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commander-duckie · 2 years

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💐🌼🍂 + Caellach

💐 How does your OC handle being unwell or forced to rest in bed? Who cares for them and in what ways? Does your OC enjoy being doted on or are they a terrible patient? Reversed: is your OC good at taking care of others who are ill or in need?

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Caellach is a notoriously terrible patient - less so for disobeying menders and moreso for actively trying to avoid them in the first place. He absolutely hates being stuck in bed and resting, as it reminds him far too much of a youth spent stuck in the Omphalos Chamber. He wants to be out there, helping, not sitting around having things done for him, it makes him feel useless. He is far and away the one most likely to ignore and/or hide a wound just so he can focus his attention on someone else and what they need, even if he's gritting his teeth with the pain, even if there's a patch of sap blooming beneath his shirt. Trahearne is less than amused pretty much every single time. Luckily for the Marshal, however, he does hold more sway over his dear Noon-bloom than anyone else in the world, so it doesn't take more than a stern look to have the Commander retreating back to bed.

(He doesn't have to be pleased about it, though.)

When finally wrangled by watched over by menders or Pact healers, he's efficient, polite, and does listen as best he can to their advice, knowing that his habit of putting it off isn't a good one - one of these days he'll regret it, he knows he will. He's all soldier, all Commander, all business and no pleasure. He allows them to do as they need to, so he can get back to doing what he needs to do. In private with those dear to him, though - namely Trahearne and Kahedins - he can revert just a little bit to the little brother they know him as, complete with the pouting over having to rest. Someone please sit on this man so he can't run while they're not looking.

(When he's really very ill or badly wounded - meaning he can't get up of his own volition - he's a lot easier to deal with, ironically enough. He hides it very well, but deep down he loves to be doted on, especially by Trahearne. Sit by his side and pet his fronds and speak softly to him, let him rest and feel safe and warm and content, and he'll be putty in your hands.)

🌼Who are this character's friends and found family? How did they meet, how long have they been friends for, could they ever be something more than just friends? What do they look for in a friend or a romantic partner?

Caellach is my story Commander, so their found family is the same friend group found in the game - Kas, Jory, Braham, Rox, Taimi, Gorrik, and Rytlock. Oh, and Aurene, too!

In terms of friends, he's absolutely closest to Rytlock, both sharing a soldier's outlook on life and the drive of an underdog fighting tooth and claw to reach the top. They get along like a metaphorical house on fire and, by the time the Icebrood Saga rolls around, they have a synergy in combat that can make even the most battle-hardened warriors run for the hills. They really are brothers-in-arms, and Caellach even has an unofficial Stone warband name - Brightstone.

But for kids? Far and away, Braham, Taimi, Gorrik, Blish and Aurene are his babies. He doesn't care that Braham has a good foot of height on him, Braham is his son, and I cannot even begin to describe how much their argument and split crushed him. Even before Eir was lost, Caellach considered Braham under his protection, and that only amplified from then on. He wants so badly to be the guiding figure that Braham never got to have.

The same goes for Taimi, who he swiftly became protective of due to their shared experiences with illness and chronic pain. He's practically watched both her and Braham grow up, and oh, hell hath no fury like a father with a daughter in danger - when she was taken by Joko, there was nothing that would have withstood the force of Caellach's anger. Nobody puts her in danger, ever. His fire almost melted Scruffy in his attempt to get her out in time.

(He held her so tight when they did. Sat down on that floor and ignored the screaming pain of magic overuse and just held her, rocked her, whispered into her hair, until all their panic finally melted away. "It's alright, it's okay, you're okay. Shh-shh-shh. You're safe now. I- thorns, you're safe now. I'm so sorry. We're okay, you're okay. It's over, now. I promise. I promise.")

Blish and Gorrik are special, and pretty amusing, cases. Right at the beginning, Caellach was very wary of them both, as of course they were both Inquest; as a Firstborn, Caellach hardly has much trust for a red-clad rat. Once they proved themselves willing to save the world, however - and with the realisation of just how young they both were, dragged into the Inquest like that - they both swiftly became Additional Sons, and joined the ranks of Caellach's odd little family. He's as protective of the two of them as any of the others. Losing Blish in the fight against Kralkattorik, therefore, hurt Caellach beyond words. He wanted to keep them both safe, and couldn't. The helplessness of it was soul-crushing. He swore he would never lose another of his kids again.

Finally, there is, of course, Aurene - his littlest daughter, now a big shiny Elder Dragon! He can't believe how much she's grown in such a short time, and to be honest, he was sent reeling by the change from guardian to guarded. It was like watching your child grow up so fast and become an adult themselves, doing the exact thing you had been doing for so long. He is honoured to have been her "surrogate" father, and to have become her Champion, but sometimes he misses the little hatchling she was, and her ravenous appetite for fish.

(She lays her head in his lap, still, on occasion, especially when she was recovering in Seitung. He's so small to her, now, so fragile, when he used to be the biggest, brightest star in her universe - she supposes that such is life as a hatchling growing up into a dragon. Even so, she'll nuzzle up close from time to time, doing her best not to rest too much weight on him, and enjoys the feeling of his hands stroking at her head, just like he used to do. She's not sure what she'll do when he's no longer there.)

🍂 Does your OC enjoy hugs? What do they do as a show of affection for: their friends, their family, their significant other(s) or for strangers? Over all what are they like with recieving affection from others?

He does love hugs, but they're typically reserved for family, very close friends, and his significant other. He's even one of Taimi's favoured "carrier people" if she needs someone to take over with the whole walking thing. He'll allow a hug from a stranger if they're doing it out of genuine gratitude for something he's done, but a soldier's mind never really rests, so please don't hug him completely out of nowhere!

With those he's close to, you can easily tell how much they mean to him by how comfortable he is around them - he'll let the Commander persona slip, he'll relax, he'll laugh and joke and make sarcastic little comments like the rest of them.

#commander caellach #trammander #firstborn caellach #gw2 oc #thank you SO MUCH for the ask!!!!#i'll get to yours soon oasis don't worry!!! uwu #oof this got Super Long though i just. weeps over Caellach's kids

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thecandywrites · 3 years

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The Beginning of Stormbreaker Part 4 Finale

Ok, so unless you haven’t figured it out, Butternut- is my version of a Shae Nut, But the nuts are in this lovely fruit pictured above, that in my mind tastes like a creamy mango with hints of melon and papaya. And this lovely red apple looking fruit on the right is Dragon Heart Fruit which in my mind has the flavor of Lychee, mango and pinapple, still very tropical tasting. Also the lovely ladies above, on the top row on the left, that is Grat, Drad and Sarg’s mother, and on the left is Shari, Rhos’ and Esri’s mother.

Part 4

It took over a week of going back and forth to the dragon’s lair to get all the scales and usable leather, sinew and good bones along with the dragon’s small horde of gold, jewels and other precious items, which when divided evenly between Rhosland, Esri, Drad and Sarg along with equal portions allotted to their mothers and Orcoth in addition to Rhos and Esri’s already gathered pearls which Rhos and Esri gave a portion of the pearls to their mother, Grat and Orcoth so that all seven of them would be richer, despite the failed raid while Esri and Rhos kept all the beautiful shells to keep to make jewelry later.

Drad and Sarg happily ground down the good left over dragon bones into a fine powder back at camp while they rested and healed at remarkably fast rates, thanks to the dragon bone. By the time they had managed to forage all they could and the suits of armour for all four of them and three breast plates at least for Rhos’ and Esri’s mother as well as Orcoth, were done, they decided to head back to Skull Screamer, the four of them in the little row boat with extra large rafts tied to the boat behind them, that Sarg and Drad had built to carry all the smoked and preserved meat and fish and other foraged goods along with a few cuttings of the tree in the dragon’s cave and baskets that Drad and Sarg had woven themselves while they hung out at Rhos’ and Esri’s campsite out of the tall grasses to hold all the fruit from the tree and others and all the seeds left behind from the tree that had fallen in previous years that had been in a heap under the tree along with the fruits of the Butternut bush and hundreds of wild rose buds to make rose soap along with the ash from the smoker to get the lye to make the soap needed.

However when they came rowing back up Skull Screamer’s main river Rhos and Esri looked worriedly to Drad and Sarg as everyone in the village looked at them like ghosts before they noticed that once they came upon Drad and Sarg’s mother’s house both of their mothers and Orcoth came out of the house as both their mothers were so happy and overjoyed to see their children come back as Drad and Sarg pulled the boat and the rafts up onto the shore as they were immediately surrounded by everyone.

“You’re alive!” Shari cried as she embraced her daughters as her daughters embraced her in turn.

“Of course we are alive, why did you think we were dead?” Rhos asked her mother.

