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melonteee · 10 months ago

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I think the thing that’s both odd and interesting about Zoro (especially when compared to the other Straw Hats) is that I think he’s the SH other than Luffy that I find the most difficult to articulate and map out the trajectory of. Like every other Straw Hat I feel like I can point to specific panels and go “That. That’s their damage.” But with Zoro… it’s not that he *doesn’t* have those moments, but it feels like a lot of his thematic character beats are buried in a lot subtext; and like there’s a lot of gaps.

Like I find it curious that Zoro’s the only Straw Hat whose arc didn’t take place in his home (or in the case of some later crew members a symbol of it), but he’s also the only one who has flashbacks throughout the story. Yet, even then, we still don’t know as much about him as we do others. With everyone else, you can easily answer where they slept or ate and what the relationship with the community at large was like growing up, but Zoro? The snippets we get don’t extend beyond the dojo - and the recent revelations about that only raised more questions. I can’t be the only one who thought it was weird of Oda to drop that nugget that the blacksmith in his childhood village was a pirate (or at least wanted by the marines) and then died not long after that. Or that Zoro doesn’t seem to know that he’s related to Kuina’s family at all (Zoro didn’t even know the blacksmith was her grandfather until after he died) despite only being 2 generations removed from the founding of the village. What could have possibly happened in the time between Zoro’s grandparents and parents that means Zoro - who had to have been an orphan in the flashbacks we have seen - is so far removed from his own family and the village history?

I think the other thing that’s odd about his relationship with Kuina/her death (and I think a big reason the theories that Kuina was murdered, secretly Tashigi, etc. continue to persist no matter how many times they’re debunked) is that the circumstances of her death kinda rub against other parts of the series. For instance, if you consider that “the weak don’t decide how they die” to be a through line in One Piece (not saying I do) then Kuina’s death feels like a direct counterpoint in the same way Katakuri telling Luffy “people don’t die because they didn’t want to live badly enough” does. But then, even though Zoro’s flashback on her death (which I love in the manga for how that’s Zoro’s life flashing before his eyes) ends on “humans are fragile” but then this very idea is immediately countered by Luffy the rubber man deflecting bullets; then later Zoro kinda rejects that concept of fragility in Arlong Park altogether when he declares he can’t allow himself to be killed by anything that would kill a normal human. Not to mention how in-universe there’s only theories as to what his Asura form is, which is about as far from Kuina’s mundane human fragility as you can get.

Honestly how Zoro’s character arc is laid out made a lot more sense to be when I heard Oda’s original outline for One Piece was a five year storyline. It might just be me, but it feels like there’s a few missing puzzle pieces, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Oda is saving some of those gaps in information for a specific moment.

I really appreciate this long ask and you've clearly thought a lot about it, but I don't think anything is missing with Zoro at all. Because, first off, his story does take place in his home - his home is in the East. That's like saying Nami's story doesn't take place in her home because Bellemere found her as a baby on a different island. The east is still Zoro's home, nothing says otherwise, and it's explained with Zoro just being an orphaned boy who was running from village to village looking for a challenge.

Usually you'd ask where the orphaned boy was from, but we know One Piece is just a world like that. He has a full name, his face is on wanted posters, and no one has looked for him or said they know him apart from as a Pirate Hunter. His Roronoa name wasn't known in Wano at all, and apart from his very minimal connections to the Wano family, there's nothing there that matters.

Also, all of the Strawhats stories are kinda only presented in flashbacks dfghjkdf

Oda put Zoro's story in an SBS because, to me, he's stating first and foremost Zoro's past BEFORE Kuina does not matter to Zoro. It feels Oda just made that SBS as an Easter egg people could have fun with. If Zoro were told of his parents, or his origins, why would he care? He didn't know them, it's not like he ever thinks about his mother nor seems to even remember her - unlike Usopp, Robin and Sanji. If you told Zoro he had a mum and dad, he'd probably be like Luffy and say "?? okay? so what?"

Zoro's story, first and foremost, is about the future. Because the monster trio all parallel each other in this regard. Sanji is about the past, Luffy is about the present, and Zoro is about the future. The only time Zoro's past ever matters is with Kuina, and that's because Zoro's story IS Kuina. We see it clearly with Wano, the only reason the blacksmith matters is because it connects him to Wado, which connects him to Kuina, which lets Zoro know where KUINA was from and why WADO is such an important sword to her family - and now to him.

"The weak don’t decide how they die" is a quote said by Law, that is taught to him by Doflamingo - an insanely cruel person. Law THOUGHT this was the case, but this does not MEAN it's the case. Same with what Katakuri said, we are encountering different people with different lives and different experiences. Kuina's own death, in my opinion - WHILE possibly being a murder or suicide - was meant to show Zoro that no matter what you do, or how strong you are, the world will be cruel enough to take those you love away. There's a tragedy in that simplicity, and that's all we need to know about Zoro. To me, there is no other mystery in the way he acts or the way he fights - it's all right there within Kuina's promise and death.

When Zoro learns things about the past it's about his swords, it's about Kuina, and it's never his OWN past - because, again, he is a character about the future. I cannot see him caring about parents he never knew, nor seems to even remember, nor caring about his social life around the dojo when he had one set goal in mind - which was to become a master swordsman.

Luffy was the one who introduced him to the power of bonds and love, along with the rest of the crew as they grew around him, and he grew to love them back. I don't really see any other setup for Zoro, because again, why would he care? How has it affected him BEFORE Kuina? We simply have no reason to see that, and Zoro has no reason to care about it either. The only piece missing, in my opinion, is WHY Zoro cared so much about PROVING his strength as an orphan. But that could easily boil down to...because he was an orphan, and had nothing better to do as a rowdy kid lmao.

Zoro's life is filled with coincidences, that's true, but I'd be shocked if they mattered at all? Oda also connected Otama to the Kurozumi family, but he said it didn't mean anything, it was just a coincidence.

I'm not totally opposed to Zoro having MORE backstory, I am just unsure why it'd matter when...there's nothing to answer. We HAVE the answer for why he's an orphan, and it's because pirates raided his village when he was a kid. It's pretty standard stuff, and that's all it has to be. Because Zoro only looks forward, and that's the only place he'll ever look. He's not being chained down by his past, he's being pushed by a promise, so he will run towards the future if it means fulfilling that promise.

#ask #melonask

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wilsons-journey · 4 months ago

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Nektarius Lore

After a little talk with a Friend yesterday, lemme share some Nekt Lore, I never shared here on Discord.

She is my self insert, but with her own lil Story in the Tyria Lore. (She is also the embodiment of my intrusive thoughts - my inner gremlin)

First some small Ideas I had so far:

She belongs to the Ash-Legion. Her good observing skills made her a good informant.

She had a Warband, but never really connected with them - due to her often choose to be alone. Too many people exhausted her.

One of her first good friends among Charr was prob. Rolan (Belongs to @/BrightWingedBat), sharing some chaotic energy like her

Later she joins the Order of Whispers and get to know my Champion Vale

She probably ends up as one "background solider" during all the Commander Business

She definitely had some run ins with Valefor (I have no Idea how this girl survived.)

Talking of survivability, its her secret talent. She survived several accidents - on accident. With more luck than sense.

she is actually deeply afraid of death

While Vale resisted Jormags Words, Nektarius fell for it. Thinking they could find another way to save Tyria, without killing the Dragons. She felt very sorry for Kralks death - developed a big pity for the elder dragons. They just wanted to live, like everyone else wants

She becomes branded by Jormag, but due to her chaotic nature he soon grew annoyed of her. Sending her on a mission in hope she never comes back. And when she did, Jormag was long killed by the Commander / Champion.

With a little help of Aurene, she got healed from Jormags influence and kept some of the icy magic.

Some random lil facts:

SAB addict and a Scatterbrain

she has a very sensible nose - and sometimes sneezes a lot (dad sneeze a-TSCHOOO)

loves to play pranks or gamble

She is fascinated by Asura technology, and develops some knowledge about that. Also trying to build some stuff with Asura tech (with less success - wont stop her from trying) At least she managed to build a "Hunger Games"-like Simulator

She is a kleptomaniac. She sees shiny, its her shiny now!

Very curious, but also quite wary of people. She often stays away. If she interacts with people its often very chaotic. And she often feels guilty about it.

She has no problem to flirt and smooch every handsome boy / girl - but she has no interest in more. But she would never resist a hug.

When I can choose one NPC to be a canon good Friend to one of my Cats, outside the normal Commander Story - it would be Canach for Nektarius.

I feel they would get along very well. And she would definitly love his Casino - she loves gambling. But we never - EVER - talk about her debt there.

Due to her friendship to Canach, she don't have to pay back, but it won't stop him from brining it up from time to time like.

Canach: So about your debt. Nekt: You don't want me to pay it back, right? :slight panic: Canach: :) Nekt: Right?! :big panic:

He likes to make fun of it and send her on edge.

She is a recurring visitor there. Not always to gamble, but because she has no home to go to. She is homeless, since the incident with Jormag.

But what does she do outside of everything else?

She is still a skilled informant and spy. I see her to bring it to use as Mercenary. She is not a powerful fighter - she knows how to protect herself - the magic she inherited from her branded time helps, too - but she will mostly offer getting information or stuff like artefacts, treasures or just to deliver some important letters. Occasionally smuggles goods.

And when she is not on duty, she definitively drags Rolan into some shenanigans, where HE has to drag them out again. (Like annoying a certain murder Cat with a grumpy face,... )

#gw2 #guildwars2 #guild wars 2 #askTheCrew #nektarius #lore #welcome to my oc ramble talk and thanks for listening #I like my gremlin cat #now back to the relationship ask

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fire-dwelling · 3 months ago

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I saw some chattering in other posts on tumblr complaining about FF charachters, but someone brought up the point that something seemed to change even back in Soul Eater - so do you think Gopher and the later clowns where a sign of Ohkubo changing his prioritys in how he portrays charachters, making them unfunny one time gags? Or is this something he allways did and people just imagine some "vibeshift"? But if not, do you think changes in editors/assisstants could be a reason? Maybe Ohkubo never was the driving force behind the more praised elements in Soul Eater?

I’ve been struggling how to respond to this, so I’m going to break up the submission into parts and just respond to parts of it along the way towards getting to something of an answer.

I saw some chattering in other posts on tumblr complaining about FF charachters,

I mean, I have a lot of complaints about Fire Force characters.

It’s not quite the My Hero Academia problem of too many characters, but Fire Force characters definitely had those that seemed underdeveloped.

Were some of these characters there just to serve the plot with nothing else to do?

That seems to be the case of the Fire Agency Director who barely (never?) shows up after Akitaru is captured by the White Clads.

And that seems to be the case of Huang, who resurrects Shinra then dies, which makes Shinra’s death as pointless as Izuku losing his arms before Eri’s horn brings them back--but, whoops, Huang is resurrected along with everyone else by Shinra, only now as a snake person, and we never hear her thoughts on the matter, and it’s just for the sake of using her or Orochi as the fans’ headcanon as Medusa’s ancestor.

Then there are characters whose narrative trajectory is not at all clear, especially Benimaru and Kurono and even Joker, where Ohkubo forces their doppels into the story to tsk tsk the audience for misinterpreting what he was going for with them.

but someone brought up the point that something seemed to change even back in Soul Eater -

I do think characterization changed after the Arachnophobia arc and starting with the introduction of Noah’s gang. I can accept some of those changes: they just lost Kid, they are now a Spartoi unit. But it’s also that vague timeskip to get to the Spartoi unit, Maka and Soul getting enough souls, that there seems to be a few steps missing. I’ve toyed with a fanfic to try to explain the personality changes--because, again, the changes make sense, I just wish we had a story to show that character progression. If anything, with Maka all of a sudden now interested in Soul treating her like Ox treating Kim, it feels like there was potential to address this more clearly, such as something else having happened aside from Crona going missing that may make her more invested in what is going on with Soul.

so do you think Gopher and the later clowns where a sign of Ohkubo changing his prioritys in how he portrays charachters, making them unfunny one time gags?

