#mehmed ii Himuro’s World

[re-re-redline]

Avenging Troy

14 hours and 48 minutes, let’s go!! Honestly, the fact that this didn’t take nearly as long as Mehmed’s 1st ascension (≈27 hours) either means that I’m getting better at pain-ting or this piece wasn’t as intense in the detail department. Regardless, I am very proud of this! I suck at drawing profiles, so perfecting it this time around was certainly a major personal victory for me. Now, enough about me patting myself on the back. Let’s get into the behind the scenes for this piece.

The context—or perhaps what this piece IS may be a better way of phrasing—is Mehmed II doing exactly what the title of the piece says, avenging Troy. The top picture is Hector’s duel against Achilles in front of the Trojan gates. His pose is that of his NP, Durindana. The bottom picture is of Mehmed II striking a similar pose to Hector, but instead of calc’ing the angle of a spear it’s the super-awesome-big-fucking-cannon. Pretty cool concept right? Mehmed, 10 years post-conquering of Constantinople, going to what’s left of Troy and saying that he ‘avenged the Trojans’ is a thing that has some evidence to it actually happening (or so I’m told), so it’d be pretty cool for Mehmed to strike the same (or similar) pose as Hector during one of his campaigns as a homage to Hector since the Iliad was one of his favorite books in life.

There’s just one teeny-tiny problem. I originally drew this up with the intention of it being during the Siege of Constantinople because my dumb ass thought he said that RIGHT AFTER he got Constantinople, hence the very specific BFC in the back there. I only figured out my mistake when I was finished and showing it off to my pops who then promptly asked me “Huh? When did he say that?” And then he corrected me and I was in shambles.

Now. I can make the case that, since Durindana was Hector’s most powerful weapon and the BFC was Mehmed’s most powerful weapon, it’d make sense as an artistic parallel to have Mehmed with his BFC instead of some regular cannon and it’s just more iconic that way. It doesn’t have to make sense because of artistic liberties! Which is a neato way of making a positive outta this but…eh. That minor hole will always remain no matter how it is justified.

On to something else more light, you may have noticed that Hector’s section is significantly less detailed than Mehmed’s. It’s completely lineless, no lineart was had in that entire section. Just fills and clipping layers, baby! The reason for this is because Hector is a character in a book, therefore I thought he should be drawn as though he IS in a book. If that makes sense. His arm is a tube, the Trojan gate looks like a cardboard stand and he has no eyes—typical storybook vibes, I’d say. Plus you could also interpret this as Mehmed imagining what Hector’s final moments were as an ‘in-universe’ explanation for why it looks that way.

On the other hand, Mehmed’s section is much, MUCH more detailed. Just look at those lines! The reason for their existence is because I based Mehmed’s outfit on a painting of him walking through into Constantinople (because that’s what his section was originally about) but I couldn’t quite make out the details of his armor was. In hindsight this was probably denial. So, I searched up what Ottoman armor looked like and mother of god it was mostly chainmail. I wanted to throw myself out of a window. Drawing that many circles and shading that many circles would have been a maddening experience, so I got creative and this was the result. Not bad if I do say so myself. His helmet was another thing that made me want to throw myself out of a window. Mehmed II’s helmet is sick as fuck to look at and I bet wearing it gives you a major buff in the style department, but drawing it? Nope. Nope, I am not doing that. There is way too many specifics going there with the inscribed prayers and awesome ornate design, I could never draw that with the helm being this small in the picture. So I opted for a line texture on the green parts instead.

On his greaves? brace? and back plates there is a strange texture. At this point I ran out of ideas on how to fill up the space to make it look cool, so I drew the bog-standard vertical lines but this time I took an eraser with a specific shape (Procreate havers, look at Textures and it’ll be the first one you see) and erased it, leaving behind the specific shape in the negative. I thought that leaving it textureless would be lame, so I put that in.

As for that lovely cannon in the back, it wasn’t that hard to draw. I just had one hell of a time looking for clear crisp images of the pattern on the cannon for reference. Really, the most time consuming aspect of drawing the cannon was painting it. My dumb ass colored it as one whole thing instead of breaking it into pieces, which led me to have to erase a bunch of shit. Thank goodness I thought of using the selection lasso when I did or this would have taken WAY longer.

Last post, I said that this would be a trial run for Mehmed’s hypothetical 3rd ascension. It’s based off the aforementioned painting and I figured that Mehmed would need actual battle attire (y’know, armor) since his 1st and 2nd don’t exactly scream “I conquered Constantinople and almost got Europe” now do they? I like how I did the armor for this piece, but as an ascension it feels lacking. Like it needs MORE but I’m not sure what to add. A cool cape? A cool light halo? Or should I just say fuck it and make it a mech? <-Never drawn one before. Wouldn’t be the first time that happened in FGO, but it feels cheap! It should make sense but also look as bombastic and awesome as the man himself! So, if anyone has suggestions, please let me know.

During me fiddling around with the finished picture, I thought it would be cool to make Hector’s section desaturated to make it look like a flashback. But I found that it didn’t look as good. Even an orange hue for sepia vibes didn’t make the idea any better so it was scrapped.

Annnnd them’s my thoughts as well as the making of this piece. This had been gnawing at me ever since I learned that Mehmed said what he said and that Iliad was one of his favorite books. it’s such a cool thing, y’know? When if Mehmed comes to Grand Order, I really hope that his NP has him doing the pose as a call back to Hector. Would it make sense? Probably not. Do I care? Nah! I’d just be jumping for joy that Mehmed was in the game in the first place. Lasagna better make him one of the best buster archers to have ever lived, I hecking swear—!

Anywho, under this red line (ha-ha) are the individual pictures for Hector and Mehmed’s sections as well as a bonus black and white version of the sultan. It doesn’t jive with what I was going for, but it has a cool vibe to it that I just couldn’t let sleep. Plus it shows off my linework, so that is a plus. I hope you enjoy these and the piece itself. Oh, and I hope you have a good one!

—Redline, over and out.

