#v: azeroth

[lightfaithed]

The Horde and the Alliance. Two factions, apparently not very fond of each other? Obi-Wan made sure to pick up every piece of information and stow it away for later. Silvermoon City. Lor'themar Theron. He soaked those words up like a sponge, even without knowing what exactly Baine was referring to.

Then lots of things happened, very fast. Before Obi-Wan could even start to explain where he came from, another person arrived. Not a Tauren, that much was obvious at first glace. At first he mistook her for a human woman, but then he noted the pointed tips of her ears and how elongated they were.

When reality tore apart before his eyes and the view to another place opened, Obi-Wan jumped up alarm. His had had darted to his lightsaber hilt, but everyone's calmness around him made him halt and observe. Whatever this was didn't seem to be dangerous. He was still not fond of the idea of entering through this rift, but before he knew it, he was in a large round city.

The Force here felt distant. It was still there, it permeated the air and the stone and the endless horizon of white fog that surrounded the city, but it was holding back. Made sure not to intrude. As if some other power ruled here and the Force was a very considerate guest.

The city's inhabitants were most curious. Some of them floated, some looked like massive armor having come to life, wielding equally massive axes and spears. Nobody here had a face. He followed the large Tauren chieftain and made sure not to ogle. Face or no, it was hardly polite. "Shadowlands does not sound very..welcoming," he mused.

A special someone who hasn't been seen on Azeroth for years..perhaps the dead? "Is this afterlife?" Obi-Wan asked baffled, having put two and two together.

Baine couldn't help but smile at Obi-Wan's gesture in respect. Upon hearing that the other man was curious about their culture and referring to Azeroth as a planet- he was correct, but Baine wasn't sure if he should disclose that Azeroth much more than a planet.

"You may call me Baine, Obi-wan. I apologize if I assumed you were a courier. Please allow me to explain. My kind belongs to a faction known as the Horde. My father was a beloved friend of our now former Warchief. The alliance is another such faction, mainly comprised of humans and other creatures on Azeroth." He stopped at a bigger tent and gestured inside before he stepped through before continuing,

"We are a more gentle race compared to our compatriots within the Horde. Take that as you will - a warning or merely an observation. But the Horde and Alliance have worked together on numerous occasions when our world was in danger of malevolent forces. I personally think you should visit Silvermoon City, I've only been there once when Lor'thermar invited me."

"Our land is very vast, and our main source of food is meat and fish. But we do have beverages from other places around Azeroth.

He made his way over to a small round table before sitting carefully so the chair wouldn't break under his weight. "I assume where you come from, you hunt for your food to stock on?" He asked, now very curious to learn more of where he is from as well.

"Tell me, where do you hail from? Certainly beyond Azeroth, that's for sure." He smiled softly.

Before more questions could be asked from the chieftain, a slender and slim looking elf slowly walked into view, and judging from the colors this person was wearing, it was someone else from the alliance. This female had white hair, blue eyes, and pale skin: someone whom he had last met in the shadowlands.

Baine stood and politely bowed. "Lady Windrunner, I trust you have faired well since last we spoke?" He observed before the younger woman walked up to the tauren and wearily eyed the human.

"Another courier?" She pondered out loud, only briefly taking note of the man's face, but she had business to attend to.

A portal opened in front of them that lead to a center ring of a city where a crowd gathered around another portal.

Two elves stood out in particular, night elves.

"Obi-wan, welcome to Oribos. It is one of the many places within the shadowlands. Everyone is already here to greet a special someone who hadn't been seen on Azeroth for years." He explained before he gently pushed his way through the crowd.

[lady-proudmoore]

cont from HERE

@cloakoflame

Jaina felt the phone buzz in her hand and looked down at the screen, reading the message quickly. Damn him.

Frowning, she furiously typed a reply.

[text]: You SHOULD be thinking of how it often leads you into further temptation, and how difficult overcoming temptation can be for you. That would really “tickle my fancy.”

Jaina tossed her phone in her purse and knocked on Kael’s door. She sighed at herself, wishing she’d arrived sooner.

[rkdvanguard]

Commission from a client that contacted me through email!

An armor innovation from there Inventor, in a Pathfinder game taking place in the fantastical world of Azeroth :V

[ohnoitstbskyen]

Building a Better Ashe

About a year ago I took a pass at redesigning Ashe the Frost Archer from League of Legends with the help of Ainsworth "Apple_Cork" Lin (https://www.instagram.com/apple_cork/ || https://linktr.ee/apple_cork) who I commissioned for the artwork.

We took Ashe through a number of ideations and various approaches to her character design, which you'll find below the Read More cutoff.

If you want to watch the video version of our design process (it's pretty good!) you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fi5fuv1nLs

Goals:

The goal was to create a version of Ashe that puts less priority of simply making her "appealing" or look pretty, and more on doing storytelling for the kind of role she plays in the story of the Freljord.

Ashe as she exists now is basically a riff on the Drow Ranger from Dota, complete with WarCraft 3 style Hot Elven Ranger getup. She's a queen of the frozen north, but she runs around in a miniskirt, thigh-highs and a paper-thin cloak because

this design was originally put together to be running around sunny Elven forests on Azeroth, and got interpolated through Dota into League of Legends without ever really reconsidering the concept

it was designed for League of Legends at a time when worldbuilding and character storytelling simply were not priorities in their character design - characters were broad recognizable fantasy archetypes being thrown together Smash Bros style for a fighting tournament

Late 2000s high fantasy character design in gaming had a default preference for Sexy Cleavage Babes for female character design that permeated the entire design space, especially at Blizzard, whose influence formed the basis for League of Legends

Over a decade later, Ashe has been fleshed out as much more of a real character, with a place and role in the world and cosmology of the Freljord far beyond her original archetype. Now she is specifically constructed as a counterpart to Lissandra's imperious, manipulative, sovereign mysticism and to Sejuani's martial brutality. The Avarosa are the only faction in the Freljord (and one of the very few in Runeterra) who argue explicitly for a softer life with less violence and struggle as the ideal. Ashe wants to reform and abolish the blood-soaked warrior culture of the Freljord and replace it with communal mutual aid and sharing, with tribes pooling their collective resources rather than relying on constant raiding and warfare. She's also a notable champion of the Hearthbound, the "normal" people of the Freljord who are not blessed with Iceborn blood or noble lineages.

