#gw2 gyala delve

[lliribee-go-lightly]

thinking about gorrik's line in the gyala delve meta about how the haze is causing everyone to act antagonistic towards each other, and also the way rama and yao are so kind to him after he has his own haze hallucination experience. if we're going into the haze to get fed on and relive our worst memories, these audiologs of gorrik being supported while we're asked to go back (whoops! for the good of cantha commander!) are giving us the perfect ammunition to tear into him in a combined trauma response&haze triggered antagonism attack. which would likely result in the commander being even more alone and unsupported, as rama and yao would probably say hey what the Fuck commander, gorrik are you alright???

but i'm sure it's fine ah ha it's not like the commander is already exhausted and alone or anything ^-^

[scourgeblooms]

it's a pepa!!! for ellie @hawkepockets! brought to you by @gw2giftexchange!!

can't believe I got to draw this little 'sura. such a good design such a good story such a good face. I hope I did Pepa justice!

sketch, lines, and some closeups under the cut!!

[bluebudgie]

POV: You encounter a rat who can finally sip coffee at work.

[rata-novus]

soto started so strong and ended so. bland.

editing bc i actually really want to rant. hopefully mostly coherent rambles bc im going on like 5 hrs sleep lol

the base release was genuinely, while on the shorter end, good. interesting characters and intrigue, both from the kryptis and the (presumably skeevy) wizards/astral ward. fun lore collections. we learn about one of the astral ward who left, which shouldn’t be possible. the intrigue! (that’s never brought up again.....) the majority of zojja’s post-hot story was done thru text but it was!!! actually v good!! her ascension made me feel a mix of icky at her losing her memories and glad she found a new family - and then all that ~mystery~ and moral ambiguity surrounding the astral ward just *poof* gone.

the nayos patches started and we went from “fighting against the kryptis and also low key side eyeing the astral ward bc what they’re doing seems dubious at best and breaking some kind of moral law at worst” to “the kryptis are literally like any other group we’ve ever encountered and aren’t actually that bad and we need to overthrow their big bad the end”. oh and do about 5-10 events between story steps ty.

there were a lot of qol additions during the soto era, and i’m going to give the next xpac one more shot, but if its of the same calibre or worse (bc what’s going to be the big draw, theyve already pulled ledgy armor out of their back pocket), idk man. idk.

editing again bc i aint done lmao.

and eparch???? built up to be this terrible cannibalizing spider whom the rest of the kryptis wouldn’t dare to question (bc of the cannibalizing thing you see) and in actually he’s small with 2 lil toothpick legs and we fight him for a few minutes and he just. gives up and peitha assumes the role of king. okay. sure. whatever why not. but like..... no backstabbing? its really that simple?

sometimes..... at plot that’s straightforward. is worse. (bc its boring)

i literally could not tell you the story beats surrounding *looks @ wiki* labris, nephus, and the new kryptis general (?) at the end who isnt even on the wiki yet. what even happened? why add all these characters we’re supposed to respect and idk who they even are? build upon the new characters we already met in the base soto story. a small cast could have done wonders tbh. again: lost potential. what a mess.

[amelia-raiher]

Guild Wars 2 Gyala Delve Jade Pools

[talk-of-tyria]

Cantha - Gyala Delve - Luxon Terminus Fort Jade Brotherhood Miner: H-H-Hoon? Hoon, is that... Is that you? Jade Brotherhood Miner: You're not here. You can't be. Jade Brotherhood Miner: I saw you die. I watched you die. Jade Brotherhood Miner: Wake up. Wake up! I CAN'T WAKE UP! - Jade Brotherhood Miner: It's okay. I'm okay. Just tired. Seeing things. Jade Brotherhood Miner: Did what I had to do. It was hell in there. Had to get out. He understood that much. Jade Brotherhood Miner: The plan... It wasn't gonna work. It was too risky. They'd catch us. Both. Jade Brotherhood Miner: Wish there'd been another way. I couldn't go back. I couldn't! - Jade Brotherhood Miner: No. No! Leave me alone! LEAVE ME ALONE! You're dead! You died! Because of me! Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? Jade Brotherhood Miner: Thought they'd just haul you back. But they killed you. I KILLED YOU. And...and...I wasn't sorry. There. I said it. Jade Brotherhood Miner: I was losing my mind in there. Losing my mind! I'm losing my mind. You're dead. I lived. Didn't I? What is happening? Jade Brotherhood Miner: It was you or me! No choice! You'd have double-crossed me! You would've! Get away! LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU'RE DEAD!

