#it was the part where Aurene “dies”

[wilsons-journey]

Every Monday I play Guild Wars 2 with two friends,... and it's a hilarious, chaotic mess.

And each of us has a Faren-Mini. We also renamed our Group chat to "Farens PantieSimps". It's so stupid - I love it.

But I have to ask,... why does this game has THREE different Faren Minis in Pants?!

[gristlegrinder]

part of what makes IBS so fascinating to me is its position both within the world of Tyria and the story it was trying to tell, and the larger metatextual circumstances surrounding its development. because, like, The Icebrood Saga is a story that's, IMO, largely about placing individual actions in complex systems of power, and what happens when those systems begin to unravel.

-> Can you help us deal with Bangar? Aurene: He's a part of a larger web. Strands connecting to strands. Cut one out and nothing changes, not really. Aurene: It's hard to explain. But seeing how those strands connect... Taking one life won't solve your problems. (x)

so, like, you have Ryland, who talks about "playing his cards right" but has really been dealt a bad hand from the start and can only keep playing bad cards - the one decent play he gets in Turnabout to try and get out of the game gets interrupted by an arrogant bastard killing Cinder, and it's downhill from there. it's not necessarily that it was always going to end the way it did with him, but you're fighting an uphill battle against his upbringing, against his relationship with Bangar, against all cultural context. he insists that Jormag didn't coerce him into anything, and that's true; he ends up as Jormag's champion because, at least from Ryland's perspective, there's really no other option by the time he has the bow in his paws.

likewise, you have Braham, wrestling with being the norn of prophecy, slowly (slower if Champions didn't have to be rushed out of the door, I imagine) coming to terms with what exactly that means. he knows from the beginning that either Jormag dies, or he dies. he knows this, and knows that it's always going to end one way or the other. the prophecy unfurls, and Jormag awakens, and it becomes more and more obvious how it's supposed to go. He bonds with Primordus, because there's really no other option by the time Jormag is threatening to freeze the world ten times over to ice their brother out of existence. and sure, it might still destroy him even if Jormag doesn't kill him, but he doesn't get the luxury of thinking about that.

and then you have the Commander, who should be in control of the narrative, because in-universe they're the Commander and out-of-universe they're the player character, but there are multiple points where that agency is taken away from you - Smodur bombs the bunker and interrupts your negotiation, Ryland puts a bullet through Smodur's skull. you're always going to try and save the farm, but not every problem has an easy solution. the Legions are built on centuries of war and violence and hypervigilance against external threats; Bangar is not an isolated bad actor but a product of that system, and the gears of the war machine churn on both sides of Drizzlewood. you (and Aurene) are largely an audience to the family tragedy - tragedies, plural, both the relationships between Rytlock/Crecia/Ryland and Jormag/Primordus - as they break down.

"The Balance" isn't sustainable in its current state, but there isn't really a good alternative at this point. you can't back down when you're three dragons in (we tried that after Mordremoth, and Balthazar wouldn't have it and Kralkatorrik couldn't stomach it), and Jormag and Primordus (mostly Jormag) are threatening to escalate as the encroaching void eats away at them both. there's this real sense that they just have to make the best of a bad situation, and hope that the damage is minimal. the universe itself is on a cresting wave and it's about to crash, heading into End of Dragons.

so you have all of that, and it's also the chapter of GW2 where the developers are hit with major studio-disrupting internal problems and a fucking global lockdown. your story gets interrupted, there's not much you can do about it, but you have to keep going and make the best of it, even when the fate of arenanet itself seems uncertain.

what happens in the aftermath, after the dragonstorm clears?

[soulbeastdragon]

Pretty much all my Sylvari excluding my "alternate timeline" ones.

Brief descriptions for each under the cut.

Roaj/Dreamvoid Roaj - any gender and/or pronoun others perceive them as The Pact Commander. Both screenshots are the same person; Roaj's appearance changed after getting juiced up during Heart of Thorns. They almost got blighted into a Mordrem but got rescued by Aurenthir and Malyck. They died during Path of Fire and the Commander mantle went to both to Rensai (a Human dude) and Lyikera.

Lyikera - genderless | she/her Mordremoth's dormant Scion who awakened when Mordremoth was defeated and all that dragon magic went into her pod (and in Glint's egg) inside Tarir. She became soul-bound to Aurene when they both hatched/awakened together in the egg chamber. Lyikera and Aurene consider each other sisters.

Daybloom Ceara - female | she/her My Scarlet Briar toon. In my story, she is the older podtwin to Aurnethir. In the main timeline, she follows canon story and dies. In my "blighted" timeline, Aurenthir kinda "resurrects" her through Watchwork parts and Asuran (later Canthan) technology.

Aurenthir - male | he/him My Dreamless Sylvari. He and his podtwin were severed from the Dream when they awakened. The reason for this was never explained to him and he went through his early Sapling days lamenting the fact he couldn't connect with his own kin. Aurenthir's timeline splits depending if he was caught and experimented on by Vorpp's krewe. In the main timeline, Aurenthir was caught and that leads to the present day Aurenthir where he's helping the Pact and ex-Mordrem and became a dad figure to Aurene and Lyikera. In the alternate timeline, he wasn't caught and became Mordremoth's Herald.

Dreamless Malyck - male | he/him My Malyck clone who gets to adventure with Aurenthir in my story. He's a wanderer after helping with taking down Modremoth.

Warden Iredyne - male | he/him A Warden Captain of the Grove who was in charge of protecting the Hamlet of Annwen. He used to negotiate for the release of Dreamers from the Nightmare Court, or just cut down the Courtiers on his patrols. One negotiation went afoul and he was captured by Ardjin's krewe and experimented on. Iredyne was spliced with his fern hound and became something that can take on the forms of a Sylvari (with fern hound features such as ears and a tail), a huge fern hound (think of that Alpha Nightmare Hound in Caledon), and a bipedal werebeast known as a lykos.

Warden Kehydin - male | he/him The podtwin to Iredyne. Kehydin admired his brother and supported him. Iredyne was considered killed in action and that event caused Kehydin to turn to the Nightmare Court. He originally went into the Court to seek revenge, but eventually the Nightmare warped his mind and he became known as the Knight of Mutilations.

