#v: burning up

[kierras]

kiara whines, an embarrassing highpitched noise as she tries to jerk her head away from jj's touch. "don't hit me," she pouts, trying to slap away his hand from her cheek — and failing miserably. "m'tired, jay." she almost certainly has a concussion and probably some kind of lung damage from all the shit she's been inhaling. really, this is the worst case scenario for her. the roof collapsing on her was bad enough, but the hot firefighter she'd gone out with last week being the one to have to rescue her? she kind of wishes she'd been swallowed up by a sink hole instead.

she groans as he holds her eyes open, trying to squint against the pressure and close them against the light. "oh my god," she murmurs when he talks about their date and she's unsure if the heat on her cheeks is from the accident or his words. "shut up. you're being so mean to me right now." she blinks, eyelids feeling heavy as she tries to bring the blond in front of her into focus but his figure stays fuzzy around the edges. "how was i supposed to know you'd show up? there's no fire. wait, is there a fire?" kiara's memories are as fuzzy as her vision.

— it’s worse than we thought starters // accepting! — @kierras said: “just a little sleep?”

“no,” he said, moving the woman from his arms to the stretcher half hanging out of the ambulance in front of the giant building that was being evacuated. there was chunks of drywall caught between curls, particles of paint — probably just as old as the university — floating in the air as he sat the back of the stretcher up, making sure she didn’t have a chance to lay down. “gotta stay up until you’re cleared of head injury.” the blonde went through the motions of the vitals test he’s done a million times over, while his coworkers and campus security moved around them. he didn’t fully know what happened before they were called. all he knew was that part of the building collapsed and the town was small enough that he had to be called in on one of his days off. 

he didn’t think he’d see kiara this soon after their first date, and jackson definitely would’ve preferred better circumstances. making a note, jj pulled his pen light out of his pocket and turned back to the woman he carried out of the dusty disaster zone. “hey!” he said, patting kiara’s cheek. in the time it took him to take her blood pressure, she had closed her eyes. “what did i say?” once the big brown eyes were fixed on him again, jj held an eyelid open, knowing some of the glittery eyeshadow there would transfer onto his thumb, as he tested her eyes with the penlight. he’d apologize later. “stay awake.” he hovered over her, to do the same with the other eye before sitting back down on the ambulances bumper. he started taking notes. “y’know,” he said, a chuckle in his voice as he wrote. “this is probably the most a girl has done to get out of a second date with me…causing a roof collapse? was i really that bad of a time?”

[d8tl55c]

oh boy !! ! ! ! !!! ! thANK y0u all for the kind words on my last art posts. you all get it and i was/still am so happy about it

as promised, here's some close-ups of the comic for image quality's sake, and other screenshots i rescued from the community whiteboard (and something else)

first up another sketch of mystery gender-ambiguous being. (please send me more name ideas for them if you got one- i like to hear em! (reminder it's the side character that appeared for <10 seconds in AvM Ep. 30))

a few fav scenes

emotional support cwab

they weren't meant for this purpose exactly, but i do have countless "fluffy sticks" loose in my notes and homework sheets from the school years.

papery critter.

even when i wasn't confident in fur or feathers, they helped me practice posing and create some satisfying gradients/flowing poses. (im a sucker for good tail poses) (oh yay! i found a good pic...)

and finally, little sneak peak for you for reading so far ;3

i realized that whiteboardfox is pretty great for my working needs. simple and to the point and all. feels nice with the mouse and the tablet.

so i started hashing out a big project idea just to see if it holds up and

[

several hours later ...

]

oh

oh man

it's a little bigger than i expected

<next>

[king-spite]

i know the red queen tv show is now less likely to happen than katy perry going to space BUT if it DOES happen i think they should pull a rhaenicent and make elara and coriane have a failed tragic homoerotic friendship before becoming "rivals". nevermind what actually happens in the books. i think that would save me actually

[fumifooms]

Namalin

Namari x Falin

Easy short rarepair spotlight post for prosperity~ This one I didn’t think of on my own for once, I don’t know if it’s just I forgot the decided-on ship name or what but I remember seeing really nice art and a couple posts about it that I can’t find again 💔 Namalin warrior you are out there and not forgotten ty for making me see the light