[sawbeaver]

Ottoman Empire, 1481

[cyborg-squid]

also. both Constantine XI and Vlad III in the same chapter, but only a single mention of Mehmed II. boooooooooooo. give us a real Servant version of him already (not the Himuro's World gag version (okay maybe that one could work (mostly because of sawbeaver's art) if he's not as pale) or the pre-Fate (like Zero anime Fionn) version from the Apocrypha anime).

[re-re-redline]

—General Headcanons: Mehmed II—

Foreword: You have no idea how long it took me to center the left and right squares, good grief I never want to do that again. It’s a famous portrait of Mehmed by Gentile Bellini which cropped to get the left and right squares as well as the header and the footer. The header has the nice squares that I put for Constantine’s headers and footers. The middle square is my drawing of Koha-ace Mehmed. I am working on something else to put there because, don’t lie to me, he looks kinda goofy, right? It has been changed! That is my depiction of Mehmed II and I have to say, he’s lookin’ good. But that’s just me, hehe.

On another note…Wow, who knew that working on the same thing would cause my writing abilities to slow down significantly? Definitely learning new things…Thus, I have put myself together and taken the time to work on this! Do trust that it’s definitely getting finished as the idea is way too good not to write about.

Ladies & gentlemen, germs & worms, this list of headcanons is based entirely on the vibes that the two pictures I have of Mehmed from Himuro’s World and what I picked up from looking up the real slim shady. This shit’s being held with glitter glue, popsicle sticks and a dream. Speculation of the highest order here. I’ll probably get proved so wrong when he comes out I am so on that hopium in FGO. While you munch on this, I’ll be working on an addendum for Micheal’s general headcanons and some headcanons concerning how he confesses to you. Then it’ll be Mehmed’s turn for some long ass romance headcanons. I have plans…just need to work on plans. Should I put a ‘Read More on this? It’s about as long as Constantine’s GHcs but shorter than his RHcs…

Regardless of my writing plans, I hope you get something out of this filtered crack of a hcs post.

When he was first summoned, exactly three people (technically two) felt what many would call “a disturbance in the force.” These three (technically two) were Constantine XI and both versions of Vlad III. Constantine was having tea with Miss Crane when he felt a cold chill descend down his spine and he found himself barely able to hold his teacup without leaving a sizable crack in the ceramic. Vlad (Berserker) was working on one of his crocheting projects (a sweater for Jack The Ripper) when he also felt a chill down his spine and dropped his needles. Vlad (Lancer) experienced the same thing except he was in the middle of grilling some excellent sirloin for the boys. Case in point, all three of them wandered around a bit to find the source of this anxiety, somehow bumped into each other, found out that they’re all experiencing the same thing and next thing you know…The trio enters the summoning room to find none other than the man they all hate the most in this world, Mehmed the Conquerer. And that’s when a fight immediately broke out with you and Mash desperately fending off two pissed off Vlads and one bloodthirsty Micheal to keep your level one Mehmed alive all while our favorite sultan is smugly flipping off all three of them and goading them to attack him. Thankfully, Watanabe-no-Tsuna and Kintoki happened to pass by and they both aided you in suppressing the trio. After that, Astraea punished all four of them by forcing them all to write on a chalkboard. She was notably disappointed in Constantine since he’s such a model servant and was one of the few who didn’t have a disruption on their record. The attacking triplet were told to write “I will not kill or maim my teammate, regardless of my history with him.” 45 times and Mehmed was told to write “I will not goad my teammates into killing or maiming me.” 75 times. Needless to say, this is the definitive start to a laundry list of incidents started by our favorite sultan.

After he received his first disciplinary action from the lady justice herself, he soon found himself enamored with the technology around him. Yeah, sure, he knew about developments in tech thanks to the Throne giving him this knowledge pre-packed with his summoning, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to know more. After one month of hard studying on his part, Mehmed went from having a passable understanding of smartphones and computers to being the most tech savvy servant you’ll ever meet. He can type five long ass paragraphs with both his thumbs on his phone in under thirty seconds with near perfect punctuation. He’s jailbroken all his devices and is running Linux on his phone and tablet. He’s talking shop with Odysseus about the logistics and R&D of producing Power Armor for everyone as a thought exercise. With how comfortable he is with technology, one would easily mistake him for a man of the modern era instead of a man from the 1400s.

One has to wonder what our favorite sultan will do with his now extensive knowledge concerning modern technology. First he tried building a ‘Big Fucking Cannon’ (one that he can use separate from his NP) but was denied unanimously by administration. So, what does a guy do in place like this? With the current state of affairs with the world being bleached and all, instead of conquering all countries like he wanted to…why not conquer a new frontier? He put in much the same gusto into studying pop culture and came out simultaneously confused and very intrigued. Both came from how slang developed into its current complex form and the intricacies of it. But nevertheless he came out with an interest in the interwebs and that interest turned into…the next bullet point.

Much to the chagrin of his detractors, Mehmed is a very popular gentleman on the socials. He has a Youtube Channel, he has a Twitch Channel, he has Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, a Tumblr— he’s got it ‘em all and a huge following to back them it up. He mostly does vlogs, shitposts, and occasionally collabs with Sei Shonagon, Suzuka Gozen, and Osakabehime. Mehmed also does a history stream when the mood strikes him. He’ll either have MSPaint or a browser open as he goes on and on for hours off the cuff about various time periods and historical events he finds interesting. While the live viewers are understandably halved, y‘know ‘cause he’s the guy you watch when you want to see him shoot a mini cannon not relive your world history class, he still finds it to be an enjoyable way to fill a gap in his streaming schedule and an excellent opportunity to debunk the ‘he’s just a dumbass vlogger’ allegations. All this social media stuff is just a way to stave off boredom during his downtime on saving the world. If he didn’t have this then hoo boy, things will start getting really interesting and not in a good way! So please, just hold the camera during battle and make sure to get his good side, you’re doing Chaldea a bigger service than you think you are.