“Because Zash and his sons, got lost in fog and attacked Hurricane Breaker. And when Drad and Sarg’s horses along with many others came back without their riders and blood on their saddles, we assumed the worst and imagined that you and Esri had camped too close to the accidental battlefield and got caught up in it.” Shari cried.

“We heard the battle but it was at a distance and we stayed inside the tent until the sounds of the battle stopped, and after the battle ended we were approached by Captain Tilge of Hurricane Breaker and her warband of shieldmaidens. But once we explained what we were doing there and that Skull Screamer must have gotten lost in the fog and had no intention of attacking and thus, we had no intent to harm them or their clan and they believed us and believed that we were younglings because of our size and saw that we were unarmed and therefore not a threat, they had no quarrel with us and left us in peace and safety and even discouraged anyone else in Hurricane Breaker from coming to us and to leave us alone. In fact they happily shared a meal with us and struck up a friendly peace with Esri and I and to signify that peace, I gave her the tribute necklace I had given to Shadi and Esri gave her the bracelet that she had made for Baka as tribute that they gave us as bride gifts when we left but when they said that Tar had been killed, we knew we weren’t going to be marrying him and when Drad and Sarg found us and we healed them from their own wounds. And when they were healed enough to walk on their own we came back.” Rhos explained to her mother and others who had come to see her for themselves.

“What happened here while we were gone?” Rhos asked her mother.

“Well after Zash unwittingly got lost in the fog and accidentally attacked Hurricane Breaker, he and his men died in the raid. As did all of Zash’s sons, we thought only the few men of the other warbands survived and came back and reported that everyone else had died. So almost all the people who came to deliver bride gifts before you left, came and demanded them back since you would not be brides to Tar. And it’s only because Grat opened up her home to me that I had any place to go. The whole clan thought that you and Esri’s joining Tar’s family was a bad sign of disapproval from the gods and would confuse them and thus sent the fog that caused us to lose everyone that we did, so Shadi and Baka, they burned down our house in retribution for losing Tar and in the commotion they gave birth only a few days ago, both to girls.” Shari revealed as Rhos and Esri gasped in horror as they stared at their neighbors in outrage who by now were lowering their heads in shame and backing away.

“What kind of madness is this?! No! It was Zash’s and Tar’s own stubbornness and confusing leadership that led to us unwittingly attacking Hurricane Breaker and if it had not been for Shaman Orcoth who gave me prophetic advice that I and Sarg listened to his words and survived. And it was Rhosland and Esri who took us in and healed us and concealed us from Captain Tilge and did so in such a way to keep themselves and us above suspicion. Which takes courage and faith and loyalty. They have been blameless and Sarg and I both saw over the last week or so how Esri and Rhosland have been nothing but blessings for us. They healed us with medicine they instinctively know, they fed us from the game they were able to kill all on their own and they even shot down a bear and had victory over it. And then they found the hissing rocks which they realized wasn’t actually a cursed place but discovered that it was an old dragon’s home, the dragon had been trapped inside and had a tree growing from it’s chest to the roof of the place and when they investigated it, they collected the dead dragons scales and leather and made us these exquisite suits of armor and these weapons that have no compare and even used the bones to heal our own broken bones. Which is why we are at full health after only a week of sustaining almost fatal injuries. They are not a curse, they never were, they are our blessing and salvation and I am more than honored to have Rhos as my mate as is Sarg to have Esri. And just look what they were able to capture when they were given the right tools- they were more than successful.” Drad pointed out as he gestured to his suit of armor and then gestured to all the food and other supplies on the boat and on the rafts for emphasis as proof of what he was saying.

“So Mother Shari- I would be more than happy to build you a house of stone and timber to replace the one of bricks that you lost. And don’t worry about anything that you lost, I will see to it that you are given at least twice what you have previously lost. Thank you Mom for doing the right thing by taking her in.” Drad declared as he grasped her hands and comforted her.

“So, I have an announcement. Since Shadi and Baka had girls and that no one from Zash’s male line survived, as Tar’s First Commander of Captains, I hereby take the position of Warchief and I appoint Sarg as my Warlord and we will claim the neutral land that is just south of Hurricane Breaker and North of here since Rhosland and Esri are in a peace treaty with them. Since that land already gave us so much, it will give us more- still. And all those who did not get to take back their bride gifts to Rhosland and Esri are free to do so now that they are back. But know that if you do, you will not be welcome in Stormbreaker which is the clan I will be starting there, and all those that did and had a hand in burning down Shari’s house, will also not be welcome in Stormbreaker either and you will reap such unforgivable disrespect and never again will such things ever be permitted let alone tolerated.” Drad announced as Rhos had never been more proud of him as Esri and Rhosland put the tanned bear hide over their mother and comforted her and gave her, her fair share of the dragon’s horde.

Then Shari told her daughters exactly who had come and wanted what they gave back and remembered still who had given what before Esri and Rhosland spitefully got all of it out of their row boats and rafts and forced it back into the hands of those who had given it in the first place and wanted it back even though the others, out of fear of Drad and Sarg and their new announcement had tried to go back on their word and their previous choices before Rhos and Esri simply let the gifts fall to the ground at the giver’s feet and wanted nothing to do with them before they unloaded everything else into Grat’s house which she didn’t have that big of a house to begin with but all of them did their best to squeeze themselves and all that they had foraged and hunted into it as Esri and Rhos gave Orcoth, Grat and Shari some of the dragon bone powder as it healed Orcoth immediately so that he did not have to limp as Shari and Grat both seemed to regain some of their youth and vigor and soundness of mind and body.

“I tried to tell the clan that all of you were still alive and well but they didn’t believe me, but I think they will now.” Orcoth noted to Drad and Sarg who had readily accepted Sarg as his father also while they feasted on the smoked and preserved venison’s tenderloins and backstraps, the best parts of the venison along with the mushrooms and other foods that they had managed to forage for.

“You should take Rhos home with you and prove to the whole clan that you’re verile though Warchief Drad.” Orcoth suggested to Drad.

“Oh he already did.” Rhos laughed as she blushed prettily and beamed happily.

“But he needs to prove it to everyone else. Here, burn this in the fireplace. It will help Warchieftess.” Orcoth said to Rhosland as he gave her a small sack of incense.

“Come on, let’s show Shadi and Baka how it’s done at least.” Drad grinned giddily with a wink that made Rhos blush even harder.

“Ok fine.” Rhos agreed before she hugged everyone goodbye and took what meager possessions that her mother was able to save as Drad carried their portion of the food and other belongings to his own home that was close to Shadi’s and Baka’s house since he was the First Commander of Captains, he had the “privilege” of having a house close to Tar’s as they noticed that Rhos and Esri’s boat was now empty boats and rafts getting filled with the previous gifts that they had been given along with even more gifts and notes of deepest and most sincere apologies before Drad built a good fire in his stone fireplace before Rhos threw in small handful of incense into the fire and noticed the smell was heavenly as her whole body immediately reacted to it and she felt her whole body relax and her spirit soar and become happy as Drad then reverently made love to her with so much love and passion that Rhos lost count of how many times she had accepted her pleasure from him as the incense helped her forget all about the clan around them and Drad encouraged her to not hold back but to moan and keen and cry out in ecstacy as loud as she wanted so that he could make no mistake if he was truly pleasing her and quietly made her promise and swear to never fake her pleasure with him which she was all too happy to do as she was so overwhelmed with bliss she would have agreed to just about anything he asked of her.

Come morning, Shadi and Baka were disgusted that they had to endure the sounds of Rhos’ and Esri’s love making and demanded that Drad and Sarg take all who wanted to follow them with them but that they needed to leave sooner than later, while anyone who wanted to stay true to Skull Screamer was welcome to stay but that anyone from Skull Screamer that left to join Stormbreaker were never going to be welcome back again when Stormbreaker failed and imploded as Rhos readily agreed to those terms as an equal Warchieftess to Shadi with the stipulation that any from Skull Screamer who wished to come into Stormbreaker would first need to make their peace with herself, her sister and especially their mother before they would be welcomed into Stormbreaker as this was announced in Skull Screamer’s town hall for the whole clan to hear.

It took another week for everyone to pack all of their things and break their houses down to reuse the lumber and load them onto new boats they built themselves but over three quarters of Skull Screamer left to join Stormbreaker as Drad and Rhos used the stones from the Dragon’s own old lair as the foundation stones for their own house since just nearby was the wild rose bush that would take up the front yard of the home and easily pushed the stones over to make a large, surprisingly flat and even foundation that had plenty of space to dig down to make a root cellar and have a lovely inner courtyard where the original tree that had been growing from the dragon’s chest still stood.