Mender Vyranaveld - male | he/him Vy was a meek and kind Mender of the Grove. He only wanted to help others, healing their wounds and soothing pains. He was apprenticed under Lanisera (he viewed her as a mother) and had a very promising future. Unfortunately, 1 too many bad events would happen and he'd fall to Nightmare and later became known as the Count of Pains.

Pale Reaver Gaelan - male | he/him Gaelan was a Warden Captain who helped Caithe mentor and train sapling Roaj. His dearheart was Aevynna. He became a Pale Reaver when Trahearne recommended he join the fight against Zhaitan. Gaelan would die when Mordremoth brought down the Pact Fleet.

Warden Aevynna - female | she/her Aevynna was Gaelan's Dearheart and a fellow Warden. She helped Caithe mentor and train sapling Roaj. Aevynna would also join the Pale Reavers with Gaelan. During Heart of Thorns, she watched Gaelan die and this broke her. She would be seen throughout the jungle and in Bloodstone Fen, crazed with Bloodstone magic and consuming Bloodstone Rubies.

Resiloro - male | he/him My Arizona Tea Can Priory Scribe. He was sorta a journalist, following the Pact and writing down the events in order to preserve history. He was good friends with Sieran and an apprentice to Magister Luura. He might be the lead for SotO storyline, I'm still working on that.

Duke Caderyn - male | he/him My Cadeyrn clone. He had a very small part in my story and then follows through canon story. I feel so bad for this dude, honestly. He just gets killed by the Player with no fanfare, and most of the time Players don't even know he started up the Nightmare Court. He was overshadowed by Faolain -.- Anyway in my story, he was Aurenthir's first lover that didn't last long lol

Lanisera - female | she/her Lani was a Secondborn Sylvari who idolized Faolain. Lani would follow Faolain, becoming one of Faolain's first Duchesses within the Court. Lani would disguise herself as a mentor of the Grove, scouting for potential or unsure Dreamers to persuade into the Court. She was a big believer in coaxing Dreamers rather than kidnapping and torturing them to join the Nightmare (my headcanon is the more unhinged Courtiers were ones forced into the Court while Courtiers who seem more leveled joined willingly). After HoT, Lani would restructure the Court with Duchess Chrysanthea.

Deturavil - male | he/him Deturavil was known as the Duke of Hounds as he was a Kennelmaster in the Court. He and Lani had a thing for a bit, but due to throwing her "son" Vyranaveld into the dog pits, that strained their relationship and eventually they "took a break" and never got back together again. Deturavil was the Duke overseeing the Courts in Brisban and he was also responsible for allying with the Inquest and the Bandits there.

Pale Reaver Solaria - female | she/her Solaria had a dearheart named Lunaria. Lunaria was captured by Ardjin's krewe and experimented on. Lunaria was turned into a Mist creature that escaped and returned to Solaria. Solaria left the Pale Reavers to join Lunaria in the Mists since Lunaria couldn't last long out of it.

Relmsi - female | she/her Relmsi is a Sylvari who awakened after Mordremoth's defeat. She's got less connection to the Dream and doesn't uphold the tenants of Ventari. She's a free spirit who loves adventures and sex. She's a treasure hunter and is often hired by the Priory or rich nobles to seek out and retrieve rare relics.

Albestrom Velis - male | he/him He was supposed to be a Mordrem before Zhaitan's magic gave Mordremoth Death magic, so Albestrom doesn't have the "undead" design mixed with plant. He's just all plant infused with ley-line energy. I typically call him the "pure" Mordrem haha

Remic Keeneye - female | she/her Remic is my Tengu based on a Secretary Bird. She's an avid krait-killer. She was befriended by Aurenthir and Ceara, and she still keeps in touch with Aurenthir years later.

Asterlisia - genderless | she/her or they/them My Mist Dragon that was ripped outta the Mists and plopped into Tyria when Kralkatorrik ripped through the Mists. She didn't really have a physical form when she was place in Tyria and her magic took up Kralkatorrik's magic and Brand to build a body for herself.

Saladbowld - male | he/him my joke toon who was a Caladbolg gijinka that I got too attached to. Now he's known as The Drowned Reaper and has a whole backstory connecting to the Mad Realm. He's also my main Fractal toon.

Daydreamer Ilyona - genderless | she/her or they/them An Aspect of the Pale Tree, Ilyona protects and guides new Dreamers before they awaken into Tyria. She's guarded the Dream from Mordremoth's influence, up until the Shadow of the Dragon attacked. She did her best to keep the Dream safe, but the attack left her (along with the rest of the Pale Tree) very weak and the only thing she could do was close the path to awakening.

Belavalla - genderless | she/her or they/them Belavalla is another Aspect of the Pale Tree. She guides dead Sylvari back to the Dream.

Granddad Mordremoth - genderless | he/him My Mordremoth toon. I just use him for Dragonstand and he takes selfies of himself u.u

[i-mybrunettelady]

commander week day 4 - elder dragon

like mother, like daughter. set during icebrood saga. commander: alysannyra ainsaph.

It’s cold in the Eye of the North. Cold, sad, lonely; there are people around, Pact and its allies doing their jobs, and Nyra desperately wishes she could join them, organize them. Yet she can’t. Trahearne’s suggestion - and plea, because she doesn’t take orders - at least until the dust after her murder attempt at Phlunt dies down. 

People are scared of her. Part of her is flattered, another terrified of this. She wants to be a figure of inspiration, not fear. There was a time where she wanted to be a role model for the younger people who would want to be heroes. She’s too old and too jaded for the brunt of such fantasies now. She’s seen the reality of this choice of hers too closely to look away. 

She’s also not really in the right headspace. There’s a handy little term for this - mental breakdown, as it were - and the general advice is to just sit back, be useless and a recovering cryptid for a little while before going back into the whole war business. She’s hard pressed to admit this, but as much as she doesn’t know what to do with herself, she does need this break. It lets her go and see her daughter again, perched on her crystalized rock. 

And maybe she’s been a bad mother for actually not being… a mother. Then again, there’s no blueprint for raising an Elder Dragon. 

Aurene’s lost in thought when Nyra comes out of her little, cavernous room carved in the wall. Her clawed paw gently glides over the Scrying Pool in a rhythmic motion. It’s been getting harder and harder to tell whether she’s asleep or not, but Nyra can hazard a guess. 

Aurene, she calls out mentally. Are you awake? 

