"Nothing particularly interesting, I suppose." Vezz taps his claws together, furrowing his brow as he peers up at Kerra. "Nothing much to ask. But I've been through all this myself, and I feel the question begs asking: how are you holding up?"

@ratasum (from dad mode Vezz fjkelfds)

(Dad mode Vezz hours <3)

Kerra blinks, then lets out a sigh as she pulls out a nearby chair and sits down. She offers Vezz a tired smile. "I've been worse, somehow--which I'm aware isn't the best descriptor, but you of all people might have some idea what I mean. I'd be doing much better if the world-ending events could stop for longer than a year. Give me time with my partners that I don't have to fight for. Stop targeting my children."

She puts her face in her hand for a moment, then runs that hand through her leaves. "Aurene can take care of herself. And Rhi can certainly hold their own in combat, I just...I don't know how much you know about the situation in Gyala Delve, but Rhi was involved before I was. They shouldn't have to be there, they don't have to be there, but...like parent, like child. It's a threat to people they care about. They won't walk away.

"There are limits on what I can do to keep them safe--to keep them both safe. I've never been okay with that. I never will be."

have 3 and/or 5 from the song asks for lorelei, if you’d like! :) @kerra-and-company

OHOHO... "angst" and "love life" for lorelei can have a lot of overlap but this time i'll do separate ones!

first, lorelei's angst (specifically HoT flavored): BAGDAD - cap.7: liturgia, by rosalía

(oops i got carried away again. also vital for u guys to know that the music video for this is a girl locking herself in a bathroom stall and crying so hard that she floods it and drowns herself, which is a potently distilled lorelei vibe)

CaTcF Sibling AU 

Got another Wonka AU for y'all. One where the ticket winners (and Wonka) have a sibling, as the title implies.

Wonka Bros.: Willy and Wallace Wonka, a truly mischievous pair these two; love pulling tricks, jokes, and mayhem and above all: chocolate and candies. They’ve mastered the craft and can create things one might think not possible. Even going as far as to switch around their names. Only Charlie with his keen eye to the details is able to tell which of the two is which. Attire based on barber shop quartets. Inspiration, the Weasley brothers, Fred and George and Wallace from Wallace & Gromit. 

The Buckets: The young Charlie Bucket was always an optimist. The family's shimmer of sunshine in their unfortunate living situation. The eldest, Lisa, has been more of a realist. Trying to ease her brother into the reality of things as he gets older. Their grandparent, Grandpa Joe, told stories of the candy magicians that were the Wonka Brothers. How he, and his own late brother, worked for him years and years ago before they had to close the factory. The mix of his brother's passing and losing his job, he fell into a depression. Fate smiled upon them one day with the announcement of the tour of Wonka Brothers' famous chocolate factory. The winners being the ones who find any of the 5 hidden golden tickets under the wrappers of the bars of chocolate. As more of the tickets got found, it seemed very bleak that Charlie, an admirer of the factory, would find one... but it was something she herself had hoped he would indeed find. Wanting to believe that there was that small chance. Lo and behold, Charlie had found it! The last golden ticket, in a Wonka chocolate bar given to him by Lisa w/ some money she found on her way to walk him home from school. The Gloops Bros.: “🎶 One fat, one tall, one small, all round as a butterball 🎶” (rhyme by Illord aka @mask131) Augustus Gloop, the middle child. Enjoys a variety of greasy foods and meats; Dudley Gloop, is the eldest. Eats the least of the three and has a wider variety of food picks, but never exercises. So the fat just built up gradually. First name lifted from Harry Potter's cousin of the same name. Lazy; Pudgley Gloop, the youngest. Eats lots of sugary foods. Very messy and a slob. Their fates in the Chocolate Room is that they fall in after tripping over each other close to the river’s edge and all three fall in, w/ each one goes up a separate pipe to a different room. The Beauregardes: Violet and her brother Lavender, are always engaging in competitions and trying to one-up the other in some capacity. From their wardrobe, hairstyles, and gum chewing records. Always arguing who did what better and always trying to be the “first”. Later in the Inventing Room the brother and sister split the three course gum in two while fighting over it. Both reach the desserts, blueberry pie, and swell up into two big blueberries. Even then, the two continue to bicker and argue as they're rolled away to the juicing room. The Salt Twins: Veruca (the one in green) and her twin Kerra (the one in pink) are very bratty, aggressive, and stingy with sharing with the other. If one wants a pool, the other will want an entire water park. Kerra's name is an acronym for Keratosis, like how Veruca is named after a wart that grows on the foot). Colours picked inspired by the Tramaine sisters, Drizella And Anastasia. The tour group soon reaches the Egg and Nut Room, where the nuts are sorted by squirrels and golden chocolate goose eggs are collected, one cries about wanting a squirrel while one wants a golden chocolate goose. They try and fail to obtain their desired animal and end up going down the garbage chute to the furnace room. The TeaVees: Basically the opposite of the Bucket siblings. Never get along and not all that close. Mike is the oldest on the tour. His little sister, Meggy, highly enjoys her children's programs in excess. Both bicker over control of the TV remote. Of the two Meggy is the more mature one. Mike is always picking on her and taking her toys and breaking them. Is asked by their parents to keep Mike in line with his behaviour, "Otherwise [she'll] tell mom". On the last room visited during the tour, Mike takes her toy doll and teases Meggy with keeping out of her reach. The scuffle ends with Mike on the platform and beamed into the TV and pulled out the screen. Reduced to doll size... now Meggy is the "big" sister. Inspiration, Sid and Hannah from Toy Story.