Now. You may have noticed a running theme here so far. Mehmed does quite a bit of studying. At a young age, he was taught by a ton of teachers and picked up on all the stuff they were putting down real quick. The art of studying and his innate curiosity combined to get us the intellectual we have today. It’s said that Mehmed had a strong interest in Greek and Byzantine culture, his collection of latin and greek works of art and literature are a testament to this. Hell, he even had a few portraits done of himself by the likes of Gentile Bellini. Back to his studies, Mehmed is the kinda guy who wants to know everything. If he was offered omniscience and had a strong reason to believe that he’d actually receive it, then Mehmed would have a VERY difficult time passing an opportunity like that up. Ultimately, he’d decline for two reasons. One, only god should have that kind of knowledge, humans aren’t meant for that. Two, he’d much rather earn that level of know-it-all instead of cheesing the system. The joy Mehmed gets from having that aha moment when he realizes that he’s fully grasped something is unmatched. He lives for that shit. Oh and something that miffs him about being a servant is that he just knows by default every language there is. It takes away the potential fun he could’ve had learning a new language. He was really looking forward to learning Korean, you know?

So, in between conquering the hearts of the people and his secret arms projects (c’mon, he’d totally try and build the BFC whether Da Vinci and Gordy allowed it or not), he’s reading up on various subjects that either didn’t learn about in his lifetime or updating his info the stuff he already knows, like mathematics. Many servants and staff alike got severe whiplash from stumbling across Mehmed—resident social media star—taking notes on Combinatorics and Differential Equations. Fun fact, mathematics is how Moriarty (Archer) and him became friends. Mehmed was practicing working with matrices and accidentally fudged a number which Moriarty pointed out as he was passing by. Then a conversation about the best ways to deal with matrices ensued which then turned into a conversation about cool shit like how to financially devastate your enemies. Needless to say, you’ll often see the two of them in a room together talking about…not evil things. Mhm. 100% kosher convos about math. Nothing else. You have the papa seal of approval on that.

Keeping in line with how much Mehmed studies concepts and the world around him, it should be known that this level of inquisition is also applied to the people around Mehmed. Every single member of Chaldea, servant or not, has held at least one full length conversation with Mehmed II. It doesn’t matter if you have low-ranked Madness Enhancement, Mehmed will at least TRY to hold a conversation with you. Obviously, it doesn’t quite stop there. He’ll go through Chaldea’s index and research his fellow servants and their lives along with their abilities. Mehmed has, tucked and encrypted in the darkest depths of his computer, entire dossiers on everyone. From what incidents they started to gossip and beefs involving them. He goes deep. Disturbingly deep. The reason why our favorite sultan has acquired this knowledge is so that he feels more in control. There’s nothing this man hates more than surprises, and Chaldea is chock full of ‘em considering the wide range of servants on deck. He at least wants to be able to predict how his teammates will fuck up so that he can make the save in time, instead of getting blindsided from just believing in them and getting fucked anyways. It’s already bad enough that he’s not the big kahuna here, so just let him have this, okay?

For all the learning he does, you may feel compelled to ask him questions since he seems like he basically knows everything. And you know what? That’s the best decision you’ve ever made. Mehmed absolutely loves proving how much shit he knows AND he loves teaching just as much. Ask him anything you’d like! He’ll answer it to the best of his ability and dumb it down for you as much as he needs to until you get it. He’s already smiling and pulling out the small whiteboard he has on him at all times when he sees you walking up to him with that inquisitive look on his face, he’s already unscrewing the caps to his markers before you’ve opened your mouth; man’s 100% ready to impart his wisdom unto you. The best questions you can ask him are history related questions since that’s his jam and he’ll be barely containing his excitement if you ask about the illustrious history of the one and only Ottoman Empire. He already has your hand in his as he drags you to his room for it so that he can hold show off all the shit has from his time to supplement his lecture. This might go on for so long that you two could be missing dinner and having a sleepover while he goes on and on about the empire he loved and helped grow.

Speaking of being in his room, for all the innuendoes and dirty jokes he makes, Mehmed is the kind of guy who would pull you into his bed and softly tell you to get under the blankets with him, and instead of anything seggs related it’s actually just glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs. He’ll pick one up and tell you facts about it and after he’s done with all 13 of them, he’ll then shoot ideas on how to make real dinosaurs glow in the dark like these ones. It’s pretty cute. Oh, and if anyone walks into this, then the little shit will immediately wrap his arms around your neck and start cooing about ‘how good you were for him’ and ‘how sore he feels’ and other riveting suggestive comments.

One of his favorite ways to spend time with you is watching historical documentaries! Please give it a chance, it’s not as boring as it sounds. Not with Mehmed the Conquerer sitting next to you that is. He frequently pause to give more context, point out neat things they did and—more importantly—absolutely raze them for getting shit wrong. His full name’s not Pablo Picasso, it’s Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Crispín Crispiniano María de los Remedios de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz Picasso, dumbass. Get your shit together. You’ll end up learning a lot and your sides will be hurting from how Mehmed goes off on these documentaries. See? Not boring at all. Oh and by the way, his favorite movie is Night at The Museum. Just thought I’d tack that in there.

Vlad and Mehmed do not like each at all. Neither of them want to be in the same room as the other if they can help it. To add onto it, Vlad’s always trying to stealthily take Mehmed out of the picture through some means and it didn’t really bother him until he was nearly poisoned. That’s when Mehmed stopped messing around and nearly turned Vlad into a donut via his cannons the moment his throat started burning. Needless to say that there is a zero percent chance of either of them reconciling or working well together. There’s too much historical bad blood between them and it carried over with a vengeance into their second lives at Chaldea.

Note: If these two get into an argument—which is kinda low since talking takes SO much more effort than killing—then Mehmed will bring up, as a diss, that he fucked Vlad’s brother. Depending on who you ask, this may be true. But regardless, he’ll bring it up and that’s when the fistfight will break out. If you ask Mehmed if he actually did it, then he’ll just wink and say that’s his secret.

