#THANK YOU CAITHE

[valentineveils]

idk but i think without lesbians we would not have the story of gw2 . everyone say thank you caithe

[manasurge]

SPEAKING OF PEITHA, GUESS WHAT ARRIVED IN THE MAIL TODAY?!!?! (AND WITH TWO BONUS CAITHES?!!?!?!?!)

I'll take pics in a bit, I'm just starving and need to eat first, but omg... there aren't even any Caithe's in the shop and I GOT TWO AAAA M-my mail order wives... omg

[vulpixelates]

thank you to @ladyinthebluebox for tagging me to make a poll of my favorite video game ladies! 💖 i think there is one going around where it's just favorite fictional women in general but i had to limit it to video games or i'd be here for a year

tagging the following and anyone else who wants to (but no pressure!): @butchdollyparton @bardofheartdive @serawasnever @sunlians @littlebirdofprey

[withasideofshakespeare]

Woah no way?? People (completely unprompted /s) want to hear my trans Shakespeare headcanons?? You bet I can do that.

I’ve done this once before:

But I have even more thoughts now!!

In no particular order:

Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): Every single pronoun possible. He/she/they/it + all of the neopronouns and xenopronouns that exist currently or will ever exist. Fairy gender is always weird but Puck’s is extra weird.

Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): Fairy gender. Probably he/they/it?

Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): More fairy gender. She/they/it?

Titania’s fairy attendants (Midsummer): Get a hat and fill it with various pronouns and draw them out at random for the fairies.

Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing): Could go either way, but I really like the idea of transfemme Benedick. Or he/him lesbian Benedick.

Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing): The she/they to end all she/theys

Viola/Cesario (Twelfth Night): Could be trans in literally any direction. I made a post about this too at some point. My suggestion is all of the directions: they/she/he

Sebastian (Twelfth Night): He/him, transmasc. I also made a post about this at some point.

Feste (Twelfth Night): I saw a great she/her Feste last summer.

Orsino (Twelfth Night): Specifically the himbo variety of he/they

Margaret of Anjou (Henry VI trilogy and Richard III): If I ever play Margaret, I will use she/they pronouns.

Catesby (Richard III): Just played Catesby with she/her pronouns and it worked!

Richard II (Richard II): Tell me Richard isn’t the most they/he or he/they guy alive (or… dead).

Hal (1 Henry IV-Henry V): Saw Hal played with she/they pronouns last summer and it was great. Could also see he/they Hal. Very nonbinary vibe overall. I personally believe that going by Hal rather than Henry for two whole plays is their way of pulling the “going by the first letter of what my name used to be instead of picking a name from scratch” nonbinary trick. He probably pretends to be cis after his dad dies and he becomes king—one more element of Hal’s lifelong identity crisis.

Hotspur/Harry Percy Jr. (Richard II & 1 Henry IV): He/they in denial.

Kate Percy (1 & 2 Henry IV): She/they, not in denial. (Also Katespur should be bi4bi)

Ned Poins (1 & 2 Henry IV): Transmasc Ned Poins?? Maybe he doesn’t actually have a sister and Nell is just his deadname. Ned Poins’ failed scheme to flirt with Hal.

Romeo (Romeo & Juliet): he/they (t4t R&J!!!)

Juliet (Romeo & Juliet): she/they (t4t R&J!!!)

Mercutio (Romeo & Juliet): they/he(/it?). Vibes alone. Look at them. Just look.

Nurse (Romeo & Juliet): she/her, transfemme!

Cassius (Julius Caesar): Would love to see a they/them Cassius

Hamlet (Hamlet): he/they. I’ve made multiple posts about this theory and I still love it.

Ophelia (Hamlet): she/they. As she should.

Laertes (Hamlet): she/him and NOT just because Laertes used she/her pronouns the first time I saw this play.

Rosencrantz (Hamlet): he/they/she. Vibes. Sometimes goes by Ros/Rose. Probably genderfluid.

Malcolm (Macbeth): they/he or they/them. Also vibes.

Lady Macbeth (Macbeth): stolen straight from my last post because this is still my HC: she/they; would insult you for “having pronouns in your bio” and then turn around and punch you in the face for using their pronouns incorrectly.

Angus (Macbeth): she/her, transfemme. (t4t Ross/Angus. I will die on this hill… Dunsinane Hill.)

Ross (Macbeth): he/him, transmasc

Caithness (Macbeth): she/they lesbian

Mark Antony (Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra): I would not bat an eye at he/they Mark Antony

Edmund (King Lear): they/he, nonbinary, sexiest man (/gn) alive.

Edgar (King Lear): he/him. Transmasc Edgar is slowly becoming canon To Me.

Cordelia (King Lear): she/her, transfemme.

Goneril (King Lear): she/they. I would let them kill me.

Coriolanus (Coriolanus): transmasc OR transfemme Coriolanus is!!!! The butterfly/metamorphosis motif! Name changes during canon! Discomfort with scars/body! Lack of autonomy granted by society! This is THE transgender play. (Other than Twelfth Night)

Imogen (Cymbeline): Tell me she doesn’t want to be a she/they so bad.

Florizel (The Winter’s Tale): he/they(/she?). Literally just a vibe. I have a pet rock named Florizel.

Perdita (The Winter’s Tale): she/they. I also have a pet rock named Perdita.

Ariel (The Tempest): Similar to Puck, probably they/she/he? Even my conservative English prof consistently rotates between she/her and he/him for Ariel (possibly not intentionally? I’m not convinced he knows what her canon pronouns are.)