Not to be a hater, but the “unfunny one-time gags” were there long before Gopher. I mean, I thoroughly enjoy the Flying Dutchman, especially turning his and Blair’s fight into a Tom and Jerry short--but I think that’s a reason we didn’t see the Dutchman again in the rest of the series, it was a one-time gag, we’re done with him.

So maybe that is why there are some changes in the manga starting with Noah’s gang: this is no longer a series about collecting souls, it’s no longer one-off adventures, we’re now trying to do a longer arc. Sure, you can argue that the “one-off adventures” ended much earlier when Crona sliced Soul and now it’s a race to stop Medusa from resurrecting the Kishin, only, whoops, that still happens, so now we shift focus abruptly to Arachnophobia, but, whoops, they weren’t that long-lasting of an antagonist, so back to Medusa--or is it Noah--or Crona--and where did the Kishin go?

…See how the story lost focus as soon as Asura was resurrected?

Let’s go back to that one-off adventure structure and the Flying Dutchman. Even when the plot is now about stopping Medusa, we still had stories that, initially, seemed like one-off antagonists: Kid and the Thompsons collecting the souls from the Dutchman’s ship. It does tie into Medusa’s storyline once Crona claims those souls, but at least it felt like a one-off story. Even the fight between Kid and the Fisher King did both, a one-off antagonist and progressing the larger arc, in this case Arachnophobia.

But I do think something changed once Soul became a Death Scythe. A lot of the people Soul and Maka killed could have served a similar purpose--but now that Soul is a Death Scythe, they have no reason to collect souls, now they’re on the frontlines against the Big Bads…and they just aren’t that engaging of antagonists. Noah’s purpose is delayed for so long, then it just turns out he’s a puppet. Medusa’s grand scheme ends with her death, so while her villainy continues to hang over what comes next with Crona, she’s gone. Crona is not quite the villain, they’re the antagonist, and even then they seem just as much of a puppet as Noah.

We don’t get many one-off cool villains to fight: the Book of Eibon monsters are cool horror movie references, but they are mindless beasts; we don’t have a Mifune who is morally compromised, historical villains like Rasputin or Al Capone that we could play around with to re-interpret history (which, granted, Ohkubo didn’t really do much with Rasputin or Capone either), Samantha the Witch was nothing but at least the Wrath of the Pharaoh was a brutal opponent with a shocking design. If we had some one-off battles that could still progress the story forward, it could be more engaging--and would be an excuse to progress characterization for the main characters as well as overlooked supporting characters (Team B, some Death Scythes) and long-lost characters (the NOT trio).

Or is this something he allways did and people just imagine some "vibeshift"?

I mean, as I say above, the problems were there earlier. I think we didn’t notice as much because we were invested in the mystery of Medusa’s plan--but once Asura is resurrected, we lose the one-off fights, Medusa’s plan fades away until she just dies, Arachnophobia and Noah just aren’t as compelling, and Asura is goofing off on the Moon the entire time so he’s barely a factor in the story where he has been the overarching threat all along, because Asura is a force of nature, not a realized character.

But if not, do you think changes in editors/assisstants could be a reason? Maybe Ohkubo never was the driving force behind the more praised elements in Soul Eater?

I remain so ignorant as to who were Ohkubo’s editors and assistants on all of his manga, so I can’t comment on whether they influenced his choices. Of the two, it would be the editors guiding where his stories would go far more than what assistants may have done--although, not ignoring that an assistant may have a stylistic choice that makes Ohkubo realize something.

And as I’ll try to say more below before I wrap up, there is more across Ohkubo’s works--B Ichi, Soul Eater, NOT, Fire Force--that is similar than different, even visual details that creep into works where he was only the character designer or illustrator, that leads me to think he was the driving force, even as I am loathe to acknowledge that means he is responsible for elements that are praised in Soul Eater. I just happen to think, given how badly Fire Force turned out, that the editors of Soul Eater just did a better job guiding him in directions that worked so well in Soul Eater and earned him praise, whereas with Fire Force it just is a message I don’t like, and his editors encouraged his worst traits.

There is enough consistent across Ohkubo’s works--character designs, design touches, personality and character archetypes, themes, settings--that I am inclined to think Ohkubo has been consistent, however much he has changed in details for the worse or chose different tones and messages, and has only changed in how bad he can be because, by increased fame or change in editors, he gets away with more.

Across just Soul Eater, we saw the changes after the Arachnophobia arc, starting with Kid’s kidnapping and the positioning of Noah as a new big bad with his own gang, while Medusa was off scheming. And all of these changes came along with changes in the artwork, not just in giving the DWMA their own Spartoi uniforms but little tweaks to the artwork that seemed to be pulling a bit more from the Studio BONES designs and seemed like Ohkubo had settled into a typical, albeit a little less visually interesting, character design style.

I’m kind of petering out here at the end, so, to reiterate, I think there is more similar across his works, even as his visual style had a lot of different directions along the way. And this is all united by his characterization approach staying mostly the same, in that he has characters change so to change the plot, rather than letting the plot change the characters: he just has a character act a way to serve the story (Maka suddenly jealous of Ox and Kim) rather than having that change in characterization result from the story itself. It’s how we get Shinra pretty much staying the same throughout Fire Force despite what the story should have changed in him--all because the ending, evidently, was always going to be about resurrecting everyone anyway, so why should Shinra have much if any reaction to death, except the last one, Akitaru, that finally makes him lose control, let the world get burned to ash, so he can resurrect it all.

#dwells whines about fire force #long post

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depressedhatakekakashi · 11 months ago

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May I ask for extreme details on the age swap au? I'm not sure how it works.

Is it just effecting the Konoha 12, their teachers and maybe the sand siblings and a few notable shibobi? So those who were 12-13 are now 26 and the 26-27 year olds are now the students? Did the Uchiha massacre still happen if so, how? The issues that lead up to it were complicated, but I don't think they would have happened if Naruto/his father was alive. Is Minato still alive as the 4th Hokage? Did he die with Kushina again and was Naruto an orphan? Who released the nine tails if Madara was too old and Obito is now itty bitty.

How did Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke react to growing up in a time of war instead of a time of peace, especially in one of the most bloodiest wars in the ninja world. Is Itachi alive? Is he in his 30's and still flicking Sasuke in the face and embarrassing him in punlic,, or did he succumb to his chakra disease early in life?

Sakumo must have been alive and was a peer to Naruto, at most he would be a bit older. Were they friends? Did Naruto try to talk-no-jutsu him out of Suicide? The village's view on teammates vs. Missions seems to have pivoted after the 3rd great shinobi war where, at least in Konoha, friendships and teammates meant more than the mission. Maybe not for everyone, but probably due to the overwhelming loses everyone's POV shifted and they seem to care for each other a lot more. Would he feel the same pressure to commit suicide and leave his baby boy if less people turned their back on him?

Were Dai and Lee friends?! Rivals?! BROTHERS?! On the same team at one point?! Did Lee learn the gates from Dai?! Or was Dai just Lee's father in this and Gai was Lee's secret half brother/ a random village kid with no relation to Dai?

If Madara was still alive that means the reincarnation of indra and asura could not be Naruto and Sasuke. Who are they now? Is it Obito and Kakashi? Are they destined to stop the cycle of hatred and bring peace to the ninja world?!

I'm sorry I have so many questions, but the characters of Naruto are deeply entwined with their world and the time in which they grew up. Their environment ends up shaping who they become. So unlike a lot of stories, I think just switching the character rolls and places it a little harder in a age swap like this where almost every character has a pivotal roll in the time they grew up.

I hope this was not a rude ask.

It’s not really hard at all to change things.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura grew up in war and are a little rougher around the edges because of it but otherwise the exact same personalities. Naruto is a sunshine personality, Sakura has anger issues but is a top notch medical ninja, and it’s Sasuke who takes Obito’s place.

Kakashi and Obito are the reincarnations, but instead of it just being them who can fix everything in the end Rin actually plays a role in fighting and helping them beat Kaguya instead of just being sent in the end to stop her with a punch.

Madara still dies and the reincarnation cycle starts anew with Kakashi and Obito.

Sakumo and Dai are more Sensei age, just as Minato is Sensei age for Kakashi, Naruto and Rin.

Minato and Kushina are well known shinobi who were skilled and ruthless, but Minato never becomes Hokage here. It’s Sakumo who takes the title of the fourth and through a very skilled Naruto who has grown a lot (and is a few years older) and had a chance to learn uzumaki techniques from his mother is able to seal the Kyubi into Kakashi. (kakashi is the ninetails here)

Dai would have been Lee’s Sensei and someone who picked Lee up as a student before he left the academy and helped him train. He’s not actually Lee’s official Sensei, but he is the one who takes him under his wing and teaches him his style, and then has Gai later when Lee is around 14. So lee is not blood related but a big part of Gai’s life.

Hiruzen is still the third (honestly i don’t see Tsunade, Sakumo or Minato going through with the massacure at all so it has to stay him) with Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru still being the Sannin (though i do have fic with Danzo being the one Kakashi leaves the village to train under, but that is not for this)

Sakumo was Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura’s Sensei and although Sasuke ‘died’ young Sakumo kept a good connection with Naruto and Sakura and refused to allow Hiruzen to set asude some of their stringest shinobi during the Kyubi attack.

They were good enough to fight in a war when they were 10, they are good enough to help protect the village rather than being force to stand around and watch people die knowing they can’t do shit.

Naruto used the Reaper death seal, and i know ‘he was supposed to die’ but like, f*** that i think that Sakumo shoved him out of the way and the death god actually accepted that for some unexplainable reason and took Sakumo instead (who was dying anyways as he was the previous jinchurriki)

#age swap au

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icebrooding · 1 year ago

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Fic: Astragalus

The commander wakes to find Aurene by one side, and Trahearne by another. It isn't the world he's used to, where he searched for the shards of his heart alongside the shards of Caladbolg. Part of an AU where Trahearne survives Heart of Thorns.

On AO3

“—ander… up…”

A little groan and a turn of the head.

“—Commander.”

“Five more minutes…” He grumbles, leaning further against a somewhat hard surface; something a bit… scaly? How odd, none of his pillows have been made from scales before… Unless—

Kaushue sits up abruptly. “I’m awake, I’m awake!”

His ‘pillow’ chirps in delight, finding amusement in his bewilderment, and he feels a slight heat in his face, bark radiating an ice-blue glow. He gently runs a hand across Aurene’s back, thanking her for playing the part of impromptu bedding.

“That was quite the fetching sight, you must know,” he hears a voice from above where he sits, “the Pact commander curled up asleep against a dragon hatchling.”

Kaushue looks up, and feels a bit winded at the familiar shades of green and yellow.

Trahearne takes a seat by them on the ground, reaching out to pet under Aurene’s chin affectionately. She purrs, clearly pleased.

“Trahearne…” Kaushue begins, but can’t find the words. “But, Mordremoth… how…?”

The older sylvari raises his brow, confusion writ across his face. “Mordremoth? Commander, are you feeling alright?”

No, he wants to say. He can remember it clearly, the nausea and fear that coursed through him as they had finally caught up and saw the vile, twisted things that Mordremoth had done to Trahearne. He could never forget something like that, could never forget what he… had to do.

He could never forget waking up some mornings, long before the others, and just laying there in silence staring at Caladbolg where it remained at his bedside, shattered.

He startles when he feels fingers gently brush at his eyes. He looks up, confused, and sees the way Aurene and Trahearne both look at him with concern.

“You’re crying.”

“I… am?” He raises a hand to his face, and his fingers come away damp. “I’m sorry, I don’t… quite understand what’s going on.”

“It seems you had quite the nightmare.” Trahearne says softly. He shuffles closer on his spot, pressing up against Kaushue’s side. The commander lets out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding and leans into Trahearne as the man asks, “do you want to talk about it?”

