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Description

The crystal-clear waters of the Menagerie, in the time since its assault, had been painstakingly brought back to its former glory. He and the other Mages had worked tirelessly to erase the stain the Hive forces had left on their sacred space, and now Giuseppe could finally return there for the quiet meditation he had so sorely missed.
Clearing his thoughts, he sat beside the water.
At first, he saw nothing– just the empty blackness of eyes shut tight. But sure enough, the vision came to him. An endless sea of blue stretched out endlessly in front of him, and in the midst of it was the darkened, but unmistakable figure of a wolf he had not seen in over a year.
His father.
The sight so utterly shocked him that his eyes welled up with tears. “Dad?” he asked, still in disbelief at what he was seeing. The old wolf appeared just as Giuseppe remembered him: worn, and with the same look of rigidness he’d always worn. A crisp, clear image of the father he’d hardly known. The father who’d betrayed his pack and his family. The father who’d resorted to violence to do what he mistakenly believed was for the good of Mhor.
He should’ve been angry, disgusted, to see his father again. After what he’d done, the lives he’d ruined the day of his coup, Giuseppe should not have felt anything short of contempt for Alchalar. But… in a way he didn’t understand, he felt… relieved. He knew better than to believe that his father was truly there. This was only a vision, a memory of the real thing. Yet somehow, the young Mage felt as though the father he’d loved, despite his numerous faults, were here with him. And as strange as it was, Giuseppe actually felt glad to see him again.
Alchalar said nothing, even after Giuseppe had spoken to him. He was so eerily still that Giuseppe drew closer to him, hoping that maybe his father would respond to his movement. But as he came closer, the clearer it became that his father would not see nor hear him. Whatever he seemed to be looking at, it seemed to be more important to him than his own son. He shouldn’t have been surprised. This was a vision, but if it came from his own memories it would hardly deviate from reality. His father, regardless of real life or visions, had always been disinterested in his effeminate son. He didn’t know when exactly he had come to realize this cruel truth, but it had stuck with him for a long, long time. His mother had given him more than enough attention growing up, plenty enough attention to make up for what was lacking. That’s what he’d always believed, anyway.
He’d ignored the hurt that came from his father’s disinterest for so long, but the wound still remained. Even now, after he should have lost all love for his father.
Maybe seeing Alchalar again, this way, disinterested as he’d ever been, served a purpose. Maybe it was a wake-up call, a subtle way to urge him to move past the troubles of his childhood.
Giuseppe stepped forward, and just as he was about ready to turn his back on him forever, a pale light behind him caught his attention. He turned, and the blues of the space around him had faded into a memory. A real memory. Two figures chatted indistinctly ahead of him, and he had to fight against the sobs that quickly overcame him.
Him and his mother, back when their lives had been good. Nothing back then had been perfect then, not when their pack had yet to find a home, but at least they’d been together. And, despite the hardships they faced, they’d been happy.
He sobbed for a long time. All the while he watched what had once been, the scene before him slightly blurred from his tears, but no less heart-wrenching. For a while he’d completely forgotten about his father but upon suddenly remembering his presence, brusquely wiped his tears away. The little Mage looked over to him, fully expecting the same look on his face as he looked on at his young son and his partner. But what he found there was instead a look Giuseppe had grown all too familiar with ever since Ileana had left him behind. That of… longing. And underneath, a terrible loneliness.

[WC: 738]

So you know how Giuseppe's response to The Truth About Courage mentions something about a vision of his father?

Yeahhhh. It's this. 🥲

Alchalar is obvi not my character, but I thought it would be interesting to paint him in a little more sympathetic light. (Not to excuse him for anything he has done of course)

I was definitely not initially planning on the timing of this being perfectly preceding The Truth About Courage because I had no idea that the whole Archqueen revelation was even going to happen soon so uh. Yeah. Miraculous timing on my part LMAO

---

So I guess the Giu Loneliness Arc actually led somewhere, huh? xD
Guess dad was in the same sort of boat...
Now that he's older and has had the time to really think about things and examine his own feelings more closely, Giuseppe has a newfound understanding of some things from his childhood. Namely (and the focus of this comic), the nature of his relationship with his father.

Not super happy with the lit part of this but if I try to keep writing until it's perfect, I'll never post this HJKHGFSGHJFKFHD

[[ Skip this bit if you don't want to read TMI about me LOL ]] {{ I have sort of shared this on another Giuseppe piece of mine before but.. a lot of the stuff he (Giuseppe) is dealing with is sort of like... the same sort of things that I struggle with and have always sort of had a problem with? I'm sure it's a common issue many other people have had; feeling lonely despite having friends and people that care about you, feeling like you're just kind of... there when you're around others. That sort of thing. And even Alchalar's percieved lack of caring is something I personally struggle with. So Giuseppe stuff, at least as of the last year I think, is on some level pretty personal to me. But it's nice to share and to turn into art. Hence why I put so much time into this I guess. }}

ALSO-
This is super inspired by a manga I read a while back that has a TON of gorgeous sea/water related visuals! The art is just outstanding, I highly recommend taking a look at it even if you don't have the time to give it a full read! It's called Yoru to Umi for anyone who is interested :3c

