#minsec

[sylvaridreams]

life hack if your friends are annoying and embarrassing enough in public you can walk out and stick then with the tab, minsec doesn't want you to know this but nothing can stop you from doing it. real winners quit.

[stairset]

Aight here's some rough sketches of the characters from the Starset books, based on how I pictured them while reading. These are just practice to get a feel for 'em so they most definitely won't look exactly like this when I eventually do the final drawings, but I figured I'd post what I got so far.

From left to right, top to bottom: Stephen, Aston, Dana, Stignum, Gregor, Thomas, Rose, Gisele and MinSec.

[storm-called]

finally giving this toon some lore

They're a freelancer, bounty hunter and outlaw, working under the name of The Operative or Shrike. Their real name is probably buried deep within MinSec's archives, but no one's ever lived to dig it out.

Acquiring Shrike's services is tricky, as they're not really bound to any moral code aside from their own -- one they keep a closely-guarded secret. Money does not sway their choices as much as some would think, but there are few jobs they will refuse if enough gold is on the line. They are currently deep in the pocket of the Jade Brotherhood, doing whatever shadow work is too messy for legitimate members of the order.

Professionalism is not one of their strong suits, despite their debonair attitude and air of mystique. They are reckless, cocky, and a jokester -- a dangerous combination in their profession. It's gotten them into more tangles than they care to recount, but a deadly aim has always gotten them out (mostly scot-free, if you don't count the one that cost them their arm).

[hawkepockets]

genuine question out of anxiety, related to the copaganda topic: do you think it’s bad to have a seraph or minsec oc that doesn’t leave either group and isn’t intended to be antagonists? or would that be innately problematic?

i rly don’t want my opinion to be taken as a ruling on whether or not it’s “ok” to make certain types of ocs. ymmv with different audiences!

but my personal feeling is that it’s never wrong to have characters who reflect the status quo of their world, even when that includes norms that are harmful in-universe &/or reflect real world problems. some of those characters may get radicalized by events in their story & come to challenge the status quo, or take a major antagonist role because of their refusal to question a system they benefit from, or don’t want to admit is harming them. others can just live their lives without ever confronting or even noticing how their work upholds unjust systems and disproportionately punishes the marginalized.

if their internal moral code is never brought fully into conflict with the moral framework of their society (e.g. canthan imperialism) or organization (e.g. militarized seraph) they’re not gonna have a character arc about it, even if we wish that they would. that’s fine. norms are called norms for a reason. they’re normative. they’re upheld or at least tolerated by the majority of people with societal power. i don’t see it necessary to villainize a character for that and make them a capital A antagonist if that’s not their story. your hero’s perspective & your narrative goals will determine whether that’s fitting/necessary.

that said, i think if you want to write a cop character who doesn’t challenge the status quo and do it thoughtfully and responsibly, get a little critical of them! make their naïveté, wilful or not, part of their character. have they really never seen systematic injustice, or are they able to blind themself to it because of their other beliefs or interpersonal relationships? are they aware the system is flawed, but feel they’re in too vulnerable a position themself to be openly opinionated? was it stomped out of them? are they inexperienced with the world? do they think they can “fix things from inside” or are they apathetic?

and i think you should consider showing at least one occasion on which they experience some doubt/cognitive dissonance or cause harm to someone else as a consequence of their convictions about the necessity, or even righteousness, of policing human commoners, upholding noble hemegony & jennah’s rule, and killing centaurs (kryta’s indigenous people) if seraph; the same with policing lower class humans, enforcing the marginalization/assimilation of tengu, killing naga and supporting an empire if minsec. they don’t have to be an antagonist in the story or in your wider understanding of them, but maybe they should act antagonistically in another character’s life or a specific moment! that’s not, like, a tax you need to pay for keeping a character in a “problematic” role. it’s just good character writing.

being aware of your messaging when telling stories isn’t something that needs to come from a place of anxiety & defensiveness. it should generate new character beats & make your story deeper, richer, and more exciting. have fun with it!

you should also be prepared, if your work is shared widely, to have some people dislike or criticize the character for their complacency, and not take that personally.

so that’s my recommendation as someone who likes flawed characters & worldbuilding that commits to itself. again, by no means an authoritative answer or one i expect to be agreed with by all tastes & experiences. you have to figure out what’s satisfying for you.

