#theUmbralBlade

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te woman, Nika, in her typical combat gear

Nika in casual attire with her hair up and having donned a pair of glasses that she does not actually need and somehow cause people to not recognize her

A running gag in Nika's canon I like to use is that she is generally not recognized when she is not dressed in her usual combat gear.
I joke its the glasses causing the "Clark Kent =/ Superman" effect.
(1/2)

#theUmbralBlade

🐈‍⬛🔆🛡️
~to words left unsaid,
to forever rest in gilded light~
(video format)

#theUmbralBlade | #gposers | #bposers

"Perhaps you've seen, Haurchefant? I have made some effort to smile more."

🐈‍⬛🔆🛡️
~to words left unsaid,
to forever rest in gilded light~

#theUmbralBlade | #EorzeaPhotos | #gposers | #bposers

"Scars serve as reminders of where we've been and what we've endured. They need not dictate where we're going. That is you, that is choice."
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#theUmbralBlade

a pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te assassin

🐈‍⬛🖤🗡️

#theUmbralBlade

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te assassin, Nika

🐈‍⬛🗡️

#theUmbralBlade | #gpose | #bpose

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te woman, Nika, taking a moment at the Tritails Training gym to examine her physique after a strenuous workout

🐈‍⬛💪
~arsenal~

#theUmbralBlade

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te woman, Nika, wearing a (mostly) vanilla glamour that includes the reaper's assassin's coat and armguards while on ninja thank you glamour update

my joy when the glamour update allows me to equip the Assassin's Coat (Reaper) to my assassin-themed character's main jobs (Ninja/Viper) lol👏🗡️🖤

#theUmbralBlade

an argument could possibly be made🖤🗡️🤭🫠

#theUmbralBlade

I recently learned that a surprising number of people never realized that Nika does not have a tail🤭(only ever appearing in vanilla gposes).
Nika was born without one—a quirk of her half-Miqo'te and half-Hyur lineage, as well as specific Ancient lore ramifications.
(1/2)

#theUmbralBlade

Left: younger Nika during her earlier assassin/mercenary days (Pre-ARR) she has only learned how to use her aether to bolster her physical abilities and relies much more on stealth, guile, and her dagger throwing abilities. Right: Nika as she is from the Shadowbringers campaign and onward. She has learned to fully utilize her Umbral aether and use her magic to not only bolster her physical abilities, but also cast and augment her attacks with magic, creating her custom job of Umbral Blade.

Left: A younger Nika during her early days as an assassin and mercenary before learning to fully utilize her magic (and charm) and before the events of ARR.
Right: Nika mid-ShB and onward having learned to properly channel her Umbral aether and creating her custom job, Umbral Blade.

#theUmbralBlade

#theUmbralBlade

Nika's aether is primarily a range of purple hues and black due to its Umbral aspect, making it similar to that of the Ascians. When discovered, this resemblance initially caused suspicion among some of the Scions and their closets allies.

#theUmbralBlade

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te woman, Nika, posed in a black leotard, jacket, and thighboots channeling her Umbral aether in one hand and mid drawing a weapon from her back with the other an amused expression crossing her face.

🖤🐈‍⬛⚔️💜

#gposers | #bposers | #theUmbralBlade

Nika has three major possessions:
A necklace given to her by her mother (Heirloom Necklace).
An old Flat Cap from her father.
And, an earring given to her by the Scions (Black Triteleia).
She also has a set of daggers that she's fond of called the Heart Snatchers.
(1/3)
#theUmbralBlade

Umm..
*stares at account name
*stares at personal/lore tag
*stares into the camera

🌒<The Umbral Blade>🌒

As for the why, it is simply a nod to the fact that she fights primarily with blades (daggers/swords) and her aether and magic is heavily tilted towards Darkness.

#theUmbralBlade

"Nika" comes from the name of the poster Assassin character in the Guild Wars Factions expansion. It was the first time I'd come across an Assassin-style theme/class/playstyle and I fell in love instantly. I've stuck with the name through almost every game that allows-
1/2
#theUmbralBlade

Most notably, Nika has three facial scars: one across each cheek and another down her right eye. To Nika, they serve as a reminder of survival; she wears them with a small sense of pride and identity, wholly unbothered by them and uninterested in having them healed away.
1/2

#theUmbralBlade

Nika prefers secluded places over crowded spaces.
She can navigate, blend into, mingle with, and tolerate a crowd or social event just fine when necessary, but given the choice she'd avoid them. Social events she typically associates with some of her past infiltration work--
1/2

#theUmbralBlade

Nika would definitely gravitate towards a martial art of some kind: Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Wushu, Fencing, etc whether competitive or not.🥊
If she had to choose something a bit more "classical"--
Volleyball or Soccer at a guess🤔

#theUmbralBlade

Black is her base with purple as the secondary or gold. They are two of my favorite color combinations and I just applied them to Nika when deciding on her design and motifs-- her eye color, her clothing or make-up choices, or how her aether/magic manifests, etc.

#theUmbralBlade

Melee DPS= Ninja/Viper
Tank= Dark Knight
Ranged DPS= Dancer
Magical DPS= Red Mage
Healer= Sage/Astrologian (if she could heal..)

#theUmbralBlade

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te woman, Nika, at sunset

~hers is the sunset🌇~

#gpose | #bpose | #EorzeaPhotos | #theUmbralBlade

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te woman, Nika, dressed in an alluring black dress and mask looking on as she enters a social event

~a lady in waiting,
or a lady lying in wait?🗡️~

#gpose | #gposers | #bpose | #theUmbralBlade

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te woman, Nika, dressed in an alluring black dress and mask very likely intending to be a visually alluring distraction for deceptively dangerous ends

~gilded beguilement🗡️~

#gpose | #gposers | #bpose | #theUmbralBlade

a shot of Nika during her earlier days as an assassin having infiltrated and relieved a garrison of its Garlean occupancy many daggers are strewn about the area as she had not yet discovered her Umbral magics and often utilized her dagger throwing talents

~the verdict is
vengeance🗡️~

#theUmbralBlade | #gpose | #bpose

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te woman, Nika, as an assassin wielding a pistol and dagger looking towards an out of frame threat.

~'Cause your soul is on fire
A shot in the dark
What did they aim for when they missed your heart?~

#theUmbralBlade | #UmbralAUs | #Bpose | #Bposers

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te woman, Nika, seated and looking off to the side in thought she is wearing a very casual, oversized blouse with the string fittings loosened around her chest

🐈‍⬛🖤

#theUmbralBlade | #bpose | #miqote | #GothGirlWednesday

pale, dark-haired, golden-eyed, half-Miqo'te woman, Nika a dagger in one hand and an orb of her Umbral aether in the other looking towards an unlucky(?) victim

🐈‍⬛🗡️🖤
~Been seeing what you wanted,
but got you cornered right now~
#theUmbralBlade

#theUmbralBlade