Ferdinand (The Tempest): she/they. PLEASE give me transfemme Ferdinand. PLEASE let Miranda realize she’s a lesbian during canon.

Miranda (The Tempest): she/they. Ariel taught them about the existence of she/they pronouns and she immediately started using them.

So in other words… every Shakespeare character should be trans, actually.

[faoiltearna]

gw2 adventurer challenge - entry 1

omphaludens, 1325 ae, the dream and awakening the beginning

i dreamt of battle - the voices of my people whisper of warfare and combat. i see a knight in armor fierce with challenge, who offers me the gift of courage. i see friendly faces of good and noble folk who need me to keep them safe. a devouring force threatens all of tyria. i will stand against that danger.

on this, the evening of my awakening, i feel fire in my blood

i sense darkness approaching, intruding upon the dream. it blocks the path to my awakening. before i can enter the world, i must first face and vanquish this evil.

in my dream, i met the ghostly visage of another sylvari called herself caithe. she said i'd be awakening soon, but that we needed to hurry while i was still dreaming because something was poisoning the dream. we needed to defeat the creature of nightmare.

we fought our way through nightmare hounds - which are an aspect of the poison. we fought many and many of them. they seemed to never end.

then suddenly caithe was in my dream tangibly, telling me that the pale mother had strengthened her for a few moments to fight what was coming.

the shadow dragon was enormous. why is my dream so terrifying?

then a different voice, speaking from a different place. not in my head but by my side. calm and soothing, deeper than caithe's. opening my eyes, i saw a sylvari in green with a touch of red leaves peaking out of his body wear.

'steady, sapling. you just woke. you were calling out in your dream.' 'in my dream, i saw two distinct images: a green knight and a dragon. what do they mean?' 'dream images may be literal or symbolic. you should seek out the firstborn, who have experience interpreting these images.' 'may i ask you another question?' at his acquiescence, i wondered 'where was i while i dreamt? before i awoke?' 'look up, valiant. do you see those blue fruit? when you awoke, you were lowered from the boughs by the pale tree.'

then i moved deeper into the grove. i went to see the pale mother, and spent time with one of the teachers there, hearing of the wider world that we lived in. we were told that those with wyld hunts frequently found themselves pulled to leave the grove to fulfill that responsibility.

i spent time in the garden of dusk, talking with gardener taiscelai. 'i hear you'll be leaving us again soon, omphaludens. your wyld hunt has come so early. is there anything we dusk blooms can offer to ease your upcoming journey?' 'only your wisdom.' 'here's my advice to you, dusk bloom. never forget that others could mean you harm, even other sylvari. not everyone sees the world as we do, and not everyone is hospitable.' 'thank you, gardener.'

armed with that knowledge, i was sent to the maker's terrace to have bhia teach me to cook. perhaps this was to come to aid of others? she mentioned feeling hunger but i have no idea what she meant. i applied myself and learned to make biscuits, which i was told would make a good rations for while i was traveling, but that when i reached a village or city, i should be sure to try some of the local foods. 'it will become a highlight of the time you're out. all those foods, the smells, the tastes. the interesting combinations of ingredients. do yourself a favor and savor all of it.'

the excitement of being awakened and the newness of it all finally wore off. 'i think i need to sleep.' bhia sent me off with an escort 'directly to the dreamer's terrace with no stops for sightseeing along the way'. in the dreamer's terrace, i wandered around a bit until i found a quiet area with a small table with stools so that i can write this. there's a section of tree beckoning to me. it's curved and cozy-looking, and i think it will be a lovely sleeping spot.

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

WOE, RATS BE UPON YE!!

more Ruju doodles because I lost control of my hands, oops

this time, featuring a later snapshot from Ruju's Commander timeline: set around the time of Secrets of the Obscure and Janthir Wilds, he's now even farther off model than he already was!!

and now some obligatory (non-spoiler) ratmander lore-dumping under the cut:

characterization notes as The Commander™

slowly comes into his own over the years, with his softer side finally showing itself mainly when Aurene chooses him

this rat was the softest little guy wherever she was concerned

no seriously he was almost as clingy with her as she was

Caithe was the serious parent he was the fun uncle/big bro

he used to race her up the jumping puzzle in the egg room

largely wanted her to get to have the childhood he never did

he still play-wrestled with her even once she was 1000x his size

his bond to Aurene helps stabilize his magic significantly

there is an inverted bell-curve of 'respect for the Commander' based on how much experience one has with him

step 1: celebrity hero. step 2: violently insane. step 3: ok yes he's insane but also thank every divinity he's on OUR side

actually did NOT get along with Gorrik at first. he is a grade A projector and also distrusts anyone Inquest immediately

Gorrik being enamored by the murderous beetles did not help.

