tenderly wraps thelselves around your back in your sleep...😅

Canach let out a sound between an exasperated sigh and a strained chuckle when Galaëd pointed this out.

"You are the death of me, Valiant."

5. What is their love language?

For Canach, acts of service. Helping Galaëd dress up his wounds, after the fight against Balthazar. Ordering a round of his favorite drink the second he walks through the door of Amnoon casino. Making sure he feeds himself and gets some rest – forcefully if needed be – when he's working himself to exhaustion, as Acting Commander, after Rorschach's death and filing the request for a long vacation after the victory on Kralkatorrikk and Rorschach's resurrection.

For Galaëd, since they do their best to be discreet about their relationship (quite an arduous endeavour when a good third of your guild are spies!) and he must refrain from public displays of affection (his chief love language is touch, so he makes up for this when they're alone 😁), he simply tries to make as much room as he can for quality time.

6. When did they realize they loved each other?

Alright, I've already motioned how Galaëd got to deal with his reluctant crush on Canach from the moment he joined the Pact in the Silverwaste and his feelings changing over the course of the campaign of Maguuma, to the point of him accepting he did fancy Canach sometime after their detour via Rata Novus and finally understanding he was actually quite smitten sometimes after Bloodstone Fen and Caudecus' Manor.

But Canach got an interesting progression too because the poor cactus got the worst "not now, boner" moment ever 😆

I mean, the conclusion of his vigilante/terrorist days on Southsun was, understandably, a particularly stressful time for Canach. He was a fugitive fighting for his life, setting in motion a plan meant to come to fruition even after his death, cornered in a cave rigged with explosives and high on painkillers...

And one of the sellswords come aid the Lionsguard arrest him had a very unexpected effect on him!

"Well, fuck me."

Needless to say Galaëd totally misinterpreted that at the time!

After that, Canach tried to forget the reaction his pollen addled brain had had to seeing a literal vision of dream come at him with a sword and tackle him to the ground. And if their relation was quite strained when Canach first joined the operations in Siverwastes, the isolation they faced, the defiance of other races (even if their close companions were mostly supportive...), the constant pression of Mordremoth thundering against their willpower, finfing solace in each other's presence forged a strong bond, that Canach realised only after Rata Novus was stronger than mere infatuation. He willed to bottle up his feelings till the day he was free, though. And got smacked in the face by Galaëd falling asleep on his lap in Bloodstone Fen, and scaring the blue out of Anise in Caudecus' dungeons.

4. How did they first meet?

Elianora was sent as an envoy of the Pact in Elona around 1328AE. The mission was to make acquaintances amongst the locals, update their knowledge of the terrain and send reconnaissance reports to the Pact.

She met Lucius her first night in Amnoon. And quickly understood what he was. They danced around each other for a couple of days before they agreed to a meeting outside of the city to discuss the reason of Elie's coming to Elona.

17. Who fell in love first?

I'd say it's a draw. They grew close during the months before Balthazar's arrival and got together after Joko's death.

22. Who gets more easily embarrassed?

Lucius is quite confident in his worth and not easily flustered. On the other hand, Elianora has a lot of insecurities that she hides under her adamant flamboyance. So poking at her flaws or things she's self-conscious about is an easy – if risky – feat 😅

37. What do they like the least about each other?

They happen to share a fatal flaw. They would work themselves beyond the point of exhaustion if not for the constant vigil of their partner. Trahearne had to carry and physically keep Anwen in bed on more than a few occasions. And Anwen had to relieve him of duty her fair share of times.

And of course, when they're both too caught up in work, too intricately entangled in their duties to take care of themselves, Meryw is always there to remind them. Healer's orders!

38. What was their most memorable date?

For long, it was their night at the summit of the Vizier's Tower. It was their first day back in Caer Aval, they had left the Reach after a first but most memorable apparition in society. So being on their own, back in Orr as it started healing, stealing a moment with the history of Tyria, and looking back on their own, for Anwen realising how smitten she was, even at the time, and for Trahearne opening a new chapter of his life – together.

With time, they will have other memorable dates, one of them being a dinner in Lightfoot Passage, enlightened by fireflies and wreathed in the sweet scent of orchids. Kralkatorrikk was defeated. Aurene, ascended. And they were getting married.