#Eldrtich IT Answers

[tyrantisterror]

Are At Sea Without a Map and Midgaheim connected?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: When Dr. Neptune went on his little spiel about the nature of the multiverse in ASWaM, I made the above illustration to help the audience visualize what he was talking about. And the universes inside it were not, in fact, random!

All the purple universes, including the Sea of Monsters, are here because they're involved in Offbeat Melody, the Monster of the Week TTRPG campaign that I invented this little multiverse for in the first place.

My big setting pitch for OM was "a story where I can include all the scifi/fantasy/horror concepts that wouldn't work in Midgaheim/The Tyrantisverse," and one of those concepts was the real world paranormal theory of the Goblin Universe, i.e. the idea that supernatural phenomena come from an alternate universe that's bleeding into ours.

The center universe in the bottom row is specifically the "normal" world of Offbeat Melody, and is marked as such by the prominent needle at the top that's sewing it together (a symbol of that reality's creator goddess, the Weaver). The Sea of Monsters is below it, and marked by, y'know, big sea monsters. To the far left hand side of the bottom row is a universe full of undead monsters that featured in one of OM's guest arcs, and to the far right hand side of the bottom row is a very angular, closed off universe run by the Supreme Authority, who's menaced the "normal" universe of Offbeat Melody a few times. Out final purple/OM universe is in the top left hand corner, marked by two mouths hanging above a sole eye, and represents He Who Becomes, an eldrtich abomination that has actually absorbed MANY universes and has its sights set on the "normal" universe of OM.

(there's actually a few more OM universes that I could have included, including a land counterpart to the Sea of Monsters, but it would have made the map needlessly confusing)

However, if I only drew those universes, it would make the multiverse illustration feel too small, so I had to fill it up. And because I'm a self indulgent fucker, I decided to make three of the "filler" universes ones for my other settings.

The green universe is the Tyrantisverse/Midgaheim universe, i.e. my primary story setting. If you notice, it's the only one whose walls are almost completely solid - while I put it here as more of a cheeky cameo than anything, if it DOES exist in the OM multiverse, it would be a universe whose veil is so thick that traveling into/from it is not possible - because Goblin Universe theory is NOT canon to how the Tyrantisverse works, and thus you can't slip into it that way the way you can with the OM universes.

The red universe is the chaotic silly world of those little goobers I made with my daycare kids a couple years ago:

Y'know, these guys. Actually you probably forgot about 'em. BUT I DIDN'T! I'm gonna do something with them one of these days!

Finally, the blue universe is the universe of Baron Skeleton, another project that I've talked about maybe once before but still have percolating in my brain.

Your time will come, BS. Your time will come.

And then there's three other universes that are literally just there for filler.

As with most of the times when I reference my other stories, I don't expect anyone to take this very seriously. It's more of an easter egg for my own enjoyment than anything that would ever be plot relevant. Still, if I ever DID want to do a big, dumb, self-indulgent crossover of them all, I technically have the groundwork laid out here.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Assuming Aro and Carlisle were both on the same dating app, what are their profiles like? Ie, how do they present themselves to attract others (and I know they're already in relationships let's just blame the dating app gift vampire).

Bonus points for Elezear because he's the worst.

I want to know what AU has caused vampire dating apps.

I can only assume we're in one of those cutesy AH AUs where Carlisle is a barista (not allowed to be a doctor anymore) and Aro is a cutthroat lawyer at his practice Volterra, and the pair totally aren't into each other except they are and find out over the course of thirty chapters how these two get together over hard to remember coffee orders!!!, or as you say the Dating App Vampire, we'll call him Larry the Lovebird, has used his gift to bless every vampire with profiles.

But alright, I can pretend this is another blog for a moment and that I do write Ao3 fics instead of eldrtich monstrosities.

Aro

We know from Aro's hunt for Sulpicia that he was looking for a very specific kind of person and not afraid to shop around to find them. More, with his gift and long life, I imagine he'd be less willing to discard someone based on things others do (having a degree is not a sign of intelligence, he doesn't really care what class someone is from, so on and so forth). I imagine he'd take a similar approach on a dating app. Except, in the most ridiculous way possible.

See, Aro's going to want to cast a wide net and he has his gift to cheat.

So, he's going to make himself as interesting as possible, certainly non-threatening (me? ever kill someone? perish the thought) just to get that first date where he can touch your hand and decide "yes" or "no" based off of every thought you've ever had.

Now, he can't do "generically" interesting as in online dating culture "long walks on the beach", "love hiking in the mountains", are all things everyone says they do but 5% of the people who actually say it do. He'd not only look basic, but he'd look like a liar (which he is).

So, I imagine what Aro does is present himself as a very niche persona then change that persona every few months in the dating rounds.

One month, Aro's really into heavy metal, really, super, into heavy metal. His profile is a bunch of quotes about heavy metal. The next, he's a gym bro. The next, he's a lover and poet.