[gears2gnomes]

The tunnel is no more.

[grasping-earth]

It is a masochistic urge but I kind of want to go back and play the original release of SotO again, because I remember feeling like it was thin and rushed at the time (if less so than what we got later), but it's been so long. But also I sympathise with the people sad that the GW2 tag is filled with more negativity, so I don't know if a critique is needed out there. But also I do think a lot of the problems I've experienced are rooted in the start, it's just even more frustrating that the stuff they introduced in rushed fashioned in original flavour SotO didn't even get to stay relevant for this season...

[moth-tea-merchant]

More lines from Rama in Gayla Dilf

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

every now and then I just get myself thinking about the different mirror reflection moments between Flourish and Regrowth AU, and the layers they both add to each other through fresh context.

in both AUs, Pirkko sustains a severe facial injury during the battle for Orr-- in Flourish it's on the right, and in Regrowth, the left.

however, in Regrowth she adamantly refuses to leave the battlefield in spite of her wound because she knows that the Pact has no substitute for her; if she falls back, they all get overrun. she keeps fighting and fighting until no Risen remain, and by then... the damage can't be repaired even by their finest menders. she loses her left eye, which is later replaced with a mechanical prototype implant. to the casual observer it looks like some sort of high-tech monocle, but no. she was just lucky to have such gifted doctors at her side.

in Flourish, though? when Pirkko tries to insist that they need her there, that she can't afford to pull out-- Saoirse and Ceara take the lead, reminding her that she doesn't have to take it all on alone. they're a team, and they have her back-- no matter what. they promise to hold the front while she gets medical attention... so she does.

as a result, her wound is actually repaired in time by the menders, and she doesn't lose her eye-- though she does have some visible scarring around it. at first Pirkko's a bit insecure about how noticeable it is, but with time... she comes to wear the scar proudly.

that battle was the conflict that cemented their roles as a team.

and that scar is a reminder of it; a lasting symbol of their unity.

but when you add the two together, that's where you get the full story of what this event is all about; in Regrowth, Pirkko shoulders every burden, every conflict, every battle, no matter how badly it damages her in the process. she hides her pain and buries it deep; the world needs her more than she needs it, she reasons. just as the 'monocle' hides the far more severe injury she sustained, Pirkko keeps her true nature that much more hidden-- not because she's ashamed of it, but because she doesn't want anyone to worry. she's the hero who protects Tyria, not the other way around. she'll keep going and going and going until she breaks, because no one else can.

but in Flourish there are others who can. she isn't alone. she doesn't have to shoulder all these burdens and struggles entirely on her own. that's the way it was meant to be, but Regrowth Pirkko will never know this. she has no idea that she wasn't built to withstand this much pressure, and no understanding for how badly it's breaking her. Flourish Pirkko wears this scar as a symbol because she's not afraid of who she is, and she's not afraid of the world seeing her, either. she's proud to have faced this much adversity and made it through.

in Flourish it's the first step towards their cohesion as a team.

but in Regrowth it's her first step towards closing everyone out.

[heydaniko]

Gyala Delve, Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons

[bigsnaff]

Honestly the only reason why I haven't written my commander's story this way is because I'm too much of a sap and too connected to part with her - but I do think that the true ending of Cyna's story that would make the most sense would be her leaving with Aurene during the EoD epilogue. This makes sense for Cyna because, in her actual canon, she was comatose for a year as a result of the sheer amount of energy she depleted and injuries she sustained during the battle with the Void and Soo-Won, and thus remained comatose roughly until the beginning of SotO when she awakened (which would be around the time that Aurene did leave).

If I had actually taken the other route, Aurene would've taken Cyna with her - the two slumbering side-by-side until Aurene's reawakening. Whether that be in a year or ten-thousand.

[bluebudgie]

So it turns out another character canonly has a mount now. But if the moa's already called Chickenado, what's the raptor's name supposed to be?

Bonus:

[praise-joko]

Congrats, random photobomber. You look amazing.

Couldn't pick, so have 3

[dorenarox]

EoD maps are Big Forest, Big City, and Big Lag-