Aurene’s eyes open wide. “I do not need sleep in the same way I did when I was a hatchling, Nyra.” 

“Yeah,” Nyra says aloud. Her throat feels tight. “You’re not a kid anymore. You are a proper Elder Dragon now.”

“I am,” Aurene echoes. Nyra’s hands drop to her sides. She watches the Pool and the reflection shows her new, pale eyes, devoid of emotion. Yet her heart feels heavy and pulled in so many directions. No wonder people are scared. She pulls the furs tighter around her shoulders. 

“Any news of Jormag?” Nyra asks. “Nobody’s telling me anything, and as the Commander, I should be in the know.” 

“There is none,” Aurene replies serenely. “May I be honest?” 

“Yeah, sure.” 

“Nobody is telling you anything because you are in the know. You know everything they do. You are simply bored and have time to be introspective, which does not seem to suit you nor is something you particularly wish to do at the moment.” 

Nyra lifts her head and frowns. “Stop reading my mind, Aurene. Or I’m sending you to your room. No Elder Dragon friends for a week.” 

Aurene’s laugh echoes in the shrine. “Are you lonely, mother?” 

Mother. That is a rather strange term. And Aurene is using it snarkily. It makes Nyra feel old, somehow. She grumbles and deflates. “I suppose I am,” she says cautiously. “Trahearne is off replacing me and while I am proud to watch him be in charge again, I feel..” She kicks the ground beneath her boot. “I feel left behind.” She spits on the ground. 

“You are not. You are simply taking a breather. You are simply recovering.” 

“I know. Feelings do not make facts.” Nyra walks over to where Aurene is perched and climbs over her tail to reach that one place beneath Aurene’s belly. Her shoulder aches as she settles on a woolen blanket there and she groans. “I hate it here.” Her head hurts and her eyes prickle with tears all of a sudden. “I fucking hate it here, you know?” 

“I know,” Aurene says soothingly, and splashes some water with her giant foot in Nyra’s face. Nyra chokes out a laugh. “You are not crying anymore, Nyra. That is good.” 

“Last thing I need is a fucking cold, Aurene,” Nyra shakes her head. 

“There is something you can dry on. And remember, you are not left behind, you are simply recuperating.” 

Nyra lays down and digs her face in the blanket. It’s going to be a long, long night. 

[ohpollenpowder]

2024's faces! So let's take a closer look! As before, the name, race, and profession in the ALT descriptions.

Row 1, left to right: Niven the Anemone, a Sylvari Guardian, was made on the new year pretty much! He's attached to the RErolled universe as the former Commander who "died" trying to save Trahearne from Mordremoth's corruption. In reality... Trahearne died and left Niven in his body as Mordremoth severed the connection to his own as it died. So Niven became stuck as Marshal Trahearne and is now following his Dream Lady Love around as she takes over Commander. And no, he's not sure how to tell anyone this information. He has a suspicion that Aurene knows...

Mottut is an Asuran Engineer who is part of Five Commanders universe and takes the place as Oiba's older brother who went to the Inquest. He's still in the Inquest at this time. He's very good at pulling out information, through torture or other spy appropriate means. Infiltration is what he does best, his Engineering abilities help him get in to a lot of places. I think the eventual plan for him should be Scrapper at first for story's sake but once Kantha happens, he's gonna find a way to get a Mech for himself. Watch.

Ysvelta the Loved is our resident NPC Sylvari Mesmer love. I love her character design, honestly, which is why she's made her presence known for a third time in my line up. But honestly, she never really seems to stay long. I never reach for her...

Row 2, left to right: Diânthus is the typical Sylvari Necromancer who looks like a Mesmer. Other than that, we don't really have much of a story built up for her. I might try tossing her into another Universe, see how she'll stack up with them. Maybe hand her to Oighrig's Universe... She could be someone trying to wiggle her way into becoming his apprentice, could be someone trying to help him with Trahearne...

Godrig Ringedpyre is another Five Commanders insert! He's Tarsicia's father from Flame Legion who protected her from becoming a tool in their plans. I'm wondering when to put him back in story and have him meet her again. Maybe put him somewhere in Elona storyline, I'd say she meets him in the Mists in the "we're dead" scene after Balthazar but I think it's Emrys I have dying for that. But I think he'll meet them in Elona... Maybe actually Dragonfall!

Malena Shadowmaker is our lone Norn, she's a Mesmer who was born out of an older idea I had. Of a Mesmer powerful enough that she's created full-blown illusions that everyone can interact with and almost have a life of their own. No one questions them, no one knows if they're based off real people or just figments of her imagination born out of the trauma that triggered her magic. Again, past that I don't have much planned for her story...

Row 3, left to right: Crystaled Caladbolg, a Sylvari Revenant, is fashioned after the idea of Aurene influencing Caladbolg's reforging. I'm still not 100% happy with how they've turned out but given the skins I have available...this is the best I could come up with.

Monet di Rota, another loner, Human Necromancer, was put into the Konu universe where she's horribly fond of Shiori and loves to annoy the hell out of Ryon. You could probably almost equate it to—and part of me hates using this analogy because I hate the "type"-ing—playground flirting. I like you so Imma be mean to you kind of deal. But she's also a self-taught Necromancer who's an assassin by night and librarian by day.

Void Caladbolg is the last of the Swords for now, another Sylvari Revenant. Not 100% happy with their design either in the sense that the colors are hard to get the way that I want to mimic the Void weapons that we'd been given. But again, given what we have, I feel content that I've done the best I could.

Row 4, left to right: Whiltiernä is the last insert to the Five Commanders Universe (for now) and gives them their last "counterpart". Technically you could say the twins don't have one but they're also two people. So each race now has two! Anyway. Right now she's mostly tormenting Emrys because he can't tell if he's seeing things or not since no one else in the Guild has seen her. But I have a plan to have her introduce herself to them eventually in another outfit when we get to the Ward. And since he only has seen her with the hood/mask on, he doesn't really know what her face looks like.

Keeper Colwyn is a...reincarnation??? I guess one could say he's a uh...former version of himself? I can't recall if I ever chose a class that he had before he died and became a Revenant. Maybe he was a Ranger. But he's one now!

