#and logan is simply the pact commander

[faehrnem]

What if u answered 2, 5, 17, and 10 for the AU commander love interest asks 😳

@mystery-salad

i will finally lose it answering these so thank you in advance for my downfall 🫡 it's been an honor

warning for spoilers ‼️

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10. Are there any events in the story that happen differently because of/to/involving them?

/ i'll hastily answer this first to give some background for this AU- future faehrnem comes back in time before the pact departs for their resistance against mordremoth. alt. faehrnem's world had almost been entirely ripped apart due to the void becoming overwhelmingly unstable, and against the will of MANY higher powers, alt. faehrnem is sent back with new tech that'll (hopefully) keep the dragons asleep indefinitely in a last ditch effort to stop current tyria from meeting the same fate 🤙 (he loses everything bc i'm evil.)

i might go more in depth about this AU but the biggest changes from the main story are that before future faehrnem puts himself on the chopping block for mordy to capture instead of trahearne, alt. faehrn tells current commander his name and of his prior life rather than learning after his death to balthazar, eir remaining alive and the Pact maintaining the majority of it's forces. trahearne leaves the pact in logan's hands after they take down mordy as well.

zhaitan being the first elder dragon to die didn't shake the balance much and thus stays defeated. mordremoth had to be taken out after already being fully awake, and THAT definitely stirs things up a bit. /

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2. How does the rest of Dragon's Watch feel about the relationship?

Everyone in their immediate friend group is happy for them, though some much more than others. Kasmeer was the first and for a long time only person Faehrnem admitted his feelings for Traheane to, and was ecstatic when Faehrnem finally confessed after she was rooting for them all those years.

Caithe, knowing her brother better than anyone else- possible even as much if not more than Trahearne does himself, quickly caught on that he had developed feelings for their mutual friend. Caithe knew her brother would never admit anything if asked, and when Trahearne came to his sister after their much more successful attack on Mordremoth to tell her that he and Faehrnem had just gotten together, Caithe simply felt relief for her brother having finally someone who would love, cherish, and respect Trahearne for who he was, to no longer worry about being ostracized or glorified for everything he wasn't.

Taimi was elated upon hearing Faehrnem and Trahearne started a relationship together, not only incredibly happy for her father, but she also secretly humored the idea of another individual she admired and looked up to potentially becoming another parent to her as well.

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5. How do they feel about their love interest being the commander? Are they concerned? Proud? Is it a "keep work stuff at work" kind of thing?

Well, both Trahearne and Faehrnem knew what they were signing up for when forming the Pact. They've been concerned for each other's well being from the start, but the mutual faith they have in their respective abilities help to calm their nerves.

Trahearne is proud of Faehnem for his selflessness, perseverance, his drive to keep fighting until everyone on Tyria will be safe. Faehrnem is.. proud, of course, for Trahearne stepping out of his comfort zone and becoming the leader Tyria needed him to be. Although, Faehrnem somewhat resents the Pale Tree for pushing Trahearne into a role he never really wanted.

For the most part, it's hard keeping work out of their every day life, especially for Faehrnem- being the Commander is such a huge part of his life that even after learning his real name, he still preferred being called Commander majority of the time. There are plenty of times still where they're able to relax in each other's company, and momentarily forget their responsibilities and the weight of what they've been through.

.

7. What kind of dumb rumors pop up/would pop up about the relationship?

Honestly, pretty shortly after the Pact really started gaining forces people were already speculating about Trahearne and Faehrnem's relationship, if they caught wind of anything it was either ignored or denied when asked up front. Faehrnem spent many nights with Trahearne, helping him through paperwork and letter when there wasn't much else to do, so each time Faehrnem spent the night helping... the more rumors were spread. Most were if they were dating and about how scandalous it'd be for Pact Marshal and his Second in Command being an item, although the only true rumor was about them being in love and not doing anything about it/not knowing the other felt the same.

After Trahearne left the Pact and joined everyone else in Dragon's Watch, he and Faehrnem would get questions fairly often, either by current or old Pact soldiers or just anyone curious about their relationship since they weren't hush hush about it. Trahearne usually gets embarrassed since he's a bit more reserved about his personal life, but Faehrnem enjoys gushing about his dearheart and having anyone curious to know how much he loves Trahearne and cherishes his companionship.

[ratasum]

have 3, 4, 7, and 8 for vezz, if you’d like? :) @kerra-and-company

GW2 Ask Meme 3: back and worse-er than ever

3. What person impacted them the most?

If he had to pick anyone, he'd probably say Pheazza. While she was bitterly angry at him when he left the krewe to join the Inquest, she was also the one person the most willing to understand why he might've done that to begin with.

When he did finally leave and bring her daughter Kinna home to her after she'd been kidnapped, it was Pheazza who recognized he was in a terrifying spot, standing on the precipice.

And she gave him the arrowhead her mentor had her make when she was young.

Her words to him that night, "you don't have to fly straight; you only need to fly true," stuck with him the entire time he was moving further from the Inquest and finding himself becoming a leader, within the Pact and then simply as the Commander.

He feels if it hadn't been for her, he may not have tried.

4. Assuming they're a commander, how close were they really to Destiny's Edge? To Trahearne?

Okay so I have some hcs about him and Zojja's past that I'll talk about in a different post if I remember (I know I keep saying this), but for the rest of Destiny's Edge at large, he gets along with them well enough. He and Rytlock have a sort of strange understanding, and he likes Eir.

Logan bothers him. Gets under his ears in a way he can't figure out how to explain to anyone.

Caithe reminds him a lot of his own guildmate Rhoslinn, so he's surprisingly sympathetic towards her. They've had a lot of heart to hearts since they met.

But when it comes to Trahearne, he was someone who surprisingly seemed to get Vezz's unease and hesitation towards a lot of things. The two became close friends, and unlike his quiet conversations with Caithe, he and Trahearne would often have long talks about philosophy, the nature of the world around them, and how one's past determined one's future. He has not stopped blaming himself for his death.

7. Do they have any skills or abilities that their class wouldn't normally have/just go about their class differently in some kind of way?

Vezz actually had the chance to train his necromancy in a very bizarre way. In his early days with the Inquest, he lost his left leg below the knee in a lab explosion, and as he was in shock, he didn't think to yell for help.

He healed as best he could, then used his necromancy to drain the life from some nearby rats, creating a prosthesis out of the leg itself. He had to hone the ability over time, and it did wither quite a bit from its initial state (with bone showing in spots due to the force of the explosion).

That leg was his prosthesis for a pretty long time, and he only stopped using it after Balthazar killed him. The loss of his flow of magic caused the thing to crumble beyond recovery.

He's got a forgemetal prosthetic now, but he's wondering if he can't teach other necromancers the same trick.

8. How willing are they to bend/break the rules for their cause (be it selfless or otherwise)?

He's an asura, and spent several years with the Inquest. Digging up loopholes and finding ways to bend the rules to the breaking point without letting them snap is basically a necessity in both places, and he's gotten very very good at it.

It absolutely pisses off the Arcane Council, since he's not particularly popular (as a former member of the Inquest, he's quite fond of talking about the atrocities behind the curtain, especially after he's distanced himself enough from it), but his position as the Commander not only gives him the leeway to do that, but with the Pact and the guild behind him, he's much harder to hit.

Besides, it's not like it's illegal to talk about the Inquest's horrors, right? He's only doing the right thing!

Beyond that, he's definitely used loopholes for a lot of other things to get around bureaucracy when needed. It's probably a good thing he didn't go to Cantha; they would've hated him.

[szallejh]

I’m still mad at A-Net for forcing us to join the Shining Blade. I understand that the Shining Blade plays an important part in the story about Balthazar, but why do we as the Commander have to join them so badly?

As a human, okay. Understandable, maybe. But any other race, most of all Charr? Why on earth would a Charr join the Shining Blade, a secretive organization made by humans, when Charr and humans heve been at war for centuries?

I never liked Jennah. In fact, I hate her. Yes, she’s the barefoot queen, that’s pretty cool, but she and Logan are responsible for Snaff’s death and I will never let anyone change my mind about that. And the Shining Blade praises her, so why should I even want to have something to do with them?

Most of the time, I play Asura. You can’t tell me that Asura would care the slightest to join such a human organization when there’s already the Pact and Dragon’s Watch and everything. Anise stated herself that the initiation ritual could kill us. We, the Commander, Hero of Tyria, bla bla bla, simply agree to something that could lead to our death, because this stubborn woman refuses to tell us about her plans otherwise?

Why didn’t we have a choice? If someone wants to join, fine for me. Just... don’t expect me to do the same. Not only is this chapter one of those with the most achievements that I will probably never complete, but it simply annoys me. Don’t force my beloved characters to join something I hate.

[mystery-salad]

That Commander vs commander post has me on chaeacter brain again, so - can i get a fun fact about each of yours? Or maybe how they diverge from or relate to the canon storyline Commander?

