#Arathi

[wibblerart]

full body for WakenerMG on the bird app!

#arathi #world of warcraft

[oldeazeroth]

Arathi Highlands (37,74)

#World of Warcraft #WoW #Azeroth #Eastern Kingdoms #Arathi Highlands #Who else is ready for phase 2 of SOD today??

[solvicrafts]

One of my favorite recurring themes with the drow-centered novels (including Legend of Drizzt and War of the Spider Queen) is that we repeatedly see a lot of characters we grow attached to realize just how fundamentally lost some of their closest friends and family are.

WARNING: Mild spoilers for WotSQ/heavy spoilers for LoD below the cut

We see it WotSQ with Ryld and Valas, both of whom are betrayed by someone dear to them (I’m being purposely vague here because I don’t want to spoil anything since I know a few people are in the process of reading WotSQ now). We see it with Jarlaxle and Arathis Hune, we see it with Artemis and his mother, we see it with Drizzt and Zaknafein (although Zak later comes around), we see it with Kimmuriel and Rai’gy, and there’s likely a ton more examples I’ve forgotten.

And each of these characters has a different reason for either failing the person they love or a different way of processing and coming to terms with that disappointment.

Ryld becomes more closed off around Pharaun, but is still capable of forming some attachments later on. Still, you can tell that his ability to trust people is damaged and he has lingering trauma over it. Ryld is definitely uncomfortable with certain aspects of drow life, but overall accepts everything stoically.

Valas is devastated but pulls through it and remains loyal to Jarlaxle and Bregan D’aerthe. Otherwise, he doesn’t seem to develop any close attachments that we know of, but he definitely does still care to a certain extend about Pharaun and Ryld. And in all fairness, he basically disappears after WotSQ and only reappears for cameos in LoD here and there. Interestingly, he’s even willing to try and build a friendship with Zaknafein. I find this *super interesting* because Zak indirectly told him that he killed his grandfather after coldly shutting him down, and while there was some tension for a moment, Valas was the one to attempt to make peace and didn’t take his offer for drinks off the table.

Jarlaxle is... well, he’s interesting and complicated in this regard. He doesn’t tend to be very open about his true feelings on things, and while he’s had a LOT of disappointments in life, we don’t see him really dwelling on them. He knew, for example, that Arathis was threatened by Zaknafein’s growing closeness to him, and initially found it almost entertaining before it got to the level that it did. But where I think this could potentially get really interesting is how it affects his relationship to Valas; we don’t see him interacting directly with Valas very many times, but when we do, they are cordial, and Valas seems to have a preference for Jarlaxle over Kimmuriel and is anxious for him to return as a leader in Gauntlgrym.

It honestly makes me wonder just how Jarlaxle perceives him, and what must have been going through his mind when Valas showed up on his doorstep after seeking out Bregan D’earthe following the fall of his house. We DO see that Jarlaxle is particularly attached to Braelin, and as I’ve mentioned before, he and Valas have a ton of things in common. And Braelin at the very least is aware of Valas, per his introduction in Maestro. He’s also roughly two centuries younger. Could Jarlaxle have had Valas train him as a scout? I think it’s pretty likely, and I wonder if part of his motivation for doing so might have been hope that:

a) Braelin, being “a commoner but of more noble heart” as Jarlaxle described him, might be a good influence upon Valas in the event he turned out more like his grandfather in temperament and morality than Jarlaxle hoped.

b) Valas would be a good mentor for Braelin and keep him away from the city, thereby limiting his exposure to the uglier aspects of their society.

c) History would not repeat itself like it did with Arathis, and he’d get two good scouts to replace the one he lost -- and it makes sense, especially since Braelin was rescued by Zaknafein at one point and probably reminded Jarlaxle of him. Maybe this is his way of making up for his perceived failure to keep the peace between Arathis and Zak?

Drizzt on the other hand does NOT take disappointment well at all. I think RAS and his books get shit on a bit more than they deserve, but one major criticism I do actually agree somewhat with is that Zaknafein’s return was handled horribly where Drizzt was concerned and it made Drizzt look like a petulant child.