have 1, 6, 13, and 15 from the gw2 asks for anwen, if you’d like! :) @kerra-and-company

Thanks for the ask 💜 I'm also working on your pens, promise! 🖊️ Time for Anwen loving-hours💙

Your character is now the leader of their species, whatever that looks like for them (Arcane Council member, Imperator, Royalty, etc). How do they govern and what sorts of changes would they make if any?

Oh would she not make a resplendent queen? 🥰

As a successor to Salma's line, she'd probably have to prove herself over and over again. Sure, she has a reputation, as a viscountess and as the Commander, but she is not exactly beloved by her fellow nobles and she's made a few enemies amongst the ministers.

So the first few months / years of her reign would be very hard on the Shining Blade's nerves, for as Queen, Anwen would endeavour to purge the corruption in her government, and install a strong parliament, with representatives of every trade, every social class, every village and settlement in Kryta, to discuss and decide on the politics within her borders.

She would personally take great joy in working on foreign affairs, especially considering that she's on first-name basis with more than half of the rulers of the world.

And she'd be very adamant about Orr keeping her independence.

They're now a heart NPC/part of a string of quests. What does that involve?

Help Anwen Evergreen tend to Caer Aval :

Defend the garden plots against Risen threats, prune the fire orchids before they invade the greenhouses, use seed pouches to grow new plants, bring aid to the stranded botanists.

What is the worst/funniest/dumbest article that could be written about them in Tyria's trashiest gossip mag?

Let's start with worst! Since Anwen's got a... reputation in Divinity's Reach... She's probably rumoured to be a brute (defenestration of a suitor, breaking and entering a minister's property with the Seraph, killing said minister in trial by combat, killing Zhaitan, leaving a trail of embers in her wake through the Heart of Maguuma, slamming the door of the Pact... etc.) and some people would tend to vilify her less than dainty appearance. She's strong, tall, bulky with robust shoulders and big thighs, and overall does not care about her appearance as much as would be expected from a Lady. So the most mean-spirited slander-sheet will gladly publish something along this line :

Centaur-face menace is back in ton!

As for the trashiest...

The Commander's stretching routine! (It works!)

What is their favorite and least favorite part of being the commander (or whatever role they play in your canon)?

Not that she'd admit it but... she enjoys being in charge. Preparing an assault and seeing it go perfectly according to the plan, working on the supply lines so the soldiers are well fed, well armed, well healed, and the civilian populations won't suffer too greatly from the tragic events at hand. Providing hope when there is not much to be found.

Her least favorite part, of course, is being the one to shoulder all the blame when things go awry, and the difficult decisions that are the burden of leaders. Announcing their loved ones that soldiers lives were lost. Sending an unit to certain death to further the advance of another so they would gain some ground and hope one day to secure complete victory. The necessary sacrifices have always felt bitter. And no longer being in charge of the Pact felt like a relief because neither her not Trahearne would have to live with the consequences of such decisions. (or so they thought)

The decisions she has to make as Aurene's Champion are... different. They feel different. But the price to pay for one mistake is higher than ever. The people who die, who sacrifice for their cause are no longer distant faces in a crowd and names on casualties report. They're friends, and siblings, and mentors, and innocents...

They're Vlast. They're Blish. They're Soo Won.

character ask for ya: i know (or am pretty sure at least, correct me if i’m wrong) you have some folks whose timelines extend back into the gw1 era. how do their stories intertwine with the gw1 plot things? and/or feel free to elaborate on whatever extended life shenanigans are going on! :) @kerra-and-company (also you were definitely right about the fractal, i just checked, tyty :D )

((aaa!! i thought of Sunqua immediately, my memory of it is so spotty now im surprised i was right!!))

ohh !! I have a few !! ... a few, uh. let me count actually-- ... kai I have at least nine who do, i have more than i THOUGHT i did... holy fuck. Note that I haven't finished any of the GW1 Campaigns yet :'D So I can't really comment on the main story, but I can talk around it! ^^

Some intertwine very closely!! Others are looser and more in-between the first and second game! Qlikk is one of the most involved because he was the Hero of Cantha! His birthname is Yuna, and he still uses it !! he's just been hiding !! It's a little difficult to join the Durmand Priory and cite your name as Jiao Yuna, that anyone could instantly clock as the Hero of Cantha's name. And what an odd name for an asura! (of course, outside of my personal AU he's somewhat safe from that! In generalized AU's i still like to think that he directly helped the Hero of Cantha and is still somewhat notable - just enough to give him reason to hide his identity in present day!)