A!!! :V

Thank u for this, please enjoy 11 good facts and deviations 💖💖💖 I will say up top this'll be general to the characters, not addressing npc deaths/survival cause otherwise this'll get too long lmao

LAIGHE

She has followed the plot closest of all my commanders, with what have been changes between the lines. A longer or shorter break here and there (the whole process leading up to forming the pact took years, she's a secondborn), and still holding the title of Pact Commander. Still has all the Pact resources and works closely with Logan! There's also her War Eternal incident before Aurene was revived and her accidental immortality from PoF, and well...her first real plot deviation has truly occurred in EoD, which I'd be happy to share in its own post eventually ^^

RUAN HUO

The main differences here are from PoF! You see, Balthazar kills the Commander, yes, and the journey to find who you are is immense. However, that journey didn't lead back to a body as intended. They woke up as a weapon, a new Commander for Balthazar to replace the one they killed. Their movements were not their own, their armor had been replaced...they watched the destruction caused through their strength as Balthazar commanded his new herald. Even now they bear permanent signs of that control, eyes and guardian fire the bright red brilliance of Balthazar's flames.

JOEL HEISTER

This one's a deviation babyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!! Joel dies in HoT, like straight up it dies. And it is only through an immense amount of panic and sheer will to live that it's able to circumvent its fate. Grasping tight to its connection to its pet smokescale, Joel survived in a new body. The team has helped hide this secret, Joel can still bounce back into its original body like something akin to possession. But that body can not be killed, and this sure has had repercussions throughout the plot! A God failing to kill it, a lich king noticing how empty it actually is, a certain dragon seeing free real estate...and a little void seeping in through the cracks

VUISCE

Ohhhhh they fuckin deviate! Their plot is nowhere near canon and this would get far too long if I listed it all. Suffice to say: the pact hates them vehemently, many people fear them, and their team is 80% reformed elder dragons and 10% companions who should be dead lmao

MATTHIAS REYES

Oh Matthias...his plot deviation came before the plot even started, and he's been hiding it ever since. On the surface he certainly follows canon plot, his facade as a noble born in Divinity's Reach, his rising through the ranks of the Vigil until he's recommended by Logan to be Pact Commander. (Co-commander really, with @ascalonianpicnic 's Aildyn) But half of that is a lie. He's no noble, he's not from the city, he wouldn't even register as a legal citizen truly. He was born a bandit, and there's quite the hefty bounty on his head from his "family" since he left. The Pact is simply his latest hiding place.

ROIBIRD

Most of his deviations are character survival lmao! But he also differs in his health. Roibird has a degenerative tissue disease and makes most of his own mobility aids. Any big plot fights are handled mostly by his team and fighting tools he makes for himself.

TAOMESIN

Poor Tao has had the meanest plot changes I've made to a Commander, over and over again. They were born *during* Scarlet's whole deal, and actually joined the plot in lws2 just under one year into existing! Unfortunately, they joined a plot with a Commander who's AWFUL and quickly took advantage of this kid. From torture to ensure they werent mordrem, to experimenting with the effects of bloodstone, it's been a few very very rough years...but he's gone now, Tao holds the title of their old abuser. And they will do better, they promise. They are Aurene's second champion.

KAI

Kai's plot also mainly deviates in character deaths and survivals lol, but she does have a few small changes from the jump! Born in a family of proud imperators, she was bred to be the perfect soldier and groomed to be a perfect eventual leader. However, this conditioning has problems, and she fled in disgrace with a bounty for her head following her everywhere. Until she proved herself to Trahearne, on a chance encounter, and he asked her to join his cause. It's been an interesting time for her. She's not Aurene's champion, Caithe is.

CARA FEALLTACH

Oh Cara...my beloved villain AU✨ They're a courtier, and don't hide that fact, which fucks with a LOT of the plot! They're also not Aurene's champion, but Vlast's, Aurene's brother who they saved for just this purpose.

HASTIGI

She's half-Jotun! I'm still figuring out her plot, but right off the bat she's from a plotline where Norn are more an offshoot of Jotun than a completely different species. Over the years there's been divergent evolution, ever since the last Elder Dragon awakening wiped most Jotun out. So here she is!

CALL

Now, she's been a fun exercise. And while I've posted about her before, she's only just now becoming a Commander (and I'm at picture limit rip lmao). She was meant to be Commander, she was given her Wd Hunt in the Dream. But...something went wrong. Everything went dark, a glitch in the system. Her pod broke connection from the Dream and forced her into the world early and silent. It hasn't been "fixable" though she grew tired of hearing she was broken in the first place. The Dream handed her Hunt to another, robbing her of what little purpose she tried to cling to. Instead, she's wandered the world trying to fill that void with purpose...until she ran into a problem she couldn't handle alone, and had to swallow her pride and call on Commander Mar (also ascalonianpicnic's lmao), the sylvari who "stole" her life. Post-EoD, Call will be picking up the mantle of Commander from Mar!

[captains-nobles-dragons]

Can you expound on how Zetiara's loyalty to Trahearne was her downfall? That sounds like a very intriguing plotline!!

Oh gods, thank you so much for this ask! First time for me! And yes, absolutely! First, it's important to note that Zeti's loyalty to Trahearne stems from the fact that she knows him the longest out of the bunch. She knows his abilities and has full trust in him. Likewise, Trahearne is responsible for giving Zetiara quite a high status within the Pact. Over the course of the story she repeatedly defends him, even against serious and sometimes reasonable allegations. She completely dedicates herself to him and this greater cause. In HoT (as he's missing), this is reason enough for her to act too rashly, causing some mistrust in her abilities as a Pact commander. It is also Zetiara who finishes Trahearne off by the end of this arc. From that point on her mental health severely deteriorates. She becomes depressed and full of anger. To her friends she seems like a completely different person. One after one she shuts them out. Meanwhile she even detaches herself from the Pact. Trahearne had always planned for her to become Marshal in case something happaned to him, but the Pact simply doesn't trust her enough anymore to take on this responsibilty. She later rejoins the bunch and isn't pleased to hear that Logan has acquired that position. In her eyes, only Trahearne was fully capable of this job. So, her loyalty to Trahearne and his eventual death are not only the catalyst for her becoming a minor figure in the fight against dragons, but also her declining mental health and thus abilities overall. I hope this wasn't as confusing and I could shed some light on the issue :) And thank you again for asking, I cannot tell you how much it means to me!

[trahottie]

1. Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Rhea Hanaku. Most know me as the former Commander of the Pact. Others call me Lady Rhea. Just Rhea, is fine.

2.    What is your gender identity, orientation and relationship status?

I identify as a woman, am mostly interested in men. As some of you already know, I used to be attached... Not anymore, obviously. And please disregard the rumors about me and Spearmarshal Zaeim. It’s nothing serious.

3. Where and when were you born?

1302 AE in the Canthan and Arts District of Divinity’s Reach. I was a child when we escaped the Great Collapse and relocated to Manor Hill in the Salma District.

4. What is your weapon of choice and fighting style?

I’ve dual wielded daggers my entire life. As an elementalist, it was what earned my nickname as “The Deathwish”. To put it simply, I live for the rush of face-to-face combat and relying on my quick-thinking for survival. To this day, I remain a Tempest. There is no other feeling in the world quite like when I’m overloading the elements.

5.  Lastly, are you happy?

... Yes. I’m in relatively good health. I have my friends. I am luckier than most.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS:

1.  What’s your family like? What is your relationship with them?

I’ve grown increasingly estranged from my parents ever since I ran out of my wedding to Lord Zamon and became the Hero of Shaemoor, as well as Logan Thackeray’s protege. Things got more... complicated since my relationship with the former Marshal became public. There are times where they flaunt my reputation and accomplishments, but that’s it. That’s all I will say about this topic. Next question, please.

2.  Have you ever ran away from home?

Hah! Countless times, at the behest of my friend, Lord Faren. I suppose the last time I did that was when I ran away from my wedding ceremony and I’ve never looked back since, have I?

3.  Would you consider marriage or having children?

...Besides the one I ran out on? She looks away, growing reticent. After Mordremoth’s defeat, my parents revealed to me that the former Marshal asked for their blessing right before the Pact set sail for the Heart of Maguuma. To their regret, they rejected it... and the rest is history. Other than that, I don’t... She shifts in her seat, uncomfortable. Next question. Please.

4.  Do you secretly hate one of your friends?

No! Why would I call someone I hate one of my friends?

5.  Which friend knows everything about you?  

Lord Faren and Lady Kasmeer have known me the longest. Ever since Mordremoth’s defeat, I’ve grown very close to Caithe.

ASKED BY FANS:

1.  Are you literate? Have you been to school?

Yes, I’m privileged to have had an extensive education. I went to school in the Rurikton Conservatory up through secondary school, after which I applied to the Ministry Royal Academy to earn my formal military training.

2.  The eeriest prediction you made that later came true?

Eerie predictions? Hah, uh... well, does being single in my late twenties count?

3.  What is something you were embarrassingly late to realize?

... That I fell in love with a sylvari.

4. Do you have mental health or physical issues?

I’ve been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder ever since my campaign against Balthazar.

