#oc: vincent arkwright

[sheyshen]

tonight's combat sketch is Gaius! <3

of course with a bonus including Vincent:

[astralcamellia]

Art Highlights of 2022

the non-fandom-specific edition

[chasesthelight]

masterpost for original projects + their respective characters because pidge has too many ocs!

blue sky (australian gothic tv miniseries)

michael schwarz

veda mckay

chelsea rose

annabelle smart

lachlan harvey

gaia

the nascence files (scifi/horror podcast)

vincent melby, the angel

elliot arkwright, the inhibitor

kiri okana, the litmus

celyn samedani, the phoenix

charlotte akiyama, the shard

isidora battaglia, the lyrebird

esther crane, the black hole

rebecca merideth, the empath

manon rousseau, the gardener

arkadiy zakharov, the whisper

tobias petersson, the conduit

blake lindgren, the isotope

lukas henshall, the bloodletter

codebreaker (crime tv miniseries)

casper sterling (yes he has multiple verses leave me alone)

tristan patrelli

riley bosch

anki gauthier

rory wickham (again multiple verses)

[sheyshen]

Father daughter Starlight gift shopping! They're looking for something for Gaius of course 🥰

[sheyshen]

A relaxing afternoon reading.

bonus shot without the railing:

[sheyshen]

It's not as action-y as the others I've done so far but I really thought this pose suited Vincent so!!

[astralcamellia]

Art Highlights of 2019

the non-fandom / original story edition

[sheyshen]

A short fic, focusing on how Einar met his daughter. Set during Endwalker. Also featuring Vincent grumbling about the cold. (tiny bit of EW spoilers)

-----------------

Perhaps it was the woods he missed the most right now. Vincent grumbled as he followed after his friend, picking their way through the ruins of the Garlean capital. The sounds of birds and life, the smell of rain. Hells he even missed the distant storms off the coast of Terncliff right now, even though they always made the aches worse. The smell of salt on the wind was something he would’ve preferred over the smell of gunpowder and oil that pervaded this place.

    Einar signaled for them to stop as they watched a pair of rogue magitek… something or other lumber on by. He wasn’t sure what they were called honestly, it wasn’t the armor he’d seen the warrior of light ride around in, and it wasn’t the bits like Einar used. In the end, it didn’t really matter much to him, he only needed to know how to break them.

    He rubbed the heel of his hand on his nose, stifling a sniffle. Maybe it was the warmth he was missing, Gaius’s warning of how cold Garlemald was didn’t give the truth of it justice. Even through the layers, he could feel the chill in his bones, and the thick gloves made it more difficult to grip. He tugged down the hat his friend had given him after the engineer teased him for not bringing one along.

    Einar gave him a nod as soon as it was once more safe and they continued on their way, checking ruins for survivors and attempting to avoid the detection of the tempered and rogue contraptions that wandered the area. A sound made them pause, waiting, and then a small form bolted past. A child from the looks of it, a survivor. The pair gave chase, catching up quickly enough and Einar scooped the wriggling body into his arms before they could escape, shushing them as best he could.

    “It’s alright. Shhhh. We’re friends.” Einar released his grip as they calmed and turned to look at them. A little girl, couldn’t’ve been more than ten. “Where are your parents?”

    She glanced between the two of them before shaking her head. “I don’t know. I’ve been looking for them. But…” she trailed off.

    Einar let out a disappointed sigh but put on a brave face for the child before him. “What’s your name?” When she didn’t answer he introduced himself first, “I’m Einar Valenz, I’m an engineer and Garlean like you.”

    When she looked up toward him Vincent followed suit. “Vincent. Baelsar. I’m just here to help.”

    She waited a moment, debating. “Blair…Attia. I was trying to find my dad. He's with the IIIrd legion.”

    Einar attempted to hide a grimace at the statement, the likelihood of her father being alive wasn’t very high, and with having little luck with his search for his own parents…

    Another sound caught the trio’s attention, Vincent’s head snapped up and he shifted his stance. It was too small to be magitek, but too loud to have been from someone trying to avoid being detected. He gripped the hilt of the gunblade on his back, Heirsbane felt foreign in his hand and part of him regretted giving in to his partner’s request to bring the weapon along instead of his lance.

    Einar picked up Blair, standing behind his friend as Vincent drew the blade, attempting to mimic the stance he’d seen during sparring sessions. Mimicry wasn’t his strongest suit, but it would have to do. The sound drew closer, louder, and then another form burst forth, this one much bigger and not attempting to flee. Bringing the gunblade up as quickly as he could, Vincent deflected the attack, his years as a wood wailer and adventurer paying off even with an unfamiliar weapon.

