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Remember kids, a good commander: 1. maintains intense eye contact 2. gets right in your face 3. t-poses to assert dominance Thank you to @rytlockdripstone for capturing this, I couldn't see it on my screen at all but the gif made me cry laughing.

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out of all the things I COULD be hoping to see during GW2's black friday sales, what I most want is for them to put all the mount select licenses on sale so I can FINALLY finish collecting Ruju's creatures--

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Thinking about it, probably the most ridiculous part of Ruju constantly getting himself thrown in a Peacemaker cell is... He could literally just leave at any time. His air element shorts out circuitry without even TRYING. Disabling the force field would be child's play for him. And with what a handful he is, they'd probably consider that a great excuse to not deal with him anymore and just pretend not to notice.

But nope! He doesn't even attempt it. The guy just settles in and passes the time by heckling passing guards to see if he can get a reaction. (He usually doesn't)

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lws1 scarlet’s playhouse be like

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Saw this meme done with Labyrinth, but this edit sprung to mind right away. Living World Season 1 in one image.

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channeling my inner Gorrik here but I think he could have cured the scarab plague. The scarabs hate the smell of death, right? And he definitely knows about the chemical ants release upon death that signal other ants to ferry them to a designated dead-area. the ghost queens specifically say the Commander smells of death. Sure, they're ghosts- they must not smell the same way mortal creatures do. That's an extremely specific way to describe it, though. One of the queens even describes the smell and tells the Commander the scarabs will be able to detect it.

Partner with necromancers. Isolate the chemical compound. Manufacture a drug. Even if you can't safely introduce it to a victim's bloodstream, it could be used as a topical solution.

Not sure what kind of effect this would have on third generation scarabs. Their reproductive cycle seems way too fast to effectively chase them out of a host's body. But, man. If only he'd had more time. He could have made a cure.

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cracks my fingers

for the asura ask game: 1, 3, 24 for non-evil Ruju

and 1, 8, 27 for Sylffa!

Just an asura ask game

Thanks so much for the ask!! Time to crack my OWN fingers because that's a whole lotta questions-- I offer you Rat Lore, Deluxe Edition(tm) below the cut for everyone's convenience.

1. Do they fit well into asuran society or are they more at home with other races? How do they feel about fellow asura? Is it because of their personality or something else? Is there any deal maker or breaker?

It's probably no surprise that Ruju's opinion of asuran society isn't particularly great. Between growing up among Inquest and struggling with a learning disability that made school much harder for him than his peers, the guy just never felt like he fit in anywhere. The highly individualistic dog-eat-dog culture really did NOT do him any favors. Even in his Dynamics timeline he still felt like an outlier, preferring hands-on work and often requiring detailed written instructions that he could refer to when his memory blanked.

It really wasn't until Ruju left it all behind to join the Vigil that he ever felt like he really belonged somewhere. He still keeps in contact with his old krewe as friends, but they all know he's never rejoining.

Likewise, his initial feelings about other asura are generally cautious at best. And at worst? He's been known to get pretty hostile even right at the start if someone puts him even a LITTLE on edge. Ruju's much more likely to give a fair chance to others who are like him, leaving it all behind to find somewhere they feel more at home. While he can learn to live with asura that are proud of their own personal accomplishments, those that cross the line into mocking other races and customs raise his hackles IMMEDIATELY. The guy has no patience whatsoever for the ideologies that allow the Inquest and others like them to flourish right there in Rata Sum. He also tends to assume the worst of anyone with past Inquest ties, even if they've long-since left the organization behind.

But really, any asura stubborn-- and perceptive-- enough to get past Ruju's prickly exterior will eventually find an extraordinarily loyal friend. He's tough to win over, but even tougher to shake.

So I know what you're (maybe) thinking; 'are there any races Ruju gets along with better, then?' Well, that's complicated. He didn't have a whole lot of contact with other races until he left Rata Sum, so most of his knowledge base was from asuran stereotypes of their cultures-- which, well, led to more than a few awkward and insensitive encounters. It took him a while to feel them out on their own terms and figure out what was true and what wasn't.