5.  What is your current main goal?

I’ve been working closely with Dagonet and his team in their terraforming efforts at Siren’s Landing.

CHOICES:

1. Drink or food?

She throws her head back for a laugh. How dare you to ask me to pick between my omnomberry bars and juniberry gin!

2.  Cats or dogs?

You’re out to get me aren’t you? Jokes aside, I spend more time with cats. My lifestyle is unfit for taking care of dogs, and I’m obviously no ranger.

3.   Early bird or night owl?

Night owl.

4.  Optimist or pessimist?

I’ve always been a bit of pessimist. But over the years I’ve been inspired to make a real effort in becoming a more optimistic and grateful person. I think life can do that to you sometimes when you realize how short and fragile it is. I no longer want to waste it on bitterness.

5.  Sassy or sarcastic?

That depends entirely on my mood and possibly how much caffeine I’ve had.

HAVE YOU EVER:

1.  Been caught sneaking out

Scoffs. No.

2.  Broke a bone

Hard not to in this line of work.

3.  Received flowers

She chuckles. I received a few horrendous bouquets from bachelors during my time on Manor Hill. Lord Zamon once filled every inch of my parent’s property with roses dyed in the most garish of colors. She shudders for a moment, before settling into more pleasant memories. She continues, more quietly, But my favorite were the Terebinth flowers Trahearne used to gift me. She suddenly breaks into a small smile, her eyes looking towards some distant place on the horizon. He would leave letters on my desk, with just a single flower placed on top of the parchment. It always made for such a wonderful sight when it was the first thing I see in the morning, practically shining in the sunlight. Gods, it made me so happy... She shakes out of her reverie, her gaze darkening as she returns to the present. Ah, apologies for my rambling. Well... that was then. Um... next question, please.

4.  Ghosted someone

She winces. I try not to? There might’ve been a Sunspear or two that I... um, nevermind. Let’s just say smoking too much mehkunnah makes you forgetful...

5. Pretended to laugh at a joke you didn’t get

Oh, Gods, talk about every single moment ever at every damned Minister-held banquet.

[lakemojave]

Supergiant Games: Same Bones, Different Skeletons

I just finished a retrospective of all 4 games by Supergiant on my twitch channel, and I have a few thoughts I wanna connect and questions I wanna explore. My love for these games is real strong and i could write a whole essay just gushing about them, but I wanna give some thought to what makes them so compelling: not just to me, but to damn near everyone I’ve talked to on their discord who feels the same. I myself rank Bastion among my favorite games ever, and Hades is climbing that list at a clip. And even though I could take or leave Transistor or Pyre, they keep pulling me back.

But I could talk a whole lot about each game’s appeal and waste a lot of time. I’ve gushed enough to my friends about how Bastion and Pyre’s rugged, apocalyptic atmospheres draw me in with their incredible vibrance to contrast. I could talk about how Ashley Barrett’s vocal tracks carry Transistor on their shoulders, or what makes Hades so much goddamn fun that the game doesn’t really need to be much else. But I realize that if the Supergiant library is so universally appealing to me, there must be some sort of connective tissue between them--some sort of fundamental similarity that makes them work. After thinking about it for more than five minutes, it turns out there are many; some are pretty obvious, and some less so. This brings me to the conclusion that the Supergiant library, with its four wildly distinct and different games, still follow a noticeable formula--one that is flexible enough to allow such completely different games.

Game Design

The Supergiant library are all essentially top down action rpgs, Transistor having the most elements of the genre. This is still a pretty weak connection, given how different they all play from each other. The only two that have much overlap in the most basic sense are Bastion and Hades, with the same general fast paced, real time combat. On closer examination, the two games have enough differences in the variety of mechanics at play, (Bastion with its multiple weapon slots and a shield, Hades with its sheer number of commands) that even they are hard to compare.

There are, however, several mechanics that the library loves to use. The first that comes to mind are the difficulty conditions: idols in Bastion, limiters in Transistor, titan stars in Pyre, and the pact of punishment--and arguably Chaos boons as well--in Hades. Their function is simple: increase your challenge for a little extra reward. Bastion and Pyre go the extra mile by fixing in world building elements to this mechanic; Bastion’s idols inform about the game’s pantheon, while Pyre informs about its, well, evil pantheon. The use of these conditions is indicative of Supergiant’s game design philosophy as a whole--you, the player, can make the game as hard or easy as it takes for you to have fun. The inclusion of infinite lives in Bastion or god mode or hell mode in Hades further builds on this point. This library is designed for all sorts of audiences, whether they want to be challenged by their games or simply immersed in the story.

Another repeating mechanic in these games are the use of challenge rooms, which started in Bastion as the training grounds and, to a lesser extent, Who Knows Where. In Transistor they are the sandbox test rooms, and in Pyre they are the beyonder crystal’s scribe trials. They appear in Hades a little more ambiguously; the infernal troves or Erebus rooms are not quite the same, but they serve a similar function. This function is a momentary break from the gameplay loop for a little extra reward, much like the previously discussed conditions. Transistor and Hades’ challenge rooms offer relatively negligible rewards; the sandbox rooms simply offer xp and unlock tracks for the jukebox, while the Erebus tiles offer double the reward for any normal tile. Bastion and Pyre go the extra mile by giving specific, long term rewards for their challenges. In Bastion’s training grounds, the Kid earns weapon specific abilities that are among the game’s most powerful; in Pyre’s scribe trials, exiles can earn character specific talismans that feed their specialization. For the most part, these rooms give the player a low stakes opportunity to practice, hone their preferred playstyle, and reward the effort, all while being completely optional.

Akin to these breaks in the game loop are designated resting areas/hub worlds. The Bastion, the Sandbox, the Blackwagon, and the House of Hades each offer a moment to interact with characters and lore, goof around with the environment, buy permanent upgrades, or just take a break. Transistor utilizes this function the least of the library, since it never once requires the player to enter the space. Pyre utilizes it the most since it has the most breaks in both frequency and number. In a way, this decision is both a game design and storytelling choice. Between all four games, perhaps excluding Transistor, this is where the majority of story beats take place. It is where the player can read up on some fresh lore or meet the ever growing cast of characters, and eventually grow to cherish them (as I often do playing this library). Without little breaks like these, the climactic or world/story shaking events that take place out in the actual playable space have no impact or narrative weight. The fact that all these sort of interactions are completely voluntary also rewards the player in the storytelling sense; by choosing to engage with the figures of the story rather than having that choice decided for them, the player feels as though they themselves have agency in the story unfolding.

Style

Perhaps the most distinct part of the Supergiant library, (and perhaps what I personally love most about it) is its aesthetics. There are few games that look, feel, and sound the way these games do. Yet, the four of them hardly resemble each other. Bastion is a rugged, frontier-esque sci fi apocalypse, Transistor is a sleek, cyberpunk apocalypse, Pyre is a high fantasy purgatory space, and Hades is simply stylized Greek mythology. It is a shock to remember, then, that these four games are all designed by the same artistic team.

I confess I don’t know much about art, so I don’t have anything too profound to say about Jen Zee’s art style, besides that I like it a lot. It is also worth noting that despite her spearheading art and character design for the whole library, each game still looks visually distinct, and not just in their overall aesthetics. Take the character design of the library, for instance. Bastion’s human figures tend to be short, stocky, with exaggerated facial features. Their colors are highly saturated, with a soft, almost blurry quality that gives a level of warmth to the fatalistic atmosphere. Transistor’s characters, barring Red, tend to be based around palettes centered around a single color, such as the Camerata red and the spectrum of the function character profiles. Pyre is the first of the library to use talking portraits, which contrast robed figures with stark color palettes and simple designs with unrobed figures with much noisier details. Hades is easily the most distinct of all four, using simple colors and thick outlines on all its characters. The most consistent feature of all their designs, as usual, is how wildly different they are. For Hades, Zee makes sure that characters only look alike in any way if they have some relation to each other, such as the Furies, Achilles and Patroclus, or Zagreus and his parents. On the whole, the versatility and variety in the character design is impeccable.

What I most enjoy about these games is Darren Korb’s soundtracks, which continue to vary wildly. From the closet-recorded Bastion soundtrack to the whole two and a half Hades score, Korb’s scoring keeps improving and changing in the 10 years Supergiant has operated. His music, which adds and changes motifs as each game progresses, contributes to the atmosphere just as much as the visuals do. Whenever he teams up with Ashley Barret to add vocal tracks to certain parts of the game, they always manage to place them at critical narrative or emotional beats, turning them into the games’ most memorable moments. The team goes one step further every game by incorporating a musician or source of music into each game, giving the music just as much character as the one performing it. It also sneaks its way into the aforementioned hub worlds by providing the player a means to play their favorite tracks whenever they want (except in Hades, where they have to pay in game for that privilege). In essence, Korb makes sure to give each game a distinct feel through its music, but familiar enough to connect the library in the player’s mind.