Others in the clan followed suit, using the very large but smooth stones from the rivers and streams to first dig down to set the foundation stones securely then build up with more stone and motar made from the clay from the little islands as they redirected all the little side streams into the main river and used the forrest of stone timbers to use for their houses before they all happily made new markers and marked out their territory, leaving a little space between Hurricane Breaker to the North, and Skull Screamer to the South and Bone Crusher to the East.

Rhos and Esri were pleased to learn that Captain Tilge was now Warchieftess Tilge since she led the victory over Skull Screamer and between Tilge and Rhos, they made their own peace and alliance that Drad and Tilge’s husband Warchief Murzol agreed to as well as Rhos readily offered a good sized cutting of the wild rose bush to Tilge and a cutting of the Butternut Bush as well as a cutting of the tree that was in the dragon’s cave and gave them to Tilge to plant in her own home’s garden so that she could continue to have the wild rose scented soap and the fruits of the tree as Tilge taught Rhos how to make it herself and many other kinds of soap as well which Rhos readily learned and took to heart as Tilge and Rhos exchanged seeds and seedlings and saplings for the gardens of Stormbreaker and Hurricane Breaker.

While Rhos and Drad were still living in Drad’s re-erected home on Stormbreaker’s territory next to their new home that they were building on top of the dragon’s lair, while they both worked on cutting down stone timbers to construct their new house over the stones. No sooner had they fell the first tree before a storm blew in but didn’t topple any tents or other homes but when the storm cleared, they found a fleet of ships moored and marooned on the shore of their beach that they had claimed.

The crews of the ship were sick with scurvy and other ailments and close to death, had all the older commanding officers die from the sickness, just leaving the younger, newer orcish sailors who were barely bigger than grunts left alive. Drad offered them a choice, give up the vessels and all their cargo and they would be welcome into Stormbreaker’s clan and Rhos and Esri would use what was left the fruits and bone powder to heal them. Which the younger orcs readily accepted but they immediately knew that the fruit was known as Dragon Heart Fruit. It usually only grew on the islands that were the birthplace of dragons in the world after the convergence of the spheres and that dragons often came back to the islands to mate every so often and always had at least one seed of the fruit in their gut and when they died somewhere in the world, often the seed would sprout in a dragon’s dead guts, close to it’s heart so that it always looked like the tree sprouted from the dragon’s chest and the fruit was vaguely heart shaped and did best when planted in a gut pile of another animal when not planted as a cutting or sapling. And was famed for it’s taste along with it’s nutritional value and it’s ability to heal as well.

The sailor orcs did not know where they were, only where they were from and have a vague where they were going and had lost their maps in the storms and their cargo was actually the goods to go into a palace of a king. And so Rhos and Drad got the first picks of all the cargos as Rhos put a special piece of paper with a mark to tag all that she wanted from all the holds, then Esri and Sarg were given their turn to stake claim to what they wanted, then Orcoth, as Stormbreaker’s shaman was given his pick of what he wanted and then Shari and Grat were also given their picks of whatever they wanted from the holds and the rest was given to the rest of the clan including the young orcish sailors who were excited to claim the goods they had coveted all this time, especially the large barrels of spices that were distributed to everyone in the clan evenly, except for Drad and Rhos who each got a triple portion, being Warchief and Warchieftess. Sarg and Esri, Orcoth, Shari and Grat were all individually given double portions as well to signify their high status as Orcoth happily claimed Grat and Shari as his wives, each of them equal in his eyes and in his heart and loved and cared for them the same way Drad cared for Rhos and the same way Sarg cared for Esri as both Shari and Grat were happy to finally have a husband who cared for them and took care of them they way they had always wanted and needed but never could manage before.

Drad insisted that the first house to be built and finished should be Orcoth’s as his father and shaman which Orcoth happily accepted and Drad made good on his promise that both his mother and Shari both received more than double of whatever they had lost, the replacements being of much better and finer qualities than what Shari had previously lost as their house was built right next door to Drad and Rhosland’s house, Drad and Rhosland’s house being the second house to be built and finished and furnished and thanks to som ingenuity on Rhosland’s part, the foundations were stone, the floors, tiled, the walls were of stone timbers but covered in special oil and tar to preserve the timbers and then covered with a special plastar that had been in a powdered form in barrels on the ships. That once it mixed with water- became a white paste that she and others used to coat the walls and the cielings and then used the paint powders to mix special batches of plastar to paint all the rooms inside and outside the room, the most beautiful vivd colors as the house was now large enough to have dozens of rooms and a courtyard with it’s own special garden on the inside and a medicine garden and food garden on the outside, the wild rose bush being cut into two, so that she had wild rose bushes on either side of the front porch of her house and even used the special glass domes that were on the ships as skylights in her own house and even made a second story and a roof with walls and ledges and built in benches and the little stream that had been flowing into the original dragon’s cave served as her home’s own personal plumbing line to get water in and out of the house. Happy that her own years of having a mud and mudbrick house serving as the finest teacher to help her build her new house to exactly how she wanted it as Drad was only all too happy to help her realize her dream and fell in love with the sheer beauty of it all and it only served to show off how much of a beautiful person inside and out that he married and once it was done, it was just as much of a work of art as it was a home as others took what was left to decorate and build their own homes in such ways, happy to have bright, beautiful colors to decorate their homes that the warm tones of wood only accented and accentuated as they noticed the homes now had naturally warming properties in the cooler weather and cooling properties in the warmer weather.

Sarg and Esri claimed the best captain’s quarters on the best ship as their home as once all the cargo was unloaded and the ships renovated into big fishing boats and docks were built on the beach so that the ships could anchor and be pulled up to the piers and decks and helped build a lighthouse and then the whole clan helped everyone else build their own homes all while Rhos’ and Esri’s baby bumps grew in size every day as the Shaman was adamant that Rhos and Esri were both definitely carrying sons.

Meanwhile Shadi and Baka were fighting a losing battle. More and more of the remaining few clan members of Skull Screamer stayed because Shadi and Baka ruled and behaved in the same way they had always done which now that they didn’t have the Clan Cheif and his eldest son backing them, now others did not hide their offense to their behavior and when Shadi and Baka tried simply taking what they wanted and what they felt they were owed, for the first time in their lives- it was denied to them.

Especially once the fleet of ships ran aground in Stormbreaker’s territory and Stormbreaker had effectively more than tripled in size and multiplied in wealth and success, to the point that the young sailors happily took on the widows and previous children of the fallen warriors of Skull Screamer after they grew bigger into full grown adults and after the widows had made amends to Rhos, Esri and especially to Shari as the widows were happy that instead of daughters being seen as a disappointment, but instead that every child was precious, they had no desire to go back to Skull Screamer.

Plus Rhos and Esri were the opposite of Shadi and Baka. Where Shadi and Baka were domineering and demanding, Rhos and Esri simply asked how they could help each family be successful, from having full gardens with all the medicinal and flavorfull herbs and other produce to each house having at least one if not several dragon heart trees growing. Using the gut piles of the all the kills of the game to plant the seeds themselves along with Butternut saplings and wild rose saplings and to never take whatever they wanted but only when the family’s needs and wants were met, if the family truly wanted to give anything as “tribute” they would accept it but never demand it and such behavior endeared them to the whole clan as Drad, Rhos, Sarg and Esri all encouraged each family to really pursue their interests and passions and took to fishing and trading instead of raiding as almost every woman in the clan now had at least one necklace of fine pearls each woman had collected from the shellfish in the waters of the river and the sea.

The sailors especially took after Drad’s example, along with Sarg’s and Orcoth’s and cared very lovingly and respectfully of their wives and adopted children since Drad always treated Rhos with the utmost care, respect and dignity so that all that was left of Skull Screamer now was Shadi, Baka and their mothers and their daughters, all living under Zash’s old, and by now, very leaky roof as all that was left was now their home and the clan’s old townhall, which had stood empty, unused and now forgotten as it was abundantly clear that the old prophecy was true, that Skull Screamer would fall when under the guidance of a lone Clan Cheiftess or Warchieftess with no Clan Cheif or Warchief.

Once Rhos and Esri both went into labor at about the same time and both gave birth to sons- who Drad and Rhosland named their son Brock and Sarg and Esri named their son Cugas as both boys were almost identical and had heard that all who got to see them praised how big and healthy and handsome both baby boys were before even more babies were born the clan and much rejoicing took place.

Shadi and Baka had to humble themselves and admit defeat. They were almost out of food, soap, clothing, wood for their cooking fires and hearth even after taking down the other remaining houses and using them as fuel for their fires and what was left of all the gardens and thus- out of options. And came for Brock and Cugas’ birth festivals when they were one month old and out of danger and came wearing the best garments they had left to offer Rhos and Esri congratulations and to see Brock and Cugas who were themselves the most handsome baby boys they had ever seen because they both took after their mothers but they could still clearly see some of Drad’s and Sarg’s strong and handsome features in their sons.

