#and also there's a blizzard

[grandwretch]

a snippet from something empath steve that I'm never going to finish

Later, while Steve cleaned the snot and tears from his face, Robin watched him soberly from the toilet. She sat sideways, cross-legged on the closed seat, balanced precariously and stared up at him. Steve ignored her gaze, rubbing at his face until it stung.

"So," she said, eventually. Her words were careful, as if any poorly chosen phrase could send Steve into another spiral. "Can I ask... why Eddie?"

It was a question with many interpretations. Why care fixate Eddie, when so many people Steve had grown up with had died in the last week? Why sob yourself to sleep over someone you had barely known? What was it about Eddie that haunted Steve far beyond the vague ache of failure? Why was Steve's grief for one man strong enough to block out the pain and suffering of an entire town in mourning?

"Did I ever tell you why I fell in love with Nancy?" he said, instead of answering any of those questions.

Robin hesitated, then shook her head.

"The thing about emotions is that they don't make sense. I know I compared it to noise, before, but it's not-- It's not like a song. It's not even like a bunch of different songs played at once. It's more like being in a room with twenty radios, and all of them might change channels at any time. They all have their own rhythms, their own triggers-- And I can figure it out, sure, but it takes time and effort and sometimes I just... can't be bothered."

"Does my radio at least play something good?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow. She was trying to distract him, tease him away from her own question-- An automatic response after seeing the pained look on his face. God, Steve loved her.

"We have the same radio," he said, waving his hand. Which was true, mostly. Sometimes, during the worst spirals he would feel a little pressure from Robin, but outside of that her emotions were felt just like his own-- in his own heart, not against his skin. "Not the point."

Robin grinned.

"Nance's mind is one of the steadiest I've ever felt. I was, like, addicted to it. Even when we were going through the worst shit we've ever been through, she was like a rock, and I-- I loved that. I needed that. And then..." Steve swallowed, his gaze flitting back to the mirror above the sink. He still looked ill, pale and gaunt. "I realized she wasn't, really. I thought she was the rock, and instead, it's just walls. I never... I never really figured out how to get past them. Probably never will."

"Steve..." Robin began, a frown starting to form on her face, but Steve cut her off with a shake of his head.

"No, 'cause, see-- Eddie was steady, too, right? So I thought, oh, good, more walls, don't want anything to do with that, and then--" Steve closed his eyes, letting himself remember the way Eddie's emotions had felt butting up against Steve's, the way the warmth had enveloped him even as he shivered through the shock and cold.

"Eddie was steady the way the ocean is steady. He was so alive," Steve continued, choking on the word, "and so warm, always moving but you could-- You could just float along on his train of thought. He was always just there, all around, pressing in. He never hid his emotions, but it didn't hurt. No static. It was like the tides coming in. I don't... I don't think I've ever felt that safe in someone's emotions, before. And I guess... I guess I'm having trouble processing that I might never feel it again."

[clumsypuppy]

EXPLORERS OF SUFFERING

[sumirerin]

vencha doodles.. ft some pals :b

[the-fandom-queenxox]

I have been sensing a theme to Martyn's characters as of late...

[serpentface]

Sketch of a typical Wardi house (small), located adjacent to farmland on the Briya river floodplain.

Most houses are made with mudbrick and with a smooth outer coating, sometimes plastered or otherwise decorated (this one has fairly minimal decorative painting). The climate is dry overall and mudbrick is the most economical and resistant building material available (though it does require more maintenance than in outright arid climates due to regular and sometimes very heavy winter rains), with the use of wood generally being reserved for maintaining the structural integrity of the roof and portals. These houses are fairly effective at insulation, and a well-constructed home will not have dramatic temperature gradients between hot days and cool nights.

Some homes lack doors altogether and use fabric or straw drapes; actual doors are hung by pintles and made with wood and/or woven reeds. Domestic chimneys have not been invented anywhere in general, and smoke in a small house like this will be removed (not the most efficiently) through small tubes in the walls and via the door/windows. Cooking hearths in these smaller houses are usually placed in the center of the building, which goes a little ways to allowing smoke to disperse.