Just as Supergiant gets so much mileage from Korb and Zee alike, they also manage time and time again to make use of Logan Cunningham’s top notch voice over work. Originally the sole voice actor at Supergiant Games, Cunningham continued on from famously narrating Bastion as Rucks to remaining a ubiquitous voice throughout the library. His role as the Transistor in the game proper drives the emotional core of that game, and his role as the Voice/Archjustice proves to be a solidly effective, yet distant antagonist. In Hades, his roles are somewhat overshadowed by Korb’s performance as Zagreus, (which I’m still blown away he still had time to do) but his performance as Lord Hades is still excellent. Supergiant also uses Cunningham in Hades to sort of satirize how often he narrates for them by casting him as the narrating Old Man, then allowing Zagreus to break the fourth wall and acknowledge him. It is as if the team at Supergiant knows how much they use the same stylistic team, then mocking that same choice.

To other studios: learn from Supergiant

I’m running out of things to say and my ball of yarn that connects all these newspapers and polaroids on my wall is running thin. I would talk more about Supergiant really knows how to end a game and frequently does so in similar ways, or that their library is a masterclass in character-driven stories, but this little essay is long enough.

Instead, I wanna talk about how Supergiant does something right which so many AAA developers and publishers don’t seem to understand. To contrast with the Supergiant library, consider Assassin’s Creed, another franchise I have spent an embarrassing amount of time playing. This franchise releases a game almost every year, and in my experience, when a company does this, you tend to get the same pig with a different paint. From the original Assassin’s Creed to their most recent release, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the differences seem to be night and day. Combat and free running are far more complex than they once were, rpg elements to story and gameplay have been introduced, composers, writers, voice actors, and cast members have changed with each release, and the sheer size of the game has become staggering. Yet, in the 13 years and 11 main releases in the game’s history, (plus spinoffs) any change has not only felt incremental over time, but fundamentally insignificant to the skeleton of the game. Assassin’s Creed 1 and 2 play and feel differently, but the differences are subtle. The bones are different, but every year they assemble to form a vaguely Assassin’s Creed shaped thing. People who play games tend to hate this and frequently berate companies for this practice; Bethesda and GameFreak receive the same criticism that their games are so formulaic that their new releases might as well be carbon copies of the ones before it.

Yet, Supergiant Games, with its four games over ten years, has used essentially the same team and building blocks to make games that can hardly be considered interchangeable. Whether its the passion of this humble little indie studio or the sheer talent of this team, Supergiant takes the same pile of bones and assembles them in a different shape each time with care and attention. They are proof that a formula doesn’t need to be tweaked or altered or given a different coat of paint in order to be accepted; instead the formula needs versatility, the means to produce a fresh result each time. It also works best when we adore the result every time.

[i-mybrunettelady]

Hey there, I don't know if I'm too late to the party, but for the planet asks - would you want to share Pluto for any of your characters? ^w^ If not, you can also use this as a free rambling space for whatever thoughts cross your mind; have a wonderful night/day! /@medical-unprofessional-rat-man

Hey, welcome! And you're not late, dw <3 + have a wonderful day/night yourself, ily <3 So have a Pluto for Nyra!

𝐏𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐎   !

( 𝗌𝗒𝗆𝖻𝗈𝗅𝗂𝗓𝖾𝗌   : transformation,   power,   death,   rebirth,   evolution. )

what   does   ‘ power ‘   mean   to   your   muse   ?   and   how   important   is   it   to   them   ?   is   death   something   that   frightens   them   ?   how   do   they   handle   death   ?   do   they   believe   in   reincarnation   ?   rebirth   doesn’t   necessarily   mean   dying   and   being   reborn   as   another   person   or   thing,   it   can   also   mean   something   as   simple   as   changing   something   drastic   about   themselves,   so   do   they   believe   a   person   can   truly   change   ?   transform   their   flaws   and   be   reborn   as   a   better   person   ?

Nyra's relationship with power has changed a lot since she became the Commander. Once coveted, given her childhood in the shadow of her grandfather who made the Ainsaph name known in Divinity's Reach, it was the primary goal of her starting the Pact and many of her Personal Story actions (though not all. Notably - she defended Shaemoor because it was the right thing to do and DR is her home, she sought Deborah because she didn't want to believe her sister was dead, etc. But there's always an element of - this will bring me fame/power in the long run - in her decisions at the time.)

There has to be a * though here, because she isn't an evil person. She wanted power to help people, was willing to go to great lengths to acquire it, because she wanted to be a Logan Thackeray of the world. And she never really dropped that goal, even if it could come off as such from my writings, because fact is - she doesn't reject the position of Commander. She doesn't get tired of it, no matter how hard it was for her, how much guilt and blame and pain she'd have to suffer and bear. She wants it, she thinks she deserves it and will not relinquish it.

But when she got it, she realised it had a missing piece. And that piece is family - she's a distant hero to her biological family, especially her nieces and nephews, simply because she is sus of the way they sometimes use her name for political gain (and given that some of them are staunch Ascalonians.. in a racist way.. #LetNyraDoPolitics2k21) But now she has Aurene, Trahearne, DW. Family isn't necessarily biological.

Given all this, she's afraid of death - her own and moreso, that of her loved ones. She's used to grief and mourning, but it doesn't mean death doesn't hit hard. Recently, she's been afraid of those charr she killed on Smodur's orders finding her in the Mists after her death.

As for rebirth, she absolutely believes people can change with enough work they put out themselves. She'll likely consider the idea of reincarnation a valid one, as she stopped discounting most spiritual things as false, yet she isn't sure how it works exactly. So you reincarnating and transforming into a better person is very possible and desired. Doesn't mean she has to interact with you, though.

[kerra-and-company]

#5 for the slightly altered timeline prompt! Happy endings would be so nice :D!

[ @thoseofuswhoblossom ]

Okay, now that I've answered a very much NOT happy one (my own fault, I was given free rein and my brain chose angst) let’s do this one! Time for happy things! :D @thoseofuswhoblossom

5. the timeline in which they continue on from the current point in their lives to the best happy ending that is within their reach, where nothing that has happened so far is negated but from now on, the happy things start piling up.

Under a cut because this got long! :)

Kerra (because I just wrote what’s basically the worst timeline for her and she deserves to be happy): 

For some reason, it’s unnecessary to go to Cantha. Maybe Bubbles is actually decent, or maybe they’re simply content to disperse the magic and not keep it, or maybe something else entirely. The balance is restored/maintained, and Aurene is still Aurene, though maybe farther out of reach depending on whatever was necessary to make that happen. She can still talk to Kerra and does so on a regular basis.

The Pact retires from its taking-down-the-dragons job, and “Commander” officially (and actually for real, no matter what on earth happened with it in LWS3) becomes more of a ceremonial title. She’ll never stop helping--she wouldn’t want to--but the world-saving responsibility is no longer on her shoulders. She can be with her family and live a life that she and she alone chooses for herself.

She, Nisha, and Canach mean to have another sprout, but they actually end up having twins, Tev and Ia (that’s i - a btw), who awaken a few months post-Icebrood (these two are going to be canon in the main story, too). Rhi dotes on their baby siblings and helps teach them how to fight. Tev has Kerra’s empathy powers (but he gets a much calmer start learning to use them), and Ia is an elementalist (like her uncle Rel) with a tendency to destroy whatever room she’s in before she learns control. Kerra’s able to be there for all of her kids as they grow up, and for once, she doesn’t have to work as hard to balance her job with family because her job is whatever she says it is.

Maybe they settle down. Maybe they travel together. But she’s able to rest with her family and make her own way in the world, and to see her friends, and to finish the cleansing of dragon-corrupted land with her brother, and to do any number of other things without worrying about those that could die when she’s forced to fight a corrupt minister or a lich or a rogue god or an Elder Dragon.

She helps Jory and Kas and Logan deal with corruption in Divinity’s Reach. She plays with her nephew in the long grass of a field in Queensdale. She does what she can to help the charr and the norn rebuild. She teases her sister about a crush and is promptly threatened with being stabbed. She stands by Cio and Pliarr and Taimi when they deal with the Arcane Council. She laughs as she reminisces over drinks with Braham and Tanza and Minei.

She wakes up in the morning in the pile of family she’s built and made and chosen, and that’s the most incredible part of all.

(The random thing picker has chosen Ari again, haha, so here’s her version! And then I’ll give you one more character at the end.)

Along the same lines as Kerra, going to Cantha becomes unnecessary. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean, for Ari, that the Pact doesn’t go. It just means that they don’t need her (or Cio, or Brook, or Casca). 

She’s able to stay with them. She can actually take Cio out on a date, and they can laugh in the faces of anyone who stares. And she'll let herself laugh freely, now. She’ll let herself smile. She’ll let herself be happy and hold her mate’s hand.

Brook and Casca stay close--maybe not directly with her, but nearby, doing whatever it is they choose to do (helping the Crystal Bloom, working with the Olmakhan, opening a restaurant...could be any number of things). They stay in touch and they stay close.

Maybe Ari helps Crecia create a new structure and future for the charr, pointing out any number of things that they’ve been doing wrong. Maybe she stays as far the hell away as possible. Both options are viable.

