#Lore bits

[dykedvonte]

Part of the reason I think Boone refuses to return home to the NCR in like all but one ending (where he also intends to kill himself) is the very fact he would likely be congratulated over what happened at Bittersprings and “teaching the Khans a lesson”.

And like that alone is already bad enough on his guilt ridden psyche, but it’s the fact he becomes very honest on how bad he and the NCR fucked up and how he personally should have known better. So having the entire nation act like it didn’t happen the way it did or that it was a good thing would likely push him over the edge.

[kisiel-z-kosmosu]

Spider with fringe covering its eyes. That's it, that's the design.

Random lore bits from universe that exists in my head since like 4 years but i never wirte it down enywhere lets gooo.

Bees domesticated spiders long time ago, since they usefull at dealing with pests in hives, but only some of the spiders. Most species are dangerous predators making deadly traps. To diffirinciate beetwen them, fluffy companions are refered to as arnids (shortern arachnids) and wild remain spiders. Yeah that works like dogs mostly.

Unobvious difrence is spider food is sell as a large capsules to mimic slurping from exosceleton, and they have usually cobnests as their rest area. Also they are many breeds, and working spiders. One of most difficult one is spy-ders who are send to collect pheromone traces after someone (form of eavesdropping).

This one role is being a fluffy boi ^^

[ardnin]

It's been a while but I uploaded a new main video!

It's the second episode in my Lore Bits series, where I uncover interesting info only accessible through more obscure sources like dev interviews and art book content

[u84809p]

Update just came out and I wasn't expecting lore bits. So not only was MC being experimented on, but her memories were being wiped every single time? And the person she considered family(Grandma/Josephine) was helping with with the research? Also imagine what will happen in the N109 Zone when the chapter comes out. MC needs a serious break

[thatmoththoth]

Went a bit overboard today.

[rescuebabiesau]

When the mosaics sleep, it's in a pile.

Boulder is on the bottom, Heatwave typically sleeps on his left side, and Chase and Blades snuggle on top of Boulder in various positions throughout the night.

They also will sometimes sleep in their holoforms sprawled out across the floor of the Burns' house and make Kade trip over them when he's trying to get a midnight snack

[bahnloopi]

Sento Lore Bit

Therapies do sing and harmonize chirps or melodies. They have a tune that's pitched to hypnotize the Oozarus when they're in the process of calming them down.

As opposed, Offense Troopers have a deafening yell attack called "Drum Buster" that will quite literally burst the opponents ear drums if used at point-blank face range. Orran, Sheeri, and Roube are known to use this move commonly.

Roube may spam it just to bm.

[rhine-ghoul]

everything stays

a little ficlet about an earlier time, when rhine was starting to catch feelings for nyx. featuring misunderstandings (nyx meant to meet her, but got tired and didn't remember at the time) and moping in the rain (water ghoul behavior)

wc: 640? | a little bit angstier than expected

gently tags @asksisternyx

Rhine thinks she's a bit of an idiot right now, sitting alone and swinging her legs. The sunflowers in the gardens are in the middle of their bloom right now. The more that she thinks about it, the color yellow didn't appear a lot in her room. The ghoulette had always preferred cooler tones. After all, everything is blue and colder under the ocean. Yellow was bright and warm, she remembers that everytime she mixes up paint. Especially the shades of yellow in the painting she gave to her. Does she still hang the piece on her bedroom walls? She hopes that's the case.

She watches a small gust of wind sway the flowers around, a smile forming on her face. Nyx said they'll meet here first. She remembers when they first saw the fields together, just about to bloom on one of the sunniest days she's been out on. This bench was Nyx's spot. She thinks about how a favorite spot technically shouldn't matter because the seats and benches look similar. But Rhine knows it does, and she still stays here, anyway. Just so she could be found easier. And besides, it's under the shade of the trees.

"I shouldn't worry too much..." She says to herself. Rhine fiddles with the item in hand. Yellow and pink roses. They look good together, the colors just reminding her of spring. Ivy said that they supposedly meant happiness, care, and admiration. Not too forward of a message but enough for her purposes. She didn't really have a concrete plan, only wanting to say how much she meant to her and then go from there.

She opens her phone, checking if there was a new message that popped up. She scrolls through her gallery and finds the photo they took together. Her face warms up. That's the odd thing when she thinks about her. She's been known to drop to cold temperatures, but that all changes whenever she's close to Nyx. Her face flushes lavender and she's sure that if she had pupils, they'd betray the emotion she feels.

