May I ask for some details about your Tav? What do you mean by hasnt really lived as a tiefling before? Like literally has never seen another tiefling? Seems like being abducted by the mindflayers introduced major life changes to your Tav
I'm sorry this took so long to answer, but I ended up doing a whole bunch of art to answer this!
Ember has a really extensive backstory that's kind of long, but the short version of it is: she was caught in the crossfire of a deal her parents made with a devil. They couldn't have a child of their own because her mother was too severely ill, so they made the deal in the hopes of returning her health and along with it the ability to bear children. Unfortunately devil deals being what they are, they ended up with Ember who the devil stole from her birth parents.
Her mom was a high elf and her dad a half-elf, and her mom's side of the family were quite vocally anti-Tiefling. Because of her mother's health problems, however, they couldn't just sever contact with her parents because they relied on their money to cover the cost of healers, expensive potion ingredients and the like. They couldn't be trusted not to be a threat to Ember though, so the decision was made to disguise her as their biological daughter throughout her childhood.
Here's an age chart!
As a result, Ember didn't even know she was a Tiefling until she was around 4 or 5, when she began to present as a sorcerer and accidentally undid the disguise spell (she ends up a bard thanks to her mom, but her control of magic comes from sorcery).
Before the events of the game, the most time she ever spent as a Tiefling was when she was 13- when her mom died and her dad disappeared, the disguise spell having relied on her mum's magic. She went through hell for a while after that and as soon as she could learn how to cast the spell herself, she jumped at the chance and went back to living as her old half-elf self. So when she gets taken by the Nautiloid, it's her being forced to actually live as her real self and as a Tiefling for the first time. As a result she doesn't have great control over her tail, because she's just straight up not used to having one.
She also spends a lot of Act 1 jumpscaring herself whenever she walks by a mirror lmao.
I do plan to do some comics that are set earlier in the game at some point, and those ones will explore more of her backstory. What I've done so far has just happened to be set in Act 3, after she's already sorted a lot of her shit out. I just have no idea when that'll actually be!
Really fucked up that two ppl can care about each other and make their best efforts to communicate and still end up hurting each other so badly they cannot stand to be in the same room.
ATSUSHI HERE WE GO THANK YOU FOR HEARING MY PRAYERS
Favorite thing about them:
HIS SELFISHNESS. It's so so delicious to explore. Can you imagine a protagonist that saves others not out of simple good will, but because of egoistic self-preservation motives? It just feels counterintuitive for me lmao, and I found it quite messed up when I first watched the anime, but now it's so compelling to explore. His whole “everything I do is in order to gain the right to live” is crazy fashinating. Because lol, that's entirely nonsensical to me! There's no such thing as “gaining the right to live”; all humans, every person in the world is inherently deserving of life. All. No exception. So there's no level of “weak” or “worthless” that would make you lose that right. The fact that's it's a vision so distant and absurd from mine, idk, it just makes it very compelling to explore? “What if there was a little fucked up guy who believed the right to live had to be earned” just sounds like a very interesting premise.
Least favorite thing about them:
When I first watched the anime, I think I found him low-key annoying? I just... Don't do very well with self-deprecating people and people who complain a lot in general, I usually suffer in silence and tend to (wrongly) assume others should do the same (this probably makes me sound pretty mean, I swear I try to be understanding irl). However, it doesn't bother me as much anymore, I simply think it's more of a distinctive trait of the character that makes him multilayered and unique.
As of now, I can't think of anything I don't like about him if not the fact that I wish he'd rely on Dazai and others in general a little less. I know that has to do with his lack of self-worth, so maybe it makes sense,, but as of now he feels kind of stuck. I just wish we'd see him grow more on that front.
Favorite line:
There may be better ones, but I really like the delivery of this one.
brOTP:
KYOUKA AND ATSUSHI they make me go insane. Already talked about this in the Kyouka post but just to reiterate: in my headcanon Kyouka really is the only person Atsushi feels genuine, selfless affection towards. It's very sweet. They're siblings. Kyouka's happiness is really important for Atsushi. They really do have that feeling of people who got out of an abusive environment learning what normality is supposed to be like together. I also really like how they compensate for what the other lacks, be it decisiveness and coolhead for Atsushi and empathy and positivity for Kyouka.
Although plenty shipping them romantically, I really like platonic sskk and atsulucy as well.
OTP:
I really like sskk eheh. I think they're neat. There's a thousand and one reasons why I find them pretty great. They're objectively the only reason why I got invested in bsd as well as the only thing that has me keep up with the franchise to this day. Right now, I feel like the one thing I really appreciate about them is how you can be the worst person in the universe and still somehow be loveable to someone. I think it's sweet. I also find it very fun and enterataining to explore their various soulmatism antics. They're both very complex and multilayered characters with something deeply wrong with how their minds work that makes them very fun to analyze both by their own and in the complexity of their relationship. Their collective story arc and canon relationship progression is extremely engaging and nice to follow, too.