The Avarosa have successfully recruited a huge swath of tribes to their cause, and through collaboration and a focus on agriculture and mutual protection have become the breadbasket of the Freljord, able to extend their political reach simply by offering new tribes access to reliable sources of food.

The power and rhetoric of the Avarosa thus rests on

A rejection of martial warrior culture in favor of a culture of nurturing and mutual care

Embrace of vulnerability and "weakness"

The promise of plenty, of full food stores and protection from failed harvests and the bitter winter cold

So, the design goals are:

Contrast Ashe visually with both Lissandra and especially with Sejuani, who is her most direct opposite.

Tell the story not only of Ashe herself, but of the faction she represents, and represent its values in her design.

Make her unique and recognizable against the lineup of other League of Legends characters in a way that currently she simply isn't.

Early ideation:

Here we start by identifying silhouettes and the basic ideas of costuming that we want to run with. Since League of Legends women also generally have a bad case of Chronic Sameface Syndrome, we also explore a bunch of different face shapes and ideas for distinguishing Ashe physically outside of costuming and body shape.

Refinement:

We pick out a smaller number of variations to play with, and Apple_Cork explores various options for the costuming.

At this point we've settled on two main ideas: a "Warrior" Ashe, who is characterized by the hard life she's had to lead. Her struggles and suffering, especially the loss of her mother and the betrayal of Sejuani, are the emotional impetus that leads to her reaching the ideals of the Avarosans as an antidote to and rebellion against the Freljord's bloody history. We decide to use the A2 and A3 variation as a base for this, with addition of details like scarring and a somewhat bulkier musculature. This runs the risk of making her physically quite similar to Sejuani, which is a trade-off that might be worth it since the two of them are repeatedly positioned as sisters (even if not by blood) in their stories, and are very alike in their experiences and traumas, even if they've reached opposite conclusions from it.

The other idea is "Warmother Ashe." The Freljord is organized around matrilineal tribal leadership, with a significant emphasis on the social role of motherhood, with the leader of the tribe conceptualized as its primary mother figure. Most Warmothers we've known are hard-bitten, violent and domineering matriarchs, emphasizing the war bit of the name, and since Ashe represents a decisive break with that tradition, we want to create a design that puts emphasis on the mother part of the idea.

So an Ashe who is visually soft, associated with typical traits of nurturing motherhood and who visibly rejects struggle, deprivation and violence as part of her identity. The C1 and C2 variations form the basis for this character.

Both designs are intended to provide a strong visual contrast to the stark black-and-blue statuesque angularity of Lissandra, as well as the armored, hard-shelled, segmented look of Sejuani

A note on body politics and character design

It is generally Problematic™ to equate any one body type with any one set of personality traits, whether positively or negatively. A lot of common character design associations and shorthand is based on body stereotypes, and on a systemic scale, they can reinforce existing social bigotries.

The most common example: character design often employ the idea that good people tend to be beautiful and evil people tend to be ugly, and that a person's inner moral character can be read in their physical traits.

This is a trope with an extremely bad history, especially when it intersects with the politics of beauty, with eugenics and with racial caricature. Whiteness and the constructed features of whiteness are often used as the basis of beauty ideals, while traits and features associated with non-whiteness are considered ugly or undesirable, and thus in visual storytelling these traits can become markers of moral degeneracy or evil. Disney villains do this all the time, to various degrees of Problematicness.

I bring this up here because we decided to use a fat body-type on one of our Ashe designs specifically to code the design to be associated with softness, kindness, motherly nurturing and so on. These are positive traits, and it is meant to establish her as a contrast with Sejuani who is hard-edged, muscled and brutal. But also, yeah, fat bodies being associated with those traits is a reductive stereotype, just the same as associating highly trained, skinny and fit bodies with emotional coldness, lack of kindness and violence is reductive.

Character design is a tightrope walk between using available associations and stereotypes to create coding and shorthand so the audience can easily read the design on the one hand, and trying to redefine and re-associate traits in creative ways to create better storytelling on the other hand. League of Legends is a game that relies very, very heavily on existing and known archetypes, and we redesigned Ashe on those terms as well. It is fair to criticize our redesign for those trade-offs, within reason, and within the context of the problems of the design it is intended to improve upon. League of Legends as a franchise is generally unwilling to allow fat bodies to exist in ANY positive context, and especially not in women, whose visual priority 9 times out of 10 is to be conventionally beautiful and skinny above all else.

Final designs:

Warrior Ashe This design hews closer to her original design, employing the skirt, waist-wrap and thigh-high boots, albeit updated to look more appropriate for the fashion culture and environment of the Freljord.

The emphasis here is on Ashe as a war-leader and fighter, and we've added facial scars and her design generally features more hard and sharp lines and metallic accents to give her a more hard-bitten and warlike look. This is an Ashe who has led a heard and difficult life, marked by fighting and struggle.

Warmother Ashe This design pulls away hard from the original design, with only really the hood and cloak and white hair as identifying feature of the old version. She wears a lot of fabrics and furs, and is generally designed around stoutness and visual softness, and does not share the hardness or angular facial features of Warrior Ashe. Her clothes are finely embroidered with her tribe's iconography and she has pendants and trinkets associated with the various tribes that have been integrated into the Avarosa, or perhaps gifted to her by allies or friends.

