#drow smash or pass

[novarex]

Allright, I'm doing DROW SMASH OR PASS, Legend of Drizzt and Waf of the Spider Queen characters. I've seen this back in the tags and I want to play.

Drizzt Do'Urden - PASS - idk, he's not really my type, and he's just a little bit boring. It would also feel wrong somehow, and I don't know how to explain it. I mean... I wouldn't say no if he asked, but Cattie-Brie would have to be dead and I'd probably ask if he's sure like 10x.

Jarlaxle Baenre - SITUATIONAL - Don't get me wrong, he's lovely, but his personality is too close to mine, and there isn't enough air in one room for the both of us. But get me drunk, and I'd do it for sure.

Gromph Baenre - SMASH - Slamming the smash button until it breaks. If you know me at all you know I'm in love with this pathetic wizard man. He is both brilliant and stupid, and just the right amount of sarcastic, arrogant, sad, and pathetic. I would marry him. He wouldn't get a moment of peace because I'd be trying to entice him into bed 24/7. It's like he was written specifically for me to fall in love with. When he went missing in WOTSQ, I would have turned the city to rubble and made the rivers run red with blood looking for him. I know Cattie-Brie was pissy about the suggestive fantasies he put in her head with psionics, but I would literally learn psionics just to play a game of horny thoughts tag all day.

Zaknafein Do'Urden - SITUATIONAL - a bit too self righteous for my taste, and I think I'd probably get on his nerves. But I'd never turn down that legendary dick if I had a few shots in me. He's got some anger issues I'd prefer to steer clear of.

Kimmuriel Oblodra - PASS - I just don't think he'd be into it. I would also be incredibly uncomfortable with him having that much access to my thoughts. Unless, of course, he's into the wild fantasies that my brain cooks up...and in that case... we might turn this into a smash.

Rai'gy Bondalek - PASS - Strong possibility that he'd just make me self conscious. He's certainly intriguing, but he'd hate me for sure.

Dinin Do'Urden - SMASH - Dinin, my love. I would scoop him up and take him to a cottage in the woods and make sure his belly is full and his balls are empty and have all of his babies. I would brutally torture and maim anyone who ever dared to hurt him. I would burn cities to ash and end bloodlines for him. Dinin deserves so much better. I'm desperate for more Dinin, especially after the events of Lolth’s Warrior.

Rizzen Do'Urden - SMASH - I'd keep him as a pet. What malice did to him is unforgivable.

Nalfein Do'Urden - SMASH - I don't even know why other than he's pathetic in thre way that I like.

Beniago Baenre - SMASH - He's adorable. I would insist on him in his natural drow form, however. I bet he's a good lover too. In One Eyed Jax, Jarlaxle teases him a bit because he's definitely into human women. He smart, personable, and he definitely knows how to please a woman.

Braelin Janquay - SMASH - He deserves everything. I find him irresistibly adorable. He's spent more of his life outside of Menzoberranzan than in and has a pretty strong disdain for Lolthian culture. He is smart and clever and Jarlaxle adores him. Braelin has also suffered a lot and remains so loyal to Jarlaxle. Everything about him is attractive to me. He has quickly rocketed to my 3rd favorite, with Gromph as my #1 and Dinin as a very close #2.

Valas Hune - SMASH - I feel like we might genuinely get along. He'd be good to go camping with somewhere far from everyone else. I really thrive with one on one interactions, especially someone who needs personal space too.

Ravel Xorlarrin - PASS - He's such a fucking little booger. I might have liked him more if not for what he did to his brother/sire (it's just so fucked up what Matron Zeerith Xorlarrin did to Brack'thal after Horroodissmoth died). I just can't get over him in Charon's Claw. I want to slap him until he cries.

Brack'thal Xorlarrin - SMASH - Ok, I know he's only in one book (Charon's Claw) but he checks all of the "he's pathetic and tragic in all the right ways" boxes. His whole story makes me want to swoop him up and carry him off. Charon's Claw starts off so strong with him being kicked around that I just immediately wanted to protect him. His whole story just has me in a grip. It's really a shame we only got one book of him.