Flat mudbrick roofs are in use in some places, though pointed thatched roofs like these are more common in all but the driest areas due to better shedding rainfall/occasional snow accumulation. Thatching is made with straw or papyrus, location depending, and can become very thick as a byproduct of routine maintenance on old houses.

Misc bits:

-bell windchimes on each side of the house (wards off ghosts and makes a pretty sound).

-little clay guardian lion over the doorway (most houses will have one on each side, though those not overseeing entrances may be hidden in the thatching or buried to fully embed their protective qualities).

-dung fuel being dried on one of the walls.

-koli plant right outside (easy low maintenance fruit and vegetables)

[johntorrington]

the nimrod expedition was the wild west. it’s like a frat house where everyone ended up becoming a politician. guys there would go on to be part of the AAE, the terra nova, the endurance, the ross sea party AND the karluk. some dudes climbed a volcano that had never been climbed before- without anything close to proper gear and ended up chucking some of their stuff down the mountain to get back faster. george marston was getting really into drag. shackleton was just out of his weird polycule divorce with scott and wilson. they had a little canvas bathtub that multiple people took nudes in. a 50 year old geologist was put in charge of a manhauling party and was so bad at it he had to be threatened with being declared insane by the doctor in order for him to hand command over to mawson. aeneas mackintosh lost an eye. the car. they got a new furthest south but shackleton ended up so badly in debt he tried to get into gold mining. what a time.

[mindblizzard]

It's so funny to me that Adeline is a DM's nightmare. She completely decimates her character sheet and rules-lawyers her way into playing with it. she nukes the king of the castle her party is visiting the second he appears. and her brother is the DM, making this whole thing 2000x funnier.

[benevolenterrancy]

pet fish revenge fantasy

[guillotine-girly]

A desolation avatar who is the embodiment of a blizzard, your car breaks down in the middle of a snowstorm, you exit calling out for help trying to see through the thick descending snow, you turn back, your car has been buried in snow and you cannot find it, everything you love and know has been buried in snow, encased in frigid ice and soon.

you will join.

[personinthepalace]

I just popped my head outside. There was a blizzard last night.

[st4rstudent]

he won't be able to get back up btw

[vepaluiron]

fortiche, may i pitch you another pair of tragic sisters who are separated by circumstance, reunited in hatred of one another, yet still are forever tied as two sides of the same coin? (arcane style study)

[dustbon]

She's a bit too proud of herself.

[zerguette]

you guys don't know the power i wield to have done this in one hour and half, (33 frames), is still being worked at. DIABLO FANDOM RESURRECT PLEASE. (yes, Tyrael is exploding, that's his job.)

[honeywafflez1art]

He makes her laugh :) 🌸📐

[bixels]

What did/do you like about Pharah?

Uh, gameplay-wise, I really love characters in shooters who rely on three-dimensional movement techs. Chaining together hover and jump to stay in the air for as long as possible and keep momentum is so satisfying, and picking enemies off from the sky made me feel like a bird of prey. I was a good Pharah main.

Story-wise, there unfortunately isn't much to canonically go off because Pharah is so underutilized and neglected. Her personality's pretty boilerplate "heroic hero" (she's literally inspired by Captain America).

But it's the crumbs/bits and pieces that I really latched onto. Pharah's a confirmed lesbian; her short story with Baptiste implies she harbors a crush on Mercy (fucking thank you.). She's biracial Egyptian/First Nations. She has major mommy issues, having grown up both admiring and resenting Ana. She's the bridge between Old Overwatch, inspired by the idealized heroes who surrounded her childhood, and New Overwatch. She's one of the only inter-generational characters in the cast; someone whose experiences span the gap, which is why I seriously believe Pharah would make a great main character.

There isn't much to go off of, though; she's a very uncomplicated character (she's a soldier for a private military corporation, lol.). But that just means she's a blank slate character, so I've seen fanfic writers run wild and create some really interesting takes on her. My favorite interpretation of her's a dense, herbo gym-bro type (a lot of her liens are about work outs, exercising, and playing sports) who's easily excitable under her seemingly self-serious, armored visage. We see how she tends to gloat and hype herself up when she's on a streak too, so Pharah definitely has a competitive and boastful side under her more professional and militant performance.

Now Mercy? Mercy is a real complex character.