As for Constantine… it’s much different. While Constantine hates Mehmed for basically getting him killed and ending his empire, Mehmed on the other hand feels very differently. I implore you to look past the teasing, mean spirited “you’re an old man” jokes and pranks on Constantine for a moment, ‘kay? He’s only doing that shit to act tough and conceal how he really feels. The reality of the matter is that Mehmed actually admires Constantine. It takes balls to run headfirst into your certain doom and it takes a special kind of person to get as far as Constantine did with barely anything to hold Mehmed at bay, and you know what? He thinks that that’s the coolest shit ever. Was it fucking stupid to not accept the deal he gave to him so that he can continue ruling the Morea—you know the place he managed a while ago that really liked him—and be left alone mostly? Yeah. Was it fucking badass? Hell yeah! After Mehmed set foot into Constantinople, he understood why Constantine was fighting so hard to keep the city and he vowed to himself that he’d take care of her. Hence why the name was never changed during his lifetime and long afterwards. It’s why Constantinople became the new capital and was brought from the ground up to greatness. Was the prophecy a big part of it? Yeah, of course it was. That’s how this whole thing started in the first place. But it morphed into something more, and Mehmed really wishes that someday he and Constantine can just have a nice conversation for once about the city they both loved. And maybe… just maybe they both can be friends sometime?

Note: There is a chance for Constantine to reconcile his differences with Mehmed. It’s actually possible! You just need to do the herculean task of getting Constantine to actually talk and be direct about his feelings and what’s bothering him. And if you’ve read the romance headcanons for Constantine, then you know exactly how allergic he is to doing that. You should probably ease him into it by forcing the two of them to work towards the same goal. Like, I dunno… get fucking kidnapped by Douman or something and have those two be your only hope. Trust me, you’ll be saved in the end because Constantine is—unlike Vlad— capable of putting his beef with Mehmed aside for the greater good. And hey, he’ll realize that maybe Mehmed’s not that bad. But y’know, the man to man talk has to happen. And once it does, you’ll soon have two dudes geeking out over the Roman Empire. It’ll be wholesome, but until then, it’ll be a one-sided thing on Mehmed’s end.

To get back into a more lighthearted topic, let’s talk about how Mehmed acts. Man’s not what people expected when they heard that ‘the Father of Conquest’ has arrived at Chaldea. He’s pretty relaxed. There’s not really an aura or a vibe of regality to him at all, he just feels like a normal ass dude to talk to and his usage of modern slang is making it worse. It’s definitely a conversation to hear him talk with Blackbeard, it sounds like they’re both speaking a different language. “I understand these words separately” type shit. The reason why Mehmed’s not putting that much effort into say, intimidation factor or being cool, is because he has such a long ass list of personal achievements that he feels like he doesn’t have to act a certain way. He’s him, he has been him and will continue to be him. …Or at least that’s how he sees himself.

One of the jokes he often makes is that you have to pay him tribute and will sometimes point to his cheek or open his arms. Again, it’s a joke, so don’t feel compelled to give him a smonch or a hug if you don’t want to, Mehmed’s expecting you to say no and he’ll just say that he’ll ‘put it on your tab’ for later. Said tab does not exist and he isn’t keeping track. Though, he certainly doesn’t mind if you do peck him on the cheek or hug him as he’s a physically affectionate person by nature. On another note, uh, don’t ever let him be the event shopkeeper. You may find that things cost a bit more than usually do. Like your Corona Fous cost will 475 currency instead of the usual 400. If you ask why, then he’ll just smile and say that he’s ‘funding a personal project.’ It’s the BFC.

I want to loop back to something I said at the very beginning of these headcanons. I said that Mehmed will start a long list of incidents. Well, these incidents don’t come from Mehmed’s ‘inner desire to sow chaos for his entertainment’ something wack like that. Nope. It actually comes, surprisingly enough, from wanting to improve Chaldea. See, this guy took a look at the rules and found himself disgusted. There’s just not enough rules here! And the punishments are so lenient! This is awful, said he to himself. And thus, the incidents Mehmed starts are based on loopholes he found in the rules and technicalities and he hopes that with how much trouble he’s causing, that Chaldea’s administration will step up their game and bring the hammer down. …Yeah, they don’t. But that’s no reason to give up, he’ll just have to— oh shit that’s Astraea. Run!! Mehmed’s unfortunately made an enemy of Astraea with all his shenanigans and she has made it her mission to give Mehmed exactly what he deserves in place of Chaldean administration. So if you see him with an icepack on his head and a couple of bandages, it was probably the Lady Justice drop kicking him. Don’t worry about it too much, he knows he deserves it.

All in all, Mehmed II is a nerdy and learned type of guy who shows off his knowledge and loves imparting his wisdom to others just as much. He’s pretty goofy and laidback for a sultan and often rolls the jokes made at his expense. Seems like a simple guy, right? Well… what if I told you that this is actually just the light side of the moon? That Mehmed, in fact, has another side to his personality. A ‘gap-moe’ if you will. As much as our favorite sultan likes to hide it from others, he’s not all that good of a person deep down. Don’t get me wrong though. The man I just described is very real and is by no means a facade, that is Mehmed II. But where there’s light, there too is darkness.

Talent is a thing people are born with, it’s described the dictionary as a natural aptitude for something, after all. Mehmed believes that, those who are bestowed talent by god will at some point pay for that talent in some manner. And when you look at some of history’s best geniuses, you can see why he thinks that. To him, he believes that since he’s so talented, god has cursed him with the worst inner demons a man could have to balance him out and stop him from being too powerful. And honestly, there are times when Mehmed really wishes that he was just a regular person so that he doesn’t have to hold those wretched things at bay.

You will find, at times when Mehmed hugs you, that he’s squeezing a bit too hard. You tell him in a strained voice that you can’t breathe and for two seconds he’ll squeeze even harder before letting go and apologizing, stating that he doesn’t know his own strength sometimes. You’ll also find that Mehmed sometimes will squeeze your hand too hard when he’s holding it in his, and you just barely catch him looking away when you turn to ask him why he did that. When you’re in the kitchen cutting veggies, you’ll feel a pair of eyes burning into the side of your head. You don’t find who it is but, conveniently, when you cut your finger, guess who’s already at your side with a band-aid? Honestly, it’s like he was waiting for this to happen. I’m sure you see where I’m going with this, right?

Mehmed II is, in fact, a sadist. He likes watching your face contort in pain, he likes seeing the minute differences in your expression for different injuries, how you sound different too. It’s all so morbidly interesting to him and he wants to know more. He wants to see your face when you sprain your ankle, he wants to hear how different you sound after being nearly choked to death, he wants to see you deal with missing a hand. It’s another facet of his curiosity and he won’t stop thinking about it until he’s dealt every injury known to man onto you and sees the results for himself.