Mostly, Aro just uses it as a way to meet interesting people, get interesting stories, and troll around while keeping an eye out for someone he'd actually find interesting.

(Though the real answer is that he wouldn't, as he already did this thousands of years ago with Sulpicia, and it doesn't seem like a hobby he'd pick up in this modern day.)

Carlisle

He fundamentally does not understand dating apps and has no desire to seek someone out in a relationship "oh ho ho, have I told you about my baggage where I'm a man-eating demon who can never get close to everyone, survives constantly starved, and more?"

I imagine his app is just his name and his face.

That's it.

He looks like a lazy attempt at cat fishing.

Eleazar

Now, I don't know about Eleazar, his participation in the Denali escapades is technically up in the air, but I know the Denali would likely have dating apps.

But if Eleazar had one, if we're going wtih my interpretation of the worst man alive, then it is a sight to behold.

Eleazar in leather pants with a rose between his lips (he is Spanish you know) lying on a couch looking at the camera seductively behind a black and white filter (partly to make him look less like a demon, partly for the sexy). Eleazar shirtless in front of a mirror in an artsy shot that looks either out of a style magazine cover or the film Zoolander.

All the quotes amount to "I will blow your mind", but said more eloquently and often in Spanish.

[ria-writes-stories]

Ship: Nuzi

Title: Cherry bright cheeks

Genre: Cotton Romance

Description: Wouldn't you like to know weather boy?/ref

for: (forgive me for the ping)

-------------------------------------------

(No one's pov)

The cold harsh wind of the atomic winter waste planet waltzed through the empty hollow streets and cities. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound, everything was in a harmonic silence, or so that should be the case...

Uzi and N were on the roof of a tall building, with a stack of magazines and manga next to them. Uzi was showing N some of her favourite manga and magazines, which varied from absolute chaos and riot to simple heavenly illustrations. N being completely new to all of this, he always had questions 'Hey Uzi what's this?' 'What about this?' 'Why did everything get so dark all of a sudden?' 'Wow! so many details!' N was pretty joyful to be able to see all of this as Uzi simply smiled looing at N's uncontained happiness as she explained to him every single little thing, in the most Uzi way possible of course 'It's an alien' 'It's a mutant zombie' Because it is the scene where the protagonist proceeds to unlock their inner anger to destroy, tear and break everything within their path' 'Yes, there are many details, that's why I like it so much'.

Uzi's head was filled with all sorts of thoughts. Her short purple hair was gently being brushed by the hair, like a soft caress of an old friend that hasn't seen her in so long, while her mesmerizing deep purple eyes subtly darted between the pages of the manga to the eyes of her 'friend'. Friend. What a liar she is. A terrible one at that.

Her heart beat a thousand kilometers per hour whenever she saw his smile. His bright shiny star smile, with those yellow eyes of his like two orbs made from the core of the sun itself, so warm, gentle and soft yet capable of cruel, merciless heats of wave enough to kill one. 'You lead a murder drone here?!' the first day they met. The first day they saw one another for the very first time, back when she still believed that disassembly drones were nothing more or less than savage ruthless beasts and monsters, helpless puppets in the hands of the cruel humans.

And now she couldn't imagine a more gentle beast that ever walked upon this planet. He was so pure, how could anyone wish him anything but well? Always putting other before himself, always looking out for her, always being there for her, no matter what, no matter their fights even. She was hollow and empty the day after they defeated eldrtich J, and then when she saw him again at prom night... she felt like all of her beggs, prayers and wishes were answered. All she has ever yearned for was right there in front of her.

His eyes were looking at everything with such great curiosity, but not necessarily because he found it as intriguing as she did, not, he looked with so much entertain because he knew how much all of these things meant to her, and he knew how much more it meant that she was sharing all of this with him. It made him feel warm. It made his heart have a strange and unsettled calamity. One that soothe his soul and yet made it feel as if his chest was on the verge of bursting at any given moment.

He analysed every single detail and message in all of these white and black pages. He couldn't help but wonder what she felt when she first read these pages by herself. Was she nervouse? Was she excited? Was she thrilled? How did she feel when she first read them all on her own? How does she feel now sharing them with him? He wanted to know what's in her mind, what's in her heart. It simply felt like that was his duty, that it was what he had to do to feel fulfilled and not once before has he felt better than being by her side. Fear wasn't something he felt anymore, it was simply...gone, as if it was never there... perhaps he even forgot what it felt like.

She acted rough all of the time but he knew it wasn't intentional, at least not with him. It was simply what she was used to, walls built around her heart due to so many unfortunate events happening in her life, and he couldn't dread anything more than everything that has hurt her and caused this.

Yet he admired her for it. She was all on her own and she didn't let anyone walk all over her, yet he didn't have that many coming for him and he was stepped all over. How was she so strong? Was it her soul? Her mind? Her heart? Her spirit? Whatever it was he admired her, he looked up at her and...maybe loved her.

