#ebonhawk

[commanderfloppy]

What? Me drawing a trending thing WHILE it is trending and not 2 months later???

When you're in the Whispers and have to snoop around in the places of higher ups, getting arrested is par for the course.

Tybalt is not looking forward to having to get bailed out by the Preceptors, Tori is used to this.

#gw2 #my art #Tybalt Leftpaw #Tori Dawnmoon #Tori probably has a tally somewhere of all the Jails he's been to #not that many honestly #For someone so explosive she is surprisingly evasive #I mean the Seraph only managed to catch them when they were basically almost beat to death #Probably got put in Ebonhawke Jail for punching someone #most likely same with the Grothmar valley jail only for a whole ass fight (he didn't punch first) #Has only been to Lion's Arch jail once or twice which is surprising #Went to Rata Sum jail once for 'wanton destruction' #probably just had a golem he was trying to help fix blow up on him and got blamed for it #or did explode something in a college or two #Only really went to Divinity's Reach Jail a few times #he's been in soooo many temporary Ministry holding cells though

[skaald-of-the-hearth-fires]

@nyoka-gorefell

I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about Logan! Yeehaw!

I mained human so I kinda liked Logan. I've always been biased toward him. I didn't necessarily think he'd made the right decision, but I supported his right to make it. Like he said in the Dream-vision of him: you would have made the same choice, any of you, if the one you loved was in danger!

Basically, it was a bad spot all around. Lose-lose situation. He made the most of it. That was my view.

I'm planning a rewrite of Edge of Destiny (someday lol) to make it better + clearer what was going on with Logan + etc.

And I found something: the narrative in the book does not condemn or exalt either decision. Either decision would have been bad, no way around it.

One problem: that's not how books work.

The way the climactic decision-point works is that you make a personal sacrifice for the good, moral quality being extolled by the narrative. If the thing you sacrificed was, itself, considered good by the narrative, there would come a surprise twist that would mean the thing wasn't actually sacrificed, as a "reward" for making the selfless decision to uphold good and moral purity or whatever.

The problem with Logan's story is that neither option was presented as the 'moral, good' option. As Logan was leaving, Eir said "you have to do what is right," but beyond this, no indication is given to Logan which option is morally superior. You can? sorta? infer that of course the main conflict with the dragon is the preferred one. Rytlock and Eir's dialogue after Logan leaves also clarifies this.

But Logan himself was never presented with a clear moral dichotomy; he was merely given the trolley problem, which is bad however you slice it.

I bet Logan would have haters even if he'd stayed; Kryta would have fallen into disarray. The Ministry would have taken power. We'd have Caudecus in charge. Human/charr relations would heat up. We'd have the return of the White Mantle like snap, or else all-out anarchy. Humanity would be toast. Logan would get all the blame from the playerbase.

So in my rewrite of Edge of Destiny, I'm fixing the problem. I'm going to assign a clear moral status to each option, and make it clear where Logan stood on that moral issue when deciding. How did I pick which option was favored?

Easy. I look at the rest of ArenaNet's storytelling. Their centuries of lore and worldbuilding. The lessons of the other story arcs. Anet's message is consistently unity. Stand together. Stand strong. The races stand unified. The Orders stand unified. With unity, many impossible things [slaying an Elder Dragon] may be achieved.

So the preferred option, the morally good option according to the storytellers, was that Logan stay. Stand with his allies. Represent human/charr unity. Defeat an Elder Dragon.

And, somehow, Queen Jennah would survive, because love and protecting people is not morally bad. If Logan sacrificed the queen for the sake of the moral truth of the narrative, proving his selflessness and commitment to the ideal of the narrative, then the queen would survive to "reward" him for his virtuousness.

It doesn't seem in-character for Anet to write Jennah as a typical damsel-in-distress, hero-gets-the-girl type of story, BUT: he didn't. Logan DIDN'T choose the morally-good option.