Tiago Baenre - HARD PASS - Fuck no. No way. I mean maybe if it gave me the opportunity to cut his throat, then I would make that sacrifice. He's the only irredeemable fuck face I can't find anything to like about. I'd kick him in the nuts.

Dantrag Baenre - SMASH - He definitely knows how to fuck. He's big too, which would be extra fun. I also have a weakness for Baenre boys.

Berg'inyon Baenre - SMASH - He seems like he'd know what he's doing, and if he didn't, he'd learn real quick.

Pharaun Mizzrym - SMASH - Let me be clear... I would not trust him at all. But come on, you know that sex has to be amazing. He knows what he's doing, is so good that he's an arrogant shit about it, and you'll definitely have a lot of orgasms. You know your legs won't work for a week after. There's a reason he's such a pain in Gromp's ass and it's because he's a wildly competent shitass.

Ryld Argith - MAYBE - He's just so practical it hurts. He also just doesn't seem to care that much about anyone other than Pharaun.

Nimor Imphrazel - SMASH - Half drow half dragon rabble rouser? Absolutely sign me the fuck up.

Allright. I'm not sure if I've missed anyone.

Tagging @vspin, @grandma-kei, @drizztdohurtin, and anyone else who wants to play. Feel free just to do the ones you know or add to it. I know I just did dudes.

[biichama]

Everyone is doing drow smash or pass, so now it's my turn.

(Note: I am assuming that by smash we mean a no-strings bang of some sort and am answering accordingly. My answers for dating these assholes would be very different.)

JARLAXLE - AUTO SMASH - The man, the myth, the legend. He's an extremely good-looking older man, with plenty of experience, and a taste for the dramatic. He'd show me an amazing time and I bet I could convince him to do some delightfully sexy roleplay. Smash, smash, smash.

KIMMURIEL - SMASH - Sure, the man has big demi energy but like... if we made it as far as bed, we're probably pretty chill with each other. Also, like, he's got telekinesis. (Plus high chance of a threesome with Jarlaxle.)

RAI'GY - CONDITIONAL SMASH - Said condition being that Kimmuriel is there and is domming the fuck out of him while we bang. Look, we all have our kinks.

VALAS - SMASH - Quiet competency is underrated.

ZAKNAFEIN - SMASH - Would I enter into a long term relationship with Zaknafein? Not until he works out his issues. Would I have a one night stand? Oh hell yes. Dab'nay had no complaints, I can vibe with his desire to talk philosophy afterwards, and honestly after everything he went through with Malice, he's probably just happy to be with someone who cares about him enjoying things too.

BENIAGO - SMASH - The man is a lifestyle RPer and there's something delightful freaky about that. Plus, like @bramblepatch , I wanna know if the earrings stay on.

DRIZZT - PASS IF SOLO, SMASH WITH CATTI - I'm not going to be a homewrecker but I am up for a good threesome.

GROMPH - RELUCTANT SMASH - By all rights he should be an auto pass but he's got that Baenre unhinged motherfucker energy and while I would not want to be in an actual relationship with him, I'd probably do him once out of curiosity.

DININ - SMASH - From what I saw of him and Aleandra, it looks like they had a good time and honestly I've got a soft spot for him.

In conclusion, I am very weak to drow. (Or maybe just Bob Salvatore characters.)

[dnd-smash-pass-vs]

On the left, the shadowblade! Cursed elves, 4′7″-5′5″ (1.5-1.7 m) range, generally sadistic assholes due to thier goddess personally hunting and killing any good ones. However, exceptions do exist, and shadow blades are more likely than most to not be actively malicious. The shadowblade can summon a shadow demon, levitate, and teleport! They're spies and assassins, and actually much less likely to be an asshole than most drow. They're usually freelance assassins or actively foiling their patron diety's plans!