I like that Namari’s critical of Falin! I have a whole character analysis on Falin if you’re interested, but it’s generally well noticed that people around Falin idealize her a lot. Laios, Marcille and Toshiro all put her on a pedestral of ultimate goodness in the world, a saintess if nothing short of perfection. Sounds like Chilchuck felt sort of creeped out by her vibes, uncomfortable because he couldn’t read her, so unlike Namari it seems he preferred steering clear of her rather than debate opposed ideologies like he usually does. Makes sense if unlike Namari his issue is with her cryptic aura rather than the stances she does show. "… The dungeon is no place for soft hearts" my ultimate namalin scene <333 It’s fun because while this scene is there to show us a lot of things, mostly to establish Falin’s characters better as it’s the first flashback of her we get, the conflict in it is more than anything else Falin vs Namari in how they contrast and clash and approach situations differently. Namari wants security in swift effective violence and thinks Falin too soft for her own good when she prefers a pacifist approach and promotes compassion even for the "undeserving" in Namari’s eyes. Falin steps between the battle ready Namari and the ghost, fearless. Falin effortlessly gently exorcises the ghost without one step back, quickly. Falin proves someone wrong. Falin proves someone wrong.

I love thinking of Namari being surprised when she learns new aspects of Falin. I like Falin having the power to shape people’s views on her. With Falin ships the most fun part for me is usually that point where Falin/the relationship becomes a clean slate: the person realizes they haven’t been seeing all of her, realizes there’s more of her they hadn’t noticed or that she hadn’t shown, that there’s change, a shift in the views on each other and the dynamic a bit.

Namari often feels like an external view looking in to me… I need to make a proper analysis on her but like. I made a lamari post once (analytic more than personally invested rip sorry) and I go with the same Namari take here, I think she’s someone who tends to have an outsider view on people and relationships if that makes sense, she’s a coworker before anything else and she’s content staying at a distance, she’s not objective per se but she tries to keep feelings out of her choices and how she sees people (her lil arc on not staying to save Falin despite the existing camaderie but in the end asking to work for the Flokes more because she wants to stay with them). She’s serious no nonsense on the job but friendly off the job and likes having casual friends, but she’s not… She doesn’t really feel connected to the group. She’s so focused on doing her job, even if she does get impulsive and passionate and too assertive for her bosses’ tastes, so focused on working her reputation and life from the ground up that that professionalism and attitude limits her social life. It doesn’t help that her reputation makes her widely judged, so she probably enters social spaces on the derensive. The closest person she was to pre-canon as far as we knew was Chilchuck and even they have a very "coworker I get along with" dynamic more than friends, with a similar sense of boundaries, humor and world view. Also like canon says a few time, the party didn’t really try to get to know each other well pre-canon, didn’t hang out after work often no one knew where Marcille was from and no one thought that was weird (also how no one had the instinct to ask about Senshi’s past) etc, the notable exception is we’re shown Namari and Chilchuck hitting taverns together and having a grand time. Everyone’s fine with things as they are, they get along decent even if not everyone considers each other friends exactly. Where I’m getting at is that to me, it feels like she tries keeping emotional distance. Emotional distance from people in general being something which in my interpretation of Falin is also present, which would make it a theme and common thread interesting to explore imo. But yes like, Namari looking at Falin, and how everyone treats her, and being more skeptical, seeing her for what she is a little more, maybe even uncharitable. "Why is everyone treating her like she’s all that? She’s gentle sure but seems like a doormat to me" and then one day she comes running up with her mace ready to cave in someone’s face to protect Laios. So yeah… Keeping her distance but one day Falin offering her some gentleness that feels very too personal for someone who’s not used to being genuine and simply showing that they care… Them talking a bit which leaves her stumped and mindblown in a quiet way when Falin defies her expectations. Namari growing on Falin when she stays and decides to open herself up more, or when Falin ends up reading her really well like she’s shown to do with her parents and Marcille’s worries. She’s very attuned to worrying and why and when different people do it especially when it comes to when they worry for others, perhaps because she does a lot of that too, so I think she’d nail down how Namari does care for the rest of the party and it’d make Namari feel seen both in a warm validating way and in a scared naked way.

We see in the tentacles chapter that she’s someone’s who’s very protective and looks out for her peers in a tough love way. She’s overbearing but it’s because she wants everyone to have the best chances. I like that she’s very confrontational and somewhat pushy and rude, but it’s tough love, it’s protective care: asserting herself to better protect and defend. The opposite of Falin’s type of care, quiet and self-sacrificial devotion. They’re barbarian x healer but they’re also bodyguard x bodyguard in their attitude and role. … What I want for them is slow burn slice of life of being coworkers and slowly getting to know each other better, pretty fluffy, but god, put this way they’d have the potential to be such a hot layered mess of insanely mutually devoted codependence… Falin taking a hit for Namari and Namari being scarred by it forever, lots of arguments about it, my god.

