#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.

[calsper]

DWC: Day V

CAPTIVE & SKILL @daily-writing-challenge TW: depiction of sexual assault, emetophobic description

He could not count to five. His mind and his lungs were no longer his to commandeer. They were the harpies’.

Revenge was a cruel, gripping force for one to endure as much as Cal had when he had finally become old enough to learn the truth about his parents from those that adopted him. He knew his own had been killed—he knew they had been killed by something, by a creature, but... he did not know until that fateful discussion that they were mauled by multiple screaming, half-avian women of the skies fully fueled by the need to pamper themselves and wreak havoc on others. All whilst crowing. Screaming. Laughing, even. But screaming. Always screaming.

He could not even make out what they were trying to threaten or demean when he came upon their nesting grounds. The flapping, the scratching, the fucking screaming—it kept him awake so, so many damned nights. All of it strangled his focus. He had approached too unprepared, driven only by rage... and paid the price.

Mine, they squawked, fighting with themselves over the top of his thrashing body. Share! Mine! Ours, sisters! Take, claim, take, claim! No, mine!

Either none of them heard his objections or none of them cared to even amuse such pleas. The word ‘no’ lost its meaning from that point on. And who did he have to blame but himself? Really, how stupid could he be? He knew about them. He knew to research before a hunt. He knew and he did; read all about their habits, their diversity, their powers, their diets.

Their captive breeding.

But knowledge mattered not when seeing red. He just wanted them gone. Unfortunately, he had ventured alone, outnumbered by at least twenty or more flocking to the scene before he could even register what was happening and before he could pick back up the scythe that dropped when he was flown into a nest.

Had he been the grandest mage in all of Azeroth, would he have been able to escape...? Did power matter when paralyzed by fear? Muscle, mana, skill, fel, reverence, runes, even the very rage he had come with—it would not have borne any significance in changing the outcome. All of it converted into sheer, unfiltered terror. He had never and would never again feel as powerless or as worthless as he did beneath the weight of their assault. Claws, scraps of clothing, slaps of wings, torn feathers, exposed loins, the screaming . . .

And then the noise stopped. In the frenzy and amidst all of their ripping, both of his hearing aids came out.

It was like a scene in a silent film. Slow-motion. Discomforting. Unintelligible yet clear as crystal. Numbing. All his deafness could sense was the drumroll of his overworked heart, the crashing of blood all throughout his quivering form, and the gore that the mob of breasted monsters spilled over the male lap they’d forced bare.

...They had left his boots alone. He could move. He could try. The tears paused just long enough for sights to make sense of what he was living through and the role he was unwillingly cast in. Move, then. Get out. Get OUT. GET OUT.

One blade burst from its sole—then the next. So undignified and unorganized were they in their brawl that the very second one released his ankle from underfoot, he snapped his leg and the unlikely weapon up into whatever the hell he could hit. Perhaps the Earth Mother was watching over him... or perhaps it was his own mother... but that one strike providentially became his key as it shoved the pick through the underside of a gurgling chin and then dropped into the heart of one sullied harpy.

How lucky he was to not have to hear the bubbling wails of her demise or the cacophony of witchy heckling that followed.

Then and only then did Calsper erupt. All of those minute abilities over frost that he never quite got a grasp on shot forth from within the tree he’d been dragged into like impaling spikes, some skewering the hags and some forcing those yet too close to back away. He allowed himself no time to question the attack when shakily scrambling to get out. Where he was didn’t matter—how high didn’t matter. He just needed freed. And down he went.

One broken wrist was ignored when he had the other to shove himself back up with. The harpies that remained burst right towards him, gust after gust, but their deaths all met the same fate as their sisters when more stalagmites of ice in the sin’dorei’s trail razored straight through their core. The delayed wind they cast bit his skin though failed to stop their victim from running for his life, bladed stride and all. He couldn’t risk the single second it would take to focus on dismissing them.

Calsper.

