wanted to participate in @storybookhawke 's DA met gala themed thing so here's a quick merrill piece (i kinda forgot until the reblog reminder went around so this was a pretty quick sketchy painting :3). haven't done DA art in ages so this was fun
in the story ( the met gala theme is based on a j.g ballard short story called "the garden of time", which you can read here if you want!) the characters are trying to push off their inevitable downfall by picking the flowers that briefly stop time. the more flowers they pick, the sparser and less beautiful their garden looks- until eventually doom reaches them as there are no more flowers.
i thought it did sort of fit with merrill's character arc a lot of her character arc is partially in her trying to balance the use of blood magic with her personal magic and how she's always tempted by demons (and how even success is tainted and doomed). She's always pulled by two sides- a more innocent, noble side that just wants to preserve her people's heritage and the other where she's willing to make deals without fully understanding the consequences. Every thing she does in the story line kind of pushes her closer towards the inevitable conflict (she can't push off the demon forever/will run out of time)
ALSO i really liked the flower theme and wanted to draw merrill in a pretty yet kinda sexy dress and it fits with her skill tree aesthetic (which is all about plant growth and nature magic). prob not the most avant garde thing but w/e. I know she's usually more associated with daisies but I liked the drama of roses and then contrasted it with the floatier lighter skirt on the other side (in the story the flowers are crystalline so this was a bit of a nod)
here's the 15 sec time lapse if anyone's been interested
anyway this was really fun and i might do more but i def won't finish them in time (obvs). it was nice to do an au fashiony design again too, i've missed it