#commander's gallery

[lady-quen]

Hello? *taps mic* Is this thing on?

I can finally officially announce I've been granted the honor of being an ArenaNet Partner! So, of course, I had to make a little debut post featuring my beautiful fangy man, Maelmordha. Thank you so much to the GW2 fandom for making this possible! I would not have gotten this far without you! 🫡

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[lady-quen]

Got persuaded to do a quick MerMael. A Maeel, if you will.

He's a gulper eel lol

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[lady-quen]

Without you I'll be heartless Oh, light can only shine in the darkness

I realized I have never drawn Mael with Aurene before, for how much I rant about them. They mean so much to me, especially their unlikely dynamic of opposites. A necromancer is probably the "worst" class to showcase the Champion of Aurene's connection to our dearest dragon daughter, but, by pure accident, their themes ended up working so well as the balance of light and dark. The Commander who taught the Scion how to love and treasure mortals, and the Scion who saved the Commander's soul from withering away into evil. Both doomed to die, but return for the sake of the other.

Even though Mael had lost his inner light, Aurene now shines in its place.

(Closeups below cut)

[lady-quen]

Rytlock and Maelmordha are competitive about the stupidest things

Also here's me testing a messier style to not Perish when I try to draw more comics in the future

[lady-quen]

"Well? What are you staring at? Do I have something in my teeth?"

Eyyy it's the long awaited Mael skeleton form ref! How many refs does he even need? Yes. The answer is yes. You can tell my main syndrome is terminal.

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Additional design notes ⬇️

I've actually been trying to figure out how his signature furnace would work in skeleton form for quite a while, considering the notable lack of skin and therefore lack of his chest scar to channel it from. I was just about ready to concede defeat and make him lose access to that particular power in full lich form, when I was hit by an epiphany~

I spent a while scrolling lich/undead character artworks on Pinterest for inspo when I came across a picture of a skeleton with its sternum broken off, making its ribs look sort of like teeth, and I was like, HOLY COW WHOA bingo. Still, the issue of Mael's scar remained, and then I had an idea:

What if the infernal stigmata - his cursed scar(s) - was literally branded into his very soul, not only his flesh? It does make sense in hindsight. It's why his Departing scars remain despite his regenerative immortality, after all - what with him having bound a demon's soul to the wounds sustained from a God. It's something that will manifest on Mael even if he were reduced to just a ghost, a literal inescapable curse that follows him through any and all forms he might take.

Thus, the furnace remains more or less unchanged, manifesting out of the central spark of magic within Mael's ribcage and burning away his sternum to create the signature fanged look of the Soul Eater's brand. The bone around it changes color to black to stand out better, which I explain by localized Shroud magic. You would be able to see a subtly shifting shadowy texture, strongest at the tips of the ribs.

I think I neglected to mention that his portal teeth actually move, did I? Well, yes. They do. Imagine the subtle motion of centipede legs, and you're getting close to what I have in mind. Likewise, his ribs-teeth will do the same, further emphasizing the unnatural factor of everything he has going on. (And evoking the imagery of a snake's ribs. Yes, snakes "walk" on their ribs. You're welcome.)

[lady-quen]

Oops I Vloxxed (with bonus shitpost)

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[lady-quen]

Mouth of Aurene

[lady-quen]

Would you ever love a man and also want to slap him with a frying pan

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