On her days off, she goes to watch the cubs at the fahrar. She’d never be a primus; she wouldn’t want the job. But she watches them from the shadows and picks out any having trouble. She’ll usually help them indirectly, through gifts or subtle encouragement or protection that they don’t realize they have until their bullies back down. (And she may or may not threaten any adult charr mistreating the children. You have no proof either way.) Her lurking around earns her a nickname or two, some positive and some not so much. Depends on who’s giving them to her.

She and Cio make a life together. They probably open up a business, too--maybe fixing machinery and airships and anything mechanical, maybe transportation, maybe both. It’s fulfilling and normal in a way directly contrary to the standards of normal that she grew up with. 

She’s happy, and she’s home. She never has to fight again.

(And for a third, last but not least, you get Tanza!)

Her wound from Jormag’s magic heals, though it will forever leave a scar. They go home and find their mothers, alive and well, though clearly a bit traumatized from being stuck inside magic ice. She stays with them for a few months as they recover, then she leaves.

They stay in the Abattoir for several nights, and eventually, they reach Owl in the Mists. She becomes what passes for a havroun to Owl, which is a bit odd considering that Owl is technically no longer alive, but since she’s a revenant, they make it work.

They travel back into Bjora Marches and the Northern Shiverpeaks, learning and reclaiming the land. Sometimes other norn come with her (Braham does too, on a few trips, once he’s feeling better), sometimes it’s just her alone, sometimes it’s Cio, and sometimes it’s Minei. Once or twice, it’s Kerra.

They build a new shrine to Owl in Hoelbrak, as well as new ones for the other lost Spirits. She stays there sometimes, but she also travels--maybe a week or so there and a week away. They build a friendship with Minei, too; the two of them are very different, but they click in some ways, and Minei becomes like a second child to Tanza’s mothers.

She struggles sometimes. It’s an odd path to walk, and they’ve gone through a lot in the past year or so. But she has friends and family to hold her up, and she feels at peace. This is what they were meant to do, what they were meant to be, but they also chose it and walked into it with open eyes.

She loves her family and Owl, her Spirit, and she’s a bridge between Tyria and the Mists. They made themselves a legend and found exactly where they belong.

[queer-as-used-by-tolkien]

Forward Thinking

TL;DR: Commander contemplates the Scrying Pool and its uses in viewing her past.

“Commander, you alright?” Braham asks.

Tiffany Commander is staring into the Scrying Pool thoughtfully, but she isn’t in a vision. She sighs. “Yeah, I’m fine, Braham. Thanks for asking,” she adds, with a small smile.

“You seem…” Braham trails off for a moment.

“I’m thinking,” Commander replies simply. “So much has happened recently.”

“What did you see in the last vision?”

“Almorra’s death. It… I…” Commander sighs. “I knew it before, but it’s so much more real now. Bangar has to be stopped. Before he does something he’ll regret… and before he corrupts Ryland further.”

“I’m not sure about him, Commander,” Braham tells her.

Commander shakes her head. “I know. I don’t call him an ally, either. But he’s young, and I think his heart is still pure. But if Crecia tries to defend Bangar again, I might have a fit.”

“Bangar tried to kill you,” Braham reminds her. “Even she can’t stay on his side after that.”

“Yeah,” Commander agrees, and falls silent.

The two of them stare at the pool for a long time, before Braham leaves, and the Commander is left alone again.

See visions of the past… with a memento.

Commander does not know if this is a good idea. She’d only recently come out of the years-long funk that Trahearne’s death had started, but she is wiser for it. She knows it might be good for her to see him again, even in a memory. But how will it work, going into my own memory?

Commander does not lack a memento. She carries two on her at any given time - both of her weapons. Caladbolg, of course, and the Pact bow that Trahearne had given her after Zhaitan’s defeat. Her Pact rank pin might work, as well.

But again - is going into a memory of Trahearne… wise? She has by no means forgotten him, but leaving painful memories alone and living for the future, not the past… Trahearne would prefer her to focus on Bangar and Jormag. On mentoring Braham and Taimi.

It would be like a chance to say goodbye, at long last. Finally put this pain to rest. The vision with Caladbolg - so many years ago, now - hadn’t been timely. Commander had been angry, frustrated, resentful - at everything and everybody. She hadn’t been ready to say goodbye.

But now… now she is more than ready. But do I need to? The real transition was when she stopped fighting for the past - for Trahearne’s memory, for his legacy of someday we will kill the last of them, just because HE said it - and started truly fighting for the future, for only then will Tyria be safe. She fights now for Braham, and Taimi, and Rytlock and Crecia - for Jhavi and the Vigil, now leaderless - for Eveanin, still so young, for Canach, who needs to lighten up a little… she fights for the future. Instead of pursuing a desperate revenge fueled by hate and fear and loss, that barely made any sense because Mordremoth was already dead.

Do I need to say goodbye?

Commander doesn’t know. She wants to - oh, she wants to, longs to speak to him one last time, even in memory when he can’t reply, can’t ever know it. But as Commander looks into the pool, wondering if - if she did go in - would she ever come out again? Aurene might drag her out, but then she’d be just as much a mess as she was before, unable to lead in this troubling time.

Or maybe, she would come out again. But she’d go back, again and again. She’d be addicted to it, need it like medicine. Need to hear Trahearne’s words of hope again.

I… I might not be strong enough for that.

Commander grimaces, twining her hand through the fur on Beorn’s back. She’d only just recently become able to admit weakness to herself, instead of bottling it up and trying to ignore it, trying to pretend she was perfect and a strong Commander. But she’d learned - or maybe Aurene had taught her, or Taimi, shown her that pretending just makes it worse in the end. Good thing, too, or my recent injury would have stolen all my self-confidence and left me with shame in front of my allies. No… my friends.

Maybe she can be Trahearne to her friends. She can be hope and a future to them, and maybe teach them to move on if she dies, instead of getting caught in the mire of grief like she was.

Commander stands up, slowly. Maybe some other time. Later. When things calm down a little. She turns and walks away from the Scrying Pool, Beorn at her side, Caladbolg on her back, and her friends awaiting her direction. I’ve come so far.

Besides… maybe normal memory is better, anyway. She can travel to the places her memories actually happened, explore old places anew at her own pace. Normal memory is hers, after all, and she treasures it.

“Hey, uh, Commander?” Rytlock says as she passes him.

“Yeah?”

“I, uh… I know you were close to Almorra. It… couldn’t’ve been easy, seeing her die.”

“It wasn’t. But I’ll be fine. Thanks, Rytlock.”

“No problem, Commander. You know we’re here if you need it.”

“Getting all soft and emotional, Rytlock?” Commander teases.

“No! It’s just that… well, Logan would skin me if I didn’t look after his Hero of Shaemoor.”

“Nice to know you still care,” Commander grins. Well. It’s not Logan’s fault he’s not as awesome as Trahearne… but he still tries. He’s still a friend.

“Commander, there you are!” Eveanin calls, hurrying over. “I haven’t seen you since you came back wounded from that fight with Bangar! Are you okay? You look too cheerful. Is something wrong? Are you hiding something?”

Commander frowns. “Where did you learn to read me so well?”

“Experience. I’ve been your student for eight years, Commander, and you’ve eluded me enough times. I’ve got you now.”

“Ah, well, I truly am sorry, then. I’ve just changed again. But look on the bright side; Bangar murdered Almorra, so now we get to go kill him.”

“Wait, seriously?” Eveanin gapes. “Bangar killed her?”

“Bangar killed her. After trying to delegate to Ryland, who refused.”

“Well, good for him, then,” Eveanin snarls.

“Good for him,” Commander agrees.

[asktheadeptus]

Armageddon Steel Legion

Heroes of Armageddon! You have withstood the evil savagery of the Orks, and they have left nothing for you to fear. So raise high the black banners of vengeance—now is our time.— Commissar Yarrick during the Third War for Armageddon

The Armageddon Steel Legion is the Militarum Regimentum of the Astra Militarum that fights as mechanized infantry alongside Chimera armoured personnel carriers in defense of the strategically-located Imperial Hive World Armageddon and its surrounding star systems. Armageddon, located in the Segmentum Solar, was a planet blighted and poisoned by millennia of heavy industrial output, though it was also a major manufacturing center. In the late 41st Millennium Armageddon became a constant battleground between the Imperial Guard's Steel Legion and the countless Ork hordes of the Warboss Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka.

Regimental History

Regiments of the Astra Militarum vary widely from one world to the next. Civilisation, training, and technology levels are wildly varied from one culture to another within the Imperium of Man, resulting in forces mounted on horseback and carrying spears next to elite troops bearing advanced Grav-Chutes deploying from Valkyrie Assault Carriers. Within these parameters, large formations of mechanized infantry are very uncommon within the Imperial Guard. The reason for this rarity is that the resources required to equip and maintain vast numbers of armoured vehicles are difficult to acquire, even for such personages as Imperial Commanders and Planetary Governors. Typically, gathering so many war machines also requires a pact or agreement with the Adeptus Mechanicus, for it is the Tech-priests and Enginseers of Mars who ensure that these vehicles can operate (and be repaired should they suffer damage) in the heat of battle.