Had he ever even really grown up? He’d been found as a child exactly as he was when far enough away from the harpies’ camp to collapse—bawling himself hoarse. The only difference this round was the mangled clothing and blood-splattered paleness. All of his misguided mania born from unfulfilled mourning, humiliated. His time, wasted. His future, stained. His past, recycled. His stomach, emptied. A coughing, burning splash of yellow pooled beside him before he crawled a few more feet away and curled up.

Calsper!

...Me?

A fire not unlike the bile from his memory ripped at an exhausted chest when his vision fluttered back to the scenery of Highmountain’s forested floor. He must have crouched over it. Panted himself raw.

“Calsper—breathe. Breathe. Slower...”

Air. Oxygen. Right. In, and out... one, and two... three... four... five. Six. Even seven.

“There. There, there...” A canteen of water was carefully lowered into the elf’s downcast line of vision. “Alo Nokee Washte ishte shne po... Pawene ichnee pawene.” After a few more second of Cal’s unresponsive, inner counting, Tirrak murmured, “It was an eagle, sota. Only an eagle.”

...An eagle. Not a harpy.

Arms folded over his knees and his head buried into them for a much-needed moment of respite from the nightmares and the embarrassment. Tirrak, ever a patient friend, waited.

He waited every time.

[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!

[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!

[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 >.<;;

[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

[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)

[llbbl]

My 50+ Greatest Video Games

Here are 50+ games that have stuck with me over the years - a collection of my favorite titles that have left a lasting impression. These aren’t ranked in any particular order, just games that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and spent countless hours playing.

Super Mario World (SNES, 1990, Nintendo) - Classic platformer featuring Mario and Yoshi in the Dinosaur Land adventure

World of Warcraft (PC, 2004, Blizzard Entertainment) - Massively multiplayer online RPG set in the world of Azeroth

EverQuest (PC, 1999, Sony Online Entertainment) - Pioneering 3D MMORPG that helped define the genre

Warcraft III (PC, 2002, Blizzard Entertainment) - Real-time strategy game featuring four unique races and hero units

StarCraft (PC, 1998, Blizzard Entertainment) - Sci-fi RTS featuring three distinct alien races in a cosmic conflict

StarCraft II (PC, 2010, Blizzard Entertainment) - Sequel to the iconic RTS expanding on the original’s story and gameplay

The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1986, Nintendo) - Action-adventure game that pioneered many open-world gaming concepts

Half-Life 2 (PC, 2004, Valve) - Revolutionary FPS featuring physics-based gameplay and immersive storytelling

Vampire Survivors (PC, 2022, Poncle) - Roguelite survival game with auto-attacking and bullet-hell elements

Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995, Square) - Time-traveling JRPG considered one of the greatest games ever made

Doom (PC, 1993, id Software) - Groundbreaking FPS that defined the genre for years to come

Unreal (PC, 1998, GT Interactive) - First-person shooter showcasing the revolutionary Unreal Engine

Quake (PC, 1996, id Software) - Technical breakthrough in 3D gaming and multiplayer FPS

Sid Meier’s Civilization IV (PC, 2005, 2K Games) - Turn-based strategy game about building civilizations through history

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC/PS3/X360, 2011, Bethesda Softworks) - Open-world fantasy RPG set in the Nordic province of Skyrim

Fallout 4 (PC/PS4/XOne, 2015, Bethesda Softworks) - Post-apocalyptic RPG set in the ruins of Boston

Diablo II (PC, 2000, Blizzard Entertainment) - Action RPG that set the standard for the hack-and-slash genre

Hollow Knight (PC, 2017, Team Cherry) - Atmospheric metroidvania with challenging combat and beautiful art

Minecraft (PC, 2011, Mojang) - Sandbox survival crafting game with infinite possibilities

Control (PC/PS4/XOne, 2019, 505 Games) - Supernatural action-adventure set in a shape-shifting building

X-COM (PC, 1994, MicroProse) - Turn-based tactical game about defending Earth from aliens

Might and Magic series (PC, 1986, New World Computing) - Classic RPG series featuring party-based dungeon crawling

GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997, Nintendo) - Revolutionary FPS that defined console multiplayer shooting