Typical Corruption arc: hero begins with the ideal of the story (unity is good), then over time, some negative trait overtakes him. Greed, selfishness, over-protectiveness, whatever - and leads him to destroy everything he holds dear (Destiny's Edge; his broship with Rytlock; Snaff dying; Glint, hero of humanity, dying; Kralkatorrik surviving).

I think if the book had actually written Logan like this (with the base game of GW2 being his redemption arc), he would have a lot less hate. I think a lot of the hate comes from the fact that the Edge of Destiny narrative DIDN'T outright condemn Logan's actions. And even the base game is a bit vague.

Logan didn't get his comeuppance for his bad choices (beyond the queen ditching him a few years down the line, I suppose). That's where the hate comes from.

Because nuanced, flawed characters exist, and those are the best kind. I really like Logan's character. He's one of the most human characters in the game. I like that for him.

(Also, perhaps, some of the hate stems from the assumption that Logan was simping the whole time. I'd be fed up with him too, actually, if that were true. But the queen for sure returned his feelings. Logan was acting within the bounds of an established relationship.)

This has been

Character Study: Logan Thackeray (part II)

thank you for reading!

#logan thackeray #rytlock brimstone #destiny's edge #edge of destiny #queen jennah #logan/jennah #jennah/logan #kryta #minister caudecus beetlestone #white mantle #ebonhawke #gw2 #gw2 human

[bioluminescent-obscurity]

here are some of the more cinematic (or amusing) from shots from day 1 of the NA pride march! and here’s a link to my favourite overheard quotes from today.

if you have any spare cash, consider donating to Rainbow Railroad via Tyria Pride 2022! it’s a fundraiser to help lgbtq+ refugees, plus you’ll be eligible for a giveaway :D

bonus cameo: the iconic duo of @commanderyes​ and @commander-titania​!

#guild wars 2 #tyria pride #tyria pride 2022 #it was so nice seeing everyone!!! #hoping to see you all again soon for the lion's arch march #hey that rhymes #from the ebonhawke walk to the lion's arch march #ha #maunder tag #i am posting about guild wars 2 again #gw2

[ascalonianlightbringer]

A quick and 100% unbiased guide to Krytan-Ascalonian relations in GW2

#more seriously—i always thought the ascalonians going on unprompted rants about how jennah isn't their sovereign #was just one of the various attempts to delegitimize their resentment since nobody was saying she /was/ #but nope she does actually claim to be regent of ascalon despite uhhh strong disagreement from charr AND ascalonians on that point #and that's why random ebonhawke citizens are like 'we're grateful for her help but she's not our queen' #t: greetings friend #p: honor the past #c: jennah #r: for ascalon! #jennah critical

[anghraine]

I am pretty hypocritical in my GW2 annoyances, in all honesty.

I was super irritated the other day by some guy ranting about how humans and the human gods were the worst thing that ever happened to the world in-story Because Lore (but a very, hmm, slanted perspective on the lore). Someone actually pointed out that the goddess Kormir became a god by basically saving the world and the dude reverted back to ranting about Kormir stealing the glory from the players blahblah and ffs it's 2023 and somehow Kormir Stealing the Glory discourse from 2006 is still a thing.

Now, do I cherish my eternal grudge over the thousands of civilians massacred in the Searing and in the consequent invasion, from the game released a year earlier? Well, yes.

IDK!! Trahearne discourse was just Kormir discourse 2.0 with less misogyny, but getting original flavor is just ... let her go, she's fine, she did her best and game mechanics aren't her fault. But I am solidly on team never forgive, never forget about the Searing and the invasion.