I like that she’s the fighter to Falin’s healer. I looove thinking of scenes of Falin healing Namari, necessitating touch and like, a moment of slowing down and sitting together in silence, too intimate, the perfect opportunity to connect that neither truly want to take until one day they do. I love how onesided I imagine the relationship would be at first. Again, as per my interpretation of Falin, I think Namari would have all these little observations and opinions on Falin meanwhile Falin really doesn’t think of Namari much at first. So Namari thinks a lot about Falin and thinks she’s got her pinned down but hasn’t (not that she’s fully wrong, she’d have credit and confront Falin on some of her flaws like the doormat thing), while Falin is very passive about Namari and doesn’t think deeply about her or anything but she read Namari’s insecurities and logic well. Not unlike how Laios was the one who seemed to understand Namari’s way of care the best in the party in the tentacles episode, and how he was very understanding of her choice and reasons. In Falin’s case it’s more like, the objectivity of passivity… She cares about Namari less than Laios who generally seeks to form bonds, so her lack of investment allows her a neutral perspective. In that way another parallel with Namari that I’m drawing, except Namari lets feelings from her opinions seeps in more… Onesided beef my beloved. I’m going insane save me this post was a mistake. I think Falin takes the crumbs of friendship and love where she can without expecting or asking for anything more than what’s offered, and I think her relationship with Namari (or anyone really) would start out the way it did with Marcille: the other takes the initiative and they end up spending time together, Falin is friendly but unattached until the bond gets gradually and wordlessly strenghtened through regularly spending moments together. So! I think Namari would need to take a lot of the first steps, which since again she’s confrontational & argumentative and doesn’t hold herself back on that front that could spark a lot of conversations I think. Ooor since Falin cares about Namari less than Laios and Marcille she allows herself to be bolder herself lol. Or also circumstances force them to spend time together like dungeon party getting separated shenanigans.

I think their personalities match cutely, I think falin would try to protect namari like she does others but also Namari simply doesn’t need protection, just support. And I think they’re complementary in that way that Namari’s friendly but also won’t sugarcoat things, and I think if she takes an interest in Falin it could go from there and she could develop some understanding of her and idk like an intrigued crush….

Namari wants stability & security & to, like, not be judged and rejected and exiled lol, to find her nest her pack the place where she feels good and wanted in. I think having a fitting partner would help in that (similarly to how the found family with the Flokes seemed to. Oh another parallel, Falin’s top priority is protecting Laios her brother and what Namari are a family figure) and I think Falin would fulfill that cozy protection and that warm ‘being seen and not judged’ feeling. But also Namari would run up to her and yell about her trying to sacrifice herself ever.

Another fun thread to explore: post-canon guilt for not having gone to save her. Sure, they weren’t close, but they had some nice memories, didn’t they? Namari cares, and it stings despite herself when it feels like people think she doesn’t. Oh it wasn’t a lost cause after all, oh it’d have worked out, oh I could have stayed loyal and it wouldn’t have compromised myself in the end. Wanting to apologize to Falin, or just ahnging out with her and sharing a moment after she wakes up. And tangent but that’s interesting to think about… Narratively, I think the purpose of Namari and Toshiro in the story, beyond strenghtening the theme of "seek to understand what is different from you and promote unity despite them" and fleshing the cast and worldbuilding, is Toshiro’s purpose was being a foil & tool in Laios’ arc (trouble connecting with people) while Namari’s was being and a foil & tool in Marcille’s arc (standing up for ideals without being out of touch with harsh realities and needs). They are the conflict that push our protagonists to grow— and they explore different ways of dealing with a situation or topic, different ways of growing into themselves on that end: Laios needing to listen to others more and Toshiro needing to focus on voicing himself more to be able to connect, Marcille needing to learn ideals sometimes cost too much and Namari needing to internalize that ideals are sometimes worth risks (not only to be able to find a reasonable but fulfilling life balance, but also to get in touch with their compassion: Namari restricts her own too much and Marcille is too harsh on people she deems to be breaking values, like Namari not risking her life and career for a friend with no promise of success, or even like how Namari is harsh on Falin’s way of doing things : too gentle, too soft, too idealistic) (similarly to Chilchuck’s arc with Marcille too, and he also plays a hand in advancing that arc in the Namari chapters). We are getting far from namalin sorry ummm preview for future analyses like Toshiro’s contrasting approach to grief and accepting loss.