Divinity: Original Sin 2 (PC, 2017, Larian Studios) - Deep tactical RPG with complex systems and multiplayer support

Baldur’s Gate 3 (PC, 2023, Larian Studios) - D&D-based RPG with unprecedented level of choice and reactivity

Elden Ring (PC/PS5/XSX, 2022, Bandai Namco) - Open-world action RPG featuring challenging combat

Dark Souls II (PC/PS3/X360, 2014, Bandai Namco) - Action RPG known for its difficulty and intricate level design

Overwatch (PC/PS4/XOne, 2016, Blizzard Entertainment) - Team-based hero shooter with diverse character roster

Team Fortress 2 (PC, 2007, Valve) - Class-based multiplayer FPS with distinctive art style

Borderlands 3 (PC/PS4/XOne, 2019, 2K Games) - Looter-shooter with irreverent humor and billions of guns

Warframe (PC, 2013, Digital Extremes) - Free-to-play sci-fi action game with space ninjas

Resident Evil 4 (GC, 2005, Capcom) - Revolutionary third-person survival horror action game

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (PS3/X360, 2013, Ubisoft) - Open-world action game set in the Golden Age of Piracy

Stardew Valley (PC, 2016, ConcernedApe) - Farming simulation RPG with rich social interactions

RimWorld (PC, 2018, Ludeon Studios) - Sci-fi colony management simulation with emergent storytelling

BioShock 2 (PC/PS3/X360, 2010, 2K Games) - Underwater FPS sequel exploring themes of family and collectivism

Max Payne 2 (PC, 2003, Rockstar Games) - Noir action game featuring bullet-time shooting mechanics

Death Stranding (PS4, 2019, Sony Interactive Entertainment) - Unique delivery action game with social connection themes

Frostpunk (PC, 2018, 11 bit studios) - Society survival game in a frozen post-apocalyptic world

Orcs Must Die! 2 (PC, 2012, Robot Entertainment) - Tower defense action game with trap-laying mechanics

Deep Rock Galactic (PC, 2020, Coffee Stain Publishing) - Co-op mining FPS featuring space dwarves

Heroes of Hammerwatch (PC, 2018, Crackshell) - Roguelite action RPG with pixel art graphics

Smite (PC, 2014, Hi-Rez Studios) - Third-person MOBA featuring mythological deities

Factorio (PC, 2020, Wube Software) - Complex factory building and automation simulation

Left 4 Dead 2 (PC, 2009, Valve) - Cooperative zombie survival FPS with dynamic AI Director

Bloodborne (PS4, 2015, Sony Interactive Entertainment) - Gothic action RPG featuring aggressive combat and Lovecraftian horror

Final Fantasy VII (PS1, 1997, Square) - Landmark JRPG featuring epic story and innovative materia system

Clash of Clans (iOS/Android, 2012, Supercell) - Strategic mobile base-building and raiding game

Cyberpunk 2077 (PC/PS4/XOne, 2020, CD Projekt) - Open-world action RPG set in a dystopian future metropolis

Risk of Rain 2 (PC, 2020, Gearbox Publishing) - 3D roguelike shooter with escalating difficulty and power progression

Hades (PC, 2020, Supergiant Games) - Action roguelike based on Greek mythology with compelling narrative

Halo 3 (X360, 2007, Microsoft Game Studios) - Epic conclusion to the original Halo trilogy with groundbreaking multiplayer

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC/X360, 2006, Bethesda Softworks) - Open-world fantasy RPG set in the Imperial province of Cyrodiil

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES, 1991, Nintendo) - Beloved action-adventure featuring parallel Light and Dark Worlds

Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES, 1988, Nintendo) - Unique Mario platformer based on Doki Doki Panic with character selection

Torchlight II (PC, 2012, Runic Games) - Fast-paced action RPG with mod support and multiplayer features

[redisider]