#the forever incomplete invasion though #everyone goes on about how the charr triumphed and it's like ... they attempted total conquest of ascalon orr and kryta #and a) they spent 250 years trying to eradicate the ascalonian people from ascalon and nope! human ascalon survives in ebonhawke #b) orr? nope. c) kryta? nope. #so at least there's that consolation #but my grudge is still eternal! #tumblr keeps recommending charr stanning tags to me and i'm '.........' #but i don't get the kormir thing. she was cool. hope she's having a good time being a god #anghraine babbles #ascalonian grudgeblog #anghraine's gaming #anghraine rants #guild wars: nightfall #gw1

[quintiliusheartripper]

That snargle book in ebonhawk, being destroyed in the siege fire, ATLEAST 4 YEARS BEFORE 1325, would have had the most SCATHING REVIEWS from the humans and charr thanks to it being released before the treaty was even talked about. Snargle is truely a man ahead of his time. Wish i was there.

#me looking at all the ebonhawk people: who of you read the rytlogan book

[sunsrefuge]

🖊 for Vesnia!! (— @astralarias)

Ves!!! ♥ Vesnia lovemail!!!

She commonly visits Ebonhawke whenever she gets a chance to! She worked really hard on the Charr-Human Truce, and she still works to keep relations on a positive note! Of course, she gets a lot of looks, being a huge hulking charr in the middle of a pridefully-human city, but it's important to her! And she feels that it's important to highlight that charr can pass through peacefully, and even make friends in the city! ^^

#c:Vesnia Swiftreign #thank you for the ask !!! <3 #i love my big soft gorl she's the matriarch of my main account <3 <3 <3 oldest gorl... such a Fav ♥ #in joint AU's with my bestie; she has a favorite bakery in Ebonhawke ^^

[snoodls]

good luck on your journey. come home safe.

and when you find him, guide him home.

Ximone, despondent and beside herself, sends her companion hawk Sappho after her best friend Commander Yuri Six-cants, who is presumed dead and in the Mists. Pictured, in order: Ximone overlooking the Brand in Ascalon, relaying instructions to Sappho, reminiscing about younger days with Yuri after reuniting in Ebonhawke, Sappho appearing to a lost commander in the Mists, and Ximone wishing the people she loves would stop slipping through her claws.

These are my humble little pieces that I did for the Commander of Your Heart Zine! I'm so honored to be alongside all of those lovely and talented artists! ;m; <3 Yuri belongs to @1ore! Sappho belongs to herself!

#guild wars 2 #gw2 #fanart #commander of your heart #guild wars 2 fanart #ximone #ximone atropos #yuri sixcants #1ore

[ohpollenpowder]

It's that time again!!! Or. Well. Near enough, time is flying, though! So mark your calendars for the pride walk!!! It's a fun two day event, walking from Ebonhawke to Lion's Arch on day one, then leaving Lion's Arch and ending at the gates of Rata Sum! All of this in support of Rainbow Railroad!! (Link not quite available yet with the community affiliation.)

I, myself, usually stream it!! Last year I was able to volunteer as well!! It's a really fun and enjoyable time, please come and join us! If you can't, feel free to spread the word!! Even if you can't come to both days or stay the whole time—the walk takes a few hours—come at least for a little while!! ♥♥♥

You can find out more information over here on the Guild Wars 2 forums. Or join the discord to stay in the loop!!!

#guild wars 2 #gw2 #tyria pride 2023

[i-mybrunettelady]

a gravitational pull

Summary: Renira goes on a date with a very singular woman. Content warnings: sensuality/making out (M) Spoilers: None Note: Happy Lesbian visibility week! I may not be a lesbian but Ren is and I wanted to write this for ages now but just.. didn't, so here's one for a ship that could've been, but never was. Ft Babymander Nyra.

Renira doesn’t ordinarily meddle with targets that don’t concern her current mission. The Vigil, as far as her orders go, are allies and not people whose secrets she should be focused on. A secret here and there is fine, but there is a line that the agents can’t cross. Not when there’s General Soulkeeper and Warmaster Kernsson on sight as two high ranking officers. The Warmaster, maybe, if she were daring enough to attempt to spy on him again at such a time, but the General? 