Out of last year's list, we lost: Fiszél, The Ever Given, and Edgelady Vineflower

[saberwitch]

Commander Week, Day 7: Aurene

(This is going to be a bit of a departure from the ongoing saga of Captain Elliss and her little Commander problem. I've been wanting to address part of the in-game story that I felt was a bit lacking. Hubris, I know, but I'll explain. CW: mild spoilers for PoF under the cut.)

[When Vlast dies, the Commander gets a brief call from Taimi telling them that Aurene is freaking out. After some back and forth, it's determined that Aurene is grieving. I thought that, after doing all the bonding exercises, the Commander would want to rush to Aurene's side to comfort her. The game had other ideas. The Commander basically says "well I've got some errands to run" and Taimi says "okay well me and Caithe will just leave Aurene alone until she calms down".

What? No! I MUST COMFORT MY SAD GIANT LIZARD BABY

I went to the egg chamber but as far as the game was concerned, none of that had happened, and Aurene just wanted to play catch (this is when I took the screencap above). Since then I've been thinking about how that moment would have played out, if the Commander had gone back to comfort Aurene when she was grieving, and this is the result.]

x x x x x x x x x

"Aurene!" Saskia called as her boots slammed into golden tiles. She could hear the dragon's keening wail, somewhere above. Her chest burned as she ran, vaulting up the steps in threes and fours, making her way to the center of the chamber. The shards of the egg still sat there in the hollow where it had rested before the hatching, little glimmers of discarded crystal catching the light.

"Aurene!" Saskia called again. She looked up, holding her arms high.

A swoosh and a single snap of wings was all the warning she got. Several hundred pounds of crystal dragon collided with her, knocking the wind out of her. She tasted metal as she bit her tongue.

She hit the ground, golden bricks doing very little to cushion her fall. There was a crack, and a searing blast of pain coursed through her right arm up to her shoulder.

Images assaulted her mind, juxtaposed over her own memories of the event. The jarring space between them made her queasy.

She saw golden crystal spears raining from the sky. She saw Vlast, coiling and writhing as he tried to fly away. She heard him scream, and she heard Aurene scream, in her mind and right next to her head.

Aurene rolled into her chest, one wing slapping her side hard enough to bruise. The crystal outcroppings along the dragon's spine dug into her sternum, but she lifted her free arm and swung it up under Aurene's foreleg, clutching her close. She pinned the dragon's flailing tail under her knee. Aurene keened, loud enough to make Saskia's teeth ache.

"I'm here, Aurene. I'm here."

Saskia rocked, trying to soothe the dragon. She had a sudden vivid memory of herself: barely eleven years old, holding and rocking Ruenar, her little sister, in much the same way. It was just after Saskia had told her that their mother wasn't ever coming back.

"You won't leave?" Ruenar had begged through her sobs. "Please don't leave."

"I'm here," Saskia had said then, and she hadn't.

She held Aurene, and rocked, and made soothing nonsense sounds. Her arm underneath Aurene's side had long since gone numb, which was a small mercy. It still throbbed with hot, dull pain, but she could push through it. For Aurene.

A while after the dragon had stilled, Saskia looked up to see Caithe stepping out of a slice of shadow. The Sylvari knelt nearby, not close.

"Is she all right?"

"No," Saskia said. "She just lost her brother. They were linked. It will take her time to heal."

Caithe nodded, once.

"You?"

Saskia felt her lips tighten. She understood why Caithe had done what she's done, but Saskia needed time too. Some wounds took a long time to close.

But it was not the time to poke at that scar. Aurene needed their help. Saskia could set aside that hurt for now. There was another, somewhat more pressing.

"I think my arm's broken," she said, gritting her teeth.

"Shall I move her?"

Saskia groaned and pressed her forehead to Aurene's cool scales.

"Not yet," she said. "She needs to rest. I'll be fine."

Caithe stood.

"I'll bring you something for the pain, if you'll allow me."

Saskia looked up at her. The Sylvari was hard to read, but her actions had proven her will.

"Thank you," she said. It probably wasn't as much as Caithe deserved, but it was all Saskia could give her in that moment. The Sylvari nodded, and disappeared in a wreath of shadow.

The dragon whimpered, shifting against her. She winced at the surge of pain, but stilled herself.

"I'm here," she whispered again. "Aurene. I'm so, so sorry."

The dragon was still for some time. Then, softly, tentatively, she touched Saskia's mind. Showed Saskia an image of herself, arms up, calling her name. And then a small, shattered crystal heart.

"I know," Saskia said. "That's how I feel too. I didn't get to know him well, but he was very brave."

Aurene sighed and pushed herself up, padding in a circle and turning to face Saskia. She wrapped her tail around herself and hung her head.

Saskia managed to get herself into a sitting position, cradling her useless arm in her lap. Aurene nudged her in the chest, making a small sad noise.

"It will be fine," Saskia said. "I'll heal."

She'd heard those words too often lately.

Aurene nudged her again, then licked at her arm. Gentle as she was able, but her tongue was still two feet of solid muscle. Saskia tried to hold herself still.

"Gaah!" she blurted as her arm was engulfed in slivers of crystalline pain. She stared down at it as facets and planes shimmered over her skin, scintillating with reflected gold. They tightened around her arm, and she ground out a groan as they seemed to sink into her skin.

And then, nothing. She lifted her arm, wiggling her fingers. No pain. She could still see faint shimmers across her skin as she turned her arm in the light. She looked at Aurene.

"You can heal?" she asked. Then, "you can heal!"

She realized what she was saying. Held out her arms, both of them, and Aurene settled her massive head on Saskia's knee. Saskia wrapped herself around it, pressing her cheek to the dragon's forehead.

"You can heal," she murmured, and Aurene chirped. It was a sad, feeble chirp, but it was there. Saskia smiled and hugged her fiercely.

[icebrooding]

Random thoughts but Mabon's death kind of reminds me of Vlast's in some ways. The yearning of losing something you never really had to begin with.

I wanted to know Vlast, and every moment leading up to meeting him had me excited and bouncing on my seat going 'I want to know Aurene's big brother! I want to know this cool dragon keeping these people safe!', and then I met him... for all of five seconds, as he died for us. And then it was this, almost empty feeling of going around and collecting his memories and discovering his suffering and his feelings, and just furthering this longing of 'I wanted to know him'. Every moment I learned more of him, I wanted it more and more.