On the right, the frost salamander! Ice elementals that slip into our world sometimes to hunt and eat anything warm. Huge size, so somewhere in the 16-32 ft (4.9-9.8 m) range. They like burrowing into the ice to form massive caverns, rolling in ice (scratches their back), and eating sources of heat (from people to fire). Only surprising bit is that their intelligence is on par with the average orc, letting them catch people off guard with their wit!

[msrhaxoz]

OC Smash or Pass

Omg @alwachart taged me (๑´ㅂ`๑) Rules: pretty self explanatory. include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. the “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc).

Otto, bard & rogue

Stats

Height: 171 cm

Gender: male

Age: 207 yrs old (Seldarine Drow)

Pronouns: he/him

Sexuality: bisexual

Pros

He can find a common language with almost everyone

Attentive and caring

He has a good sense of humor

Easy to get along with

It is impossible to offend him

Can cook

Cons

Reckless

Can be rude and sarcastic when annoyed

Kleptomaniac

He wants to please everyone

He has a chameleon effect

A very good liar

I see that all my surroundings have been taged so I'm sorry @mist1e @catt0ratt0 @dark-and-kawaii

[hydropyro]

OC Smash or Pass

Thanks for the tag @octarinecat!

Rules:

Include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. The “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc).

Alakvyr, Drow Noble — Lolth Sworn Fighter, Cleric of Kelemvor, Penitent to Abdirak (Loviatar)

Stats:

Short King: 5’5”/165

Gender: Male

Sex: Cis

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: ~80

Sexuality: Pan

Pros:

Confident

Ambitious

Skilled fighter

Noble blood

Good heart

He does his best

Multitalented (has served several gods)

Ropebunny

Up for anything (in bed)

Cons:

Menzoberranzanan Drow/little bit racist

Cult indoctrinated (unlearning)

Selfish/self-centered (not in a bad way he’s just oblivious to the needs of others)

Not very cuddly

Brat

Requires a firm hand

No direction/no plan for future

Lost puppy energy

I’ll tag @ankhegs-in-my-salad, @m-u-n-c-h-y, @firlionemoontav, @dark-and-kawaii

[alma-amentet]

OC smash or pass game!

Thank you @miseryscrowned for the tag!

Meet Riana Ka'Lindri, my oldest DnD OC. And by far one of most detailed ones...

She's been to one base game (Neverwinter Nights) and two DLCs, and in each found a new girfriend. Just couldn't make up her mind! finally settled herself for a while with a hot tiefling merchant lady from the last DLC... But well she had some one-night stands. Had a soft spot for red-haired tieflings, but only after meeting and leaving that merchant, before they could reunite)

Thinks herself noble and good, but her found family includes some rogues and an ex-pirate.

Probably has mommy issues (she didn't know her mother well, was raised more by the community).

Can seem naive and idealistic.

Drow with traits of a stereotypical light elf. Even plays harp really well. Yet doesn't shoot arrows because...

Devoted Elistraee worshiper. Grew up in a forest Eilestraeean community (therefore bastard sword all the way. Imagine a petite girl who can swing a bastard sword rather skillfully!)

Nickname "violet". That's how I often call her myself because well she's such a violet, it suits her!

no pressure tag: @sheirukitriesfandom @bardcambion @catcas22

And anyone else who'd like to join!

[bg3smash-or-pass]

[insanefan]

OC Smash or Pass

Thanks for the tag @dude-wheres-my-ankheg

Rules:

Include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. The “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc).

Val'dran, Drow Assassin Rogue — Anxious Mercenary with Shadowy Secrets

Stats:

Height: 5’3"/160 cm

Gender: Male

Pronouns: He/Him/They

Age: 160

Sexuality: Demi Homo

Pros:

Kindly, if reserved about it

Curious

Physically affectionate when he likes you

Kitty >:3

Loyal enough to prioritise those he's loyal to over anything else

Clever

Prone to giving little gifts

Fond of bantering when he likes you

Cons:

Anxious

Can get impulsive when he's panicking

Uninterested in helping strangers without win

Secretive

Belongs to a ruthless mercenary organisation (Bregan D'aerthe) and won't hesitate to fulfill orders regardless of their morality

Part demon. Might accidentally murder you

Raised a noble drow, hasn't unlearned everything and thus doesn't have a very functioning sense of morality and ethics that fits with common surface society.