(that entomologist almost wound up in the sea. oops)

after multiple interventions and a few sincere heart-to-hearts though he's become EXTREMELY protective of the guy

similarly protective of Taimi, though he teases her back too

genuinely struggles to keep track of things. he writes out the canon story journal in a small notebook to help with that

miscellaneous other details you didn't ask for

consistently chooses ferocity-aligned dialogue options even and especially when he has absolutely no good reason to do so

do not pick him up. do not pick him up. do not pick him up.

if he allows you to carry him either he really really likes you or he's pretty sure he'd serve a prison sentence for biting you

acts very big and tough but is a total softie deep down

no seriously if you hug him he might actually cry

(he'll claim it's just something in his eye though)

had some crushes in college and fumbled every single one

50/50 shot of whether the rats he picked on were just easy targets or if he liked them and was trying really hard to cover it up

(if he ever met them again he might actually burst into flames)

incapable of sleeping in normal positions. also snores LOUDLY

puts bloodstone dust on ALL his food. Oxbone would be proud

also makes his own food EXTREMELY spicy when he can

dw he won't put that on yours though. he's not THAT mean

originally got into cooking as a method of training his fire magic

LOVES to put on a big show with it if he has guests, too, complete with all sorts of fancy knife tricks. you get The Works

his ADHD hyperfixation is knives/cutlery. he has told no one this

constant motion/fidgeting, can't keep still. foot tapping, scratching, claw biting, pacing, etc are all very common

[just-eyris-things]

Eyris's outfits masterpost

So at the beginning of May I started drawing Eyris in various outfits that she wore throughout her life. Adding a Read More because this will be a long post.

NOT SPOILER FREE

We start with casual clothes she wears for the first year before she grows her first plant set.

STARTER OUTFIT / CASUAL OUTFIT 1

I added the Hero word card, which I later on regretted - I should have added it on the second outfit (plant armor), but I will elaborate on that later. She can be seen wearing a similar outfit in her early teens in my comic.

In the first year of her life, she studies under Caithe, learns how to wield daggers and a bow and also acquires a fern hound, which she later on names Airost. The two are inseparable. They are almost like one being in two bodies.

FIRST PLANT ARMOR 1: HERO/NOBLE

Eyris wears this plant armor when she's still the Valiant. As mentioned earlier, she studies under Caithe and is preparing for her task of slaying Zhaitan next to the two Firstborn. Eyris completes the White Stag story line alongside Tiachren storyline. Her eye scar comes from Gavin. Thanks Gavin :) I still love you, even if you are the reason Eyris is scared to trust people and that's why she chooses to go with Tiachren instead of saving the village - she doesn't want to lose a friend to Nightmare again (babygirl Gavin was NOT your fault...)

She then attempts to help the Order of Whispers to retrieve Caladbolg, but she fails. Eyris slowly loses faith in herself after that failure. She uses it as an excuse to escape and become a Soundless - if she cannot retrieve a sword, then how can she possibly battle a dragon? Furthermore, that failure only quantifies her fear of death (reminder: she's seen in her Dream that a dragon consumes her and as a result she wakes up prematurely from shock and fear). So, she thinks that as a Soundless she will be safe.

She stays with the Soundless for a while until their village is raided by the Nightmare Court. Eyris is one of the very few that manages not to get caught. She does not wait for her fellow villagers to escape - she packs her bag and leaves to travel the road.

SHIVERPEAKS!

During her travels Eyris eventually reaches Shiverpeaks. She is not as "green" (pun not intended) as she used to be when she first began her journey, but she's still quite young, naive and inexperienced. She meets Ragnar Bjornskin, who adopts her and teaches her not only important survival skills, but also a bit about the world, especially about norn culture. Eyris sees Ragnar more as a parent figure than she sees the Pale Tree.

Unfortunately, Eyris and Ragnar get ambushed by the Sons of Svanir. Eyris gets her nose broken and Ragnar... Ragnar dies, which devastates her and eventually... leads her down the path of crime.

CASUAL OUTFIT 2

Eyris still travels, but her most common "hunting" ground for goods and money is Lion's Arch. She becomes quite infamous there at some point, but more as "the unknown person that we KNOW is responsible for all of THOSE crimes". Eyris, girlie, you're using the skills that Ragnar's taught you the wrong way... he would NOT be proud.

But it would make someone else proud, and by someone else I mean...

THE ORDER OF WHISPERS

Eyris is recruited by the Order of Whispers. She uses them as a kind of "reputation reset" card. She is good at her job, and after she gains trust of her coworkers, she begins plotting. She betrays the Order many times by selling classified information or using the Order's resources for side hustles, or other stuff. When she's caught, she knows she has to disappear - The Order chases after her in every possible way.

Around that time Eyris meets Freya - a vigil soldier with whom she has Beef TM. The Beef TM doesn't last long though.

Eyris then switches between Casual Outift 1 and 2 most of the time, when she's forced to join the Zhaitan war she wears a slightly more fortified Casual Outfit 2 (to protect herself from the undead bites and scratches, as well as to protect herself from weird Orrian weather). And then... we're back to plant fits.

PLANT ARMOR 2: IN THE JUNGLE

Eyris doesn't really show up during LWs1 and we see her come back in LWs2 right before the Summit. She is accused of bringing the Mordrem in, despite her actually coming to warn the attendees.

After that Commander Airell has to do a lot of work to get her in their ranks - they believe they could use her skills but they also want to minimise the risk of in-fighting within the Pact ranks.

Eyris also wears this outfit during HoT - Eyris plays a minor role in the expansion, in LWs2 she mostly chases after Caithe and the egg, and after she gets the egg in the expac she just stays in Tarir until LWs3. She doesn't participate in it much, she heads to Divinity's Reach for Head of the Snake, where she is supposed to attend a wedding as Freya's plus one in this lovely dress:

After the wedding, Eyris travels to Elona with Canach and we get...