It's been... long. Rhine is starting to overthink. She tries her best to fend off the increasingly loud thoughts by humming a song. When it doesn't work, she stands up, accidentally leaving the bouquet. 'Maybe she's already there?' She thought. So Rhine sets off, still unaware that she's forgotten something.

The ghoulette traces a path of stone, past some wooden arches, and into her safe place. A secret garden, where Nyx was one of the few she's ever taken there. Where she felt her heart flutter when they held hands. Purple wisteria trees and some sprigs of lavenders. There's been white flowers added too, although she doesn't know what they are or who put them there. She looks down at the pond, at her own reflection, and relaxes the tension in her face that she didn't even realize she was holding.

Rhine sighs, putting her head in her hands. Now that she knew Nyx wasn't here either, she starts to worry. Rhine is stubborn. She waits for a half hour, and then another. Nervousness turning into worry turning into a feeling of dejectedness. The sky had changed color, and a light drizzle seemed to be coming. She sits there until it rains, the exact thing she does when she feels down. It usually felt like an old friend, but now it feels more like an invite to surrender.

She's drenched in the rain by now, walking back. At least tears aren't too noticeable in this weather. She looks at the bench from earlier with little hope... and sees no one there, not even an umbrella. Her steps are heavier.

She makes her way past the den, ignoring any questions or stares, instead marching directly into her room. Rhine thinks she's a bit of an idiot right now, for thinking she had any sort of a chance.

...

The outside of the bouquet was soaked in water. But three roses at the very bottom stay the way they are, as if untouched by the elements.

[sodapunked]

Interesting LORE [1???]

(I had to revise this because the original was unfinished and was posted on accident.)

If you're someone who has either seen my content floating around in the internet once or twice or have been following me for some time, you've probably already noticed the strange and unique square/rectangular heads all of my characters seem to have and probably assume that it's a stylistic choice of sorts... and to answer that question:

No, it isn't a stylistic choice.

Allow me, sodapunked to explain and walk you through in the most understandably coherent way as I possibly can, so brace yourself for what is probably the most longest lore-related post I've ever done. I will be listing out sections here to make it a bit.. more organized.

VFOXES

Every character you see in my webtoon, and the socials I mainly use are an original species that I've created when I was a little kid, first originating from a story I made at that time (that I'm planning to rewrite in the future). So you're probably wondering, what in the world is a VFox, well, let me break it down.

Vfoxes are bipedal, colorful animals that are part of the canine family. They are just as if not, equally as smart as humans, what's also an interesting thing about them is that they can be bred with just about any animal (as long as the animal in question is the same size as the vfox), this has lead to the existence of hybrids such as VBears (half Vfox, half Bear), what Vfoxes CAN'T BREED WITH are humans, siblings, and children (which is bad, if you know, you know).

The average height for a VFox is around 5 feet tall, anything taller than 5 feet is rare. Vfoxes born with dwarfism are around 3 ½ feet tall as you can see in this drawing I made here.

VROBOTS

Vrobots are just the robotic and metallic counterparts of Vfoxes, simply just Vfoxes but they're robots instead. Vrobots, like Vfoxes can feel emotional, mental and physical pain, and can think for themselves. They CAN'T give birth, let alone reproduce like Vfoxes can, instead, they build and assemble their children. While Vfoxes have blood, Vrobots have Oil (which is the robotic equivalent to blood).

When it comes to things such as dwarfism, the chances of a Vrobot being born with it are uncommon. It's pretty rare for Vrobots to be born with albinism. Just like Vfoxes, the average Vrobot height is 5 feet tall, however it isn't uncommon to see Vrobots taller than that, some can be around 8 to 10 feet tall.

Vrobots can also extend their limbs as much as they want, but when they aren't extending their limbs, they go back to their normal length.

Vrobots have something called a core, which is basically works as a heart for Vrobots, the max amount of cores a Vrobot can have is 5, if the core is cracked, it weakens the Vrobot, but it can be repaired, however if it breaks in pieces, it's an instant death. Cores are usually either in the forehead or on the chest, sometimes in the back or any other part in the body.

MIRACLE STARS & MOONS

Miracle Stars are basically souls for Vfoxes (and only for Vfoxes), they are sparkly blue, baseball sized Stars with a smooth marble texture, any Vfox who has a Miracle can be resurrected and go to Star City, if not then they stay dead.