Now, you may be saying: “Redline, this is just Beryl 2: Electric Boogaloo. This headcanon is ass.” But I dare to disagree. See, Beryl flopped because he’s an undercooked loser who appeared straight outta left field and did jack all in his own damn Lostbelt. He has zero character to him other than “hehhe, breaking Mashu’s fingies is gret show of love, eye hop she luvs me when aye snap her neck tomorrow <3 <3” Mehmed, as I see him, is more than this. Way more. Go back and read the paragraphs before this if you don’t believe me, and for that matter go and read about the his history while you’re at it, the man’s a legend.

Not only that, but Mehmed—unlike shithead mcgee here—actually has self-awareness. He knows that causing you pain is a bad thing and that it only serves to satisfy his sick and twisted desires as opposed to being anything constructive or enriching for either of you. He knows that it will drive you away from him in the end. He knows that this isn’t healthy and that feeding the demons is going to end with you lying dead on the floor. He knows, he knows, he knows. Trust him, he knows.

There’s also the fact that his sadism is not how he shows love, it directly comes from his want and need to know things. Mehmed shows love like a normal person would. He gets enjoyment from hugging people, holding hands, giving gifts and spending quality time with his loved ones. You know, like a normal person. He feels genuine guilt when he actually harms you and he’s quick to right his wrongs in any way that he can. You can see the self-loathing and the guilt in his eyes when he sees the bruise on your arm from when he grabbed you too roughly. His self awareness and the subsequent guilt, that which compels him to hold the inner demons at bay, puts him leagues above Beryl Gut. His internal struggle and how he deals with his self-control waning along with his thoughts and feelings on the matter make him more than just a sadist. It makes him Mehmed II. An ultimately good man burdened with desires that harm others which in turn hurts him too, leaving him all alone to beat the hell out of himself when those desires hit their logical conclusion.

And ideally, you’ll never ever have to know about the awful awful thoughts around wriggling in his skull. You’ll just see him as your nerdy Archer class servant who likes goofing around, making posts on the internet, and shooting cannons and stuff. That’s all he is and that’s all he should be. ( :

P.S. If you tell him about the Elixir of Immortality, then he’d immediately tell you to destroy it. Good on you for not drinking it yet but seriously, that shit needs to go now. That is not something that should be in human hands and who knows what’ll happen if the wrong person finds out that you have it. If Qin Shi Huang has a problem with him destroying it for you then they’re going to have to deal with the Father of Conquest himself. Immortality only brings infinite suffering to poor soul cursed to have it, forcing them to watch the people they love wither away time and time again for the rest of forever. And that’s not getting into the prospect of you witnessing the horror that is the heat death of the universe. It sounds like a nightmare and Mehmed doesn’t want that for you. End of story.

And that’s that. Those are my headcanons straight from my cranium put into words for your screen’s depicting pleasure. Am I reaching? Are these headcanons awful? Or perhaps I have done something right? Let me know, and um… I am considering opening my inbox, not for requests but for talking, so I’ll pondering that. And I hope you all got who you wanted for the GSSR and Destiny Order ‘cause I sure as hell didn’t! Murasaki I love you but I wanted Castoria And I’m gonna sit on my 400 SQ until September when a certain very beautiful saber who shares a seiyuu with Kakyoin comes out on NA. I’ve folded a few times but I’ll save as much as I can for real! Wait for me! Uh, ahem. But yeah, that’s all from me. Until next time!

—Redline, over and out!

[re-re-redline]

I’m Not Dead

Just Chillin’

And working on “the big thing.” It’s taking quite a bit, but I am not discouraged! I have a plan, I just need to put it into words. …Which is a lot harder in practice. In the meantime, I present to you something I mentioned that I’m working on aside from “the big thing.”

Boom! As in a cannon’s boom. It’s Koha-Ace style Mehmed II! Betcha’ didn’t think Redline could actually draw, right? Well, for my first time trying to imitate Keikenchi’s artstyle, I think he’s not too shabby! The rose is definitely crummy and the cannon could use a bit more detail, but it looks fine as it is. The Father of Conquest is lookin’ particularly sinister with his award-winning smile ready to break open some walls, so I implore you to look forward to seeing him in the future. Unlike Constantine XI, I could only find three official(?) screenshots and that’s not really enough to make the rectangles and the squares in my posts, so I took matters into my own hands and made this. So, I hope you enjoy him.

Anywho, that’s all from wittle ol’ me for now. See you guys soon!

—Redline, over and out!

[re-re-redline]

—Hypothetical Dialogue: Mehmed II—

No spoilers for… anything really.

Foreword: Well, I can safely say that this definitely wasn’t in my to-do list. I was having a lot of trouble outlining his RHC and I decided on a whim to try my hand at this for a change of pace which leads us to here!

I have written his ascension lines, his bond lines, his conversation lines along with a few character interaction lines, the birthday line annnnnnd…his Bond 10 line. You know…the Arcade exclusive bond level 10 line. Onore Arcaido This is much shorter than most of the things I’ve written, which is kinda watering my wheels but voicelines aren’t supposed to be beefy, so that is a plus I suppose.

That in mind, I do hope you enjoy this unforeseen post.

Summoning:

“Hahaha! Do I really need an introduction? You already—eh? It’s customary? Ah, fine. Servant class: Archer! I am sultan Mehmed II, but you may know me best as the Father of Conquest or as The Conquerer. I have answered your summons, and from this day forward I shall aid you in achieving your dreams.”

1st Ascension:

“Whew… While I do enjoy clothing from the modern era, I do feel as though this is a better fit for me as a whole. After all, that outfit doesn’t exactly scream ‘sultan’ does it? But you should know that this attire is not for combat. That will be for later. So don’t hold back on those materials, Master!”

2nd Ascension:

“Eh? If not for battle then what is this—pah! Administrative affairs, of course. What? Did you think that all I did was fighting? Ugh, I suppose I should have seen that coming with my title… I did not only wage war in my day, Master, I spent a great deal of time reforming and strengthening the system. Laws, government, education—all of those strides were made under my rule and the results were a much more manageable empire for my son and his sons after. So don’t forget that I was not only an excellent military strategist, but an exemplary ruler as well!”

