#I have so many asura and will likely end up with more later

[ratasum]

My curse is having become a big fan of asura. They're awful little gremlin sharkrats and I'd die for a lot of them.

[beaulesbian]

i'm caught up with end of wano, so here's some parallels from one piece that could be or don't have to be connected, but are still pretty cool.

long post ahead & wano spoilers

protecting new era:

rayleigh protecting zoro at sabaody from an attack by kizaru, ch 511

luffy protecting law from an attack by doflamingo, with same move as rayleigh above, dressrosa ch 782

at the end of wano, ch 1055, shanks telling ryokugyu a similar thing as rayleigh above ("don't pick the buds before they sprout. their era is only just the beginning"),

shanks "when the new shoots that just changed pirating history are exhausted, (..) are you that afraid of the new era?!"

---

zoro king of hell

same page as luffy protecting law - with haki clashing against doflamingo, the panels after that talking about supreme king haki - qualities of a king,. in this context for doflamingo, ch 782

at amazon lily ppl reacting to luffy using supreme king haki, while he doesn't know he just did, ch. 519. "that's the haki of the chosen ones' only one in millions has that spirit!"

vs, zoro unknowingly unleashing haki of supreme king for (possibly) the first time, ch 997

and later during his rooftop fight against kaido, (and still denies/ doesn't know what they're talking about, which is very interesting). ch 1010

then during his fight with King, unleashing haki, which makes others around fall unconscious (as mentioned above to doflamingo is a sign of supreme king haki), ch 1033

and some more chapters later, claiming the title of King of Hell (funny in this context it was told to doflamingo he was chosen by the heavens, and for zoro he became the king of hell. smth smth about the character work there).,

and as always - connected to luffy and his dreams!. ch 1036

then there's the asura figure surrounding zoro's powers,

and i find it so interesting that on wikipedia about asura (which zoro's sword and fighting styles are also based on with hindu and buddhist religions) is mentioned they're "considered enemy of the gods"

i like how it's the same phrase as we also heard in the manga before form law's flashbacks about corazon, ch 764

this is in the context of the people with the D. name, and then mostly used for law himself, and luffy and how far he's come to truly wreck the world government, as well as them being a threat to the celestial dragons.

luffy and nika:

from point above, i like how the "enemy of gods" being applied to people with the name D. is also interesting in the context of luffy awakening his devil fruit powers, which are named sun god nika. (i know that in the phrase "enemy of gods" mean gods as the celestial dragons, but it's still interesting)

which doesn't take away from luffy's character as i was a bit worried at first.

he's testing the new skills and powers, and he sees how he can reach the new limits he couldn't before. it might have been the devil fruit that chose who would eat it, but it's luffy and his dream that make the decisons., ch 1045

and ch 1049

luffy in ch 507 & 1053, his core ideals are still the same

---

not fighting someone

shanks not fighting the mountain bandits, and luffy not understanding it, ch 1

jaya arc, luffy and zoro not fighting against bellamy, and nami not understanding at first, ch 225

and ch 1054, momonosuke telling yamato not to fight the navy guy because he wants to be able to protect wano, and let yamato go to the seas as he wants to - it's just that similar energy that luffy has when he tells someone not to fight (or when to fight), without almost any explanations.

also loved this usopp moment!, - could be paralelled to his whole character arc. ch 1036.

he's so real for saying this to kin and kiku (and samurai in general). he's always scared and sometimes can be acting like a coward, but he always, always, stands up for his crew and fights to live through whatever hell luffy puts in front of them.

-- wano was so good and there are so many thoughts about one piece in my head now, about each of the characters and their development/meanings/themes! OTL

[melonteee]

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.

[shut-up-rabert]

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.

[wilsons-journey]

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,... )

[fire-dwelling]

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. 

[depressedhatakekakashi]

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)

[icebrooding]

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.”

[fireskarr]

Asura Appreciation Week - Day 3

DAY THREE - AUGUST 22nd Does your OC have a krewe? What do they specialize in? How do they get along with each other? @asura-appreciation-corner

A bit late with this one because y'know, new expansion launch and all. And I'm dumb and didn't prepare any of these posts in advance

The story of Tenakk's little band of misfits is going to be a bit of a long post.

So I'll start with the first three:

Tenakk Aside from the krewes he was a part of during college, Tenakk never really had a krewe of his own for a while. He was content to work alone most of the time, which was part of the reason he ended up joining the Durmand Priory later on. Aside from his research into destroyers, he was also a really talented artificer, which he used to earn a little extra income.

Milo Milo was raised by humans, and so his mannerisms and world view is quite different from the average asura. His first visit to Rata Sum didn't go so well, and he struggled to understand and fit into asuran society. This is where he met Tenakk for the first time, and they became good friends. What Milo lacks in fighting ability, he more than makes up for it with his talents in healing magic and crafting medicines. He is very sociable, and has many contacts from the medical work he carried out around Divinity's Reach. If Tenakk ever needs a particular item or information, Milo probably knows someone who can provide it.

