Zaravant - Tumblr Posts

‘Maybe there won’t be marriage… maybe there won’t be sex… but, by god, there’ll be dancing’ - My Best Friend’s Wedding (quote relevant)

A scene from a story I’m probably never going to write.

Long story short, Jimsa makes a move on his colleague, Zaravant is taken aback and rejects him without thinking much but then starts having second thoughts and eventually, having more or less sorted out his feelings, he makes up his mind, seeks Jimsa out at a banquet held for Rajendra, and drags him outside to Talk. And so they Talk; Zaravant is trying to put his complicated feelings into words but failing badly, Jimsa is not helping, and at some point Zaravant gives up and says ‘Screw this. Do you want to dance,’ in response to which Jimsa asks ‘Do you want me to go kidnap one of the court musicians and drag them here?’ Zaravant laughs and even though he knows it’s a joke (or is it?), he still answers ‘There’s no need,’ then adds ‘I know a good song.’

Me literally every morning when I questioned myself why I am at work

Tiny Zaravant

volume 17 sketches

From the German edition

Thinking about the Turanian invasion (the one in the canon era, not the one that's looming over the horizon in the fic rn) and Kishward (and Bahman?) imploring lords around the country to omg go and help Team Gorgan PLEASE and thinking about who'd show up... I think Lushan would. He just has that air about him— I wonder if Tus and Zaravant would, and if so, what would prompt them...

Meanwhile Gorgan is chaos.

(also thinking a lot about Ranna and Alfarīd, help me)

Ooh, some logistics at play here! Since this is AU based I'm not sure how much advance warning they have of the Turanian army's approach but from the sounds of it in this scenario the border has already been breeched and Team Gorgan are attempting to hold them up which... I don't envy them the task but it sure sounds like it'll be exciting to read about.

I don't know what Bahman's mental state is like here but if he's troubled by anything like he is in canon then I imagine Kishward may take the lead... However, Bahman still has some steel in him and it's not unbelievable to think that Gorgan's need for reinforcements would galvanise him into action (though perhaps he's more likely to eventually surprise everyone by stepping forward to lead troops to bolster the defences himself rather than taking the lead with initially reaching out to various lords etc, which is a task I imagine would fall to Kishward while Bahman is still beset by apathy and other worries).

I assume they're sending messages to ask for reinforcements? That makes it even harder to apply pressure on reluctant lords, so they're probably aware of who they can likely count on and who they can't (Andragoras may have been able to essentially strong-arm the shahrdaran but many of them, like Hodir, would be content to sit and wait and see how things play out in his absence, especially if their own territory is not under threat.)

It's a tricky one because it's Prince Arslan's presence and proclamations that draw the various lords and their troops to Peshawar. It's hard to say exactly how many would come otherwise. I feel as though Zaravant would, he evidently feels a sense of duty towards his country and would put himself forward to represent Oxus as he does in canon. The fact that the Marzbans in Peshawar are trying to organise further defense of the border and Pars's lands would likely be enough for him. That might be a nice surprise for Kishward and Bahman who may have assumed nobody from Oxus would come. Tus would go too, probably. He has a garrison of men who would be of great help.

Lushan likewise would help if he could, even if he's not shown leading troops on the battlefield himself he's still had a military education and would presumably have troops available to him. One thing to consider though is where everyone is coming from and how much time they have (as in, how fast do they need to get to Peshawar and then on to Gorgan in order to be of real help?). This is a large invasion and the Turanians probably have very good troop mobility, I don't know how long Gorgan could hold them before they break through or bypass their defences and beseige Peshawar itself instead. Some characters might have some debate about whether it's worth leaving their lands or whether it would be better to sit tight and wait, especially as Andragoras's fate is unknown. There's likely no precedent for what to do when the Shah is missing.

I don't know how helpful these ramblings will be since a lot depends on the specifics of your AU! Happy to talk about it more (though I won't be online again now until later or maybe tomorrow).

Lmao at their tiny bums.

I really liked how the scene transitioned here, we see Jimsa and Zaravant (a duo) set off to follow a trail of dead Lusitanians, and then immediately we see Team Hilmes soldiers spotting a duo of riders outside their walls, and we don't see who it is right away. But of course it's revealed shortly after, but I just really love how the scene transitioned here.

He is indeed too good to let die :(

The guilt, man. The guilt. Not being able to protect the capital. Serving with the man who's allied to the forces that brought it down because he believed. Not having the faith he had in Hilmes returned. He's in a rough spot, and probably contemplating his worth. Somebody please hug the guy.

Man I feel bad for Tahamenay and Badakshan. Also, Andragoras is taking none of anyone's feelings seriously, huh. He doesn't care.

And then we never see Narsus and Merlaine interact afterwards. Bummer :(

I get Guiscard's worries but also, you did the same, my dude. You did the same to Etoile.

Their faces 😂

Narsus' schemes helping them even now. Remember that the stint Kishward and Isfan pulled? Narsus' plan, as the former so admitted. I wonder if he foresaw this. I wonder if he gave Kishward those tactics knowing it will help obscure Team Arslan's numbers down the line? It could very well be a coincidence but knowing Narsus the “Mary Tzu” as some older fans have called, I wouldn't put it past him to have planned so far ahead.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the to new year, @moccino!

General Jimsa performs a traditional Turanian piece at King Arslan’s banquet.

I drew this on A3 paper, so I had to take a photo of it, but I can try and take it to work and scan it in there if you would like a higher resolution image. I wanted to work in as much Turan imagery in as I could, plus everybody’s respective family crests. Isfan’s outfit is a shoutout to Nakamura’s manga version, while fem!Jimsa’s outfit was inspired by Otoyomegatari. For Zaravant I tried to pick out Persian clothes.

Akakkoko bringing back some older art in preparation for the latest chapters.

There are a few more pics if you want to have a look. I really love their work.