She still has leather chest armor, albeit covered up by her cloak, and a shoulder pauldron, but it's ringed by fine feathers making it more of a showpiece. Same with the archery bracer, which is ostentatious and the bright brass makes it contrast with the rest of the design, which is meant to give the vibe of "this is a thing she puts on when necessary" but not a natural, integrated part of her fashion. Compare and contrast with the bracers on Warrior Ashe above.

---

Please follow Apple_Cork on Instagram: http://instagram.com/apple_cork

[volatilehearted]

There's this noise that comes out of Stiles, equal parts exhaustion, elation, and relief, as he realizes Scott is coherent again. He immediately starts fumbling with the keys around his neck, clearly intending to let Scott out of the cage. "I told him, I freaking told stupid Godfrey you could do it. He's being all--all--racist, and victim-blamey, and the King won't tell him to go away but I wish I would 'cause Godfrey is the worst and I'm just so glad you're mostly okay--"

He's going to continue on in this vein for a while while he fumbles with the lock. Eventually it pops open and he tears it off of the cage entirely, swinging the door open. "Okay. Okay. There you go. Take it easy, one step at a time, right? King Greymane said it might take you a little to get used to your new center of gravity and stuff. He wanted to see you as soon as you woke up. There isn't a cure yet but we're working on it and at least this way you're still you, even if you're fuzzy and stuff and just--"

Stiles sucks a deep breath in and just kind of stops talking, mostly because he's a little overwhelmed with the situation. When he speaks again, his voice is a little wobbly. "We lost the city. We lost...honestly, we lost all of Gilneas. And on top of the stupid freaking Forsaken, there's...I don't know. Some kind of massive earthquake. The farm down by the docks is just gone. It broke a huge gap in the Wall and then the plague was just everywhere."

volatilehearted​:

Stiles wakes up with a sudden jolt of movement, limbs abruptly everywhere as he struggles to sit up. It’s all very normal for a startled Stiles, and for a few moments he just kind of sits up next to the cage, rubbing at his eyes with the knob of one wrist and clearly trying to orient himself.

It’s also very clear when he realizes where he is and what he’s doing, because Stiles scrambles again, this time to face the cage, long fingers wrapped around the bars. He looks exhausted and worried, but also hopeful, with a loop of heavy iron keys on a cord around his neck. Stiles is ignoring the keys.

Instead, all of his attention is on Scott, searching the newly-changed worgen’s eyes for something he recognizes. “…Scotty? You back with me, now?”

Stiles flails, limbs abrupt and everywhere and Scott huffs a little laugh, sitting back on his haunches. It’s so familiarly Stiles and his tail wags a little, clawed hands gentle against the bars as he watches Stiles sit up, rubbing at his eyes.

It takes him a moment to realize where he is, and then he scrambles again, flailing to face the cage and Scott hates how exhausted Stiles looks. Hates how worried he looks. But he shifts a little, blinking at Stiles, hesitantly shifting his hands closer to Stiles’ own - curled around the bars.

Stiles’ searching his gaze, staring into his eyes and Scott can’t help but look back, taking in the bright whiskey eyes, the familiarity there. He nods, slowly and his ears flick. “Yeah. M’here.” His voice is still rough, ragged, but it’s his. Even if it’s a little deeper than his usual voice.

[veldrune]

Echoes of the Banshee Queen by Sylvanas Windrunner 💀🏹 | World of Warcraft Song

Full Song - https://youtube.com/watch?v=ajdIxMNZE7A

Azeroth Archives Music Playlist - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyBDzqgDU0Yg95HnMMXpO3dK7Y3g7h69s&si=n2fLtCnt9U45qmUU

Subscribe for more Warcraft Music!

[swampgallows]

so i was reading both of your posts on the orcish language in wow cuz you posted them both in the yamyell discord (hehe) and it made me think about thrall and his upbringing as an orc raised by humans, and how he might have struggled with speaking common. obviously thrall would still have the same limitations as other orcs with his jaw shape/position being different to humans and his tusks being in the way, making consonants like m, p, b and maybe even v really hard to make…but i'm also thinking maybe because common was the first language he learned to speak, he may have been able to adapt/learn faster cuz he was given no other choice and was sort've forced to adapt to the language in other ways? what do you think? :]

orc language posts are here (pronunciation) and here (Orcish linguistics).

I think so too! Since it was his native tongue I think he probably managed to work around it. If anything, maybe his actual physiology changed a bit as he grew to accommodate it since he was using certain muscles to speak that he otherwise wouldn't have. i don't have any actual linguist knowledge aside from a couple of things ive read in the past but that seems to be the case with certain languages. for instance, a lot of people can't roll their Rs or whistle or things like that, but chances are if their language required that to speak it properly, they'd be able to do it (barring physical conditions). or like this great tumblr story of a Deaf woman who speaks with a brooklyn accent because she learned by watching mouth movements, so the physical positioning of her mouth and lips affected how she pronounced the words. or how even in short instances of isolation, new accents can develop due to environmental and biological factors, as it did for astronauts on the moon or members of an antarctic expedition. chances are that thrall has a very specific kind of common accent, and i wouldn't be surprised if orcs among his original horde developed this kind of accent alongside him due both to their facial structure and learning from thrall's example.