“A nightmare…?” It would make sense. Of course, it had to have just been a nightmare—a horrific, awful nightmare. Kaushue takes a deep breath. “I’d rather not talk about it. Not right now.”

A moment later, he feels fingers rustle through his leaves comfortingly, and can’t help but lean his head into it. A little bit of affection is sorely welcomed. “That’s fine. I came to fetch you, but I think you deserve some more time to rest.”

Aurene chirps loudly, fluttering her small wings. She looks happy—but when does she not? Kaushue has no idea if dragons can smile, but the girl appears to have no other expression. He can’t help but chuckle. “Time for another nap with Aurene? Are you quite sure? I take it’s not some world-ending crisis this time, then?”

“Another update on the Primordus-Jormag situation, but it isn’t so dire that you cannot take a few more minutes.” Trahearne slowly retracts his hand, allowing it to fall between them, where it lands atop Kaushue’s. “…And as thankful as I am to her, I felt I needed a small reprieve from Taimi’s constant communications. She can be very… loud, with her personality at times.”

“That’s Taimi all right.” He loves the kid, he does, but asura in general have always exhausted him, and she is no exception. “You say Primordus and Jormag… so then, Mordremoth really is…?”

“I, yes?” Trahearne gives him a strange look. “It's been several months by now. Surely you haven’t forgotten?”

“I’m sorry, I suppose my nightmare muddled my memories. How did it all…?”

The older sylvari pauses for a moment before taking a breath. “We lost many people to the dragon. Many more than I had anticipated.” His fingers slip between Kaushue’s, squeezing him. “If not for you and the others, the casualties would have been beyond catastrophic. Irrecoverable.”

“I… remember that much.” Although he wishes he could forget just how many brothers and sisters he had to cut down, minds and bodies claimed by that monster.

“I was...” Trahearne takes a deep breath before he continues, and Kaushue can feel his insides twist and turn uncomfortably. “You found me before Mordremoth could fully claim my mind, but… we nearly lost you in the process. As we nearly did Caithe, and Canach.”

Kaushue blinks—he can’t seem to remember any of it. He digs through his memories, but it feels like they’ve all been replaced by those of his nightmare instead. “Nearly lost us?”

“You were so desperate to save me. You talked about some purification ritual you witnessed in Arah—”

“Twitchy!”

Trahearne jolts at the sudden yell. “…Yes, something about a chicken.”

He clears his throat, continuing. “But there wasn’t time, so you took me back to Rata Novus, even though you knew the risks if I were to turn…”

“This is insanity, I do hope you know that, Commander.”

Kaushue paces back and forth, tugging at his leaves in frustration. “Insanity seems like our only option right now!” He barks.

They have Trahearne restrained to a table, but there is no telling if the restraints would be even slightly worth it were he to succumb to Mordremoth. The man is unconscious, but moans every so often to indicate the pain and duress he is under.

“Mordremoth clearly wants him for something—this isn’t just about my feelings, about—” He tries to fight the burning in his eyes. “And whatever that something is, it can’t be good for us.”

Rytlock goes to open his mouth, but the commander holds up a hand to silence him. “Killing him will do nothing, you’ve seen that Mordremoth doesn’t particularly care for the status of his puppets.”

Canach motions towards Trahearne with his sword. “From what the Pact soldiers kept saying, he’d probably prefer this one dead. Less struggle.”

Kaushue turns to scold his brother for the off-colour quip, but instead decides to shrug it off with a sigh. He wishes Jory were here to help keep things grounded, but he’d already excused her to catch up with Kas and Rox. If things truly were dire, he’d rather they’d have their time together.

It wasn’t like there was much any of them could do now. Anyone perhaps…

He looks back over to the table, where Taimi comes and goes as fast as she can manage, checking between some apparatus or other and the corrupted sylvari. She hums, and rejects when Braham, unable to handle the waiting and clearly antsy, offers to carry her.

“According to my readings, the magic frequency coming from Trahearne is almost identical to Mordremoth’s right now.” She murmurs, biting at her clawed thumb. “If we want any chance at saving him, we need to separate the two, and we need to do it ASAP.”

“So, what?” Braham asks, heaving his weapons up, ready to storm back out. “We go back to the Stand and join the rest of the Pact in beating the dragon six ways to Sunday? I’m up for it.”

“Something tells me that ain’t gonna work, kid.” Huffs Rytlock. “Things are never that easy for us.”

“No, we need to cut it off at the source.” The tiny Asura says, pondering to herself. “He has Trahearne’s mind captivated… Now, how do you go about separating something from your mind…”

Caithe slinks out of the darkness of a nearby corner, glancing at her corruption-ravaged brother on the table. They may never have been the closest, but she would rather not have to put him to rest as well. “Kaushue, do you remember when we met?” She asks, tilting her head towards the commander.

“In the Dream? Yes, what about it?”

“The Shadow of the Dragon,” she says,”we had to drive it off to prevent it tainting the Dream.”

“…Are you saying you think we can fight Mordremoth in the same way?” He asks incredulously. It sounds far-fetched to his ears, but the more he ponders it over, the more sense it makes.

“It’s just a guess, but I believe if we can destroy Mordremoth’s mind, we could still free Trahearne. And all sylvari.” Guilt is apparent in her eyes—she wants, no, needs to do right by her people, even just this once. She does not again utter her fear that the dragon's demise could mean the end for their people. She has voiced it well enough, and knows the commander agrees. It will be better this way, regardless of the consequences.

“Wonderful idea, however, there’s a major flaw in it,” pipes up Taimi from one of the other tables, looking at various implements and objects Kaushue could barely begin to describe.

“We don’t have the luxury of time to head back to the Grove and petition a critically injured tree.” Rytlock grunts, folding his arms over his chest.

Kaushue grits his teeth in anger, hands trembling as he balls them up. “Then we’re doomed, aren’t we? If Caithe is right, which, despite everything, I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt on, there is no other way to truly kill Mordremoth.” He spins on his heel and looks at his friends, sees their worry, their frustration, their anger. They are all in the same boat, but they are looking to him for the solution. He has nothing. Only doubt. “The Pact and our other allies are still fighting in Dragon's Stand as we speak, and if we can’t access the Dream, they will all die out there.” He says softly, more defeated than he has ever felt.

Braham begins to open his mouth, but is cut off abruptly.

“Woah there, big guy!” Cries out Taimi from behind them, leaping off her chair.

They all turn to look, and find Trahearne stirring, blearily looking around the room as if trying to find something. He does not try to pull against the restraints, so Kaushue motions for the others to lower their weapons.

“Commander…” The man weakly murmurs.

Aware it could be a trap, Kaushue approaches cautiously, looking down at his marshal. “Yes?” He asks, voice quiet and gentle.

“I heard your voice. My connection to the dragon,” he begins, pausing to wince momentarily, “it allows me to access the Dream…”

“Can you send us in?” Caithe asks without hesitation, briskly walking up to her brothers. “Like Mother was able to?”

“I believe so.” Trahearne takes a deep inhale, squeezing his eyes shut. “It is hard to resist, but if you can find Mordremoth in the Dream, then…”

Kaushue reaches out, taking one of Trahearne’s ragged hands in his own. He holds tight, squeezing him. “Send me in. I’m going to destroy Mordremoth.”

A hand tugs on his shoulder, and he pulls back to look at Caithe. Her expression is grim, but he can’t fathom why. They have their solution right there. “Kaushue, if you go in, you may never come back.” She says. “Mother was there to pull us back out in the past, but if we sever their connection, Trahearne may have no way of doing so for us.”

He doesn’t miss a beat. “I don’t care.”

“…Very well.”

A dark shade falls over the two, and they turn their eyes upwards to their larger, bulkier companions, faces both set in matching scowls.

“So you’re going on a suicide mission…” Rytlock starts—

“Without us?” —And Braham finishes.

Kaushue lets go of Trahearne’s hand to properly face his companions. Despite it all, he can only grin at them. “Well, one of you still has a legend in the making”, he pokes Braham in the chest, then turns to the charr, “and someone needs to make sure Logan is okay when he wakes up again.”

Braham smiles, even if he doesn’t quite like the idea of being left out, and Rytlock just grunts and shifts on his spot.

“Someone also needs to stay and protect Taimi in case the worst happens.” He glances over at her and she pouts slightly. “Not that I don’t trust her, but one asura versus a hulking great mordrem with the power of an elder dragon? The odds aren’t great.”

Braham heaves his weapons up once more, determination on his face. “Got it, boss.”

A cough to the side makes the commander turn his gaze. “Forgetting someone, are we?” Canach has his sword and shield out and at the ready.

“Sorry, didn’t think you were one for suicide missions.” Kaushue says with a small shrug.

“I’m not. I am, however, one for choosing my fate, and dead-but-free sounds preferable to being some miserable dragon’s little plaything.” He scowls, looking disgusted. “I have had quite much of being a plaything.”

“Then it’s decided,” Kaushue says, looking back to Trahearne. “As sylvari, we’ll settle what Mordremoth started—no matter what.”

Kaushue can’t help but flush a bit as Trahearne’s tale trails off, admitting he was hardly lucid enough to understand what had happened after the three had departed. Not that it particularly matters too much, the fact he is here and sat with Trahearne and Aurene more than enough evidence that they succeeded.

“I certainly hope I thanked them enough afterwards…” the commander mumbles to himself, feeling a bit sheepish. It is certainly a bit awkward to realise just how much danger he put everyone in.

“Well, Canach was very… prideful, in the aftermath. I suppose slaying an elder dragon does that to you.” Trahearne says with a soft chuckle. “I get the feeling from him he’s going to ask for some favour I can’t refuse thanks to him helping save me.”

A chuckle escapes the young sylvari too, only to then turn to hiccups, and then sobbing.

There is a moment before the commander feels Trahearne’s hands gently around him, pulling him against the other man’s chest and into the comfort of those familiar, crisp leaves, the smooth bark that pattern he’s come to know as well as his own. Trahearne’s arms are tight around him, comforting, protecting. One hand strokes his back in slow, gentle circles, the other carding through the dark leaves of his hair.

It is what Trahearne has done for him each and every time he failed at being strong enough to keep it together.

Aurene trills again in upset-sounding tones. Kaushue can only assume she is trying to alleviate his state when she tries to curl up tightly around him and Trahearne.

“Kaushue,” Trahearne whispers softly, “what’s wrong? I’ve hardly ever seen you so upset.”

How could he explain it? He doesn’t want to talk about the things he saw in his nightmare, hopes that if he keeps quiet then it will all just go away.

He doesn’t want to tell Trahearne about what he saw.

“I’m just,” he wails instead, “so glad you’re here.”

The other man’s gaze softens. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out the nature of his lover’s nightmare. He’s had them too, or rather, ones like it. When Kaushue’s sister, Aileana, had come to him in private long ago and told him of what their brother Iowerth had shown her in Lychcroft Mere. It haunted him, followed him into his sleep and into his nightmares.

He shuts his eyes and buries his nose into the man’s leaves, thankful that at the very least Kaushue’s nightmare was just that. A nightmare.

They stay there like that until his sobs slowly ebb away into nothing more than sniffles. And when he eventually pulls back, Kaushue’s face is flushed. He winces at the mess he’d made of Trahearne’s leaves. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs quietly.

Trahearne shakes his head, “it hardly matters. Do you feel better?”

“Yeah… Yeah, I do. Thank you, Trahearne.”

He looks up at his partner, and Trahearne only lets out a small breath, leaning in to give him the briefest of kisses. They both glow a little when they hear Aurene make curious, inquisitive noises from where she still cushioned them both like some sort of chair.

“Oh, that’s right, dragons… Right, right. Primordus, and Jormag…” Kaushue says, not realising how much time they’d let past while Trahearne jogged his memory.