Sparxxi A typical Dynamics student; she likes tinkering with machines, and creating gadgets to tinker with more machines. She used to be part of a krewe in Lion's Arch, creating festival decorations and organising fireworks displays. When Scarlet's attack on the city destroyed everything she knew, she was left sitting around in one of the refugee camps with no home or friends. She noticed Milo and Tenakk helping out some of the refugees, and she pretty much latched onto them, refusing to go until they gave her a job. Tenakk eventually relented and offered her a job as an assistant.

For a short time, the three of them worked together in Tenakk's workshop/makeshift lab. They didn't consider themselves an official krewe at the time, it was pretty much 'Tenakk and Friends' doing odd jobs and projects.

And then Sparxxi heard about the Pact forces mustering in the Silverwastes, preparing to go to war against an Elder Dragon. She really wanted to get a closer look at the airships, and ended up sneaking aboard one of them. Just before the fleet set off into Maguuma to fight Mordremoth. Oops.

About two years later, Tenakk recieved a letter from her which essentially read: "Hey I found these awesome Mists researchers, you should come join us! Also, I'm alive!"

Which leads us on to the next three:

Tenkatt One of Tenakk's best kept secrets is his failed experiment with the Infinity Ball; a device intended to show a glimpse of a possible future. But unbeknownst to him it did kind of work, and an alternate future version of himself materialised. But unlike the in-game story character of 'Grand High Sovereign', this alternate Tenakk has no desire to conquer the world, he just wants it to not fall into Void as a result of killing Elder Dragons. So it's safe to say he's not a fan of the Commander.

He stayed out of sight for a while, and joined up with the Aetherblades to poke around with their Mist portal technology. He had no interest in working for Scarlet, so when the 'Blades ended up trapped in the Mists after Scarlet's death, he took the first opportunity he could to steal one of their airships and escape the Mists long before the others figured out how to do it (he's done this before). Problem is, the portal he opened up just happened to lead right into the middle of the battle between Pact forces and the Mouth of Mordremoth in the jungle.

Here he crossed paths with Sparxxi, and her reaction was basically: "Wow, Tenakk has a twin brother!" She offered to fix up his airship and persuaded him not to go after the Commander. Many of the events he had witnessed were different from the ones he knew from his alternate reality, so he decided to stick around to see how things play out.

He and Tenakk often bicker about the best course of action, and he still doesn't agree they should be helping the Commander. The one thing they seem to agree on is that cats are great. And if anyone asks: they really are brothers.

Trellia Not actually an asura, but an inquisitive Mist creature that Tenkatt encountered while stuck in the Mists (if you're a GW1 fan, basically like Razah). Technically genderless, but has chosen to take the form of a female asura in an attempt to blend in. Trellia is a skilled Chronomancer, and also seems to have the ability to detect and manipulate some Mists-related anomalies without the need for technology.

Mellu (The hat isn't canon, it's just the best screenshot I have right now) Mellu is a seasoned Mist Warrior who seems to have lost all memory of her life outside the Mists. She often ventures out into the Mist War and returns with a variety of resources ranging from useful materials to odd/bizarre trinkets.

Special mention: Fluffy

Fluffy was adopted as an adorable griffon chick under threat by Icebrood monsters in the Shiverpeaks. He allows the krewe to go places where an airship would draw too much attention (or can't reach). He likes griffon races, fish, and Aurene.

**---The Moebius Krewe---**

(sometimes I call them the Infinity Krewe because I still can't decide)

Officially formed in 1331AE to track and deal with the rifts left by Kralkatorrik's rampage through the Mists, although they had been tracking other anomalies prior to that event. They often collaborate with the Commander to collect data and send help to citizens affected by creatures which have escaped from the Mists. I guess you could call them a first response & rescue team specialising in Mists-related events and disasters, though they often take on side-projects in general Mists research.

[wall-legion]

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."

[gglitchshit]

omg hi, I didn't know you before today but please give me as many of the numbers from the gw2 ask game for gliaster as you want. I am fascinated.

HIII finally after more than half a year. I am here. With all of the numbers. Thank you so much for the ask and the interest in my lil rat. 🥺❤

GW2 ASK MEME 3: Back and worse-er than ever (accepting still I guess. Just slow.)

Putting it under a readmore because. Long. (Also cw for some animal cruelty mentions, dark topics implication and the usual spoilers for LWS4E3 long live the lich~)

1.) Your character is now the leader of their species, whatever that looks like for them (Arcane Councilmember, Imperator, Royalty, etc). How do they govern and what sorts of changes would they make if any?

They would certainly reform education in some way. That's all I can think of rn... :')

2.) What class would your character just absolutely blow at?