More post-canon namalin! Thinking about a timeline where… Namari is fond of Falin finding herself and going off to do her thing. "Finally!" she thinks. If she’s still for hire, maybe Falin would want her to come along, either as guide or bodyguard <3, she knows Namari has a lot of good avice on a lot of things to give, plus they’ve worked together before. She hires Namari and they travel for a bit. Travel would do Namari good too I think, even if her end goal is to settle and I think Falin’s would be too eventually. Seeing sights that light her wonder for the world and going places where people don’t know her story, don’t recognize her face or her name. Them, feeling free. Finding a companionship that feels uplifting instead of stifling or charged. Namari having been too in her head about reputation and social games and money that they hit the roads and spend time in nature and it’s like, woah. I’ve been living in a small world with made up rules.

Ahh yes romance, Namari and Falin kissing after 3 years of not really knowing each other despite seeing each other every day then 2 months of wanting to spend more and more time together until they’re an inseparable duo! Workwives. I want them to stand next to each other during campire time and Namari cracks little jokes and Namari laughs. I want Namari to gift Falin a bug caught in amber and for it to be their wedding/promised to each other thing.

TLDR

Rowdy but levelheaded barbarian x gentle healer that will also cave your face in with a mace I like it…… They’re an interesting duo of mixed stuff. Protection being your purpose and what you’re worth for, literally being a meat shield (Laios, Tansu), finding your individuality recognized and validated through a growing bond with the other. Sticking around as a love language. Also bug immortalized in amber and it being beautiful.

Nevermind this wasn’t short. Um! Anyways.

[skeletonpendeja]

Nothing Girl! But... Different!

Designs for a hypothetical Nothing Girl comic drawn in a more traditional format. Smiles an actual raggedy doll, Bad Seed is a bit more rooted and things are a bit sweeter and harsher

[akuma-tenshi]

hey guys new emilerick dropped

[emby-m]

What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?

(an exploration of andreas over the course of 25 years, plus quotes)

[stargazing-enby]

Can someone tell me to do it scared

[scoldingdarjeeling]

WIP Dialogue (behind the scenes)

In Wyrm’s Rock Fortress, amidst the crowd of dignitaries and old companions, Halsin makes his intentions known...

“You remind me of a female polar bear in courtship.” Tempest lifts an eyebrow, but doesn’t stop him. “She’s larger than her suitor,” he continues, “fiercer. She tests him — not just in strength and stamina, but in dominance. Tempest faces him fully, the disbelief in her eyes clear. "The courtship is a spar, a challenge. Only the strongest, most virile males are allowed to mate.” His tone shifts — less observational now, more pointed. “I suspect the same could be said about you.” His eyes are unwavering. Warm. Studying. “You turn down those who aren’t worthy. Who doesn’t match you. You measure them — weigh them. And when they fall short, you don’t give in. You won’t surrender to someone who can’t meet you at your level. Not in combat… and certainly not in bed.” She’s been waiting for someone who can best her. Someone who won’t falter or fumble at her strength. A beat. “But I would.” He says it simply. Clearly. I believe I’m up for the task. He pauses, then: “And I’ll speak plainly, because I must make my intentions known.” Halsin is observant, aware of how her body unconsciously leans in, gravitating towards him. “I want you, Tempest. And I believe you want me too.” “Not just once. I’ve seen the way your eyes linger. How they change — from the warmth of a companion’s touch… to the hunger of something else.” She opens her mouth. “Halsin… what Mizora said—” He cuts in gently, with a touch to her chin — guiding her gaze back to his, not forceful, but unyielding. “You are fierce in battle, and just as fierce in desire. You have needs. Fire in your blood. It doesn’t matter that you’ve never taken a lover.” “It doesn’t diminish you. It enhances you. It makes you even more extraordinary to me.” Then, his voice lowers — steady, certain: “I would be honored… and deeply pleased… to be there with you. For your first time.” “You don’t have to answer now. When you're ready, just touch my arm. And I’ll know.”

🐾 Teaser from "Instinct" — Wyrm's Rock Fortress

[fisherrprince]

man if they don’t give us missing link soon im gonna start eating my bookshelf for enrichment

[eggs-can-draw]