He traveled northward after the events of the first game, partly to avoid the attention, and ends up going to the Maguuma Jungle and becoming one of the Druids that you see there in Auric Basin in GW2!! He's technically made of celestial magic at this point -- during Heart of Thorns he got very curious about what was outside the jungle again, so he found a way to appear as an asura to explore again! (He's permanently got the antlers, wings, and tail though! He multiclasses as a Ranger / Mesmer in the first game, so he still has some Mesmer tricks to hide them!!)

Liifa's is fun too since he surfaces right after Nightfall - he's known Kormir as one of The Six pretty much his entire life! Dude is the reason for my new blog name the BIGGEST Sunspear you'd ever meet!! He's got their whole motto memorized and spent all of his youth living with them! :D He also has a personal vendetta against Palawa Joko for SO many reasons <3

im still going apparently but also! Alana Gravina! She's my Hero of Nightfall, and ends up staying in the Moon Palace... yes, with Joko. No, she is not having fun! ♥ She's a lich herself, and still retains her own will, so she's been working under Joko's nose and passing notes to the Sunspears about his plans for centuries! ^^

There's also Ryuji, Aysen, all of the Binding demons I have, Eliana and Kiera technically count via shenanigans, and Asier Gravina,, and actually Bjiattu's entire crew, technically. Whoopsie :D

from the writing prompts — ❛ do you want my jacket? ❜ for whoever you’d like :) @kerra-and-company

Okay, you sent this months ago and I'm so, so sorry for the late response to this. Idk why it took me so long, but here it is, a little ficlet before the year 2k22 ends :)

-- Divinity's Reach, Kryta

-- 1335 AE

It's very cold this early in the morning; Nyra feels the blood rush to her cheeks in an attempt to warm them, but it does little. Once she would've laughed off her rosy cheeks, but now she doesn't feel the need to justify herself. Not after Bjora, where she was perpetually red and wrapped in furs. Here, only a thick coat suffices.

Nyra takes her victories where she can.

The walk from her mansion to the temple in Rurikton is a somewhat long one, but she doesn't mind it. This early, shopkeepers are still setting up their stores, there are fewer passerby, even if there's more people due to the smack middle of Wintersday. She walks past a young couple holding hands and interestingly, a norn parent bringing their children to see the famed human holiday.

"I don't know how humans call this cold," one of the kids is saying. "It's nothing." Nyra smiles into her collar. It is nothing. But she finds it endearing a norn child would say it.

"We're not here for the cold," their mother says. "We're here for the holiday. To see what other races celebrate. What the Commander celebrates."

"She knows we have better parties in the Shiverpeaks, right?" the older child replies.

Yes, she does, sometimes, Nyra thinks, inconspicuously stopping to listen to their conversation.

"I'm sure she attends many moots," the mother explains, "but she's human and from what I gather, she believes in their gods. Besides, human kids love snowballing just as much as you guys do." Her lips widen proudly. "Let's show them what real snowballing is."

Nyra shakes her head fondly and sets off once more. This is what she's fighting for, this familial banter, this mother's chance to attend another race's holiday with her children. All she has to do is see a charr or two and her heart's about ready to burst.

It's Wintersday, after all. She has another place to be for her soul.

Rurikton's temple is old. Despite the minimal renovations it's endured (if she has any say in it, they'll always be minimal) it still gives off the impression of historicity; the architecture looks somewhat apart from the surrounding area, with its deep, red walls and colourful stone decoration and harkens back to old temples of Ascalon in the height of its glory. Nyra's always loved the place, understood its significance. Her family wouldn't let her forget and now, as an adult, she won't let herself forget.

Admittedly, the force with which the lessons on it were given was somewhat over the top, but they did their job. To this day, Alysannyra Ainsaph's Ascalonian.

Too many As in there, she thinks. I'm nowhere near good enough to make it good alliteration. She settles on her usual, secluded place and runs her fingers through her hair. Years ago, before Elona, she would've sat up high, befitting her high status in life. Now, to find peace in a public temple, she has to go for darkened corners. No faithful likes a godkiller.

It's a fact she's learned to live with. She refuses to let it overshadow her joy at being in this temple, just as she refuses to look at Balthazar's statue at the altar.

That's why she comes this early, as she's done every Wintersday she could for the past five years. The silent dislike might not get to her, but spoken dislike digs into a wound she knows she'll never fully heal. It hurts a little that she has to do this, but sometimes, her fucking ego needs to get taken down a peg.

And with that, she allows herself a moment of quiet. Someone chants softly. Candles burn, but thankfully away from her skin. Sometimes, shoes echo gently against the stone floors. Ascalonian whispers comfortingly in her ear, words she first saw as her own before anything else. This isn't a place for prayer, but a place for being one with her people.

Suddenly, a scrape of claws against stone. She straightens sharply. There are no alarms in her head, just-- charr in Rurikton, of all places? A temple in Rurikton? And indeed, a charr stands by the door and looks around. Big, orange, with a blonde mane and white fur on his chest. Filed down horns. He looks familiar.