Dunia Fantasi dengan Faksi dan Aliansi: Pilihan yang Mengubah Jalannya Cerita

Dunia Fantasi dengan Faksi dan Aliansi: Pilihan yang Mengubah Jalannya Cerita

Dunia fantasi dalam game sering kali menawarkan pengalaman yang luar biasa, penuh dengan petualangan epik, konflik besar, dan pilihan yang dapat mengubah jalannya cerita. Salah satu elemen yang paling menarik adalah kehadiran faksi dan aliansi, yang memberi pemain kebebasan untuk memilih sisi mana yang akan didukung, serta konsekuensi dari setiap keputusan yang diambil. Dalam game dunia fantasi yang sangat direkomendasikan, faksi dan aliansi ini tidak hanya mempengaruhi alur cerita, tetapi juga cara pemain berinteraksi dengan dunia dan karakter lainnya.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Dalam Skyrim, pemain bisa memilih untuk bergabung dengan berbagai faksi, seperti Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild, atau Stormcloaks. Setiap pilihan memiliki dampak besar terhadap cerita dan dunia sekitar, memungkinkan pengalaman yang sangat bervariasi. Game dunia fantasi yang sangat direkomendasikan ini menawarkan kebebasan untuk menjelajahi dunia yang luas dan penuh dengan kemungkinan, serta bagaimana faksi-faksi ini dapat mempengaruhi jalannya petualangan Anda.

2. Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Inquisition menghadirkan cerita yang sangat kaya dan mendalam dengan banyak faksi dan aliansi yang bisa dipilih oleh pemain. Apakah Anda akan memilih untuk bersekutu dengan para templar atau mage? Pilihan ini akan memengaruhi hubungan Anda dengan karakter lain dan juga jalan cerita utama. Game dunia fantasi yang sangat direkomendasikan ini memberikan dampak nyata pada hubungan antar karakter dan perkembangan plot berdasarkan keputusan Anda.

3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Dalam The Witcher 3, pemain bertindak sebagai Geralt of Rivia, seorang pemburu monster yang dapat memilih untuk bersekutu dengan berbagai faksi, seperti Nilfgaardian Empire atau Redanian forces. Pilihan ini akan membentuk takdir berbagai karakter dan membawa dampak pada dunia sekitar. Game dunia fantasi yang sangat direkomendasikan ini menawarkan pengalaman tak terlupakan dengan dunia yang sangat detail, di mana setiap keputusan tentang faksi dan aliansi terasa berat dan memiliki konsekuensi jangka panjang.

4. World of Warcraft

Sebagai salah satu game dunia fantasi yang sangat direkomendasikan, World of Warcraft membawa pemain ke dunia Azeroth yang penuh dengan berbagai faksi, seperti Alliance dan Horde. Pemain dapat memilih untuk bergabung dengan salah satu faksi ini, yang akan mengubah pengalaman bermain, jenis misi yang bisa diambil, serta interaksi dengan pemain lain. Dengan aliansi dan konflik antar faksi yang terus berkembang, game ini menawarkan cerita yang tak pernah berakhir.

5. Mass Effect Series

Meskipun Mass Effect lebih condong ke genre sci-fi, elemen faksi dan aliansi yang ada di dalamnya sangat menarik dan berperan penting dalam membentuk cerita. Pemain harus memilih pihak mana yang akan didukung, apakah itu aliansi manusia atau kelompok galaksi lainnya, dengan keputusan tersebut berdampak langsung pada cerita dan dunia sekitar. Game dunia fantasi yang sangat direkomendasikan ini membuktikan bahwa meskipun berada dalam setting luar angkasa, keputusan mengenai faksi dan aliansi tetap menjadi pusat narasi yang mendalam.

Pilihan yang Mengubah Segalanya

Keputusan untuk bergabung dengan faksi atau aliansi dalam game dunia fantasi yang sangat direkomendasikan tidak hanya mempengaruhi alur cerita, tetapi juga membuka jalur baru dalam petualangan yang mungkin tidak bisa dijelajahi tanpa pilihan tersebut. Dunia fantasi dengan berbagai aliansi ini memberikan kebebasan bagi pemain untuk merasakan pengalaman yang benar-benar berbeda tergantung pada keputusan yang mereka ambil, menciptakan pengalaman bermain yang lebih kaya dan mendalam.