Miracle moons are the same as Miracle Stars, but except Miracle moons are souls for Vrobots (and only FOR Vrobots), instead of a blue star, they're sparkly mint-aquamarine, baseball sized Cresent moons with a smooth marble texture, unless a Vrobot has a Miracle moon, they cannot be resurrected and go to Star City.

It's pretty easy to make Miracle Stars and moons, and it isn't expensive either, as moondust and Stardust can easily be found and purchased in Star City markets.

For Miracle Stars, you need a star shaped cookie tray, Stardust and water (the water is used to create the sparkly look you see in both Miracle Stars and moons) all you need to do is to fill the cookie tray with Stardust and a cup of water for each Star in the tray, next you put the tray into the oven and set it for the exact amount of time needed to bake a single cake, and now you have Miracle Stars.

For Miracle moons, it's the exact same, but except you need a Cresent moon shaped cookie tray and moondust.

The end, for now.

I'm going to have to end it here, for now as I'm pretty busy with some stuff, including some irl stuff, when the time comes, I'll give out some more lore, see you later

INSTAGRAM / WEBTOON

[auranova26]

Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling Lore Bits 4

I had made mention of bringing up some new information that came to mind during my research. And now, I am ecstatic to share! 😄Brace yourself for not only cool additions to their lore, but some Mandarin Chinese script here and there. 🧧

The Igyou Tenshin no Jutsu (いぎょう-てんしん-の-じゅつ) was the name of the art used by their mother and them in the original lore. However, that name is Japanese. After finally getting a translation of this skill (Change Oneself to a Strange Form Technique) then finding a way to translate that into Mandarin, I finally have a name for the art in Cryas Darkstalkers!

異形變形術 (Yìxíng Biànxíng Shù) is the new official name of the art. In English, it means Irregular Shape Change Skill. Also for fun, the simplified script for ya'll: 异形变形术

Jiangshi can enter into a state known as 狂暴 (kuángbào). Basically, translating to 'frenzy', this is a state where a jiangshi is driven into an unpredictably violent rampage for Qì if they have gone too long without feeding.

Hsien-Ko is no different in terms of the requirements to enter kuángbào. However, as she still possesses a conscious, unlike most jiangshi that come into existence. When in frenzy, her body forces her mind to be locked deep away as the desire for Qì takes over.

Even if Qì is obtained, the frenzied Hsien-Ko would still go on a rampage as with her mind locked away, Mei-Ling can't influence Hsien-Ko. The only way to stop her is for Mei-Ling to reattach in her talisman form and bring back Hsien-Ko.

As she is also a jiangshi by nature of the Yìxíng Biànxíng Shù, Mei-Ling does require Qì. However, she doesn't enter into kuángbào via a hunger for Qì. Only via sufficiently strong magic interference can cause her to go frenzy.

When Mei-Ling does get hungry for Qì, she tends to get lethargic and irritable.

Mei-Ling can transform into a form known as 護身符 (hùshēnfú). With her role as 'the mind', she has to help regulate the flow of Qì in Hsien-Ko to allow 'the body' to function at full power while also having control of said power.

While the term hùshēnfú basically translates to amulet/talisman, the specific form she takes on is joss paper, 金紙.

金紙 (jīnzhǐ) translates to 'golden paper. The texture of her form is that of coarse bamboo paper, the traditional material for joss paper. Interestingly, the golden color is a signifier of being an offering for deities.

The script on her form translates to 'keep this on your body to keep you safe'.

While in her talisman form, Mei-Ling has a special enchantment on her granted by the Yìxíng Biànxíng Shù. This enchantment is known as 奇異守護 (Qíyì Shǒuhù).

Qíyì Shǒuhù, or Strange Protection, allows her to be able to perform her function as 'the mind' by granting her hùshēnfú form total immunity from practically any form of magic. The only real way to 'damage' her is to physically break her talisman form to force her back to her true form. Ripping, shredding, and cutting the form are the best ways.

Even when her form is attacked by physical means, Mei-Ling's true form doesn't suffer actual harm. However, she can't change back for some time as her Qì needs to reconstruct the form internally. This can not only leave her vulnerable to genuine harm but means that Hsien-Ko can't be at full strength for the time being.

Mei-Ling did attempt to reverse engineer the Qíyì Shǒuhù to provide Hsien-Ko with this form of protection. Years of tinkering, she eventually had to stop by the pleads of Hsien-Ko.