Livion! she remembers, relaxing. Elandrin's boyfriend! What's Livion doing here, though? She stands up, wanting to greet him. She can even do it here, as long as he doesn't give her away.

"Commander, there you are!" Livion says in that powerful voice of his and goes to her. Nyra sighs. Everyone's eyes are on her and the priests are giving her a frightened stink eye. So much for my date with history.

"Here I am," she replies, catching up with him. "Let's talk outside, unless you wanted to sight-see?"

"Yes, ma'am," Livion whispers, towering over her. I should remember I'm off battlefield, fuck.

"Didn't mean to order you around," Nyra cringes, "I just thought we could give these people their peace in prayer."

"Yeah," he nods and she buttons her coat when they leave. Some of the people are still staring. Of course, the optics of the whole situation - her, a full-blooded Ascalonian, leaving an Ascalonian temple with a charr that had Flame Legion heritage - is so tremendously hilarious to her that she can't sustain being annoyed with having her peace interrupted and her cover blown.

As soon as she steps away from the inviting warmth of the temple, cold hits her like a charrzooka.

"Do you want my jacket, Comm--"

"Nyra. No ma'ams or Commanders."

"Nyra. Do you want my jacket?" he repeats, and she can tell he finds this as awkwardly funny as she does.

"I just need to get acclimated," she shakes her head. "This cold has nothing on Bjora and Drizzlewood." She rubs her temples, snorting. "Now let's rewind a bit. This whole conversation started on a weird ass note."

"Cogs, yes," he laughs, showing a full mouth of sharp teeth. Nyra lifts her head really high to see. Liv's fucking giant. "I have news for you, Nyra. Wanted to deliver them myself."

"I thought conversations started with hello, but if you wanna deliver good news, go right ahead. It's Wintersday, hooray, hooray." She laughs softly. "Sorry. Give me the news."

"We think we found the ruins of the old Ainsaph estate," he says.

Nyra's eyes widen. Her family's estate, thought long lost, something they'd wanted to find for ages, but couldn't. Even though her family seat's is in Ebonhawke, they had a summer home, made for their royal ancestor upon marriage into the family. Sadly, the Searing spared few things and the Ainsaph estate was not one of them. All ruins look the same once they've been broken down and torched to many an untrained eye, including Nyra's.

It's not like they had a chance to really look for it, with charr making home where humans once were. All they had were tales of its beauty and fine craftsmanship. To Nyra, it's always been less about the charr and more about the monuments of her people before their fall.

And now, Livion's telling her they think they have it?

"When--"

"We had suspicions for some time, but we wanted to make sure before telling you. I wanted to be sure. I'm not completely sure even now, but I am confident enough to tell you."

"Oh," Nyra says. "I want to see. It's only right it's me, I think." She grabs his paw and squeezes it. "Thank you. For trying. For actually doing it. It actually means a lot to me and my family."

"It's only right you get something meaningful in return," Livion says, like he's talking about the weather. Nyra blinks. Her hand's kinda small on his paw. This is how the world feels about me, when I save them. Someone bigger than them stepped in and did the job.

She isn't used to the favor being returned all the time. She lets go of his hand, much happier than she left the mansion this morning.

Happy Wintersday, Nyra.

asks from the jumbo ask game for you (and tyt no worries!): 💧🌠💜🌸 for riag, if you'd like! :) @kerra-and-company

Ty for the ask! It's appreciated :D Riag hours!

💧 What is the earliest memory your OC can recall? Do they know what their first words were or remember where they took their first steps? Do they have any mementos of their childhood they’ve kept such as a stuffed toy or tiny baby clothes?

Like with many canon Sylvari Commander's his first actual memories were pre-awakening, in that sequence with Caithe and fighting the Shadow of the Dragon. Grumps has been fighting things since before he was even 'born' if you will. He didn't keep any of the things he had during sapling era, mainly because he's hard on equipment and weapons! None of them are Riag-proof just Riag resistant.

He was such a pain in the ass as a sapling though, straight out of the pod and already on a mission. It wasn't seen as important, Caithe saw it as something special but to everyone else it was mainly one willful, moody, and combative sapling who would not listen to mentors or lessons. Like yes, they knew of Zhaitan, but it's hard to take a wobbly legged ball of righteous indignation seriously when he's on a one man self imposed mission.

🌠 Who was your OC’s first friend? Do they remember them or are they still friends now? Talk about some of the people your OC has lost contact with over the years. Do they have any regrets about losing these people and would they revisit them if they could?

That would be the Short Red Ruby herself! Riag had just gotten in major trouble with mentors (he uh may or may not have attacked another sapling who was being arrogant and shoved his freshly conjured Blood Fiend directly onto their head) and was off sulking. He had actually been considering giving up necromancy, since he wasn't naturally gifted in it (unlike the sapling who had the Blood Fiend stuck on their head, that's why he got into a fight about it). Ruby stumbled across him while tracking spiders and trying to befriend them.