Art & Giuseppe (c) me
Ileana (c) SanjanaIndica

Description

The crystal-clear waters of the Menagerie, in the time since its assault, had been painstakingly brought back to its former glory. He and the other Mages had worked tirelessly to erase the stain the Hive forces had left on their sacred space, and now Giuseppe could finally return there for the quiet meditation he had so sorely missed.
Clearing his thoughts, he sat beside the water.
At first, he saw nothing– just the empty blackness of eyes shut tight. But sure enough, the vision came to him. An endless sea of blue stretched out endlessly in front of him, and in the midst of it was the darkened, but unmistakable figure of a wolf he had not seen in over a year.
His father.
The sight so utterly shocked him that his eyes welled up with tears. “Dad?” he asked, still in disbelief at what he was seeing. The old wolf appeared just as Giuseppe remembered him: worn, and with the same look of rigidness he’d always worn. A crisp, clear image of the father he’d hardly known. The father who’d betrayed his pack and his family. The father who’d resorted to violence to do what he mistakenly believed was for the good of Mhor.
He should’ve been angry, disgusted, to see his father again. After what he’d done, the lives he’d ruined the day of his coup, Giuseppe should not have felt anything short of contempt for Alchalar. But… in a way he didn’t understand, he felt… relieved. He knew better than to believe that his father was truly there. This was only a vision, a memory of the real thing. Yet somehow, the young Mage felt as though the father he’d loved, despite his numerous faults, were here with him. And as strange as it was, Giuseppe actually felt glad to see him again.
Alchalar said nothing, even after Giuseppe had spoken to him. He was so eerily still that Giuseppe drew closer to him, hoping that maybe his father would respond to his movement. But as he came closer, the clearer it became that his father would not see nor hear him. Whatever he seemed to be looking at, it seemed to be more important to him than his own son. He shouldn’t have been surprised. This was a vision, but if it came from his own memories it would hardly deviate from reality. His father, regardless of real life or visions, had always been disinterested in his effeminate son. He didn’t know when exactly he had come to realize this cruel truth, but it had stuck with him for a long, long time. His mother had given him more than enough attention growing up, plenty enough attention to make up for what was lacking. That’s what he’d always believed, anyway.
He’d ignored the hurt that came from his father’s disinterest for so long, but the wound still remained. Even now, after he should have lost all love for his father.
Maybe seeing Alchalar again, this way, disinterested as he’d ever been, served a purpose. Maybe it was a wake-up call, a subtle way to urge him to move past the troubles of his childhood.
Giuseppe stepped forward, and just as he was about ready to turn his back on him forever, a pale light behind him caught his attention. He turned, and the blues of the space around him had faded into a memory. A real memory. Two figures chatted indistinctly ahead of him, and he had to fight against the sobs that quickly overcame him.
Him and his mother, back when their lives had been good. Nothing back then had been perfect then, not when their pack had yet to find a home, but at least they’d been together. And, despite the hardships they faced, they’d been happy.
He sobbed for a long time. All the while he watched what had once been, the scene before him slightly blurred from his tears, but no less heart-wrenching. For a while he’d completely forgotten about his father but upon suddenly remembering his presence, brusquely wiped his tears away. The little Mage looked over to him, fully expecting the same look on his face as he looked on at his young son and his partner. But what he found there was instead a look Giuseppe had grown all too familiar with ever since Ileana had left him behind. That of… longing. And underneath, a terrible loneliness.

[WC: 738]

So you know how Giuseppe's response to The Truth About Courage mentions something about a vision of his father?

Yeahhhh. It's this. 🥲

Alchalar is obvi not my character, but I thought it would be interesting to paint him in a little more sympathetic light. (Not to excuse him for anything he has done of course)

I was definitely not initially planning on the timing of this being perfectly preceding The Truth About Courage because I had no idea that the whole Archqueen revelation was even going to happen soon so uh. Yeah. Miraculous timing on my part LMAO

---

So I guess the Giu Loneliness Arc actually led somewhere, huh? xD
Guess dad was in the same sort of boat...
Now that he's older and has had the time to really think about things and examine his own feelings more closely, Giuseppe has a newfound understanding of some things from his childhood. Namely (and the focus of this comic), the nature of his relationship with his father.

Not super happy with the lit part of this but if I try to keep writing until it's perfect, I'll never post this HJKHGFSGHJFKFHD

[[ Skip this bit if you don't want to read TMI about me LOL ]] {{ I have sort of shared this on another Giuseppe piece of mine before but.. a lot of the stuff he (Giuseppe) is dealing with is sort of like... the same sort of things that I struggle with and have always sort of had a problem with? I'm sure it's a common issue many other people have had; feeling lonely despite having friends and people that care about you, feeling like you're just kind of... there when you're around others. That sort of thing. And even Alchalar's percieved lack of caring is something I personally struggle with. So Giuseppe stuff, at least as of the last year I think, is on some level pretty personal to me. But it's nice to share and to turn into art. Hence why I put so much time into this I guess. }}

ALSO-
This is super inspired by a manga I read a while back that has a TON of gorgeous sea/water related visuals! The art is just outstanding, I highly recommend taking a look at it even if you don't have the time to give it a full read! It's called Yoru to Umi for anyone who is interested :3c

Art & Giuseppe (c) me
Ileana (c) SanjanaIndica