“We have come on this most blessed day to offer our congratulations and a truce.” Shadi began.

“What was wrong with the agreement we agreed on a year ago?” Rhos asked curiously as she sat in her rocking chair on her porch and rocked Brock who slept blissfully away in her arms as Esri was next to her and also sitting in a rocking chair doing the same to Cugas, each woman having special puffed quilts over them and their sons.

“Skull Screamer has fallen, all that is left of it is us. And if you do not help us, we and our daughters will die of starvation, we can find no fish or any game or anything to eat on Skull Screamer’s lands. And all those who had at first agreed to stay true to Skull Screamer have left it to join the greater Stormbreaker and seeing it’s success, we can not blame them and we hold no grudge against them or you. In fact, if you will agree to help us, we give up all rights to all of Skull Screamer’s lands to Stormbreaker, and all we ask in exchange is a place in Clan Stormbreaker. And a space to have a home.” Shadi explained as she bowed her head submissively.

“But since we are the warchieftess’ and warlordess’ won’t you take us into your home? We will happily submit to Rhos as Warchieftess and or Esri as Warlordess and be second and or third wives to them, just like they were going to be to us had Tar survived.” Baka pleaded as Rhos gave Drad a meaningful look as he gave her a reassuring smile from his place next to her before he got up from his chair and stood on his porch above them and crossed his arms over his chest, still wearing that dragon scale armor proudly.

“I, Clan Chief Warchief Drad of Stormbreaker do accept all of Skull Screamer’s lands from your hands, and since you all have humbled yourselves to come and ask, you are now welcome to stay as clan members of Clan Stormbreaker. However, I will never let you into my home or my household because I will never tolerate any disrespect to my Clan Cheiftess Warchieftess Rhosland, who is my wife, my mate, my better half and my greatest friend and ally. Because lest you forget, I was there, sitting in the grasses when you came to Rhosland a year ago, to offer her- her own tributes to you- as your bride gifts to her - when Tar had announced that he would have her then but never got a chance to fully claim her. And I listened as both of you threatened Rhosland with death by drowning if she ever tried to usurp you or come between you and Warlord Tar. And I will never tolerate any threat or disrespect in any way, shape or form to her. And I honestly do not trust either you or your mothers to not harm Rhosland or her mother or sister or especially our son or Esri’s son who are still young and could still fall victim to you.” Drad leveled as Shadi and Baka both balked at him and stared in terror at him and flushed with shame or embarrassment.

“We did no such thing!” Shadi insisted.

“My girl is a good girl, she would never do that!” Shadi’s mother insisted.

“Really? Because I was there with Esri, also sitting in the grasses, out of your sight but well within hearing range, as you came and put those bracelets on her wrists and threatened her with similar things, are you calling the Clan Cheif Warchief and the Warlord of Clan Stormbreaker liars?” Sarg challenged angrily as he stood up and stood next to his brother and took a similar stance, with his arms crossed over his chest, standing between them and his own beloved wife.

“Shaman Orcoth, would you please shed light on this matter and make things clear for the whole clan?” Drad invited as he looked over at the other rocking chairs on his porch which Orcoth, Shari and Grat had taken up as Shari and Grat were still knitting baby clothes for their grandsons.

“Of course Warchief Drad. It would be my pleasure.” Orcoth grinned as he cast a spell and showed the whole thing, including all the cursing Shadi and Baka had done on the way too and from meeting with Esri and Rhosland as the whole clan gasped and murmured as they watched in horror the way Baka and Shadi were so domineering and just awful and led the attack on Shari and her humble old house and Grat’s kindness and compassion in saving Shari and what meager possessions she could before the show ended before Shadi and Baka’s mothers took the babes from their daughter’s arms and forced Shadi and Baka to kneel and bow down on their hands and knees with their foreheads touching the ground and started yelling and berating their “wicked” daughters for behaving so indecently and disrespectfully and pleaded for Drad and Sarg to show mercy and leniency on account of Baka’s and Shadi’s daughters who had started to cry by now which woke up Cugas and Brock and got them to start crying as well which upset Rhosland and Esri along with Drad and Sarg as Esri and Rhosland did all they could to comfort and console their sons as they brought their sons into Rhosland’s house to take a rest on the wonderfully comfortable couches that had been put there.

“What do you think we should do?” Drad asked Rhosland.

“Well now that everyone effectively knows that they are a bunch of liars. No one will trust them not to fall into the same pattern of behavior. But at the same time, their daughters have no choice in who their mothers are and they are still young and they shouldn’t have to suffer on account of their mothers. So let’s let them stay, but a very far distance away from our home, let them keep their old home, and they can turn it into a brothel for all I care.” Rhos answered him.

“Agreed.” Esri grinned.

“Agreed.” Sarg grinned too.

“Very well.” Drad nodded before he came back out to see that everyone was still there, waiting to see how Drad would react and how he would respond.

“On account of your daughters, who should not have to suffer on their mother’s account. You are allowed to be members of Clan Stormbreaker and you are allowed to either remain in your old house, or you may choose to rebuild here, that is your choice. But I warn any man in Stormbreaker from taking either of you as a bride, for no man would want such a wife as what you two have proven yourselves to be. Use whatever talents you have to earn your living here. And if you have none, then you can always turn your old home into a tavern which would be helpful, or possibly a brothel which in that case, neither Sarg or myself will ever use, your choice.” Drad announced as Baka and Shadi gasped in horror before their mothers slapped their hands over their daughter’s mouths to keep them from saying anything more.

“A tavern it will be then, thank you Clan Chief Warchief Drad.” Shadi’s mother graciously accepted on her daughter’s behalf as their old friends agreed to help build them before Drad went back into his house to be with his family and disbursed everyone so they could go about their day.

“So, a tavern it is.” Rhosland grinned since she could hear from the window in the wall.

“Yup, the first, of hopefully many.” Drad smiled before he sat next to his wife and enveloped her in a hug and kissed her sweetly as they both looked down at their son who was now awake and cooing softly to both of his parents.

“Just one thing, you’re not allowed to marry Shadi’s or Baka’s daughters when you grow up unless they are nothing like their mothers and you really, truly love them.” Rhosland told Brock which got Drad to laugh before Esri repeated that to Cugas too before there was a knock on the door and Drad got up to answer it before he found one of Sarg’s first mate.

“Warlord Sarg, there is a small merchant ship, that is trying to go up river to a city further up river, it’s requesting assistance in help guiding the ship up the river to the next clan’s lands, they are headed to the mountains in the east, said that there are towns called colonies in the mountains that they are trying to sell their goods to and are willing to pay us a fee of gold now and another fee in gold on the way out if we are willing to do it.” He reported before Drad and Sarg shared a meaningful look and both nodded to each other.

“Hell yeah, that’s an easy yes.” Sarg easily agreed before he got up and left the house to direct the other sailors on the shore to guide the ships using ropes on the shoreline to maneuver through the twisting and winding river before more and more merchant ships came to do the same, grateful that there was now a settlement here so that they could simply pay these orcs a small fee both to and from the mountain colony of Suchi as they brought in their vessels full of goods and would leave, having the boats laden with heaps of gold, happy and grateful that they didn’t have to use Hurricane Breaker’s river because Hurricane Breaker was bigger and stronger and demanded to inspect them and their cargo and demanded a portion of the goods, usually the best ones and half of all that they had, and a half portion of the gold the remaining half of the goods sold for at Suchi’s sister colony Twilla that their rivier eventually led to. And for just a flat fee, they could now make more money using this new clan of Stormbreaker and sell whatever didn’t sell at Suchi as part of their fee too.

And thus was the beginning of Stormbreaker.

#Of Heaven and Fire Prequel #The Beginning of Stormbreaker #Tada!#See? Wasn't that cute?#Orctober 2021

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ash-trash · 3 years

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2, 3, 17, 31, 38!

2. What was your first characters race/class (profession)?

My first character and still my NA main to this day is a Charr Thief! My main in GW1 had been an A/R and I loved it so I definitely wanted to stick with Thief, and I'm absolutely a Charr player so it worked itself out nicely! :D

3. How many characters do you have?

I have 22 on NA and another 22 on EU, for a total of 44, but I'll tell you right now that I have ideas for at least another 3 just waiting for me to get slots for them. So uh... 44 for now but nowhere near enough ;)

17. Whats your best guild wars experience?

(Had to edit this one because I got it mixed up with 35 OOPS.)