She cannot risk it; not as a Lightbringer. Not when her squad relies on her in this way. 

Yet when Kernsson’s pretty apprentice starts chatting her up and asks her for a date, Renira is all too quick to agree. There is no shortage of pretty women, but there is a shortage of time. Now, after that whole business with Ajax Anvilburn is done with, she can take a break for one evening. It’s nothing serious, after all.

Then again, Renira does wonder if digging up info on your date before you even go out is standard practice for anyone who isn’t of the Whispers. Probably not. Alysannyra Ainsaph’s name has popped up here and there - starting with a file in bold, red letters called the Hero of Shaemoor. She has family here in Ebonhawke. And now, apparently, she has joined the Vigil and bears the title of Crusader. 

That’s where she makes herself stop. There need to be conversation topics. She cannot know everything in advance. 

“Nice dress, by the way,” Alysannyra says with a slight curve to the ends of her lips. “I see you’re taking cues from the locals.” She then pauses and joins her hands before her. Her lips, full and pink, are slightly parted. “I think it suits you, personally. We’d wear it belted in Rurikton, for the waist emphasis, but it looks good like this, I think. And I think the flower I chose works well with it? As if I’d known!”

Renira takes a deep breath. “Thank you,” she says and accepts the flowers - a vibrant yellow to match the pink of her dress, just as Alysannyra said - and gently holds them in her hand. Then Alysannyra offers her a hand and off on the streets of Ebonhawke they go. 

She looks good tonight. They look quite the pair, unintentionally so. The thought makes Renira smile. Nyra looks rather good in the traditional Ascalonian embroidered shirt and a jelek. The shirt is open enough to reveal her collarbones and the tightness of the vest makes her chest look pronounced. Her hair is long and loose, brushed but only barely, alternating between brown, red and blonde in the dying light of day. Her face is bare. 

Renira hasn’t seen eyes as blue in a while. Or maybe the lack of romantic attention in recent times finally reared its ugly head. While not that common, blue eyes aren’t exactly a rarity either. 

“Your hair changes color in the sunlight,” Renira says, by way of observation. Their footsteps fall in rhythm.

“Only the wisest of men know what my actual hair color is,” Nyra supplies, and lifts her eyebrows. “It has been foretold, certainly, that one who guesses it right will win my hand in marriage.” 

“Should I keep looking then?” Renira laughs. She likes the way Nyra talks. The dryness of her humor is refreshing. 

“If you like. I like to be looked at. If you guess right, you might get me to pop the question, Ascalonian style.” 

“Oh? I assume your heritage allows you for more insight on that particular topic than my few months of living here does?” Renira leans in - rather, down. Nyra’s hair smells of fresh herbs. 

Nyra lifts her head to meet her eyes. She holds her gaze. “I could show you, if you’d like,” she says. 

Renira hums. “There is time, Nyra.” She masks the extent of the excitement the response leaves in her. Nyra is a woman of the court, and she knows the art of conversation just as well as Renira does, yet not everyone acquires the charm needed to get to be as good as it can be. 

No, it’s not charm, not really. It feels like she has something of a gravitational pull that makes Renira unable to look away. The steadiness of her gaze, the warmth of her hand, scent of herbs and a hint of perfume, all coupled with her head held high, tempts Renira to bend down and kiss her then and there. When has she grown attracted to muscle on a woman? That is a new development. 

Not that she minds. 

Nyra’s smile is lopsided. “Enough time to squeeze a second date in?” 

Renira laughs. “Maybe. If I don’t make up my mind by the end of this one.” She pulls her closer. The eye contact breaks when she snakes their fingers tighter together and runs her nails over Nyra’s knuckles. “We aren’t even at the date location yet. The night is young.” 

And indeed, the sun has just set. The moon is just peeking through, an invited, observant figure to  the chatter of people and their joint hands. By the end of this, Renira thinks, she could have Nyra in her bed if she wanted to. And where would the harm be, if she has a willing participant? 