@shamanofthewilds also makes a great point about how most of azeroth probably speaks "common" anyway, and that both different human kingdoms and orc clans probably have their own languages but were speaking "common" as early as the second war. @mrpinchy also has a great post about azerothian sign language here, and how different digits and worlds affected common sign.

it's hard to say how canon this is because blizzard characterizations rarely maintain any consistency, but thrall's smaller tusks and more upright posture could be due to human influence affecting his physical development. in comparison, wod!grom's tusks are almost as tall as his nose. i tried to get a similar angle to show that even though their heads are tilted upward, grom's tusks are significantly longer.

head on, compare thrall's tusks (center) also to grom (left) or saurfang (right), orcs born and raised on draenor (au and mu). thrall's tusks are much more prominent in his in-game model, but since the hi res cinematics are all custom, giving thrall smaller tusks here seems a more deliberate choice. (also i arranged the images like this so that you can click them and it's not just three orcs staring you down while youre scrolling lmfao).

there could also be an age factor involved since saurfang and grom are older orcs, but i'd wager that thrall now is about as old as wod!grom is/was during warlords. there also isn't a lot of lore on whether or not orcs alter their tusks (e.g. shave them down hellboy style) save for accessories or piercing, but in that case it could be a cosmetic choice thrall makes too especially for diplomacy's sake.

anyway yeah i think you're right! i like to believe thrall's upbringing affected not only his linguistic but physiological development from being raised by and around humans speaking common.

[we-do-bones-bracket]

Round 1 Match 10

Propaganda:

Kel'thuzad

Number 1 Warcraft necromancer. Responsible for everything scourge-related on Azeroth and roughly 50% of the setting's problems (Gul'dan did the other 50%). Shows up fleshed(ish) in Warcraft 3 and gleefully gets killed by Arthas to further his plans. Comes back as a boney frost lich after a bath in the Sunwell. Spends a weird period as Arthas' necromantic stepdad, encouraging him to be the worst he can be, then built a big pyramid in the sky with a bunch of crazy monsters inside. Has an undead cat called Mr. Bigglesworth.

His Hearthstone adventure has a Bard Shark theme that's pretty fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwgPuxSECBU

Christopher Flores

He’s a latino teen who went through a portal to Mariposa, the Country of Bones, a world of flowers and death. There he met the Skeleton Girl, their ruler, who removed his ulna and carved it into a flute. He can use it to play beautiful music that only the dead can hear, and make skeletons dance.

[mistswoven]

Looking for Contact - Verena Sun'rael

「 general information 」

FULL NAME: Verena Iren Sun’rael

NICKNAME(S): V, Doc

TITLE(S): Agent, Doctor, The Jade Dagger, The Good Doctor

AGE: 177

DATE OF BIRTH: April 16th

RACE: Elf (Thalassian)

GENDER: Female, cisgender.

PRONOUNS: She/Her

ORIENTATION: Bisexual

MARITAL STATUS: Single, never married.

PROFESSION(S): Surgeon, doctor, mistweaver, Blacktalon agent, member of the Order of the Broken Temple.

LANGUAGES: Thalassian, Common, Pandaren, Sign, Draconic.

「 physicality & appearance 」

HAIR: Blonde with muted pink streaks; lightly wavy, shoulder length.

EYES: Misty teal

HEIGHT: 5’7”

BUILD: Mesomorphic; muscular and athletic.

DISTINGUISHING MARKS:

A jagged scar that cuts over and around the outer edge of her right eye; the eye itself is unharmed.

A small cut to the left of cupid’s bow on her upper lip.

A tattoo of a cherry blossom branch wound around both biceps up to her shoulders.

COMMON ACCESSORIES:

Simple silver earrings, often asymmetrical

One large earring made to look like a cherry blossom branch with intact blooms; it stretches up the length of her right ear

A nose piercing, right side, silver.

「 personality & traits 」

A searing pride scorches the very ground she walks, confidence radiating from her like the heat that comes immediately after. She's fiery, vibrant and powerful. Though not quite a social butterfly, Verena is certainly rather outgoing and won't shy away from striking up or engaging in a conversation. Self-assured in her abilities, it can sometimes be hard for her to back down from a challenge - and the stubborn streak certainly doesn't help matters. Though often rather down to earth and with a colorful sense of humor, one would think that a switch was flipped with how quickly she can become serious should a given situation call for it.

There's a certain charm that she's adopted; she wields it like a weapon, one nearly as deadly as her fists. Her hospitality and kindness will last as long as one behaves the same in turn. The moment that changes, it's pure venom from then on.

Want to know more? Interact or RP!

「 personal information 」

HOBBIES: Poetry, painting, meditation, hiking, reading, painting, swimming, studying, exercising.

SKILL(S): Practical and magical medicine, skilled martial artist, practiced tactician, fast learner, extensive anatomical knowledge, [REDACTED].

RESIDENCE: Varies

BIRTHPLACE: Quel’Thalas

AFFILIATIONS: The Blacktalons, The Blackheart Accord, [REDACTED] (former), [REDACTED] (former)

「 relations 」

SPOUSE: 

None.

CHILDREN: 

None.

PARENTS: 

Jenir Sun’rael, father. Unknown.

Sena Sun’rael, mother. Unknown.

SIBLINGS:

Eriesh Sun’rael, brother. Alive.

Lyrina Sun’rael, sister. Deceased.

Amora Sun’rael, sister. Alive.

Saeus Sun’rael, brother. Alive.

Kaethis Sun’rael, brother. Alive.

OTHER RELATIVES:

None

PETS/COMPANIONS/FAMILIARS:

None

「 habits & vices」

SMOKING:  never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

DRUGS: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

ALCOHOL: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

「 hooks」

Surgical Precision: A skilled Doctor and surgeon with a degree, Verena has treated many patients over the years in hospitals and even out on the field of battle. Anyone currently or previously involved with the military, civilians, monks, or Black Talons could have been treated by her at one point or another.