I mean, the best experiences I've had in GW2 all happen with friends, so it's usually roleplay! Whether that's the old days of watching other players, or actually RPing with my warband guilds, or just silly little casual semi-IC stuff while we do map comp/world bosses, it's all been a blast! But I do really love other game stuff too! Edge of the Mists is definitely up there - I have a lot of fondness for EotM and will miss it a lot :( And since I'm a PvE player at heart, I definitely have to agree that Grothmar was just phenomenal. The map design, the GW1 flavour, the sheer amount of ambient dialogue and lore and development and fashion and CHARR.... Plus, Metal Legion concert! :D

ARGH I CAN'T PICK

31. Do you have a favourite dye?

Ooooooh - I think I'll have to be basic here and admit that I love basic black and white... Definitely a few top contenders - Celestial, Permafrost, Abyss, Midnight Purple... but I'd say Permafrost wins it just because it can range from a nice crisp white up to "good lord my eyes is someone spamming tomes in the bank again" :p

38. Best memory in guild wars?

Hmmm, my best one? I'll keep this to just GW2 to narrow things down, but that's still tough!! My first thought is just getting to spend time with folks that I care about - there's a lot that fit this bill, from late-night RP sessions to exploring new expac content together, to just goofing around, but I think the fondest of those would be sitting around late on a Wintersday night and Charr-watching and learning how to emote-bug on your mount... A loooot of the top contenders would just be some of the moments that have happened in RP with my wonderful warbands, ahah, so those are all way up there. Crafting my first legendary, Howler, would probably be the "best", I think! That was really satisfying and definitely felt like I earned it after working my butt off for it, especially getting to do map completion for the first time! I really enjoyed the journey, the exploration, and the payoff at the end felt soooo satisfactory, it really felt like I'd crossed a threshold.

Thanks for asking! ;w;

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jimmythejiver · 3 years

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For the first time in a long time I went to the movies in forever and then to Target. At Target I see some Godiva bars on discount yellow tags and I was ecstatic until I read 70% Cacao, Dark, Salted Caramel and was deflated.

Anyway that's how I felt about seeing The Green Knight. What you thought this was about chocolate?

No see since the pandemic I've been back on my perennial King Arthur kick. I've for a long time since I was a young preteen thought, someday I too will write my own King Arthur epic and it'll be gay, magical, gangster and culty too, but for now I'll make up my own stories for practice and then with every story I got attached too, it got too involved and convoluted to the point that when it came down to actually writing a novel, I threw it all away and made a space opera I only planned in two weeks and wrote in a month. Anyway...so now I've been writing this very gay, magical, gangster and culty take on Final Fantasy XV with my boyfriend and just fell in love with Somnus Lucis Caelum who nobody has any insight about him than to make him the Mordred to Ardyn's Arthur, which is a strange flex, but okay, I thought about what if I wrote a Dark Age prequel about Ardyn and Somnus, but Ardyn becomes king and Somnus his shogun and they play games of seduction and power because I'm twisted like that. Anyway...I was like I'm never going to write this and I have to keep making up characters based on FFXV characters and King Arthur tropes because there's not a lot of stories that take place during the Dark Ages, it's always some Roman Empire story, or High Middle Ages and FFXV gave no room for either society to happen after the fall of Solheim and the rise of King Somnus...so we left with Dark Ages, y'all, the King Arthur comparisons are obvious, but Ardyn is no Arthur and Somnus is no Mordred, Aera is only Guenevere if you make up an affair with Somnus, Gilgamesh is no Bedwyr/Bedivere, but uh...they both amputees and the oldest companions to their respective kings so...I guess. Anyway making an ancestor of Cor Leonis and deciding well he's Owain/Yvain, or am Ignis type as idk Sir Cai/Kay I guess, they both cook, but Cai's more like Seifer Almasy than any FF character... Anyway I'm losing people.

My plan was to just scrap the FFXV prequel, leave my Somnus ideas into Overtime (a gangster and gods story) and just plan an actual King Arthur adaptation. I'd have King Arthur the treasure hunter, leader of a warband turned founder of Camelot who fights giants, giant cats and dogheads, but also fights King Claudas of the Franks and King Aelle of the Saxons and Cerdic a Briton who puts in his lot with the Saxons, etc. It'd been a a glorified turf war, meanwhile Arthur's gotta make alliances with King Pelles, The Fisher King and his strange cult he's founded because, why yes I find the ends justifies the means prophecy of the Holy Grail Quest very culty because Christianity then does not resemble it now. Meanwhile you got the secondary plots of Mordred, Gawain, Lancelot, Percival, Tristam and other's going on because they matter and too many modern King Arthur stories sideline the knights.

So many have always sidelined Mordred as a final boss eldritch abomination in mortal flesh conceived of sin and give him no personality, or complex motives, or even just a relationship with Arthur. I also have noticed the general sidelining of Lancelot, or give him a chad villain upgrade if you must include him at all, and the villainizing of Gawain to the point that you don't even have to have Mordred, or Agravain as a catalyst shit stirrer in court, just slap Gawain's name on Liam Neeson in a top knot and you're good. Mordred can just be a child offscreen until last act...fuck that, while Morgan Le Fay can either be a villainess plotting her cabal through men, or a well-intentioned, ineffectual idiot. Fuck that.

Now Hollywood just be doing King Arthur first acts that suck ass, only for said director to get rewarded failing upwards by giving this same jerk the Aladdin remake. The tonally shitty, crammed in blockbuster mess of a cliche heroe's journey that sucks.

With that background I was excited for The Green Knight. I read an illustrative version as a kid, I read Tolkien's translation as a teenager, I read Simon Armitage's superior, but with liberties taken translation. I was prepped to go knowing that indie, or not they were going to make changes to weave the disjointed poem together. I'm excited that because this movie exists Project Guternberg's finally thrown Jessie Weston's prose rendition up on their website. I'll be reading that at some point when this blows over.

The movie adaptation makes a lot of...choices, many I wouldn't love, but would forgive had their been a payoff. There was none.

The journey was fine, the cinematography was a breath of fresh air after crappy slo mo, glossy action scenes ruined another. Guys, I don't think I want to see a Zack Snyder Excalibur, it'll marginally be better than Guy Ritchie, but that ain't saying anything. Leave Excalibur to the post-Star Wars 80s where it is impeccable for it's time. I liked Green Knight's breathable pacing, it's color palette's in the forests and mountains made up for the muddy grey of every Ridley Scott send up in the castles and villages in every other Dark Ages/Medieval story in the last I don’t know since the shitty 00′s. For all the dark tones when there was blues, greens, yellows or reds, they were vibrant in this movie to contrast the gloom of Britain. The soundtrack was good. This isn't all what makes a movie, but it enhances it so let's get to the story and what I did and didn't like.

Things I Liked: Gawain is still a novice in his career The Costume Dressing Everyone pronounces Gawain's name different. I pronounce it like Gwayne, or Guh Wayne, but here you got Gowen (like Owen), Gowan (like Rowan), or even Garlon who I'm pretty sure is the Fisher King's heir in some versions of that Arthurian story, so uh... The reference to Arthur slaying 960 men with his bare hands (Nennius for the win!) The Waste Land that is implied to be a site of a battle (an important aspect of the Arthurian landscape) The Fox companion No long grisly, drawn out hunting scenes. The Fox lives! No misogynist speeches

Things I'm Mixed: This being a dream, is the magic real? Are the giants? Is the Green Knight a figment of Gawain's imagination from a spell Morgan casted in him to hallucinate? Is Lord and Lady also figments? It's...a way to interpret the poem, but lazy and I don't see why it's got to all fantasy, or all dream...this movie makes it too vague you're stuck picking one camp than to accept it's a fantasy with dream and hallucinatory sequences.

Things I'm Meh: Morgan Le Fay as Gawain's mom. Look I fucking hate Morgause as a character and these two get merged and steal each other's aspects so much at this point the difference is who did they marry, King Urien or King Lot? Both are attributed to being Mordred's mom, Mordred is Gawain's brother...both practice magic depending on certain incarnations, both love and hate Arthur their brother and are in conflict with him. Saint Winifred. I actually liked this sequence, but I don't appreciate her as the tacked on wife in the later dream sequence as like...a contrast between the wife you should marry than the whore next door you don't respect anyway? I don't even know what lesson I'm supposed to get out of the damn dream sequence, or any of it? That Gawain should've married his girlfriend and then he'd be a just ruler? That he shouldn't be king? That he'd never have to make the same heartless, impartial choices? I don't know, he seemed like a king doing king shit because guess what? It never gets easier. Wars will be waged. The world didn't become better because he married the right woman, respected her and lived in obscurity. The world didn't become better because he made her his queen. We certainly don't know the world would be better Gawain had his head chopped off and dead XP They never reveal the Lord and the Green Knight as one and the same because of this shit.