The most well-known and renowned of the rare few mechanized infantry regiments in the Imperium are those founded upon the Hive World of Armageddon. Whilst some Astra Militarum formations rely upon horses or other such conventional steeds, the Steel Legions of Armageddon ride into battle as mounted infantry within the hulls of their trusted Chimera armoured transports. The high numbers of Chimeras amongst the Steel Legion regiments is due to the highly industrialized nature of their homeworld. Armageddon is one of the foremost manufacturing planets for Chimeras and produces vast numbers of this vehicle for use across the Imperium of Man. So great is Armageddon's output of Chimeras that an extremely high proportion of regiments raised from that world are mechanized infantry. These highly mobile forces are skilled at rapidly redeploying convoys of vehicles to engage the enemy. Often, the Steel Legion's vehicles simply overrun the enemy's front lines, allowing the infantry to dismount and sweep the area clear of aggressors.

The ash wastes of Armageddon are filled with corrosive toxins and industrial pollution. Were a man to breathe the air outside of Armageddon's hive cities for any extended period his lungs would quickly rot. Despite this, Armageddon has a massive population and is capable of raising a large number of Imperial Guard regiments. Indeed, at the height of the Second War for Armageddon more regiments were being raised each standard year from the population of Armageddon than from any two other worlds in the entire Segmentum Solar combined. The people of Armageddon are therefore no strangers to warfare. They give no quarter and expect none in return.

Perhaps the most renowned of Armageddon's soldiery are the Steel Legion mechanized infantry regiments. While it is difficult for most Imperial commanders and Planetary Governors to obtain and maintain enough of the vehicles needed for such formations, Armageddon has produced hundreds of these swift-moving regiments. The extremely industrialized nature of Armageddon means that a far higher proportion of its regiments are mechanized infantry. It is for this reason that these mobile regiments were given their moniker "Steel Legion."

All soldiers within the Steel Legions wear protective clothing such as trench coats, gloves and visors so as to minimize the exposure to their world's polluted atmosphere. Most notably, every trooper carries a rebreather unit capable of filtering out the worst of the airborne poisons. The rebreathers of senior officers are often fashioned in the visage of a grinning skull in an attempt to unnerve the superstitious Orks that have ravaged their war-torn homeworld in recent years. The warriors of Armageddon reserve a particular hatred for the Orks, who in their lust for war have smashed whole hive cities asunder, and whose presence continues to plague the planet.

Many of the Steel Legion troopers are drafted from amongst the crammed populations of Armageddon's massive hive cities, where only the ruthless survive the ceaseless and brutal gang wars. Many of the Armageddon underhive's most notorious gangs are conscripted directly into the Imperial Guard, without the need for any additional training -- their ruthless skills proving more than adequate.

All regiments drawn from Armageddon reap the spoils of the planet's enormous manufactoria, which work ceaselessly to produce the vast quantities of armaments needed to equip so many soldiers. The constant demand for more materiel has transformed Armageddon into an unequaled industrial behemoth. Not only are Lasguns, vehicles and war machines produced at an incredible rate, but they are of exemplary quality, honed to perfection after millions of iterations.

In the ongoing Third War for Armageddon, native regiments have been deployed in almost every major battle against the returning Greenskin hordes. None have been more grueling than the siege at Hive Acheron, where Imperial forces, Orks and now daemons are locked in a maelstrom of bloodshed and destruction as they fight for control of Armageddon's primary hive city. Millions from each side crowd the ash wastes around the planet's capital, supported by armoured columns as well as towering Gargants and Titans. An unending rain of explosive shells falls from on high, with the artillery targets shifting as control of the gun emplacements changes hands. Deep within Acheron itself, covert Kill-teams traverse the vast lattice of Promethium pipes that riddles the hive, hoping to circumvent the enemy's defenses. Hundreds of Armageddon infantry, armoured and artillery regiments have taken part in this perpetual siege, and their tenacity and expertise at fighting in the ash wastes has seen them fare better than many other Imperial forces. In fact, the mechanized regiments of the Steel Legion have had more Guardsmen survive their first hour of combat at Hive Acheron than any other of Armageddon's regiments

Cassell Rebellion

The Cassell Rebellion, also known as the "Six Hour Revolution" for its short duration, took place on the Agri-World of Cassell in 776.M36. Cassell was ruled by an Imperial cult called the Way of the Emperor's Flesh. The Planetary Governor, Supreme Pontiff Skalin, was known for possessing eccentric views but was otherwise regarded as loyal to the Imperium and reliable. However, rumours began to circulate that Skalin believed that his cult was the only true faith of the God-Emperor and the rest of the Imperium should be made to recognize this.

When these rumours reached Colonel Kleist of the Armageddon 16th Steel Legion, which at that time was stationed on Cassell following exemplary service in the Lotharn Campaign, he petitioned the Administratum for permission to investigate the Supreme Pontiff. Before that authority could be received, Kleist's hand was forced when Skalin renounced the authority of the High Lords of Terra and called on all Cassellians to join a crusade to bring the Way of the Emperor's Flesh to the rest of the Emperor's domain.

With his regiments already mobilised, Kleist was able to bring the rebellion under control before it could spread. Less than a solar hour after Skalin's announcement, 16th Steel Legion Chimeras were rolling out of the regiment's encampment and marching on the planetary capital, Port Cassell. The defenders of Port Cassell were ill-equipped to face an armoured assault, and the capital's main gate soon fell to the Loyalists. Kleist split his forces into two columns, with the smaller sent to capture the city's spaceport and communications center, and the larger led by Kleist himself to assault the Divine Palace of the Supreme Pontiff. The Palace was guarded by the majority of Skalin's bodyguard and his only armoured vehicle, an ageing Leman Russ Tank. Nevertheless, the 16th Steel Legion quickly overwhelmed the defenders and captured the Pontiff. After less the six solar hours, the Cassell Rebellion was over before it could fully take root.

The Wars for Armageddon

The citizens of Armageddon are no strangers to brutal warfare. Their world has suffered greatly during the 41st Millennium at the hands of invaders throughout no less than three devastating wars launched by the enemies of humanity. The Steel Legion played a major role in all of them.

First War for Armageddon (444.M41)

Few records exist of the event known as the First War for Armageddon, as much of it has been utterly purged by agents of the Inquisition. Fragments that remain describe a world gripped by a massive daemonic incursion. The foul daemons of Chaos were defeated only at great cost by heroes such as the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar of the Space Wolves Chapter and his valiant Space Marines. Some whisper that the world and many surrounding systems were purged in the aftermath of this invasion, and that the feared Daemonhunters of the Chamber Militant of the Inquisition's Ordo Malleus -- the Grey Knights -- were somehow involved.

Second War for Armageddon (941.M41)

Warboss Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, quite possibly one of the most charismatic and dangerous Ork Warlords in the galaxy, led a massive WAAAGH! of Orks to invade Armageddon, starting the Second War for Armageddon in 941.M41. Warp Storms prevented Imperial reinforcements from reaching the embattled world, forcing Armageddon's defenders to fight alone against the Greenskin onslaught. Making things exceptionally worse for the defenders was the incredibly dangerous incompetence displayed by the planet's Imperial Commander, Overlord Herman von Strab. The war was costly, causing enormous casualties amongst the planet’s population, and it was only due to the heroic efforts of the legendary Commissar Sebastian Yarrick at Hive Hades that the forces of Armageddon were able to hold the line. Fortunately, other valiant Imperial forces were eventually able to make planetfall and support Commissar Yarrick and the Steel Legions. Space Marines from the Blood Angels, Salamanders, and Ultramarines Chapters threw back the Orks in several engagements, and the Titans of the Legio Metallica fought bitterly with Ork Gargants across Armageddon's surface. In the end, the Warp distortions blocking access to Armageddon abated, and fresh reinforcements arrived to help secure the planet's warzones. Warboss Ghazghkull left Armageddon to gather his strength and plan a new invasion, vowing revenge against Commissar Yarrick.

Third War for Armageddon (998.M41-Present)

More than fifty standard years after the Second War for Armageddon, Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka launched a new onslaught against the planet, the Third War for Armageddon. This time, Ghazghkull had made alliances with other notable Orks, such as the fierce Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub and the diabolically clever Mekboy, Orkimedes. An enormous Ork fleet soon arrived in the Armageddon Sector, smashing into the heroic but hideously outnumbered warships comprising the Imperial Navy's Battlefleet Armageddon. While the Ork fleet arrived in the Armageddon System, Commissar Yarrick had taken command of the Imperial forces on Armageddon itself and hastily organised a plan to prepare for the coming invasion. The Imperium was not without its defenders -- Titan Legions, Space Marines, and the Sisters of Battle reinforced Armageddon's existing defenses alongside the forces of the Imperial Guard. Ork Roks (hollowed-out asteroids with crude steering mechanisms) smashed into Armageddon's surface and disgorged massive hordes of Greenskins. Meanwhile, alien forces and heavy equipment -- including many Ork Gargants and other massive war machines -- arrived directly on the planet via the Orks' "tellyporta" technology. After the initial assault, the Third War for Armageddon bogged down into a large number of individual clashes between the Orks and the Imperials. Frustrated by the growing stalemate of the war, Ghazghull left the planet to seek other, greater battles, closely pursued by Commissar Yarrick. Battles still rage upon the surface of Armageddon between both sides, with no end in sight.