I love dazatsu and atsulucy as well!! Both were ships I wasn't particularly invested when I read the manga for the first time, but really grew in me in the last six months or so. I really dig akuatsulucy as well!!
nOTP:
Nothing?
Random headcanon:
He really likes reading. There's some real meta-analysis to be made here I actually had written this is probably not the right place to talk about, but in a work that's all about literature, he's the character who reads.
Unpopular opinion:
He's the hardest character to write / characterize. That's why people should probably go easier on other fans when they mischaracterize him. He's just very multifaceted and genuinely hard to get. I keep seeing people being like “Stop babyfying Atsushi he's an independent adult!!” then turn around to say “he can't be shipped with Dazai because there's too much unbalance of power :// [somewhat implying Atsushi can't make free decisions for himself]”, or “Stop making of Atsushi a soft baby who never did wrong in his life!!!” then turn around to say “Atsushi is the happy puppy of the agency who gets treats and pats from everyone ^^ ” like. At least to me, a lot of people's arguments sound self-contradictory all the time; but that doesn't mean people should stop having fun and characterize the characters as they like! Just, let's stop being mean to each other and try to be a little more accepting towards others' takes, shall we? And yes that also includes letting people find Atsushi annoying if they find him annoying (although like, I've NEVER found anyone call Atsushi annoying ever, so really, what remote fandom spaces is everyone visiting? Why are you looking for clothes (good takes) at the soup store (Tik/tok I assume?) ).
Song i associate with them:
Common World Domination by Pinocchio-P, HIBANA by DECO*27, Ghost Rule by DECO*27, so on and so forth.
Favorite picture of them:
Favourite panel from the manga:
Favourite illustration: Look, there's too many beautiful illustrations, I can't chose. Here's a very good one though.
oooooooo [rubs hands together] a fun one that probably isn't that deep but i'm going to take way too seriously!
so the short answer is fun, but i can never just say one sentence and be done with it soooo i elaborated and wrote a whole essay below. sorry not sorry
anyway if you didn't want my origin story no shame in that, it's not gonna be on the quiz, just keep scrolling :P
to cover all my bases let me start from the beginning and work my way forward...
i think pretty much all kids draw at least a little just because they can, but the thing that really inspired me to take art seriously was the great abundance of cat animations on youtube in the early 2010s... warrior cats amvs mostly, but also artists like bani the kitty and splashkittyartist! you can really see these inspirations in my early digital art hehehe (see below by attle b. age 8)
from then until about age 14 art was just... my thing? i did it pretty much everyday, probably couldn't have imagined life without it... i think back then my motivations were more inline with your typical social media artist motivations... get better, be seen, and maybe make a career out of it? never made it that far though because ehhhh life has different plans i guess
i fell into an art slump in the middle of high school for a variety of personal reasons i won't get into, and as such i had to give up my dreams of creating art as a job
as sad as that was in the moment, it forced me to change my outlook on the whole ordeal in a way that i think was ultimately healthier for me.
that brought me to where i am now! since i have no goals beyond keeping at it as a hobby, i do it simply because i enjoy the process, the product, and i feel like it lets me connect with my interests in a way i otherwise couldn't.
it's a fun way to express love for the things i care about, and while i still enjoy honing my skills i don't feel the same pressure to be perfect that i used to which is really freeing!!
so in that sense it's intrinsic motivation that makes me draw what i draw... however, the amount of art i put out and the polish i give it is definitely motivated by the eyes i have on me... while i'd still be drawing the same things if no one was watching, i would not be putting nearly as much effort into it, nor would i be doing it as regularly, so i do thank you guys for keeping me on track there <3
that's it i think? i could get into the philosophy of it, but i'll spare you that... okay thank you for letting me yap!!! ^-^
i’ve been thinking how slugcats work a lot. my rambles will be under the cut
i’ve said before in other posts, but i hc there’s two types of slugcats (whether different species or just subspecies i’m unsure) and so they‘re showcased here. i’ve given them names to differentiate when talking about them.
Slugcat Felis is a more omnivorous and opportunistic slugcat. examples would be survivor, monk, and saint (a bit).
Felis slugcats have very short, and fine fur. it’s a lot more sparse. (like how the peterbald cat breed is) they have a longer muzzle in comparison to panthera slugcats, and have weaker jaw strength because of it.
They also have oval pupils, not fully round but not slit either.
Slugcat Panthera is more carnivorous and predatory. ex, hunter and arti.
Panthera slugcats have a longer coat of fur, but it’s still generally short. More akin to how an actual short-haired cat is. They have a short muzzle, making their bite-force stronger. They also have slit pupils, although it becomes round when dilated.
General slugcat traits include,
-Eyes, nose, teeth, lips, and claws all being of similar colors.