THE DESERT OUTFIT 1

Eyris heads to Elona to find Vlast, she considers that task an extension of her Wyld Hunt that she clearly can't escape. She reunites with Kasmeer, Rytlock, Canach and the new commander, Nia Furaha at the time of Vlast's death. Eyris does not tag along with the group, but they meet again in Kesho. After that, Eyris and Nia face Balthazar. Nia escapes, Eyris...gets burnt to a crisp, which brings us to...

NECROMANCING EYRIS BACK TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING, COURTESY OF AIRELL!!!

When Airell rejoins the group in the desert and learns of Eyris's death, they go to the place of her demise to pay respects. Since Airell is now, unknowingly, the new Jungle Dragon, and they also absorbed Zhaitan magic....yeah, they accidentally bring her back by accidentally sprouting a blighting tree. Well, the tree doesn't get enough nutriens from the rock so when Eyris falls out of the pod...she's a bit unstable, and her body is covered in necrotic energy that keeps the body safe from harm and lets it finish regrowing. Since, yknow....there was nothing left.

Death still leaves a mark on Eyris - she now has a big scar around her waist, at the place where Balthazar has cut her in half. In the Necrotic Form, the wound glows ominously. The extra eyes were added as a simply stylistic choice to point at her connection to Airell (the connection replaced the Dream), just like this flame that's in the middle of her stomach. Hands are in a different colour just because I wanted to draw them like that, so probably not canon.

Anyway, eventually Eyris is done regrowing her body, especially her face, which leads us to

THE FALLEN HERO ARMOR

Eyris wears this post resurrection and during Joko arc. This is a simplified version of the haunted armor outfit, I was at Tyrian Pride so I'll admit that I got lazy with drawing the outfit perfectly and just simplified it.

The hole in the armor glows with Airell's magic (I might get rid of this part). For majority of time, Eyris wears a skull mask to hide her face which is..well, gone for majority of the story. She has a Grand Face Reveal during the final Joko Face-off. Yes, the differences between the eyes on the face close-up were drawn on purpose. Also new hairstyle, more accommodating the desert heat.

I'll update the post with the last 7 outfits when I'm done drawing them :) For now - enjoy some Eyris content.

[commanderthalys]

I was tagged by the lovely @i-mybrunettelady for this ^^

-- B A S I C S

name: Thalyssera

nicknames: Choya, Thalys

birthday: May 28th

race: pale tree sylvari

gender: nonbinary (she/her)

orientation: bisexual

profession: pact commander, post EoD is semi retired and does various pact jobs after several months of vacation

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

hair: patina, short length

eyes: sun

skin: green olive, succulent texture

tattoos/scars: missing her right leg below the knee, the remaining stump is covered in scorch marks. Also has several tattoos! The largest is a raptor skull decorated with flowers on her back. She has a small pact symbol tattoo on the right base of her neck. Her left arm is tattooed with vines, and on her left calf she has two cogs, I talked about them a little more here!

-- F A M I L Y

parents: The Pale Tree

siblings: Trahearne

grandparents: Does Mordremoth even count

in laws and others: Amelarius (romantic partner), Aurene (like her niece), Neil (friend), Caithe (romantic partner), Callum + Meera (friends), Tonn (friend), Tybalt Leftpaw (friend), Carys and Tegwen (friends), Taimi (friend), Braham (friend), The rest of DW (coworkers who she likes but isn't incredibly close to), Clementine (former pet turned friend, it's a long story)

pets: formerly Clementine, Streamline (old raptor, died during PoF)

-- S K I L L S

abilities: after the Clementine incident she inherited some iboga features and can spit acid from openings in her face. Good at close combat both unarmed and with daggers. Decent with guns as well, and can be stealthy when needed thanks to her whisper's training. Can soulbind with her pet if she has one.

hobbies: Training and generally working with raptors, sparring and working out, hiking, fishing with Neil. Overall any activity outdoors, she loves games as well as relaxing nature walks!

-- T R A I T S

most positive trait: Her optimism and determination! She works hard and plays hard, and refuses to give up fighting for what she believes in. She's incredibly devoted to her work and genuinely believes that the world is worth saving.

most negative trait: her ruthlessness. If she believes her goal is the right one she'll stop at nothing to get it, no matter who may ultimately stand in her way, and she's incredibly brutal when she feels that it's necessary.

-- L I K E S

colors: copper, turquoise, earth tones overall

smells: cooked meats, fresh grass, wood burning, ocean air

textures: rough, dry, bumpy, coarse

drinks: lemonade and fruit juices!

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

smokes: no

drinks: not anymore, used to heavily at one point

drugs: no

been arrested: yes

taggin but no pressure!!! @baronvonscrufflebutt @manasurge @mystery-salad @brightwingedbat @wilsons-journey @ratasum @pyppyn @twilightdomain @commanderjuni @ancientkarka @the-desert-beast @sunsrefuge @s0urfangs @dotmander @aetherblooms @the-elven-star

and anyone else who sees this, feel free to hop on! that's right! You there!

[nice-profession-mechanic]

A friend started playing GW2 and now i get to relive the personal story through the eyes of someone so completely uncommitted to the story that we get to enjoy such stuff at:

Sylvari Personal Story:

Player character: This prophetic dream contained a terrible monster that I can only assume is a metaphor for the evil in the world.

Caith: Yeah, nah. That guy is real, he looks exactly like that. Thanks for the assist, he was very confused how psychic unborn children helped kick his ass.

Player character: OK, well...what about the mysterious unkillable green knight in my prophetic dream?

