The first watercolor I finished in a while

Guild Portraits: Raski. One of my oldest and dearest friends in real life. A co-conspirator in much mischief in WoW. She's been posted here several times before. Durotar, April 19, 2008.

The Darkspears have long been the black sheep of trolls. That is, until Queen Talanji allied with the Horde. Our actions in Tal'gurub have greatly influenced our forbearer's tribe, certainly so as our deeds are known through ancestors and common loa. Despite this renewed ... peace is not entirely the right word but so be it--with the Gurubashi, the Darkspears, like the Sand Trolls, and alongside other island and diasporic trolls determine that the time is appropriate to truly build an Island Troll capital to call their own.

Their island, at the foot of Durotar, uses the name "Echo Isles" in Common. However, in Zandali, the true name of the region is "E'ko Isles," referring to the life force, the spiritual power, that each creature possesses. These once-Jungle trolls, now inhabiting lands free of murlocs and sea witch nagas, call in the support of their Zandalari allies and construct a beautiful, modest yet perfectly Darkspear capital on the Isles. They call it: Zul'E'ko

Though some say Zul'Echo--and this is the accepted Common standard spelling--the proper and appropriate term is E'ko, Zul'E'ko and E'komari, that last one as an adjective to describe island trolls

E'komari Trolls (also: Ekomari, Echommari) decided their name in a troll council consisting of Islanders, Zandalari, diasporic trolls, and Horde representatives. It was decided that physical and cultural differences between Jungle and Island/diasporic trolls was significant enough and warranted a new identity forged in this time of peace:

As it had been the Horde--and notably the Horde centred at Orgrimmar--that had most ardently supported the Darkspears, the construction of the word is to use "-mar" (declined as "-mari") in recognition of those enduring bonds.

E'komari Trolls seek to stand amongst the Empires of the greats: Tall alongside the Zandalari, strong amongst the Gurubashi, honourable aside the Farraki and Drakkari, and more than capable afront the Amani. Let the E'komari era unfold as one of the great troll eras!

Echo Isles Reimagined, Pt 6 - Shrine of Dambala

Hello, everyone! Today we’ll be looking at another of Loa Isle’s many shrines, the Shrine of Dambala.

Before we dive in, allow me to share a personal note. It bothers me that in WoW lore, Dambala is considered an evil Loa, one whose primary characteristic is treachery. This would be 100% fine had Blizzard made him up from nowhere, except they didn’t. Dambala has a real-life counterpart in Vodou and other African diaspora religions. In these religions he is portrayed as a peaceful and benevolent creator spirit. He is represented in these religions as a large, non-venomous constrictor serpent, unlike in WoW where he is depicted as an aggressive, venomous cobra. I think if you’re designing a game, and you seek to draw inspiration from real life sources to create your mythos, it’s your responsibility to at the very least *not* portray real life religious figures as the complete opposite of what they are. The internet was alive and well when Magic and Mayhem was written, and the information was definitely out there when Shadowlands came around. So there’s really no excuse when five minutes of googling could tell you that this isn’t what Dambala is about (No, literally. It literally took five minutes). They had a chance to flesh out Dambala in Shadowlands, possibly give him a revamp like they did with Bwonsamdi in BfA, but instead they doubled down on him being a one-dimensional, evil deity. Just one more missed opportunity in the lackluster lore of Shadowlands.

I tell you all this to preface that for my own headcanons about Dambala, I chose instead to focus on him being the Loa of subtlety and swiftness rather than a Loa of treachery. So anyway, let’s take a look:

Here we see a carved stone statue of a coiled cobra, surrounded by several intricately carved stone columns depicting scale-like patterns. A variety of snakes inhabit the cave, from cobras to constrictors to vipers and garter snakes. All of Dambala’s children are welcome inside, and they often help themselves to the offerings that the Loa’s followers leave behind. Here are some close-ups of the details of the shrine:

Plants such as snake plant, snakeroot, and serpent bloom grow inside the shrine:

Priests of Dambala dress in snakeskin clothing, or ceremonial armor with a serpent symbolism. Those who have been blessed by Dambala, like shadow hunters, earn the ability to move dangerously fast and to blend seamlessly into their surroundings. It is said some can even transform into serpents. I also like to think that those particularly in tune with the Loa can summon his children at will, and also suffer no ill effects from venom or poisons.

Offerings for Dambala include your typical snake fare, and may vary depending on what his followers can catch. Here we see eggs, rodents, and small lizards. Frogs, birds, and insects are also popular offerings. It is all served on a detailed stone altar befitting a snake Loa.

And that’s that! I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. More are on the way. Stay tuned!

I bought an Echo Isles scented candle from candlecraft last night. Fingers crossed that it smells good.

Ozone/Ocean/Sage scented with tiers. If I don’t like it, oh well, it’s only 4oz.

WAIT A MINUTE

I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING SAD

ok so i’m rewatching ‘echos of the past’ and king said that (while he was in his egg) he remembers “a deep roar” that was followed by a loud crash. but he was “too small to do anything”.

that loud crash was 100% papa titan collapsing into the boiling sea.

his first memory is the sound of his parent dying

Wardruid Zai Dragonflight Patch Notes

- Unlocked new pronouns (she/they)

- Got top surgery

- Started growing out her hair

- Got diagnosed with a Triple A Combo (Autism, ADHD and Astigmatism)

- Got some more muscle

- I am still obsessed with her

Echo, high af: “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”

Fives, also high af: “That was deep bro.”