Nyra nods, pink in the face. “That is for you to decide, but in the meantime, I think a delicious meal awaits us.” 

And the food is good, admittedly, the kind both humans and charr would enjoy. Well done meat with kajmak, chopped onion that neither of them are touching, reflections of the bright yellow flower in the little rakija bottles. Turns out Nyra isn’t a fan of it. She takes one sip, swallows like a battleworn hero she is, and places it down with all the grace of a woman of the court. Renira downs hers in one chug. Nyra lifts a brow, as if impressed. 

And maybe alcohol did lower their inhibitions, but they’re kissing in a dimly lit street later, with Nyra on the tips of her toes and her hands around Renira’s shoulders. She’s a good kisser, it turns out. 

“Billiard rooms,” Nyra explains in between kisses. It’s a rather silly high society excuse to stare at people’s asses and steal a kiss. 

Renira slides her hands down and squeezes Nyra’s ass. She doesn’t need any overpriced rooms. “Were there any bets?” she asks, curiously. A part of her laughs, almost; is she as cocky as someone like Nyra can afford to be, to place a bet to be the best she’s ever kissed? She doesn’t voice it. 

There are many things she hasn’t been able to afford herself. There’s something so very aristocratic about the way Nyra carries herself, the way she grabs attention and stamps her seal all over it. Even now, red in the face, with lips darkened by kissing and lipstick, she knows she looks good, she knows the world should be watching her. 

Arrogance, Renira thinks. Arrogance that’s hardly ever faced a pushback. Arrogance that makes her want to fuck her against that very wall, in this very street. What a luxurious thing. 

“Nothing that went beyond tongues,” Nyra replies after a thought. “My parents have always been of the old, Ascalonian cut.” 

Renira tilts her head and licks at Nyra’s lower lip. “And you?” 

Nyra looks visibly distracted for a moment. “I’ve never been to Ebonhawke before,” she says. “Is that good enough?” 

“More than enough.” Enough to write in your file later. Tastes divine, is hardly in touch with where her parents came from. Looking to reconnect. Doesn’t care about the way things are done here. She places a kiss on her jaw. Nyra’s nails dig into Renira’s skin. She then kisses lower, to her exposed neck. 

Then, she then feels Nyra’s hands pushing her face away from her neck. Just as Renira was about to ask to leave her a little bite. Rude, she thinks and smiles. You arrogant, rude, sexy aristocrat. You just need to be in charge. Did the world see that? Or do you keep these things to yourself?

“I know a place where we can have more privacy,” Nyra says in a voice that doesn’t invite questioning. A command wrapped in a statement, and the quietness of the tone doesn’t take anything away from its force. She slides her hand down so it rests on Renira’s hip. “It’s not that far away. Come.” 

She then takes Renira’s hand and goes down the street, lipstick stains on her face and neck be damned. She walks like it all belongs to her, like she’s the queen of the fucking world, with her head held high. Without shame. Arrogant. 

Not arrogant. Proud. 

It takes Renira a lot to fall in love, but maybe this is a closer thing. Or maybe it’s the rakija, and the kissing, and the moon whispering in her ear, and the Ebonhawke and its pressing history and its proud descendant that’s holding her hand. 

Whatever it is, Renira slides into the night with her. 

It is, after all, a call she can’t say no to. 

#gw2 #inspo birb has come to town #alysannyra #renira sulver #gw2 writing #my writing #gw2 fic #lesbian visibility week #listen ascalon is serbia to me and they went to a kafana and had rakija and roštilj and kajmak #a kafana date. and one dressed in traditional clothes #for reference ren is in an anterija type dress #which is a largely woman's traditional garb #so many good examples online #they're not in opanci but shhhh #opanci good. we love an opanak. #anyways give it up for some. sapphics on a date #please give this notes i worked hard #i trust y'all to read this #thetyrian

[khorren]

Once a bandit and general thievery annoyance of Ebonhawke, Alexis devoted her life to the teachings of Dwayna. A little bit of side activity with the Zephyrites, and later the Crystal Bloom, she always kept a little bit of Dwayna with her.