3rd Ascension:

“Ah… That day… Hehehe… Hm? Oh, my bad. I forgot you were standing there, Master. It’s just that this armor invokes a rather strong sense of nostalgia that nearly swallowed me whole! …Ahem, this is what I wore when I conquered Kostantiniyye, and I remember that day as though it were only a mere hour in the past. It was the best day of my life, and the beginning of my path to greatness.”

Final Ascension:

“…But on that day, something ended. I do not regret putting it to rest, but at the time I had thought that I could keep it alive if I gave it everything I had. It didn’t work, obviously, and to many across the world I was spitting on its grave by giving myself that title and acting that way. In truth, I was showing my reverence and my love in one of the only ways I knew how at the time. Of course, none of her former states acknowledged my new title or my efforts and their resentment of me and my empire grew tenfold. But that didn’t matter, none of that mattered. Because I had her, sweet Kostantiniyye… My childhood dream.”

Bond 1:

“When I had heard that the world had ended and that the one who was calling me was to be the one to save it, I had expected you to be…much more serious. This is a situation far more grave than anything I had ever been through, yet here you stand before me with that jovial mien about you. Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of you, Master.”

Bond 2:

“The more I look at you, the more intriguing you are. That plain appearance belies something far more than the sum of its parts and I have full intentions to figure out just what that is. So don’t you dare go calling me some kind of creep for observing you, okay? If we are to work closely together like this, then I should have a firm grip on who you are as a person. And I implore you to apply the same amount of scrutiny to me as well. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise.”

Bond 3:

“Hm? I act strangely too? Ah…well. I’m not exactly running my empire right now, so I find that there isn’t a need to behave so stiffly. Plus this place is chock full of people with my level of fame and prestige who behave much worse than I do. …It’s not a bad thing? Hah, you and I are in the minority on that front. My father… Ugh, you know what? Forget him. That man is not here and even if he were, I answer to you now. That’s what matters.”

Bond 4:

“Jovial mien…what a joke. You’re exhausted beyond belief, you’re sore down to the marrow in your bones, you might just be at your wit’s end and yet here you stand before me with a determination to stand solely on your own two legs. It’s ridiculous. …Don’t give me that look. Who better to recognize the signs better than me? I am The Father of Conquest, I know everything there is to know. But I digress. As tribute to the Ottoman Empire, I order you to go to bed! I will take care of any administrative affairs that are on or will come to your desk. Yes, I’m serious. Now go.”

Bond 5:

“…So you have seen me in my entirety too, have you not? …It’s alright. I’m not angry about it. In fact, I think it’s a good thing that you know now. Such close relations between two people should seldom hold secrets, after all. Which is why… I think I’ll be forward in saying that I will not leave you be. No matter what happens, who you become or what the world makes of you, know that I will stand at your side proudly. …Why? Is it not obvious? You, Master, are but a reflection of myself and I can’t help but feel as though I must take responsibility for that. This obligation thrust upon you has been your life for so long and, well, chances are that you will die doing this. Just as I did in my time. You will look back and wonder if you have wasted your life, wonder what could have been if you were a normal person. But that is if you die here. Which I will not allow. You will see your journey end and you will enjoy the fruits of your labor in peace. That… That is a promise. One I will uphold even if it should kill me in the process.”

Bond 5 (Post Event Clear):

“So this is the agony of losing an empire… I regret nothing. What I did was not only righteous, but it was the fulfillment of my destiny. It just so happened that Kōnstantînos was on the receiving end of such things. This isn’t to say that I hold no sympathy. As a fellow human under the same sun, I… No. I’ll save it for when him and I finally have an honest conversation. …Master, keep an eye on Kōnstantînos. Closure is not equivalent to healing, it is the beginning. With this having happened, he will need all of the time and support he can get. The road will be long and while Kōnstantînos has it in him to move forward, he needs someone who will keep him on the right track. There will come a time when he will not be able to discern which way is forward or backward, that is when you show him the way. Such is your duty as his master, and more importantly, his friend.”

Conversation 1:

“Your to-do list, bring it here. Eh? You don’t have one? You just remember… No. Absolutely not. Sit down and list off everything you have to do today, tomorrow and every day after. Organization is of utmost importance and I will not have my master be a scatterbrained fool who completes their obligations whenever they feel like it!”

Conversation 2:

“My relationship with you? Oh-hoh, no need to be so coy! You can simply confess your feelings for me without the pretense, I will allow… That’s not what you meant? Ah. Ahhh… The Master-Servant relationship… Well. I am one of the greatest men to have existed and you are the Last Master of Humanity, so we are close to being equals but not quite there. My experience and wisdom place me slightly above you. So I expect you to treat me as a mentor of sorts.”

Conversation 3:

“You really do ask whatever comes to mind, don’t you? Hmph, if this were back in my day I’d have you severely punished for having the audacity to ask such a personal question. Which is why you should be thankful that I am willing to give you the key to answering it instead. Master, if you truly wish to know what I think of you… Then look at me. Very, very hard and for a long, long time. Once that is done, ruminate on what you have seen. This is observation, the essence of finding the truth.”

Conversation 4 (If you have Kōnstantînos XI):

“Is that…? It really is. Emperor Kōnstantînos XI, it’s a pleasure to be—wah! Hey, hey, hey! Put the sword away! I’m not here for…eh? I’m a bad influence on Master? Whaaaaaat? If anyone’s a bad influence on Master, it’s that godawful vampire!

Conversation 5 (If you have Kōnstantînos XI and Bond Level 5):

“…Has he left? Good. *Sigh* I know that I’m practically responsible for his death, but you’d think that dying would put these sorts of things to rest. It’s a shame that he’s like this, though, I’d have liked to speak about what I had done with Kostantiniyye after his passing and I would have liked to hear…how it was to live in there from his perspective. What I knew and had seen was a half-dead city, but to him… I’m sure he saw something beautiful. Maybe someday we can have that honest conversation about the city we loved.”

Conversation 6 (If you have Vlad III or Vlad EXTRA):

“That thing… There’s TWO of him?! No, no. Speak no more. I don’t want to know, nor do I want anything to do with him. *Shudder* Just thinking of him brings the scent of blood and ash to my nose.”