(CW: Animal cruelty)

Ranger. They would use any and all animals they find/come across for some kind of fucked up experiment. None of them would stay alive.😞

3.) What person impacted them the most?

*Shows a picture of them surrounded by 500 Joko statues. Surprisingly.*

*Coughs* Anyway, yeah, the moment the asura first learned about Joko in a corner of a library, the impact was made. Gliaster cares about nothing but necromancy and seeing that there was this powerful lich out there was just the cataclysm of everything. Like a god. That man was so otherworldy for Gliaster in everything, even decades later they can't let go of him. Ever.

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

5.) What would they look like as the side character in someone else's story?

IDK I can only think of as a trope, like in general. Cuz yeah they're kind of a side character for Joko but it's Complicated.

Anyway, they would be the type of side character that's like always around in the background, kind of like as a running gag. Not even them personally always but like a picture of them. Just always there in the corner of your eyes... Always watching.....

6.) They're now a heart NPC/part of a string of quests. What does that involve?

Hhh I have way too many ideas for this. One that would be similar to the Vabbi heart at the Necropolis (Help the living and the dead at the Necropolis) with processing and honoring the dead but also one where they're in Tyria in disguise (they're a wanted criminal in there so gotta be careful lol) spreading Joko propaganda which would be just the opposite of a heart in Ebonhawke. 😭 (Help the people in Ebonhawke). I'm sooo original.

Something other I can think about is some generic asura stuff helping around the lab or with experiments, possibly again involving animal cruelty or even worse, but I already wrote a similar heart for Rikka. 😞

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

Ohhh boy yes they do. 😈 So, they're a necromancer, but with some sub-abilities similar to other classes/specializations' abilities.

For example they CAN "manifest sand shade" like an in-game scourge, but it's actually sand manipulation. They can use sand to lift or carry objects, for example caskets or even themself. They like to make themself taller this way hehe.

They can also summon fire in/around their left hand due to a Djinn's blessing, but can only use it as a light source and can't attack with it.

But most importantly, and also the most powerful of them all, they can manipulate other living beings' blood in their veins, essentially controlling them like puppets. This costs great energy though, so they only use it as a last resort. Later however, when they themself become a lich, this limitation ends and this becomes their main way of practicing necromancy.

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

They will literally commit murder for it so yes, very willing.

9.) What's an AU for them you think could be fun to explore?

I do have two AU ideas... one of them fun, one of them just fucked up (and fun. for me.)

The fun: Inquest AU sort of, but so far it's only in the Mists because Inquest member Gliaster is my WvW toon, and haven't really explored it much. Only fashion-wise. Yet.

The fucked up: An AU where Joko somehow has remains. For Gliaster to keep to themself and do whatever with it. And probably prevent any future tragedies that exist in their main verse because of this... :') Exploring dark/taboo sides of my OCs like my life depends on it...

10.) Would/does knowing their backstory change how people (in general but also Tyria at large) view them?

Probably not, it's not like they have a tragic backstory and that's why they are "evil", why they like necromancy or are siding with Joko. Even when they become a lich and seek revenge against Aurene and the Commander, their past doesn't really redeem them.

11.) How accurate is their reputation/image compared to how they really are?

Quite accurate. They don't really show a fake image and are very honest. Their reputation is basically "murderous traitor" in Tyria and "weird little cruel guy who's also Joko's lover" in Elona, so yep.

12.) Have they "completed" the map? What does that look like in your canon?

In-game they do have full map completion of core Tyria and every other map as well because they're my main and I do every story with them, but in canon... A bit of here and there in core Tyria. They used to have a travelling era before they permanently moved to Elona. But they surely have the Crystal Desert and Elona "completed." But they don't explore every tiny bit of areas like how it is done sometimes in-game to get map completion.

13.) What is the worst/funniest/dumbest article that could be written about them in Tyria's trashiest gossip mag?

In Tyria...some big dumb lie of how they betrayed and murdered the Priory excavation team on their way to Elona. People would blow it out of proportion for sure.

Then in Elona.....people would probably distastefully curious and disgusted about their sexual life with Joko.

14.) Biggest misconception about them?

Not quite a misconception but their looks are quite misleading; they're small and have quite a high pitched voice. Probably nobody would assume from first sight that this little creature tortures and murders people on the regular. First, for science/knowledge, then in Joko's name, and later, their own satisfaction.

15.) What is their favorite and least favorite part of being the commander (or whatever role they play in your canon)?

While they enjoy the privilege of being close to Joko, they also love the luxuries that come with it. What they don't like...hmmm...Head empty no thoughts, so nothing comes to mind, but might edit later if I think of something. :^D

[brightwingedbat]

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.

[tricos-here]

✈ 💯 🍎 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

[ohpollenpowder]

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.

[skaald-of-the-hearth-fires]

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"

[scribesofcalamity]

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.