hickmanweavershield

[moth-tea-merchant]

"Have you missed me?"

[commanderyes]

Happy New Year, everypeoples

There won't be a comic tomorrow cause i've happened to get sick in this final weekend of all times, but at least let me wish that whatever fresh new hell awaits us this coming year, may it still work out for us all

Keep doing your best, guys. Keep loving yourselves. You're worth it

[bannedaid]

thinking about my gw2 fellas because i can’t play right now. thinking about all of them and shaking them around in my head and thinking about how i havent rped them in months and they’re starving and wasting away. sorry varus eros sobb agar keer plato and the sylvari i impulsively made one day. scratches head. kind of want to yap here but also in tags because i think tumblr works that way. people yap in the tags right

[blufox3542]

POV You're Peitha and the Wayfinder wants to talk

[szallejh]

Why are we always horny for the ones who are trying to kill us? Especially if they're huge, fleshy demons

[rosewoodroad]

I want to join the "Peitha is in disguise" headcanon club

I present to you, Peitha with Pants. Collection of demon princess HCs below the cut!!

Peitha, Deimos and Cerus are actually identical triplets (yes I am HCing the asset reuse). But also building off @dualumina's idea that she's the runt of the litter, I kept her fairly small compared to her big bros even in her "true" form. Even here she's barely above their chest level.

Her original form appears traditionally masculine like her brothers, but she identifies with Tyrian standards of feminity.

Her slight stature isn't purely natural. Kryptis grow and morph according to how much/what they eat from mortals. Peitha's reluctance to do so (as she claims in the epilogue) is why she remains so teeny tiny.

Her childhood (or whatever the Kryptis defines as childhood) was very much a Survival of the Fittest thing. Cerus' comment about feeding her to Labriss means they actually considered it at one point- maybe weak Kryptis are culled in Eparch's society or given to others to feast on. Her intelligence and cunning is what made Eparch spare her.

Eparch is her biological father, or whatever constitutes Kryptis progenitors in their society! The way they talk about Cerus wanting his approval + Eparch "raising" them makes me think their relationship is more than just a liege-and-servant thing.

It's mentioned that Peitha is "jealous" of the Commander's relationship with Aurene. I think it's the fact that they, as liege/champion and parent/child, are so close. Peitha compares this to her relationship with Eparch and is faced with how awful he is, and what she could've had. Also maybe Peitha wants a Champion like the Commander for herself once she overthrows Eparch.

[saturnselkies]

Thanks for the tag @i-mybrunettelady!!!😊 I did it for both my commander and wayfinder & if you're reading this and want to do it, you're tagged (and please tag me in your post! So I can read).

-- B A S I C S

name: Penelope Starbinder (formerly Ry). age: 34. She was born on November 1 (Season of the Colossus/Scorpio. I picture her with an Aquarius moon and an Aries rising!). race: She had two mothers, one is Canthan and the other was a Mist Being with draconic blood. gender: NB femme (she/her). orientation: Lesbian. profession: Holosmith and Commander/Champion of Aurene.

-- P H Y S I C A L A S P E C T S

hair: Currently a copper orange. eyes: Right now her eyes have a purple and yellow hue which is impossible in-game, but that's the kind of shade. skin: Tanned. tattoos/scars: She has a tattoo on the base of her neck, it's supposed to represent her title of Starbinder. I haven't designed it yet because I haven't had the opportunity to draw her back AJKFJSF but yeah. Scars: one on her left breast/shoulder from when Bangar shot her.

-- F A M I L Y

parents: Mimi Ry (deceased) and Nvaa (deceased). siblings: Her twin sister Deanna Starlighter (formerly Ry). grandparents: Unknown. Her human mother had no family of note. in laws and others: Jormag - not officially married, but… honestly they have 6 children together so. It makes the Elder Dragons family ig. LMFAOOO. pets: Starry shiba inu.

-- S K I L L S

abilities: Proficient in engineering and holosmith skills; on the same level of Canthan engineering. She would be classified as a genius (she just doesn't use it like asura do, so it's never really commercialized). Great eye for strategy and making small talk with just about anyone. Good at solving things quickly and has a stellar sense of direction. She can't cook good food or sew or anything like that; that's Jormag's thing lol. She doesn't have a hobby or other skills that aren't related to being a commander and she should rethink that. The burnout is real.

-- T R A I T S

most positive trait: Easygoing, extremely loyal, dependable. most negative trait: Martyrdom, impulsiveness, speaks without thinking at times.

