#tristan abrascal

[gwennafran]

No chapter art, Today.

Have an updated Work in Progress on this one. Already finding stuff I want to correct on the lineart.

Also, poor Maryam need more sun. And some shading that'll make the bags under her eyes look more as I'm intending them to look.

[liliennacht]

First Meeting

[project-catgirlpillar]

He's wearing a tricorn and has a bird on His shoulder Tristan has *got* to lose an eye and a Leg He needs to be piratemaxxing

[stroopwafl]

rat time

[echodoctor]

What I've Been Reading Lately: Pale Lights

It is a truth universally acknowledged that H.P. Lovecraft was a little bitch.

Unlike Rhode Island's least beloved and most thalassophobic son, Pale Lights tells the story of a world where humanity exhibits the only natural response to eldritch horror: continuing to be a bunch of squabbling, scheming motherfuckers who honestly might collectively be more of a problem than the ancient gods of primordial darkness sharing this underground cavern/post-apocalyptic civilization with them.

It is the Fantasy Mediterranean and there are not two square goddamn feet in this giant cave world without something ancient and hungry lurking in it. Fortunately, we have the Watch, professional monster-hunters and tireless guardians of humanity!

Unfortunately, humanity is a perpetual motion machine of bad decision making, and there's always some asshole trying to start a cult to something that eats you.

There are boats! There are ancient magical technologies! There are elephants with a profoundly upsetting amount of heads!

This fascinating and intricate world is shown from two very different perspectives, as the book is split between our pair of protagonists: Angharad Tredegar, an honorable sword lesbian tragically forced into a very non-swords-and-women-related situation, and Tristan Abrascal, who would like you to understand that he's really just a little guy and to please ignore that completely unrelated trail of dead bodies.

Both of them are about to join the Watch or die trying.

The Watch will not be getting a choice in the matter.

The author does a fantastic job at balancing drama and humor, the mysteries and lingering questions are intriguing, and while the story can sometimes go dark places it never feels bleak or pointless.

Characters will try very hard to reach out into the dark and save people. Sometimes they succeed.

And even when they don't, it still matters that they tried.

Book one is fully complete, book two is updating every Friday, and both of them are available for free right here:

Contents include but are not limited to:

-Our Lady of the Sunk Cost Fallacy

-a man so handsome it almost makes up for his personality

-the early adoption of grenade-related technology

-Lucifer's abandoned hermit crabs

-an increasing amount of problems both caused by and solved with poison

-the Fantasy Communist Manifesto

-three to seven rats sharing the trench coat that is divinity

-and grandma

[crowns-of-violets-and-roses]

“You do not have the luxury of that lie,” the old woman said. “You are to be a Mask, Tristan Abrascal. A creature of angles and lies, necessity’s bastard son. The Krypteia is despised by the other covenants because we are, in truth, as much a check on them as we are on the Watch’s enemies.” He could not quite see it, but he felt Abuela smile. “Care for them, if you like,” she said. “But do not ever forget that should they betray the Watch, it is you that will be called on to put poison in their morning tea.”

Calling it now at some point Tristan is going to be ordered to kill his cabal.

[st-just]

@fallowhearth

Hmm, probably? Depends on what about WB's stuff you really like, but would definitely say give it a try. (It's only 22 chapters in so far anyway, so that's only like a normal sized novel investment, right? :P )

It's not really any more high concept than Twig or Pact, but it's full secondary world and the setting's a mix of intentionally very alien conceits and just obvious counterpart cultures, which I know some people find annoying - very clear that the big city at the start is Fantasy Venice, that these republics are Fantasy Chinese and this empire is Fantasy Aztecs, etc, despite the conditions they've developed in being unrecognizable to any historical analogue - well, here's the actual pitch on the site.

Vesper is a world built on the ruins of older ones: in the dark of that colossal cavern no one has ever known the edges of, empires rise and fall like flickering candles.

Civilization huddles around pits of the light that falls through the cracks in firmament, known by men as the Glare. It is the unblinking stare of the never-setting sun that destroyed the Old World, the cruel mortar that allows survival far below. Few venture beyond its cast, for in the monstrous and primordial darkness of the Gloam old gods and devils prowl as men made into darklings worship hateful powers. So it has been for millennia, from the fabled reign of the Antediluvians to these modern nights of blackpowder and sail. And now the times are changing again.

The fragile peace that emerged after the last of the Succession Wars is falling apart, the great powers squabbling over trade and colonies. Conspiracies bloom behind every throne, gods of the Old Night offer wicked pacts to those who would tear down the order things and of all Vesper only the Watch has seen the signs of the madness to come. God-killers whose duty is to enforce the peace between men and monsters, the Watch would hunt the shadows. Yet its captain-generals know the strength of their companies has waned, and to meet the coming doom measures will have to be taken.

It will begin with Scholomance, the ancient school of the order opened again for the first time in over a century, and the students who will walk its halls.

Book I: Lost Things

Tristan Abrascal is a thief, one of many making their living under the perpetual twilight of the greatest city in all of Vesper: Sacromonte. Quick wit and a contract with a capricious goddess have always kept him one step ahead, until one night he crosses a line by accident that burns all the bridges he had left. But not all is lost, for his mentor offers a way out of peril that turns out to be more than a simple escape.

It is also an opportunity to get even with the infanzones, the nobles he’s lived under all his life, and it so happens that Tristan has a full ledger’s worth of scores to settle with them.

Lady Angharad Tredegar has fled halfway across the world, leaving behind a ruin of a life: her family butchered by a ruthless enemy, their estate torched and their nobility revoked. Yet no matter how far she flees the blades of assassins follow, and she finds herself growing desperate for any protection. She has one relative left to call on, her estranged uncle in Sacromonte, but she finds that the safety he offers comes at a cost.