Manipulative

Tagging @olesmokes and @marbobar and anyone else who'd like to play!

[coreene]

OC Smash or Pass

Tagged by @my-favourite-zhent, thank you so much lovely <33 her OC Izzy here!

No pressure tags: @beesht @nusaran @alpydk @grossjay @megs-98

@avani-telvanni

Rules: pretty self explanatory. include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. the “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc).

Instead of Lorelei this time let's do this for the boy that broke her heart:

Athedrin - The Midnight Rogue

I cannot draw so all I have are the screenies

Emperor chose to appear to Lorelei as him. He could tell she was still very much hung up on him but didn't know more than that. The voice and face was there but he lacked Athedrin's charisma and Lorelei knew - that was just something who wore Athedrin's face.

QUICK FACTS

Height: 182 cm~

Age: 80 ~

Gender: Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Pansexual

PROS

Very good at disarming traps

Crafty, he can get himself in and out of any situation.

Persuasive and charismatic

A generous lover

He doesn't judge and will accept people as they are

Knows how to paint and is artistic.

CONS

Will seduce you, fuck you and then run away with your gold

Selfish and always self-serving

Liar and a coward, specially when it comes to feelings

Impulsive and will get defensive if you dig a little

Has superficial relationships, never gets too close

You can spend a year with him and still wonder who he is because he doesn't share his past.

[cthulhu-cat]

I played a thrilling game of Smash or Pass: Drow Ver.. with @lawful-evil-novelist and here are my personal results:

Let's just forget the racism for now, my fellow ibliths

Jarlaxle - most likely Smash, but I'm paranoid he might leave me in the morning without saying anything, so we'd have to go on a date or two so I can gauge his interest and likelihood of him doing that

Kimmuriel - maybe Smash? I like him but he wouldn't like me, so we should go on a date or two so he can ease up and hopefully like me more. He will 100% hear the circus clown meme music playing on loop playing in my head on our date.

Rai'Guy - Pass. He naturally rubs me the wrong way and he's grumpy and not even in an amusing way to me personally.

Valas - Smash, I say as I immediately slam my hand on the buzzer that signals a Yes in this dating show I made up in my head.

Zaknafein - Smash. I get that he has a drinking problem and anger issues but I'm willing to look past that based on how much of a DILF he is.

Beniago - Smash. Seems one of the most friendly of Bregan D'aerthe and seems like a nice guy overall. He also seems entertaining without running the risk of being obnoxious like Jarlaxle.

Drizzt - respectful Pass. He's just not my type. He's a little too serious for my taste.

Gromph - possibly a Smash but he's on thin fucking ice. Probably one of the most insufferable but he's got that classy man appeal. He needs to take me on at least five dates and then I'll make my decision.

I left out some, ofc to make this fairly short. I invite @rukafais @kimmurielscryingmirror and anyone else they want to invite (if at all, I get some people have different sexualities and some do not wish to disclose publicly)

Please add more characters if you want

[voidspearzhovae]

Art by @baldursghaik

Zhovae: Smash or Pass

Pros:

-Loyal bodyguard once trust is established

-Passive intimidation factor

-Fine with just existing and vibing, calming presence

-Always tells the truth

-Good listener

Cons:

-Will kill if deems you a threat

-Paranoid af

-Bad at showing emotion

-Hard to get in the sack

[static-sulker]

I might maybe possibly be thinking of a modern fantasy apartment AU with the main crew. All of them being stupid ass magical roommates without tadpoles...Just letting them be happy.

Also my Tav is in there because...yeah. His name is Silk and he is such a silly guy ridden with the 'tism. Drow Warlock who sees the good in everything... Such a...A yeah...

Little notes i've been conjuring about this...

Gale and Wyll made a chore chart in the kitchen, with little magnets for each person. Astarion regularly will switch his magnet in the middle of the night just so he doesn't have to do the fucking dishes and EVERYBODY knows besides Gale and Wyll. Wyll is on the fence about it, but Gale wholeheartedly believes when Astarion lies through his teeth about never having done it.