In a moment of weakness his eyes trailed off from the pages of the manga open in front of him, and slowly but surely made their way towards her face. What was there not to admire? Those deep purple eyes like the vast wide galaxy, filled with so many wonders, adventures and fascination. Her short hair that looked as if it was hand made by the stars themselves as a humble gift to compliment her as a person.

Their eyes met. Shock, fear, anxiety, both startled and caught off guard by the other one. Her eyes looked into his gentle docile sunshine orbs as he looked into her strong and determined, galaxy orbs. Their hearts shyly asked each of them to not look away as their brains told them to immediately break eye contact, but neither seemed to listen, they were stuck as if immortalised in an eternal painting that will last for centuries and beyond.

"So... uhm... do you like the manga?" Uzi was the first to break the silence as she looked at N with an unsure look. "O-oh!" N said as he looked away. "Y-yeah! It's nice." "Cool." Uzi said with a sheepish smile as she looked away shyly with a slight blush on her, as N did the same, rubbing his neck from nervousness.

"Oh- also, I was going to ask, what is this? I see it a lot through your mangas." "Oh, these? They are Cherry Blossoms!" Uzi replied calmly as N looked at her face with purely curious eyes. "Are they purple?" "No. Why?" Uzi asked as she looked up at N puzzled with his question. "Oh, no reason. I just read somewhere here that a boy told a girl she has Cherry Blossoms on her cheeks." N said with a dorky smile.

Uzi's face lit up immediately as her blush only spread from the comment.

"N!!!" She said in revolt as she lightly frowned crossing her arms to her chest as she looked away. "You can't just say that to people!" "Ah-!!! I'm sorry Uzi!" N said immediately as anxiety and nervousness filled his voice. Was it a bad thing? Did he screw up? He was so nervous he didn't know what to do other than stand there and look at Uzi.

Uzi on the other hand felt her cheeks warm up as she lightly looked over her shoulder and she couldn't help but smile slightly at his worry.

'Like the cherry blossom of your cheeks'

Uzi remembers the line very clearly, from her favourite romance manga, and she couldn't help but wonder, how much of a coincidence N's words were.

The end

[caffinedragon]

I have two Tavs i am currently bouncing between. My OG Razzikel is my Lythari Drow Ranger who is like the stoic alpha wolf pack dad(the in the wild ver. Not the Alpha bro.)

Fav things are: Coffee, Druid Leaf(weed.), a good stew, forged snacks, his nieces excited rambles and Halsin's laugh.

Romance: Halsin(main) but havent decided of i want to also pick up Karlach or Astarion as well.

He was born in the underdark but with help and sacrifice from his mom he is able to escape. He ends up stuck in his wolf form until Halsin finds him and provided a safe place to turn back and relearn how to walk on two legs again. The two men become intensly close the ten years that he is there and even though Thirimin(Elven Soul Mates)had kicked in, neither were in a place to really acknowledge it at the time.

Also Razzikel was under the impression Drow didnt experience it because of Lolth's interference so he had no idea that was what it was at the time.

Eventually Ranger is gonna range and he begins traveling Fae Run occasionally swinging by every few years until the shadow curse happens and both men believe that the other is likely dead.

During the time between the shadow curse and the game (about 100 years) Razzikel finds adventure, falls in love, gets married for 40 years, becomes a widower (his husband was a tiefling who died at 68), goes ranging for 5 years, meets Dritz Do'Urden because people keep thinking he is him, bonds with the man and his newborn daughter and lives the next six years before the game being ranger domestic as a surrogate uncle and brother before the illithid ships swoops in and takes him after he pushes Drizt and his daughter out of the way.

My second Tav Cass is my musxle mommy tiefling Eldrtich Knight.

Fav Things: Good Food. Good Naps. Soft Boys who know stuff and get excoted about said stuff.(hence why she is romancing Gale), cuddling and or topping her favorite soft boy. And by soft we mean both squishy of body and heart.

Romance: Gale

Cass grew up in a family where dragon magic was pretty much thier whole thing. Devoted worshipperd of the god Bahamut led many in the family to be sorceres, Cass included. But, Cass was never comfortable completly relying on her magic like her younger siblings and her mom so she took a page out of her fathers book and learned how to wield both sword and magic.

Together with her father and older brother, theu made a name for themselves as Knights on tje battlefield, Cass picking up the title "The Iron Dragon" mostly due to her horns and her penchant for making it look like she was breathing fire when she cast some of her spells.

This life eventually nabbed her a husband, a soft hearted Oath of Devotion Paladin who loved to sing and cook when off the battle field.

She had everything she could ever hope for.

Then the life of a soldier caught up and her luck ran out.

Her father fell first, a month before he was to retire. Her brother fell a year after that saving a caravan traveling from Baldurs Gate to Waterdeep. Then, on the eve of thier third annivwrsary and two months before the emd of thier last tour together, her husband was caught in an ambush, staged by a noble who didnt want to take no for an answer.