-Large thick tail for extra fat storage
-Muzzle whiskers and eyebrow whiskers
-Two fingers, one opposable thumb, and three toes
Spearmaster is a pretty special case, as they’re heavily modified. First of all, they have no lower jaw or upper digestive system. Their skull is also modified to be smoother where their mouth would be. Their torso and neck is skinny, causing them to weigh a lot less than others
Spearmaster also has long pointy ears, as it would make their expressions a lot more obvious and clear. They have small rounded spikes of keratin all over, somewhat similar to scales in a way. Their skin is a lot thicker than other slugcats, as they have no fur to protect it. Their pupils are fully round, whether dilated or constricted.
Rivulet is also modified, but not as extremely. Large eyes and nictitating membrane help see underwater. Their pupils are larger than average, and are horizontally oval (but become round when not constricted).
Riv’s external gills are attached to their head, rather than the neck or jaw. As this makes the bloodflow to the brain much quicker. They have small ears and a seal nose, modifications to prevent water going where it shouldn’t.
Their fur is very short, but incredibly thick and oily. This helps them retain heat and prevent water sticking to them (like otters and seals!).
In their blood, is hemocyanin, as well as hemoglobin. There is more hemoglobin than hemocyanin, as it’s more efficient in most scenarios. However, hemocyanin is more efficient than hemoglobin in cold underwater environments with low oxygen.
i would’ve included saint and gourmand, but i was tired after drawing rivulet so i didn’t include them. maybe in another post?
uh. basically wtf is Wrong with her. like how did the Hima go from silly lil fella to Oh God (aka: i just need a short enough summary of the backstory where I can make lyrics about it i guess)
OHHHHHH HER GENERAL BACKSTORY? well. cracks knuckles
i've posted about it ages ago but here's a summary
basically himawari was a girl who used to suffer from illnesses that mostly have to do with the digestive tract (just like me fr!!!!!!!!). her family wasn't the best at taking care of her either because her mom passed out when himawari was really young (like 2 years old) and her dad (miu akabara) is a busy scientist-doctor who works for a really long time. so she was hospitalised really often
then one day at the age of 16 himawari died from gerd that progressed into esophageal cancer from too much acid exposure. the hospital akabara works in though works in a project that is aimed to transfer the memories & personality of a deceased person into a robot body who resembles them, which involves transferring their brain (if it hasn't been damaged yet). himawari was the first ''success'' of this project and is often nicknamed as ''the angel in a robot body'' because of this. i say ''success'' because himawari deals with the engine being fucky and that often leads to her being really distressed and sometimes it causes not so good incidents
since himawari wanted to work as a nurse or a doctor ever since she was young, they decided that himawari was gonna be the mascot of the hospital and work in there as a nurse
Please tell me about your oddly detailed backstory for javy coyote machado 👁️
who am i to deny!!
(tagging @calkale, @blood-suits-and-tears, and @rebel-fight bc they also asked about him)
to start, a lot of my hcs are branching off of @boasamishipper's lovely ideas about javy, but with some personal changes here and there.
sooo i think javy and his family are from new orleans, louisiana but were displaced to austin, texas bc of hurricane katrina in 2005-- they end up moving back to nola but after javy graduates from high school. while they were in tx, javy enrolls at his local high school and he's your typical quiet transfer kid but excels in his classes so well he ends up tutoring this blonde kid that sits next to him in calculus (yes, it's hangman lmao). his mom, geneviève lafitte, is afro creole french, and his dad, joão, is afro portuguese, so he speaks both languages often. he's got two younger siblings, adelaide and sebastién.
his family was pretty well off before the hurricane but most of their stuff was destroyed in the floods. as a result, he ends up learning how to cook so he can help his siblings get dinner while his parents are working late more often than not.
eventually, he becomes best friends with jake, slits his own eyebrow (his mom faints), joins the football team, and gets matching ear piercings with jake in the summer of 06. (jake's parents find out and make him take it out, but javy keeps his) he realizes he's bisexual after he goes on a shortlived but fun couple of dates with a classmate. though he doesn't know the term for it until much muuuuch later.
he breaks his leg during their senior homecoming game, losing his sports scholarship in the process. jake also loses his recruitment because he drops the team to help take care of javy (carry his books to class, drive him to school, etc etc)
he ends up going to tulane university in nola, and after graduation, decides to join the navy to help support his family. jake follows him like a lost puppy.
i mention this briefly in my macheresin fic (which you should read hehe shameless plug) but javy gets his callsign after performing some particularly slippery maneuvers (lots of ducking and weaving) and a squadmate says he's like wile-e-coyote. it sticks after that. him and jake end up in the same TOPGUN class, and javy wins first with jake second.
i could talk bout this guy forever so pls if you wanna know more my askbox is always open and i like him a very normal amount
So this is what happens when I decide to make BokuAkaKuroKen into DnD NPCs for my homebrew campaign. Suffice to say Bokuto is my party's favorite and I'm so waiting to make them suffer through it in the near future.
They've been in my game for a while but this is the first proper art of all of them together that I have so here they are!