Won't copy/past it all since I'm a bit too lazy to format it and drop in images, but this is cool! I like that they're doing more developer blogs on a variety of topics and skimming this (since I'm still not done with the expansion...gah, whatever, eventually) it seems like there's a nice look behind the curtain on how Anet handles writing/lore, including some rewrites for Mai Trin based on early tester feedback.
It's neat seeing there isn't some grand, perfect plan from the get-go and that often times they have to scramble to rework/rewrite elements of the story based on needed changes while still having them fit with already produced content/cutscenes.
Having never really known about the aetherblades before this expansion, I killed them but I had no clue who they were since I didn't pay attention/remember, this expansion did a great job of providing context for who they are and who Mai Trin is if you missed anything from the existing content.
Hoping these blog posts continue, I still very much am liking this version of Anet.
Love getting blog posts like these. Always so interesting to read what ideas they had and how they go about things. Hope to see more of these in the future!