Once she finished out her tour she began the long and lonely walk back to Waterdeep. As shw traveled she ran into an older man traveling with seven canaries on jis shoulders. He asked if he could join her so the traveling was a little less lonely and she agreed.

Bahamut's council turned out to be exactly what she needed.

And once she had taken the time to grieve and rest amongst her family, she set off to travel the roads like the blade of frontiers, helping those that ask, and stabbing those that caused her help to be needed in the first place.

For five years she does this before the illithid ship shows up and scoops her up on the road.

Does anyone else have a fairly happy backstory for their Tav? My Tav (Rhiannon) is a half elf abjuration wizard from a large fairly happy family.

Her father and mother have a successful alchemist/apothecary shop. She is the second of five siblings. An older brother (Theon) who is training to take over the family business (he was the only one interested). A twin sister (Gwyneth) who is apprenticing with the Gondians to become an artificer. And 2 younger brothers, Alphonse is a flaming fist and the baby Finn who is a bard. It’s a very loud bickering household but very warm and loving.

Rhiannon wanted to become a wizard ever since she read stories about Elminster (big deal when she met him). In game she is an abjuration wizard ,but really she is a archivist wizard. She loves books and artifacts and wants to help preserve and spread knowledge.

She and her brother Finn went to Silverymoon to study. He went to the Collge of Fochlucan and she went to the Lady’s College. I HC that she was at the Blackstaff Ball Gale mentioned and they had a dance ,but he didn’t remember her until the tiefling party. She went to Waterdeep with her brother and his Bard friends who snuck in.

Before being captured by the Nautiloid she had just started her journey to Candlekeep to visit the great library.

Rhiannon loves dancing, history, spicy food and smutty romance novels.

I also love romancing Gale as a wizard because of the bickering about magic and who wrote what.

I love my magical librarian 💖

What is everyone else’s backstories?

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

Hi, sorry to bother you but I'm super curious about the denim thawbs. Does that store have a website?

It’s no bother! Yeah! It’s Islamicplace.com, I get most of my scarves from there and I’ve gotten thawbs and prayer mats too and they always arrive quickly and are good quality.

The demin thawbs are a bit pricier than the other thawbs and one is sold out, but you can see them in their Men Thobs collection, for all your jawb needs.

[tlscog]

So does the MC have the potential to be strong as cthulhu or even stronger

In theory with how the Eldritch work in this story, yes. It is also up there with the few things I am kind of scared to do including things like Cthulhu BUT I am pretty sure it is public domain.

Might be wrong though lol.

But yeah the MC can become pretty powerful throughout the Corruptant’s planned story 

[chongoblog]

Any reason why you didn't fill in a lot of empty spaces in the Mad Rat Eternies? (yes that's the canon plural form) I get that you couldn't finish the WIP, but you could've at least plugged those holes with an easy mashup source to make the pacing better. (album was great though)

Super short answer is because brain go *eldrtich noises incomprehensible to the mortal coil*

To elaborate somewhat, MRE as a whole fell victim to a lot of procrastination and setbacks due to technical difficulties and some not great mental state. As I was in the final push, I put most of my priority on making sure that the big final medley was the best it could be (which even then it still needs a couple touch-ups and even THEN I still had to make some overall sacrifices, such as MAD LAST WORLD not being there). So basically, I just didn't really have time to fill em in. I'm aware the pacing suffered a bit for it, but I'm still pretty happy with what I managed to get out, even if it was a bit of a slapdash amalgamation of ideas (DLC tracks and also the Mad Rat Eternity WIP seen to completion and also Medley)

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Caleb & Beau: Let's not tell Essek about all this nonagon stuff, he is too curious and will be a danger.

Also Caleb & Beau: *Looks into eldrtich horror book the bad guy said gave him the bad guy vision*.

Fucking lol. I love these wonderful idiots so much.

I was going to wait until tomorrow to answer more asks but this one made me laugh because LOL RIGHT?!

Also, I’d still argue that Essek is exactly the kind of person that they want to get involved in something like this due to his lack of interest in religion as a general rule. 

But this is a fucking hilariously horrifying turn of events.

[ask-agent-rapzutin-vodello]

Hey forsythe?,

i found a weird looking gadget on my porch the other day… It makes a low buzzing noise whenever i press the button on it.

[Forsythe] Probably on of Mentaliss' tools. Leave it in his workshop.

Author’s Addtion: Hey, @doctor-lazarus-jameson I’ve been getting more and more of these weirder “asks” (poems, eldrtich scriptures, whatever you wanna call ‘em) from you. I don’t mind them, I get a laugh out of them. But I don’t really know how to answer them, so I mostly delete them. I don’t like doing that. If you’re fine with me deleting them, keep sending them. But otherwise, try to send me asks that are - y’know - relevant to the blog. ‘kay? ‘kay.