-- L I K E S

colors: Purple, gold, cyan. smells: Lavender, coconut, beach. textures: Soft fur/hair, warm skin, weighted blanket. drinks: Energy drinks, cocktails, fizzy soda.

-- O T H E R D E T A I L S

smokes: Not usually, but she has. drinks: Yes. drugs: Nope. been arrested: Well yes, canonically so. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

-- B A S I C S

name: Badri the Starstorm (alter ego: The Starfall Ego). age: Unknown, but definitely over 150. race: Unknown. gender: Cis lady (she/her). orientation: Lesbian. profession: Wizard and Wayfinder. Chronomancer. (Alter ego: crazily powerful elemental cosmic magic).

-- P H Y S I C A L A S P E C T S

hair: Mousy blonde, very soft and shiny. (Alter ego: very light lavender/iridescent). eyes: Pale with a golden sparkle. skin: Pale purple-blue. tattoos/scars: None.

-- F A M I L Y

parents: Unknown. siblings: Unknown. grandparents: Unknown. in laws and others: Isgarren is her father figure and Peitha is her toxic yuri. Isak and her share a pretty strong sibling bond even if they are not related at all. pets: Her moth skyscale, Belle, is very much like a cat to her.

-- S K I L L S

abilities: Learned chronomancy from her teacher Basira & her skills are pretty good. She learns any kind of magic pretty easily and with efficiency. She can cook, sew, dance, play instruments, sing, and many other stuff. She's like a swiss army knife of skills. She devoted most of her time to hobbies and reading because she wasn't allowed outside the tower.

-- T R A I T S

most positive trait: Cheerful, tooth-rotting sweet and attentive, caring. most negative trait: Selfish, passive-aggressive, sheltered.

-- L I K E S

colors: Jade, lipstick, periwinkle. smells: Strawberry cake, peppermint, scented candles. textures: Velvet, encrusted gems, embroidery. drinks: Green tea, cocoa with chunky marshmallows, smoothies.

-- O T H E R D E T A I L S

smokes: Nope. drinks: Nope. drugs: Nope. been arrested: Nope.

[aid-worker-sya]

the more i think about my opinion the more i feel like, man. i liked SOTO... i liked Pre-Nayos SOTO at least. i find the Wizard's Court interesting. i find the new characters interesting and now just... it's over. soon we'll probably have new hub that probably takes up fucking another one of my shared inventory slots (anet container for all the scrolls WHEN) and new characters and a new plot. and the more i think about the more i feel like... we're ending right as it began.

i want to like these new characters more. they were fun for the brief time i got to see them and talk to them and see their side stories flesh out. hell even maybe see the main gang meet Dragon's Watch!!!

like i keep imagining, idk. the finale of Midnight King is more or less Eparch literally consuming all of Nayos (for gameplay reasons we can still play it's just treated as "before" the final story step) as Eparch seeks to obtain god-like power further in the Mists. maybe there's a refugee crisis with the kryptis loyal to Peitha who now need a new homeland: let's say Cascade Woods. Peitha also is now somewhat lost and directionless in the face of what is unconditionally an overwhelming defeat for her and is no longer certain she can be a worthy King for her people. the Wizard Court being forced to reveal itself to Tyria at last as Eparch's threat now becomes world-destroying. and then after a period of 2-3 years irl, the final climactic battle with Eparch to end the Wizard/Demon/Kryptis Saga once and for all to prepare for the next great adventure. a new Saga taking a few years.

but it began and ended.... and it's just over now. and i can't stop thinking almost every issue i have with SOTO could've been resolved with "i wish it had more time. i wish we could think about this for another two years and see it develop." but it's just. it's over. and the dialogue in the Tower even seems to be pretty final. like, i have NO doubt we'll see these characters again, but for now it's just... over.

so i'm genuinely curious. does anyone else feel the same? does anyone else feel like Secrets of the Obscure should have been the first installment of a new Saga, a trilogy or duology of expansions with a more streamlined focus by keeping the same writing team so the plot doesn't change multiple times before moving onto the next? or was it fine by itself?

i'm genuinely curious! and i'd love to hear your reasonings too!

[avaeeart]

well

that expansion sucked

salt and opinion incoming

i don't have a lot of thought because there was nothing to even think on about this flat expansion, but here are my thoughts - also quick apology because English is not my first langauge, plus this is my own personal opinion:

The Commander has no vital role in this. We were a mascot to the cause that we had no sentimental or important value in. Yes there are people who don't want the Commander to be the main focus, and that is a valid opinion, but we were very much just the audience to a running movie with no impacting opinion whatsoever.

