#ebonhawke

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[guildtree]

"You're leaving? I just got back from Ebonhawke."

"Destroyers around Lion's Arch. I'll be back in a few days."

"I'll probably be somewhere else by then."

"I know."

"Stay safe. I love you."

"I love you too."

Set sometime during Champions.

#guild wars 2 #gw2 #my art #kasmeer meade #marjory delaqua #kasjory #angst flavor this time!

[i-mybrunettelady]

cyoh zine teaser 2

you guys know the drill - @gw2-zine is almost here, and i am here with another mini teaser! this time, it's lesser known part of my lore :>

“I think I know the way down,” Nyra says. “It won’t end with us falling to our deaths, hopefully. I’m getting quite a feel for this place.”  “Of course you are,” Renira replies. “You’re about as chaotic as this reliquary is.” She gives a small smile. “It suits you, after all.”  “Ever the charmer, Sulver,” Nyra shakes her head. In another life, they might have developed a romance following their brief hookup in Ebonhawke years ago, and the thought of exploring this place with a lover sounds romantic until she remembers she killed her actual lover in Maguuma. Now, it's a flaring ache that makes her look away in shame.  “You’re alright, Nyra,” Renira says, strangely gentle. She places a gloved hand on Nyra’s shoulder and though she can’t feel the comfort, she feels undeserving of such sentiment. She’s never really emoted well, but she supposes a lifetime of spying on people makes it easy to identify emotions, regardless of expression or lack thereof.  Nyra shakes her hand off. “Let’s go,” she says. Renira simply nods.

as usual, keep an eye out for the teasers of others, and go follow @gw2-zine <3

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #cyoh zine #cyoh teaser

[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