Karlach and Halsin go on grocery runs in the mornings. Karlach goes for the running part, while Halsin comes along for the run as well as to stop Karlach from buying the most horrendous shit. The one time she went alone very early in the houses lifespan, Karlach bought like 3 bags of go-gurt, about 50 dollars worth of cheap booze, and a big piece of raw steak to cook. She burnt said steak. But she's trying now, at least.

The team will take turns every now and then to get Astarion blood from themselves as it gives Astarion a lot more energy then normal settling blood. BUT they do have "blood bags" that they set up in the kitchen fridge whenever they know nobody with the right blood is gonna be available to give him blood if he needs it. They TOTALLY get it by legal means and it TOTALLY doesn't melt Astarions heart that they try so hard to help him.

Silk finds a stray dog in the alleys of their building one day when they went out to work (they do freelance art with their magic for like startups, it's fun). After casting "speak with animals" they find out this dog, Scratch, is waiting for his owner to return. His owner was killed out by some gnoll gang downtown. When they come back from work later in the evening, they find Scratch again, still waiting. Long story short, Silk adopts scratch in their very strict "no pets" rule of an apartment. And don't get me STARTED on the owlbear cub. Lae'zel and Halsin were out, originally to get some spare lightbulbs and tools for the apartment and find the little critter getting chase by some goblins in some backalley parking lot. Lae'zel plans to ignore the thing, but Halsin assists the cub. Once done, they plan to leave, before the cub begins to follow them home. Halsin names the cub "Vauva" and Lae'zel soon becomes SO attached.

They have presentation nights, where everybody makes slideshows about literally anything. Last week, Gale made one about the conflicts of archmages and the idea of apprentices. Karlach then made a tier list on the worst monsters ever documented, Lae'zel helped with that one. Shadowheart made this whole discussion over her favorite and least favorite teas (she fuckin' hates green tea for like no reason). Wyll made one on Baldurs Gate history. Astarion made a smash or pass list of all of the political leaders in Baldurs Gate. Silk made a presentation on the weirdest underdark myths and rumors they have heard on their time above ground. Halsin presented (well more like persuaded) on getting a new herb for their kitchens row of herbs and spices set on the windowsill. They have too many and he got like 5 minutes of stand time before Karlach kicked him off.

Lae'zel hate-cleans when shes mad at somebody in the apartment. Basically, she cleans every room in the entire fucking apartment BESIDES any of said "victims" parts of the house. One time, she got into a fight with Shadowheart and threw all of the dirty laundry she had so carefully put into the laundry room back into her room just all over the fucking place. If shes calm though, the house is normally fairly clean under her and Wyll's watch. It's one of the only things they agree on.

Because every bg3 piece of content I make loops back to bloodweave, I think they would have a little reading time together. Like whenever everybody is settling down for the night and they are up for it, they take this lovely window seat couch/bed thing in Gales room and just take out a good bottle of wine and a book for each of them and just read until late. They originally did this separately, but when the two find themselves both in the living room at 2 in the morning reading, they decide in silent agreement to make it routine. They sometimes read in silence, other times just talking absently about anything. Shadowheart finds out first by coming in to Gales room late one night to return a book he lent to her to find the two both passed out, tucked away in the window, books still in hand before they accidentally passed out. Shadowheart then teases them with photos the morning after.

Karlach and Lae'zel both do these really intense shadowboxing exercises in Karlachs room whenever the two have freetime and enough energy to go through with it. It's a heated bitter rivalry in the eyes of the githyanki, but Karlach just loves a little workout with her friend! Lae'zel does enjoy the workouts, as she doesn't get many options to really let off ALL of her steam, even if she works at a gym as a personal trainer. She is constantly told shes a bit TOO rough with the clients so she has to "tone it down". So it's nice.