[mikejaffa]

Magikal Musings and Ramblings

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR NEW MUTANTS AND X-MEN TITLES FROM THE 1980s TO THE PRESENT DAY Even though Kispesan is blocking me, and I only read her post because it was reblogged by somebody else, I still wanted to chime in on the discussion she started when she wrote:  “How do you feel about all of the focus that Magik gets in comics at the expense of all of her teammates? I swear since Extraordinary she's been written as this uber competent powerhouse who gets a scene showcasing how awesome she is in every issue. Rosenberg's Dead Souls, Uncanny and the Empyre mini were all especially egregious. We barely ever get to see Dani and Shan do anything in comparison.” I’ve been a fan of Illyana ever since I stumbled on Magik #3 at a newsstand at Sangertow Mall in Utica, NY; I can see the book in the comics stand as I write this.  Its cover really grabbed my attention.  So I was pleased when they brought her back years ago, and I thought she deserved a turn as New Mutants’ team leader.   But she has been overexposed...and this isn’t new.  I mentioned Magik #3.  Looking back, it’s easy to see that the Magik limited series and New Mutants vol. 1 #14-21 were Illyana’s origin story and introduction to the team.  So no surprise that the Demon Bear storyline highlighted her sorcerous abilities; Chris Claremont had planned that all along.   But he made long-lasting missteps along the way.  Rahne calling Illyana things like “Witch!” and “spawn of Satan!” was inexplicably dropped after New Mutants vol. 1 #25.  There’s no hint anywhere as to how Rahne and Illyana resolved that conflict, yet resolved they had to have resolved it.  One day it was happening, then it was not.  And in 2018, Dead Souls #2 had Rahne say that Illyana had “always been weird,” with no hint of how she went from “spawn of satan” to “weird.”  Rahne’s religious objections were there when ‘Yana was front and center and then dropped.  If Claremont had given it no more thought than that, he’s done his characters a disservice.   This leads to the present day and Illyana’s recent exposure.  It can be summed up in two words:  the movie.  It also effected Rahne’s physical appearance in “war children” and may have precipitated retconning in a line about Illyana being “weird,” although I won’t know for sure until I see the movie on Google Play. (When is it getting on Google Play, anyway?  Will I be alive then?) The movie also snagged Kitty.  It’s cleared to me she was killed off and left dead for several months so Lockheed could bond with Illyana.  That way, when people who had met Illyana through the movie would pick up a book which had Lockheed perched on Illyana’s shoulder.   And Illyana has been exposed beyond the X-Books, appearing in Savage Avengers.  But again, it’s because of the movie; I won’t be surprised if Illyana reappears in the next Dr. Strange movie, and odds are Rahne won’t be in that one.  I guess a badass blonde with bangs does well with 18-25 year old males.  Ok, with 55 year old ones, too.  But as much as I love the character, pushing her like crazy for commercial reasons...it’s just the wrong reason.  

Not that it’s all been bad.  “Dead Souls” hinted at Illyana’s vulnerable side.  And the odd moments between her and Rahne, even if they were the product of the rectal school of creative writing, hinted at an interesting dynamic.  It would have been great if the book had become an ongoing series and those issues could have been explored further.  Sadly it was not to be.  “Dead Souls” came to a crashing halt, Rosenberg fed Illyana and Rahne into his X-Men meatgrinder (killing Rahne in the most ludicrously implausible way possible), and now they are back with no mention of exactly Illyana “came back” or any other issues before.  In fact, I can’t think of any moments in the new book when they had any dialogue other than some lines about coffee.  I guess whatever Rosenberg had in mind in “Dead Souls” has been forgot about (along with all the men Kitty had relationships with, including the guy she almost married, and how Illyana flirted with Roberto da Costa, but that’s another pet peeve for another time).

And then there’s Dani.  Historically, Dani was the leader of the New Mutants.  Illyana being leader in “dead souls” was explained as Dani being, um, indisposed.  But now she’s back. What are her powers?  We’re not seeing them.  Is she the team leader?  Does the team even have a leader?  Is Illyana actually part of the team?  If she is, why is she running around in an Aku cosplay instead of the team colors?  

And I’m concerned about what the movie might portend for Illyana and Dani’s relationship in the comic, although that is based on a spoiler.  But in the aforementioned classic books, an evolving friendship between Dani and Illyana was one of the story points.  In New Mutants vol. 1 #18, Dani narrated that Illyana “trusted me with her secrets--things she hasn’t told the X-Men, or even her best friend, Kitty Pryde.  It hurts that I won’t do the same.”  Going forward to vol. 1 #24, Claremont wrote, “Of all the New Mutants, only Danielle Moonstar has seen Illyana in action within this eldrtich land where her will is absolute law.  That experience forged and strengthened the two young women’s friendship.”  Yet what I have heard about the movie indicates Dani and Illyana are more adversarial, at least at the start, a complete contradiction of comic book canon.  