A majority of the opinions I read here on Tumblr and reddit share the same view: The beginning and launch of SotO had strong foundations: A new mystery faction, a new cast of engaging cahracters of various, ancient races shrouded in mystery and an otherworldly threat. Except. Uncooked. Unseasoned, Underbaked. SotO moved on way too fast, with barely any time to get to know these people, reunion with Zojja (who, oof, gets completely forgotten despite her image being in the launcher), and of course, one of the interesting cast members gets killed.

Onto the Kryptis. ?????? They were reskinned orphans from Divinity's reach. Why were aliens from the Mist, dream demons, written like poor people who needed our help to ... get water and bandaid? Where is the worldbuilding? Where is the hostility and curiousity of demons meeting an entire different race walking into their homeland? Why is monarchy all the same in the demon realm? It is just a lazy and uncreative solution to introducing a new threat and race

Eparch, uh. What threat did he pose beside a fighting achievement under five minutes. Who was Labris again beside a fighting achievement too. Again. Major threats, major antagonists get a huge build up but once it is their time to shine in the spotlight. They get nothing but a reskinned model and five minutes of talking. As much as Labris' death had an impact on Eparch in his voice lines, there was not much ground for me to get invested in their connection.

Peitha is written incredibly flat. Her plans of ruling and usurping are as solid as soup. Yes she may throw out really cool lines, but in the whole fabric of planning a revolution, where is the consistency and foundation? The Wizards have to plan an assault and all the logistics, the other generals and Ramses doing the relocation of things, and Peitha is just. Saying things, while we protect her and do the job. She says she is caring for her people but where do we see that, beside her complementing her killing choices in 1-2 lines? Where do we see her passion for revolution, her hatred against the status quo? She quickly fell flat and cheaply written (beside her sexy baiting lines) once she got revealed. As much as the writing makes me dislike her, she deserved better.

the cannibal demons were not cannibalistic enough.

the wizards were not wizard enough.

In general, the story was nothing new, no exciting twists and the pacing is out of place (the months between those very short chapters did not help it either). it is a X formular marvel-esque movie.

from a gameplay perspective:

soto has nothing to offer.

theres the legendary armor (which i farmed for from the start), convergences, rifts - But for the casual player, who may never intend to farm for the Obsidian Armor, it brings nothing. The Rifts as fun as the gameplay may be, dont offer gold or good material (beside the essences). the Convergence has some good drops if you are lucky but again, only for essences. But hey, Skyscale fireball fun right?

What makes me frustrated is, SotO has potential, so much good foundation and build up. But such expectation of a whole new lore was never reached and the story rushed. May blame it on the new cash grabbing model. It is a bland mid expansion with too many boring moments and do X amount of events. Maps are great tho, missing Jumping puzzles though.

3/10 reused wyvern model

[commander-gloryforge]

I'm new to the party, tell us about Astrid

HI YES!!! HI!!!

so astrid is my commander (or one of them) and shes a norn engineer!

she's my youngest commander (excluding my sylvari comm who, you know, is 0) and she was about 15 when the personal story started, soon being the youngest member of the vigil to ever become warmaster. shes young and impulsive and maybe that shows in her early leadership, wanting much and not knowing anything. shes good at fighting and killing and winning, but she's also a child that never learned how to grief, thrown into a position of leadership. she forces herself into the role of the commander and adapts- pretends to adapt quickly.

but time goes on and the world gets closer to its end, you know it, the typical commander happenings. she loses more and more people that are dear to her as time goes on. both of her fathers died when she was really young, then it was the enxt father figure that died, forgal, then eir, who has pretty much raised her after the rest of her family died.

she finds comfort in dragons watch, especially taimi and braham, who are around the same age as her and, just like her, never really got to be children, instead being pushed into adventure and saving the world and losing everyone they loved.

shes tall :3 really big and huge :3 max height norn at the start of sthe story, and she keeps on growing. because of magic, mostly. shes big. by the time she hits soto she's honestly not much shorter than peitha

[moth-tea-merchant]

some doodles form the day. spoiler they're all me putting @manasurge 's gurl Mourynn into gay scenarios

[icebrooding]

STORY! THOUGHTS! (along with meta/fractal)

In chronological order as I go through;

"You're damn right Nephus, let us go in, guns blazing!"

I think its so cute baby kryptis are 'broodlings'. The adventures are pretty fun!

Love noticing new dialogues on-map!!!

Nephus telling Peitha to get behind us and her instantly running out into combat is perfect. She will make good friends with Trahearne in my fic.

Chapter 18 fucking destroyed me??