    The sound of steel striking steel rang through the ruins and Einar retreated. He had a gunblade of his own on his back, but with Blair in his arms, there was little he could do to assist. Still, his friend held his own, as the soldier before them lurched, swinging their weapon wildly. They were tempered then, not a survivor.

    Vincent stumbled, the balance of the lengthy blade throwing him off a moment, but recovered, sidestepping as the soldier attempted to strike while he shifted. Einar’s eyes widened in recognition and he bit back a curse.

    “V. Don’t kill him!” He shouted to his friend.

    Vincent deflected another blow, kicking out with his right leg as he did, the prosthetic hitting the soldier in the shin and causing him to grunt out in what should’ve been pain. “I think you should be telling him that, not me.” He ground out as he turned, swinging the gunblade around and attempting to disarm the tempered man before him. “Why?”

    “That’s my father.”

    Vincent cursed, dodging another wild blow. He was sure that if this had been a soldier with full faculties he would’ve lost his head by now. Even still he took a few blows, mostly nicks to his coat, but nothing too major to worry about for now. But as the fight wore on it was bound to draw more attention and with a child in tow that could spell trouble.

    Dropping Heirsbane, Vincent rolled, grabbed a fistful of ashy snow, and lobbed it at the soldier. When the tempered went to cover his face on instinct the lancer took the chance to close the distance, scooping up his partner’s gunblade as he did. Grabbing the soldier the collar of his coat, he brought the hilt of the gunblade square into the side of the man’s head.

    The soldier dropped to the ground, groaning, but otherwise not getting back up for the moment. Einar looked at his friend with a wild look in his eyes that made it clear he didn’t approve of the attack but also couldn’t admonish him for it either. Returning the gunblade to its holster on his back, Vincent ignored his friend, glancing around instead, straining his ears to hear. The sound of mechanical creaking and hissing was drawing closer and while it was unclear if it was the patrol from before returning or if the fight had drawn attention to their presence, the lancer wasn’t wanting to wait and find out.

    He squatted down, picking up the fallen man and heaving him onto his shoulder as he stood. “I think he’ll be fine with a headache after he’s been cured.”

    Einar huffed but nodded. There were more important things to worry about. “Let’s take him to the healers at camp. And get her some food.” He nodded towards Blair as she clung to him. “Preferably before more company arrives.”

Vincent huffed a laugh and grinned at his friend before the group started towards camp. He was sure the healers who were part of the Ilsabard contingent would be able to help, and they could come back and continue their search after a bit of rest as well.

[sheyshen]

trying to draw them with an accurate height difference just makes vincent look tiny XD

[sheyshen]

Colored in another of the combat sketches before working on something new, fitting to have them finished for valentine's day 🥰

[sheyshen]

Checking out the benchmark to make sure my PC can handle the update (it can, and so can my laptop so yaaay) and then to check out the updated graphics on my alts.

I only have previewed them in the CC so the lighting isn't like optimal but! even with that they look really good! there's a few things i might adjust come patch day, but overall everyone's still looking like themselves (even if vincent is looking quite a bit more tired than before lol)

and my bonus 2 that I haven't made in game but do have their CC saved in case I ever break down and do, lol

[sheyshen]

baby boy baby

[sheyshen]

I’ve read it a handful of times, edited it and now subjecting you all to it, so a short post EW Gaius/WoL (though not the main wol, that’s raya) fic : some werlyt chain spoilers but other than that nothing specific.

----------------------------

“Do you regret the choices you’ve made til now?”

Vincent mulled over the question Gaius had asked him that morning as he looked out over the water. The low rumble of thunder drew his eye towards a storm brewing on the horizon. He leaned on the balcony, leaning his crutch on the stone and taking a deep breath, savoring the rising winds bringing in a cool ocean breeze while he could. His leg already ached, it would be a bad night.

It was unusual for his partner to ask such things. Their eclectic group tended to keep their past to themselves, and while the pair had spoken of things like their home and family, it rarely became deeper than that. He knew Gaius struggled with the choices he’d made over the years, and he’d seen the guilt he carried, hate directed as much at himself as towards the Ascians. He had seen him coming to grips with the truth of what he had done to Eorzea, at the orders of his superiors, sure, but he had believed in what he had done at the time, and now he had nothing but doubt and a drive to make amends even if it was only on a small scale.