Angharad has sworn revenge, however, and her honour will allow for no compromise. She will do what she must to survive so that one day bloody vengeance can be visited upon her enemies.

The paths of the two take them to the doorstep of the Watch, but for desperate souls like them enrolment is a lost cause. They will have to do it the hard way instead, by surviving the trials on the isle known as the Dominion of Lost Things.

Where every year many go, and few return.

If that appeals at all, would absolutely give it a try!

[gwennafran]

The ensuing playfight between the vampire and the sith lady ended, when the sith in a very enthusiastic way threw herself into the hypnotizing vampire's seductive embrace. Dipping herself to expose that defenseless neck. At which point Maryam let go of Angharad. Dropping her on the ground.

Artist's notes: Noble upbringing and good manners be damned. We all know this is how Angharad would react to a lightsaber toy. 

Maryam is borrowing confidence from her costume. 

Song is dressed up as a Kalaviṅka. Pretty dress + pretty feathers kinda sold me on it as the artist.

Tristan as a catboy is a bad joke. Times two with the cat suit / cat thief getup. 

[gwennafran]

Pale Lights, Book 2 chapter 3 - Thirteenth brigade Temporary Reference Sheet

Because I’m a dork wanting a baseline while doing other fanarts. Will probably be updated a few times over the next few weeks.

Two versions. Because cloak.

Watch Fashion speculations and ramblings under cut

Fortuna got a full Renaissance gown. A couple of different decades got combined to get big sleeves top and massive collar combine with the sleek skirt (Look, everything is relative. Have you guys seen what happened with the skirts around this time?!? This is the sleek version).

I translated her capelet to a sexy partlet. I found at least one source referring to partlets like that. I guess you could have turned the partlet into also having a big collar. But… This is Fortuna. We all know she’s extra extra.

I’ve been playing around with Watch uniforms, and ended with basically three different types as a starting point.

Maryam is described wearing a tunic with silver buttons. Other times, Watch members have been described wearing cloaks. And those two things does not mix historically.

Then I remembered Tristan in Book 1 wearing a black tunic the same length as Maryam’s. Also described as a kirtle. And a black cloak later. So I figured he had frankensteined together several pieces of discarded Watch uniforms (even his boots were Watch boots).

So, I made Maryam’s tunic more kirtle-like. With the buttons on the sleeve and nice inbuilt boob-support. What is not added is a maybe/maybe-not existing prosthetic for her missing fingers.

Song got a more Renaissance look built around a doublet. Because I like those. Then I added a Musketeer Cloak on top.

We don’t know if Angharad is in a Watch uniform yet, but she definitively likes cloaks, and there are some of the uniforms with cloaks. So I gave her the full version of Tristan’s other half of his uniform.

And Tristan is, well… Tristan. He hurts my eyes.

Then EE dropped by in the Discord and confirmed there’s three different types of Watch uniforms. Regular Uniform, Fighting Uniform and Formal Uniform. Also, it seems I got pretty close to the three. With Tristan wearing a mixed abomination. Haha.

[gwennafran]

Pale Lights Domestic Disturbances Fanart

Don’t listen to the slander. Tristan would never mix up his socks just to disturb Song. And he certainly wouldn’t buy the loudest patterns he can find for the same reason either. 

[project-catgirlpillar]

This is the Second time Tristan has done this None of the Others do this is His reaction to trans people just

[gwennafran]

Pale Lights Beach episode

I was working on some reference sheets to myself, and plopping some seasonally appropriate swim wear on these disasters were the simple way to show off my progress. Make it an “alternate timeline” and “alternate universe” version. Haha.

A few things:

I don’t actually have a height for Fortuna. I just figured “tall” because she is a goddess.

It turns out everyone got different ideas of what Angharad’s tattoos looks like. In the end, we got a trustworthy source telling us, that EE says they are 10 parallel bands going around Angharad’s forearm.

I also don’t know which hand Maryam is missing two fingers on. I picked left to be kind.

Maryam is so darn pale, she practically is blinding.

Angharad probably could pick up any of her other three cabal members, and carry them around effortlessly over her shoulder for an hour. She’s also collected a lot of scars in just one book.

[gwennafran]

Mermay Tristan sketch

I think I mostly wanted to see how the rest of the Pale Lights discord would react. Turns out they are as silly as me. 

[gwennafran]

Pale Lights updated Beach Episode thing now chapter 1 of Book 2 is out.

I had fun picking swimwear for each character.

No Tupoc as we're missing vital info. Also the exclusion probably would bother him. And you should always mock Tupoc if given the chance.

[project-catgirlpillar]

Tristan abrascal will Go on at length about how He is only looking Out for himself at the end of the day and it sucks but selflesness is a luxury a Rat can't afford right before throwing himself into Mortal danger to save others

[gwennafran]

Pale Lights - chapter 4 Trial cast

Made mostly so I can keep track of the 33 trail participants myself. Hopefully others will find it useful as well.

This was a nice practice in skin tones. Although there's still several characters with next to no info attached to them.

I set the default visual look to about 1625 Europe. Because EE has said this is Renaissance, but a lot of elements says 17th century or later. Plus 1625 doubles up as the Three Musketeers swashbuckling period as a bonus. Even though this is it's very late Renaissance. But I think I can juuust justify it.

Anyway, Renaissance ya all! Lots of shirts poking out from under doublets and half length cloaks worn "casually" over one shoulder at this decade. I love it. And hats! Posting this fast before EE can say half the cast isn't wearing cool hats. ;)