Despite the fruitless endeavor, her trying to figure out this enchantment did help her eventually craft one for Hsien-Ko that allowed for the phasing of her body through clothing, along with manipulation of it. Something that would be applied to the clothes that she would make for Hsien-Ko in the future.

轉生術 (Zhuǎnshēng Shù) is the final art taught to Xiānshùshī who have been recognized with the title of Shīfu. Translating to 'Reincarnation Skill', Zhuǎnshēng Shù is said to allow the caster's soul to be able to safely depart for the afterlife.

Because the Yìxíng Biànxíng Shù transformed them both to jiangshi, their souls have been tethered to their bodies as a fuel source to allow them to continue living and replace the metabolic functions of their bodies.

The sisters are incapable of passing on via natural causes. The only ways the sisters can truly die is either being killed or allowing their bodies to fully consume their souls. The first option is not a way that either sister wishes to die and the later would lead to their erasure. A true death in a way.

The Zhuǎnshēng Shù is the only means that allows the sisters to pass away peacefully. Once they save their mother and have a final conversation with her after awakening from a long coma, Mingxia bestows not only the mirror and necklace back as a gift to her daughters, but also the knowledge of the Zhuǎnshēng Shù to recognize them both as Shīfu.

As mentioned above, the Yìxíng Biànxíng Shù turned Hsien-Ko in the body of a jiangshi and Mei-Ling into the mind of a jiangshi. The rest of this Lore Bits shall be dedicated to what the Yìxíng Biànxíng Shù did to Hsien-Ko, to Mei-Ling, and to both. First, to both:

Metabolic functions ceased in both sisters. For all intents and purposes, they are dead.

Qì is required to not only satiate their bodies, but to allow for limited bodily functions, like their digestive systems, movement, and brain function.

Neither sister needs to breathe oxygen.

Innately, both sisters are granted the ability known as Qì Absorption. This art is executed by a focused deep breath that allows for spiritual energy to flow from the target into their bodies.

Both have a high tolerance for temperature variance. The only way they can feel hot or cold is via extremes of either.

They possess a sensitivity to the presence of living beings and of stray spiritual energy.

Both have the ability to walk on air for brief periods of time.

They age physically very slowly.

Food can be eaten, and liquids can be drunk and processed by their digestive systems. The energy obtained from this can be used, but since their bodies require Qì to make their digestive systems work in the first place, this can't be a substitute for consumption of Qì, only slow it down.

As for how Hsien-Ko is specifically affected:

Sunlight debuffs Hsien-ko, specifically during the times when the sun is up directly in the sky. The reason for this is that the amount of energy from direct sunlight disturbs the imbalance of Qì she suffers innately from.

Thankfully she is not harmed by the rays of light, but she can feel its effects on her.

Unlike when she was human, Hsien-Ko is incapable of properly controlling her Qì.

Thanks to the innate imbalance of Qì flow in her, Hsien-Ko requires the consumption of more Qì compared to Mei-Ling.

Being 'the body', Hsien-Ko possesses a healing factor. The more Qì she has in reserves, the better her regenerative abilities are.

Despite the lack of full control of her Qì, Hsien-Ko innately has greater physical strength than she could ever achieve with Qì control as a human.

Hsien-Ko's nails have the ability to grow to 152cm (5ft). They are very durable and can be used to slash or pierce particularly vulnerable targets.

Hsien-Ko's body can easily contort into very unnatural poses and directions.

Oddly, her tongue can extend her tongue by 92cm or roughly 3ft.

While the best way to consume Qì is via Qì Absorption, Hsien-Ko can also sap Qì via physical contact. But this is less efficient.

Hsien-Ko cannot enter REM sleep naturally. In fact, she hardly needs to sleep. While initially seen as cool, Hsien-Ko desperately wanted to experience sleep, especially during the times she must be in the coffin. With help from Mei-Ling, she found ways to be able to rest.

The only way Hsien-Ko can enter REM sleep is via talismans crafted by Mei-Ling with the enchantment to allow it.

As mentioned above, Hsien-Ko can enter kuángbào via a hunger for Qì. However, she also can enter the state via being too far away from Mei-Ling for too long or via a disturbance to her Qì at an extreme caliber.

If not in kuángbào, should any talisman be placed on Hsien-Ko, she will be left paralyzed. However, if commands written in Manchu or Chinese scripts are on the talismans, she will be forced to obey the commands against her will.