The Spinward Front

So far, Lord Marshal Ghanzorik has deployed Armageddon Steel Legion regiments into only a handful of warzones in the Spinward Front in the Periphery Sub-sector of the Calixis Sector in the Segmentum Obscurus. These regiments have mustered at the world of Cyclopea to assist with the tithe preparations there to muster new Imperial Guard forces, and from there they were sent to the Departmento Munitorum depot on Ganf Magna to assist with operations against the Feral Ork tribes plaguing that world. The Armageddon Steel Legion regiments operating on Ganf Magna recently received an unexpected benefit. Due to a bureaucratic error somewhere in the byzantine organisation of the Departmento Munitorum, a large number of Deathstrike Missile Launchers were mistakenly routed to the Steel Legion mustering areas on Ganf Magna. The Guardsmen from Armageddon have embraced this addition to their nominal strength and are relishing the opportunity to use such devastating weapons.

Regimental Organisation

The Hive World of Armageddon, like most of its ilk, consists of huge ash wastes choked with toxic pollutants and corrosive chemicals. Some regions of the planet consist of jungles and oceans, but the pervasive effects of industrial pollution are inescapable outside of the world's great hive cities. Teeming with humanity, Armageddon's hives are not simply manufacturing centers -- they are also packed with the crowded workers and overseers necessary to keep the massive industrial complex running. These conditions give rise to a seemingly endless series of savage gang wars that erupt regularly amongst the underclasses on Armageddon. Many recruits into the Steel Legions are taken directly from veterans of these brutal struggles for dominance of the underhive, as only the fiercest and most implacable gangers manage to survive and even thrive upon the carnage. The gangs of Armageddon are sometimes conscripted en masse into the Steel Legions, and it is said that most of these gangs require little to no additional training to be effective soldiers. In fact, some squads that were formerly gangers excel at inventive and cunning small-unit tactics on the battlefield.

The Steel Legion is sometimes supported by conscripted platoons of Planetary Defense Force troops and Ratling sniper teams. The Guardsmen of the Steel Legion wear uniforms that include a mustard yellow great coat, gas masks to protect themselves from Armageddon's toxic environment, and rounded helmets over black infantry fatigues. The Guardsmen of the Steel Legion, in addition to their Lasguns, make use of Grenade Launchers and Missile Launchers as heavy weapons. Their regiments are supported not only by Chimeras, but also by Leman Russ Executioner main battle tanks.

Training

The troopers of the Armageddon Steel Legion are particularly skilled in the arts of deploying mechanized infantry and have a special expertise at battling Orks. In addition, Guardsman from Armageddon make fine assault troops for fighting in urban and hive city environments as well as heavy industrial zones, chemical sumps, and other such toxic regions. Their equipment and experience with such acrid environments make them invaluable for trudging through all sorts of polluted or otherwise noxious wastelands, from underhives filled with the toxic residue of ancient atomic generators to ruin-filled swamps rife with hallucinogenic flora, quicksand, and near-invisible pockets of lethal gas.

Wargear

So toxic are the ash wastes of Armageddon that a man breathing its air freely would feel his lungs begin to melt and rot away. It is for this reason that the Armageddon Steel Legions are heavily protected against toxic and polluted environments. Each Steel Legion soldier wears a protective trench coat, gloves, and a visor to keep his exposure to the corrosive atmosphere at a minimum. Possibly the most iconic piece of gear for the Steel Legion is the re-breather unit carried by every trooper. These units are capable of filtering out the worst effects of any airborne poisons and are the primary reason that many Steel Legion Guardsmen have survived doing battle upon the ash wastes. Senior officers have re-breathers that are often shaped into a mask similar to that of a grinning skull. The Guardsmen of the Steel Legion are not the only things protected from venomous environments within these regiments. Throughout the Steel Legions, all vehicles are fully enclosed and possess airtight seals to ward passengers from the foul and acidic atmosphere encountered by convoys traversing the ash wastes. The Steel Legion takes special care to protect their mighty banners, each one hung with trophies of honour and no small amount of Ork kill markers. These banners are coated with highly resistant materials in an attempt to preserve them from the wastelands' acidic decay.

A standard Armageddon Steel Legion Guardsman will be outfitted with the following wargear:

M36 Pattern Lasgun - Produced in a multitude of different styles and patterns, the Lasgun can be found in use on almost every world of the Imperium. The M36 Pattern is one of the most ubiquitous patterns of Lasgun in use by the Imperial Guard, and has long been the standard weapon issued to the troops of the Armageddon Steel Legion regiments.

4 Lasgun Charge Packs - Charge packs are powerful batteries used almost exclusively by Imperial laser weapons. The cost of a charge pack varies depending on the class of the weapon. In all cases, it provides shots equal to the weapon's full clip value.

Flak Armour - The most common type of armour used by Imperial Guard forces is Flak Armour, and it is standard-issue combat gear to the countless millions of Imperial Guardsmen who fight on the Emperor's behalf across the galaxy. Many layers of ablative and impact absorbent material go into making each suit, enough to deflect or negate most low-level attacks such as small arms, shrapnel, and proximity blasts. Solid hits from high impact weapons can generally negate it, but given that it is relatively lightweight, cheap to produce, and dependable in most combat situations, many veterans keep using it even when offered something better.

Mono Knife - The Mono Knife is a one-handed melee implement is the ubiquitous back-up weapon for warriors all across the Imperium, be they lowly hive scum or the elite soldiers of a Planetary Governor. Some, such as the Catachan Fighting Knife, are designed for a specific purpose, whilst others are more generic in nature. The Mono Knives utilized by the Death Korps of Krieg are specially fashioned blades with superfine edges that can easily cut through armour and never lose their edge. These knives are carried by all by all members of the Death Korps as both a bayonet and a field tool.

Armageddon Steel Legion Imperial Guard Uniform - The Armageddon Steel Legion uniform consists of a chemically-treated toxic-resistant trench coat, usually worn buckled along the chest, a helmet with special straps and lockplates for the Armageddon Pattern Rebreather that every soldier is issued. Additionally, soldiers of the Steel Legion wear thick, toxic-resistant gloves and boots, a basic set of trousers and an undershirt. Unusually, the fabric and condition of these uniforms are quite standard, thanks to the standard resources. of their highly industrialized home world.

Toxic-Resistant Trenchcoat - Each Guardsman of the Armageddon Steel Legions is equipped with a toxic-resistant trench coat, boots, and gloves. The specially-treated gear protects a Guardsmen from the most polluted or chemically toxic environments.

Armageddon Pattern Re-breather - Designed to keep the wearer alive in even the most noxious atmosphere, this re-breather consists of a mask (often shaped like a skull for senior officers) connected by hose to a small air supply. A character wearing an Armageddon Pattern Re-breather is immune to the effects of gases and issues of air quality, and can even survive underwater at limited depths. The air canister lasts for two full hours before requiring replacement.

4 Empty Sandbags

M39 Entrenching Tool

4 Frag Grenades - Frag Grenades use a combustible charge and special fillers of shrapnel fragments which make them potent anti-personnel weapons. Imperial Frag Grenades are roughly the size of a clenched fist and covered with a heavily notched shell, both to increase the shrapnel produced and provide a more secure grip for throwing.

2 Photon Flash Grenades - Photon Flash Grenades detonate like a small star, blinding anyone nearby and bright enough to overload primitive vision protection systems. Anyone within 15 meters of a photon flash grenade when it detonates will be temporarily blinded.

2 Smoke Grenades - Smoke grenades release a dense smoke which only obscures basic eyesight and optical based systems. They do not block detection systems that use heat or other spectral bands outside of normal human eyesight, but are much more widely available and easier to construct.

Poor Weather Gear

Rucksack

Basic Toolkit

Mess Kit and Water Canteen

2 week's Rations

Blanket and Sleeping Bag

Rechargeable Lamp Pack - Sturdy and reliable, glow-globes illuminate many an Imperial paveway and cathedral. Most portable ones are roughly the size of a clenched fist and can shine strong, yellowish light a dozen or so meters in width, lasting roughly five hours before their power pack needs recharging or replacing.

Grooming Kit

Dog Tags

Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer - A standard-issue Imperial text that covers a vast variety of topics, this book is possessed by all members of the Imperial Guard as part of their standard-issue equipment. The Primer is a basic guide that details everything a Guardsman needs to know: principles and regulations of the Imperial Guard, issued arms, attire, apparatus, and equipment, basic battlefield policy and Imperial Guard organisation and structure, elementary battlefield medical instructions, and a detailed guide on the foes of the Imperium. No Guardsman should ever be found without possession of a copy of the Uplifting Primer for the punishment is severe.