Caith: That guy is also just a guy, he's over there. Kick his ass, he's very much killable.

Player character: So you're telling me prophecies aren't real?

Caith: Nah, yeah. They're real, you just happened to dream about really specific things that are one to one how they appear outside of the dream.

[hypnalogue]

3 and 6 for the aurene ask game pls <3

YAAAAY THANK U

3 was answered here!

Aurene & OC ask game by mistfallengw2!

6. Aurene kind of took a pinch of Graywall’s personality, which is. Not necessarily a good thing? Graywall is 50/50 Dignity/Ferocity when it comes down to it, basically. He’s charming in his own quirky way and quite handsome but like many of my characters, This Twink Will Break Your Bones.

He jumps to violent threats at a hair trigger and Aurene kind of took after him in that way. She’s had to learn to redirect/suppress that response because! Well!! She Is An Elder Dragon! And that’s not necessarily good for her reputation! It’s not a conscious thing on her part either, and neither of them do it maliciously. Gray’s had a rough run of it and picked it up from years of roughing around in the wilderness and fighting off various hostile factions. As much as he is a sort of light in the darkness in his canon, he is just kind of a grave individual at times. and Aurene just. In the way that any toddler would mimic a parent’s behaviour saw him act that way one too many times and now it’s just a habit for her too. It doesn’t help that this tendency bleeds into Gray’s sense of humor, so Aurene does it too. Lots of very casual “I’ll beat you to death with this [object i’m holding/nearby thing”] etc. Think violent tumblr humor but in person and with a little more “i could actually do this to you” weight behind it. Again, Very Distressing when said by a very large and powerful elder dragon.

She’s learning and does it less than she used to as an adolescent dragon, with lots of help from the rest of the Firewatch guild (Dragon’s Watch in Gray’s canon) [they wanted a more all-encompassing name than dragon’s watch since they kind of end up just. Being emergency responders to whatever world ending threat anyway] but it does still happen sometimes when she’s not paying attention to it. There’s been lots of panicked Caithe/Taimi/Gray/etc going “Ooooohokay she did NOT mean that please put the gun away” lmao

[manasurge]

Fan service to myself (with my Sylvari OC Mourynn) being a flustered mess as usual, mistaking everything Peitha says as flirting (is she wrong tho? :3c). Basing this off of a headcanon that many of us share being that Peitha also has a huge, more gnarly demon form like her siblings (and Mourynn has her dragon one for context). Also this is meant to portray her talking in her mind. Thank you for my new hot demon wife, Anet. I'm smooching her every day u///u (and now Mourynn can be in a throuple with Caithe and Peitha bc I said so)

[doueverwonder]

The Visit

Y'all guess who's back to writing (finally); everyone say thank you to @hetagrammy for talking to me about IreNor which made me want to write again and for beta reading; she is a person of many talents.

Welcome back to world building the fics, couple of notes + human names;

Because I can I hc Faroe and Iceland as Norway & Ireland's kids; Alisdair has right to be worried he's not just an asshole.

Alisdair = Scotland Molly (or Máire) = Ireland Sigurd = Norway Ida = Faroe Islands

TW: for references to domestic/sexual abuse (character accusing another of it, nothing is actually happening)

ao3 link here

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been too long since Alisdair had seen his sister, a couple decades at least. He didn’t even know where she was living, what she was up to, if she were even alive. When you knew as many people as centuries of life could afford you it was easier to find someone though, he assumed she was living in an abbey still; which one he wasn’t sure but that was his first guess to start looking. That was the clue he had given: his sister Máire, she lived in an abbey, made her living writing manuscripts. Even threw in her goldsmithing hobby, and a rough description based off the last time he had seen her. As he was sure there were a thousand Máire’s who helped write manuscripts in Ireland alone.

This wasn’t what he expected, out of all the places in Ireland, Dublin, a viking settlement, was the last place he expected to find her. He had heard of the city, which seemed to be a rather large hub for the Scandinavians now. He couldn’t believe how many boats were in the harbor, they lined up endlessly. He remembered one of the last conversations he had with her, he had half begged her to stay away from the coasts; convinced himself the farther inland she was the safer she would be. As usual anything he, or Dylan, asked of her spurred her to do the absolute opposite. Considering this is where she was living maybe Arthur had asked her to stay away from the coasts as well, she would happily let herself get captured if it meant spiting Arthur. 

He kept his head down, not wanting to draw attention with all of them around here. Reasonably he didn’t trust these people, he had already lost Shetland, Orkney, Caithness, and Sutherland; not to mention the Isle of Mann. Four girls and a boy, all fathered by the Norse personification and promptly left behind. It wasn’t uncommon for nations to leave their children in their own land until they were older; didn’t mean he had to like how recklessly he had them; nor did it mean he couldn’t feel bad for the bairns.

He came to the house he had been told; it took far longer than he expected, and had to go through what seemed half the clergy in the country before someone knew where she was. Only finally finding out from a priest that seemed ten years too old to be alive, but here he was. It was on the outside of the city, a small house looking like it wasn’t made to be a long term shelter, there was a small area of farmland around it. He opened the gate making sure to close it behind him so the chickens that milled about wouldn’t get out. A cat sat on top of an overturned crate, gazing over him lazily. That surprised him, Molly had never been much of a cat person preferring dogs, said they were more useful. 

He dusted himself off as he stood at the door, he didn’t need Molly immediately scolding him over his appearance. He knocked heavily, she tended to daydream and not hear things too lost in whatever she was doing. He didn’t want to just walk in either lest he scare her, or he had the wrong house. The wrong Máire. He hoped not. 