Of course she's still entilted to smacking things upside the head with a big hammer ^_^

#alexis #gw2 #guild wars 2

[the-blazing-light]

"Son of fire and ruin, destinied for conquest, now claims to be a savior?"

Some thoughts about Arengar that have been cooking in my head for a while, and about the importance of blood for charr in general.

Blood and family is a big theme in Arengar's story, because even though charr parents don't participate in raising their children and we're told that, to quote Bangar, "charr don't have sons", it's shown time and time again that your lineage matters quite a lot and reflects the way you're treated and seen in your legion: an entire chapter of personal story for charr being entirely dedicated to who your father is/was, despite him not participating in your upbringing, you're still the one on whose shoulders it falls, in some cases, to respond to your father's wrongdoings or even kill your father if you choose that option during one of the possible story missions. Ryland's entire conflict is trying to split away from who his parents are, to do something worthwhile himself instead of just living in the shadow of his parents' big names and achievements. And in another case, you can find a statue of charr called Ferro the Butcher in the Black Citadel, father of one of Iron's tribunes, Bhuer Goreblade, who was obsessed with the 'tainted legacy' of his flame shaman grandsire, and after Bhuer was born has volounteered to answer for the crimes of his ancestor so that Bhuer doesn't have to face the same predjudice as him. So while charr don't raise their children, lineage matters a lot to them, even going as far as generations back.

And Arengar's lineage is nothing to scoff at. Grandcub of the Blood Legion imperator, son of a respected Blood warrior who'd fought viciously and became known for her ferocity during the siege of Ebonhawke, he's had a lot to live up to since the day he was born.

He was born to become a model soldier of his legion, heavy expectations of his blood always weighing down on his shoulders. His lineage is that of duality, as while his mother's side of the family are respected, well-known Blood warriors, his father is an ex-Flame shaman, who caused quite a stir when Maja, Arengar's mother, took him into her warband, placing the trust into a shaman who'd turned his back on Flame Legion and claimed to want vengeance on his former comrades. That trust seemed to pay off, as Scorchface, a nickname he'd gotten due to the burn scarring on his head along with black markings on his muzzle, became a loyal and invaluable part of her warband and later on, her lover, resulting in Arengar being born.

So since his birth Arengar had to contend with two very conflicting legacies: that of a renowned, respected warrior, pride of her Legion and her father, the Imperator, and that of a flame shaman seen as dangerous even after proving time and time again his newfound loyalty to Maja, her warband and her legion. Notably though, his loyalties were specifically to her, not to the Blood legion. To the warband and its leader who took him in and trusted him while the rest of the legion saw him as a danger to them and a tratior.

Despite that, Arengar held a lot of pride in his blood, it is reflected even in Arengar's fighting style: being a guardian he combines the martial prowess of a warrior while wielding searing flame, his father's shaman legacy. And even despite his father's reputation, Arengar was still seen as a progidal son, someone with a lot ahead of him, someone destinied to reach great heights within Blood Legion, and his performance in the Fahrar and eagerness to become the best soldier his legion has ever seen has only cemented that. A born conqueror, one to bring glory to the Blood Legion and he intended to do just so.