Unfortunately, this guy's mouth moves a fair bit faster than his brain most of the time. That probably says it all right there.

The only race he never warms up to is, ironically, the charr. He finds their heavily militaristic society and loyalty to the chain of command too stifling for the most part, despite initially relating to their ferocious fighting spirit. It's really only the outliers like Rox and the Olmakhan that he winds up liking by the end. By contrast, he comes to really appreciate both norn and sylvari-- and he'd probably like skritt a lot too if he was a bit more open-minded about them. But alas, Ruju is pretty sure that having more than one chaotic rat in a room together would lead to horrible no-good things, and he MORE than fills that quota.

3. What's their family like?

That one was answered over here!

24. Do they have any particular opinion on the Peacemakers and the Arcane Council (and Eye)? Do they have any direct experience with them?

HOO boy this is another meaty one. Ruju didn't really have experience with any of them until he moved out to Rata Sum, but none of his interactions were particularly positive. When he was young and naive he wanted to believe they were better than the Inquest... And then he realized that the moment there was any real danger-- or ESPECIALLY a direct conflict with the Inquest-- the Peacemakers were always conspicuously absent. As soon as he noticed that, all semblance of respect was out the window.

Ironically this menace actually WANTED them to do their jobs, at least in the situations where it actually mattered. (Like, say, when Teyo is wreaking havoc with hacked security golems.)

As a result, the Peacemakers got the brunt of his rebellion; Ruju found out pretty quickly that they didn't dare to rough him up because of his parents' notoriety, and he absolutely took advantage of that to be a pain. On top of that, magitech cuffs would almost always fall off from his air element shorting out their circuitry, creating a whole fiasco as they assumed he was slipping them on purpose. Sometimes this led into wild 'races' across the city when he'd get sick of squabbling with them, just casting superspeed and swiftness on himself and bolting... Straight to the cells. All that fuss JUST to turn himself in without being cuffed. Once they realized Ruju was messing with them and not actually trying to escape, they just stopped chasing and let him at it-- and put that note specifically on his file to try and warn any new recruits not to engage.

Not that every rookie necessarily READ that file, though...

Regardless, Ruju still spent enough time in a Peacemaker cell during his younger years that they practically had one reserved for him. But despite the many arrests, he never really considered them more than a nuisance-- and a method of getting back at his parents by being a total embarrassment in public and getting them to pay his bail.

The Arcane Eye on the other hand... Over time, Ruju's opinion shifted from vague annoyance, to disrespect, to outright disgust. In his Dynamics timeline, well. Let's put it like this. He had the option to either reveal the truth of Gorr's research on the Elder Dragons to everyone via transmission, or go violently beat an entire squad of Arcane Eye officers to death in their own hideaway. Guess which option won out. (How has this guy NOT gotten banished.)

Likewise, he can't stand the Council either, but just generally tries to avoid them and stay out of their jurisdiction. And after what he did to their finest spies, that avoidance is DEFINITELY mutual. He's threatened multiple seated members at this point and they don't particularly care to test whether he'll make good on that.

Ironically, Phlunt is one of the few he can actually tolerate. Meanwhile, lock him in a room with Flax or Haia for more than a few minutes and the Council might have a very freshly vacant seat to fill.

Now for Sylffa's questions!

1. Do they fit well into asuran society or are they more at home with other races?

8. Do/did they have a krewe?

You can find both of these ones too over here!

27. Have they been impacted by that whole Pact thing? What do they think of the First Pact Commander, Aurene and the whole Elder Dragon mess?

Sylffa was a member of the Priory when the Pact first started taking form, but limiting her knowledge and exploration to a single faction always bothered her to an extent. So, saying that she was curious about the prospect of expanding her horizons would be a MASSIVE understatement. As soon as those doors opened, she was practically on the first flight over. If something THAT big was in the works she absolutely wanted to be a part of it! Getting to work on the Pact airships was one of her proudest moments, immediately followed by getting to see the fleet she helped design soar into action.