Black Talons: A current Blacktalon assassin and agent, V has traveled all over Azeroth and beyond to gather, seek and locate various bits of information ranging from a simple overheard conversation to a relic or two. Those of a similar occupation, drakes or Dracthyr of the Black Dragonflight could easily recognize her for this.

Isn't it odd, though, that she's just a Blacktalon agent? One does not simply become an agent; Wrathion hires talent. Maybe there's more to this.

White Tiger, Jade Serpent: At every given opportunity, Verena will speak of her time in Pandaria - working, training, fighting, the whole package. Monks, or those who lived, worked, trained or fought on the Isle could certainly recognize her from there; she spent a number of years training under a pair of Pandaren monk masters.

Woven in the Mists: Perhaps it's just a rumor, or maybe there's more to it. Though a skilled combatant and combat medic in her own right, whispers constantly swirl around a more unique style that she employs; one that can be used to harm instead of heal. Maybe due to the ramifications of using this method of mistweaving, or something else entirely, there will occasionally be lightning-like teal patterns up and down her arms. This results from an excess of chi use.

Sting like a Killer Bee: Despite her calm disposition and training as a mistweaver, Verena is known for a rather aggressive and punishing fighting style. It would be best described as orthodox Muay Thai combined with Wing Chun and Taekwondo.

Neutral Party: Verena does not identify with the Alliance or the Horde, and simply chooses to remain neutral. Though once a firm and unwavering member of the Alliance, her time and training as a monk seems to have changed her perspective on the faction war.

「 other/ooc 」

FACE REFERENCE(S): Elizabeth Lail

VOICE REFERENCE(S): Morena Baccarin as Black Canary (JLU)

ALIGNMENT: Neutral

SERVER(S): Moon Guard (A), Wyrmrest Accord (H)

OTHER:

This character is completely neutral, and thus has a Horde and an Alliance counterpart.

I will not interact/roleplay with minors or anyone under the age of 18. 21+ preferred.

I will not write with godmodders (ex. never misses a hit and never gets hit, their character is so overpowered that they’re basically a god and can’t ever lose, etc).

Art Album Here

[wowhead]

I'm trying to live with thought that I live in wrong world, without orcs, damnit. ;v;

i'm sorry, i know it's hard. sometimes i wish we lived in azeroth too. but be thankful that we don't have things like the burning legion, old gods, and the scourge here!

[herbalcompendium]

Dear Reader,

If you are reading this, then of two things am I absolutely certain: first, that you are of the manner of soul which is most keenly drawn to the living places and things of this world; and second, that I have been successful, in some small way, in adding to the enduring legacy of this tome, without which I would have enjoyed but a fraction of Azeroth’s abundance and wonder.

I am Vexarion, an evoker of the dracthyr. In ways both different and yet not dissimilar to you, I am a student of the varied flora of the land and the sundry ways in which they may be utilized. The series of events by which I have come to inherit the mantle of steward of this compendium is one which I myself still work to understand. Despite this uncertainty, I am compelled to move forward without delay, that the work Greaves began may be continued with the care and dedication it deserves. The trust she has placed in me has inspired a renewed vigor in my own work, and I aim to align it with the purpose of this compendium that I may do justice to its legacy.

I will begin with the herbs I know best: those of the Dragon Isles, my homeland. It is my hope that by conveying the botanical information oldest and dearest to me, I will find the voice with which to most effectively and respectfully expand the depth and breadth of knowledge and wisdom contained herein.

I invite you, dear reader, to walk with me on this ceaseless journey as we stride ever-forward into the known, the unknown, and that which may lie yet beyond our very imagining.

– V

[generalluxun]

Say, remember that "Neo Nobility" cult stuff we discussed on and off again? I think I did a submission with the various codenames/titles awarded to the members ETC.

Anyway, I was musing on it & wanted to share the two inspiration sources.

Outside of what I saw of S5's mask party & Chloe zeroing in on Marinette anyway XD

1: Baccano's mafia having a rite of passage along these lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx6EMt33BFI

I imagine Kagami & Tomoe are stand outs here, but athletic and nimble Chloe with dual daggers is not one to underestimate ;)

2: This world building from the very impressive Travels Through Azeroth and Outland:

“ Sin’dorei are in love with idleness and frivolity, especially here in the capital. Many of our priests and sages say that such behavior is the mark of true civilization, and the only way that an elf can find happiness. They may be right; doubtless for most elves, this is the case. But idleness is a poison for others.” “I’ve observed the same among some human nobles,” I said. “Human nobles are not the same as elven nobles.” She raised her wine glass to her lips and drank deeply before continuing. “Some elves grew bored and jaded. They turned to darker entertainments, forming secret societies. Most were harmless but a few became dangerous, delving into warlock grimoires and summoning demons in hidden cellars all along Murder Row.” “That’s how the place got it’s name?” “Not exactly. Souls are required to summon most forms of demons, but these wayward elves culled souls from wild beasts. Distasteful, but not necessarily criminal. Around four centuries ago, one of these groups, the Fount of Wisdom, sought to summon a pit lord. They were young fools who had no idea what they were doing.” “A pit lord?” Those living maelstroms of destruction are among the most terrible demons in existence. “Horrible, I know. To do this, they kidnapped the daughter of Lord Fairbreeze and sacrificed her on an altar. Evidently the demons were displeased with such a sacrifice. Instead of a pit lord, they summoned an explosion which killed most of them.” “What happened to the survivors?” “They were found, admitted to their crimes, and executed. The ringleader was a scion of House Falconwing, but even that could not save him. His own father dealt the killing blow.” “Was that the last of such societies?” “Only for a while. Gradually they returned, though none were ever so reckless as the Fount of Wisdom.”