He promptly told her to go bugger off when she asked what was wrong. But Ruby is very nearly as stubborn as him, and kept pestering. Finally getting the short version of it from him she encouraged him to keep trying necromancy even if it wasn't easy or natural. Unlike the mentors who would encourage, but show very clearly in tone that they didn't think it was going to work - Ruby thinks anything is possible. He could tell she wasn't just BSing him and actually thought he could do it. Ruby gave off ecclectic sibling who will cover for you if you need it vibes. They friends after that.

They still are friends to this day! He would 100% not be here without her (both for moral support and physically helping take care of him during his recovery). Riag is well aware of this too.

💜 Music or Silence? Swords or Spells? Cities or Nature?

Silence, for the most part. Ambient chatter in the background is his favorite.

Swords! Or daggers, specifically. His magic was more like the equivalent of poison, something to make the physical tools work better and less on their own (besides his minions).

Oh close - he loves and dislikes both. Probably cities? So long as he can find a corner with less people but still not totally isolated.

🌸 What does your OC’s voice sound like? Their laugh? Are they good at singing? Do they have an accent?

Riag has a very specific voice in my head at least, I've yet to be able to find a perfect match but I've found some that are close enough that if you sort of imagined aspects of each of them get pretty close. The main qualities I can think of is that his words tend to have a heavier sound to them at the end, so instead of like an upward lilt its a downward ending sound. If that makes sense.

There's also often a little bit of hoarseness to it just because he's pretty much tired all the time and it sounds like he's gotten maybe 2 hours of sleep (because he has). Lastly he has a funny habit of saying everything like a fact, even his questions. It's not because he doesn't get the need for tonal change it's just his disposition is very 'as is'.

I think in comparison to the canon Sylvari voice, he's got a lighter tone that's more bright in places. There's less tension on some of his vowel placements - it feels a bit more open.

He has two main laughs, one is sort of a huff or two that subsides. Usually for something funny or situational amusing. The other is a sharp, unexpected bark of a laugh that trails off into quieter snickering.

He is not good at singing and is very much tone deaf, he jokes that the only place he would be allowed to sing is Orr because everyone there is already dead.

If he has an accent, man I couldn't tell you where it's from or what it sounds like. It's all just Riag to me.

Here are the two voices that if you sort of put pieces of them together make a pretty good approximation of what he sounds like!

Son Lux - War

Rufus Wainwright - Shadows

have ❝  sometimes,  i just need the world to be beautiful.  i know how dark and ugly it can be but i just want to see something good and focus only on it for a few minutes.  ❞ for whoever you’d like! :) @kerra-and-company

@kerra-and-company ty for the prompt forever ago! It helped with my lil creative burst yesterday ♥

GW2, LeixEskel, Fluff lmao

It’s been a long day.

News out of Cantha that the encroaching darkness had been vanquished, finally, had sent a wave of relief flowing through the World.

Leilani hadn’t been on the front lines, but she’d seen enough of the twisted chaos just defending Hoelbrak that she knew how close they’d been to failing.

The Commander came through, yet again. Terra needs to retire at this point.

It’s a brief thought before she’s flashing through the Waypoint, back to where she’d left Shifter safely tethered and swinging herself atop the jackal’s back.

The Homestead is a mere 5 minute ride on her mount, and she’s greeted first by the twins, loud exclamations and quiet relief that she’d returned unharmed.

The moment Leilani steps foot inside the Homestead she’s swept up by the man that’s become her Home, all of her stress and tension melting away the moment she’s enveloped by his warmth.

She doesn’t say anything as she’s carried through the house, only keeps her face pressed tight to Eskels chest, allowing his presence to calm her as he takes a seat on the couch and settles them there.

“Did something happen?” he questions, finally, concern clear in his voice.

Leilani shakes her head, pulling back only enough to see his face - reaching up to cup his jaw with both hands, rubbing her thumbs over the familiar stubble and smiling when he nuzzles into her touch.

“Sometimes, I just need the world to be beautiful.” she whispers, keeping her eyes focused on his, “I know how dark and ugly it can be but… I just want to see something good and focus only on it for a few minutes.”

Eskel understands, he always understands, and bends to press his forehead to hers, allowing their breaths to mingle as they share that space, that moment of simple quiet and beauty.

And Lei knows she’ll be alright, as long as she has this Home.

also, hello, immediately jumping back in with an entirely different random thing because scrolling through your character stuff made me curious: how are thalys and amel with diplomatic events, like the stuff in party politics in LWS2 or in grothmar during icebrood? is it fun/horrible/neutral for them? (in a general sense, discounting the event going badly south in some way) @kerra-and-company

Thanks for the ask! 