The door opened, he smiled expecting his sister. Expecting for her to throw herself into his arms for a hug, they had never been apart for so long he was so excited to see her. His face fell, instead of his sister stood a man, just barely taller than him, blond with blue eyes, dressed as a northmen. The Northman, Sigurd, the source of all his troubles stood in front of him. Molly must have been here, it was too much of a coincidence there is no way he was here and she was not at some point. 

“Where is she” 

“No hello?” it infuriated him how calm the other was, Sigurd was always infuriatingly calm, even when facing Alisdair. 

“Where is my sister?” Alisdair started again, his voice firm but loud, “Where is Molly? What have you done with her, you heathen?!” he spat the word in his face. 

Sigurd looked upset, but was nowhere near losing his temper as Alisdair was, “She is fine, and I do not–” 

“She can not be fine if you are in her house I–” Alisdair stopped, a small voice, clearly inquisitive, asking something. He looked down, a child no older than four, maybe five clung to Sigurd’s leg. He was going to brush her presence off, Sigurd had plenty of bastards, all of which deserved to hear the truth about their father regardless of age. His gaze lingered on her just long enough for her to look up at him. He froze suddenly, the girl was blonde and blue eyed, just as her father was; but the shape of her face, the way the frizzy curls framed her face… that was Molly. Sigurd must have noted his new interest and he shooed her away. Alisdair’s trance broke as he watched her go. 

“Where is my sister?” he demanded again, this time peering over Sigurd’s shoulder trying to see into the house. He wanted to see the girl again, he wanted to see her closer, that had to be his sister's child. 

“I already told you” He stepped to the side to block Alisdair’s view, “She is fine, why are you looking for her?” 

“I’m not allowed to see her?” 

“I didn’t say that” 

“Then where is-” 

“Sigurd? Who’s at the door?” He froze, moments away from pushing the other man out of the doorway to get into the house. The voice was Molly's. He needed to see her, he needed to know she was okay, he needed her alone, he needed to know she wasn’t being kept with him against her will. 

Sigurd stepped to the side so Alisdair could see in the house, Molly came into view and seeing her face took some of his anxiety away knowing she was okay. Knowing she seemed unhurt. The relief was short-lived, his eyes fell on the small girl he had just seen now rested on her hip, he froze seeing her swollen stomach. 

Molly froze, she just stared at him for a moment, he tried to decide if that was a good thing or not.  “Alisdair!” the hesitation morphed into an almost forced looking smile, there was a panic in her eyes that he knew shouldn’t be there. “I thought I heard your voice, but I didn’t want to hope too much!” 

She moved as quickly as she could over to him, she handed the child to Sigurd and hugged Alisdair tightly, his eyes didn’t move from Sigurd, he put his arm around Molly not in a hug, but as if he were trying to protect her. It was impossible to not assume what he was, the stories he heard, the things he had seen, he wanted him dead. Everything played out in his head, he couldn’t touch him while he was holding her; the girl was at no fault for her fathers actions. 

Molly let go of him, though she stayed close, smiling up at him. “I swear it seems you’ve gotten older since we last saw each other, you have to tell me everything, how are you? How are Arthur and Dylan?” 

He opened his mouth to answer, but every thing that came to mind had to do with what was in front of him. Her smile wavered, she was always good at knowing what he was thinking, “Silly me, you’re probably exhausted, come in, come in, we can talk later” she hugged him again quickly, this time taking the chance to whisper “wait til Ida goes to bed” 

He tensed once she let go, swallowing heavily, he assumed Ida was the girl. He nodded, but put his gaze back on Sigurd. He couldn’t help but take note of how heavily Molly kept her grip on him as she pulled him into the house, how she kept her distance from Sigurd, how she had whispered instead of asking aloud. Every instinct screaming to get Molly and Ida away from him. But he stayed quiet as Molly took her daughter back from Sigurd. 