The two stand slowly, and Aurene hops to her feet. She runs about their legs like a cat, albeit a cat perhaps a dozen sizes too large. She nuzzles the commander’s leg for a moment, almost purring in her array of noises.

“Like I said, it’s nothing major. Some minor magical disturbances, but no attacks or anything of the sort.” Trahearne says as they step down from the high platform where Aurene spends her days. “Taimi just wanted me to let you know, since we were both already here.”

Kaushue shakes his head a little, motioning to himself. “Sorry, still a bit dazed, although more’s coming back now. Why are you in Tarir?” He asks, nearly tripping over Aurene as she darts between his legs.

“Part of what I wasn’t lucid enough to understand, but the general idea is that they managed to… syphon the excess dragon magic that remained in me after Mordremoth’s death.” Trahearne frowns, like he still can’t quite grasp it. “I was unconscious for a very long time after you killed the dragon.”

“So they… sucked Mordremoth’s corruption out of you?” The commander joins Trahearne in his frown. It seems rather simple, but it probably was some ridiculous combination of Taimi’s incomprehensible work and the Exalted’s talents.

“Not quite, I don’t think. They managed to divert it to Aurene’s egg,” she trills at the mention of herself, rubbing against Trahearne’s leg too. “It was how she hatched. I think she thinks I’m her father. Or one of them at least.”

Kaushue flushes heavily at the implication.

"It's why Caithe isn't here right now, by the way," Trahearne looks over at him with a teasing grin, "said that Aurene needed some 'father-figure-daughter bonding time' alone. I suppose that's me while you're away."

The commander hides his luminous face behind his hands.

“Anyway," he continues, returning to his original point, "they wanted me to remain here for a time to make sure that none of Mordremoth’s magic lingered in me.” Trahearne says as he reaches down to scritch the hatchling’s chin once more. They have come to the exit of the egg chamber, and Kaushue also opts to fuss the girl before they move on.

They step out of the room, the large door shutting behind them. “What about the Pact, then?”

“Officially, Logan has been appointed Acting Marshal and is in charge of operating things while I am in ‘rehabilitation’.” Trahearne looks up, somewhat sombre. “The truth is that I want to pass the position to him permanently. Tyria isn’t trusting of us sylvari anymore, and he has the qualities that could bring back trust and support to the Pact.”

“I see.”

“I’m not fit to lead an army after what happened. Both in terms of confidence and physical health.” He continues as they walk, kicking up small stones and dirt along the path. “But our little guild, that’s a good fit for me, I think.”

Kaushue helps him along the rubble and up to the mushrooms, following him as they ascend towards the main area of the city. “If it helps at all, I think I prefer things this way.”

They land on the soft grass above and take the sight in around them—it never really gets old or familiar, the towering structures of gold with trees hanging high overhead. Sometimes it’s hard to believe such a grand city thrived for so long out here, unknown to most.

“I can’t say I miss never having enough time to spend just with you.” Trahearne says softly, reaching out for the commander’s hand. They fit together well, ice blue on verdant green

“I can’t either.” He leans into the other man for a few moments, uncaring that the Exalted wandering around could easily see them. Perhaps they wouldn’t be so pleased about PDA in the middle of their city, but if that’s the case then they scarce show it.

“Now,” he continues, looking back and forth between the four sets of golden steps, “if you can’t come back with me just yet, you can at least accompany me out of the city.”

Trahearne chuckles and allows himself to be pulled along by the younger sylvari. “Of course.”

#guild wars 2 #gw2 #fic #trahearne #kaushue #aurene #trammander #the whole gang essentially #Taimi Ex Machina #i need a name for this AU i s2g

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wall-legion · 11 months ago

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The Space Between

It had been a long day at the soap shop, and everyone was exhausted by the time the sign was flipped to "closed". So many people had stopped in to pick up last minute gifts, and many were not as patient as they could have been about the shop being low or out of products at that point in the day. "Does anyone want to actually go out and celebrate tonight?" Leyya asked as she watched Odetta come into the back and slouch into a chair. "Sheesh, kill the vibe more." This came from the meerkat perched in a tube near the ceiling. "No one asked you, Cepir. And you lost your stupid hat." "Ah! My fez!" From the other end of the table, Zojja shook her head and laughed. "Don't let him wind you up like that. Besides, there's still time to freshen up. Soon as Sheridan's done, one of us can." "Don't worry about me." Odetta finally looked up from where she had collapsed onto the table, head on her folded arms. "I'm not going anywhere but to bed with the leftover scones and tea." Zojja glanced from Odetta to Leyya, as the other asura shrugged. "But what about Zio and Iialli..?" "He's new, so of course he got assigned duty tonight. And Iialli is busy at Pheazza's because a ship came in with new inventory." "I see..." Leyya looked up as Mabon drifted in from the kitchen, sporting an apron that read "Mursaat do it Unseen". "Mabon, what are your and Sheridan's plans?" "Oh, nothing complicated. I plan on enchanting myself to look like a sylvari so we draw less attention, then wine and sweets on the beach. Why?" He looked at Odetta as she groaned softly. "...have I said something to offend?" "No, because that sounds wonderful!" Odetta sat up. "What about you two?" she asked while gesturing at the two asura. "Oh, we'll be heading to the Grand Piazza for an event! A combination fig tasting from an orchard in Cantha and lecture about mutualism!" "Don't think about it," Leyya muttered. "Why?" Odetta just stared at Leyya, face full of confusion. "You don't... oh. You don't know. Never mind. We'll bring you back some figs if we can." Odetta frowned, both at Leyya and at Zojja as she muffled a snort of laughter. "Okay. Thank you. I think." At that point, Sheridan came all but tumbling down the stairs and beamed as they caught sight of Mabon. "I'm ready!" "I should say," Mabon replied with a chuckle. "You're certainly eager." "You two have a good time," Odetta said as she made herself smile. "It sounds like you're in for a lovely night." "Thank you Odetta." Sheridan stopped briefly to give the woman a hug, as Mabon worked his magic to transfigure himself into a tall male sylvari with silvery birch skin. "We'll see you later!" "We should be off as well." Zojja got up from her seat. "Don't want to be late, after all." Leyya reached out to pat Odetta's hand. "I'm sure you'll have a nice evening in spite of everything," she said. "Chin up." Odetta watched them depart, locked the door behind them, and then set herself to cleaning the shop. Once that was done, she retreated into the kitchen to finally make herself tea, only to hear someone knocking. "You gonna get it?" She sighed before looking up at Cepir, who was lounging in his 'kitchen globe', an orb that Mabon had crafted and added to the pipe network so he could be included when everyone gathered in there. "I am considering it." "Well consider faster. They're knocking hard enough to rattle the walls." She rolled her eyes, but went to the door. She unlocked it and pulled it open hard, eyes shut while raising her voice. "We are closed-" "Even for Valentine's gifts?" She finally opened her eyes. Iialli was smirking and holding a box of chocolates, while Zio was standing over her and grinning as well, a bouquet held in his hands. "I... I thought you two had work," she finally managed. "Phee said she would manage without me. Can't speak for him." "I let the Zio charm do the work for me." Odetta folded her arms across her chest. "So you're in trouble." "Probably." He started to turn away. "Do you want the flowers or not, princess?" She grinned for the first time in hours. "Get in here, you two."

#gw2 short story #odetta swanheart #gw2 valentine's day

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tricos-here · 2 years ago

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✈ 💯 🍎 and 🥯 for Mei and Astêrales maybe?

✈️ AIRPLANE — does your oc like traveling, or do they consider themselves a more homey person?

Neither of them are homey, they don't really have a home to begin with.

Astêrales has spent all her life running through fractals and various planes of the Mists, only occasionally returning to the Asura that took her from the Grove to report her findings and get patched up if needed. She's never really stepped out of the Mists and is always on the move, she does like the visiting new places and new sights aspect of "traveling" but it's come mostly out of necessity

Mei likewise is on the move too often, adopted out of an orphanage only to be sent to the Church of Lyssa which would then send her off to various missions. She later joined the Mesmer Collective and other dubious guilds which always keeps her busy and traveling from one place or another - she doesn't so much enjoy the traveling itself as she just likes to keep busy, she certainly wouldn't stick around one place for long to be homey

💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL — share three random facts about your oc that others may not know.

- I think I did mention this before but whatever, Astêrales has a cybernetic spine that was installed by the Asura which besides making her more durable and less likely to succumb to all the fractal instabilities, it does also act as a tracking and monitoring device - with all her Mists traversing she has a couple of times ended up in the Borderlands, as well as the Mistlock Sanctuary, the later of which is perhaps the only time she's seen that many people in one place that didn't immediately try to kill her - the Asura scientists mostly view her as just ouga bouga muscle they just throw in fractals to do their experiments but her intelect and intelligence is up to par with their own, she's watched them work and talk for near 25 years now so she's picked up a lot of things along the way

- Mei was adopted into a noble family called Ermenred, she was adopted as some kind of PR move to garner better standing with the public, which may or may not have worked, but after she was paraded around for a while she was essentially cut off and sent to the Church of Lyssa to become a priestess. She picked up the name Donnadieu there, which means "given to god" (and was used to refer orphans pledged to priesthood)

- Quite proficient at fencing and sword fighting in general, especially with fencing she trained in fighting styles used by the nobles and she gets a kick out of challenging them to duels and beating them at their own game

- I'm running out of random facts but she is (unfortunately) quite french coded and has a french accent. Also two in one facts she has a mindle name as well which is Elise, which she kind if prefers over Mei but it never caught on

🍎 RED APPLE — where was your oc born? do they still live in/around their place of birth or do they live somewhere else? how do they feel about their birthplace?

Astêrales birthplace is... complicated, technically she was very nearly fully formed in her pod at the Grove before the Asura cut it down, but she only fully emerged out of it in the Mists in some lab the Asura set up. She doesn't really live in any one place through that is where she often returns so. She will get to visit the Grove at some point as well but until then..

Mei isn't really known where she was born exactly but it's safe to assume it was somewhere in Divinity's Reach or thereabouts, she certainly doesn't live there anymore but neither does she feel any particular way about it, it's a city that she may occasionally pass by but that's about it - she doesn't really hold any ties with her family anymore either

🥯 BAGEL — what does your oc's typical breakfast look like? do they usually eat breakfast?

Astêrales doesn't really have the concept of breakfast, she'll eat when she needs to and just go about her way, all her meals mostly consist of non perishables like dried fruit and meats, hardtack etc

Mei's breakfast more often than not looks about the same, with the dried meats etc, though if she happens to be staying in a city or someplace with a tavern or something she does like to indulge to a lavish meal. She does try have breakfast every time she gets up in the morning before going about her day but honestly, she doesn't always have the time

#I don't remember how to add read more on mobile so you'll just have to deal with this long shit #also I wrote these through 3days while at work so like. if anything is incomprehensible it's not my fault #THANK YOU FOR THE ASK THOUGH 💞💖❤️ need to develop both of these bitches more #astêrales #mei donnadieu

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ohpollenpowder · 3 months ago

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I'm gonna go with 2, 7 and 15 for Elspeth and another sylvari of your choice!

Hilariously, when I randomized...it chose her birthday neighbor. I made Lovel before Elspeth.

2] How much do they remember from the Dream? Did they have any particular experience in it before awakening?

Elspeth - Her Dream spoke of fire and ash, explosions going off everywhere and the ground shaking in response. For her it was a blur of noise and smells, the majority of it covered in smoke and punctuated by flashes of gunfire. Ignoring the fact thaaaaaaat they don't actually flash. And the screams. She can never forget the screams; screams of the injured and dying, the roars from those still attacking, the groans… Elspeth chooses not to recall those memories of her Dream—it was bad enough to relive it when it actually happened.

Lovel - Dream… Lovel can't say that he can recall his with much accuracy. Like Elspeth it was a more of the other senses that were bombarded. But thankfully, he never faced the scenes he saw in his own. When he finally Awoke and wandered into that area, all he felt was familiarity in a ruined Caer. The one thing that did stand out for Lovel strong enough that he could remember it is often folks would be wary about him.