Things I Hated: Arthur withdraws from the challenge because he's old. In poem he takes it on and Gawain takes it so he don't have to and he finds himself more disposable than the king. Gawain only takes the challenge because of arrogance. Arthur and Gawain had no prior personal relationship. I'd not have hated this so much if it wasn't compounded by it cancelling out the first two things. Gawain is portrayed as having no respect for his woman, or any woman, maybe his mother? He has to be pushed by Winifred to regain her head. Gawain is portrayed as arrogant, covetous and ready to pass the buck, or the bare minimum than have any honor or decency. It didn't matter the kid in the wasteland was shithead bandit, the way Gawain acted towards him, when he gets robbed, it almost feels like he deserved it and Gawain doesn't learn a damn lesson. I'll admit him taking the sword to cut his ropes and cutting his hands was a neat sequence, it shows him go from stupid, to almost clever and having will to survive...you know traits he had in the poem, but he stops showing these traits or growing. Basically Gawain has to be dragged kicking and screaming to help people and shows no fortitude when facing temptation, or when showing respect towards others, it's exhausting. You don't make this kind of journey story without character growth. Why are you skipping this? Also is it just me, or is this like when you take Frank Miller Batman and transport him onto a Bill Finger story? This is at best Thomas Malory Gawain (and this is charitable) transported on the earlier Pearl Poet's story. Stop it. It's not tonally correct and goes at odds with the story and the set up characterization you'd need to tell it. Speaking of which, you know how I get through the oof... of Liam Neeson Gawain in Excalibur? By pretending he Agravain instead. Here...I don't even think Gawain could pass as Mordred in spite of his covetous nature, lust and entitlement. Why? because I don't think even Mordred is this dumb to warrant this hubris. Essel being invented as a tacked on love interest just to be shit on utterly and for what? I don't think I have much commentary here as there is no Essel I'm aware of to compare, or stack up. I just notice this trope of like...usually if you include a sex worker in Hollywood she often has a heart of gold, she often has her own sense of values that goes at odds with society, but is more true and less hypocritical than a privileged lady’s. I thought that's what they would've done with the added trope of back at home sweetheart to contrast and pit her against the despicable femme fatale of Lady Bertilak and her adultery and her ladyship...and I'm glad they didn't...but you did nothing with Essel than to shit on her for existing when you made her exist, you know. Lady Bertilak being portrayed as the seductress devil incarnate. Look I know adultery is a touchy taboo, but uh her and Gawain hit it off in the poem, dammit! Her values and his values come to clash, but here it's played off as Gawain is stupid and covetous and Lady Bertilak wants to prove something because...? If my brother's theory that she's a figment of Morgan Le Fay's magic, then I'll take this as a lesson of Gawain is impulsive and covetous and his mom knows it, but he don't want to fuck his mom, but he wants her power, and Morgan wants to teach him a lesson... I guess. Hey we don't have misogynist speeches in this movie, but we'll make sure to have the movie drip with it with no point, or commentary. Pass. Lord guilting, extracting and initiating the same sex kiss and only once. Poem automatically better that Gawain don't have to keep being reminded to keep his part of the bargain and he does it willingly more than once. What he doesn't do is give up his belt...gods how did we get more homophobic as a society that the homoeroticism here is worse? Catholics of the middle ages officially had no issue doing same sex, passionate kissing until it lead to sex. The Ending: The gods damn ending. In the movie as is, Gawain waits to uphold his end of the bargain and get his head chopped off. He imagines, even though we don't get any fuzzy or distortion to indicate this is a dream, but I already knew this was coming, he runs away and comes home, is regarded a hero, he sees his lady, takes her from behind and if you saw Brokeback Mountain (I didn't, but DJ has) you know this is a sign of disrespect to women. He gets her knocked up, pays her off for the kid she wants to keep, he is crowned king, marries the ghostly saint lady he helped retrieve her head earlier from a lake in the movie (this right here is the damn tip off). There's no more dialogue by this point and everything is montaging, so you know by now it's a dream, though nothing is out of focus. He rules as a heartless king, his whore son dies from war he waged, he has a daughter, his wife dies. Gawain then takes off the belt that would've saved his life and his head falls off. This would've been the one good twist, except... In this sequence of events he never had his head cut off so uh... now we back in present day. He decides not to bitch out, Green Knight in a sexy way is like "now off with your head," movie cuts to credits with no resolve...uh what the fuck? What the fuck? This is not good. You wasted the one twist in your dream when idk, you could've...

How I'd fix it: No dream sequence at all. No Incident At Owl Creek twist. Gawain comes home a hero and survivor of this game and ordeal. He wears this belt of shame. He becomes a well-renowned knight, but he bears a shame. One day he goes to take off his belt and his head falls off because he cheated to get this belt and to survive this encounter. There. Done. Improved your high concept movie that couldn't play any of the lessons straight from the damn poem without making everyone an asshole for no reason! Ugh! But nope you had to end it on we don’t know if Gawain lives or dies...because...it's dream magic made from his momma's witchcraft...?

Last Thoughts So then post-credits scene because Marvel because Pirates Of The Caribbean existed. A white girl who looks nothing like Gawain's daughter we see who didn’t pay off, or any child I can remember through this whole movie picks up King Arthur's crown that dream Gawain inherited and puts it on her head. Who is this girl? Are we gonna have an indie equivalent of of the Marvel Movie Universe/Universal Horror Monsters thing with ancient British legends? We gonna get a Life Of Saint Patrick next that crosses over? I don't know. What is this?

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itsalexfm · 4 years

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Alex Paints Things Pt. 4 Ch. 5: What Was Once Old is New Again

Over a year ago, I dove head-first in to mini painting by buying the Age of Sigmar Goreblade Warband starter box. I have a few posts here of working on it. I stopped because of covid blues and got back in to painting with different models. Well I was organizing my things when I found this one, 90% done. He was missing shading on the torso and his entire head on account of me losing it a long time ago. A newer purchase I picked up gave me an extra head to use, perfect for de-cap-i-tan over here. Here are the results of the surgery.

I don’t quite remember all that was done on the work before my hiatus. For the head, I can say that was done with Vallejo black-red, balthasar gold, ushabti bone and baneblade brown all shaded with agrax earthshade. On the base, I utilized an extra weapon from the wrathmonger box and a games workshop skull. All that on top of the same agrellan badland basing I used last time as well as some shading with agrax and dry brushing of terminatus stone. Still not sure if I’m going to keep with chaos mens or my Tau as we continue. I’ll catch a vibe and just follow that.

#hobby #hobby painting #painting #art #creative #warhammer #age of sigmar #citadel paints #games workshop #mini #mini painting #miniature #miniature painting #apt

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queer-as-used-by-tolkien · 3 years

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The Structure of the Vigil

Shout-out to @rouxipanda who wanted to hear more about my OCs! I'm going to twine it into a headcanon post concerning the structure of the Vigil, which I imagine General Almorra came up with as a sort of twist on the warband system.

Let's start with our Warmaster Forgal; I imagine he'd have joined the Vigil early on. He seems to have a friendship with Almorra and isn't afraid to butt in with his opinion in the middle of diplomatic encounters, so he's not just a random Warmaster, and he told Efut that the player is "the kid he should've had" which means he has a fairly close relationship with other high-level Vigil members as well.

But then my future Commander, then going by Soulstrider, comes along, a few months after the Vigil's founding in 1320/21, at that time a representative of the Krytan throne, to negotiate with General Almorra concerning this random charr's interest in building a military keep on human soil.

Those negotiations went well, and Soulstrider was assigned to oversee the construction of the Keep. (Meanwhile, some random charr explains the concept of a warband and what exactly happened to Almorra's, causing Soulstrider to become self-conscious about her name.) Anyway, a while after that she joined the Vigil, changed her chosen name to Solestrider out of respect for Almorra, and was assigned to Forgal. (Almorra told her she totally didn't have to do that, but she did anyway. And she started going by her given name Tiffany.)

So Forgal and Tiffany went and did all sorts of missions together and Tiffany got promoted and by the time 1325 rolls around, Forgal and Tiffany are both Warmasters and have comfortably been working as each other's partners for four years or so.

Around this time, Eveanin, sylvari guardian, awakens from her pod and goes through the basic sylvari quests until level thirty. At this point, I stole a line from human Crusader Hiroki (from level thirty) and put it in the mouth of sylvari Crusader Branthyn (from level thirty). The line was to a new Vigil character about who their mentor might be; she said "hope you don't get Forgal; he's a real bear. Get it? 'Cause he's a norn?"