The only commands she will not obey are ones that bring harm to Mei-Ling, her 'mind' to her 'body'.

Hsien-Ko undergoes the most physical changes to her form. Her skin is now a shade of light blue. Her eyes are that of a golden yellow. Her hair color is now a deep blue violet color, along with a wilder style.

Moss does grow on Hsien-Ko. However, she does strive to get rid of it when grows sufficiently on her body.

Finally, how Mei-Ling was affected:

Unlike Hsien-Ko, Mei-Ling didn't experience many physical changes. Her hair changed style and color to of a more umber shade rather than her original near dark brown color. Her eyes changed to that of a brilliant jade green.

The only giveaway that Mei-Ling is not human to the average individual is her lack of body heat.

Mei-Ling in her talisman form can possess other individuals, the ability of control varying.

Being 'the mind', Mei-Ling has a deep sensitivity to Hsien-Ko's thoughts and emotions.

When she sleeps, often enough she will suffer nightmares, ranging from reliving the night her mother sacrificed herself to the time her frenzied sister nearly killed her.

However, some nightmares are the perspective of Hsien-Ko's fears and memories.

Not only does she serve to stabilize Hsien-Ko's Qì, but also her emotional state as to ensure Hsien-Ko can serve her function in combat. A negative filter in a way.

While she can and does strive to work through this, there are times where she will breakdown and require comfort from Hsien-Ko. In turn, Hsien-Ko does her best to maintain a cheerful mood that is born from her being in a good headspace and not because Mei-Ling had to absorb some of the brunt of her emotions. Plus, to also make her big sister feel better. 🥹

After being comforted, Mei-Ling generally is capable of experiencing pleasant dreams. Assuring both sisters are in a great mood.

Mei-Ling generally sleeps for about 7 hours.

That should end this Lore Bits. Quite a lot to go through, but finally happy to get this out! 😎 Hope you enjoy learning about Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling of Cryas Darkstalkers. 😊

[hidden-lore-world]

The Interpreter

"Please be careful with that! If you break it, probably nothing will happen, but there is a chance we get doused in so much radiation we melt." The nonchalant Dr. Trevon was betrayed by only the slightest side-eye of my handling of the Interpreter.

"While I am good at my job, I've found stupidity to best me at every turn. So please handle it as instructed. On the front is the scanner for gathering data, do not look at it directly. There are a few buttons for manipulating the data as you gather more of it, and if you're lucky it'll synthesize into something legible when you finish."

Dr. Trevon finished placing a relic on a stand across from me; what looked like a nice, if simple, statue of some oblong, sharply-jointed person. "Run the scanner over that and try to coax a signal out."

I pressed the button under my index finger and noticed a brief, thin red laser-line spread across the room, swiping over the relic in a flash. The viewfinder on top sprang to life with a series of waveforms. They were 4-dimensional, oscillating with time as they swam across the viewfinder. It took a second to take in all the waves as I looked around all four sides of it to see how they were oriented with each other.

The dials near my thumb spun freely, and the waves started to stretch and compress and move towards each other. After a couple of minutes, I managed to get them all aligned and a noise started to emit from the device. A sort of melancholic, low tone that seemed to have a cadence to it like speech, but that didn't sound a bit like any I had heard.

"That's Tevolesh." Dr. Trevon said with a bit of wonder in the words. "They were able to imbue their speech into the objects they created. We are still working out how exactly they were able to do that, but it's astounding that even with as old as these objects are, their voices still can be heard. When it finishes up, you should see a translated copy of the message in the Interpreter."

[Translation of Voiced-Object 24-A; Figurine of Tevian Origin]

[Once were the ashes bright flame Once was the water in the sky Once was hate instead love Once were we together now forever departed.]

[tempest-toss]

Here's the heights!

--Ten

[pyrographic-memory]

Has anyone else speculated about the birdsong in TMBTE??

I have been losing my mind since I noticed this, and so far I have not seen anyone else talk about it, so I want to throw this to the void and hear what everyone else thinks.

Hi, this is my first actual post about anything in uh, literally forever, so I am very bad at making anything like this properly coherent. If anyone wants to add and expand on this post, please do! 🖤

It finally clicked for me a couple days ago while listening to the aforementioned song for the thousandth time (I also caught it at the beginning of Chokehold right after), and in all honesty my first thought was "This has to be nightingales, Imma laugh if it is" bc historically they're associated with poets and tragedy in various cultures. But I didn't know anything much deeper than that, so venturing to the pedia of wikis, it's literally so obvious I feel like a buffoon.

