goodness knows i will NOT have time during the time being to turn this into a full-on illustration, because rn I gotta work on my comic and artist alley prints/stickers etc. So TEEHEE in the meantime have this wip :]
sort of a "cover" for my ongoing multichapter Frifnab fanfiction An Igneous Echo, which has 6 chapters as we speak and will MOST LIKELY break the 100K barrier :'''DDDD No really it's already the longest piece of fanfiction that I have ever written, and it's not even close to its ending LMFAOOOOO, I have legit no idea where this sudden gigantic rush of inspiration to write rarefandom fic came to me during this summer (be mindful though if you read it, because it's E rated for graphic violence, horror and sexual themes. so minors dni!!)
lgbt people are THRIVING in the Zamonian underground (aka: killing each other and scheming)
Recently recovered from a cold AND been having a really busy period at school/artist alleys, so doodling something Zamonia (aka: Hel worldbuilding) related again after a while :D
ANYWAYS the Temple of Ohora gang having a chill good after-work time, because goodness knows they have NOT been having it in the latest chapters of An Igneous Echo
For giganiche OC lore, we got:
- human Wellgunde and helling Belshunnu, priestess of Ohora (Hel's love goddess), doing the erotic Knife Dance of the Sixth Epoch
- part-bookling homunculus Krakoni spitting those bardcore tunes with her lute
- npcs Aorta Parlor employees, including vulphead Nara who also does lower-branch accounting for Lady Pandravis. Cuz yanno. Vulpheads and math. She is another of Pan's Favorites(TM) but also puts pennies into her own pockets without Pan noticing
- human Woglinde chilling with her helling soldier bf Saquwa :]
Once again class doodling :DDD Krakoni sketches!! The Homunculus bard owned by Pandravis, who was created when Zamonian rebels 100 years ago were thrown into the Mothersoup
*frustrated Hellian noble voice* Homunculi these days!! They just cant be happy with what they have, no, they are trying to radicalize the younger Homunculi generation to help a bunch of furries destroy the Theatre of Beautiful Death
(Aka in English: she is the one who later inspires Ribesehl to become a poet and start writing/painting rebellious art with Ukobach :DDD)
NETHERWORLD WORLDBUILDING GO BRRRRRRRR the historical nerd inside me wanted to try my hand at designing Hellian fashion :DD esp since chapter 3 of Igneous Echo takes place during Gornab's bday which means everyone has to dress up in their sunday best, so these are kinda also my. brainstorming
Gornab's festival outfit was highkey inspired by @generalticktock 's fanart because i LOVED the design there :DD
Friftar's not doing anything to his hair for the event cuz he took one look at his spiderlike mane and went "yeah cant get any better from this" (which is fair because his wild hair is considered attractive by Hellians) PS update on his outfit design cuz I was not happy with how the patterns originally looked.
(our boy is being a slut and actually showing his ankles)
and yes Krakoni is my way of exploring the horror that is the concept of. Hellings throwing actual Zamonians into the Mothersoup. (the book only talked about Netherworldian animals being used to create Homunculi, but I wonder that since Hellings see Overworldians as below them, they're seen as valid ingredients too. I feel like it happens way more rarely, since many Zamonian species like Nocturnomaths or Vulpheads have features that could produce "too powerful" Homunculi. But also if a Zamonian commits a grave crime in Hel, the punishment of throwing them into the Mothersoup could be the ultimate way of dehumanizing them)
Ohora in my hcs is one of the many deities worshipped in Hel, and her cult of love/fertility is inspired by the cult of Ishtar in ancient Babylon! Pandravis' family in particular worships Ohora and has been funding for centuries the temple, where Hellings go pray for luck in marriage and where Hellian kings have traditionally been wed to their queens.
when you got ocs whose backstories entirely boil down to "going through it 24/7" you gotta meme it out a little so writing them won't feel too heavy SKJDSKJDSJK
anyways some of the side characters that appear in An Igneous Echo!! :''D
Wellgunde and Woglinde, knife-throwing twins who were originally sellsword thieves in Zamonia. Nowadays they're star gladiators of the Theatre of Beautiful Death, and Pandravis' personal bodyguards/prostitutes at the Xhangd. (through their characters I also explore the way that humans are treated in Zamonia...and how, ironically, in Hel they live more luxurious lives than they ever did on the Overworld) Woglinde in particular has a role in AIE's plot, because she was the lover of Saquwa, and OH BOI does she want to avenge him!! I sure hope nothing disastrous happens from that, during Gornab's birthday festival :))
Saquwa, a promising young Helling soldier who did the mistake of allying himself with the wrong people.