5] Are they from the first batch of Secondborn or did they awaken at some later point? What's their opinion on the Firstborn?

Elspeth - She's a late Secondborn, right on the cusp, so depending on who you talk to in the Grove, they'll say she's Secondborn or one of the later blossoms. Honestly, Elspeth couldn't care less what they consider her. She's here to do a job and that's that. As such, she hasn't really interacted with any of the Firstborn herself. Caithe seems like she's carrying the world on her shoulders, Trahearne did too. Elspeth doesn't really see the need to bother her older siblings, especially when most times she can solve it herself. Or with the aid of the other Pale Reavers.

Lovel - Lovel is one of the early Secondborns; yet for a while he lingered within the Grove, coming to terms with his countenance—he was spooky, especially with the glow. Thankfully, being so early, there weren't many Sylvari to scare by accident. Also—with the blessings that is the magic of GW2 armor—a helmet with face-guard let him help those he came across swiftly. Kinda hard to help when they're screaming and pushing you away like you're the enemy too. But…relationships! So Trahearne is the one he had the most contact with, mostly because of the location Lovel first chose to patrol was much closer to Orr than most of the Forest. He holds massive respect for the Firstborn and doesn't at all regret introducing him and Oighrig, despite all the sorrows that have happened.

7] What was their first experience with other races? How did it impact them?

Elspeth - Her first experience with other (playable) races ended up being a Charr cub that got separated from a merchant wagon-train. She honestly mistook them for a mutated Jungle Stalker at first, she wouldn't have put it past the horror stories she'd heard of Asura from the others. Elspeth still ends up seeing that cub from time to time, they're now a young soldier in the Vigil, inspired by her experiences. They always passed stories back and forth with one another when they met up, except for when the Call had gone out and Sylvari were mistrusted (yet again) by others. She's fond of her Charr comrades from the Vigil, and they of her.

Lovel - Asura. He wasn't one of the ones taken, thank goodness, though he did help those that had and were rescued. Even went with several teams to do so. So his trust with Asura is…very limited. Not to say it's as far as he could throw them, since as a Warrior he can throw even a stocky Asura pretty far. But slowly he's gotten to the point where he will turn his back on them if he actually trusts them, and that's on an individual basis.

#warden lovel #pale reaver elspeth #gw2 sylvari #gw2 warrior #~meme

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skaald-of-the-hearth-fires · 6 months ago

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Hm those are really interesting points! That would make the story hang together in a really neat way, I love this take! (I'd personally object to the "They always try to do it alone" bc I feel the moral of the story far more often points to "with unity many impossible things may be achieved" and I see the norn mindset as being a little at odds with that, but hey! Character growth! Or just straight-up Wolf spirit lol)

But yeah it definitely gives a more weighty reason to why the Commander is Like That, where a charr or human or asura, aside from personal headcanon/characterization, could just up and say "I'm done." For norn and sylvari, it's your entire culture and way of life, not just the last ten years of it, that they'd be denying.

That definitely does make it more powerful on a second playthrough, I guess I'm more skeptical of a first-time playthrough, when you're starting with little to no info about the world and trying to piece the story together.

Eir dying is a real smack in the face tbh. They handled that so poorly too. Like - that COULD HAVE been the trigger for a lot of things with Braham, instead he gets one instance and a whole player base misunderstanding him. And Zojja?? Like Eir dying could have been the catalyst for SO MUCH growth there, but instead NOTHING. She at least got a memorial and whatever story Braham DID get, but honestly the aftermath of HoT did everyone dirty. Eir, Trahearne, sylvari in general (Caithe got the best of it but still), the Nightmare Court, the Pale Tree, Zojja, ANYTHING where the whole gang got together and said "whew... that was an awful six weeks" like a proper epilogue (we got one of those for literally every other expac ugh).

Honestly it feels like Eir got a lot of things stacked against her specifically from the start. She has a grand vision and is the catalyst for starting Destiny's Edge, but she never lives to see the Tooth crack or Jormag defeated or ANY of her visions. She wasn't even that helpful against Zhaitan. Like that's such a tragedy. She sacrificed so much, had such grand visions, worked so hard, and didn't see the fruits of ANY of it except maybe talking to Braham later on as a ghost.

And maybe a norn Commander has a similar fate: never able to rest and say "I'm done, I can relax." Always fighting, never able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Anet, beach episode when.

I feel like the typical reasons we recommend sylvari first is because of how they relate to Trahearne; the typical norn mindset I think would be far more prone to errors of thought along the lines of "I'm building my legend and I am or am going to be the specialest little boy", cue resentment when Trahearne comes along. (But then, if a person was prone to that, even playing sylvari won't save them lol.)

(I could totally design fixes for ALL the stories that'd introduce Trahearne better MASSIVELY. Even just have people constantly keep mentioning him all thru the first 60 levels till Claw Island. Mentor constantly going "Oh Trahearne told me XYZ once" or "man Trahearne taught me this / I taught Trahearne that" or "this info about the Risen that we have is ALSO corroborated by Trahearne, so like, that makes it EXTRA legit" - every single level 30 story involves Risen primarily, so perfect places to namedrop him, EXCEPT the norn, but you end up going to the Literal Durmand Priory Building, how easy it would be to have Trahearne just happening to be visiting and decide to pitch in), even at the Destiny's Edge meeting in LA, have Caithe approach even non-sylvari players with like "I can tell you're concerned with the threat of the dragon's, HELP ME" (which would just be. A better intro to DE anyway so you have a legit personal connection with one you didn't have before), then just name drop Trahearne in there too. Like you DON'T EVEN HAVE TO CHANGE ANY OF THE STORIES, JUST ADD LIKE. SOME DIALOGUE) (so so so so many story improvements could be made with More Dialogue but I admit I'm biased, dialog is great and amazing)

Anyway, very interesting take on norn vs sylvari (everybody I introduce to the game likes to play norn lol, now I have a potential way to spin it haha). (Noooo not me always masterminding their stories lolz)

i'm not even a sylvari person myself and i believe that people looking into guild wars 2 for the story experience should select sylvari. the sylvari personal story has IMO the most seamless emotional tie-in to the earlier main story. you will know trahearne and your trust in caithe is something that will have more meaning and weight to you. heart of thorns (elaborates no further). plus sylvari are kind of gay. if you are a furry disregard everything i just said and select "charr"

#Guild Wars 2 #gw2 norn #Norn #Gw2 ps #gw2 personal story

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shut-up-rabert · 2 years ago

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This makes me so so soooo fucking angry I can’t be tamed. These people will fall to any level to make my religion look bad. Fucking shameless.

Now that some of my anger is out, lets get into this:

Shree Laxmi wasn’t given to gods, she isn’t a goddamn cattle animal like Kamdhenu, and the demons and gods respected her wishes as a supposed human being to choose either side. She chose devas, not because she was partial against the asuras, but because a) she’s the universal mother, she knows everything that goes on, including which side has bad intentions and which one will use her powers for the good, and b) she chose to be with her eternal Lover/Husband Shree Narayan, and since he was on the deva’s side (aka the good side), she was with them by default.

The fact that literal demons had more respect for her than our secular writer over here, *sigh*

The elixer was given to gods because it was to restore their powers? Like, you know, the ones that were taken away from them? Why the frick would the lord allow Demons to have elixir when he knows they don’t have any good intents? They are literally evil, and protecting against evil is like god’s whole job ffs🤦🏻‍♀️

Literally no one in Mahabharata except Shree Krishna is purely good, get that through your fucking thick skulls. That’s the entire point, you learn what you do from Ramayan and what not to do from Mahabharat. And the Hidamba Mata’s (aka the Danvi whose name you didn’t bother researching, great work 👍🏼) backstory is never discussed in detail, neither is Ghatotkach. For all you know, the pregnancy could have been hidden from him, atleast that’s what their first meeting shows. So if you plan on demonising sex, you proved no motive here.

“Ohh, Ravan never did anything wrong, bas kidnap hi to kiya tha akeli nari ka.” Is such a sad argument tbh, y’all literally see no issue with kidnapping and terrifying a women over your own sister’s lose character? What a shame. “He never touched her.” Social distancing se kidnap kiya tha kya bhenchod? He never touched her sexually you mean, not because he was a saint of a man, but because he was a verified rapist with a blue check. He had raped his own to be niece in law and was cursed by his nephew that raping another woman would lead to his death. He literally threatened to cook Devi Sita and eat her up if she didn’t submit. Another reason he didn’t touch her was because if he had touched her, It would be Jankiayan instead of Ramayan because she would fucking kill him before you all can blink.

“He humiliated her on more than one occasion” is a very sneaky way to say two occasions so that the number can be inflated, eh?

The first occasion: Calling her names so that she will submit herself to agni out of spite and emerge unharmed, which literally everyone condemned, including the loyal brother Lakshman who rebelled against his own brother (for whose wake he would pick up a sword against everyone , mind you) because he dared disrespect a woman like Maa Sita, and even Hanumanji who’s Shri Ram’s biggest, and I mean biggest devotee. Literally no one stood by Sita’s humiliation, and it was later revealed by Shri Ram that the act was staged by the him so that she can have an excuse to perform agni pravesh so that no lecherous person would dare point a finger at her in future. Even the shlokas say he did it so that no one would suspect his wife’s character. And before you say Shri Ram was “saving face”, one of his plus points as mentioned is that he doesn’t lie throughout the entire story, so think again. Y’all really think he spent the entire story worrying for her safety only to insult her in the end?

You think Seeta would have anyone humiliate her once and give them a chance for a second humiliation? Ohhh you dead wrong!

Second occasion: Shree Raghuvar sending Maa Sita to exile, which is a very infamously known interpolation denounced by many. So he only “insulted” her once and that too in a staged act. One of the shlokas he uses to coax his peers after agni pariksha is that a woman like her can never be denounced by him, and like I said, he never lies, sooo…… :P

Shree Ram decietfully killed Bali because Bali was a foe who could not be fought face to face? Do you even Know the story of Bali? Do you know he was such a bad guy he literally took his brother’s wife like she was property? Ugh, I can’t.

Guru Drona didn’t accept Eklavya not because he was “Tribal”, but because he had promised his loyalty to the Bharatvansh Clan. Had even Shree Krishna gone to him asking for training, he would have refused. Eklavya’s tribal background was never discussed in this context.

(Also sidenote to my followers but isn’t it funny how despite Eklavya having to lose his thumb Guru Drona’s boon to Arjun wasn’t fulfilled because he still couldn’t surpass Bhagwaan Ramchandra as the greatest bowman? Khaya piya kuchh nahi, paap sar chadhaya barah aana XD)

I mean, God really out to set a limit to hypocrisy now because the more I see these people the more I disagree with Modiji ki Hypocrisy ki seema hai. Agar hai bhi to ye namune kaise long jump krke laanhg rhe h unhe, oof.

