Finally got some art for some of the main characters from my current novel series wip: The Rising Sun. Ash @renesyce did a phenomenal job with my babes💖 I can't believe how gorgeous each of these turned out!!! The backgrounds and aesthetics are truly magical and so inspiring for what I have in store for these three!
Ash was wonderful to work with and I highly recommend commissioning her if you can!
Starting from the top: Sun Ritsu (he/him), Anari (she/her), and Bodhi (they/them)
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The Rising Sun is an adult comedic saga set in a modern, quasi-dystopian spirit world. The story takes most of its inspiration from Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West. As of now, TRS is available to read for free on Wattpad!
*Check under the cut for the full story description!*
The Ninth Heaven is home to many absurdities, including unchecked greed, acts of injustice, and senseless overcompetition.
Spirits dwell, work, and fight nonstop to improve their standard of living. Should they fail, however, the cycle repeats as their life force resets in the nebulous and cleansing Lake of Ninefold Darkness. The forces that govern chance, opportunity, and fate all boil down to Luck. Though many spirits have tried, none have been able to fully understand or monopolize Luck. And so, to be Lucky can mean many things or it could mean nothing at all.
On this vast spiritual plane, four spirits come together to recover something precious that was lost.
There is Ham Song – a very Lucky but wickedly cursed hog spirit, who occasionally vomits immortal peaches. Anari – a spider spirit who appears to have everything under control, yet is ever compelled to sabotage any good thing that comes her way. Bodhi – a wayward monk, who, despite their mastery in kung fu and spiritual enlightenment, has not found the answer to overcoming their addiction. Not that they would want to.
And lastly, there is Sun Ritsu. He's a typical monkey spirit with genes identical to that of the legendary Great Sage, Sun Wukong. It is such with all monkeys that roam the Ninth Heaven. Sun clones like Ritsu are known for their cleverness, unpredictability, and relentless tenacity. Yet oddly enough, the three spirits in Ritsu’s company find that he doesn’t always fit this model. Outside of his Immortal State, Ritsu isn’t particularly clever or especially motivated to increase his rank. He is simply… good.
In a realm where greed and social competition shape the way of life, the notion of pure, non-incentivized goodness is, quite frankly, absurd.
i know i reblog a lot of spike spiegel inspo for sun ritsu, but i have to constantly remind myself that he takes after gearless joe more bc of the rounder features (including the hair). also joe has more boyish-ness going on in his face. ritsu is not on the level of spike's seriousness
This is fanart of Rising Sun, a story I’ve been reading on Tapas! It’s based on Journey to the West, but it’s okay if you’ve never read it. I haven’t, and I gotta say, it, uh, enhances the narration. The guy in the picture, Sun Ritsu, is an extraordinarily down on his luck Sun Wukong clone until he gets his hands on a special item that lets him become incredibly fashionable (and powerful!)