While Sylffa might not have seen a lot of the action herself, she also made a point of assisting many of the outer camps with repairs-- along with working on defensive measures to keep dragon minions at bay. She was NOTORIOUS for seeing just how many laser cannons she could cram onto the walls before they'd have structural issues. Some would argue that she wasn't taking the situation NEARLY seriously enough, but the rest would respond that even if she was maybe a bit too excited about getting to see her heavy artillery designs at work, you couldn't really discount the results. In reality, burying herself in her work was just the easiest way to compartmentalize; focusing on getting results and then putting them into action made all the stress worthwhile.

The fall of Zhaitan wasn't the end for her, either. She stuck with the Pact all the way through to the end, occasionally sending inventions to Ruju to test out in the field. A few-- like a prototype position rewinder-- have stayed in his inventory to this day.

As for the Pact Commander and Aurene: that definitely depends on who it is! In any world where Ruju reaches that station, she definitely has a positive outlook on the two! They might not be as close as they were during college, but still very much qualify as friends. He shared quite a bit with her about his 'honorary progeny' during Aurene's younger years so she knows the dragon isn't quite as scary as she might seem. They've only ever met briefly though, with Aurene having assisted her group during a Branded outbreak on Dragonfall. Sylffa made a point of saluting her before she flew away.

In any other version of events, though, Sylffa would've been unlikely to know much of the Commander and Aurene-- aside from their role, that is. She would've considered an honor to meet them, though! And even MORE of an honor if they used any of her gadgets in the field.

If you were to ask her if she had any regrets now that the cycle is over, she'd claim she wishes she could've given Primordus a good whack herself for her ancestors' sake-- but really she's just glad it's over. In the wake of the dragons, Sylffa hopes she can put her focus into inventions that help people via means OTHER than blasting dragon minions to bits. She's made enough laser cannons, it's about time to try something new for a change! How she'll apply her expertise in the future remains to be seen, though.

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howdy! its been awhile since ive drawn, im sorry about that ;w; life situations have been tough on me lately, but ill be alright

drew some fanart for one of my favorite guild wars 2 characters, gorrik! i love this dude as much as he loves his bugs

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Perfect

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Thaumanova / The Lost City Masterpost

If you know me, you know I am OBSESSED with the fact that there had once been a city above the underground Thaumanova Reactor... a city that was utterly destroyed when the reactor exploded.

Well, I've put together a masterpost of things I've rambled about regarding the reactor and this tragic lost city. Enjoy!

Let's Talk About Thaumanova

Extra Dialogue

A Tragic City With No Name

Getting In (Theories)

Scarlet's First Horror

A City In Chaos

Thaumanova Related Locations (missing the survivor camp)

There Was Really A City!

And for a little extra reading, some fan speculation on my part:

The Lost Colleges of Rata Thauma

The College of Iatrics

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BOTH exclusive items from just 4 chests??

oh we are SO back--

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IS... IS THAT A WATCHWORK MOUNT--

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Alright the latest Rhenn factsheet piqued my interest so now I've gotta ask; what happened to any of his Inquest friends that did wind up caring about him in the end? Are any of them still out there, or did Prikk (or other Inquest) decide to get rid of them in some way? Or did they just decide to distance themselves on their own?

Many of the "friends" Rhenn had in the Inquest were his age, often born to other Inquest members, and were expected to act like friends to the boy because Prikk didn't want Rhenn to get suspicious of the fact that he wasn't really permitted to socialize or talk to students at college. But some of these fake friends did start to genuinely get closer to him, and even the Inquest has its limits.

Most of those who started to get close distanced themselves on their own. Rhenn's own mother Nixxe, after all, had vanished mysteriously after trying to get closer to her son... and if Prikk was willing to disappear HER, what would happen to them?

It was frustrating for Rhenn, but there were always others. There are some who are still alive, even.

Unfortunately, several he'd thought were actual friends he wound up re-killing in Fahranur while rescuing Taimi and Kippa, as Prikk had taken an entourage to make his "deal with the devil" and as a result, they all wound up slaughtered and Awakened, just like the Inquest's once renowned geneticist.

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there's something really funny to me how consistently I'll see an AU on my dash and immediately go 'oh right!! I have AUs I should talk about those' and then immediately proceed to never do that 👍

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A lil poll for you...

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Everyone rn: