#I hope it feels in character for him

[karoiseka]

Yawn

Shadowbringers 5.3 Spoilers!

((Nope, no clue why I'm posting this this late.  oh. Right.  because writing bug finally FINALLY bit and I got carried away.  Have 1447 rambling words from G’raha’s POV. hehehe.))

The door shut behind him, and G’raha stopped in his stride.  Had he really just said that to her in front of everyone?  The sound of the door closing had muffled everything, and he knew his voice wouldn’t carry over the din, but really?  Did he have to admit that to everyone including himself now?

I have, and will always, love you.

He had glanced over his shoulder at the last moment, and in seeing her face–most likely for the last time ever–it couldn’t resist blurting it out.  Had there been tears in her eyes?  Was it just his imagination?  It was a silly thing to say, knowing he wouldn’t see her again, but nonetheless true–and she deserved the truth even if she couldn’t hear it.  Shaking his red locks out of his eyes, he looked up towards the staircase once more.  This is where he belonged, he knew that.  His entire soul had thrummed with happiness as the doors closed, his contract with the Tower and the spell tied to it clicking into place.

Taking a deep breath, he strode into his new home once more, every step deeping the spell and his connection with the Tower, able to reach out and feel all the moving parts–still working and functional after all these years.  Quietly he told the Tower to dim the lights behind him, slowly saving bits of energy for when the world was ready.

The floor he had chosen for his quarters had been quite an interesting discovery.  There was a large antichamber with a large polished crystal on a dias.  To one side was a control room for the Tower, giving a more direct and visual approach to the finer points that might need adjustment.  On the other side was another set of rooms, which had all been stripped empty for the time being, but were more than well suited for a set of living quarters.  It was there he had set his cot, and dragged what meager belongings he had the night before.  He had also piled in what books he thought he could get away with borrowing indefinitely, copies of tomes no one would miss.

Entering the room, sleep felt even more enticing than it had below.  The magic was taking hold faster than he had even thought, stasis slowly enveloping the interior of the Tower.   G’raha sat on the edge of the cot, a yawn catching in his throat as he stretched before grabbing one of his favorite books.  

Perhaps–perhaps just a few pages before turning in for the night (years?) wouldn’t be such a bad thing.  He wasn’t honestly sure if he would awaken the next day or the next century, or whom would be the one at his side when he awoke.  The thought was chilling despite the excitement of the mystery the new dawn would bring.

The dawn brought pain.  Suffering the likes G’raha had never seen, and never had wanted to see.  This wasn’t supposed to be what happened–the Tower was supposed to awaken and unlock when civilization was ready for him, not when it was the last desperate grasp generations after he had fallen to slumber clutching his book of faire tales.  The world needed the Tower though, needed him, so what was he to do but answer the call?  As he had predicted, Karo had become his shining star, guiding his every step along the way, and the steps of those that needed her most.  It wasn’t a surprise, yet overwhelming in the scope that she had kept the hope alive in those that needed her guidance most. 

What the Ironworks of this Age wanted to do was beyond anything G’raha had imagined possible, much less to be a part of.  Thinking of their predecessors, his friends, and keeping his Star in his mind, every move and thought he tried to emulate what they would do in that instance, moving forward to dare to jump time and space for the slimmest of chances to save her.  How could he not after all the courage she had given him through their time together, leading him to his destiny that was growing stranger and bigger than he had ever imagined.

The journey to the First went smoother than G’raha had hoped, yet upon arrival, he realized once more that he had landed not into a peaceful land, but another World on the brink of survival.  He wasn’t sure if he even slept those first few days after arriving, piecing together what he could of the world, finally realizing he was decades away from his goal, peering at the Source through the portal in the room he was now calling the Occular.  Time they had found was sporadic between the two worlds, him landing on the First, checking in on the Source to see that the same day hadn’t moved–for almost a moon on the First.  It was alarming and doing the math, he realized that he might be waiting decades before a good moment to call Karoiseka and the others to his new world arrived.

The Tower once more was to be his salvation, and with trepidation, he bound himself to it irrevocably.  The crystal burned his hand where the pact was first made, creeping up to his shoulder already as he used it’s magic haphazardly to build a sanctuary for the poor lost souls that flocked to his doorstep.  Under leadership given to him unasked for, he built a city for them, from memories of his past, with hope to guide them to a better future.

Years slipped away, research being his constant companion, time slowly syncing into place and rushing to meet him.  Not once did he lose sight of his goal, nor his Star as he watched for glimpses of her through his Portal.  It was as fickle as time itself though, only showing random areas of the world with sometimes nothing of interest in sight.  He slowly learned how to focus it, and as the years flew by, stationed it to look in on the Mor Dhona plaza most often.  Despite “his” city nearly running itself, his studies did not end, continuing to work on the spells needed to pull her to the First–and pray they worked well.

An amazing adventure later, G’raha followed his Star up the stairs to the Tower once more, hope and fear in equal measure being in his heart as their foe used his own blood against them, slowly stealing more of G’raha’s flesh with every summon.  He would not give up a single moment if he had his way, there was only the pang of slight regret in seeing the pain her Karo’s eyes when she realized who he was those moons ago now, as he was ready to give his all to save her–to save them all and end his chapter in this tale.  That he was allowed to continue, allowed to stand at her side–to love her and be loved in return–well, that was beyond his wildest dreams.

He kissed her sweetly and bade her promise him that it wasn’t the end.  He needed that reassurance, that belief back into himself as he had given all his heart to her.  This had to work.  He had reached out his hand to fate’s offer and as the crystal enveloped him, he slumbered once more in the warmth of the crystal in her hand.

It surely wasn’t time to awaken yet–he had just shut his eyes!  Warmth reached to every limb as G’raha stretched, eyes still shut for the moment.  This didn’t feel like his bed in–camp? The Crystarium?--Mor Dhona?  Crimson eyes opened, blinking away tiredness, and locked onto Sapphires watching his every move.  How was she here?  He had locked the Tower.  He was locked in Crystal.  It didn’t matter, she was here.  Reaching up a hand, he stopped to stare at the fingers of his right hand, now without a speck of blue to be found.  Memories swirled in his head, both near and far, jumbled and precise all at once.  It has been moments, it had been decades, he hadn’t left this very spot, he had been on several lifetimes worth of adventure and excitement.  Patting himself down, there wasn’t a spot of crystal left, incredulously.  Of course there wouldn’t be.  He was back in his old body, before a moment of waking originally had ever happened.

All attention fell back to her–gasping with hope and love shining in her eyes.  He couldn’t help but lean forward, lips meeting before he was nearly tackled backwards from her enthusiastic and happy response.  Laughing together softly as they greeted the new day.

((Note, the pic from the 8th calamity is from the Tales of Story by the FFXIV team.  Please go read those stories, i love them so so much))

#ffxiv #FFXIVWrite2022 #karoiseka #g'raha tia #wol x g'raha tia #I'm really happy with this #I hope it feels in character for him #I completely referenced my own fic of Beam from two years ago for the end of this

[arabian-batboy]

Don’t play with me now, this better be for real-

#they FINALLY made the right choice #logic wins #although I really hope this isn't him here #and its just a random guy from the Earth Kingdom #because I'm not feeling this design #he looks like a background character in that Metal clan #Zaofu? #or one of Kuvira's goons #but I'm willing to overlook it as long as they don't make him a basic stereotypical Earth-bending Muscle-head #if you watched the show you would know what I'm talking about #Avatar #LOK #ATLA

[shepscapades]

A break from our regularly scheduled programming: a DBHC Docm77 reference sheet!

This is something I’d like to do for all of the androids as I get more familiar with their designs and story, so I don’t know how long it’ll be until all of the androids are done, but for now, here’s a little bit of a peek into my thought process behind doc’s design! His never-before-seen Pre-Deviancy design was both incredibly fun and incredibly disorienting bc for real who is that man DBJCGHK but he’s also kinda fun to draw =w= So I may do some Beginning of S8 doodles or comics at some point for fun :3

#docm77 #dbhc #dbhc doc #hermitcraft dbh au #doc #art escapades #character reference sheet #I HOPE YOU LIKE HIM #don’t mind the subtle lore hints <3 #etho is currently done and tango is on the way so!! look forward to them at some point!! :3 #oh man this feels like it’s missing tags #OH WELL #dbhc art #dbhc ref

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Embrace the truth

[First] Prev <–-> Next

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #lan jingyi #lan sizhui #lan xichen #lan wangji #wei wuxian #WWX uses NMJ's abs as part of his evidence for identification. LXC is allowed to use his familiar embrace as his evidence. #We are now entering the slow burn arc of 'Lan Xichen continues to lose everything he cared about'. #He has his love of fishing + his good friendship with JGY + his brother. I hope nothing happens to any of those things #Not that its in character for *anyone* present to have the emotional intelligence for it - but man LXC is having a very hard time #Trying to pin his sworn brother as a murderer *right* after identifying the mystery body as his other sworn brother? #of *course* he's defensive! You gave him no time to process! #He's gonna need a lot of time by the pond to cope #The original joke had LXC copping a feel on those glutes and recognizing him that way. Which now looking back *was* funnier #sigh...I need to trust my gut a bit more #Next time on PD-MDZS: They just show up in Jinlin Tai because I want to plot to keep moving

[otaku553]

Haha

#yanqing #honkai star rail #hsr yanqing #my immediate fixation on ice wielding child genius characters in every media I consume strikes again #idk I just think he’s neat!! and so is his gender #he’s definitely overdesigned but I do enjoy the general shape of his clothes #like wow… baggy outer layer AND baggy inner layer #how come you get to have two baggy layers #still don’t know that much about him even after reading his character stories on the wiki #so I’m hoping that his quest writes him well #I suppose there’s some degree of like interesting contrast in the fact that he’s very young on a ship full of people who live very long live #but I feel like regardless they really don’t give him much of a personality besides his hyperfixation on swords and the general naivety and #inexperience from youth yknow what I mean #I just think it would be cool to see like why he’s so ambitious! was he railroaded into being a knight because of his talents? did he try #to be accepted as a knight? what kinds of expectations is he facing and what expectations does he place on himself as a result #I really hope he isn’t just there to be a simpler minded child character for jingyuan to take care of

[wired-heartbeats]

For the record I think Vox is being effected and possibly swayed by Val’s poison just like Angel is, the pink signifying it on Angel shows up on Voxs screen during and after interacting and being influenced by Val directly, when Vox is operating independently it isn’t an actual normal feature of his

This paired with an earlier moment from episode 2 when Val first mentioned something had happened with Angel Dust, Vox seemed happy about the idea of Angel quitting

“He quit? :D”

It’s interesting for sure, makes me wonder what Vox actually thinks about Angel, and more importantly, actually thinks about Valentino. He’s a business man, and clearly the Vees all teamed up (at least initially) because it helps elevate their status and power spread, they may be friendly with each other but we as an audience don’t actually know if there’s more to it as of now. But still, interesting

#personally I think Vox is afraid #He clearly has some defensive traits about his status and feels the need to prove a point no one even questioned yet #I wonder if he knows on some level. that if he were to falter he could very well end up in a situation like Angels #I think once we see more of how Velvette’s actual relationship with Val is we’ll have a better picture of what’s going with them #but one thing is for sure. Val is *manipulative*. and he’ll take what he wants no matter the consequences. Vox is able to calm Val down but #that could be having a rebound effect on Vox in the long run. keeping him in check. I doubt Val would stick up for either of them anyways #not unless it directly benefited him #I hope it gets touched on in some way bc I love the other two Vs characters and want to see Val squashed like the grimy insect he is but #ya know #in an in character making sense sorta way #cats chatterbox #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel Vox

[egophiliac]

kamen rider shion was just revealed for ride kamens, and he looks like he's themed after the... horse orphnoch? this is an even bigger surprise than the jin and woz homages

trying to speculate on Ride Kamens characters pre-reveal really is like

#ride kamens #not art sorry #(still gotta draw something for SUPER POSITIVE MAN too whoops) #joseimuke games are serious business #i am NOT complaining i think it's great that they're not restricting themselves to main riders or even like...main characters #but horse orphnoch feels like...an extremely weird pull #i have not seen faiz so i don't know anything about him as a character beyond a quick google #still feels weird to do a non-rider though? #i mean shion seems very lovable and i do enjoy having a character i can just shout HORSEBOOOOOY about #he was the one i was convinced was brave though! DANGIT #the specter of a possible ikemen poppy looms closer... #though any ex-aid rep won't be poppy let's be real here #at this rate it's going to be like. burgermon. #do i dare hope for such a miracle #(is that one guy with the wolf/dog tail going to be garulu then) #(or maybe he's thouser's dog robot WHO KNOWS) #truly ride kamens is a kingdom of infinite possibilities

[dykealloy]

the catholic rejection of it all

#one piece #op #trafalgar law #monkey d. luffy #gear 5 luffy #song is big god by florence and the machine #religious symbology? in my shounen anime protagonist? it's more likely than you think #im 24 years old it's the end of 2023 it's MY turn to finally make a cringe amv for christmas #to be clear. i dont think law sees luffy as his god. but i definitely think he's helped law regain some faith #i.e. catholicism (yeah hardy-hah one piece character is an ex-catholic its all very silly but let's take it unironically for a second) #it would've drilled into law as a child to believe in one true cause (that cause being god). and that will supposedly carry him through lif #give hope purpose etc. but a lot of former catholics choose instead to find that in something else. in law’s cause: #the freedom and hope corasan gave him #the freedom that luffy brings. the will of D. the goodness in the people around him #it's a transfer of faith that feels real and tangible #it's a neat concept and I don't see it talked about much #CJ's op watch-through #corasan #donquixote rosinante #sun god nika #CJ's edits #op analysis #amv

[canisalbus]

I've been following you for years, and I love your art. Seeing you repost your older art pieces reminded me how much I loved the angry, bitter, miserable Machete art and how it resonated with me... but a part of me is also so happy to see the current art of him being happy. Cute art of him as a unicorn, or chilling in a bathtub with Vasco. Like, we're all growing and healing :')

#thank you! #he's been angry and bitter and miserable for so long it feels nice to give him an ounce of happiness for a change #some reasons to live besides spite and sense of duty #answered #anonymous #I always saw him as a character who's unsalvageable corrupted and doomed by narrative #and that the only way out of his miserable existence was a well deserved death #it sounds extremely cliche but I genuinely had no idea it would be so cathartic to view him through a lens of like #hope and healing and being worthy of love and saving despite your evident flaws and failings #unplanned redemption arc kapow #Vasco really just sauntered in and flipped the whole situation on it's head #sorry folks he has a boyfriend and gets regular pets and hugs and kisses now

[nancywheeeler]

hopeless time loop. the way out isn’t to save everyone. the way out isn’t to save even one person. the way out isn’t to change anything. the way out is accepting how it happened the first time is how it always will be. that’s how you acted, that’s how they acted, that’s how you would have acted every time if you weren’t given the curse of hindsight. the way out is accepting you can’t fix the past; you can only forgive yourself for it.

#there's this game i love called little hope that plays with these ideas (though not with a time loop) #i do love time loops narratives that explore how a person is confronted with their life and their choices #when forced to live the same day over and over again #and i LOVE time loops that try to reverse mistakes made and lives lost #but to see a character put themselves through loops upon loops upon loops #trying to rectify past mistakes (especially in the case where people died) only to be confronted with the reality it isn't working #and even in a loop where they save everyone the loop just resets #because the universe is essentially saying 'no that isn't how it happened and you know that's not how it happened' #it compels me! #i feel similarly about time travel where time 'fights back' #like this idea that there is a central timeline that time does not like being diverted from #so it will try to course correct itself #you save lincoln from an assassination only for him to die in a train crash #it's a cool way to confront the idea of fate #anyway all tragedies are hopeless time loops thank you for coming to my ted talk #a shout into the void #1k

[nuppu-nuppu]

#trying to make myself feel better by drawing my fave characters #the colors in this are a bit fucked up for some reason but i love this lil guy #i recently made one of my friends watch all the bnha movies it was fun #they know nothing about bnha except bakudeku #i feel like there's an emptiness inside of me now #like i have no emotions anymore #because he's gone #just hoping i can get his ashes back quickly so he can be with me once again #sorry for talking about poju he was my best friend #just miss him so much #midoriya izuku #deku #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #fanart

[fear-no-mort]

favourite thing: his new habit of saying uhuh/mhm and also this

#the first time he did it in unmortricken i was like Fuck Yes and little did i know he would just keep doing it the whole time #DESPERATELY hoping they keep both of these things. i Love when characters have tiny little habits sprinkled in their actions #to me these things kinda sorta symbolise him no longer being afraid to really be himself #like he no longer has to hide certain things about himself that inside of the cfc wouldve made him appear ‘suspicious’ #since he IS like so much different than any other morty ever #also barely related but like. em is fundamentally such a good character bc everytime we see him he’s feeling something different #in his first appearance he was cold and distant because at the time he was new to being free and was strictly focused on his goal and wasn’ #even sure if it would work #in his second appearance he seemed hopeful and honest both of these things just being a trap to get the people of the citadel to trust him #and his old colder self unfurling near the end after he successfully becomes president #in his third appearance he seems giddy almost. he’s constantly giggling before and after sentences and he’s super eager to just Get The Hel #Out. and also to reveal the truth to morty prime. make it so that he doesn’t have to be the one to shoulder everything anymore. #and this fourth appearance. apart from a few little details he really just seems happy and comfortable. the entire episode he was just doin #whatever he wanted and nobody got in his way at all. and i could not be happier #normal about this character! #rick and morty #evil morty #rick and morty spoilers #odiespeak

[cacaocheri]

this was supposed to be one drawing!! ONE DRAWING!!!!!!!!! but every time i draw them i can't stop i need to keep going

#i like how sun looks in these #im tryna play around with how i draw him in my style #he needs to be.... tastier #anyway it is a genuine problem with the dca #bc ill be drawing them #and then in the middle of drawing them #ill suddenly get like 10 more drawing ideas #its so fucking funny #funniest part is that i can go months without inspo but the MOMENT i start drawing them again. they are back to taking over my brain space #i love these guys #yknow its weird to think that before them i was waiting for YEARS for a fictional character to make me feel anything #and then they come along #and make me feel every emotions humanly possible on the spectrum #uhhh okay anyway #for those who read my tags i hope you enjoyed this rant #my art #security breach #sun fnaf #fnaf sun #sundrop #sundrop fnaf #sun x y/n #fnaf security breach

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

hot man hot birdman im so sorry hot fire bird man?!?!

aka glorious gijinka!Tengu Jin design by @hirumi25 has made me 👀💦?!?! because wowie thats some hecking fire design!

and of course i couldnt just not draw Hirumi's Nomi-kun with him too

#rc9gn #rc9gn tengu #ninjanomicon #human!ninjanomicon #human!tengu #randy cunningham #howard weinerman #hirumi-san i feel like i should apologize because i got overboard a little (maybe???) but i really do love your art so much i often #scroll through your blog to look at it. alsofor calling you Hirumi-san in my head xD it just kinda happened and your name just sounds nice #saying it like that haha. hope you enjoy the sillies art tho it was fun todraw! sometimes one just wants to draw some cool designs ;) #listen i adored hirumi-san's art for YEARS because their First content is some fine food but this humanized tengu was the last straW #i spent days after seeing that art going WOAaaah because literally he looks so cool???? all joking about me simping aside its very silly #but i absolutely adore that you gave him little wrinkles under his eyes it makes him look so dignified and your outfit for him us just *MUA #i wish i could character design like that *sigh*

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Call that a Cave Story.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #wen chao #wang lingjiao #mianmian #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #I had to cut the comic with JC 'holding WWX back from fighting the Wen Assholes' but it is with me in spirit. #It reads (to me) a little bit like JC is scared of Core Melting Hand and wants to have an excuse to hold on to WWX for comfort. #As far as I can recall they are around 15-17 in this arc. #And a guy who can rip out your golden core? The thing we know JC truly puts so much weight upon that he feels meaningless without it? #Yeah that's pretty terrifying. I hope WWX hugs back (he will not) #I have a lot more thoughts on Wang Lingjiao and Mianmian but I will keep them for later. #WLJ is a character I feel got done a little dirty because she has a ton of interesting potential that gets pushed aside for Mean Villainess #Let's be fully honest. Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao are *THE* characters the Protag of one of those 'Reincarnated as the villain!' stories #Set up to be assholes to the main character and meeting a horrible end in retribution. #Do you think MXTX thought about that? How Wen Chao is basically the original Shen QiugQiu? #Who's going to be the brave soul who writes A transmigrator in wen chao's body (accidently makes wwx fall in love with him) story? #Though If we are going with “any mxtx character sho dies transmigrates to another book” WHO is the transmigrator? #Hear me out. I think it should be Original Liu Qingge. I think he and wwx would make a funny duo and I want to see it so bad. #AND the contrast of womanizer Wen Chao VS 'What is a woman' LQG.

[turtleblogatlast]

Something I like about Leo is that he’s honestly really chill? It’s easy to remember the moments where he’s being obnoxious or excitable but I feel like most of the time he’s incredibly “go with the flow” and has an overall affable demeanor.

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt leo #rise leo #Genuinely speaking I feel like said demeanor is incredibly useful for when he has to charm and/or persuade people into listening to him #I have a whole post talking about Leo’s charm and how he consistently gets people to hear him out even if he’s annoyed or upset them #like they’ll still listen to what he has to say in full #his charisma stat is real and utilized quite often in this series I swear he’s not just a loser cringeboy all the time 😭 #if he wants to persuade and/or charm then he honestly sooo often does #me listing the 400th reason why Leo grows up to be the worlds best ninja and a good 365 of those reasons are Leo’s various subterfuge skill #Like most episodes where he’s not the main focus (and even many where he is) #he’s a voice of reason who notices things quickly and is often the one taking point to talk down situations #something interesting I found between Leo and Mikey is that #Mikey tells people what they need to hear #Leo tells people what they want to hear #not only out of his own agenda either #when bullhop was wrecking their home leo was the one that negotiated to make the situation go smoother #even if he would have rather bullhop left #meanwhile Mikey is the one who bluntly tells things as it is #small character moment that means a lot to me #Mikey is an honest boy who is upfront about his feelings #Leo prefers to let people make their own decisions he wants them to through steering the convo in that direction #but he is easily cowed by guilt #regardless leo is a people person - he knows how to talk to them and how to manipulate/persuade #and I like that his bros know this and often push him forward to do the talking if they wanna charm someone into doing what they want #I think Leo’s hope speeches are also an example of this - he’s saying what people really want to hear (and often it’s ALSO what they NEED) #the further the series goes on the higher Leo’s inner stress rises and he just keeps that chill aura anyway #there’s a reason!!! he wanted to go to a SPA so badly!! #literally the first thing he does when he gets in is rest #no joke meditation would do him good? like- it’s a Leo thing and I genuinely think rise leo would be no different here