I say ‘somewhat’ because Drizzt is still mentally pretty damn young by elven standards, and on top of that, he grew up absolutely idolizing Zaknafein and it never even occurred to him that Zak was STILL a product of his environment and had survived in it for far, far longer than Drizzt. Well... okay, it did, but I don’t think he really understood the full weight of it. I still think it could have been done better, but it does help to show how much more growing up Drizzt still has to do.

Artemis as we know took that betrayal VERY hard, but at least he got some closure in the end. Even better, he’s really connecting with other people now and forming strong friendship -- even with people he once hated! Some people are pissed about this, but I actually like it quite a bit.

And then there’s Kimmuriel... yeah, he doesn’t really acknowledge it AT ALL. But if you read between the lines, Rai’gy’s fall clearly had a major impact on him. He became a lot more serious about reigning Jarlaxle in, took over some of Rai’gy’s roles with magical item creation/duplication, and became even more closed off. Like Artemis, he’s starting to take small but meaningful steps in forming bonds with other people, and he’s finally beginning to open up about the traumas he’s been through. He was genuinely heartbroken over the (likely) loss of Jarlaxle and his friends, but not so much so that he was willing to immediately go for the nuclear option of taking Azzudonna to the hivemind despite fucking everyone getting on his ass about taking her there or torturing her directly.

What I also find absolutely fascinating about his development is that while losing Rai’gy was undeniably hard on him, I think it was also necessary for his growth. The Kimmuriel we saw in Servant of the Shard would have brutally and messily murdered Calico Grimm instead of settling for humiliating and sparing him. The Kimmuriel we have now actually defended Doum’welle to Gromph by telling him that his anger against her was misplaced and that she was, in fact, an undeserving victim. He also called out Gromph on his racist double-standards during their conversation about Catti-brie.

It’s taken a long time (as it should, given how extreme Kimmuriel’s tendencies toward cruelty and perceptions of other people once were), but Kimmuriel has come a long way, and I really look forward to seeing where he goes from here.

Anyway, these are my thoughts. I had no real reason for writing all this down other than the fact that I just love these characters and wanted to talk about them.

#jarlaxle baenre #kimmuriel oblodra #valas hune #ryld argith #arathis hune #drizzt do'urden #zaknafein do'urden #artemis entreri #legend of drizzt #war of the spider queen #I have too many thoughts about sad drow #and also the humans who befriend them #what's pretty interesting about all of these people here #is that zaknafein is basically the only one who came around #rai'gy might have had a chance but was killed #and realistically had he lived kimmuriel would not have developed as he has now #arathis also didn't make it #neither did entreri's mother #but zaknafein also wasn't nearly as crazed and lost as these people are #AND he came back from the dead and got his second chance #valas hune appreciation society #jarlaxle meta

[tiny-huts]

I like Kimm's intro in Generations because Jarlaxle is like I tried to convince you two to make nice and now I have brought this OP Twink to FORCE YOU TO

#the legend of drizzt #jarlaxle baenre #kimmuriel oblodra #kimm like looking bored #while Arathis and Zak cant make sentences #bob in this series like have i mentioned that kimm js tiny. #hes small #hes diminutive #hes just a little giy #wulfgars bicep prob the size of him #very fun to picture them standing next to each other #also Artemis in the wasps flesh demons and then it cuts back to the orequels and i was like God im interested but CLIFFHANGER MY BOY IS DYIN

[wowscenery]

#world of warcraft #wow scenery #arathi highlands

[rukafais]

I like to think everyone looked at how subdued and quiet Valas was and were a little baffled by how Valas was related to Arathis "Massive Dipshit" Hune tbh

#arathis hune #legend of drizzt #rukart

[amani-outrider]

Hey WoW people, how we feeling about the Battle Royale PVP thing?