An unseen musician...

And we all know how much the music rips us apart but simultaneously puts us back together, or gives us a sort of drive to want to do so ourselves-

And just to add icing on the cake of irony...

ELOQUENT. PASSIONATE. DOOMED TO LOVE IN VAIN.

Even the description of the rose in that last bit sounds a lot like how he speaks of "Eden".

I always kinda had the mental image of a caged bird in regards to Vessel, since part of the music's whole schtick is being stuck in a toxic relationship, and him literally being the voice of and singing for Sleep. I just didn't think it would fit this well.

[ask-the-becile-boys]

What can you tell us about the bots before they died? I’m interested in their lives before being robots

Not a lot of information was initially set in stone by the AU's original creator Surge, and I was always a little hesitant to expand on their previous lives. But I have some ideas, and hey, no time like the present?

-

We'll start with Frank, because he had the least info on him of the original three as far as I can recollect. Frank Saddler was an African American man who grew up in southern Appalachia. His father was a preacher for a small church. Frank was a good student as a child and his father tried to get him as much access to an education as possible. Unfortunately, their church was the target of arson when Frank was about twelve. Frank got out by smashing through a window, though he was left with some scarring from the glass. He lost his faith after that, and his relationship with his father became strained. The rest of his childhood, he lived with a few different branches of his extended family, mostly going where extra hands were needed. He was older than Tony by maybe 7-8 years; he was about twenty-four when the flyers for the Dandy Candy mines caught his attention and he took the jobs overseas and twenty-six when he met Tony and Jack. He worked in the processing factories more than the mines, though he did both. He was killed when a Copper Elephant collapsed a smokestack.

Tony Sapienti was the first born States-side to an Italian immigrant family in Chicago, who grew up to be a trans man. His deadname was something very American/English sounding, a pattern that would be later repeated with Jack; even though his family didn't cut their children (Tony, Jack, and a middle sister named Patience) off from learning Italian (which would've been hard in their community) they were pretty adamant about their children being 'successful Americans.' Tony chose his name to sort of snub that. He went to school until he was thirteen, but as he dealt with the one-two punch of puberty and realizing he was transgender, he dropped out to try and recreate himself. His parents were not accepting of his new identity, and he drifted in and out of his family's life. He wanted more than anything to be a singer, but never found an opportunity. He took the Dandy Candy mining job when he was eighteen, hoping for both a legitimate job and a clean slate among people who didn't know him. He suffocated after a cave-in during the Weekend War.

Jack Sapienti was Tony's younger brother by three years. His parents held him to high expectations as their "first son," so much so that they doomed him from the start. He was frail and nervous from a young age, and the ADHD that plagued his schooling hadn't even started to be defined by Western medicine. However, he did stay in school until he was fifteen. Tensions then came to a head with Jack and his father, and Jack fled from home. He went looking for Tony, who he'd always admired and considered safe, only to learn he'd just missed him-- Tony was headed to the shipyard to go overseas to the Dandy Candy mines. Terrified to return home, Jack rashly lied about his age and got on the ship after Tony, only revealing himself to the dismayed Tony after the ship had left port. When they got to the mines, it was obvious Jack was not cut out for the general work, so the foreman assigned him to be Tony's assistant. This is how they came to be in the same area when they died; Jack was crushed by the cave-in.

"Locke Smith," or Balthazar Ash, was a born and bred English businessman-- not aristocracy, but pretty damn close. Born in the 1860s, he had full schooling, including higher education, and had a successful early career organizing mundane goods trading. By chance, he discovered the true magical nature of one of his client's dealings, and being both discrete and shrewd, he began to ingratiate himself in the hushed world of magic trade, creating the alias "Locke Smith." He was no magician himself, but he soon became a popular figure in European magic circles for his ability to connect resources to patrons. Demand grew, and he unscrupulously dipped into darker and darker artifacts. This got him into enough trouble that he fled to the United States, eventually settling in San Diego specifically to supply the more "discerning" members of the Cavalcadium-- which eventually included Thadeus Becile. Locke provided the materials for Dee's construction, and then later volunteered himself to Thadeus to become a Rock Candy powered robot when he became terminally ill.