Conversation 7 (If you have Elisabeth Báthory):

“Master. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst, how dangerous are a woman’s heels? …You’re not sure? Well, I can safely say that it is a 10. I had tried to strike up a friendly conversation with miss Báthory, only to narrowly avoid a fate worse than death. Judging by her comments, I believe that the devil she calls her ‘uncle’ informed her about me beforehand. Honestly, I haven’t a clue why she reveres him so much.”

Conversation 8 (If you have Astraea):

“Hello again—ow—Master. Oh, this? Ah, I got this from the Lady Justice herself. In my efforts to get administration to create and enforce rules for once, my shenanigans have unfortunately attracted the ire of none other than Astraea. To receive a suplex from a goddess may seem like an honor to some, but my neck and shoulders feel so stiff now. Ugh…I feel 20 years older.”

Conversation 9 (If you have Janta, Jack the Ripper, Paul Bunyan (Berserker), or Nursery Rhyme):

“Master… I know this may sound rich coming from me, but don’t you think it’s morally reprehensible to be sending Janissaries this young into the battlefield? …Eh? They aren’t Janissaries? And you can’t stop them from heading into the battlefield even if you tried? Well…hmph. This is a dilemma. If they haven’t caused you problems yet, then I suppose it should be fine. Just…keep an eye on them. I personally didn’t have this issue, but my successors found them to be more trouble than they’re worth.”

Likes:

“What I like? To answer that would take at least 3 hours, but I’ll water it down for you. I like my empire, cannons, rules and order, history and literature, the fine arts, the internet… There’s a lot to like in the world. But above all, I love Kostantiniyye. Er…you know her best as Constantinople. She is my crowning achievement and the apple of my eye. Strange to say about a city, I am aware…but were you to go there yourself, you’d realize that she is more than that. Much, much more.”

Dislikes:

“A good question…What DO I dislike? …Mmh… I probably should hold my tongue here. My next words could very well start a holy war! And that should be saved for when this is all over. Hehe…I’m looking forward to finally putting—ah, I almost said it. Again, that’s for later.”

About The Holy Grail:

“So this is the Holy Grail I’ve heard so much of… It definitely lives up to my expectations now that I have seen it in person. But the power within… No, I should not wish upon the grail. All of my achievements were by my hand and with God’s blessing. To wish upon the grail would devalue everything I had worked for and call my strength into question. I would only accept such a thing if there were no other options. So, do hold off on that.”

During an Event:

“Hahaha! Do you FEEL that, Master?! Hehehe! This is clearly what the beginning of a campaign feels like! Fortune favors the bold and the swift, Master, now follow me! After we get done sacking and rebuilding their city, I’ll teach you how to negotiate tributes and how to deal with those who don’t pay. These lessons are best taken hands on, so I expect you to be paying full attention!”

Birthday:

“Hehe… I know that look and I know what day it is. It is your birthday and I, in fact, have already prepared a gift for you. …Behold! A working replica of THE cannon I used to breach the Theodosian Walls! Splendid, is it not? Haha! I knew you’d like it. See, Master? THIS is where your tribute goes. Directly into things like this! Yes… Happy birthday, Master. May your dreams come true in the coming year.”

Bond 10:

“Hm? Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment there. In any case, you’ve come at the right time. Here, sit beside me. Yes, there. No, it’s not too close. This small, tiny gap between us represents more than physical space. Meaning… Hehe. You already know, don’t you? I need not waste my breath then. …Remember when I had told you that I would stand beside you always? I had also, in a roundabout way, presented the question I had been asking myself ever since you summoned me. Did I waste my life putting my everything into my empire? And the answer is no. Not just because of the great things I did, but also because of what it lead to after my death. That being my time with you. Yes… I can’t remember the last time I had so much free time and so much leeway. Which is why I would like to say, from the deepest depths of my heart… Thank you, Master. For giving me everything I had missed when I was alive and so much more, thank you.”

Endnote: And that’s that! I’m pretty happy with how I’ve written his dialogue and what that says and implies about him as a whole. A somewhat nice balance between levity and seriousness with a side of nagging mentor figure. His darker side comes out a little bit in his 3rd ascension line and would come out in his battle lines with how much he’d be laughing and saying some very disturbing shit on top of it.

Oh, and that “Post Event Clear” thing is just a hypothetical for a Constantine-centric event I want to write (since Lasagna doesn’t feel like it) that I’ll put to words sometime soon. Hehe… It’s similar to an idea I proposed in a reblog a while ago but ultimately it’ll be the Micheal show. So do look forward to that.

From the beginning, I was planning on Mehmed’s desire to know everything and how destructive that can be to be his main issue, but as my internal hamster wheel got rolling, I realized that it’d be a little bit cooler to put that to the side a bit—since he mostly has a handle on himself anyways—in favor of Mehmed looking back on his life and wondering if it was a fulfilling one beyond his achievements. Here in Chaldea, he can pretty much do whatever he wants. He’s not the sultan anymore nor is he cooped up in his room studying to be the sultan someday, he’s just here and having all this freedom kinda fucks with him a bit since he’s so used to being caged. And to top it all off, he has a master who he sees himself in which messes with him even more. He eventually reaches the answer when he hits bond 10 and he sincerely expresses his gratitude for the assistance in him reaching that answer. Buuut until then he’ll be ruminating on that as well as if his life would have been more fulfilling if he was a normal person born to a normal family.

In other more Redline news, I watched Haibane Renmei recently and hoo boy was that shit so good! It gave me some inspiration for a few things as well as made me cry several times, so you know it’s good. Honestly, I want to draw Constantine as a Haibane because that’d fit him so well. Both the sub and dub are on youtube, so if you’re interested then look there!

But that’s just me. I hope you all enjoyed and have a nice night, everyone.

—Redline, over and out!

[re-re-redline]

(:

Now that’s a smile worth protecting!