[commander-gloryforge]

15 & 27!

15 iiiis:

Nagisa Shadowshot, yet another canthan outlaw

they once were a shrine maiden at the jade sea, close to the harvest temple. theyve always had a strong bond to the shrine guardian there, and were a valued member of the temple.

this was their home, for many years, until one day a stranger stumbled in, injured and confused. nagisa helped him back on his feet, looked for his raptor that had ran off during an attack, and soon the two developed quite a strong sibling like bond.

the rescued traveller, byungjoon, soon convinced nagisa to travel along with him, to see the world. nagisa agreed, and joined him on his adventures.

nagisa is not only a skilled archer but also has an affinity for shadow magic. theyre quick, stealthy, and happen to always be at the right place at the right time. while their newfound brother tends to get himself into trouble with the minsec (and now various other law enforcers), nagisa is the one he counts on to bail him out.

for 27, we haaave:

LORELEI CELESTIA, LA's top Beetle Racer!

Lorelei grew up in Lion's Arch, though the city's never been kind to her. she got involved in rather shady businesses as a child, raised into a moneymaker and fighting machine.

only when she met vinzz, a young asura that was just as troubled as her, her life began to change for the better. leaving her past behind, lore and vinzz began living an adventurous life together, creating problems wherever they could

lore was taught to be competetive early on, and she still very much is. she's become a roller beetle racer and has crushed into multiple noble houses in DR! yippie!!

her and vinzz frequent a certain club in LA, where they met 1 sad wet cat... now the duo is a trio :)

congrats on choosing the two transfem lesbians with insane little brothers they picked up somewhere! bingo!

[echowilds]

crawls in like a fucking cat crawling under a door

tell me about iseul 👀 (@legendary-alliance-stance)

criminal time!

i'm gonna preface this with the fact that it has been a while since he's been rotating endlessly in my mind.

he's of canthan and luxon heritage! but his name is canthan (specifically korean) because his parents wanted him to have an easier time professionally (going off headcannons about the discrimination people of luxon and kurzick heritage face)

he hates it. their heritage is important to them and he really wanted to have a name that reflects that given to them by their parents. unfortunately, both are dead

he was a kestrel for a while (and technically still is) but most aren't too happy about his. less than legal escapades

they are actually good at evading minsec and having an alibi, but uhh. dumb gay bitch disease struck and for a while he would commit minor offenses that they'd need to be taken to the station for because he wanted to flirt with the cute detective

him and rama do in fact figure their shit out! ... sort of. mostly.

they both helped yao when they wanted to leave the brotherhood and let them crash on their rama's couch for a while. they're kind of like the weird uncles for them and yao is one of the few people in both of their lives who's aware of their relationship and respective professions

being luxon, he's had a much easier time communicating with archemorus and utilizing his skillset, having been taught by an old fighting mentor when iseul was younger

it took him a long time to really lean into channeling viktor (sustaining several dangerous injuries proved to be a very good motivator)

both archemorus and viktor are very amused with his.... complicated love life (and yes they're blissfully ignoring their own emotional predicament)

and a quick low quality screenshot of him under the cut

thanks to the tatoo skins for making him look like the hobo-est himbo. as he should. (ignore the shackles i just think they're cool and a bit ironic)

[ratasum]

Small Dragonwatch Krewe thoughts before I crash out for bed:

Qirri and Taimi became official at an indeterminate time during EoD. Qirri and Zanthe finally became official right before Qirri's 26th birthday prior to the start of WLB.

Ympp joined up with the krewe right after EoD. He's been spending his nights parkouring in Kaineng and giving MinSec fits.

Qirri has been splitting her time between Joon's mansion and Gorrik's research station for WLB. No one likes this. The constant travel has visibly worn on her; she's clearly exhausted. But she's trying to be a good krewe chief.

Yao has been promoted from honorary krewemate to full krewe member. The whole krewe threw a small party for this.

They're all grown sure but they stay awkward.