“Mo réaltín,” Molly held the girl up a bit to be closer to eye level with him, “meet your uncle Alisdair.” 

~~~~~~~~~

The sun had set long ago, Alisdair sat watching his sister, Molly looked exhausted, her head rested on Sigurd’s shoulder, his arm around her. It infuriated Alisdair, he hadn’t gotten an answer yet, he hadn’t been given reasons to not kill Sigurd where he stood. If he threw him in the sea, it would take him longer to come back. The only punishment Alisdair could see fit for what he had done to her. 

“She’s long asleep” Alisdair commented, hoping to spur the conversation. He had spent all day with the small girl going on about all the things she liked (playing tag with the children down the road, the pictures in the windows at church, when her father told her stories about the gods); her favorite foods (pickled fish among them); the names of all the chickens (though she noted she preferred the sheep). It was easier to talk to the niece he didn’t know existed, ignore how she had her fathers nose, and her smile was too much like the Danes’. Ignore how she spoke Norse, and stumbled over the bit of Irish she proudly tried to speak to him in. 

Molly sat up a bit, she looked over at Alisdair, “what do we need to talk about?” 

He hesitated, he knew she knew, “can we go somewhere else?” 

“I’ll leave” Sigurd said instead, “I’m not making my pregnant wife go outside at this hour” 

“Wife?” It pissed him off hearing him refer to her that way, he spoke as if Molly weren’t in the room “My sister wouldn’t marry a pagan, much less willingly carry his children.” 

“But she did, and she is, so apparently you don’t know her that well.” Sigurd didn’t move from Molly’s side, he felt he held more power over Alisdair with her in his arms. “And I don’t like what you're implying about me” 

“I’ll say whatever I want about you because I know the truth.” 

“And what is the truth?” 

“I know what you viking are like.” Alisdair stated it plainly, “You show up, and take what you want without asking. That’s what you did with her; you were tired of just trinkets, jealous of your men getting to take whoever they wanted.” 

“Alisdair, sto-” she started but before being able to get anything beyond his name out was cut off. 

“And you knew the best way to make her stay with you was to have something to hang over her head,” he threw one of his hands towards the other half of the house where Ida was asleep, before gesturing to Molly, clearly trying to accentuate her current state. “You would have a dozen children just to keep her with you” 

Sigurd’s face barely changed, but Molly could feel him tense. He sat up straighter, his jaw clenched tight enough she could hear him grinding his teeth to keep himself from saying anything, 

Molly knew Sigurd wouldn’t say anything, he wasn’t a pushover but he wouldn’t want to distress her or wake up Ida either. He would hold his tongue until morning. She stood suddenly, “Alisdair, outside. Now.” She turned to Sigurd, assuring him a small walk wouldn’t kill her. To spite her brother she took his fur with her, pulling the oversized garment over her shoulders as she followed Alisdair outside.

As soon as the door closed behind her she faced him fury in her eyes “What the fuck was that” 

“Molly you don’t have to pretend to—“ 

“I’m not pretending anything!” She huffed loudly, “He is my husband, I love him, he hasn’t done anything I didn’t give him permission to.”

Alisdair was desperate to get her to admit something, anything to prove Sigurd had done something to her, that he wasn’t just being rash. “How do I know you're not saying that because he’s still right there?” 

She huffed stalking off expecting him to follow her, he did right at her heels. Admittedly he was having a hard time keeping up with her, which was embarrassing to admit considering she was at least six months along already. 

They were well out of hearing distance when she started talking again, repeating her earlier statement: “Sigurd is my husband, I love him, he hasn’t done anything without my permission. We didn’t plan Ida, or this baby, but I love being a mother and he’s a wonderful father.” 

A silence fell over them, as they kept walking. Alisdair knew Molly had no reason to lie to him, not when he wasn’t around to hear her. But he couldn’t believe she would fall for him, he couldn’t rationalize with everything that had happened that she would be okay being with him. 

“We can wait a few weeks so he doesn’t suspect, we’ll leave in the middle of the night, I’ll carry Ida so she doesn’t wake up. He won’t know we’re gone until–” he ignored everything she said. He didn’t think she was genuine, something must be wrong. 

“Alisdair.” She stopped suddenly, turning to face him, “I’m in no condition to travel, and even if I was I wouldn’t go with you” 

“I’ll come back for you in a few months then.” 

Molly went quiet looking up at her brother, she didn’t know how to tell him what she needed to. “I’m not going to be here in a few months.” 

“You’re going back to Norway with him?” 

“No. Once summer comes, and once he’s able to go get the rest of his children we’re all leaving for Iceland.” 

“No.” he didn’t even need to think about it, he wasn’t going that far away, he wasn’t letting her go that far from home. He wouldn’t be able to check on her, he wouldn’t be able to come get her if something happened. 

She sighed, “You know that means nothing,” she turned around going back to the house, “I’m going with him, I’m sorry you don’t trust him, but you can’t throw accusations around, especially after he’s been nothing but kind to me” 

“Nothing but kind?” if Alisdair wasn’t so angry he would have laughed. “You call what his people do to you, to me, kindness?” 

Molly stopped, she looked at the ground sighing. She faced him, but didn’t move any closer, “Seventy years ago now there was a raid on the Abbey I was living in. For some reason or another they decided I wasn’t to die with everyone else and brought me here…” 

Alisdair thought he had it, he thought he had his gotcha. That Molly was finally admitting the horrible things he had done to her. 

“Sigurd paid them off and let me go back about my business, not asking anything in return. That is what I call kindness, Alisdair.” Molly sighed, “It’s been too long, because you think I’m stupid now, enough so to let a man manipulate me into things, even if he had forced Ida on me I would have found a way out for both of us. You should know that.” 

Alisdair was taken aback, he hadn’t been trying to imply Molly to not know what she was doing. His assumptions had nothing to do with her, everything to do with him. He just got here, he had only seen her for a day. He thought he would show up and Molly would still be the same as the last time he had seen her, he thought she would still be his little sister and nothing more; he supposes he wasn’t always right though. 

“I know I won’t be able to stop you; but I can’t stay around if you’re going with him.” 

“I can’t say I’m surprised.” They stopped in front of the house, “But I was hoping you would be around when the baby came.” She opened the front gate not looking at him, “you are welcome to stay for a few days, but I expect you to apologize to Sigurd if you do” 

