#gw2 SotO spoilers

[guild-snail]

bangs on anets front door HEY!! HER BROS GET BIG NASTY FLESH ARMS!!! WHY NO FLESH ARMS!!!!! LET HER HAVE FLESH ARMS!!!!!!!!

[caffeinated-asura]

Excuse you what makes you think that the Commander would just randomly eat -

Nevermind.

[commanders-sole-braincell]

Isgarren is great but I will remove him from the food chain if he keeps it up

I really wanted to yeet him from that tower after he said that

[janthir]

thanks for your input, demon-in-my-head

[cindermetalheadgw2]

Everyone else in amnytas: PROTECT THE BASTIONS FROM THE KRYPTIS! SAFEGUARD OUR DANGEROUS RELICS LEST THEY FALL INTO ENEMY HANDS! FREE OUR ALLIES FROM DEMONIC POSESSION! PREPARE FOR INVASION!!!

R'tchikk and Gladium:

[scourgeblooms]

wanted to do a physical timeline for my commander and highlight how he’s changed through the years. this is mostly for my own entertainment BUT I do enjoy seeing the same thing from other folks so I’m posting it here in the hopes that other people share my sentiment. 

(I was ALSO totally inspired by @/manasurge’s hair timeline. it kicks ass. go look at it.) 

elaboration/rambling below the cut!

Personal Story, LW1-2: Popped out of the pod blunt, solicitous, and already maybe a little too paranoid for someone who was born yesterday, but all those traits made him uniquely qualified for a position in military leadership.  Healthy and floral, soft aspen-bark-like skin, delicate petals. black anthers produce pollen. undergoes more fashion changes than physical transformations during this time. gets a little banged up here and there (and maybe has some lasting respiratory effects from the toxic alliance era) but overall feelin a-okay. 

Heart of Thorns: it’s all gone to shit. took a spectacular headdive in both a physical and mental sense with breakneck speed. never “officially” answered mordremoth’s call, but anyone who spent time around him would notice a distinct lack of self control and logical thinking. took on a more sickly pallor, stress caused leaves to shrivel, rot, and decay. lost his lil flower top notch and ability to produce pollen. pupils narrowed to take on a more animalistic look, and enamel growth resulted in sharper, larger teeth. fingers also elongated into claws. never fully physically and mentally recovered from the hell jungle. 

LW3: chopped off most of his leaves to encourage fresh growth. lots of physical healing during this time, though it takes quite a while for his complexion to fully recover. takes on the role of aurene’s champion with gusto. relatively unaffected by bloodstone, but feels the effects of mordremoth’s loose/uncontrolled magic deeply. continues to hear mordremoth’s “voice” and is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. 

Path of Fire: still healing from HoT. continues to grow out his leaves. glow returns, as well as some of his eye color. likes the crystal desert, but finds the harsh, dry climate to be particularly challenging; he’s definitely more of a ‘temperate’ sylvari. does not handle dying well. death only adds to his paranoia and psychosis. has an increasingly hard time picking apart what is real and what is…. not. 

LW4: let’s get ready to kill an undead lich!!!! absorbs even more magic after the death of joko and kralkatorrik, and it starts to show in a there-and-gone shimmery aura that takes on a similar appearance to ley lines. starts to suffer from migraine auras. flower top notch grows back, but stays closed and dormant. picks up a few nifty necromancy tricks from the elonians, and the tips of his fingers start to show signs of necrotic decay; all that death magic can’t be good for the complexion, can it? 

Icebrood Saga: having another dragon in his head does not help his mental health in the slightest. braided leaves (courtesy of braham <3) to protect against frostbite. his ley “aura” gets more intense, hard to miss, and is a near constant. flower topnotch remains closed due to the cold weather conditions. after being shot by bangar, his wound is covered/healed by aurene’s brand. migraines increase in frequency, makes it difficult for him to focus. a bone deep exhaustion starts to set in, and more often than not, he catches himself thinking that a nice long nap underneath a blanket of snow doesn’t sound so terrible….

End of Dragons: back in a more agreeable climate, his topnotch finally blooms, but does not grow anthers or produce pollen. easily physically corrupted by void magic, and he feels soo-won’s pain and struggle deeply. the void corruption eventually shows up in the form of darkening leaves, and seeping out of his eyes/tearducts (it’s fine. don’t worry about it.). starts to incorporate chaos magic into his own necromancy practices. has a fucking terrible time in gyala delve. has a fucking terrible time saying goodbye to aurene. 

Secrets of the Obscure: nothing feels entirely real to him anymore. still willing to help, to fight, but it’s done on autopilot at this point. this magical, floating palace in the sky looks and feels like a dream, with the kryptis acting as the encroaching, inevitable turn to a real, living nightmare. still uses a bit of leftover void in his magical practices, but most of the corruption has left his system. that respiratory illness he picked up back in kessex hills comes back to bite him in nayos. finally grows back his anthers, but instead of producing pollen, it's an outlet for void/magic energy.

[wingylalkasartstuff]

And an alterante version without salad boob to show off my cool headcanons (ironically)

[crystalldragon]

JDSFKDFKFD HEELLPPPP

[nice-profession-mechanic]

One of my favourite parts of the SotO expac has been learning more of the absolute nonsense that happens in the mists.

Unless I'm misremembering, the Kryptis hewed their world wholecloth out of the mists. Which is how it's so easy for them to go from their world to nearby others and why "just everyday commander things" like punching a hole out of the underworld (using what in retrospect is probably a kryptis gorged on the emotions of ghosts in the underworld) sent ripples that were felt in Nayos but not in Tyria.

Their world doesn't really have a hard edge, it just fades back into the mists at its edges.

[just-eyris-things]

WHERE ARE EPARCHS FEET, WRONG ANSWERS ONLY

[lackluster-draws]

Hmm, curious little thing you are.

Inspired by this photoset

[mystery-salad]

💖😍💗💕🥰💘DAGDA🥰💗💘💖😍💕

[cindermetalheadgw2]

Wizards: our job is to protect tyria from powerful threats

Commander: me too! a noble purpose

Wizards: which is why we want to practice keeping it safe so we know what to do when the time comes

Commander: exactly, training for these situations is important :)

Wizards: we create these magical simulations of places and events so we can be as prepared and realistic as possible. Wouldn't want anyone to ACTUALLY die or suffer right?

Commander: of course not, what a great idea!

Wizards: but, the fake people in the traumatic disaster simulator weren't acting realistic and preparing us well enough. So we just made them be real people! :D

Commander:

...

what.

the

🔥💥FUCK💥🔥

[stiffyck]

people started forming a line at the broken npc

[praise-joko]

I’m always in awe of Thy Weeping Willow’s stunt flying and this is the best look at the new maps we’ve seen!

I’m so excited for this expansion and the new mount abilities.