3: After that... I can't recall if that came before or after speaking with you, but I think I think:

Yu Yu Hakusho's Black Black Club (Wealthy humans who dabbled in blood sports, & selling demons as as slaves) Along with their "Feast of Human Vices" could or did or do play some degree of aesthetic inspiration. For reference, said Feast was horrific enough that when Demon Hunter Shinobu Sensui found it, his mind fractured and he killed all the humans there. Then he stole the "Chapter Black" a record of all humanities worst crimes & let's just say things didn't get better from there.

Not sure why, but I felt the context was interesting, especially given Gabriel, Emilie & others tinkering with magic artifacts too.

A lot of interesting ideas here, unfortunately I'm not familiar with any of the source material at al >.<;;

[grootficguy]

i know the big bang theory isn't made for geeks and most of the scientific information presented in the show is incorrect but the big one that really prodded my gallbladder until bile ejected itself forcefully and violently from the nostrils is the episode where they're playing world of warcraft. as a wow player of 16 years, here's everything wrong below the readmore. idc if this gets notes im autistic and needed to vomit this out of my brain.

howard (i think) is lured by a troll woman under a bridge and gets mugged for all his gold. due to the language barriers in-game, this would be inter-faction PvP which can only happen by accepting a duel. also, players cannot be looted when they die. you can't even die in a duel. this shakily implies that he traded her all his gold, then followed her to a bridge and got ganked. if that is the case, he would be an alliance player with pvp flagging on. also, alliance can't trade with or speak with horde. (unless he was playing a demon hunter, in which case the troll would also have to be a demon hunter, and trolls cannot be demon hunters.)

raj says he's talking to an orc under a bridge in thunder bluff. the bridges in thunder bluff do not have ground beneath them. if you're "under a bridge in thunder bluff", you're about 50 feet beneath thunder bluff, in mulgore.

sheldon mourns the loss of his "battle ostrich" named "glen", implying that his level 85 blood elf was a hunter, and had a pet ostrich. these don't exist in the game. pets cannot be stolen, either.

howard says he found a tavern where black market weapon trades happen. the black market is a real thing, but it's never in any taverns. also, weapons that can be traded can just be put on the auction house. meeting someone in a tavern to give them the gold for a weapon is just way more difficult for everyone involved for no reason?

raj says other players are undressing his (female) character with their eyes, and howard tells him to stop dropping her sword and bending over to pick it up. if you "drop" (i.e., trail the weapon off your character screen and into the world) your weapon, you'd be asked if you're sure you want to delete it, and then it gets deleted. /bend isn't even an emote. raj also says he'll have sex with the goblin that raided sheldon's account. this is also something you cannot do. again, goblins are a horde race, and it seems they play horde. a goblin can't kill you if you're both players in the horde.

the main four arrive at "the gates of elzebub". not a place.

leonard tells everyone not to panic as this is what the last 97 hours of gameplay have been about. it takes 10 minutes maximum to travel anywhere in the game. unless he's referring to raid prep time. if this is the case, they would be wiped instantly. 4 players isn't enough for one dungeon, let alone a raid. also, you'd need to be really sucky at farming for potions, gems, vantus runes etc., if it takes you four days to prep. i raided with a high tier mythic guild EU and i prepped for like half an hour every raid night?

howard says a horde of goblins are guarding the sword of azeroth. weapon doesn't exist. virtually all goblins in the game are neutral and only attack you if you attack them. (venture co. and horde guards upon aggroing to an alliance player being notable exceptions.)

howard tells raj to "blow up the gates". nowhere in the game requires you to blow up gates to gain access, except uldum. raj then presses CTRL + Shift + B to cast whatever his gate blowing up spell (doesn't exist) is. not saying you can't do this, but STRL + Shift + B is such an awkward and clunky keybind. you'd use Q, E, R, F, V, Z, X and sometimes S before using B.

they're pulling off a highly challenging and intense raid with four players on laptops without mice. no.

raj begins spamming a cast key at a speed MUCH quicker than the cooldown for ANY spell in this game.

leonard says "my tail is prehensile, i'll swat him off". there are only four races in the game with tails: draenei, tauren, lightforged draenei, highmountain tauren, dracthyr, and vulpera. none of them have prehensile tails. in fact, nothing in this game has a prehensile tail that i can think of. there's like one hozen in pandaria that swings from a tree.

"tonight i spice my meat with goblin blood" you don't need to eat in wow for any reason other than gaining a stat buff, or to regain health. also, goblin blood isn't a reagent for cooking.

Sheldon gets the sword of azeroth, which isn't a thing. Also, Leonard tells him to use a "sleath spell". (reading from a transcript here.) i have no idea what this is. he also describes himself as a "rogue night elf". aside from putting the class before the race which is icky, rogues can't cast spells. also, above, sheldon was a night elf, not a blood elf. he also had a pet, making him a hunter, not a rogue. if he was a night elf, he wouldn't be able to play with the others as they seem to have horde characters.

15. sheldon couldn't just take the sword. the game would ask everyone to roll need before greed. or else it would be personal loot, where there is a small chance of the sword dropping for any player. he then sells the sword on ebay, which wouldn't be possible, as the only people he could trade a soulbound item to would be the others in his party at the time, within a 2 hour window. to be fair, howard buys it immediately so like, whatever. but it's still weird that he put it on ebay.

so yeah i hate this show for being so distinctly not made for geeks, but this stabbed me right in the autism.

[echthr0s]

the Otherworldly Companion (OC) masterpost

(aka "who the fuck are these people you're tagging")

Nuadha is what's commonly called the "Dark Urge", but with some modifications. She is an avatar of a largely-forgotten god (in this part of Toril, anyway) who ran afoul of both Bhaal and his Chosen. She travels Faerûn in the company of future Hero of Baldur's Gate Wyll Ravengard searching for a cure to a mindflayer affliction and a reunion with the sundered fragments of her Self.

