#xekken

Xekken finished affixing his ear ornamentation - moonstone studs connected by fine chains of darksteel, silver, and platinum, with amethyst drops adorning the latter - flicked his ears once, and grinned at the shing of the chains sliding together.

A voice came out of the darkness behind him, muddled and raspy with sleep. “So if I’m comprehending this correctly… you’re going to go through two asura gates over the span of… about twenty minutes… so you can spend about twenty hours walking across half of Tyria… so you can end up back here, where you started?”

“More or less!” Xekken slid coordinating bangles onto his wrists, then attached the wonderfully impractical and flowy loopy-sleeve-things Livata had dreamed up for this outfit. He loved the loopy-sleeve-things. One of the greatest joys of these celebrations was getting to wear elements of the showy, elaborate fashion he and Livata specialized in creating together in outfits that were actually comfortable to wear for a whole day.

The only response from the dark was a decidedly unimpressed grunt, accompanied by a glowing sliver of a glare. Xekken walked over, sat down on the bed, and ran his claws through Strix’s hair.

“You could come too, you know,” he said quietly. Then he grabbed a bright gossamer scarf from the bedpost and tickled Strix’s ear with it. “We could still find you one of these easily enough -” he broke off with a snicker as Strix swatted the offending fabric away, grabbed the pillow Xekken had abandoned when he first got out of bed, and used it to bury his face more effectively.

“I’m meeting up with Livata and Oli, you know,” Xekken continued. “We’re getting pies. With Ranthyr. And Vel, if Ranthyr’s having better luck convincing him than I am with you -”

“Veliusk likes stalking all over the wilderness,” Strix interrupted, “and is incapable of denying that tree anything, anyway.” He disappeared back into the pillows just as Xekken whisked the scarf back over his ear in silent rebuke.

“Lagg and Ulrich are probably going to join up with us at some point, too,” Xekken tried to point out. No response. He sighed quietly and looped the scarf around his neck where its pink, yellow, and blue clashed vibrantly with the purple, black, and greys of the rest of his ensemble. Then he  leaned down to kiss his partner on what little of his head was still exposed and rubbed a hand over his shoulders, feeling some of the tension ease away.

7. Describe your OC’s fashion sense.

Xekken: Either perfectly average, or bedazzled. It depends on if he’s prioritizing comfort/practicality or fun. If the former, then something nice and presentable, but not exciting; if the latter, then at least 25% of his markings are on display and he’s wearing enough sparkle to blind the unsuspecting.

Will: A Mistake. Too focused on if he could to consider if he should. My go-to coat skins for him are the Stalker coat and the Bounty Hunter vestments, both of which heavily feature bones but in a scavenger disaster way, not a goth way. Not refined enough to be goth. Non-armor clothes have a distinct sense of “this was probably nice once, but you can only just tell under the wear and tear of an engineer who likes explosives too much.”Probably goth if someone else reigns him in enough, i.e. for a formal thing. 

Ahraminta: Armor. Edgy, in multiple meanings of the word. She’s blood legion, and it’s apparent. I have difficulty sticking actual breastplates on her, but idk if that’s her preferring to use magic or just me not particularly liking most of the breastplates on charr. She will consent to being dressed up for formal events, but that’s someone else putting their fashion sense on her, not her actual fashion sense peeking through. 

14. What is one of your OC’s secrets?

Xekken: Depends on the company. Some asura back in Rata Sum still don’t grasp the sheer depths of his capabilities. He’s not going to deny his relationship with Strix, but he’s also not going to be the one to bring it up with anyone outside Dragon Watch (and related personnel). He’s been pretty happy to let Pact people assume he’s Vigil, but that’s less of a secret and more of obligatory Whispers cryptic nonsense. 

Will: Well. I don’t think the vampire thing is public knowledge yet. He’s extra enough that his Halloween fervor could just be chalked up to him having holiday spirit, especially since he gets that way around Wintersday and the Lunar New Year as well.

Ahraminta: Ahraminta doesn’t have secrets. She just has topics that you don’t bring up unless you want to be punched in the face. Her sire might kind of be in that category? Except I think they’re doing better after the quest line.

19. Your OC’s life is a musical. What’s the title of their big show-stopping song?

Xekken: “(You’ll Never) See Me Coming” Which would thematically be a broadway fusion of “Whatever You Want” and “Tiptoe”, in that it’s all very “Look how big and loud and obnoxious I am” and then in the last verse it’s “oh yeah btw I accomplished this thing and you don’t even know because ~Look how big and loud and obnoxious I am~”

Will: Ok I was stuck so I went and listened to Toril!Will’s playlist for inspiration, and one of the songs has “God[s] Bless Catastrophe” as a line. And tbh. Feels correct feels organic let’s go with that. Dear god, a Will musical would need pyrotechnics. It would be so much.

Ahraminta: I’m not sure about a show stopper, but her introductory song is “Meet Me In In The Pit Bane” and is 75% showy bravado and 25% threats of actual violence. So actually, the show stopper is “Meet Me In The Bane (Reprise)” where those percentages are flipped.

2. Post a line of dialogue from your OC.

Xekken, after watching Strix launch his roller beetle off a goddamn cliff: “Is this revenge for the Brand tornado thing?? Because I’ll stop. I will stop studying that if you’ll at least wear a helmet when Torque does that, swear by the Alchemy.”