“I’ll find somewhere else then.” 

Molly nodded, “I’ll get your things then, he may not want you in his house if you don’t plan on taking anything back.” 

“Wait.” Molly stopped looking at him, he came here to check on her. She might be insisting she was fine, but he didn’t trust Sigurd, he couldn’t start trusting him just on Molly’s word either. He couldn’t help but feel as though he was admitting defeat, but… “If I apologize you’ll let me stay?” 

“I will,” she shrugged, “But you’ll have to see what he says” 

“I’ll stay, if I’m allowed.”

[faoiltearna]

gw2 adventurer challenge - entry 4

omphaludens, 1325 ae, season of the phoenix - entry 4

i might have been done with the day, but it wasn't done with me. dusk closed in as my mind finally stilled and aches of body left off, and a large seed pod whirled purposely towards me. a leaf separated from the others creating an opening and an envelope fell toward me. the leaf lifted back up to rejoin the others and the pod whirled away.

'how did they know where i was?' i turned the envelope over. there was press of softly glowing golden wax with the imprint of a leaf that snapped easily as i lifted the flap and let the envelope unfold to expose the writing within. it was from caithe, telling me that she had news to share about something pertaining to my dream.

shouldering my pack, the pup and i headed back to the grove. it was dusk, so if we moved quickly we'd be inside before dark. now that i knew what was out there during the day, i definitely didn't want to be out here when night had fallen.

at the dreamer's terrace, i found caithe and asked her about my dream of the green night, as there was something troubling me. 'in my dream, a champion in brilliant green armor defeated all challengers. he seemed invincible, yet a small mouse nipped at his heel.' caithe asked kahedins, who is duskborn like i am, to help possibly answer the question as she saw both literal and symbolic interpretation to it.

before we could dig in though, another sylvari burst into the room, short of breath and trembling. 'help! somebody help me! that brute is killing my beloved. stop him!' 'what? where? show me!' with that, he raced off, with kahedins, caithe, and i following in his steps. we entered a clearing filled with sparring dummies, cowering sylvari, and lifeless bodies, with one young sylvari on the ground, clutching his middle and groaning in pain. the only fully upright sylvari was one dressed in the green armor that matched the green knight's from my dream.

brushing aside the two sylvari men's pleadings to cease the fighting, the armored man insisted that the challenge must be completed by the forfeit of life. i stepped forward without pause. 'you challenge them though they're unarmed and you're fully armored? fight me instead.' 'i doubt you'll fare better, but i accept the challenge.'

the fight started, and though he did use some move or power that sent me flying backwards, i held my own against him. we fought, and then he was down.

before i could turn back to the two sylvari he popped back up and charged me. i defeated him again. and yet again, he jumped up from the ground and attacked! surely he was cheating! how could he continue to come back again and again if not? the third time i downed him, i was prepared and stood over him waiting for him to rise again. which he did. he did not charge though. instead he looked at me 'you did well enough that i'll leave you alive - for now. but i'll be back. the next time we fight, try to make it a real challenge… or i'll make sure to finish what i started here today.'

dagdar - the sylvari who'd come to get us - thanked me for saving his beloved's life. 'elodus is everything to me. your courage saved us both.' turns out this green knight - bercilak - is a lowlife masquerading as a knight. he challenges young sylvari and cuts them down, without sorrow or remorse. 'he's like a cat taking advantage of mice. terrible! he needs to be taught a lesson!'

caithe twigged to what i'd said and made the connection faster than any of us. all the young sylvari that had fought bercilak were the mice in my dream. perhaps i was the one who could stop this nonsense. dagdar shared that bercilak was wooing a valiant and told me her name and where to find her. then he turned back to elodus leaving us to talk as we walked back to where i've been sleeping at night.

caithe posited that bercilak's ability to get up again and again was possibly aided by the nightmare court. 'who are they?' 'they're the evil that cast the blight into your dream. you overcame it there, you can do so again.'

it is late, and the fatigue that had washed over me after fighting the undead has come back full force. i can do nothing more but let sleep claim me.

[shiverpeakstraveler]

I love your character showcase posts!! Your Dragon Scions are especially gorgeous! I’d love to know more about them — what’s their dynamic with each other? what about their dynamic with Aurene?

Thank you so much!

The scions themselves are pretty close to one another and pretty much view the others as siblings. Glint and the Forgotten brought them together to help strive for a better future for Tyria as a whole, and the bonds they share with one another kept going strong, even past the loss of Glint. This bond remains unshaken even when Ye-Rin recovers her lost memories prior to meeting Glint and the other scions before the events of End of Dragons.

When my commanders Hjalmar and Liana encounter them for the first time though, they did have to go through a process of reconnecting with one another as all five went into hiding after Glint's death at the hands of Kralkatorrik. They had attempted to avenge her death, but when Thanatos was nearly killed in the process and was only spared by the Crystal Dragon fleeing, the scions realized they lacked the strength Glint had possessed and were in no shape to continue the fight. With grief heavy on their hearts, the scions altogether decided they needed to split up and build their strength and power, if they were going to attempt to carry out Glint's plan. In the meantime, they would do their best to curb the advancements of their respective parent's minions while also trying to repair the damage that was caused until the day would arrive to where they could fight together as one once more.

As for their dynamic with Aurene, the scions are essentially all aunts and uncles to her. While she was growing up, they aided Liana and Caithe with raising Aurene as well as teaching her How To Be A Dragon. They regret not being there for Vlast while he was growing up and wished to do better by being there for Aurene as she grew into the Elder Dragon that she is today.

[commander-wame]

Tagged by @herald-of-aurene ,, thank you!!

Challenge: make a poll with five of your all-time favourite characters, and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favourite.

*sorry i ran out of options and panicked. She's in a game i play so that counts right??

I tag aaaghh uh @space-plume @creativebrainrot @just-eyris-things @hypochodriac @commanders-sole-braincell (if you want to/sorry if uve already done this!!)

[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 :)