Diplomatic events are NOT Thalys’s strong suit at all. She can be pretty blunt in general, and in a diplomatic situation this is not good. She’s much better at it now than when she was a sapling, but there have been a couple times where she’s come close to seriously screwing up. She typically loves being the commander, except when diplomacy is needed. Amelarius on the other hand, although he can come off a little arrogant, is much better with this sort of thing. The two of them work together when they have to do any sort of thing like that, and they do it really well! Amelarius is good at reassuring and smoothing things over (when he has to, he’s not great at it, but he can definitely do it), while Thalys can (for the most part) behave herself and convey whatever plan/mission needs to be carried out. Thalys is also not as good at picking up on some of the more subtle but important parts of politics, and she is constantly on edge, worried about saying or doing something wrong. Amelarius in that way is her emotional support, because what she might not pick up on he does, and she always feels more relaxed when he’s helping her. By EoD the two of them work really well together in respect to that, although Thalys wishes she didn’t have to do it.

have 🍍🍻🌽 for whoever you'd like! :D@kerra-and-company

i'm going to dedicate this post to Rioko,my OG character,& 2nd in command of the guild (because I never shut up about Dietrich,wheeee!) and she deserves it lol

🍍: Where does your OC feel most comfortable?

Rio feels most comfortable in her office in the guild headquarters.

🍻: What's your OC's favourite comfort ritual? How do they calm themselves down after a rough day?

Rio loves the stars, and after a rough day, she will climb up any high area she can get to and watch the sky. She recites the names of the celestial bodies to herself to help calm down.

🌽: How does this OC feel about acts of affection? What's their favourite act of affection, physical or emotional?

Rio is quite bold in romance for the most part, but prefers emotional acts of affection. She enjoys giving and receiving gifts as well, or even just hearing that the other person was thinking of her.

Ermmm kerra @ coriandus? 😳 ☆

Oh hi hi!! :D Tumblr gave me zero notification for this, so I hope you didn't send it too long ago and so sorry if you did, but regardless sure sure, let's go! <3

Kerra & Cori

I like you // I love you // You’re one of my best friends // You’re like family // You are family // I dislike you // I hate you // I’d kill you if I got the chance // I want you to like me // I’m scared of you // I would adopt you // I’d date you // I’d sleep with you // I’d marry you // I’m worried about you // You confuse me // You’re annoying // I pity you // I respect you // I trust you // I feel protective of you // I’d invite you with me to parties // I’d lend you my money // I’d borrow your money // You’re good-looking // I’m suspicious of you // I’m hiding something from you // You’re fun // You’re boring // I’m upset with you // You’re nice // You’re mean // I’m envious of you // You’re smart // You’re stupid // I look up to you // I think you’re a better person than me // I think I’m a better person than you // I want to apologize to you // I wish I’d never met you // I never want to forget you // I want to get to know you better

Kerra is instantly going to want to like Cori (for multiple reasons, including just because Cori's Cori, but also because this is a fellow commander and also someone who in another universe is married to Kerra's sister). Realistically, though, she's going to be a bit cautious at first. Cori's not exactly an elder dragon, but she is the successor to Mordremoth, and anyone with that much power bears watching for a second before considering them trustworthy. (Also, again, Cori's with Caithe, and Kerra's never going to outwardly do that stereotypical "you better treat X person right" talk, but she's definitely going to be quietly in her mind like "I need to make sure this situation is a good one because I want Caithe to be happy".) But after even just getting to talk to/spend time with Cori for a bit, I think she'd like her! (Though the "worried about" part is going to stay, haha.)

have 🍋💙🌷 for nura, maybe? :) @kerra-and-company

Sorry for not answering it sooner...I...kinda forgot about it because i was on mobile when I saw it... But here you go, the goth lass :3 @kerra-and-company

🍋 Does your OC act petty and jealous easily? What sort of things make them feel like this and do they experience guilt for getting so worked up? How do they deal with these emotions when they get them? If your OC doesn’t feel like this often, why not?

Oh, she is petty alright, but not really jealous. Petty is like a basic setting for her. Sassy, petty and goth. Deal? With emotions? Nah. never. She just lets it simmer down or..just generally an asshole teenager to everyone.

💙 What did your OC want to be when they grew up and why? Did they have any lifelong dreams or ambitions they never got to work on or are they currently working to achieve these dreams? Has their life taken a very unexpected turn and put all these plans on hold for a while or have they given up on any dreams?

Nothing really. She enjoys being the commander's daughter and getting away with shit. She has no intention of ever doing anything else than killing monsters and helping mommy Lasair (who belongs to @commanders-sole-braincell) :3

🌷 In what ways would your OC alter their body if they could? How would they do it using mundane means (hair dye, surgery, make-up?). What is their ideal look for themself?

Oh, she already has a lot of piercings and she wants more. Perhaps some cool bark carvings in the future but she's undecided on what she wants for that. She doesn't need to dye her hair its already a nice colour in her opinion. for the piercings, it's all her own work. She does them herself with the help of her minions if needed. For the carvings though she would go and see a specialist for that. The ideal look is badass and goth.

have 💍⚖️🍵 for two folks of your choice, if you’d like! :D @kerra-and-company

Wiiiiii! Went with Anwen and Galaëd here, I hope that's okay for you ^^ By the Mists, I wish these two verses could meet somehow 😄 the sheer amounts of nonsense they'd plunge the world into would be magnificent! 🤣

Soooo! *cracks fingers*

💍 Does your OC have a specific item that is priceless to them but may (or may not) be completely worthless to someone else? Is there a story behind this item or is it just because they like it so much?