And Mabon's death kind of fills me with the same longing, but in a very different way. Vlast was alone and lived an unhappy life, and part of wanting to know him was wishing I had been able to do for him what I did for Aurene. Mabon was surrounded by loved ones, and lived a happy life in spite of his regrets and doubts of his past.

But like Vlast died for us, Mabon sacrificed himself to save Lyhr, cutting his story just as short.

And you're in a very similar place, picking up 'memories' and finding out a lot more about him than you'd gotten to know from him when he was alive or able to talk with you. You know especially that he cares strongly for people who are displaced or outcast, because it shows through the people you talk to in the wake of his death who are devastated by his loss; these are almost all people who had nothing left or believed they could never have a place to truly call home or fit in again.

It makes me wish I could've gotten to know him better, without threats lingering over our heads. In Wildflowers, Kaushue remarks how he wished he had someone to guide him in the way Mabon had for others as purposeless as he felt after the fall of the Elder Dragons.

I wanted to know Vlast before his death so that I could have hopefully provided the love, socialisation, and companionship he needed to not fall into the kind of cynical despair that he did from feeling trapped by responsibility and legacy. I wanted to know Mabon before his death because I wanted my Commander to have someone who understood the weight on his shoulders and could lead him on where he should go, what should he do, when his life's purpose has reached its 'end'.

I just wish SotO had gotten a decently longer runtime to truly convey the feeling of 'losing what you never had' in the same way/to the same extent that I felt with Vlast's death. I'm just kinda rambling but I just, I love this game, I could ramble forever abt how the story/characters make me feel.

[knight-of-the-thorn]

1, 4, and 10 for the Commander love interest asks!

@mystery-salad

Sorry this took a bit I got stuck in wvw did you know experience boosters help with reward track gain I didn't

1. Who are they and what's their dynamic with the commander?

Arceidai's romantic interest is Theitia. Theitia had the same wyld hunt as Arc, and the two of them fought the shadow of the dragon in the dream together. They both trained under Caithe at first, they were best friends and practically inseparable, but Arc didn't necessarily pay as much heed to the dangers of their hunt as Theitia did. Where Arc cared about it a great deal, Theitia was hesitant. She was scared. So she ran. Faolain found her, took her in as an apprentice and pitted her against Arc as a way to get under Caithe's skin. The two had a really intense rivalry for a while, but it was honestly more like a game to them. Until Arc left to become the commander. Fortunately two of them would reunite once again. Unfortunately this was because Theitia was turned into a Mordrem and was hunting them down through Auric basin. They took her back to the silverwastes and the two begain the long journey of trying to trust each other again.

No one knows Arc like Tia, and no one knows Tia like Arc. The two of them are incredibly codependent and have, on multiple occasions, threatened to/actually proceeded to tear apart the world in order to get the other back. As they have been more open about the fact that they're in love the shit that they have pulled to make sure they are never seperated has got increasingly more insane. There's two Arceidais now because Theitia refused to let them die. There's an alternate timeline where Arc held an entire elder dragon in their brain and tried to sacrifice their live so she could live and never have to be under someone elses control.

Also an important part of their relationship is the constant monologuing.

4. What was their initial opinion of the commander? Has that changed at all?

Theitia has known Arceidai her entire life, and when they were young she took the fact that they would always be around, and that she'd always be their first priority. They would always be following her around like a lost puppy, and she got very used to that. She thought that they were entertaining, when they weren't being gloomy and serious or desperate to impress Caithe. There was a bit of a competitive element to their friendship sometimes, especially after she joined the nightmare court, and she did think that she was smarter than them, but that they were smarter than most of the other people around them, if niave and airheaded. When they left for the priory it completely threw her for a loop. Until that point, the idea that thet would do that was completely unthinkable and she hadn't really realized how much they meant to her. She definitely tried to underplay how much that hurt, and how much she wanted them back.

Both of them have grown up quite a lot. She definitely sees them in a way that she never did before. She has lost them too many times to take them for granted anymore, and while she still thinks they can be an idiot sometimes, she also views them as more of an equal and a partner.

10. Are there any events in the story that happen differently because of/to/involving them?

Oh boy, a couple ones! Knight of the thorn is the main one! Because if Arc had taken caladbolg it would gave fucking destroyed them, she took it in their stead. Of course there's the auric basin portion of the story where Arc is not only being hunted by every mordrem in the area but one very specific mordrem. Theitia acts as one of Faolain’s champions in Twilight Arbor at which point she realises that she joined a cult. She also did fully cremate their body after Balthazar killed them so Joko could not get them under any circumstance so they took much longer to come back to life than normal.

Around the middle of season 3, Arc and Tia almost kidnapped Aurene and ran away to start a new life. They didn't, but they got pretty far into planning it before deciding against this.

[commanderteag]

Live Laugh Love Commander Teaghuee<3

Who despite being my main i haven't rambled about tbh haven't rambled at all about any of my characters so- Here's me taking to the chance to talk about Teag!

So! Teaghuee is my main and my commander. They follow the main story with a few small details changed. So Their story starts in 1320 basically before Teaghuee joined any of the orders they thought it too soon and they hadnt fully come to understand their own mesmer magic. So Trahearne basically took the sapling under his wing and taught them about Tryia History and Orr while the learned more about mesmer magic! The became close and had a very much brotherly bond! Trahearne brought them to Claw Island where they met Miren and Tybalt who where bringing the same message of "this place is going to be attacked!!" Story continues as normal with Teaghuee and Trahearne following Miren to help out the order of whispers. Trahearne becomes Marshal per Miren's suggestion and then Teaghuee gets the commander title from Trahearne.