Astarion and Shadowheart have girls nights. Like they paint each others nails and watch like twilight together (ironically they get so heated at how wrong they get it. "Just another human writer writing about shit she doesn't get" is used a lot in their rewatches). They also talk about like...their feelings. But it's very sparse and done so by a copious amount of wine (wine with a heavy amount of blood on the side for Astarion). Both of them never got to have moments like this in their childhoods, of just pure calmness and domestic childhood enjoyment, so they make due with what they can.

BY THE HELLS I JUST REALIZED I WROTE THIS MUCH. DAMN OKAY.

[dnd-smash-pass-vs]

Fuck it lets do this one early because I'm excited. A battle of the classics! On the left is the orc! 6 ft (1.8 m) tall and naturally beefy, enhanced by a love of fighting and wrestling. 5e orcs are either green or greyish blue depending on the setting/location, this one being grey. Come on, I don't need to sell you on the ORC. You knew your answer before I asked the question.

The average drow is a 5 foot (1.5 m) cursed elf that's cartoonishly evil to the point of parody. That's not actually innate, their goddess just personally has the good ones killed and tries to manipulate/torment them to be even more evil. So there are actually nice ones, but the average drow that actually survives to adulthood is going to be sadistic and dominant. Primed and ready if you're into manipulation and being used!

[mercymaker]

OC smash or pass

i was tagged by the lovely @communistfries @orangekittyenergy @togepies @rivensbane @tadpole-apocalypse @euryalex sorry it took me seven years to get to this 😬

Rules: pretty self explanatory. include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. the “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc).

▬ Maleane

(i'm horrifically indecisive, so here you have a selection of pretty portraits and steamy shots to, uh.. stimulate your brain for the decision making!)

Quick Facts:

Height: 160cm (5'3)

Age: Early 100s (around the time of Above the Vaulted Sky, some 100 years after the game events)

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/her

Sexuality: Bi/pan

Pros:

A talented sorcerer who can fly! That's fun!

She's pretty good at reading people and will make you hear whatever you want to hear.

Takes pride in being good at things, so you're in for a good time if she decides you're worthy of her talents.

I'm totally biased, but she's hot.

And smol (might be a pro or a con depending on what she's working with).

Since she's not always down for uh... penetrative action, Mal's mastered the art of using her hands (and words).

She's smart and resourceful and can fare well in most settings, be it out in the wilderness or in the middle of a city (except the Underdark, don't take her there).

Prefers to take a more passive/submissive role in bed, but only with those she trusts, otherwise doesn't mind taking on more of a dominant position. Often enjoys the power struggle and playfulness of it all.

Cons:

Drow (though she does try to pass as a moon elf for her own safety).

Can be cold and distant and uncaring.

An incredibly good liar.

Occasional pillow princess.

Can be pretty hard to please in bed.

Was raised by a former Lolth-sworn spy, so—despite growing up on the surface—has some leftover "classic" drow ideals and prejudices.

Is not averse to murder, just usually doesn't bother with the mess of it and whatever consequences may follow. But provoke her and it will not take her much to justify spilling your guts.

Because she grew up having so little, can be quite possessive of people and things.

tagging the best gamers in town: @vspin @andauril @yennefer-of-vengerbergs @goromimii

@preciouslittlebhaalbae @seance @jerichoes @judasiskariot @ejoym

@zevswarden @bardic-inspo @lazysload @elminsters @katsigian

@florbelles @evenstar-crescentmoon @galedekarios @onewingedangels @aesfocus

@wyllzel @amethystinam @elizzacassan @avenananana @hawke

@bg3storage @baelavelaryon @ayrennaranaaldmeri @theredviper @aevallare

& anyone who wants to make this for their OCs ♥

[ohnoitstbskyen]

Building a Better Ashe

About a year ago I took a pass at redesigning Ashe the Frost Archer from League of Legends with the help of Ainsworth "Apple_Cork" Lin (https://www.instagram.com/apple_cork/ || https://linktr.ee/apple_cork) who I commissioned for the artwork.

We took Ashe through a number of ideations and various approaches to her character design, which you'll find below the Read More cutoff.