Like ok. Eparch terrified of Mordremoth? Scary shit. When you're this big of a threat but there is still The Bigger Fish...

Snargle books existing in Nayos (via thievery) made me wheeze.

Looking up the stairs and seeing the kryptis standing up the sides of it was so Good visually smh.

I joked earlier: 'what if Zakiros is empty'. not like this..... never like this...........

Going in That Room actually made me feel so... upset. The whole time I was going around freeing the essences I was just 'this is distressing. this is so, so upsetting'. I felt so oddly cold.

My theory that Eparch slaughtering that village was done purely out of nature and not out of malice, confirm. But on that note...

I still feel like there is more to it. I still think Isgarren had done something to Eparch. There is still something SUPER missing here. Their dynamic is shady to the very end.

I need to do a writeup on how Eparch was actually a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds, obviously :/ /s

The horn and then the kryptis all standing down made the hairs on my arms stand on end lmfao

Confirmation that Febe was one of the other House leaders! Man, Nephus really was the only surviving one, huh... I assume Aurkus died at some point, anyway.

ISGARREN COMING IN AT THE LAST MOMENT LETS GOO. You did not get Midgarsormr'd, you scrungly prune of a creature.

Something about Eparch calling Peitha a 'princess' and then so specifically 'my blood' just makes me wonder if he was really her father and not her uncle. IDK, just thoughts for my brain...... its probably not but i love Thinking

Eparch's entire last segment really does make me think he was the 'well-intentioned extremist' that got extremely lost/messed up along the way. With all the dialogue about Nayos being so hard to survive in and how resources are so scarce... Eugh. He was a power-hungry tyrant who did such horrible things but the memories from his PoV give him extra depth that I can feel sympathy toward.

I feel like I need to write some kind of Commander/Nephus/Zantharon fic.

So many fic ideas. SO MANY IDEAS FOR WILDFLOWERS HNGH.

and since i just did the meta-

SPIDER EPARCH REAL. I WANTED SO BAD FOR HIM TO HAVE A FUCKED UP SPIDER FORM. YES.

FRACTAL!

GOD FUCKING WOW I CANT BELIEVE THE SAME DUDE THAT KILLED ISGARREN'S GF ALMOST KILLED HIM TOO :)))

deimos/cerus fight was a whew as a 3man team. i love the constant chaos of their mechanics all going off and giving me trauma like you'd never believe! oil! OIL! OIL!!!

eparch.... hah. that was not gonna happen lmfao. need to get our resident Fourth Man and then I think we'll be okay tho.

[dualumina]

Aurene: *wakes up after her nap*

Commander: Hi did you slept well? :)

Aurene: It was an amazing nap, Champion. But please, what's new with you?

Commander: Oh well haha you see, you like Caithe, right?

Aurene: 😐 Yes...?

Commander: Good! (She's fine by the way) You have a new mom now!

Aurene: You found someone special? That's wonderful! When can we meet-

Lady Peitha of House Nephus, Kryptis Lord from the Realm of Dreams: *steps out of a bloody portal with the screams of the damned echoing from beyond*

Aurene:

Peitha:

Aurene:

Peitha: }:)

Aurene: Champion, I-

[just-eyris-things]

okay eyris rambling lets fucking goooo (because i dont remember if i've said any of this before)

soto spoilers so imma put a read more riiiight here.

So I was thinking and then I did some more thinking and then I thought some more! In conclusion: I've been thinking a lot lately. About Eyris.

Honestly, SotO fucking sucks for her.

All your friends and family are either dead or have left you because they have their own lives (and that's okay!!). Your girlfriend kinda disappeared without a world so I guess she dumped you. Your dragon child went for a long-ass nap, your life-long mission that you've tried so hard to avoid for most of your life is finally over and in theory you finally have what you've always wanted: freedom. There is no more Wyld Hunt, no more lose threads to pick up on. Your mission is over and you can rest peacefully in a shadow of a tree with a book in one hand and Elonian wine in the other.

So why do you feel so empty? Why do you feel like a part of you is gone now that it's all over?

So after the entire Oni business is over in Cantha, Eyris finally returns to Tyria. She tries to rest at Whale Tail Island and fails miserably. Sitting idly is not doing her any good. She hates how the moment she gets to sit down and relax, she immediately starts overthinking and having nightmares. She hates how all the problems that she avoided adressing are now resurfacing. So, she leaves for the Shiverpeaks. She could try to find Freya, right? She went missing after Bjora's Marches so...

SOTO SPOILERS BEGIN HERE. THEY SMOL BUT THEY STILL THERE.

