#snarl backdraft

Did I forget to post this here...? I did, didn't I...

The best charr OTP there is, Snarl Backdraft and Galina Edgecrusher. This is a bit of a precursor thought/piece to what eventually became a short comic.

PAIN RESPONSE; Trait: Major, Training: Acrobatics Gain regeneration and remove damaging conditions when struck while below the health threshold.

Full resolution: https://www.patreon.com/posts/30174802

I know the Almorra comic is officially the first one I showed to the world (both finished and in early preview), but this is the first one I conceived, all the way back some four years ago. Not much has changed on the comic side of things, really. I added a few panels here and there and tweaked about two more, but art-wise, it's pretty much exactly how I planned it (which is why the anatomy's much further on the human side).

Writing, however, changed a lot. And I have to say I quite like what I arrived at in the end at least in this department.

Snarl and Galina have always been my most favorite charr ever since I started the game and got to join the Vigil. I usually avoid couples that are based on the tired concept of "I hate you but then I love you", but this is one of the few exceptions. I think it's mostly due to how it's built over time and how it plays off well-established interlegion rivalry rather than some contrived personal slight, and that the characters themselves don't "change through the power of love", but rather learn to see past the attributes they despise in one another and later make it click not in spite of their differences, but embracing them.

When Heart of Thorns was released, I was relieved to find these two were confirmed to be alive. And even though the game outpaced me (again) and had them appear during the Drizzlewood campaign, the details of their Maguuma adventures went unexplained, giving me just the right wiggle room.

I hope you gain at least a sliver of joy I had when writing this.

This work was created under the banner of ArenaNet partner program and is considered sponsored content by ArenaNet. This comic is unofficial and therefore not part of the actual game’s canon.

Tyrian Tarot illustration 3/3 - 2 of Cups

We?! There’s no “we”, twiggy. I’m not interested in a waterlogged Ash deserter.

While last to show, this is actually the first card I had (and the one I spent an eternity bugging the moderation team about - bless their patience, really). When I said Almorra and Kalla are not my most favourite charr in the game, these two are actually who steal their spotlight.

2 of Cups - Uniting the opposites, partnership, cooperation

AKA “More lovers than Lovers”. Brought together by pure chance, they first met testing (and arguing about use of) Iron Legion ghostbore weaponry (which Galina won. Sorry, Snarl, mate, but a giant doomcanon is just better). After that, they were brought together at the siege of Clarent hill, where Snarl went in over his head and got captured attempting to murder the Flame legion leader personally instead of waiting for a prolonged siege to gain results. He then successfully persuades Galina to take the fight to the Risen at Claw Island and beyond, entering the services of the Vigil (point for you, Snarl, but minus one point for getting captured, you dunce). Together in the services of the Vigil (and somehow still not killing each other), they fought in the Estate of Decay, betting whether Galina can or can’t take out a chicken in one shot (while it was Risen, so it’s not exactly fair, Snarl technically won the ten gold). Then beyond, to reclaim the source of Orr, kill Zhaitan and celebrate.

And through all this, they found respect and admiration towards one another, Galina being the “epitome of evisceration” in Snarl’s eyes, one he sneakily keeps protected from the shadows in case she gets overwhelmed, and Snarl becoming the loyal, smart and brave “true charr of the Khan-Ur” fighting at her side for Galina. This union of a giant ferocious Blood Legion warrior and snarky LA-raised Ash Legion thief is one to last.

I love these two, their constant bets, good-natured quarreling, Galina’s cheesy Iron Legion jokes and cheeky ghost taunting, the undead chicken shooting contests and hidden respect for one another. Personal story sadly abandoned them after Zhaitan campaign, with only a throwaway mention that they’re alive somewhere in Maguuma after the crash of the Pact. That does give me a lot of leeway to tell my own stories, on the other hand...

Tyrian Tarot, printed!

And, as much as I’m sometimes downer on my own art, Snarl & Galina came out damn nice. (That’s preview 2 of my 3 cards, actually).

The books are gorgeous, Isvoc’s cover looks really great and I can tell you the interior art rangers from cool to absolutely mindblowing.

@gw2collective is finalizing the last touches and I have to say, it was an absolute honor and priviledge to be a part of this project. I can’t wait for these things to roll in here.

If you’ve ordered one, early Christmas will come your way pretty soon.

It also means the art will be published, soon, too, so you’ll see what I spent the better part of the early months of this year nitpicking to death.