#haye ram #Kya log hai #hindublr #hinduphobia #anti hinduphobia #ramayan #shri ram #ram #maa sita #mahabharata #mahabharat #eklavya #shree krishna #ravan

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brightwingedbat · 2 years ago

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Since gw2 doesn't really provide them, what if there were class questline with mentors etc. Who would your Charr's mentor be? would they be a mentor themselves? what plot do they get entangled in because of trying to learn the techniques

Since my charr all have different ages and experiences, it's hard to think of a mentor as a class questline. I imagine as charr, they've already had class training in fahrar likely from their primuses. So instead I'll expand on how my charr specialise later on. Nastazya's specialisation into Berserker is a self-learned one. The more she put her anger into her Warrior fighting style, the more it just became natural, and she could concentrate her rage into pure power. She learned to fully use it during the battles against Mordrem. I do however headcanon that she got some fighting lessons from General Almorra in her time as a Vigil Warmaster, that would have been key in her learning control. Marcus was a warrior at first, until leaping into the Mists rift with Rytlock. He learned the ways of a Revenant with him, except he invoked Kalla rather than Glint. Glint would ultimately be the 'mentor' in this case, while Kalla's invocation teaches him shortbow abilities. Chip becomes a Mechanist over many years, being partnered with an asuran Magister called Blinnk. Together they start experimenting with race-hybrid tech, creating a battle golem with a fusion of asura and charr technology. They would continue to work on it and upgrade until EoD, where they get their hands on Jade Tech. Chip and Blinnk are sort of a dual-mentor where they teach and learn from each other. Bonus: Chip was inspired by his Iron Legion mother Raeve Gorehorn, she likely tutored him some around the time he left fahrar, though she sadly fell to Kralkatorrik's branding when he'd barely been out a year. Tantalus learned deftness while working with machinery in Iron Legion, a quick eye, a firm reflex. It lended well to a thief's combat style, with pistols being his personal choice. Up until he gets punished by the legions and escapes, he learns the way of the Daredevil under Thiefmaster Slade of the guild he joins. Then after getting more taste of blood, eventually uses the shadow magic he learned in the guild along with his Iron Legion rifle prowess to act as a Deadeye. Thiefmaster Slade would end up being his 'mentor.' Deadeye is self-taught.

Cali would have been taught necromancy by her Ash primus, with a focus on using minions and magic. She was always quiet and distant, so the primus felt it would fit her. Eventually she would learn about 'Harbingers' while studying in the Priory for knowledge, and given her twin brother Chip was also there using pistols and a golem, she wanted to give it a try too. Another case of self-taught, but by intensive study.

#gw2 #charr #guild wars 2 #Nastazya Ragewelder #Marcus Furyclash #Chip Ironwelder #Tantalus Locksmith #Calypso Fellstalk

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scribesofcalamity · 3 years ago

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as a fellow Rama lover gimmie ❝ when your eyes are on me, i feel like something worth seeing. ❞ for Rama and Calytrix!! :D

Thank you for the prompt! Here's a mushy confession scene lol 💜

Rama fidgeted in his seat at the club. It has been several months since the commander had asked him to escort a Scribes guild member into Cantha, for “public relations’ work. “Take good care of her…also, she’s a bit famous, so be on guard.” He had not expected the lavender beauty that stepped through the asura gate and greeted him with a stunning smile. “You must be Rama! My name is Calytrix.”

Since then, he had been her escort and guard to various performances and events between his cases. She was wonderful at PR, and had certainly caught the heart of the Canthan Public. Many had approached and professed their love to the beautiful idol, which has given him a good chuckle at first. After a while however, he realized that he couldn’t pull his eyes away from her. Her laugh and smile made him feel giddy inside. Her requests for an escort put him in a wonderful mood and often times she had invited him just to keep her company for shopping ,or time spent one on one. He had to admit, he felt a bit special to her, and was slowly realizing that he felt more for the idol than he had originally thought.

A few days ago, however, he had walked into the apartment Calytrix had been renting for her time in Cantha, and was met by an obnoxiously giant bouquet of roses and posies, along with other smaller, but just as gaudy, gift boxes that lined the floor “Oh, Rama!” Eunome, the guild’s tailor, poked her head out the doorway to the hall. “I was just finishing up some measurements…what do you think of this? Some noble sent it. He’s been bombarding Calytrix with gifts and letters the past few days, we’ve been stuffing them into the corners at this point.” Rama grimaced, a nagging heat filling his chest as he glared at the scene. Sephtis popped past Eunome, carrying the asura’s tailor boxes. The grey sylvari smirked at Rama. “I think someone should step it into gear, before all these suitors wear her down.” Eunome coughed harshly at Sephtis’ words as she dragged her case towards the door, before suddenly stopping by Rama. “Just a small word of advice…she likes honeysuckle. And pearls.” ‘And lilies!” Sephtis called from outside. “Yes, those too!” The small asura then dodged out the front door, quickly closing it, and leaving Rama to process what they had just prompted him to do. Had it been so obvious all this time?

And so now, a week later, after much thought and inner turmoil over his fully realized feelings, Rama sat nervously in the club as Calytrix swayed upon the stage. Yao had helped him find a florist who could meet those arrangements, and now a small bouquet of honeysuckles and lilies delicately wrapped in a string of pearls sat on the seat next to him.

The music ended before he knew it, and Calytrix made her way off the stage to greet fans as Rama moved to wait by the door, clutching the flowers behind his back. She finally approached with a soft smile. “Thank you for waiting for me.” He nodded, and they moved outside into the night. He stopped as they were crossing a nearby bridge, the moon reflected onto the water as petals spiraled down from nearby trees. It was a beautiful and serene scene, but as Calytrix turned to question why he had stopped, he could not imagine anything more gorgeous than the sylvari who stood before him.

She tilted her head questioningly and moved back towards him. “Rama?” He gritted his teeth before speaking. “Calytrix,I…We’ve spent a lot of time together since you came here…whenever I see you, I feel like the stress of everything is just lifted off my shoulders. Your voice, your touch, they’re all incomparable gifts that I barely felt I have deserved. Before I realized it, you have become the most important person in my heart. I wanted to share that with you…and maybe share so much more together, if you’ll accept me...” He slowly held out the flowers, the moonlight glinting off the pearl strands as silence enveloped them.

Rama’s heart sank as Calytrix stared at the bouquet in his hands ,her eyes widening, as tears pricked at their edges. “What was I thinking? She must get this treatment from so many people, and is probably upset that I’ve turned out to be just like all the rest…” His hand dropped as he started to move the flowers away from her.

“I’m sorry Calytrix…I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I know you’ve been dealing with that noble…I understand if you’d like to change your escort for your performances-“ Rama was beginning to panic.

“No, you don’t understand!” The words burst from Calytrix’s mouth, as she grabbed at the flowers, catching his hand with it. “I’m so happy..” Rama froze as Calytrix looked up into his face. ”I..I was soundless before! The guild helped me find my voice and my own sound. I’ve performed in front of so many, and met many who have professed their ‘love’ for me…But it’s not the same!” The sylvari songtress was blushing furiously, her glow bright across her cheeks. “There’s still so much I don’t know about the world, and myself… but the time we’ve spent together… when your eyes are on me, I feel like something worth seeing! No one has ever made me feel that way. I never imagined you’d really feel the same. Sharing my future with you…is the best dream I could be granted.”

A wave of relief washed over the both of them as Rama leaned down and pulled her in, and the pair shared their first kiss together on under a warm, summer moon.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #gw2 fanfiction #detective rama #calytrix #Rama x Calytrix #sylvari #my characters #my art #my writing

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skaald-of-the-hearth-fires · 7 months ago

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Ok well - there were FIVE YEARS between the book and the game, so that's where that difference came from, and it's why that fits their game roles so well. They ARE shining leaders and important people in their race - because they've risen to that over time. They ARE the best their race has to offer in the PS, and them coming together again is a HUGE signal to their homelands. But I don't think they ever would have if they'd started that way.

I meam, there is always, for all heroes and leaders, a time before that when they weren't. And that's all the book is, is the back-then of it.

The reason it's nobodies that fight dragons together and the reason that works? I think it's a commentary on how... well, at that time it wasn't NORMAL for the races to work together.

No self-respecting human would EVER work with a charr. No self-respecting charr would work with a human. Even then, at their lowest, Logan and Rytlock had a disdain for Caithe based on her youth, innocence, and the fact that she didn't communicate in a way they were used to - all racial traits (also traits commonly assigned to autistic people, cough cough).

Eir was LITERALLY EXILED for working with asura, and asura are famous for thinking anybody physically bigger than them must be intellectually smaller. (This is theory presented in asuran lectures and schools of thought without competition in asura level 30).

Absolutely nobody worth his/her salt in their culture would hang out with members of the opposite race. They were SO outcast from the start that they had no other choice or they wouldn't have, either. (With the exception of Caithe/sylvari.)

As the Pale Tree said in what I consider to be the game's defining mission statement, "with unity, many impossible things may be achieved."

Tyroa' problem in 1320 was that they didn't do that. Society COULDN'T do that. The only people who could were outliers, misfits, etc.

Destiny's Edge was pivotal because they showed the world that you COULD have interracial friendships, and moreover, that that was what led one to victory. That's one reason why the pit fights were so phenomenal - first it was a human, charr, and sylvari fighting together, but it was in LA where that sort of thing was normal. But their legend started there and grew with the addition of the norn and asura - the story of one team beating the other and then teaming up was amazing and spread like wildfire.

At the end, Jennah saw Logan turn a whole prison of charr into allies when they were short on troops, and after the battle pardoned all of them. They said, "who will even want to look at us? We've been fighting with HUMANS!" And Logan turned to them and said, "I've been fighting with a charr all year. Am I an outcast? Am I lonely? No. I am a hero. So will you."

THAT was the innovation of Destiny's Edge. Not how well they got along (which they did reasonably well before the breakup), not their personal legends. If they'd each had literally ANY other options they would never have teamed up, but they were SO down on their luck they had to. It wouldn't have WORKED if they'd already been heroes and leaders. Nothing would have.

Destiny's Edge BECAME heroes through grit and hard work, and showed the world that interracial friendships DO work, ARE valuable, and are in fact NECESSARY for Tyria's survival.

A whole Order, the Vigil, was founded in the wake of the legend of Destiny's Edge!

And from there the Commander shows up, five years later, as interracial acceptance becomes more normalized, etc. the ceasefire between humans and charr is a work-in-progress, so on and so forth, and the Commander builds on that. Jennah doesn't even have anything negative to say when the human player decides to join an order LED BY A CHARR. Because of the work of Destiny's Edge, the Commander is able to bring even more unity to Tyria, and by the time of S1, DW is willing to work together. Now THEY are ALSO down on their luck in their respective societies, but less so than DE was when they met. Progress!

Then of course in S2 it's STILL HARD to get the races LEADERS to agree to work together, but it is managed, and racial differences, while still present, stop being such a big deal.

Destiny's Edge started all that, and they HAD to be nobodies in order for it to have worked.

Sometimes it's a society's outcasts that can stand back and go, hm, you know, this doesn't really work. Maybe we can do something different. And they don't need to worry about losing social status or anything because they're already at the bottom of the barrel. They're free to dare because they have nothing to lose. That's DE.

Anyway I'll get off my soapbox now and respond to your other points :P

I really like the idea of making Logan and Braham different - logic vs emotion - that works really well, but I think they're both very emotional and tbh I think that's typical of guardians. It's more warriors that'd be logical I think. You can totally have both and Logan is both, for sure, but I like how we have multiple guardians in-game long-term to see how they're similar and how they're different. We don't really have that with any other profession (except maybe ranger with Eir and Rox? But with Eir being dead and Rox majorly a minor character tho, that doesn't work so well.)

Eir's legend being in decline IS noted in several places, but yeah its not nearly very readily apparent, especially in the norn story, I'll grant you that. Wolfborn always coming to her for help... XD. Maybe it's only a small subset of norn that lost respect or smth, and not like. All norn ever.

THEY NEEDED TO EXPLAIN A LOT OF THINGS BETTER YOURE RIGHT. Rytlock is mad? Kay why? I don't think even LOGAN understood why. And Rytlock did an AWFUL job communicating that to Logan even beforehand. "Okay you're an honorary brother of mine." If Logan was smarter he mighty have guessed that came with some implied responsibility or loyalty.

Logan says as he's leaving- "I swore an oath!"

Rytlock says - "yeah, to us!"

Logan never made a verbal oath to Rytlock. But him accepting the Blood Legion pendant? That was an oath as far as Rytlock was concerned, and Logan broke it that day.

Its a lovely example of cultural differences and I love it. I wonder how it would have gone if Logan HAD understood from the get-go.