A human character replies with "I hope not! I couldn't bear it!" My sylvari Eveanin, however, knows nothing about norn. After the quest, since she had time before meeting General Almorra and her new mentor in Lion's Arch she hopped right along to Hoelbrak to learn about norn. There she met Pharlt and his wife Creepylaugh, and became their friend through assisting them with their level thirty norn questline. Pharlt joined the Vigil and Creepylaugh joined the Priroy (and promptly is almost never relevant again).

Eveanin and Pharlt, then, head to Lion's Arch to meet with General Almorra and their respective mentors.

Now, since Eveanin and Pharlt are already friends, General Almorra thinks it would be a good idea to keep them together, so she should assign them to a pair of mentors who are already partners. Pharlt is assigned to Forgal (because they are both norn) and Eveanin is assigned to Tiffany.

Now we have a little happy multiracial warband here, which was the whole point, and I have a future Commander who didn't have two-and-one-instance questlines before being promoted to top rank, while also keeping the original Vigil progression more-or-less intact.

Now, Eveanin and Pharlt's progressions through the Vigil system isn't exactly like in-game; they do all the racial sympathy quests at level 50 that are available to them, so we get quaggan and skritt and grawl and hylek and ogres storylines. So Eveanin and Pharlt spend quite a bit more time as Crusaders than the player normally does, and they still don't get promoted to Warmaster until after the whole Claw Island debacle, instead of just before (since neither of them become the Commander.)

Then Forgal dies.

Now, we kind of had a pyramid structure/Fibonacci sequence going on; Forgal was there first, and then came Tiffany, and then came two students; if things had been normal, then after the two students became full Warmasters, all four of them would retain their little warband-like structure and then take on four more students, and then there would be eight of them, and they would take on eight students, and then there would be sixteen - and so on.

But also, in a normal situation where the top of the pyramid (Forgal) died, that would shatter the pyramid. Tiffany would have become the top of the pyramid, but Pharlt's role doesn't necessarily have a deep connection with her, and he also doesn't necessarily have a deep connection with Eveanin, so now he's by himself and he has to start a new pyramid.

It wasn't like that - he was fast friends with Eveanin and had a respect for Tiffany, but he would have always felt very slightly left out - especially when Trahearne showed up and Eveanin knew him, and Tiffany had complicated backstory involving him, and Pharlt was just like 'who now?'

But I think this is really how General Almorra might've planned the structure of the Vigil, kind of based on the warband system but adapted for the needs of a recruiting military and without the stigma of a gladium; there are single-person roles and you can always be lumped in with another group, and groups can be lumped together, and so on for harder missions. And of course actual whole warbands that join the Vigil together stay together; General Almorra is a charr and she understands that kind of bond and tries to capitalize on it as much as possible - which is why she stuck Pharlt and Eveanin together when she saw that they were already friends. If they'd joined separately they'd have been assigned mostly at random the way the player kinda was.

But the Vigil feels like a cohesive system with a core identity, and I imagine this system would be a good conduit to that; encourage pyramid/warband/family system so you stick with your group and feel loyalty to them and as a whole you are loyal to the cause of the Vigil, and pyramids splinter all the time because people die, and bigger pyramids you don't always have that connection with everybody else on the pyramid, so you get splintered-off smaller pyramids being put together with other small pyramids on missions that need that many people and at some point the groups kind of merge.

And at some point technically you don't even have a pyramid, it's just a bunch of friends on a team who fight together. And maybe from an outside perspective it looks like a normal military with different companies and platoons and all that stuff, only how they got like that is cool and fun and dynamic.

And when someone dies there's always blame and grief going around, and maybe you didn't have the best relationship with some of the others anyway, so the pyramid-splinter enables you to break away from potentially toxic relationships and start over with just the people you feel comfortable with.

But anyway, this is just a theory I thought up when I wanted Eveanin and Pharlt to stick together and to stick with my Commander, and then at some point down the line they all pick up students and the pyramid grows.

#Vigil #general almorra soulkeeper #tiffanycommander #pharlt #eveanin #forgal kernsson #crusader hiroki #crusader branthyn #sylvari level 30 quest #norn level 30 quest #creepylaugh #priory

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memoirsofratasum · 3 years

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Tokar Icecrasher: Jormag Rising

Another entry using my charr, Tokar Icecrasher of the Iron Legion. Basically just a retelling of the northern meta, but an interesting exercise as I was able to see more of his personality come out.

Burn those damn Dominion! Burn Ruinbringer! Burn Steelcatcher! Typical that they’d resort to sniping Smodur unawares, too cowardly for a head-on fight. Not even allying with a dragon was able to give them a backbone. He was too much of a threat even for Jormag, that has to be it.

What a group of damn fools, turning themselves over to the Ice Dragon like some norn drunk on their own egos. And don’t tell me I’m exaggerating, my warband got caught up in storming the citadel.

It all started by being in the right place at the wrong time. The death of an Imperator is no quiet affair even for the worst of them, and Smodur was a damn living legend. Iron would have it’s day of vengeance. So when Greetsglory called for all claws on deck for anyone currently in Umbral Grotto, the Ice Warband was eager to answer the call. We may be couriers but we still know how to fight as well as any charr worth their iron.

We moved north across the bridge at Wolf’s Crossing and met our first resistance at the Breach. It was just a bunch of jarheads thinking they were stronger than they really were. Pushovers in other words. But the push into Canopy Crag showed that there was more to the Dominion than we first assumed.

Somehow our former brethren had tapped into portal magic, not something I’d ever known charr back at the Black Citadel to do. Did the Flame Legion deserters teach some new tricks? Or was it the Svanir who spilled some secrets? I’m betting on the latter, the creatures that arrived on top of our heads reeked of ice and corrupted magic. Honestly if it wasn’t for our numbers we might not have been able to continue north.

The northern stretches of Drizzlewood Coast are more wild than the south, no permanent settlements from what I was able to see during our march, just some freshly erected Dominion encampments. I wonder if it was used as a hunting ground by the southerners before the war came. The area is too scarred for any game worth a spit now though.

It was when we reached Frostvein Watch that we first realized Jormag’s influences. Huge glaciers of ice carved through with what looked like liquid blue lava but certainly didn’t smell like it. Ley lines were making loops in the air above, first time seeing them in Drizzlewood. I didn’t like to think about the implication of their sudden appearance, but their flow seemed to take them further north into a heavy mist. When the wind blew, that’s when we first saw it, massive spires of ice reaching far into the clouds, the familiar gleam of iron, and more of that blue liquid climbing upward into massive pipes. This had to be it, the Frost Citadel.

We weren’t ordered to follow the magic though, we were redirected towards Drizzlewood Peak, a mountain the United Legions found enough shelter in to make a forward camp. This was it we were told. Greetsglory, Doomforge, and the human mesmer Kasmeer Meade were leading a three pronged assault on the Frost Citadel. Choppers were in the air with Iron engineers and supplies, the first order of business was to clear landing zones on The Bloodfield in order to get cannons up and running. Already a tall order and the portal magic wasn’t helping. A lot of norn based magic at the heart of this “One Charr” nonsense, but no one was interested in debating me on the nature of hypocrisy.

The cannons put up a good fight but an ice elemental took them out of commission before they finished the job. But as a certain pink haired asura once told me, there are few problems on Tyria that can’t be solved by adventurers dog-piling on it. In other words, the front door didn’t really stand much of a chance.

The army waiting inside seemed to have expected that outcome, we were met with a phalanx of some of the biggest charr I’ve ever seen, and that includes myself. They were strong but their resolve faltered when put to the test. But they weren’t alone, they were backed up by gunners, crushers, and those new ice constructs that like to slam their weight around. It was chaos.

We busted through and arrived at the garage which was housing a tank whose likes I’ve only seen on blueprints decorating the walls of the War Wagon Prep Deck: The Ruinbringer. It was massive. It was only good luck that we ran into it in the garage rather than out in the field. That human Kasmeer has a swift mind to notice that the parked charr cars were equipped with harpoons and could peel the tank open like a fruit. Now that’s some Iron thinking! It was a shame to see such a beast be brought low but having the solution to a problem played out right in front of you is worth it.

But whatever high we were on was dragged back down to the mud by the next room. Burn us all… they had figured out a way to mass produce ice brood. That’s what the blue liquid outside was, it has to be Jormag’s own blood in a very literal sense. Ruinbringer has gone mad, turning our own people into the dragon’s slaves! I don’t care about the reason. This has to stop!