Dee was once Della Stanek. Della lived in the Everglades, south of Lake Okeechobee, the daughter of farmers who grew up on the cultural cusp between early agricultural developers and the Gladesmen, with some Seminole heritage. She grew up wild, an only child with little schooling and little care for ambition. As she grew older she became a talented wood-crafter, handy-woman, and hunter, her skills refined through the necessary self-reliance of living in a remote area. She tended to go barefoot whenever possible, though this was mostly at home due to the dangers of snakes and sawgrass. She had a daughter, Hannah, with her Gladesman beau Cliff out-of-wedlock when she was twenty-two. She never traveled far beyond her home region during her life. Both Della and Hannah perished in the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928, when Della was twenty-eight and Hannah was six. Della had no connection to Thadeus before becoming Dee; it was simply bad luck that his spell, when it couldn't find Delilah Morreo's soul, plucked Della's from the beyond.

*Fun Fact: Hare's New York accent and The Jack's English accent are the result of cross-contamination with other Rock Candy!

[morgana-ren]

Honestly, Lore Mom, I am curious about what sort of people Bhaal attracts. Like it seems his worshippers would be pretty limited to either his own spawn or the few people who become addicted to killing. Maybe it's different in a high fantasy setting but my understanding is most murderers don't kill for the fun of it, they do it to achieve an end (like Banites). I'm curious if Bhaal has an issue with maintaining followers. [Also sorry I can't write a short ask to save my life]

Well, people associated with death, for starters.

Assassins, common street killers, ritualized murderers, anybody who might benefit from a patron that encourages such behavior. His ultimate domain is slaughter, blood, and death, so people operating where that is their wheelhouse are far more likely to turn to Bhaal than any other lord. Especially in the situation that there isn't much else regarding an ulterior motive, and it's the pure, undiluted love of the slaughter that drives them.

The kill is the point.

Banites kill because they are chasing a goal. They do the things they do not as the ultimate point of their actions, but to meet those ultimate points. For Bhaalists, the murder is the point, if that makes sense.

You'll obviously get people who aren't 'right' in the head (like Dolor-- which means pain by the way lmao) but you'll also get more cold, calculated killers that have some kind of life that revolves around the cycle of death and ending life itself.

That's why it's referred more to as a cult than an actual religion. Bhaals cultists are tools to meet his ends. It doesn't really revolve around points and end goals like power or dominion or whatever else have you most of the time. It's slaughter. Don't get me wrong, obviously in BG3, there is very much an end goal (which... is the literal death of everyone in the world a la 'the world ending in blood') but again, the death is the point. Blood. Murder. Death. Slaughter. Rinse (or don't) and repeat. He is capable of forming plans, but those plans always revolve around death death death.

Bhaal's chosen is a bit unhinged. Uncontrolled, unhinged murder. Having to fight for control and her need to destroy kill destroy at every fucking turn. Sometimes, they're a bit smarter and more patient (like Sarevok) but again, they're just holding off temporarily to meet their ultimate end, which still revolves death and blood and sacrifice.

The thing about Bhaal is that there are always going to be people who turn to him. People who want to kill for one reason or another. People whose lives revolve around death and blood. People who are just angry and hateful and want to see the world suffer. Weak people hoping for favor from the strong and willing to kill to do it (people too weak to serve a God like Bane of their own initiative or skill.) Every time one dies, a new one is born somewhere, and will inevitably make their way there, same as every other evil God.

I'm sure that his follower count wanes and waxes depending on the times. During more troubled epochs, it might inspire more violence and a sort of comfort in a God who has dominion over violent death. During more peaceful times, you'll get rabblerousers who are always looking to upset the balance.

Truthfully, it really just depends. I'm sure it reaches lows and highs depending, but since you cannot kill an idea, and Bhaal has a form of control over an idea (blood and death) you would have trouble killing it off entirely, and even if you managed, it would create a power vacuum and something else would step in to fill that role-- much like Bhaal himself did.

He is technically a quasi-deity as of right now, same as the others. Thanks to some crazy bullshit that happened, they are all not technically Gods in the same way that they once were, though they are damn sure trying to crawl their way back into it. Still, as you can see, that isn't exactly stopping them.

Bhaal will keep acting like an edgy shithead, and there are always edgy shitheads attracted to that. Not to talk shit on him, I love the idea of him, but he is absolutely the edgiest shithead of the edgy shithead three.