I have put off making a map for Nodd for many, many years. But now there's lots of neat map making tools to use so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Here's a WIP. Still need several island clusters, to add terrain, to make not everything be grass, etc. Also added a MS paint label copy so y'all can see how silly I'm gonna get with the names.

💫 Knights of Nodd

Baby, I've been there before

I was at the point where all I really wanted was someone

And now I'm still hanging on

I was at the end of every tether waiting for what once was

Lyrics from “What Once Was” by Her’s

The song is not specifically relevant but it is what I was listening to on loop when I worked on this new plot point!

(Commission info here | Pride icon commission info here)

Alt version with more text visible:

"Thick smoke puffed out of the badger's maw as if she was breathing flame."

"Out of the way, out of the way, out of the way. She needed to find them, needed the smoke cleared. He wanted the once-winged ones found and killed."

The Undertakers of KnollClan, CloverClan and LochClan were attacked by a "rabid" badger at their most recent meeting. They suffered one casualty, and the rest escaped narrowly with several injuries.

Keep an eye out for future updates of The Clans of the Emerald Isle!

Selfie Quest: Lil' Buddy!, Echo Isles, March 27, 2015.

Sunday 18 June 2023 12 pm Mixtape 326 “Stream of Biscuits”

2023-06-18

Afterhour electronic retro lounge

Wednesdays, Fridays & Sundays. Support the artists and labels. Don't forget to tip so future shows can bloom.

Binaural Space-Robot Soul-00:00

d'Voxx-The Place Where There Is No Darkness-1:51

Soylent Green-After All-06:47

Keloko-Verde-13:04

Harmonische-23-Broken Biscuits-14:52

Romare-A Hold-19:30

Ardala-Halls of Antiquity-24:51

Vague Imaginaires-La Plage Sous les Arbres-29:54

Harvey Sutherland-New Paradise-35:45

Monochrome Echo-Resolution-42:20

Dawn of Midi-Algol-46:38

The Night Monitor-Time Lapse-50:47

Christian Kleine-Touch & Fuse-52:47

Primary Mystical Experience-Stream of Life-58:08

Echo Isles Reimagined, Pt. 5 - Shrine of Shango

Welcome back, friends! It's been a long while since I posted a new look into my updated Echo Isles project, and I thank you all for being so patient!

Today we'll be looking at the Shrine of Shango, the Loa of Storms.

As the inhabitants of islands, Darkspear trolls would be intimately familiar with the terrifying and violent power behind this force of nature, and both admire and fear the destruction they can cause. Heavy winds can wipe out villages, while flooding can ruin food stores. Lightning strikes can destroy objects, kill people, and cause devastating wildfires. So it's no surprise that the Darkspear would want to worship (or at the very least appease) the being who held such power.

So upfront I'll admit that all of this is my own personal headcanon. I heavily considered having Shango just be the Darkspear name for Akunda, seeing how there's not much in-game lore about Shango, save for a blessing used by a single shadow hunter in WoD. Akunda is much more fleshed out thanks to BfA lore, and I do think it would totally be possible for there to be multiple names for a single Loa among the various troll tribes. But the more I thought about it, the less that made sense to me. Nothing I found seemed to indicate that the Darkspear would have been familiar with thunder lizards as creatures prior to relocating to Durotar with the orcs, so it's hard for me to imagine that they would portray their Loa of Storms as one. Perhaps Shango was once a powerful shaman, one who could call down furious storms, who was deified after their passing. (That would be somewhat in line with this Loa's real-life namesake, and we know Blizz loves to cherry pick from Afro-Caribbean cultures.) So anyway, that led me to shy away from using too much imagery that would call to mind Akunda. Instead what I went for was more of an elemental shaman vibe and weather effects with a somewhat trollish spin:

You can see it actually rains inside the cave's micro-climate! Trollish wind chimes are charged with energy and gently sway in the breeze, while light in the cave is refracted into a beautiful rainbow. And the unique flora harnesses the power of the storm, occasionally spilling out as flashes of lightning.

(Close up of the rain stone in the center of the shrine.)

(Ceremonial carving above the entrance to the shrine, crackling with elemental energy)

Followers of Shango honor him by replicating the energy of a storm through vigorous dance. To the rhythm of thunderous drums, crashing gongs, and trickling rain sticks, they dance and chant and clap. There are also specific dances followers perform to call much-needed rain or to divert disastrous weather.

Priests of Shango can use their blessings from the Loa to harness his power, to call storms and fight enemies with wind and lightning.

So there it is! I hope you enjoyed this look into the Shrine of Shango on the Darkspears' Loa Isle. Stay tuned for more posts in the future. In case you missed any of the previous posts, you can find them here:

Part One - Loa Isle Part Two - Temple of Bwonsamdi Part Three - Temple of Gonk Part Four - Shrine of Lukou

Out training my tiny beast at the store and a first happened for me.... I have had a lot of weird shit be said to me being a service dog handler... but had an older lady stop me in the door as I was leaving and try to get me to take her dog from her. Why do people have to be weird to me when I have my dogs. When it was clear I wasn't going to adopt her dog she tried to get me to train it... ma'am I'm not a professional training, let me leave...