#garappa

(The bracket color names are just for thematic organization and are NOT representative of the candidates!)

Propaganda (if any) under the cut! Please be civil, and feel free to reblog!

A Kappa variant? I think it's a Garappa?

Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki. Published 10/31/2023 by Drawn & Quarterly.

Shigeru Mizuki is no stranger to the supernatural and its portents. Kitaro and Tono Monogatari reimagined the obscure folktales of his youth, bringing them to life with whimsy. Mizuki the cartoonist certainly left an indelible mark on comics as world literature. Mizuki the fine artist, on the other hand, rounds out the full scope of his fascination with the otherworldly and fantastic, bringing these worlds to life in robust color. Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki showcases his expertise of not only folklore, but celebrates him as a naturalist. Elements of Mizuki’s lush compositions—flora, fauna, and everything in between—showcase his mastery of form and love for nature. These popular renderings of a disappearing, rural Japan are his contribution to the preservation of a cultural heritage that would have otherwise been forgotten. The grotesque realism central to his body of work is offset by the ingenuity of his fancy for the macabre. Pieces in this deluxe, full-color edition call to mind the playful pop-sensibility of Maurice Sendak informed by the technical prowess of traditionalists like Dürer and Doré. And like any other Mizuki classic, each oeuvre is a unique snapshot of spirit, human or otherwise, in constant transition. Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki includes supplementary writing by acclaimed Mizuki scholar and translator Zack Davisson.

Jade Hand

Eclipse Caste Solar, Linguistics Supernal, he/him A life of war and politics in Lookshy as an airship pilot ruined him. As a young soldier, it led him to forming allegiance with the soldiers around him, creating pieces of writing to pass the time and build a silent community that questioned the militaristic culture of their home.

He wrote manifestos, he wrote children’s books, he wrote poems, and many, many letters. He was responsible for a rising political faction that threatened to change Lookshy forever - and when it came time for revolution, he failed. The depression he sank into caused him to leave everything he loved behind in exile and walked east until the world fell away to the Wyld.

He wouldn’t come out for 100 years - but when he did, he had skin of green jade, a firewand he has since broken on purpose, a green tiger raksha in his mind, and the exaltation of the Sun, none of which he remembers receiving.

Now he goes forward into life doubting the worth of power, doubting the gods, doubting himself, and the feeling both gentle and vicious that he has the chance to do things right.

He’s 6′1, a beanpole, and likes to wear earthy colors and nondescript clothing. He doesn’t go anywhere in public without full-body coverage due to society’s biases against mutation and his own tendency for repression. Everyone thinks his helmet is doofy, and they’re right. His anima creates little pieces of writing in the air, and his skin has lines of language reminiscent of tiger stripes. He wants to nurture others, but cannot forsake his anger entirely. Will adopt you, and is kind of silly when he isn’t so serious.

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

Aryabhata

Defiler Caste Infernal, they/he/she/any

Aryabhata (or Ari for short) exists to defy everything. A mortal who not only attended the Heptagram as a mortal but excelled in it, who consorted with demons, and who frankly cannot go a day without trying to impress someone. You would think them desperate if weren’t onto the next mind-blowing project or discourse-provoking theory. Everyone thinks they hate them, but they are fascinated, too. What will the 4′11 sleepless manifestation of mania do today? Tomorrow? With their massive, easy smile, their life is sadder than they’d like you to believe. But there’s no time for it - Ari has rivals, and their work is never done.

Shortly after one such rival disappeared and labelled Anathema, they became obsessed, wondering where he had gone off to, how, why, when one day they just disappeared themselves after a concerning and incomprehensible speech about “being seen.” No one knows what they’re up to now, or when they’ll re-emerge. When they do, though, it will be with fully realized order of She Who Lives in Her Name, and the subverting mercurial silver of Szoreny.

They are tiny. They prefer a noble indigo stolen from princes and a glorious gold stolen from Solars. They have insane outfits regularly, and may be employing a demon to make them so consistently. They can also be a little sleepless gremlin in pajamas - there’s nothing they won’t do!

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

The Garappa

Water Aspect, they/he

No one knows where the Garappa spawned on that mountain. A hearty antagonist who demands that passerby wrestle or a vicious beast that strangles travelers in the night -- there are many stories that survive the years about their true nature. It’s stories, too, that Garappa loves the most, wanting nothing more than to exist within societies that threaten to write them out entirely.

Whether they are The Garappa, a jovial trickster and sumo practitioner, or the Strangler, a silent murderer, it is a story that they have woven into their own reality. Other things seek to define them - the Black Carp Wanting, a story they have yet to know how to finish, particularly haunts him.

They were raised by a society of spirits, bickering bird-women philosophers, that he came to call his Aunts.

Fate or some such tale brings them to Gloam, away from their mountain for the first time, unknowingly there to meet other monsters such as he.

Garappa is about 6′4 hunched over and almost 7 feet stretched out straight. They only need minimal clothing, but they like to be agile and not burdened from getting wet. They could be convinced into outfits if it is treated like a story costume. He is extremely silly and speaks in dactylic hexameter when he is not nonverbal and muted. Will always want to hear a new story.

Commission for BLARGEN69 of their kappa character Garappa.

Garappa.