Galaëd has a bud of Caladbolg, that he had encased in a bead of glass and mounted as a pendant. He has held onto it since the fight against Mazdak, where he briefly carried the Thorn and keeps it even more preciously since Trahearne's death and resurrection.

Anwen has a strong attachment to her armour - the pauldrons Faren gifted her during her recovery from the battle against the Earth Elemental that owed her the title of Heroine of Shaemoor particularly. But practicality must prevail and when her breastplate and spaulder are damaged, sunken and torn by Faolain's attacks, she doesn't hesitate to abandon them to carry on the fight against Mordremoth and save Trahearne. Her brother will make sure to replace them with identical pieces during her year of recovery! As for an irreplaceable item she would never in a thousand years part with, it will be her wedding ring.

⚖️ What is the biggest crime your OC has committed? Are they a theif, a cheat, a liar? What is the smallest, most petty crime they’ve committed? Or do they not do crime at all?

Galaëd is a little trouble maker, but the pranks he pulls are always harmless and generally good spirited (confuse, don't abuse) , so if they might be borderline illegal, he would probably never face any serious repercussion for them.

As for Anwen, I'm quite sure some amongst the Pact would call her a deserter for her sudden and irrevocable resignation, following Trahearne's demotion. She's also a deicide, which might be considered a crime depending on how severely religion is enforced in Ascalonian, Krytian and Elonian society, and will either way probably lead to a huge schism in the cult of Balthazar... If you defeat the God of War in fair combat, do you de-facto ascend to godhood ?

🍵 Are there any rumours about your OC hanging around? Nasty ones or just good humoured? Got any gossip to share about them?

Galaëd has for most maintained his image of white-knight Valiant, if touches of colours and a reputation of jester ended up completing the picture. He's mainly known as the Commander's best friend and battle brother. But having a certain someone in his life might entice more... prickly rumours. After all, if Canach and him are indeed partners, then perhaps the secondborn's not as mean as he seems... or the valiant not as nice. 😏

Anwen has been the talk of Divinity's Reach sheltered nobility since her entrance in society. Spurning rounds of suitors -- one of them, too insistent in his attentions, ending up flying through a window of her parents ballroom. Embracing the path of the Guardian, and devoting herself to Kormir. Joining the Seraph in the battle to protect Shaemoor. Joining the Priory when she could easily have a life of leisure in the capital. Dancing around her feelings for Trahearne for almost three years before these two idiots finally took the leap. (even if, to be absolutely fair, these particular rumours merely seeped through the Pact to the rest of the world...) And of course there are talks about her humanity or lack-there-of. After all, she's a dragon's champion and a deicide... and in the years to come people might start noticing... she hasn't aged a day since her return from Elona.

have 8, 9, and 10 from the song asks for eliana, if you'd like! :) @kerra-and-company

aaa !! i am very low on spoons this weekend but !!! i've been listening to her playlist all day so it came kinda naturally !!! <3 thank you so much!!

8. a song lyric that would make them feel Seen

Would you be here in the morning if I let the lights turn off? Would you be disappointed if you saw through my facade? And would you love me less if I’m not everything you thought? If you really knew me, would you walk? What if I let the lights turn off?

Off by Jake Scott

Eliana's a very "I need everyone to love me" type of person! She has a bad habit of molding her personality to fit with whoever she's with, so she gets very insecure about actually being herself!!

9. a song lyric to make them cry

Never let anyone know that, Underneath the surface, What a vulnerable, nervous, Child I am. But, if I can trust the process, If I can find what I lost, this Innocence I once had-

I’ll see it again, At the water’s edge.

The Water's Edge by The Classic Crime ♥

:') my babygirl... gosh, there's so many words I could put here, but I'm not sure that any of them would do her development arc justice right now !! curse my being low on spoons but feel free to read super deep into this ENTIRE song for her !!! ♥

10. a song lyric to make them happy

If I let go, would you hold on? Would we fly? Is it safer if we just say that we tried? Are we laughing at the danger? Are we dancing after death, you and I?

Dancing After Death by Matt Maeson

this would make her happy mostly because it reminds her of her and Liifa!! ^^ There's a bit of a pun in here, considering that they're both technically undead by the time they get together officially!! ♥

have 31 through 34 for ren, if you’d like! :D @kerra-and-company

Shady lady beloved

31. What’s their current main conflict?

Trying to navigate the world as yourself and not through a small army of masks/disguises now that you can't really hide anyway. Not the way you used to.

32. What steps have they taken to overcome this conflict?

Stopped dyeing her hair; stopped using fake names; stopped a lot of the missions that are not related to her role as a Commander; trying to live a more or less "normal" life. Even though normal is difficult when you're a world-wide known spy...

33. How have they changed over time?

Became slightly less reserved. She actually started showing her true personality to people she works with/knows outside of being in the Whispers, which led to her forming actual, genuine, true to herself as Renira Sulver connections with her colleagues (Nyra, El, to a certain extent Logan though she does still view him as a boss first and foremost.) Is generally more content now that she has Akila in her life. It's good changes. She's still largely reserved, though. It's a personality trait by this point.