Next little things that I added was them looking for Caladbolg after Mordremoth. Teaghuee takes about 3ish months between 1328-1329 too get everything in order and try and grieve for their brother Trahearne. Here they find Miren who was lost in the jungle after failing to ignore Mordremoth. After a small awkward reunion they start travelling together as Miren tries to help Teaghuee with the grief and they get Caladbolg back. Next is their corruption and death! So Teaghuee as you can tell from the photo above changed a lot appearance wise. Now this all started when they died too Balthazar. When they came back the life essence that kept their body function just didnt come back only their soul did. Now the death magic they used to come back kept them going for a while. This came with the cost of their body losing it's bright blue colour turning them white/grey. Teaghuee hid this for as long as they could using the mesmer magic as this was all happening during the Balthazar Kralkatorrik and Joko war was happening. The mesmer magic spell they where using was broken by a worried Kas when everyone started noticing the commander slowly down and weakening just before the first fight with Kralk. By then they only had few small patches of blue remaining. They kept fighting on to the best of their ability. After Kralks defeat and Aurene reaches her final form? She connects with Teaghuee making their Scion and Champion bond closer so her magic replaces their life essence and now they basically run on dragon magic! Of course her magic had consequences too such as their crystal horns and the layer of crystal over their hands that made their claws. (I'm thinking maybe giving them something to do with wings but haven't gotten that figured out fully yet. Maybe when they get their full champion form in EOD they got wings and their body grew out the top of the wings and the bottom half was pure crystal and faded when they went back to normal so they also have top part of wings? but that might be too much...) and their pupils?/centre of their eyes went white. So this all happened over time as was finish after EOD ended! So yea! Then of course theres their awkward romace with Miren that happens over the course of the story and then gaining two sylvari twins that become more like their sons just before EOD too!

End of ramble for now! maybe I'll do lil head canons for my lil plants another time.

[mystery-salad]

I forgot 🏃 if you'd like to do some more emoji asks, 🍇🍉🍪🍻 fooor roeil and kai!

I am ALWAYS up for more asks never too late 💖

🍇: What sort of friend are they? Where are they in the group dynamic?

Roi's a bit rusty at friends right now! She's had plenty she's gotten along with, don't get me wrong, and she's handling being the new Pact Commander with a surprising level of grace, but this was hot on the heels of her being trapped alone in the fractals of the mists trying to endlessly save her dead girlfriend for upwards of 40 years. She hasn't exactly...had any normal interactions beyond trying to change fate on repeat. But hey, she's working on it and tries to speak up where she can tell there's room to talk within the team. At the very least she's filling the shoes of what was a pretty stoic Commander in the first place, so by comparison she seems pretty easy going. She's definitely just the new friend still, the one everyone's trying to get to know and feel out so they can find a good dynamic.

Kai is the tough love parent, she's a cantankerous, grumpy old lady. But she's also become pretty damn observant and tries to do right by her team. She won't give you a hug and a shoulder to cry on when you're upset, but she'll sit down with you one on one to just talk it out a bit. She isn't throwing drinks back at parties, but she's keeping an eye on everyone to make sure no one pulls something they'll regret. She's a solid, stable support beam among her friends.

🍉: Does your OC have a particular piece of jewellery that they always wear or refuse to part with?

Roi wears several earrings, always has. Have a few gotten torn out in battle? Sure! But she likes the look and can be a bit stubborn. As I'm sure you can tell, she likes to have control over things in her life.

Kai doesn't wear any jewelry. Gets in the way during battle, and when she was on the run she didn't want to keep anything that would make her easily identifiable in a crowd. Her coat pattern already does that for her plenty, being a golden tiger.

🍪: What is something that's sentimental to you OC?

Roi kept Suko's harp after she died...kept it on her through her years in the fractals, and still does now. She's pretty tone deaf herself, but just plucking a string occasionally...to keep Suko close... it's fortunate that one day she'll be able to reunite the two uvu

Kai doesn't have anything from her old warband life, doesn't want anything. No connection to those years. But she keeps something new now...a petal from caithe, from before she became branded by Aurene. A tiny mark of Caithe's old self. And a crystal flower that fell off her in her new form too. Just...little mementos of the woman she loves, and how she's changed and grown.

🍻: What's your OC's favourite comfort ritual? How do they calm themselves down after a rough day?

Roi has two options, depending on the kind of rough it was. If she's having trouble grounding herself, her mind pulling apart and drifting back to the mists, she goes to be around as many of the team as she can find in one place. Hear some voices that aren't her own echoing in her head, hold herself together and in the world of tyria so she doesn't accidentally fall back through a rift in her own mind. If she's just worn down though and still mentally in one piece? She takes some time alone with Suko's harp. Being as close to her old love as she can, pulling what off-key music she can from the strings. It's not like Suko plays it, but it's something...

Kai will curl up at home with Caithe! For so much of her life, she hasn't had a home, hasn't had someone to really trust and love. Having that reminder when she needs it is so gently comforting and soft. She's not alone and she's not on the run. She can just live a peaceful life if she ever chooses to. This is waiting for her at home any time.

[commanderhorncleaver]

If Gaius actually went apeshit, what would he be like? What would he do? What's a breaking thing that would absolutely make him just snap in purest fury?

a

I think the biggest thing to make Gaius snap is to really take away his faith a truly devastating series of unfortunate events/decisive swings. He's been knocked down, he's lost faith in the legions before, but to force that in rapid succession is to remove his will to fight for anything. If he's got nothing left to fight for except himself and some distant hope, then he's going to break.

He's been at varying stages that's put him close to it on several occasions, but as we know, Gaius doesn't really process his emotions great on a good day, so he's very good about just. "It's not that big a deal."

A broken Gaius is going to draw on whatever he can to raze everything around him and between himself and his goal. This, I imagine, is how he fight against Balthazar in order to protect Aurene--I think he died because in no small part, he was drawing on Balthazar's own magic, and well. One does not simply command a god's fire.

As an aside, I was chatting with Fregion the other day about an au where Gaius and Fregion are co-commanders, and Gaius would have been a Berserker, having never re-enlisted after losing his warband when he was 22, and his magic becoming a lot more volatile, to the point that he become prone to fits of violence. Works as a mercenary, favored by the Vigil. When he and Fregion get together, he begins using the other charr's Light to set himself on fire.

[archesa]

Oh no, good luck with your stomach flue ! Annnddd as for a toon : Galaëd !