That is, until an accident and a series of bad decisions led to his warband dying, Arengar being left a sole survivor, a gladium. Still young at the time, filled with ambitions that have been shattered before his eyes and dealing with the pain of losing his warband, becoming a gladium, returning to his legion as a disgraced sole survivor felt like a fate worse than death. Scared, pained and still young, Arengar couldn't find it in him to go back to his legion and face the tribunal, the progidal son of Blood Legion now being a member of the lowest caste, a gladium, the disgraced sole survivor of his warband.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #it's unfinished but eh fuckit #I've had it in my drafts for ages and idk how to finish it proper so hdjdjf good enough #charr #Arengar Hopebringer

[guildtree]

Well, upcoming ArtFight has finally given me the kick in the rear to get some OC pages up, so here's my girl, the Commander of my main timeline:

Loretta is a norn raised by humans in Ebonhawke, giving her a mixture of heritages that she still struggles to reconcile to this day. As an adult she moved to Divinity's Reach, where she worked as a bodyguard for the nobility before getting roped into a mission with Logan Thackeray that eventually led to her becoming the Pact Commander. Her revenant powers developed gradually throughout her dragon-killing crusade, and ever since her death at Balthazar's hands, Kalla Scorchrazor has been her primary Legend. Her Mistforged armor can be summoned and desummoned from the Mists at will; her left eye is a gift from Aurene after she lost the original to Caudecus.

Loretta is the eldest of three (adopted) siblings, was forced by her size to be a gentle giant growing up, and spent her formative years in a city that was constantly under siege. To say she has an older sister complex is the understatement of the century. Her mixed heritage makes her a social chameleon and people-pleaser that attempts to make friends with just about everyone. She's generally laid-back and social, a little wry and world-weary. All of that disguises an underlying ruthlessness and pride that comes out when she needs to be The Commander, and which she probably isn't entirely aware of herself. She's also a lot smarter than she looks; while she's no academic, she's well-traveled and street smart, with an incredible memory and fluency in several languages thanks to an ongoing interest in history.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #oc: loretta #ref sheet #art #my art #norn #revenant #please enjoy!

[mistswalker]

Meet The Purple Menace

So, this character of mine has been part of a lot of memes and comics and art over the years but I don't think I've ever properly introduced him. So here goes! (Art above by @tricksterpale and @king-there0f ❤❤)

Meet Daimine! (Pronounced DAY-minn) My ridiculous, chaotic, hedonistic, Soundless mesmer.

He's a deeply talented illusionist whose specialty lies in stealth, clones, and deception. He prefers blinking from place to place rather than walking, getting a special delight out of startling people when he appears.

He tends to mentally "collect" features he considers beautiful or interesting about a person to work into a future disguise. He likes to make a game of mimicry, quickly learning the ins and outs of a given lifestyle and performing them back until his interest shifts. He even has a personal "sona" appearance fashioned after each of the other races stocked for blending in, and will hold those appearances for sometimes weeks on end if it suits him.

He's not very good at understanding complex emotions, especially those of other people, and so instead will explore them through the concept of storytelling or performance. Day to day, however, he dons a perpetually jovial facade, preferring to just dip out when a situation becomes less fun, or at minimum, entertaining, than he thought he signed up for.

Though his motivations may seem rather straightforward, woe to anyone who tries to use this knowledge to control him. The only thing more powerful than his desire for a good time is his loathing for authority or control. He can and will be a contrarian little shit the second he thinks someone is trying to manipulate him without his enthusiastic consent.

Prior to the start of Hope's Legacy, he had spent the last year in the Fields of Ruin, trading back and forth between moonlighting his humansona as a separatist, and his charrsona as a renegade to sow chaos on both sides of the war in Ebonhawke for his own enjoyment. Previous occupations include: Assassin, bounty hunter, bandit, and adopted skritt.