Source: http://warhammer40k.wikia.com

[reyavie]

Prompt generator: 1) defective, 2) order 3) help 4) flute 5) spaghetti 6) delirious 7) dice 8) threat.

characters: Queen Jennah & Nelianda Sarden (guild wars 2), human ranger.

1.     The first time Nelianda meets the woman who rules her city, it is on a royal ball. The other woman stands above her in a podium, clad in white and crowned in gold, a welcoming smile upon a face that seems like it has never been touched by adversity during her life. She knows she shouldn’t feel like so, that she shouldn’t feel jealous or judge the other too harshly but, staring at up at that shining figure, Nelianda can’t help but feel defective.

2.     “Don’t move, my Lady.” The words are spoken decisively as the longbow on the woman’s hands is raised. Jennah doesn’t have the time to close her eyes before the men holding her lay dead on the floor, wooden bolts ripping through their bodies.

3.     “You want her to be bait?” Jennah loves Logan. It is no surprise for those closer to her and much less to a woman who has walked and fought with Destiny’s Edge. There is a whisper of something like annoyance on the purple eyed woman as she faces her guardian. Jennah does not like to see it. It makes her, once again, feel like a burden. “Don’t be silly, Logan,” she says simply, interrupting the Commander before she speaks the words struggling past her lips. “She is right. It will be far simpler if I help.”

4.     The tune Nelianda plays is sweet and simple. A children’s song, if Jennah remembers well. She sits by the noblewoman’s side, listening carefully as the flute softly weaves the tune of a simpler time. When it is over, the ranger lowers the instrument to her lap and smiles sadly. “It’s not a good thing when I feel more comfortable with my bow, is it?”

5.     Lack of grace is not something one associates with Queen Jennah. Which is why Nelianda fights (incredibly hard) not to laugh out loud during the state dinner she is forced to. When Logan and her sister begin talking (which, for them, means the use of terms no one else would find any interest in), she subtly signals the Queen to lower her eyes to her dress. Red stains the woman’s cheeks. Actually, almost as red as the spaghetti staining her clothes.

6.     “Commander. Commander, wake up!” The dark hair is covered in sweat, her breathing is quick and harsh, like a woman running from some unnamed monster. Jennah can see the poison gripping the Commander’s life in its hands and squeezing. “Commander, you need to wake!” She only notices there are tears sliding down her face when Nelianda, in the mist of delirium, begs for her sister.

7.     “What are we doing here?” Logan is going to kill her. Slowly. Painfully. Nelianda can almost see how he will grip his sword and slash her throat. That’s what is in her future, she can just swear it. But. But. Jennah deserves just the slightest taste of freedom. “Playing dice, my Queen. I mean, Jen. Try not to answer to anything else or I might have to punch slash harm someone before we leave.”

8.     Nelianda visits her before she leaves for the Cursed shore. One would see it as the deference of a subject for her monarch before a dangerous mission but Jennah knows better. The Commander belongs to the Pact completely now and this visit? It is a veiled threat. “Do not call him back. Not now. We cannot afford the Pact to follow Glint.” Or maybe not so veiled.

[mystery-salad]

OC Interview: Matthias

Tagged by @just-eyris-things 💖 and I'm late to the party but here we are!

INTRODUCTION

1. Can you introduce yourself?

He offers a charming smile, "Matthias , Commander of the Pact."

2. What is your gender identity, orientation and relationship status?

"I'm a bisexual man, and very much a free bachelor still." He gives a wink

3. Where and when were you born?

"Right here in Divinity's Reach twenty five years ago. Wonderful city to grow up in, made a lot of connections that got me to where I am today."

4. What is your weapon of choice and fighting style?

"While the standard sword and shield are the usual for soldiers like me, I prefer dual swords. I'm not one to take a defensive stance when I can charge right in against danger. It's good to take charge on and off the field of battle."

5. Lastly, are you happy?

He lets out a soft, charming chuckle before answering. "If I wasn't happy I surely would've moved on to other job propositions by now, my parents surely would prefer I took a safer role after my time in the Seraph. But there's something fulfilling about being able to travel and help people in a way I couldn't if I'd remained here."

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

1. What’s your family like? What is your relationship with them?

"Oh they're wonderful, despite their status they love to keep a low profile though, so I'll avoid dragging this question out too long. We get along well and I try to write or visit when the opportunity arises."

2. Have you ever ran away from home?

"Never even had the thought to, there wasn't much to regret or bemoan of my childhood." He smiles fondly as he recalls, "There were night sneaking out with friends of course, boys will be boys, but I'd always come back by morning. Hopefully to parents none the wiser I'd even left, though I was not as stealthy as I'd thought."

3. Would you consider marriage or having children?

"While I'm in such a dangerous line of work I wouldn't dream of raising a family. I'd hate to be one of those absent fathers off to war. But perhaps, when retirement inevitably comes knocking and it's time to pass the torch on, I may settle down and find The One."

4. Do you secretly hate one of your friends?

"Of course not! I've had nothing but the most trustworthy and kind friends here. And while I know rumors spread that I and my co-Commander, Aildyn (@ascalonianpicnic), had a rocky start to our partnership, I can assure that the two of us work wonderfully together. Just a small cultural conventions bump was all."

5. Which friend knows everything about you?

"Oh, telling any friend everything leaves little to still keep each other on your toes does it? We all have our stories and dalliances we save for more private moments." His smile softens a little, as if fondly thinking of someone. "Nevertheless there is someone who knows the most about me, I'll keep her name secret to avoid any unwanted attention it may garner for her."

ASKED BY FANS

1. Are you literate? Have you been to school?

He feigns insult before offering a smile softening any potential misunderstanding on the action, "Me, illiterate? Id never hear the end of it from my family if I was, with how expensive the schooling I received was. And I highly doubt Logan would have put forth someone lacking in the ability to hold up the more tedious side of running an organization."

2. The eeriest prediction you made that later came true?

"I'm not one for predictions really, I prefer to live in the moment and enjoy what surprises may come."

3. What is something you were embarrassingly late to realize?

"Hmm, I like to pride myself on being observant, so this isn't a particularly easy one to recall. But as a child, it took me quite a few years to realize that not all 'bite sized food was actually bite sized. Had some hilarious moments at dinner parties my parents hosted, not that they'd agree with the results."

4. Do you have mental health or physical issues?

"I'm quite proud to say I'm in tip top shape, physically and mentally. The safety of the world is in very stable hands." He holds his hands out slightly for flourishing emphasis before settling back for the next question.

5. What is your current main goal?

"While we are between dragon threats at the moment, a wonderfully relaxing place to be, we do in fact have some behind the scenes research going on in a few various matters. I'm not at public liberty to talk about then yet, but rest assured when the Pact makes another move you'll be the first to know the scoop."

CHOICES

1. Drink or food?

"Drink of course, a nice drink with friends can happen anywhere at any time. And I'm quite the amicable socialite if I say so myself."

2. Cats or dogs?

"I enjoy both, though I prefer the independence of cats. They know what they want at all times, and I'm afraid I'm far too busy for the training a dog would require of me."

3. Early bird or night owl?

"I'm an early riser by nature, nothing like getting a solid mourning routine and breakfast in before starting the day!"

4. Optimist or pessimist?

"I fancy myself an optimist, this job would get oppressively depressing otherwise wouldn't it? You've got to be able to focus on the bright side as you look forward."

5. Sassy or sarcastic?

"I enjoy some sarcasm here and there, sass has little use in mature conversation aside from hindering the mood. Sarcasm meanwhile, can still let things roll forward with intent thrown in."

HAVE YOU EVER

1. Been caught sneaking out?

He laughs, "While I'd underestimate the count of how many times my parents caught me either sneaking out or back in after a fun night with friends, I'm sure they'd overestimate it. But yes, they've caught me at least once."

2. Broke a bone?

"I've broken an arm or leg here and there, sometimes you just slip up or fall the wrong way of course. Especially when your enemies would like to cause far worse harm. But thankfully we have access to wonderful healers, and I've never been down for long."

3. Received flowers?

The admirers of the Pact and the hard work we do are very kind, they certainly make their adoration and appreciation known. I've received more flowers than I'd have room for even if I filled my office with vases."

4. Ghosted someone?

"Of course not, I'd hate to leave someone hanging and wondering what happened. Anything I enter into, I intend to see through to however it ends."

5. Pretended to laugh at a joke you didn’t get?

"We all have moments of polite convention, and not every joke appeals to every sense of humor. I try to be discerning when necessary, but I've laughed at a fare number of jokes I simply didnt get."

He stands up, giving a polite bow to the interviewer. "Thank you for extending this invitation to me, it's always wonderful knowing how admirers feel and being able to share with the general public that we heroes are just like everyone else."

It's important to know that 99% of this interview is a bold faced lie

I think pretty much everyone's been tagged by now! At least those who want to do it! So I simply extend the invitation to say I tagged you, and mention me if you do this too! I'd love to see others who haven't gotten to this yet either 💜