34. What’s their room look like right now?

Very much lived in. Always tidy, but not suspiciously new. There's a big, long bed, so her feet don't dangle too much. She has two closets, little table and drawers with personal, personal belongings that's always locked. Pink dyed walls, very minimal, but nice looking.

have 4, 6, 9, and 14 from the gw2 asks for riag, mayhaps? :) @kerra-and-company

Ty for the ask! Riag hours it is. 4. Assuming they're a commander, how close were they really to Destiny's Edge? To Trahearne?

He had mixed relationships with Destiny's Edge but most of them were okay to good. If 1 is Fight on Sight and 10 is Besties -

Caithe: 6 - being another Sylvari has benefits even if their general manners of doing things are opposites (he does not do subtlety)

Rytlock: 8 - he and Rytlock see eye to eye in many regards and they know each other to be excellent fighters

Logan: 4 - didn't really understand the extent of his obligations to the queen and was largely influenced by being on such good terms with Rytlock on his perspective on Logan

Eir: 5 - about neutral, sympathized about her feelings of responsibility and guilt but not much beyond that

Zojia: 3 - did not get along with her and thought that she tried too hard to make herself look clever

Trahearne (before he realized he caught feelings): 8 - respected and looked up to his death magic usage as well as relating to having a Wyld Hunt that feels impossible

(After catching feelings) 6: Listen Riag's dense as mud about this stuff and made a point of trying to avoid him to hide his awkwardness which made them not get along quite as well since Trahearne assumed he had overstepped and offended him.

(After realizing feelings were mutual) 10!

6. They're now a heart NPC/part of a string of quests. What does that involve?

I had a couple of thoughts about this! Under the cut to save people's dash.

Part of Riag's therapy for recovering mobility in his hand was writing, which the Menders asked him to do and he found absolutely stupid. He didn't have anything to write about so they asked him to write letters to people that he didn't have to send, just whatever he wanted to say to them. Or whatever he was feeling.

As you can imagine a lot of them were heavy, angry or downright upsetting. There are even some that I could consider halfway as The Note™.

I think the string of quests would start off by finding the letters in some strange hidden chest in the Grove, and then trying to mystery style figure out who they belonged to. Not delivering them but trying to work backwards through the context of the messages to figure out who wrote them. Taking the player through lots of zones kind of parroting the player story's high points. It would be a loooong quest chain. Not hard just taking you all over the map.

But when you get to the last few notes, the earliest ones, they're just entirely unreadable and the handwriting is abysmal. Sometimes it's nothing but a page of angry scribbles. It's supposed to build sympathy and investment in him as a character, but I can see how people would get annoyed with the quest.

Once you'd collected all of them you'd be given a choice. You'd have to choose who you think wrote the letters and if you got it wrong, it would be a failed quest (a cd of a day before you can try it again).

Choosing the right person would mean you go hand over the collection of letters (probably apologizing that you read them). Then discussing what he is doing now that he's retired, he'd tell about his life some, and that he gardens now. You'd get a reward of an account bound scythe that makes you harvest plants twice as fast, with a chance for bonus loot!

9. What's an au for them you think could be fun to explore?

The one I had worked on for a while before abandoning is a SwapAU. So using my main canon, replacing the roles of Trahearne with Riaghael. The reason that he returns would be via Grenth magic instead of Melandru magic, thus making him very much look like one of the Awakened Sylvari that you see in Elona but Grenthified instead of Joko'd.

I dropped it because I had too many projects but it was fun to work on. He would have taken back over as Commander and Ruby would have been a part of the Pact but had less stress still. Even though it is initially more ouchsome it actually had a happier conclusion. Riag would have been functionally soundless but not had to worry about his Hunt being a c- er being a pain. Ruby would get to do what she wants to do.

14. Biggest misconception about them?

Man I'm not sure, there's a few. I think the main one is that he's Just A Jerk when he's really not. It's a defense and a damn convincing one. It's both to keep him and others safe, in his mind, so better to not let them in at all. I was actually chatting with someone else about this and how it's sort of a self fueling cycle that he is in.

General assumption is that he is a pissy, grumpy, asshole that doesn't like people and wants to be left alone.

What it is happens to be:

Unpredictable circumstances can set his brain back into Survive At All Costs mode -> avoiding situations that can cause this -> get less accustomed to them because he avoids them -> when it does happen it's worse -> so he avoids people further

People only pick up on the 'he doesn't want to be around others' part of it and avoid him in return -> unable to engage with people on the level he knew how -> further isolation and bitterness.

Most people (in the Grove, Pact, etc) miss like the whole alphabet and stop at Q.

Misconception from others that I've encountered is either they think he's just Jerk archetype or Sadboy. While he can absolutely be an asshole at times, he isn't that All The Time or his natural state isn't that. And he's very very far from Sadboy, more ball of wrath boy that is utterly crap at handling the extent of his emotions.