So what does that mean for Dani going forward?  Does she reassert herself as New Mutants team leader, or will she be Illyana’s second banana?  Will the team even have a formal leader?  And where does Illyana fit in if she won’t wear her yellow and blacks anymore?  Will Illyana and Dani be friends, or will there have to be an edge between them because of how they were written in the movie?  

So to summarize my long answer to a short question, while Illyana is one of my favorite character’s, she is being pushed too much for commercial reasons, ie the movie.  And there is a laundry list of issues involving both her and her relationships with Dani and Rahne that are either being ignored or handled in a way I’m not comfortable with.  

[ootacampaign]

Adventure #12

Only days from Gracklstugh, the crew of the kuo-toa koan plot their way through Darklake, but they began questioning their captured duergar pirate. Named Atetin, but called Eighteen by those speaking the common tongue, he was a new recruit aboard the pirate crew out from Grackstugh. They wait for weak prey and trick any foolish enough to investigate an empty boat. Asked about their new ship, Hemeth reported that duergar are very contract oriented, so everyone will know who’s boat they now have, but he knows some black market contacts that would take the boat off their hand at a lower price.

“We will soon reach the Stone Teeth triton, then we shall see how skilled you are with this vessel,” reports Hemeth, the duergar smuggler.

“Ssheee willll preeeevaiiillll,” answers Shuushar the kuo-toa mystic.

In a hour, Hemeth was correct, as shouts of rock croppings ahead, it was if the Darklake itself had massive sharp teeth ready to chew the boat apart.

With the flying scouts and the darkvision spotters, Aryn skillfully steered safely around numerous teeth, but the duergar ship they were pulling made it difficult but sure enough after an hour of careful navigating they didn’t hit a single rock.

“May Asmodeus be praised! I have never seen a newcomer to the Teeth not hit a single rock in all my years as a sailor,” exclaimed Hemeth.

Before they could celebrate a new shout interrupted, but not another rock to steer around but creatures falling from the ceiling.

“DARKMANTLES!”

Sure enough, creatures like umbrellas glided down in an ambush, but thanks to Aryn’s boat steering, the Darkmantles landed farther in the rear onto their dragging duergar pirate boat where Shuushar, Caduceus & Stool manned. A giant darkmantle landed on top of Shuushar, its cloak-like body wrapped tightly around his kuo-toa head while sharp fangs from underneath its body pierced through his neck.

“AGH! Miiiii eyyyyyes! Iiiii caaaan’t seeeeee!”

Caduceus looked in dismay as half a dozen landed around him, since none of them saw Stool as food. “Could use some help here,” he shouted to the leading ship as Dawnbringer extended her sunblade ready to slay all who stand in her way to get to the surface.

The main crew hurried to the stern, but they still had to traverse the rope attached to the mushroom raft then another rope line to the duergar ship. Aryn bravely dove into the Darklake, while Ikki flew at full speed with his crossbow finding its mark.

Two even larger Darkmantles came down on Caduceus, one blocking out his vision with its “wings” as he felt the sting of its teeth on his head. The eldrtich knight forcefully pulled the Alpha Darkmantle off and went into a defensive stance against the eight Darkmantles now surrounding him, and the darkmantles failed to get through Dawnbringer’s twirling wall of light.

Ikki took out a darkmantle with a bolt, but soon found the darkmantles could also fly and one blacked out his vision and felt the similar bite. He struggled to fly in the cavernous lake and tried to break free but instead knocked his head into one of the boats, falling into the cold waters.

Aryn let off some eldritch blasts on the darkmantle on Ikki, but soon sensed the life energy of Shuushar go out. She knew she must do something drastic or lose the rest of the crew to these aberrations. 

Stool came rushing to Caduceus’ aid with a fungi-punch, taking out one of the smaller darkmantles. But Caduceus took many attacks and finally his vision blacked out as well as his mind. 

“Noooooo!” screamed Ront as he jumped to the boat flattening one of the darkmantles with his maul.

Aryn said a quiet apology to her Patron, Shuushar, and Caduceus, as she pulled a bead from her enchanted necklace.

“Get back!” she commanded to Ront & Stool, as the bead arched through the air and to deck of the boat filled with darkmantles. In an instant the boat was engulfed in a fiery inferno, most of the small Darkmantles exploded into meat chunks but the Alphas survived still on fire, but the pacifist kuo-toa Shuushar was incinerated in ash. Ront and Stool took advantage of the situation to take down more darkmantles, while Ikki shook himself out of the water to take out one of the Alphas with another bolt. Aryn climbed aboard to praise the Preserver as Caduceus survived the fireball.

The crew had a quiet service for their fallen comrade Shuushar. The ashes left behind was gathered up into a jar as they swore to return him to his home in Sloopdulop for burial.

Another quiet day goes by without any interruptions, but the crew almost wished something would stop them thinking about the dead Shuushar. It wasn’t until another day later, when they started seeing more ships they started to plot their next moves in Gracklstugh.

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

for the problematic OC: Vyrian and Abjid!

Ask me about one of my OCs and I’ll list out why they’re problematic. 