If More has no defenders I am dead and buried

[majorasnightmare]

like dirge for example. weird fun bhaalspawn anatomy

dude has multiple sets of functional canines replacing some of his molars (around 3 total), and the muscles in his jaw demonstrate unnatural tensile strength, letting them exert far greater bite force than anatomy should permit. 25-30 seconds of sustained pressure lets him crack an ox femur between his back teeth, and a human hand is comin off the stump significantly earlier than that

his tail is fully functional as a balancing aid and he can displace his leg and shoulder joints to rotate them in the socket to sprint on all fours with relative ease

in addition to the normal human color cones with additional eye structures for darkvision, he also perceives a greater variety of subtler shades of red, the same way humans can perceive incredibly slight differences in shades of green. meaning he can probably tell exactly how long its been since bloods been spilled since he would perceive a myriad amount of unique distinct shades as it dried that literally nobody else would be able to notice (color matching in his bhaaltist era must have been HELL)

dirge also has a canid like sense of smell, able to identify and track specific scents, and uses that to avoid attacking allies in the midst of a combat induced blood fury, where everyone stops resembling people and instead become a faceless blur of meatbag colors and shapes

his stomach and intestinal tract are more robust and can safely and regularly consume raw or rotting meat with a low risk of illness

the sharpened nails you typically see on tieflings are actually fully functional claws on dirge, being rooted into the bone for a stable foundation, meaning he can actually use his claws as a weapon (as typical nails are too flimsy and poorly supported by the nail bed to actually claw things).

in purely supernatural physiology changes, as the scion of bhaal if a blow doesnt kill him outright, it isnt GOING to kill him and his body will slowly try to recover from its injuries. this is affected by circumstance as a prolonged combat encounter pushes him closer and closer to deaths door, meaning any particular injury has a greater and greater risk of outright death, just like normal combat. in practice this means that if you start off combat by trying to puncture his heart, he'll still be able to finish the fight and limp off somewhere to recover, but if hes been taking blows in a fight for a while, death via blood loss and shock poses the same immediate risk of death as it does for anyone else. its more or less a high resistance to first-round-initiative-ending blows, but its also why he survives orins betrayal, because the stab wound to the brain doesnt immediately kill him. this also makes it so he rarely, if ever, scars. the scars on his face are a result of summoning his patron for a warlock pact, and kressas repeated surgeries slow his recovery down so much, and she carves him open so often, that he has faint autopsy scars from the experience

as a metaphysical trait, as a godspawn carved from bhaals flesh, dirge can technically process faith as an actual consumable power source to access the aspects of divinity he inherited from his Father, but pre tadpole dirge suffered too much internal conflict to have the clarity of purpose and intent to access it, and post tadpole dirge doesnt have any inclination such a thing is possible. it DOES mean that when minthara swears her paladin oath of vengeance to him, he develops an unconscious sixth sense for it that contributes to his feelings of comfort and ease around her. if he did manage to meaningfully access that particular part of his heritage, itd produce a nonphysical hunger for faith in a similar manner to how The Urge craves bloodshed, killing and slaughter.

id imagine both of those traits apply to dame aylin as well, just with less struggle because of her amicable relationship to her mother and awareness+acceptance of her own nature as a fellow godspawn. sarevok, being technically a demigod and not actually made of godflesh like dirge or aylin, can only really enjoy the benefits of being Human Plus and doesnt have the same deathless durability, nor is he capable of sensing or utilizing faith the way they can

[bumblingbabooshka]

Harry Kim saying Naomi is lucky to be born on Voyager and that he would have given "anything" to have her life when he was a kid...

[motherednature]

@easterpookan continued from here.

"they are not the problem. and you are not the only entity who prepares for an equinox."

HER VOICE HARDENS with an edge of irritation, and as it does so, aster will feel his gut shift with deep and sudden discomfort. gravity itself is bending, but the pooka is not the target. the two interlopers are shunted into what she would consider a rather rough and ready wormhole, and they do not scream. they simply vanish. a somber reminder that earthly rain and wind are not mother nature's only area of expertise.

gravity returns to equilibrium, but the now cold spring air curls across the fur of his shoulder, and it coalesces in a flourish next to him to present her physical form -- aster will know that she does not do this lightly. she is long and lovely as ever, but her lips are set in a hard line on her strange, ageless face.

"have you experienced any weaknesses in your warren? places where its boundaries seem cracked and thin?"

[miralyk]

the martyr, the monster, and a mortal

[mistystarshine]

Burning Feathers - the line between you and me

“Why are you asking?” Vaggie asked, trying to keep the edge of wariness out of her voice.

“Well, they’re important to you, right? I want to know what they’re like. I want… I want to know why you love them, I guess.”

Vaggie let out the breath that she had come to hold without realizing it.

Charlie didn’t want to know about Lute or Adam’s weaknesses or fighting styles, she wanted to know about them as people. She wanted to understand them, to see them as Vaggie saw them.

Telling the Princess of Hell what the Head Exorcist and his Lieutenant were like as soldiers would be an unforgivable betrayal.

Telling Charlie Morningstar what Adam and Lute were like as people might just be a step in the right direction.