[friesian]

psst hey tell me about tsujio 👀 (- @legendary-alliance-stance)

A LIL QUESTION ABOUT TSUJIO??!!!

ok so im typing this up in bed on my phone so this may not be 100% clear BUT.

the long story short is that tsujio's body is cohinhabited by his great (x???) grandfather shiro tagachi and he does NOT like it. not to mention HAVING the last name tagachi is like a hell on earth just for him.

because of that i have it that he's blackmailed by MinSec to work for them to both monitor him and use the sort of power his lineage has for their advantage. not to mention the fact that he "channels" shiro as a revenant. that's his excuse. he is DEFINITELY NOT POSSESSED by the ACTUAL SPIRIT of his grandfather.

sometimes shiro does slip out and does. Evil. or just says things. benign or TERRIBLE. meanwhile tsujio himself is just a young 22-23 year old who wants to go to conventions for nerd culture shit and make friends, find himself, learn to cope with his identity, do acrobatics/parkour, and maybe learn to somehow get along with his grandfather. but they're at odds and ends to say the least. shiro CARES about his lineage, but in a way to carry HIS legacy, not what tsujio wants to do.

tsujio does care about his grandfather in a weird way. he certainly wants his body back, that's for sure. and the horrors shiro caused is unforgivable. but a part of him that is desperate for validation and love from a parental figure, since he was relinquished to the child care system as a baby, just wants shiro to care about him. maybe even in a fucked up way.

TAKE THESE SKETCHES I DID OF HIM (and my friends with him) AGES AGO. GET TSUJIO'D.

[i-mybrunettelady]

how about the eod gang (rama, min, yao, joon) for ren and el?

Leggo :3

Ren

Rama -> She won't ever admit to this, obviously, but to a certain extent, she relates to him; like him, she grew up in poverty as well. She has no opinion either way as to the fact that he joined the Ministry of Security later, as everyone has their own way to escape a hard life and it's not her place to judge them for it. Their relationship, aside from that, is mostly professional. He knows her as a diplomat (few people in Cantha actually register that she's a spy, fun fact), she knows him as a MinSec officer who wants to make a better world (even if she's a little too cynical to believe in it.)

Min -> Much like Rama, Ren only knows Min from a professional lens. She does believe she's gonna do well as the Minister of Security, though. Also, she thinks Min's kinda cute but she's a taken woman, thank you very much.

Yao -> She finds them very adorable. Again, doesn't interact much with them, but first impressions are that they're adorable. Would like to ask them why they went from Jade Brotherhood for Xunlai Jade. Like a cat, she's overly curious in the whole Jade Brotherhood vs Xunlai Jade deal.

Joon -> Joon's one of those people she just tolerates. Ren has an easy time getting along with people like Joon, because she's willing to step aside and let them be in the spotlight, but it doesn't mean she always likes the person doing it. She reminds her of Nyra in a lot of ways, but without the magnetism.

El (mild nsfw mentions because El.)

Rama: Doesn't have much of an opinion on him, due to the fact he doesn't interact with Rama much, though he does like the hat and wants desperately to ask whether it counts as his sexy wear before Liv shuts him up lmao He's just waiting for a chance to ask, don't worry

Min -> Min's absolutely irrelevant to him. She's just someone who keeps the ministry seat warm for the next guy who wants to sit on it, nothing more.

Yao -> Will get back to this once he makes up his mind :')

Joon -> He's had minimal interactions with Joon, but they have served to let him know that she's getting on his last nerve and that she's very fucking annoying to him.

[alexwings9]

Minsec le gusta cabrear a Dayleka

[sylvaridreams]

MinSec really doesn't want you to know this, but you can just get on top of the jade Soo-won statue. they legally can't stop you.

[stairset]

What I think the characters from the Starset books sound like:

Stephen: Probably just sounds like Dustin

Stignum: Mark Hamill any time he plays a bad guy

Gisele: Full-on Harley Quinn style Brooklyn accent

MinSec: Bastion in X-Men '97

The rest of them: Idk I'd have to think about it more

[soneysiney]

Shit

[hawkepockets]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and who's not into that?

[dalennaugw]

Had a couple people in a couple of Arts of Tyria servers inform me about Magma Studio. It was nice to paint chat with other people again; I should find more people to wrangle into it.

This is one of Heulwin's outfits while in Cantha. Cue Seitung Training Montage.

[spiritofthetiger]

Some screens from New Kaineng