So when he asked the lancer such a question, Vincent had no answer for him. The moment had dragged out almost awkwardly before a knock at the door drew them both away for other matters. The question kept popping into his mind as he worked around Werlyt, moving supplies, helping Allie and the kids, checking provisions, and only needing to stop after his leg started acting up. The prosthetic had been in need of repairs for some time now, but between the final days and getting the city back on its feet he hadn’t had the time to get it looked at. He counted himself lucky that some of Cid’s crew weren’t too busy and could fix it for him. Magitek never did make sense to him.

So now he was stuck. No longer able to distract himself with busy work, and everyone else too busy to talk to. Nothing to do but actually think of an answer to Gaius’s question.

Lightning flashed in the distance, the bolts dancing amongst the clouds as it grew darker. He contemplated what the question was meant for, the wording was so vague that part of him wondered if he had meant their relationship, but if that was the case, that would’ve been easy to answer. But deep down, he knew that was likely the only thing they both were sure of.

His life before was… messy. He had spoken about losing his family and village to the poachers that roamed the shroud and of how he lost his leg, but he hadn’t told him much else. Did he have regrets? Absolutely. But would he go back and change them? He doubted it. Though much of it was painful, it also was what made him who he is today and led him to make the friends he has now. Back then, he wouldn’t’ve ever dreamed of seeing everything he had, going to the places he’s been. His road has been long and difficult, but even through it all, he likes the man he’s become.

So wrapped up in his thoughts he didn’t realize he was alone until Gaius cleared his throat. Vincent started, mentally cursing his waning reflexes. Sure, he wasn’t nearly the fighter he was prior to Carteneau, but he didn’t expect his senses to be dulling so soon after deciding to retire. He wasn’t even that old yet….

Glancing to his right, he gave his partner a smile that was meant to be reassuring, but the stormy look on his face rivaled that of the rumbling in the distance. He supposed that he wasn’t about to get out of giving him an answer that easy.

“I.” He started, letting out a breath. “No. I don’t.”

Gaius leaned on the balcony next to him, clearly in thought.

Vincent took his silence as a cue to continue, “There are plenty of things I wish I had done differently. Plenty of ways things could’ve gone better. But I don’t regret how my life has gone, even with the pain. I’ve hurt people because I thought I was in the right, for money, for revenge. But I’ve also grown past that, done good, helped people, saved them, and found people I care for that I never thought I would.” He paused, “Just as you have I’m sure.”

Gaius let out a breath. “If I had done things differently, perhaps Allie wouldn’t be alone.”

“She still has you.”

A slight smile appeared for a moment before fading, “Raya said the same when I asked her.” He didn’t continue, the pair just watching the storm rolling across the sea. The silence was comfortable, familiar, and Vincent reached over to grip the other man’s hand, threading their fingers together before squeezing.

“Then perhaps you should listen to her.” He grinned, “She is the Warrior of Light after all.”

That pulled a huff of a laugh and a hum of acknowledgment from Gaius before their attention was pulled away by a clattering of supplies falling and a squeak of surprise as one of the ironworks engineers tripped and dropped the tools she had been carrying. She looked at the pair in surprise, likely having expected the area to be empty, before gathering up her fallen gear and bolting for the G-warrior hangar. They let her go without a word, though a few raindrops warning of the imminent downpour did make them decide to head indoors.

Pushing off the balcony, Vincent used the stone to help keep balance on his one leg as he turned, finding Gaius already holding his crutch out to him. Thanking him, he secured it on his arm and gripped the handle, getting his bearings before they headed away. He paused a moment before speaking up. “I’ve never regretted my time with you.” He watched for a reaction, knowing the older man tended to keep his emotions close to his heart, unlike himself. But after having spent so much time together, he had come to be able to read him well enough, or at least well enough to notice the look that flashed across his face that made him close the distance to pull him into a tight hug with his free hand, leaning to press his forehead firmly on his partner’s and repeat what he said.

Gaius didn’t say anything, but he leaned in, mirroring, and reached up, settling his hand firmly on the back of Vincent’s neck and closed his eyes.

[sheyshen]

the last of the XIV headshots set! Including a few more pairs and a couple of single lads!

[sheyshen]

having Vincent thoughts today so little doodle that shouldn’t lead to a whole character sheet for him for bit of a “leg maintenance day” fit aka, i really hope werlyt’s warm...

[sheyshen]

I spent too long doing this but all my alts have cute little outfits now (+bonus raya)  >:3

- Raya, Shey, W’nhea, W’shana, Layla, Vincent, Eloise, and Ryse!