Vyrian Xhojsia:

Lowkey catfished a university into funding her research

Constantly Is Stealing (its from rich ppl but)

Has Worked For Very Shady People

Because of this most of their friends and contacts are like hfdskjfksjkjshdsjk assassins and criminals

Is A Cleric But Doesn’t Have Healing Spells. They have Spare the Dying but we both know they forget to use it.

Is a Cleric mainly just out of guilt and they like candles.

Might eat candles.

Befriended Zed in our short lived horny campaign and was cool with him eating people alive.

Kept a pair of eyeballs of an assassin that tried to kill her (lmao throwback to Zed giving Vyrian Twyll’s eyes)

N’Abjidynen Za’arslu

(klñsdlfslñsdslñfdk god there{s a lot of things, they are a complex character)

Is actively possessed by a Chaotic Evil God

They actively taunt said God despite it leading to Bad Things usually

Is undead

Is also a necromancer

Is also a blood hunter

Refuses to have emotions other than horniness or apathy.

To be fair apathy and horny are the 2 elven emotions

Said apathy makes them come across as True Neutral but their DM approved alignment is “Chaotic ????”

Literally Perma-Killed a Player Character (the only good aligned one) in a fireball that also killed them for like a second time but i begged the DM for their life.

They’re basically a bunch of trauma stacked atop each other in an abaya

Once killed a “cat” (it was like, an extraplanar embodiment of Hell, literally, but ppl still don’t trust them with daggers now smh)

They’ve probably done more friendly fire than damage to enemies

They don’t sleep so they sit in the dark and just watch the party, scaring the shit out of anyone who wakes up and sees their reflective eyes in the dark

Has the ability to charm anyone indefinitely as long as they’re within like 60 feet. The target has to contest their persuasion but they’re proficient in persuasion and also have a 20 charisma score lmao.

The God Inside them is LITERALLY the Big Bad of the campaign and the party has to figure out a way to kill it and possibly Abjid lmao.

The party can’t percieve them for some reason, the party literally has always failed perception checks looking at them rip

Actively chooses to be a dumbass despite knowing better

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

Hi! Not sure if it's too personal or not, but what was getting top surgery like for you? I really want it myself but am kinda scared of needles/surgery, and I've also read that it can mess with hormone balance and cause some temp depression (and since I already have depression I'd worry about making it worse) Did you notice a mood change afterwards? If so how long did it last? What was the worst part for you? Sorry if it's not something you want to talk about

It’s no issue! óvò

I have depression and bipolar disorder (bcuz of that I do topical testosterone, since they worry an injection would affect my mood too much), and I genuinely noticed absolutely no mood difference after my surgery. I was sore, but I was actually really happy that I finally had top surgery!

Honestly the worst part was having to sleep in a chair for a while, and having the drains. The drains were mildly uncomfortable but mainly just weird, and my sister thought they were gross lmao. I suppose it was also tough not being able to shower for a while, but god, the first shower when your finally ok-ed to shower feels so good. There’s a road to recovery and it’s not fun, you know, I was sore as hell and tired and out of it for a bit, and I was basically just living in a recliner for a while (occasionally walking around the house though). I had to get help to get out of the chair or recline it, I couldn’t lift things, I had to empty my drains, take anti-itch medication and painkillers. But it wasn’t unbearable, honestly, once the drains were out and my bandages were taken off the first time I knew it was worth it.

Before going in (and while I was jumping through all the hoops it takes to get top surgery lmao) I always had a small worry I might regret top surgery. Not based in anything, but just that knowledge that I’m doing something that is permanent. But I was so happy afterwards, it was so exciting to finally not have to deal with chest dysphoria, I was literally ecstatic the first time I looked at myself in a mirror afterwards. I can’t put into words how happy it made me, I never in a million years would think of regretting it.

I genuinely don’t mind talking about my top surgery, if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

So like feel free not to answer this, I know one person can't be the arbiter of choice or whatever, but I saw your reply about niqabi/hijabi on the hoopskirt post? And I was wondering if, like, wearing that sort of thing without being Muslim is cultural appropriation? Cuz I also would like to choose who gets to see my body but as a white american my cultural choices seem p limited to like... Catholic nunnery clothes? Idk if I'm conveying my message well rjfhsjxj feel free to ignore this!!!

There are plenty of ways to dress modestly without appropriating Muslim culture! Aside from my headscarves and jilbabs most of my clothes I just buy from regular stores in my area (I’m from Minnesota). Maxi skirts are a bit hard to find but I’ve managed to find some. One of my favourite go-to items, when I go out, is this knee-length cardigan I got from like, JCPenny or someplace similar. I can wear that over a shirt thats short sleeve (I’ve recently seen a lot of loose-fitting or slouchy short sleeve shirts in shops) or a sleeveless/short-sleeved maxi dress. One of my favourite maxi skirts I got from Macy’s, I have some maxi dresses from Target, and more maxi skirts and cardigans from Kohls. Modest clothes are a little harder to find but there’s still ways to get them from just regular clothing stores. Layering definitely helps.