While it keeps her occupied and she meets another norn, Yagna (more about Yagna in another post that I will eventually make, but here she goes for your "looking orbs" needs),

Eyris gets a call from "Caithe". By the Bear, she is sooo happy! Finally she's needed again. But she isn't aware of those feelings. Eyris just sighs heavily and says "well... I guess she's really gone...", then proceeds to go to the Grove to meet Caithe. Right after she gets it over with with the Reporter, she gets an unexpected letter - a letter from an old acquaintence and a Whispers agent, Laeyrin.

Laerin wants Eyris to investigate the disappearance of Wizard Tower in Garrenhoff. Eyris was hesitant but she agreed. She had nothing to do anyway. Laerin gives Eyris a little private comm device for the two of them only (she omits that latter info) and sends her on her way.

So we have:

Eyris, lost, traumatised, running away from confronting her past which causes her to get send into the demon realm

Laerin, who wants to slither back in because she's bored.

Peitha, Eyris's new brainworm. Eyris doesn't want to trust her. Eyris would still choose Peitha over her sadistic ex. Also she somehow finds Peitha's presence comforting. Peitha being in her brain somehow resembles the connection to the Dream and to Airell. Yes, it's a bit more intense since Eyris feels like she has NO privacy and that Peitha's watching and hearing EVERYTHING but... She'll take it. Eyris leans into it because something about Peitha is drawing her in. Idk, something something Eyris is trying to subconsciously replace Freya and Peitha is RIGHT THERE.

Okay ramble over. Two minor points left.

This is not where I was going when I started writing this post and

I was thinking "What if Freya and Eyris reunited in teh Wizard land or in Nayos but idk how to get Freya there so for now I am shelving this idea until I figure out how that could happen and if I realise there's no way - it goes into the idea trash can.

THANK YOU SORRY FOR THE LONG POST BYE--

[herald-of-aurene]

Rant underneath the cutttt very negative incoherent things about Soto tbhhhh

Tbh at first, I was disappointed in Soto, but after all the updates I can say with my ENTIRE CHEST I FUCKING HATED IT

Even Peitha, (Patty Mattson my beloved) who MADE it for me I COULD NOT GIVE LESS OF A SHIT ABOUT.

Like talking about warcraft now but at least there was SOME good shit in shadowlands I HATE EVERYTHING THAT CAME IN SOTO it's all so MEH I HATE IT AND THE WAYFINDER TITLE WILL MAKE ME DISLIKE ANY EXPANSION IT APPEARS IN

Ik it's like "Kieran ur being dramatic rn" but YES I AM AGGGHHHHHHHHH Soto TOOK THE COMMANDER'S WHOLE CHARACTER AWAY

IF I WANTED TO PLAY A VOICELESS PC ID PLAY WOW

[wall-legion]

Odetta shot up from her bedroll, chest heaving as she tried to shake the nightmare she'd just had. It was still dark outside, and the chorus of breathing and snores around her let her know that most of the camp was still asleep. She laid back down, but after a few minutes she realized that getting back to sleep herself would be a losing fight. Instead she rose, pulled her blanket around her shoulders and slipped outside. Nayos was still a shock to her: the air felt heavy in her lungs, her magic dull and flat. But in its own way, it was strangely beautiful as well. Tonight, though, it was colder than it had been previously, so she hurried over to the remains of the fire and built it back up. "Wayfinder." She fought the urge to wince and turned around. Peitha stood behind her. "I did not expect to find you awake." "I..." Figuring that Peitha had the ability to creep into her mind, she decided to be honest. "I had a bad dream, couldn't get back to sleep. So I came out here." Peitha made a thoughtful noise at that. "A pity. Hopefully you will be able to get some more rest soon." "Aren't you going to get some sleep?" Odetta asked after a moment. Peitha frowned a little. "No. Not tonight. There's too many irons in the fire for the coming day, so I must stay up to tend them." "Well... all right. But I hope you're remembering to take care of yourself as well." Peitha gave her a long look at that. "It is a truly unique person, Wayfinder, who can look at a demon of Nayos and care for their well-being." She knelt down before the human. "Never lose that. It will serve you well, both here and back in your home." "I... I'll do my best." The demon smiled gently. "Good. Now go, try to get some sleep again. At least lay down so you are rested for what lies ahead." "Yes mother." She got to her feet, chuckling as Peitha rolled her eyes. "I'll see you in the morning." Peitha watched her walk back to her tent, a sigh escaping her once Odetta dropped the tent flap behind her, and turned to face the fire and her thoughts alone.