The blood from the smashed machines were slicker than ice and twice as cold, making it hard to keep one’s footing as their paws went numb. But apparently even when spilled all over the floor, the blood of the dragon still has power. Out of a pool of blood formed the top half of a massive ice brood construct, which is unfortunately the angriest half of a construct. Did I say it was chaos at the entrance? Forget I said that, this was the real chaos. Ice and blood, both dragon and Tyrian, slicking up the floor, smaller constructs picking off the back lines, and the whole time the so-called Frost Legion watching and waiting for their new pet to do their job for them.

But of course it couldn’t. Tyrians are strongest when we’re together. The construct fell and we overran the Frost Legion, smashing their damn conversation chamber into scrap. I want to think, to hope, that is the only one in existence, but if that thing was Iron built there are likely redundancies in place. But regardless, one less converter in the world means more of my people will be free from the dragon.

There is perhaps such a thing as too much vengeance. In destroying the converter, either our magic or our explosives destabilized the integrity of the fortress and we had to make a run for it before it collapsed around our horns. But when we got outside we found a new enemy with a familiar face.

Jormag must be signing off on siphoning their blood as the Claw swooped down to block our exit and more Frost Legion poured out through portals. An impressive show, but this is hardly our first dragon fight, hardly even our first Claw. Choppers were still in the air to drop supplies and enough cannon fire to bury that icy skelton under a ton of rubble.

But the flying reptile had a bit fight still in it even as it struggled to free itself. We took the opportunity to chisel out some new scars from behind it’s blind spot before it managed to free itself. But it was too little too late, it was hurt and weak and it fell down the gorge just like it’s big brother.

Was that enough for avenge Smodur? We disrupted Dominion and Frost Legion forces beyond repair in Drizzlewood, put a stop to turning our people into ice brood, and took out a dragon lieutenant. And yet it still doesn’t feel like enough, not for the Imperator that brought us peace and made us ready to face the elder dragons with the rest of Tyria. We wouldn’t even have made it as far as Drizzlewood without him. I know it. We did what we could today, but mark my words, if there is another chance down the line to honor Smodur, Iron will take it!

#guild wars 2 #gw2 #charr #Tokar Icecrasher

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emerald-oryx · 4 years

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“And all the kids cried out “please stop you’re scaring me!”

I cant help this awful energy

Goddamn Right you should be scared of me

Who is in control?”

needed a vent drawing so heres one of my many charr!

Originally named Mireon Echowhisper during her brief time as part of Echo warband, her current name in game is Mad Kíngs Tank Top

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #charr #jade does an art #gw2 fan submission

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aredheleravenwing · 4 years

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Innocent or Guilty - The Confessions of Lady Valtieri

- Aredhele agreed to such questioning, late at night, drinking with a patron at the Den of Oblivion. It was an honest, drunken conversation, and everyone around was asked the same question, in case they wished to chime in with their own confessions. -

Asked someone to marry you? “In an act of desperation, I asked Woke Felo’dorah to marry me. I selfishly didn’t want anyone else to have him, even if I wasn’t what he envisioned for his life. We exchanged vows and for the first time in my life, I truly saw a broken man. Two simple words rendered him speechless in front of the fire for the rest of the evening. Guilty.”

Kissed one of your friends? — “If I want to kiss you, I surely don’t want to be your friend. My intentions are always known. I don’t kiss friends. Innocent. ”

Danced on a table in a bar / tavern? — “If only my lack of self control could be so simple. Color me innocent.”

Ever told a lie? — “At the time, I am sure I believed every word I said. Innocent.”

Had feelings for someone you can’t have? — “Vynlorin. In the quiet hours of deception, where things cannot live, we participated in questionable, unsavory things. I couldn’t have him, and thus, he couldn’t have me.”

Ever kissed someone of the same sex? — “I have never experienced the kiss of another woman. Innocent.”

Kissed a picture? — “My life could have been easier if I kissed photos instead of my bad decisions. Innocent.”

Slept until 5pm? — “Late nights make for late mornings. The better question is how many days have I stayed in bed? Guilty.”

Worked at a fast food chain / restaurant? — “I never wish to disrespect the working class, but I will not suffer that kind of lifestyle. Innocent.”

Stolen something? — “Unfortunately, I’ve stolen people’s hopes and dreams, when they put too much faith in me too soon. Guilty.”

Been fired from a job? — “Guilty. My ex fiance rid me of servicing him nightly. It seems my never ending nagging got the best of him, he’d rather suffer neglect of my touch than my constant demands.”

Done something you regret? — “Guilty. I should have married Teremath. My family forbid our union, and now his legacy is soiled with rotten children from his unsuccessful marriage. He never did have much luck.”

Laughed until something you were drinking came out of your nose? — “Late night taverns in the blackest parts of town, nobody cares where you come from, everyone laughs at dirty, nasty jokes much the same.”

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? — “The very thought of my tongue hanging from my mouth catching anything might be too much for some to handle.”

Sat on a roof top? — “Every night, Niva and I enjoy our rooftop sanctuary. He holds me hostage and keeps me from making what he deems as,bad decisions.”

Kissed someone you shouldn’t have? — “That’s how the best stories always start, isn’t it? Kissing things you shouldn’t? I don’t ever want to kiss someone when the time is right. I like to keep the stakes, high. Guilty.”

Sang in the shower? — “Innocent. It is a time for reflection for me. A time of quiet and quiet is something I rarely experience.”

Been pushed into a body of water with all your clothes on? — “I think all young lords push youthful maidens in ponds just to see the lewd shape of their form in a drenched gown. Guilty.”

Shaved your head? — “There is a special place in the abyss of the void someone suffers for asking such questions. Innocent.”

Made a boyfriend / girlfriend cry? — “The kind of men I spend my time with are not the kind of creatures that cry.”

Shot a gun? — “Guilty, though I purchased a gun at a late night market. It’s in a drawer with other useless things, taking up space.”

Still loved someone you shouldn’t? — “Guilty. Remember when I spoke about promises? I keep all my promises, even if they end up misplaced.”

Have / had a tattoo? — “Innocent, I will never suffer such blemishes on my perfect skin.”

Liked someone, but will never tell who? — “Innocent. I can’t harbor such feelings in silence. I don’t admire things from afar.”

Been too honest? — “Innocent. There are times when words should be said, and times when they should not.”

Ruined a surprise? — “Innocent. I come from a long line of men that led warbands, you learn never to spoil a good surprise.”

Been told that you’re beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? — “Innocent. I don’t think anyone that has ever loved me appreciates my beauty. It shames them in a way. I look like I never left the spring of my youth, or so they say. I am the least attractive in all my family. We can’t have everything.”

Stalked someone? — “I enjoy learning someone from afar, before they even know I exist. Guilty.”

Thoughts about murder? — “If I want someone gone, they will be gone, simple as that. It’s always been that way in the aristocracy. Take away all threats. If only my people felt the same way. Guilty.”

How about mass murder? — “Murder is murder. Call it what you will, one, ten, thousands, blood is blood, no matter how many you condemn. Sometimes the land must be cleansed and lesser people and legacies as well if they are not willing to bow to their betters.”

Cheated on someone? — “Of course and they are deserving of such fate if they fail to secure a strong future for us by being useless. I refuse to hide a man’s failures under my skirt and smile as if they are the reason for my blessings. Weakness is horrible for my libido. Love can’t be enough. If I don’t fear you, I don’t love you. But worry not, nobody is ever tossed away. Everyone has use, no matter how insignificant in my life they have become. Power can always shift, and a clever man will always get what they want, no matter what. I am a prize to be had, to fight for, and to keep. Hold me tight and close, then you never have to worry about such things. Guilty. Guilty, time and time again.”

Gotten so angry that you cried? — “Guilty. The time Lord Felo’dorah threw me to the ground at dinner when another man threatened to take his land, and me for his wife. All of our court was there, and I was so angry I cried. What could I do? You don’t just charge at a man in plate, surrounded by his fellow knights he leads. I simply sat there and cried, for good reason.”

Tried to stay away from someone for their own good? — “Guilty. I stayed away from Narin in an attempt to punish him. It was my way of poking a dog in a cage until they became rabid.”

Thoughts about suicide? — “Innocent for I am the future of all good things for my people.”

Had a girlfriend / boyfriend? — “Innocent. I refuse to call anyone a boyfriend. You will either court me, marry me, or you will have none of me at all.”

Gotten totally drunk during a holiday? — “All of you make me want to drink things I can’t stand. Guilty.”

( This is canon, in case anyone wants to overhear her disgusting thoughts. )

@barirnshadowwind @rhys-valtieri @nivathostin ( OMG YOU BETTER DO IT) Everyone just do it so @ EVERYONE

( If anyone wants this to be a start to approach me in game, perhaps you were in the bar that night and want to discuss anything you overheard! )

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