Dayir and Ishan are my Eorzean Warriors of Varying Luminosity, as it were, and there's a lil about post about them here. Sesshai is their tricksy Viera bestie that I don't talk about nearly enough, for some reason.

Noah Kingfisher is the Sole Survivor of Vault 111; Gabriel the Revelator is the Lone Wanderer; and Gideon of the Grave is Courier Six. Noah is a literal child of Atom, and Gabriel is the next-closest thing, being genetically manipulated by Atom in utero. Noah also exists in Halcyon and Far Cry 5's Montana (along with Preston Garvey).

Anansi Surana is both the Grey Warden that ends the Blights once and for all, and the Herald of [???] (Razikale, but no one knows that) that lays the groundwork for a new world. he's also a First Enchanter for a while. he gets around, you could say. Elijah Wolf (or, Elijah Hawk-child, for much of DA2) is Lord Protector of Kirkwall but that doesn't stop him or his seneschal Varric Tethras from gallivanting off to Skyhold. I don't play in the Dragon Age space much anymore, unfortunately, so don't expect much about these guys unless they respawn in another universe (which is highly possible). or unless I play DA4. which is also possible.

Adrian Shepard is Commander of the SSV Normandy and the scourge of the Reapers. until he becomes something bigger than the Reapers. good thing he's on our side.

Claudio V Invictus is the Saint of Saints and the CEO of Saintscorp. he is the owner of every single pair of the booty shorts in those "shorts that say [x] on the ass" memes.

there are others -- Keahi the Watcher of Caed Nua, Llovyn Arendur of Skyrim, Ananduil and Venanduil of Azeroth, loads more Thedosians, etc -- but they don't have populated tags yet because they simply haven't come up nearly as often.

questions, comments, crack headcanons, etc about anyone here are extremely encouraged and appreciated. you truly cannot go wrong

(side note: #spicy oc tag is where all the nasty posts go. because there will be nasty posts. I delight in debauchery)

[alexhwriting]

Ludonarrative Harmony and Engaged Narrative Drive: The Success of Unpacking and Inside.

V. Environmental Storytelling

In “Visual Narratives in Videogames,” Alessandro Soriani and Stefano Caselli develop a more specific approach to Jenkins’ original categories of environmental narrative: evoked,[1] enacted,[2] enacting,[3] embedded,[4] and emergent.[5] They combine these with procedural rhetoric, and evocative narrative elements as a part of the way in which the audience receives the visual storytelling, approaching environmental storytelling through the lens of the process of exploring the environment.[6] Their conception takes a more authorial stance, as opposed to my conception that relies more on the notion of the narrative drive to give the audience the power of interpretation of the visual elements they encounter within their narrative environments. Rather than assuming that the author has the responsibility for every interpretation of their narrative space in a rhetorical position, the narrative drive provides the audience with yet another layer of interaction that takes place within the narrative – that is the one that takes place when a player understands the narrative their own way through the elements on the screen.

            Tanya Krzywinska discusses how these environmental narrative elements, buildings within the game, set dressing, etc., are left for the player to interpret and associate meanings between in her essay, “Blood Scythes, Festivals, Quests and Backstories.” For Krzywinska, fictional worlds – beyond those that exist in video games – make use of symbolism that goes beyond the original narrative, which helps invoke a sense of realism for the audience.[7] In her discussion of World of Warcraft[8] (Blizzard, 2004) and how that game effectively works to convince its audience of its depth and immersion, Krzywinska suggests that one of the main components to its effective world building is the way the game uses mythology and the symbols that we associate with those myths.[9] Her example for this is the culture of one of the playable races in the game, the Night Elves, who have a history as survivors of a once great but now ruined society, as marked by the Greco-Roman style ruins that dot the areas of the in game world associated with them.[10] What makes this significant is the way that the designers use symbols that extend beyond just the diegetic world they created to invoke the player’s narrative drive to understand the environmental storytelling that they put in place. We can see this invoking the narrative drive by using associations that players hold outside of the game to make the narrative more readily understandable in the moment. By minimizing the effort needed to engage with the environmental storytelling, the design of the game further promotes a sense of ludonarrative harmony. This is because the player does not need to commit themselves to learning an entirely new set of symbols and meanings to understand the in-game cultures and histories.

The relation between environmental storytelling and game mechanics is taken up by Espen Aarseth, as he also speaks about World of Warcraft in “A Hollow World: World of Warcraft as Spatial Practice.” He claims, in his essay, that it is the sprawling multicultural world that the game takes place in is essentially hollow – no more than a shell with no real depth – and that this is what makes the game successful.[11] The game itself does not pretend to boast a realistic world, neither through graphical details or an attempt to replicate the harsh challenges of living in a historic setting, preferring instead to give the players a smooth experience with somewhat cartoonish or storybook aesthetics and elements like magic that allow the players to fend off monsters in their power fantasy. As Aarseth points out, Azeroth “is in fact no fictional world, but rather a functional and playable game world, built for ease of navigation,” and it should be considered as such, more game than world.[12] Similarly, and echoing Jenkins’ sentiments about the way players engage with the game worlds, he describes the setting as being similar to the design of theme parks.[13] Having considered what Krzywinska and Jenkins have to say about the nature of environmental storytelling, Aarseth’s approach allows for a more easily implemented ludonarrative harmony, as the world is shaped to be pleasing and conducive to the play experience rather than the play experience being forced into a space not designed to be engaged in that way.