This is my replacement for the adorable yet goofy looking Koha-ace Mehmed. It’s not necessarily finished yet as you can see be the unrendered section of Mehmed’s turban and the uncolored feathers. But all of the big parts are finished and I’ve drawn a fair few expressions for this handsome gentleman as well, so no need to worry about seeing the same expression all the darn time. Oh, and you’re unable to see it due to the framing of the image, but this is a full body portrait. The idea was originally as a little side thing to draw all three of Mehmed’s ascensions as like a cool hypothetical. The first two would be based of the paintings of Mehmed II and the second ascension would be his iconic attire from Himuro’s World. Don’t want to get too creative now.

The one you’re looking at right now is my hypothetical first ascension for Mehmed II. Since there’s been a running trend (last I checked) of servants wearing modern clothes on the JP side of things, I decided to try my hand at such a thing myself by having him wear this cool coat (that’s based off a painting of him I found on Google) with a few pins on it (inspired by Don Quixote from Limbus Company) and some sweats and crocs for the meme. It’s not something you’d see a sultan wearing at all, which makes it (in my opinion) a neat subversion by having the young conquerer here look somewhat like a college student. Due to his youthful appearance in Himuro’s World, I’d say that this Mehmed is 21 years old based on when he conquered Constantinople at—you guessed it—age 21. Y’know, his prime achievement in life. He does appear in Apocrypha as an older gentleman when he was fighting against Vlad in Wallachia, but one usually tends to think of this younger one, I’d think.

This is my second time trying to paint something digitally ever, so if the rendering looks wack then now you know why. Personally, I’d say this is miles better than my first time trying. Everything looks much more smooth, the textures are looking swell and the little hints of various other colors really spiced things up. Overall, it’s pretty neat by my standards.

Finally, I just wanted to share this with everyone since I was flicking through the expressions I already made and saw this one and I was like: “Man… I’ve made a really cute sprite! That’s a million dollar smile right there. I didn’t even know I could do that,” and I then thought it’d be nice to put this out there so that you all can find at least a modicum of the enjoyment I had when looking at this lil’ guy. Now, that’s all from me tonight and have a good one everybody!

—Redline, over and out!

[re-re-redline]

A nice meme I made a while ago in conjunction with an idea that throat punched me a few weeks ago.

This was before I had the idea to draw Koha-Ace Mehmed.

This is basically what the Ottomans were doing at the time, honestly. But instead of pieces it was any potential neighbors who could aid you in not getting mauled by the particularly scary youngster with the big cannons.

[re-re-redline]

—Mehmed II 1st Ascension— (Fanmade)

After ≈ 27 hours, I did it! I finished my hypothetical 1st ascension artwork and expressions for the boi.

Why yes, yes I did stitch the saber card frame and the archer icon together to make this make more sense, how’d you know? The font on the cards is Palantino, by the way.

That aside, let’s get into the making of this and my design choices before I put down the expressions I made.

Aight so. Running trend with newer servants is wearing modern clothing as an ascension, right? I decided to employ that here by having our favorite sultan wearing crocs, sweats, a neato t-shirt and some cool pins to give off that casual look. I originally wanted to have this give off the vibe of a college student, since Mehmed’s grand achievement of taking Constantinople occured when he was 21 years old and it’d be pretty a funny subversion for the kind of guy he’s remembered as. I will say though that the jacket I gave him miiiiight be too regal. I based it off of a painting of him wearing something exactly like it but closed so as to keep him recognizable as Mehmed II if you’ve seen the painting. The shirt is based of Gentile Bellini’s portrait of Mehmed with the six crowns in the left and right sides of the painting above his head. The pins are references with the top left being the Roman double headed eagle (poorly drawn), the Turkish flag, a flag from the Ottoman empire and the top right being a rose (referencing him holding a rose in Himuro’s World and a painting of him doing the same thing), the big cannon he had commissioned to destroy the Theodosian walls and finally a cat pin (ref. Himuro’s World.) The bouquet of roses is resent for the same reason that the rose pin is but it also serves to make him look more, y’know, casual with the way he has it in his arm. The scroll just kinda hanging off his arm serves the same purpose as well. The three feathers were supposed to be—from left to right— Gray Heron, Northern Bald Ibis, and Goldcrest but my artistic abilities couldn’t quite meet the mark on that one, though I tried my best. Finally, for the background, I wanted to paint the bridge that was named after him but it seems like it came out looking more like the Golden Gate bridge in California, much to my chagrin.

Now, as for two things I am aware of… Yes, I am aware his hand looks like the hecking Hamburger Helper hand, I hate it too (: And yes the position of the crocs looks like it’s copy and pasted because it is, drawing that second croc was a nightmare and I eventually just gave in and copied the first one.

Now, I hope you enjoyed looking at those. I’ll be putting the expressions down under the Read More for the sake of keeping things tidy. Let me know what you think.

—Redline, over and out.

P.S. I have so many more but I’ll leave it at this for now. And if you’re gonna use these for some reason, let me know and credit me, thanks.

[re-re-redline]

What Occasionally Happens at Karaoke Night

A 4-koma and an update.

I tried drawing a 4-koma and it’s not too shabby for my first one! It was inspired by @sawbeaver ‘s piece “Endless Love Song.” Their art is absolutely amazing, truly eye candy!

I found the image of Constantinople from Europeana and the rest was drawn by yours truly. Oh, and the stranger in the first panel is a self-insert since I couldn’t come up with a person who could fill the spot.

Oh, and under the read more will be a more definitive update to the ‘big thing’ I’ve been working on…so do look there if you’d like!

Almost at 10k! I wasn’t expecting to have written this much, but I’m pretty happy with it so far! I’d like to think that I’m ‘cooking’ as the youth say and I’m basically halfway through writing the full thing, so I just need to keep moving along with my draft and I’ll be set to post it. So do look forward to seeing it soon! Until then, take this tribute! See you later.

—Redline, over and out!

[sawbeaver]

From the left:

-The Capitoline Wolf

-Colossus of Constantine

-Augustus of Prima Porta

-Portrait of the Four Tetrarch

[sawbeaver]

[sawbeaver]

To the Ghost of Topkapi Palace: Your Legacy

[sawbeaver]

Sultan on the Galata Bridge

[sawbeaver]

You will be murdered by Conquest.

[sawbeaver]

Sultan on the Galata Bridge2