#mypost #gw2 #guild wars 2 #guildwars 2 #guild wars #guildwars #sylvari #gw2 oc #daimine #character post #Hope's Legacy #HL #mystories #Cas #my characters

[ascalonianlightbringer]

It's been a long time since I first fell in love with pre-Searing Ascalon in Guild Wars: Prophecies. But I'm still nostalgic enough that I periodically visit Ebonhawke just to go home to human Ascalon, and I loved this view of it :)

#t: greetings friend #p: honor the past #r: for ascalon! #guild wars: prophecies #guild wars 2 #i love ebonhawke's story and legacy and (much as i love gw2) wish the founding story hadn't been cut short by the gw2 release #the dialogue options definitely suggest that human characters (ascalonian or not) have no ties to ebonhawke #and i'm like. actually all my characters do #althea fairchild: owes her last name to an ebonhawke npc i appropriated as her aunt #she was born in ebonhawke and half her family still lives there #gwen velazquez: her parents were in the ebon vanguard and died in ascalon while she was on the streets #of divinity's reach with her sister #isabel batista: daughter of immigrants from ebonhawke #xiulan azar: posted in ebonhawke as part of the vigil and sticks up for its people out of orrian-ascalonian solidarity #kate sandford: was literally a separatist #pax vowkeeper: charr priory member trying to atone for war crimes who awkwardly carts ascalonian relics to ebonhawke

[anghraine]

I was searching for an unrelated-to-the-Ascalonian-grudgeblogging GW2 thing, but ended up reading a grumpy recap of the core storyline from someone playing a Charr Vigil member. Surprisingly, they were like, "you know, honestly, all these people wondering why Ascalonians still have a grudge against Charr kind of need a slap in the face. Also, why do Krytans have so much say over what happens to Ebonhawke, anyway? Does it have sovereignty or not?"

I do support slapping every person who is like "why don't they just get over a 250-year long attempt to eradicate them? What a silly grudge" but I don't often see actual players saying so!

I also find the sovereignty issue genuinely interesting.

My impression is that Ebonhawke is nominally an independent city-state, but the alliance with Kryta has been critical enough (esp recently) that they weren't in a position for direct conflict over this "regent of Ascalon" business. So the people of Ebonhawke don't accept Jennah as sovereign—there are even Ascalonian residents of Divinity's Reach who don't—but they also can't afford an open break with Kryta and this is where a lot of their resentment is coming from.

Ebonhawke drawing so much of the Charr's attention in the war was pretty beneficial to Kryta, so I suspect their support was not purely altruistic even without the claim to sovereignty. It's made clear in various storylines that Ebonhawke falling would be disastrous for Kryta. Additionally, the Krytan government offered valuable support and supplies to Ebonhawke, but couldn't really spare much direct military support, so Ascalonians are also conscious that they suffered most of the direct casualties of the war, to the benefit of Kryta. So it makes sense that the relationship is complicated and ambiguous!

Honestly, the tensions surrounding the Ebonhawke-Kryta alliance, the various political maneuvers involved, and the effects of all this on the Ascalonian diaspora are some of the most intriguing aspects of the game to me. The writing is definitely skewed towards the Krytan perspective, to be sure—PCs of any background will remark that Kryta is generous(!) to allow Ebonhawke its own representative in the peace negotiations, for instance. But it's not so skewed that you can't see why Ascalonians insist on their independence from Krytan rule.

#this is why my headcanon for my main is that she comes from a mixed family of krytan and ebonhawke ascalonians #because it's so interesting to imagine a pc who would actually navigate that tension with a personal stake in it #even if the game doesn't suggest that human pcs feel the slightest solidarity with ebonhawke #so there's deborah (who is proud of being ascalonian but considers independent human ascalon gone) on one hand #and then there's devona (a vanguard captain who is privately furious about the peace treaty) #on the other #ailoda has been pushing in the krytan ministry for more assistance to ebonhawke without sovereignty strings attached #and is on good terms with her ebonhawke in-laws #who themselves appreciate krytan support but also insist they aren't vassals of kryta #and althea is simultaneously very loyal to jennah as a krytan subject and very invested in ebonhawke's independence #anyway this is a ... lot ... but. well. i'm me. #anghraine babbles #anghraine's gaming #ascalonian grudgeblog #long post #fic talk #fic talk: pro patria #althea fairchild #deborah fairchild #devona fairchild #ailoda langmar #elwin fairchild #calissa tahiri #gw fanwank