#i have mixed feelings because on one hand I go: they really did the bare minimum to support live retail to work on this #on the other hand i'm like: it could be fun. it's something new. #but also who really asked for it? especially when its not even part of the game proper AND WHY ARATHI IT'S NOT PIRATE THEMED #i'm also skeptical and wonder if they're doing this to test the waters for a whole separate game to monetize #but still it could be fun #so i dunno

[dandelionandkrindle]

WORLD OF WARCRAFT • LOCATIONS (92/?) Arathi Highlands (requested by @warcraftish​)

#world of warcraft #warcraft #wowedit #gamingedit #wowlocations #nurse she's experimenting with weather effects again #if it's any consolation i'll probably redo it in a month #until then enjoy some rainy moody arathi

[complexfantasy]

Arathy Krishna, Ayisha Nida

#Ayisha Nida #Arathy Krishna #female muscle #Indian #indian fbb

[consequencesofargentdawn]

In yet more revelations it appears that a new "NCU" (Northern Cinematic Universe) is in the works composed of The Northweald, The Arathi (dis)Honor Guard and Deathmarch, with possible elements from Grim Dawn involved too!

What an odious and ultimately doomed to narcissism driven project. A new power is rising in the North? More like a new circus.

#argent dawn eu #confessions of argent dawn #arathi honor guard #ovisia #grim dawn #deathmarch #bullying #harassment

[lupus-dei]

Indian bodybuilder Arathy Krishna

#Arathy Krishna #i just think she's neat #but also not to be a lesbian but omg

[wibblerart]

reference piece for wakenerMG on the bird app !

#arathi #world of warcraft #paladin

[oldeazeroth]

Arathi Highlands (20,43)

#World of Warcraft #WoW #Azeroth #Eastern Kingdoms #Arathi Highlands

[solvicrafts]

Also on the subject of Valas and how other people (including other characters) misinterpret him, there's another layer to his interaction with Zaknafein that I find really amusing.

Because the entire thing is shown through Zak's perspective.

From Zak's end of things we see him repeatedly reference inside jokes between himself and Jarlaxle in relation to Arathis, all of which go over Valas' head because that's his grandfather, not *him*

So Valas just kinda awkwardly stands there in silence and just gives him confused looks as he keeps talking to himself about how 'one does not find a drow'

And Zak is interpreting it as evidence that Valas is a creepy weirdo just like his grandpa and just like... absolutely assuming the worst of him due to his social awkwardness.

But anyone who's read anything else with Valas in it (especially WotSQ or his cameo in Gauntlgrym) know that if it were told from Valas' perspective, he'd be like:

"Wow, Jarlaxle's bestie sure is a strange guy. Huh. Oh, well *shrug*"

#legend of drizzt #valas hune #zaknafein do'urden #it's so fucking funny because zak's like #THIS GUY IS SO CREEPY AND QUIET AND WEIRD AND HE JUST LOOKS AT ME AND DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING #WHILE I MONOLOGUE ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED WAY BEFORE HIS TIME AND HAD FUCKALL TO DO WITH HIM #and valas is just chilling out and trying and failing to understand why this guy's so on edge around him #and he doesn't even take any of it personally #zak more or less admits to killing his grandfather in self-defense #and valas has an initial reaction because a) he doesn't know the context and b) isn't sure whether HE is in danger in this moment #but then he just relaxes once he determines that zak is not an immediate threat to him #and just kinda accepts that there was mutual hatred between arathis and zak that led to bloodshed #and that maybe his grandfather wasn't a great person #and he just takes it in stride

[tiny-huts]

Got to the part in timeless where Jarlaxle asks Zak why he even came back to Menzo and obsessed with an alternate universe where Zak went to live on the surface with the gaggle of rescued halflings. Sitting in tiny chairs with his knees up to his face, calves hanging off tiny beds, being told hes too skinny and constantly given food. Having to defend the Halfling village from Malice

#the legend of drizzt #the forgotten realms #Zak and Arathis shredding each other over yhem and Jarlaxle like HEY what the fUCK #Gee Jarlaxle how come bob gives you 80 boyfriends #zaknafein do'urden #look i had alot of fun picturing this

[wowscenery]

#world of warcraft #wow scenery #arathi highlands