(@dumb-dumb-mander)

Thanks a lot! ^^ Mainly tired this morning, but the rest has finally settled, so yay for that!! ^^

Here's some Galaëd facts for morale boost! 🍂💫Also tagging @kerra-and-company 💜

Galaëd

01. Full name: Galaëd of the Cycle of Dusk

02. Best friend: Rorschach Grimlaugh

03. Sexuality: Gay

04. Favorite color: Deep purple

05. Relationship status: Taken (by Canach)

06. Ideal mate: Valiant, understanding, resourceful, kind at heart, fun with a dash of chaotic energy

07. Turn-ons: strong shoulders and upper back, genuine kindness (the kind that just shines through the person... you wanna pinpoint the first drop, the exact moment Galaëd fell in love with Canach ? when he knelt before a wounded mordrem to talk to him... it was motivated by curiosity, yes, but there was genuine concern, gentleness there... Aaaand the point of no return, the 'Galaëd has fallen and can't get up' moment was during Bitter Harvest, when he was on the verge of falling, and Canach noticed... once again, concern, gentleness, understanding, and a hand offered in help... just kindness), sassy humour, well-intentioned chaos, Canach calling him 'Valiant' (if you have seen Princess Bride, you will know exactly where this is going : Canach first called him 'Valiant' as a stab, a mock honorific, almost a dare to Galaëd to flaunt his status as one of the few bestowed with a wyld-hunt, but as they learned to know each other, the word lost its bitterness, its edge. By the end of Maguuma it was a sincere compliment : 'valiant', 'brave', 'fierce', 'unbreakable'. And Galaëd only realised in Elona that when Canach called him 'Valiant', he meant something else entirely 🥰)

08. Favorite food: Anything with mango in it, mushroom clove steak, rosemary roasted chicken, and since he moved to Cantha he's discovered himself a fondness for raw fish - especially chirashi!

09. Crushes: Laranthir (never tell Dairban!), Canach

10. Favorite music: He likes the sound of lute, and anything festive!

11. Biggest fear: "That I would fail so grievously that I would lose the respect of my comrades and be dishonored." - He holds his friends, his guildmates in very high esteem and he's scared to be unworthy of them. This fear particularly resurfaces when Rorschach dies goes missing in action and the mantle of Commander befalls him. Their failure against Kralkatorikk and the death of Aurene brand him deeply - his worst fear is coming true, he was unworthy of his friends' trust, unworthy of leadership. Trahearne snaps him out of this before he can spiral too far, but it is a very trying experience for Galaëd - the one that convinces Canach to file an official leave request for him, for them to take a moment away from the Pact and from world-ending threats, if they ever survive the one at hand.

12. Biggest fantasy: As of 1335 AE, he's basically living his best life, so... That this bliss never ends! (see you all on the 28th February to see our twig's dream get ruined 😅)

13. Bad habits: He closes up like a clam when something's personally bothering him (which is strange because he can be very vocal when he notices something amiss on the field!) so it's good that his partner and closest friends are intuitive 😅

14. Biggest regret: The lives lost at Thunderhead Peak. He now knows the outcome they got was the best, but it is a failure on his part that he carries with him.

15. Best kept secrets: How fast he crushed on Canach. No, seriously. It's embarassing😅

16. Last thought: *spining in my head like rotisserie chicken* Galaëd with Astralaria, Galaëd with Astralaria, Galaëd with Astralaria 💫

17. Worst romantic experience: Getting irrationally jealous of Sayida when Canach spent a lot of time with her prior to their surprise departure for Cantha, and getting mercilessly teased about it by Rorschach and Jiirka!

18. Biggest insecurity: None, really... He knows his worth, and if he has his fair share of mental scars and traumas, he has recovered from the events of Thunderhead and fares relatively well!

19. Weapon of choice: He becomes the new bearer of Caladbolg after Trahearne's death, and alters it greatly in the process of his resurrection. He still wields the thorn to this day, but the flow of magic passed between the blade and its fernhound incarnation has the sword regularly and unpredictably shapeshift. so when the blade withers and he cannot use it as a greatsword, he unsheathes an ax. (The rapier he used to carry - the blade forged by Occam as a token of gratitude to the valiant who rescued him from the Nightmare Court and defeated the Green Knight, Bercilak - is now borne by Canach)

20. Role Model: Trahearne, Laranthir, Rorschach 💜

[herald-of-aurene]

Hi! Give me 4, 6, 12 and 15 for Spite!

Course!

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

Spite is my commander! She was really close to Rytlock and Eir right off the back. It took her a minute to get close to Caithe, but they got closer (probably I haven't done it personally yet) after Twilight Arbor. Logan and Spite never got close, but they highly respected each other. (I actually did this bc of how he doesn't talk to you in the Zhaitan fight)

Spite actually had a… complicated relationship with Trahearne at first. (Which was inspired by my changing emotions on him!)

At first, she thought he was charming, but lonely bc of his facts while your checking out Claw Island. Then after Tybalt died, she hated him and blamed him. After they took it back, she started to warm up to him. And by the time he makes the "I'm told star crossed lovers used to meet here" shes developed feeling for him. And by the time they cleansed Orr, they both kinda knew that the other had feeling, but it wants til after the Zhaitan fight they went on an official date.

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

Hmmm… I can imagine two different ones. In EoD I can see her having a heart event where you fish her up food for Aurene while she was still weak, and after completing the heart/event, there's an event where a leviathan appears and you help her kill it.

-OR-

While still in the Planes of Ashford, while shes still focused of the Ash legion, her heart would involve helping injured soldiers and killing ghosts. An even would spawn where you help her fight ghosts or snipe them from a cliff.

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

I mean, not in game but in character, yes! I imagine how she completed was a mix of her time in the order of whispers, and when she was with Aurene healing the damage that Kralkatoric had done.

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

Her favorite part of being the commander is probably everyone she's met. She's met her soulmate, her dragon-daughter, and so many other people dear to her.

Her least favorite part is the burden. The burden of the world on her, the burden of every mistake every death is on her. And the knowledge that, even after her death, her mistakes will continue to inspire people.

But she can't do anything else.

This is what she was made for.

[i-had-bucky]

GW2 Commander Week

Day 4: Elder Dragon

Commander Keres Mistcleaver

I experimented a bit with this one, but I hope you enjoy a little look at Keres over the years in the context of Elder Dragons.

The first time she saw Zhaitan, she was 18 years old, a Commander, and the whole Pact expected her to kill him. He’d been huge and grotesque, and she still had an acid burn on her shoulder where she hadn’t dodged fast enough. But she’d taken him down and turned 19 on the same day. 

19 years old and a Dragon Slayer. 

Mordremoth is vast. The jungle is terrifying and full of her people who need saving. The weight of the Pact falls uneasily across her shoulders. Destiny’s Edge missing. Trahearned taken. Their soldiers scattered. A stolen dragon egg she barely understands. Still, she takes a breath and ventures into the jungle. She fights and fights and fights. She leads what survivors she can to safety, watches Eir fall, saves Zojja and Logan though it feels so much like failure. She saves the egg; it changes her. She walks into the mind of an Elder Dragon and shatters it. She puts a sword through the heart of her best friend. 