And tbf Anet left the whole entire thing unexplained in-game 😭 even the whole "dungeons are optional!" Thing they had going like. What. No. Also I want more contact with my old mentors than that 😭😭

"the idea that they are the best each race has to offer, and they fall apart" Well that's why it didn't happen :P they'd fall apart :P also it'd be contrary to the rule of unity. When people come together, GOOD things happen. Not bad.

Rytlock NEEDED to do more growing alongside his friends. I appreciate him and Logan hanging out in Dragonfall, that was good for them. But still, more is always appreciated lol!!

Anyway.

I appreciate the long-winded discussions we get to have lol, I'm a big believer in people who disagree getting to talk and discuss our different perspectives! It's a great approach to fandom and idk why people get so mad abt disagreements lolz. I do think your thoughts on what would have been cool ARE cool, they just wouldn't have worked in thus particular setting with thus particular story Anet was telling. And hey!! Maybe at some point they WILL do a "best of each race gets together" and realize how different the races actually are and learn to APPRECIATE those differences. Probably not with the main cast lol, but at some point for sure.

Anet could have done SO much with the Destiny's Edge split-up. How to deal with toxic friendships, how to healthily respond to blame and guilt, how to distance yourself if necessary...

Not necessarily by PORTRAYING those things (DE is as dysfunctional as it gets), but by showing the opposite, the bad habits and thoughts we fall into.

The sheer contradiction of "I miss them but I'm glad they're gone."

Like those relationships were SO GOOD and then they got SO BAD and like. That should be talked about more.

Anyway there's another chapter of Reforging the Edge coming out today, so stay tuned!

#Gw2 #Guild wars 2 #Assurance #Charr #Human #Norn #Sylvari #Destiny's Edge #logan thackeray #tribune rytlock brimstone #caithe #Eir stealing #Zojja #Snaff

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soul-dwelling · 2 years ago

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If Soul Eater got canceled about the baba yaga saga and got like a year to wrap up (12 chapters), do you think Okhubo would have made something even worse received than the anime ending or would it have let him focus on the right things and wrap everything up without any stalling or new bullshit getting introduced and going nowhere?

Ah, this is an exciting question--thanks! This helps motivate some thinking and writing.

Short version: Given this is Ohkubo and his interests, I don't think he would focus on what I consider to be the "right" things. But yes, I do think, in just twelve chapters, he could have wrapped it up--and in a way that may have avoided problems that the anime's ending had, and without having to introduce too many ideas that go nowhere, or new characters that overwhelm the plot.

I don’t think what I’m going to offer is as helpful, though--because this exercise, trying to outline a post-Baba Yaga finale for Soul Eater in just 12 chapters was harder than I anticipated. It forces me to give more credit to Ohkubo and his editor(s)--but that doesn’t mean what they turned out was as good as I think it could have been, and that I don’t have some suggestions that may have improved the finale.

(This also forces me to give more credit to Horikoshi estimating he would wrap up My Hero Academia in about one year, or how delayed Sorachi was at finishing Gintama: I went in with a plan to get all of this done in twelve chapters, but as I kept outlining, I started wishing I had three or so more chapters.)

But as this is a hypothetical exercise, I have benefits Ohkubo does not. I’m working off of the work he already started. I’m not having to answer to editors, publishers, or even an audience--this is for me. And I get to basically “adapt” Ohkubo’s original final arcs, so I can introduce stuff as shorthand. In other words, I don’t have to show Kilik versus Medusa’s clown--but I can still have Kilik wielding the Pots and the Thompsons simultaneously to allude to that fight. I get my cake and can eat it, too.

So, I’ll put the rest of my remarks under “Read More” so that this looooooooooong post won’t overwhelm anyone’s dashboard.

While the Soul Eater Wiki ends the Baba Yaga arc at Chapter 62, I’m going in with this idea saying that the arc ends with Chapter 60--so that some details are pushed back to later. Chapter 60 ended with Maka killing Arachne and getting her soul for Soul, Medusa escaping, and Crona being revealed again. I think that’s enough of a cliffhanger to end that arc. Chapters 61 and 62 were the aftermath--stuff that I think could be part of the next 12 chapters (Soul actually becoming a Death Scythe, what Justin was really up to, Black Star’s recovery, what happened to Angela, the Thompsons asking Maka where Kid could be).

The only major new addition in Chapters 61 and 62 was introducing Noah’s gang, so that’ll be a challenge to re-work here. I would have loved to remove Noah--but we already had him kidnap Kid, so he has to be there.

That also means we’re getting rid of or having to drastically reduce the following arcs:

The Grigori Arc (Maka versus Gopher)

The Witch’s Research Arc (Team B and the Thompsons versus the Clown, Black Star and Tsubaki versus Crona)

The Salvage Arc (retrieving Kid, the Book of Eibon, Maka’s self-doubt and fighting Giriko, the end of Greed Noah)

The Mad Blood Arc (Maka and Soul learning what happened to Pushka and finding the Black Blood Bubbles)

The Hunt Arc (sky whales, locating Crona, preparing to go to the Moon)

The War on the Moon Arcs (two of them) and the Dark Side of the Moon Arc (the finale)

So the major plot beats we need to get something similar to the current ending are the following:

Medusa’s fate is revealed

Kid is rescued

Maka makes Soul into a Death Scythe

Kid becomes the new Lord Death

Crona’s fate is determined, emerging as a new Kishin and attempting to take out Asura

Speaking of Asura, we also have Noah trying to acquire Asura

And Asura is defeated or at least contained

I think we can actually pull off all of this in just twelve chapters--but not as well as I could if given more than twelve chapters. But that means we probably don’t get to introduce Gopher. And I don’t know how to pull off the “who was the ‘M’ who checked out the Book of Eibon?” storyline, because working through Maka’s responsibility and guilt is going to take a lot of time.

I also considered other ways to fit Noah into the arc. Maybe Noah is revealed to be working for Asura? That’s a little too clean--in that, we reduce any villain to “they work for Medusa,” “they work for Arachne,” or “they work for Asura.” But we’re now on a time crunch, and of those, I see it more likely Noah is working with Asura in this proposed story. And we already established Noah is just a collector of objects, so back-stabbing Asura to acquire him has to happen.

(This also means we will not explain that Noah is a creation of the Book and a tool of its Index. I’ll try not to plot anything that prevents that interpretation or back story, should there ever be prequel/sequel/more chapters to this hypothetical story. As well, Noah himself always struck me as someone who _thought_ he was autonomous, so it’s not as if you can’t write him in the story in a way that makes it believable that he _could_ be autonomous, even if we know he is actually just the Index’s pawn.)

Plus, I thought the manga had suggested Medusa and Noah were familiar with each other--and given where I think things will go in this story, Medusa and Noah would not get along in the final arc, so we’ll keep the Asura/Noah faction in conflict with the Medusa faction for this final arc. (This also could lead to a fun interaction between Medusa and Noah hinting at some previous rivalry--again, more content for the future should a prequel/sequel/more chapters came out of this hypothetical.)

I think we can keep Giriko around, perhaps as part of Asura’s army (I don’t see him working for Medusa, and Noah could recruit him into Asura’s army to avenge Arachne’s death at the hands of Medusa and the DWMA).

And we may have to change some things, due to lack of time or conflicting with the ending. For example, do we have Crona emerge as a potentially bigger threat than Asura, or have them saved earlier before fighting Asura? If Crona does become a threat, does that mean they killed Medusa, or is Medusa still around, whether as an ally to Asura or a third party in the fight between the DWMA and Asura’s army? If Kid is rescued too late in these last twelve chapters, is that really enough time to have him ascend to becoming the new Lord Death, and does that give him any time at all to see his father one last time before he dies?

And, unfortunately, given how rushed this all is, and the lack of payoff even the manga gave it, these twelve chapters don’t really establish Asura as Lord Death’s first kid. I think having Kid in these twelve chapters escaping the Book of Eibon and madness is enough of a trial for him; to then immediately follow that up with Asura revealing he is Lord Death’s other son, and putting that doubt into Kid all over again, is too much for just this one final arc. It is a shame, as this is a disservice to Kid’s progression, and doesn’t really tie up the end of Lord Death’s story, either, seeing as he pretty much is still going to die at the end of this arc. It also doesn’t help that I have Maka getting more of the self-doubt and focus of this final arc (maybe to make up for my decision not to adapt the Book of Eibon arc, which was really the last time Maka had to overcome self-doubt, so I had to put it here in these last twelve chapters instead…although, I don’t think I give much payoff to Maka’s guilt over Kid being kidnapped in part due to her actions).

Speaking of Kid, we do need more fight scenes to keep up the action in this action story--and I don’t want to lose Mad!Kid versus Black Star. So, we will have an off-panel story of Kid being brainwashed while in the Book of Eibon, emerging as “Mad Kid” under Asura’s influence, and he is turned loose by Noah to distract the DWMA long enough for Asura to wipe them all out. This is lazy on my part, as well as potentially disablist: it’s “Kid lost his mind while in the Book, now he’s the antagonist.” It’s as bad as Superman being the antagonist in the shitty Snyder/Whedon Justice League after being resurrected, and as bad as “now Superboy is an antagonist due to Phantom Zone disease in Young Justice.” So, again, this exercise makes me more sympathetic to how rough it is for Ohkubo or any comics creator to finish a story with only so many pages and so much time.

But that’s not to say that you shouldn’t rush some things. Then there are some details that I think would be better if they were rushed. For example, Maka made Soul into a Death Scythe…and then nothing much exciting happened after. Yes, they can fly now--but we can rush that so that, once Maka does fly with Soul, it’s a shock to the audience (think Hogarth’s shock when the Iron Giant starts flying). Yes, now Maka is better at sensing souls around the world--and then what? That’s kind of irrelevant in my story revision, as we’re going to skip to someone else just telling Lord Death that they located Asura on the Moon. If you keep building and building Maka and Soul’s power set up dramatically over twelve chapters instead of stretching it out over another 60 or so, maybe that heightens the energy. This means Soul probably doesn’t become a Death Scythe until into the middle of the final (Moon) arc.

Plus, I think revealing Justin as an Asura adherent could be more interesting if it was kept until the final arc. What if Justin shows up back at the DWMA after the Baba Yaga arc, we don’t have Marie and Stein back yet, Justin goes with the others to the Moon, the fight is going well for the DWMA against Asura, Justin shows up to deliver a final blow to Asura--and instead demolishes almost all of the DWMA’s forces? (This can have its own problems, though: you’d have so much exposition revealing how Justin was pulled into Asura’s sway, that he killed Joe Buttataki, and maybe that’s too much.) Now we have that victory gone, the only ones left are a handful of the students (hence emphasizing why it’s these kids saving the day--they are all that is left), and forces Lord Death’s hand to even cut a deal with the witches (hence why Eruka and Free join the fight) because he is that desperate? But even this kids-and-witches coalition is getting decimated--and that’s when Marie and Stein arrive, and Stein finally overcomes any stigma of madness to destroy Justin, Marie avenges Joe by stopping his murderer Justin, and we get catharsis.

But this is all a long disclaimer and prelude instead of just getting on with outlining these twelve chapters. So, how do we fit all of this into twelve chapters? Let’s see…

(I have never outlined a comic and its panels--as will be apparent--so I have zero idea how I would fit any of these proposals into about 20 pages of each chapter. Soul Eater chapters seemed to be under 20 pages in most cases, but also up to 30 towards the end. So, I’m averaging about 20 pages. I’ll do my best to imagine that you could pull this off in about 20 pages each.)

(That being said: I think I fit in the plot points I wanted to reach--but the pace is off. The victories keep switching back and forth with little build up or reason: how come Medusa was able to stop Giriko and Noah but get done in by Crona; how did Crona fail to absorb Asura; why didn’t Medusa plan for this?)

Chapter 1

For Chapter 1, I’ll give a page-by-page summary; this won’t happen for the later chapters, though.

Pages 1-2: Giriko wakes up in Baba Yaga Castle, horrified to see Arachne was killed.