If you want to watch the video version of our design process (it's pretty good!) you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fi5fuv1nLs

Goals:

The goal was to create a version of Ashe that puts less priority of simply making her "appealing" or look pretty, and more on doing storytelling for the kind of role she plays in the story of the Freljord.

Ashe as she exists now is basically a riff on the Drow Ranger from Dota, complete with WarCraft 3 style Hot Elven Ranger getup. She's a queen of the frozen north, but she runs around in a miniskirt, thigh-highs and a paper-thin cloak because

this design was originally put together to be running around sunny Elven forests on Azeroth, and got interpolated through Dota into League of Legends without ever really reconsidering the concept

it was designed for League of Legends at a time when worldbuilding and character storytelling simply were not priorities in their character design - characters were broad recognizable fantasy archetypes being thrown together Smash Bros style for a fighting tournament

Late 2000s high fantasy character design in gaming had a default preference for Sexy Cleavage Babes for female character design that permeated the entire design space, especially at Blizzard, whose influence formed the basis for League of Legends

Over a decade later, Ashe has been fleshed out as much more of a real character, with a place and role in the world and cosmology of the Freljord far beyond her original archetype. Now she is specifically constructed as a counterpart to Lissandra's imperious, manipulative, sovereign mysticism and to Sejuani's martial brutality. The Avarosa are the only faction in the Freljord (and one of the very few in Runeterra) who argue explicitly for a softer life with less violence and struggle as the ideal. Ashe wants to reform and abolish the blood-soaked warrior culture of the Freljord and replace it with communal mutual aid and sharing, with tribes pooling their collective resources rather than relying on constant raiding and warfare. She's also a notable champion of the Hearthbound, the "normal" people of the Freljord who are not blessed with Iceborn blood or noble lineages.

The Avarosa have successfully recruited a huge swath of tribes to their cause, and through collaboration and a focus on agriculture and mutual protection have become the breadbasket of the Freljord, able to extend their political reach simply by offering new tribes access to reliable sources of food.

The power and rhetoric of the Avarosa thus rests on

A rejection of martial warrior culture in favor of a culture of nurturing and mutual care

Embrace of vulnerability and "weakness"

The promise of plenty, of full food stores and protection from failed harvests and the bitter winter cold

So, the design goals are:

Contrast Ashe visually with both Lissandra and especially with Sejuani, who is her most direct opposite.

Tell the story not only of Ashe herself, but of the faction she represents, and represent its values in her design.

Make her unique and recognizable against the lineup of other League of Legends characters in a way that currently she simply isn't.

Early ideation:

Here we start by identifying silhouettes and the basic ideas of costuming that we want to run with. Since League of Legends women also generally have a bad case of Chronic Sameface Syndrome, we also explore a bunch of different face shapes and ideas for distinguishing Ashe physically outside of costuming and body shape.

Refinement:

We pick out a smaller number of variations to play with, and Apple_Cork explores various options for the costuming.

At this point we've settled on two main ideas: a "Warrior" Ashe, who is characterized by the hard life she's had to lead. Her struggles and suffering, especially the loss of her mother and the betrayal of Sejuani, are the emotional impetus that leads to her reaching the ideals of the Avarosans as an antidote to and rebellion against the Freljord's bloody history. We decide to use the A2 and A3 variation as a base for this, with addition of details like scarring and a somewhat bulkier musculature. This runs the risk of making her physically quite similar to Sejuani, which is a trade-off that might be worth it since the two of them are repeatedly positioned as sisters (even if not by blood) in their stories, and are very alike in their experiences and traumas, even if they've reached opposite conclusions from it.

The other idea is "Warmother Ashe." The Freljord is organized around matrilineal tribal leadership, with a significant emphasis on the social role of motherhood, with the leader of the tribe conceptualized as its primary mother figure. Most Warmothers we've known are hard-bitten, violent and domineering matriarchs, emphasizing the war bit of the name, and since Ashe represents a decisive break with that tradition, we want to create a design that puts emphasis on the mother part of the idea.