Headcoverings is where things get a little more complicated, because hijab (in the sense of a headscarf) is muslim, and there are lots of headcoverings that are religious and cultural. But you could probably go for hats or bandanas or wide headbands, I’ve seen some hooded shawls on knitting sites I look at and those aren’t Muslim. Niqab is definitely muslim, but as there is a pandemic, everyone should be covering their face ñldksñlfdslñ

Honestly, so long as you’re not wearing clothes/coverings that are specifically Muslim (which I only see at Muslim stores) or that are appropriating from another culture, you can dress modestly however you’d like. A main reason (part of the appropriation, I suppose) for avoiding wearing specifically Muslim clothes is that we (or at least how I was raised) are advised not to dress like non-Muslims.

I hope that helps some? Ik it can seem like modest clothes don’t exist outside of cultural and religious clothes, but if you look you can definitely find stuff!

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

You borderline give off the side character in a white author's book who decided to put all their representation into one character despite the fact that they did research into how to write characters of that demographic

ÑLKFLÑSÑLSÑLFSKLÑFKSÑSÑLFÑLFDKÑLS

Okay anon I literally was wheezing laughing I´m sdkljfsñldñlsdkflñsd honestly you are probably not wrong, I feel like that sometimes in life, that im the side character in an otherwise all white book. Tbh I´m like that character for my uni, I´m surprised they aren´t constantly using me to promo how diverse their campus (fun fact when applying to this university, I had to write an essay as to why they should accept me, and I more or less said “I’m a enby bisexual disabled mentally ill latine niqabi and ik yálls community is so white so I can be your Minority Friend”)

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

Ooooo are you still answering oc asks? Could you tell us more about Teja? I’m playing origins as a dwarf rn and idk anyone else with dwarvish charas :’( and Teja looks /amazing/

Teja’s one of the first dwarf’s I’ve played in Dragon Age lmao. Though I did play through the Dwarf Commoner origin not too long ago since I was curious. But Teja,, I love her. While I may have lost all my screenshots and saves, my gyazo folder of her game lives on

I also was thinking about her recently since I updated my DA OCs page to give some info on her finally, as when I had last updated the page all I had about Teja was a few doodles and no story.

Teja joined the Legion of the Dead to redeem her family's name, though she prefers not to talk about the details. To Teja, her history starts with her death and initiation to the Legion of the Dead. After many years within the Legion, she takes her position very seriously. This, however, did not stop her from falling in love with a dwarf from the Carta that she saved after they got lost in the deep roads. During their relationship, Teja because somewhat well known to the Carta, as she helped out her partner on occasion. One of such occasions was the Conclave. Because of the knowledge that the Carta was there, Teja's identity was mistaken as a member of the Carta, specifically, her partner, a Cadash. To protect her partner and cover the truth of her position, she went along with it, which eventually lead her to leading the Inquisition, albeit reluctantly.

I think it is obvious with most of my OCs that I really vibe with death imagery and the concept of death and life in death, which honestly is just because of my view of death growing up latine and celebrating Dia de Los Muertos. Actually, Teja’s design largely came from my messing around in DAI character creator and the Legion-esque tattoos reminded me of Catrina makeup and I was !!!!!! (Sorry I get very like, flappy hands excited about Teja)

I really think the Legion of the Dead is neat, and honestly, Dragon Age is lacking in dwarven characters and even more so in dwarven characters that actually love and are connected to their culture. So, Teja!

But for some more info about Teja as a character, she really takes her part in Legion of the Dead seriously: She is dead, and not only is someone saying otherwise upsetting to her beliefs and culture but also she really hates that it minimalizes the sacrifice she made for her family to return their honor and name. So boy does she Really Hate being seen as the Herald of Andraste who was Brought Back to Life or whatever. That actually is what makes her kinda admit to some people that she’s in the Legion of the Dead. She joined the Legion a little before she was 18, and hasn’t seen her family since. She was born in 9:02 which means during Inquisition she’s 39 meaning she’s been a part of the Legion for about 22 years.

In the Inquisition, I imagine Varric figures out preeeetty early on that Teja isn’t actually a Cadash or part of the Carta, but what’s he gonna do? Tell? Of course not. He thinks it’s kinda funny that Teja lied about being a member of the Carta.

In her playthrough, I romanced Blackwall, which I also think is kinda funny because they’re like. Opposite in a sense. Teja is a well-ranking member of a kinda secretive military order that lied and pretended to be a criminal. Blackwall is a criminal pretending to be a highly respected member of a secretive military order. (Teja also might have started to puzzle together that Blackwall isn’t actually a Warden, given that living in the Deep Roads for 22 years means Teja has seen her fair share of Wardens and talked with many of them).

I could probably ramble about Teja for a while lñdskdlalññdals, I just think she’s neat!!