Thus, when the game world gives the player some but not all the narrative information and blends real-world symbols and those specific to the world itself, invokes the narrative drive of the player and allows them to experience the world as deeper than it may literally be. Though the use of this method of environmental storytelling, and avoiding overly expositive design, the player’s narrative drive can be invoked to the greatest potential and allow for the experience of ludonarrative harmony within the gaming experience. This is because the depth to which the player gets into the narrative of the game is left in their hands, giving a level of freedom that explicitly expositive approaches do not. The ludoharmonic state gives the audience freedom as well; freedom to get immersed in the game – should they choose – as well as the narrative they are interacting with, allowing for a game to be considered well-played. In the next section of the paper, we will discuss two games that go about the project of environmental storytelling and ludonarrative harmony very effectively, Inside and Unpacking.

[1] “Evoked visual narratives refer to those situations where the fact that some videogames are set in scenery/backdrop already known to gamers may ignite a process of anticipation that allows the game narrative context to exercise a greater sense of involvement by evoking what the player already knows about such contexts.” Soriani and Caselli, “Visual Narratives in Videogames,” 495.

[2] “Enacted visual narratives can be considered all the cases where game designers’ stage in-game scenarios where players are called to 'solve' the situation by means of creating or perturbing a graphic element (or a set of them) that immediately becomes an integral part of the game world, thus activating a narrative sequence.” Soriani and Caselli, 495.

[3] “Enacting visual narratives refer to all those visual elements staged by the designers with the intention to suggest to the players an action with a specific scope.” Soriani and Caselli, 495.

[4] “Embedded visual narratives refer to those visual elements intentionally positioned by developers which contain information about the context of the game.” Soriani and Caselli, 495.

[5] Soriani and Caselli, 485; “Emergent visual narrative concerns all those games that allow the creation of graphic assets by the player, such assets assuming that for the person they have meaning within a context of reference absolutely internal to the subject.” Soriani and Caselli, 495.

[6] Soriani and Caselli, 477-478.

[7] Krzywinska, “Blood Scythes, Festivals, Quests, and Backstories.” 385.

[8] World of Warcraft is a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game, where players interact with each other and explore the fictional world of Azeroth together in real time. This world is populated by various cultures with extensive histories as the game has continued to expand and hold popularity 20 years later, as of time of writing, March 2024.

[9] Krzywinska, 387.

[10] Krzywinska, 388.

[11] Aarseth, “A Hollow World: World of Warcraft as Spatial Practice.” 111-112; Much like previous authors, its best to keep in mind that Aarseth is publishing this essay in 2008. By the time the essay had been published as part of the collection, only two of the game’s expansions to the world and lore had arrived, The Burning Crusade (2007) and Wrath of the Lich King (2008). However, in the years between Aarseth’s writing and my own, a total of nine expansions have been released, with three more announced for future release dates. Suffice to say, the world may be somewhat less hollow after 20 years of play and development.

[12] Aarseth, 118.

[13] Aarseth, 119.

[unitedaegis]

[4] Madness' End: Air Support

Post campaign re-release, originally dated:

MID-FEB Y41 / 8:00 PM / THE WAKING SHORE 

FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ALL UNITED AEGIS MEMBERS

Greetings, United Aegis. The following report has been compiled by QMs TALONSCRIBE, V. and MARLFOX, K. from information provided by Expedition Leader GUARDIAN SHIGUKA and her business partner, MISTER PHILIPPE QUICKSPARK.

Listed as assisting operations, DIRECTOR ZAEL MARLFOX, OPS LEADER ALGIE HALLORAN, GUARDIANS SHARANDEZAR BRIARHORN, KITCHE GOLDWATT, MICHAEL HALLORAN, FANPAN ZHI LU-DUSKWHISPER, SCOUT FERNCLOUD THISTLEFANG & TRADESPERSONS MYRO GLADEWIND & RANDRED SOLARIS.

Guardian Shiguka requested assistance for her business partner, Mr. Quickspark, in discovering the fate of one of her sensors, previously placed around basecamp’s perimeter. Upon arrival, Mr. Quickspark was seen working with the beacon, which appeared to be smoking and damaged.

Repairs were completed with Guardian Goldwatt’s assistance, however the location was compromised as a wild proto-drake sensed the commotion of the Djaradin when they were approached by Director Marlfox and Guardian Zhi Lu.

The fate of the Djaradin is unknown, however the proto-drake attacked with its dragonfire breath, setting the canyon briefly ablaze. Thankfully there were no fatalities during the encounter, though Guardian Goldwatt and Quartermaster Marlfox were seriously injured.

The proto-drake was defeated via group effort by all, most notably by the unconventional tactics employed by Ops Leader Halloran and Guardian Zhi Lu.

Materials from the beast’s carcass have been collected and delivered to the appropriate tradespersons and quartermaster storage.

Preparations have been made for repairs to be completed on Guardian Goldwatt, and Quartermaster Marlfox declined to comment on the state of her injuries, insisting that ‘gin and a good sleep’ would solve her discomfort.

Thankfully, all will have plenty of time to recover as preparations for the WORLD’S FAIRE CARNIVAL are rapidly upon us; members are encouraged to return home and prepare for festivities celebrating our unity on Azeroth.

WHAT HAPPENED

The damaged beacon was located, and Mr. Quickspark was aided in repairing it and escaping the area.

More Djaradin were discovered loitering in the area of basecamp.

A wild proto-drake was defeated in protection of Mr. Quickspark and the basecamp location.

WHATS NEXT

A second camp must be established soon to avoid continuous djaradin interest, and to provide better shelter from the wild megafauna.

The World’s Faire Carnival rapidly approaches, and many of our members have obligations and interest in that - and shall be supported in their endeavors in Uldum.

ACTION ITEMS

Facilitate repairs on Guardian Goldwatt under Guardian Shiguka’s care and guidance.

Scouts’ assistance in locating a safe forward camp location will be needed.