Will: “Okay, so before I get into what happened, I think we should all take a moment to appreciate that everyone is alive, and no one died -”  

Full Name: Xekken. Asura don’t have last names. “Lightbringer Xekken” if you need a titleGender and Sexuality: Panromantic Ace, malePronouns: He/himEthnicity/Species: Asura, grew up in Rata Sum and surrounding hinterlabsBirthplace and Birthdate: Probably born in Rata Sum and I just realized almost 30 minutes after posting that I forgot to answer for Birthdate. Um. I haven’t decided yet, but I made him in-game on October 10, 2017 (for whatever that’s worth)Guilty Pleasures: I couldn’t think of anything beyond his hangups about  romance, which are less “guilty pleasure” related and more “psychological issues that he’s working on” related. Then I remembered that I’ve encountered this question before! So here’s what I put last time:

“Xekken makes sparkly jewelry and pens and bedazzles his weapons and feels no shame. Also, gliding away from responsibilities. They can’t find them if he’s in the sky.”  Phobias: He’s mildly claustrophobic after Heart of Thorns. It’s usually nothing he can’t power through, unless he’s on an airship.What They Would Be Famous For:  I was wondering the other day how Xekken manages to afford making fancy, gem-encrusted jewelry and trinkets for himself and his friends. The only answer I got was “Oh, I sell a piece every now and then,” which implies that there is at least one circle of sufficiently rich patrons that he’s famous enough with that selling a piece “every now and then” nets an absurd enough  profit for him to cheerfully continue to give away pounds of precious stones and metal.  

(Not sure if the fame there is based solely on aesthetic and technique, or if there’s an element of “jewelry by A Hero/the designer who makes Commander Xolinn’s jewelry” involved, though. Can probably also factor in that Xekken probably only opens commissions to strangers like twice a year for the absurd price, too. Xekken? Willing to exploit The Rich’s fetish for exclusivity while also decreasing how often he has to interact with them? It’s more likely than you may think!)

What They Would Get Arrested For: Vandalism (either the fun type with Zara or the “Yeah I broke into this highly unethical lab and smashed everything” type, probably also with Zara)OC You Ship Them With: StrixOC Most Likely To Murder Them: No one…? Ahraminta’s the most likely to follow through on orders to kill him if it ever became necessary, since she’s 1. not a personal friend and 2. actually cares about following orders.Without orders… I suppose Ky’rii’s sister might be ruthless and suspicious enough to consider it, but I doubt she actually feels threatened by him. Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Research Campy pulp fiction that he and Zara get to laugh about togetherLeast Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Any of the ones that try to say “Because Psychology!” except that’s not at all how psychology works, you fools. So like. Shitty “mental illness leads to villainy” tropes. Shitty “mental illness healed entirely through the power of superficial and unconvincing love” tropes. That kind of thing. Talents and/or Powers: Can see magic, because Aurene layered dragon-championness on top of his spellbreaker training and it had interesting resultsWhy Someone Might Love Them: Well, before The Trauma sets in, he’s pretty quick to become Ride or Die with people. (Even after The Trauma sets in, he’s quick to do that. He just tries to resist it more.) He’s got a good sense of humor, and for all that be can be sarcastic and blunt, he’s never cruel about it.Why Someone Might Hate Them: Will be very loud and dramatic in flagrant disregard for the situation, i.e. in classroom or library settings, and is more likely to persuade via being obnoxious than via being likableHow They Change: He’s become a lot more withdrawn and slightly less reckless as the trauma has set in, and has mostly shed the Loud Obnoxious Bookah act in favor of being obviously competent. He’s also gone from “squashes crushes because acting on them would be troublesome” to “squashes crushes because acting on them would be TERRIFYING” and out to “is tentatively exploring being romantic because he failed to squash a crush in time and has to live with it now.”Why You Love Them: MY BOY.  He gets to be loud and yell sarcastically and break stuff when I would never let myself do those things. Also he’s developed  a lot of very good personal connections and it makes me happy. Also I made him way too pretty.

Yes

Xolinn: Ink Slinger - Brooke Waggoner

Xekken: Bow Down - CHVRCHES 

Strix: Severine - Ego Likeness

Trell: Ashes on your Eyes - Deb Talan

9. Who worries the most? Xekken, in general, because anxiety be that way, and also because he’s gotten better about the Orr traumas, but they’re still there. (Strix does still have moments though, because Xekken is more prone  to suddenly doing stupid reckless things like deciding to try gliding in a branded tornado. That’s more reactive though.)

22. Who cooks more/who is better at cooking? Strix is better at it when he can go to the store and buy ingredients. Xekken is better at it when hunting and foraging is involved. It’s almost like they were in different environments when they had to learn to feed themselves, or something. In general, they’re both more likely to go buy a meal somewhere than make it from scratch if they have the option available.

10. Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant? Xekken, because Strix is the one to have something that he always orders at a restaurant. Xekken’s more likely to pick at random. Xekken’s also more likely to bring home takeout that Strix enjoys, but that’s at least partially because it helps him make a decision. It’s also partially because he’s more likely to be the one who’s out running errands instead of holing up in a lab subsisting on peanut butter sandwiches (or their equivalent. Or life force if things are getting REALLY bad.) 

I am proud of my son

my boy has lightning hands