A Chance Meeting in the Ways

Finally! I've been meaning to get this done for ages!

I figured it would just be terribly appropriate for these two to meet. I mean, Aleri bears a lot of accidental similarity to Ben, and Al's the type who probably would find a way into the Infinite Ways... and who else would he run into?

Really, the similarities can get outright embarrassing at times. Complicated connection to darkness? Check. Tall? Scholarly? Reads minds? Check, check, and check. Uses magic? Check. Understands magic? Check. Immune to poisons? Er... half a check. The comparison splits when it's pointed out how different their backgrounds are, how Ben works with far more complex and in-depth magic, and Aleri is more geared towards combat. Of course, Al himself would point out that Benjamin's magic is impressive enough to outstrip his own fighting skills in terms of awesome.

I used a reference picture for Ben, which is why he doesn't suck. Aywren, you certainly have an interesting way of drawing noses. I still screwed it up a little, but overall, I think it works very well.

Aleri's face was actually altered. Originally, it was his adult self in the picture, but his facial structure just looked... wrong. And I couldn't find a way to make him look not-deformed without him looking really sad. No, really, he looked like he was trying to smile just to pretend he wasn't horribly sad about this for some reason. So instead, he's still young.

I think I got Ben's reaction down alright, too. I mean, he wouldn't likely react very positively towards a strange, unknown person showing up from another dimension, but he wouldn't show outright aggression, either. He'd take a more cautious approach, I think.

See, due to the cropping, you can't see the chibis in the lower-left corner, which is a shame. I thought I had done a decent job with them, and it showed the logical continuation: Al offering to shake hands with Ben. The part you don't see - not even in the corner - is whatever conversation would ensue. It would definitely be confusing for both of them, especially the unused-to-dimensional-travel Aleri.

Aleri: Your second moon flew off somewhere? Can... can worlds do that? Wait, do moons count as worlds? Hold on...

...Yeah, this conversation would likely cause him to question a number of things in his own universe. Too bad I'm contractually obligated to wipe his memory before he returns. Can't have him taking advantage of anything he learns, you see.

Aleri is my own original character.

Benjamin Golbez Ya is property of