21 years old. She walks out of the jungle hurting, aching, a Dragon Slayer once more. Yet. There is a light growing inside of her; a connection she barely understands. The Exalted call her Champion. She does not yet know what it means.

Kralkatorrik is crystal and earth. He is massive. But both she and Aurene have died and come back. Champion and Scion; Scion and Champion. This is what they are meant to do. She is both Slayer of Dragons and Dragon Champion. She hates Kralkatorrik because she will never be able to scrub the sight of Aurene’s branded, petrified body from her mind. But standing within the dragon’s heart, she cannot help but pity him. He is so full of pain and exhaustion, just like her. As he dies at last, she sets one paw on him and hopes he finds peace at last. 

25 years old. Dead. Reborn. Part of her still feels like she should have moved on. Part of her still feels stuck in the Mists. Aurene ascends—light and crystal; prismatic. The most beautiful sight she’s ever seen. Her brand is warm where it curls into missing horns and down into the deep, painful, pulling scar left by a god of war. She breathes deeply for what feels like the first time in years, tears dripping from newly-prismatic eyes. 

Jormag and Primordus should be nothing compared to what came before them. Jormag is nothing. But Primordus holds something precious in his lava-bound claws, and as both of them fall, Braham is her only thought. She is Slayer and Champion and Commander, but more than all of that, she is his. She digs through rock and fire and ice until she finds him, until he wheezes at her, until she makes him laugh through the tears running down his face.

27 years old. Exhausted, filthy; so relieved she cries with it. She still can’t say the words. 

Soo-Won is beautiful even in rage and madness. Mother of Dragons—something they share in common, for all that Aurene had not come from her. Something that Soo-Won acknowledges, when she asks her to protect Aurene, to look after her the way a mother ought. To let her go, when the time comes. Soo-Won is a lesson, hard-learned, that noble intentions can still end the world. That Aurene’s duty must come before her family. That she is, first and foremost, an Elder Dragon. Soo-Won fades, the time of the Dragons gone, until only one stands before them—light and crystal and a terrible sorrow winding through her. 

28 years old. Champion of the Prismatic Dragon. She is not ready to let her go.

[i-mybrunettelady]

Commander LI asks 6, 7, and 8!

-@knight-of-the-thorn

Trammander hours <3

6. Does/would being the commander's LI affect how they're treated?

Well, since Trahearne is as much of a public figure as Nyra is, it's not that big of a difference. I will say it did come to a conclusion of sorts in Icebrood Saga when Nyra had her big nervous breakdown and tried to kill Phlunt, so Trahearne had to step up in her stead for a while; before that, he mostly hid behind her, afraid he's gonna fuck up something again if left in charge (see Maguuma campaign) so people really did compare him to Nyra, slightly, but mostly to his old self. It helped that he had his siblings around this time (Aoife and Caithe, when she dropped by.) Overall, not a lot of changes to how he'd be treated otherwise!

7. What kind of dumb rumors pop up/would pop up about the relationship?

That Trahearne is in the process of converting to the faith of the human gods simply because he lives in DR with her now, for the most part. Nobody knows where that originates from, but he's confused every time before he calmly explains he's not a convert.

8. What does Aurene think about them, and vice versa?

He's Aurene's dad!! Aurene internalized all the messages Nyra was largely subconsciously putting into her when she was a baby, because Nyra was starting to think how she would've liked to start a family with Hearne had he lived, so when she first saw Trahearne, she went DAD!! and poor Hearne was confused as fuck but went along with it for long enough to become stupidly attached so now he's Aurene's dad and they're a family of people who all died and got resurrected. Noice. That's a first in history of Tyria, probably lmao

[glitchgw2]

(Disclaimer: I don't know what I'm doing because I don't know how love and relationships work. 👍 Also beware, walls of text incoming-)

Get you a wife (genderless) who reads about you in a book and suddenly appears in your life and projects beams into your mind that makes you marry them. <3

Meet Gliaster and Joko! <3

Gliaster did indeed first learn about Joko in a book after they graduated college and set out to seek the world for more knowledge about necromancy because they didn’t like the way asura taught it.

Fastforward, Gliaster enters Vabbi and immediately gets imprisoned (the people mustn’t know there’s more to the world, can they). Behind bars they spend a little time before Joko goes to see them in person because he’s curious and it’s love at first sight. For Gliaster at least. Joko is a bit shook about how an asura could eat an entire human skeleton to clench their hunger to care about his emotions- But he’s impressed by their eerie vibe and briefly presented necromancy skills and is in a good mood, so he spares them. And so into the Forbidden Vault Gliaster goes-

They start off as a harem servant maid outfit go brrrr but quickly wins over the lich’s heart even more with their rizz, and so Gliaster quickly finds themself by Joko’s side as his fwb necromancy pupil. But it quickly evolves from here. Mmm student x teacher trope...

IDK Gliaster just has a personality that's full of assertion and charm which gets them what they want and I guess Joko likes that or whatever. :D I just like my fav character and my blorbo standing next to each other with a heart above them, I've never thought I'd get this far-

Anyway they officially get together and eventually marry and Gliaster gets to be a specially treated little meow meow mary sue while also helping Joko spread propaganda and prosecute Sunspears and be his evil little gremlin, planning war crimes together with him. <3

This lasts for 10 years until the Commander and Aurene happens and not only Joko dies but a part of Gliaster too. They spend another 10 years just mourning him and writing books about him to preserve his memory and knowledge. They then try to become a lich too but the tome they used for that corrupts them and their morals switch 180 so while before they thought revenge against the commander was stupid, now they’re hellbent on it. They do a little destruction here and there but eventually somehow end up in a timeloop/fractal where they get to live those 10 years with Joko eternally; that’s why I depict them in their Joko era always. :D

And finally, here’s some cheesy art of them. It's not much, but it's honest work...

Hey GW2 community!

I want to hear about your OC x NPC ships.

Tell me how they met,how their relationship developed, how they interact, their tragedies and triumphs. Do they have any kids? Are they just starting their relationship? I want to hear literally everything 💙

Bonus points for sharing art of your ship!! 👀🥰