Krakoni, the Homunculus bard owned by Pandravis' establishment. A cheerful aspiring wordwright who dreams of making it one day as a singer in a place that is not as anti-music as Hel. She smiles to mask the pain, and due to her nature as a Homunculus created from Zamonians, she years ago used to be the subject of cruel lab tests in the hands of Hellian court alchemists who were developing cosmetics. She's best friends with Wellgunde and Woglinde and they all rotate a blunt during off-work hours
Its OC musing hours again teehee (with pondering Hellian worldbuilding hcs about how Hellings view humans, cuz yknow everything always comes back to that regarding my Zam stuff LOL). Spoilers for Igneous Echo chapters obviously!!
I have to still draw proper designs for Wellgunde and Woglinde, identical twins and Pandravis' human bodyguards/paramours who showed up in Ch 4 (and one of them wants Friftar dead for letting his spy Saquwa be killed by Ticktock. Haha whoops i sure hope that never snowballs into something in next chapter when Woglinde's bloodthirst towards the adviser grows-- i mean shh who said that)
Visually, Teela from MOTU Revelations is SUCH their vibe. Switch the hair to hazel and add several freckles, and its them :DDDD (the first row especially is Woglinde vibes BYEEE)
Wellgunde's the older twin who is more pragmatic and tougher, even a lil cold at times, but also protective asf over her sister. Absolute Jock(TM) who loves sharp weapons to a comical level, and hides several daggers inside all her layers of clothing, including her asscheeks and boobwindow. She has sorta reluctantly accepted their new life in Hel like "might as well adapt". Plus being favored by Pandravis has its perks, like getting expensive gifts and whatnot
Woglinde is softer and more emotional (to an unstable level due to many traumas, while Wellgunde hardened herself as a self protection tactic), and still dreams of a better future. But oh BOI do not underestimate her, because she is a beefy warrior, skilled with her sword, and when she is angered she is a total berserker at the battlefield.
Neither of them are like. In the Hellian military. They handle swords and knives the way thieves do, since they were sellswords and mercenaries on the Overworld, orphaned early and had to survive purely on street smarts. And due to their species status as humans AND status as servants/prostitutes of the Temple of Ohora, they could never be accepted into high ranks in the military. (Plus, Hellings are aware of how the two of them got into Hel - by trying to steal from Murkholmers and getting caught. Theyre not trustworthy individuals :D but Pandravis is not worried, because she has the two of them under tight control. Like "try to stab me and youre losing your skins" kind of control, so the two don't dare to disobey. Pandravis SUUUUCKS as a person okay)
Anyway being humans in a city full of creatures with estimated lifespans of 200 years or more? Doesnt need to be said that Pandravis sees them as nothing more than rare trinkets that need to be enjoyed quickly, because they have a short expiration rate. Krakoni is melancholic, knowing that her two besties happen to belong to one of the most fleeting short-lived Zamonian lifeforms, so she tries to make the most of the time.
In fact, with the way Hellings have such a selfcentered bigoted culture... i feel like they gaze at humans with special contempt compared to other Zamonians, because humans look otherwise so much alike to Hellings BUT are not, and lack the traits that Hellings consider noble about their species. No horns, differently textured hair, eyes that dont glow in the dark. And with their short lifespans?? Hair that only turns silvery in old age. It's like they are a weak Overworldian imitation of Hellings, a mockery of their noble kind :DD
Gundi's and Lindi's luck was their prowess in battle and the fact that Pandravis took an objectifying liking to them. Otherwise they would have absolutely gotten butchered on the arena simply for the hell of it.
AS FOR KRAKONI, i already got the heavy voice hc for her which is Andreas Scholl. Since Homunculi are described to be biologically sexless, I feel like they all tend to sound pretty androgynous. So Krakoni's got that high countertenor singing voice (courtesy to the Hackonians who are said to have heavenly singing voices)
I'm personally shit at songwriting LOL all the songs that she sang in Ch 4 were either from City of Dreaming Books, or Henry Pucell's songs from the 1500s. But like. the one original melody that Krakoni composed, The Song of Ashes, I imagine sounding like this piece from Oedipus. Soft and melancholic