Page 3: That is, until Noah appears, holding the Book of Eibon, with an offer to join “the winning team” and avenge Arachne.

Page 4: Elsewhere, at the DWMA, Lord Death is fretting over Kid’s kidnapping.

Pages 5-7: Then he gets an alert from Azusa and Sid: DWMA intelligence agents found something weird happening on the Moon, and it’s affecting things on Earth. We get a collage showing the effects of madness upsetting people around the world (yes, even those freaking sky whales if we really want to keep that plot detail)--including a familiar-looking man with a screw through his head.

Pages 8-12: Meanwhile, Maka finishes a fight against a target, retrieving their soul. That is number 96--they are so close to making Soul into a Death Scythe. Soul tells her she is overworking herself, but she points out that Black Star is still injured, so they are having to make up for a lack of other students working right now. And of course she is worried about Crona, but nothing she investigates has turned up anything. But Soul senses she’s feeling guilty about something else. Soul asks: “Is this about Kid?” She tries to dodge the question--and is saved by an alert call coming in from the DWMA to return immediately.

Pages 13-16: There is a piece of paper in the middle of a barren landscape--before Giriko is flung out of it. He is freaking out, saying he didn’t expect to be flung clear across the sky by some “thing.” Noah emerges through the paper before it lights on fire. He tells Giriko to calm down, as they have a meeting. It’s dark outside. The landscape is craggy and barren. They are led into a cave. Eyes are looking at them, before revealing they are clowns. Giriko is creeped out. Who is here to meet? Noah smiles, gesturing to a hulking figure in the shadows with three familiar eyes.

Pages 17-19: In the Death Room, Lord Death addresses remaining Death Scythes (Spirit, Tezca, Azusa) and some of his top students (Maka, Clay and Akane who Soul and Maka already recognize) to reveal what has been discovered…

Pages 20: Giriko is surprised to find in this cave Asura…and we pull out to reveal the Moon. Lord Death announces: “The Kishin is on the Moon.”

(Yes, this is all too fast to reveal where Asura is. No, I don’t explain how they found out Asura is up there. We’re moving along.)

Chapter 2

Page 1: We open with Black Star trying to get out of bed--before he’s forced down by Tsubaki and Naigus, explaining his injuries are too severe.

Pages 2-3: But Back Star insists he is ready to go--before something stabs him in the top of his head…a sword, held by Angela--at which point Black Star is freaking out and ready to throttle her. Tsubaki sighs, hoping that the others are safe on their way to the Moon…

Pages 4-8: We already see the DWMA blimp on its way to the Moon, piloted by Gen. Soul notices Maka is still dodgy about Kid. Clay tries to break the tension--only to be embarrassed by Akane. Others there include Kilik--and we get a gag that he is now a “Swiss Army meister,” as he is wielding not only the Pots but also the Thompsons. Kim is fretting that everyone else is sitting away from her thanks to being revealed as a witch--when Granny from the reception desk sits next to her, shocking Kim to learn she’s entering this fight, too.

Pages 9-10: Tezca is trying to make conversation with the other Death Scythes, saying it’s been so long since they were together. Pushka is exuberant. But Justin is just passively smiling, listening to his earbuds, not hearing a word.

Pages 11-13: Meanwhile, on the Moon, Asura’s forces are tracking the arrival of the blimp. Giriko asks why they don’t just shoot it out of the sky already. Noah says Asura is not at full power yet and requires more souls--and now a “meal” is being delivered to them. Noah also says he can sense Arachne’s soul in that blimp, having been consumed by Soul--so doesn’t Giriko want to get revenge on those brats, first? Giriko smiles madly at the thought of sawing through those little shits…

I’m sure more can happen here--but I’m struggling to imagine how to fill out the remaining seven pages. All I know is, by the time you get to the last page, the fight between Asura’s forces and the DWMA starts, with an immediately fatal encounter.

Chapter 3

Summary: The DWMA is making fast progress against Asura’s army. Asura is surprisingly knocked down quickly and easily. Justin goes in for the final blow--and instead wipes out almost all of the DWMA, including killing at least one Death Scythe. We end the chapter revealing that Justin’s allegiance is to the Kishin, as he takes on his Kishin worshipper look from the manga.

(I think there would be some exposition about Joe Buttataki, so that it’ll be easier to explain in the next chapter that he was killed by Justin.)

Chapter 4

Summary: The fight is not going well for Maka and company…and it only gets worse when Asura’s madness has attracted another duo--Medusa and Crona. And Medusa sics the possessed Crona against Maka…

(Maybe Maka is not handling the fight well, before she finally reveals something…only I don’t know how to give that much exposition about how Noah got the Book of Eibon that she checked out from the DWMA library with Spirit’s badge. Maybe we should just drop Maka worrying about Kid and act like Noah had the Book all along?)

More of the Moon battle will be in this chapter. Probably Kilik wielding all the weapons happens in this chapter. Maybe we have Tezca fighting Justin, trying to get through to him--only to die. Could we give Azusa more to do in this fight--or have her as the commander, given her vision ability? Maybe Azusa is about to order a retreat--when she is interrupted by an incoming call that someone is on her way to help. Azusa says, “I can’t believe--it’s you two?!”

Then a lightning bolt comes down, as Stein, wielding Marie, slams Justin to the ground. But Stein looks like he is under the sway of madness…

Back at the DWMA, Lord Death gets a report about Justin’s turn. This is not good. He is joined by Excalibur, who says he has a difficult choice to make. Lord Death agrees. He directs the infirmary to release its “patient,” before he makes another call, this time to the Witch Council.

Chapter 5

Summary: The fight is not going well for our heroes. Asura’s power has increased until characters are suffering from madness, with Soul’s chest wound aching, allowing Crona to strike Maka down.

But hope arrives when Black Star arrives on the scene.

(How did he get here so quickly? … *shrug* Maybe have Excalibur do it, only it was Tsubaki having to use him to open the fabric of reality, a la what Liz did in the Book of Eibon? Only even Tsubaki can barely handle it? It at least would give Tsubaki something to do.)

But Noah has a trick to reveal: he opens the Book of Eibon to revealed a possessed Kid, now suffering under madness.

Elsewhere, Stein and Marie manage to defeat Justin. I would have Marie transform back to human at one point in the fight to deliver a barehanded direct punch at Justin--only to have Stein complain, “Why do my weapons always insist on doing that?” (a throwback to when Spirit turned back to human to grab Medusa by the collar in the Kishin Revival Arc). Spirit doesn’t look pleased with the comparison.

Chapter 6

Most of this chapter is the fight between Black Star and Kid. It is going to be unfortunately rushed, though: Black Star defeats Kid, literally knocking the madness out of him.

Meanwhile, Medusa has left Crona to deal with Maka, as she turns her attention to Noah and Asura. She compliments the DWMA and Asura for weakening each other. Now she will claim the Kishin. Giriko tries to stop Medusa, only to be disabled easily. She spots Noah and has an interaction before ending him as well. She picks up the Book of Eibon and approaches the Kishin…

Chapter 7

And before Medusa can do anything, a blade stabs her from behind through the chest: Crona has turned on Medusa. Asura smiles, saying his fear is stronger than even her power. All this planning, and Medusa dies. How pathetic.

But Asura is stunned when Medusa just smiles and says that was her plan all along: why wouldn’t someone be willing to risk entering Lord Death’s own school and risk death--if death was not what she was waiting for all this time? Crona is her greatest creation, a power that will plunge the world into madness, all part of her grand experiment to see how fall this world will fall.

With her last embers of life, Medusa gives a wicked grin at Asura, her only regret that she’ll never get to see how this ends. With Medusa’s body destroyed and her soul remaining, Crona, still under the sway of madness, has Ragnarok eat that witch soul--transforming the two into a horrifying version of a Death Scythe. We end the chapter with Asura shaken, admitting that this is truly frightening. All of the survivors of the DWMA can only look on from a far distance, as Crona’s horrific form grows more gigantic and powerful.

Chapter 8

Kid is already back on his feet, ready to fight. He and Black Star retrieve Soul and Maka--the latter falling into the despair of fear. Soul shouts for Maka to snap out of it--but she shouts back that they are in over their head on this one. Kid begins to try to talk Maka out of her despair, trying to reason with her, while Tsubaki and the Thompsons try various pep talks (maybe even a silly gag of Patty somehow having cheerleader pom-poms to cheer Maka on)--before something just knocks Maka across the Moon. Kid, Tsubaki, the Thompsons, and Soul look in disbelief (think “shocked Pikachu face” reaction) as Black Star has knocked Maka clear across the Moon.

After our team catches up to where Black Star knocked Maka (with Tsubaki glaring at Black Star, and Black Star having a giant bump on his head from where she slapped him), Black Star shouts that he was able to get back on his feet, and he doesn’t work with weaklings who can’t handle themselves in a fight. So, is Maka weak, or is she going to get up?! Maka lies on the ground before realizing how foolish she has been. We see her get back onto her feet, holding a hand out to Soul.

In between Kid and Black Star finding Maka, and the first pep talk and Black Star’s punch, and Maka getting back on her feet, we see the rest of the battle--including the DWMA getting an assist from, of all places, the Witch Council, with Free and Eruka along for the ride.

Chapter 9

Despite the arrival of the witches, though, both Crona and Asura are too powerful--and the two of them are more than a match for each other, while the DWMA are just caught in the crossfire of their attacks. We get some more devastating attacks, maybe fatalities of main and supporting characters we know (or just something less consequential, like Sid losing more of his body).

The DWMA is out of fighters, so who do they have left? The kids--as Team B steps up…only for a gag when Team A with Maka lands in front of them, robbing Ox of his spotlight. The adults are less than convinced they have a chance. That’s when Maka reveals something in her hand: along the way, she fought off enough of Asura’s followers, all on Lord Death’s kill list. And with that, Soul transforms. We end this chapter revealing the newest Death Scythe, Soul Eater.

Chapter 10

In this battle, Maka and the others are attacking Asura. We still get some cool moments--including Black Star swallowing and vomiting back the laser.

But, to Maka’s detriment, her focus on containing Asura is leaving herself open to Crona’s attacks. She pleads with Crona to wake up, but nothing is working. Crona does seem to hesitate, though--and that’s the opening Asura, who has been on the ropes, needed. As a wave of regret washes over Crona--betraying Marie, the DWMA, and now killing their mother--Asura is able to absorb Crona, getting enough of a power boost to repel the students. Crona is gone.

And Maka, even armed with Soul, is horrified--before Asura uses this new form to stab Maka through the chest.

Chapter 11

This chapter is pretty much the same as Chapter 112. Maybe we emphasize Asura’s confidence he has won--only to hear Maka’s mad laughter. Now with Soul’s new Death Scythe form, he has command over the Black Blood, forming Maka’s dress and then her entrance into Asura’s body. We keep the same interaction with Crona. Maybe we keep that the Book of Eibon still has Brew in it, and Crona absorbed the Book along with Medusa’s soul, so we keep Crona using Brew to take over the Moon? Or maybe we free Crona? I don’t know.

(I also toyed with Soul not becoming a Death Scythe until Maka is forced to kill Crona, thereby absorbing the last soul they need to make Soul a Death Scythe--but that seemed too grim.)

Meanwhile, Kid connects the Lines of Sanzu to give Maka enough cover--and that’s how Lord Death ends up dying in this arc.

Chapter 12

This chapter pretty much unfolds the same as Chapter 113--give or take what had to change given what wasn’t included in these twelve chapters (no Gopher, for example) and what suits my own tastes (e.g., we’re skipping the fanservice call backs).

There’s a lot that I don’t like about this draft. It is rushed. Angela and the larger witch community don’t get much to do, and neither does Team B. But this is twelve chapters, and it’s not the worst thing I’ve written.

My Concluding Remarks

And this was a fun exercise--so, thanks for this thought-provoking question!

#soul eater #atsushi ohkubo #long post #manga rewrite

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