So an Ashe who is visually soft, associated with typical traits of nurturing motherhood and who visibly rejects struggle, deprivation and violence as part of her identity. The C1 and C2 variations form the basis for this character.

Both designs are intended to provide a strong visual contrast to the stark black-and-blue statuesque angularity of Lissandra, as well as the armored, hard-shelled, segmented look of Sejuani

A note on body politics and character design

It is generally Problematic™ to equate any one body type with any one set of personality traits, whether positively or negatively. A lot of common character design associations and shorthand is based on body stereotypes, and on a systemic scale, they can reinforce existing social bigotries.

The most common example: character design often employ the idea that good people tend to be beautiful and evil people tend to be ugly, and that a person's inner moral character can be read in their physical traits.

This is a trope with an extremely bad history, especially when it intersects with the politics of beauty, with eugenics and with racial caricature. Whiteness and the constructed features of whiteness are often used as the basis of beauty ideals, while traits and features associated with non-whiteness are considered ugly or undesirable, and thus in visual storytelling these traits can become markers of moral degeneracy or evil. Disney villains do this all the time, to various degrees of Problematicness.

I bring this up here because we decided to use a fat body-type on one of our Ashe designs specifically to code the design to be associated with softness, kindness, motherly nurturing and so on. These are positive traits, and it is meant to establish her as a contrast with Sejuani who is hard-edged, muscled and brutal. But also, yeah, fat bodies being associated with those traits is a reductive stereotype, just the same as associating highly trained, skinny and fit bodies with emotional coldness, lack of kindness and violence is reductive.

Character design is a tightrope walk between using available associations and stereotypes to create coding and shorthand so the audience can easily read the design on the one hand, and trying to redefine and re-associate traits in creative ways to create better storytelling on the other hand. League of Legends is a game that relies very, very heavily on existing and known archetypes, and we redesigned Ashe on those terms as well. It is fair to criticize our redesign for those trade-offs, within reason, and within the context of the problems of the design it is intended to improve upon. League of Legends as a franchise is generally unwilling to allow fat bodies to exist in ANY positive context, and especially not in women, whose visual priority 9 times out of 10 is to be conventionally beautiful and skinny above all else.

Final designs:

Warrior Ashe This design hews closer to her original design, employing the skirt, waist-wrap and thigh-high boots, albeit updated to look more appropriate for the fashion culture and environment of the Freljord.

The emphasis here is on Ashe as a war-leader and fighter, and we've added facial scars and her design generally features more hard and sharp lines and metallic accents to give her a more hard-bitten and warlike look. This is an Ashe who has led a heard and difficult life, marked by fighting and struggle.

Warmother Ashe This design pulls away hard from the original design, with only really the hood and cloak and white hair as identifying feature of the old version. She wears a lot of fabrics and furs, and is generally designed around stoutness and visual softness, and does not share the hardness or angular facial features of Warrior Ashe. Her clothes are finely embroidered with her tribe's iconography and she has pendants and trinkets associated with the various tribes that have been integrated into the Avarosa, or perhaps gifted to her by allies or friends.

She still has leather chest armor, albeit covered up by her cloak, and a shoulder pauldron, but it's ringed by fine feathers making it more of a showpiece. Same with the archery bracer, which is ostentatious and the bright brass makes it contrast with the rest of the design, which is meant to give the vibe of "this is a thing she puts on when necessary" but not a natural, integrated part of her fashion. Compare and contrast with the bracers on Warrior Ashe above.

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[vspin]

OC Smash or Pass

thank you @tadpole-apocalypse for the tag!

Rules: pretty self explanatory. include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. the “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc).

Tav'Lyn Tlabbar

lovely drawing by @tadpole-apocalypse

Quick Facts:

Height: 5'3

Age: 225

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Pros:

Drow

200 years of experience

Straightforward about what she wants

Despite her upbringing, she is extremely loyal and open-minded

She has a sense of humor and a playful side

Known to dance naked in the woods at night

Secretly a good musician

Just gonna say it: her drow house is known for fucking. Like it was mentioned every time they came up in Daughter of the Drow lmao

Cons

Drow 😅

Really though, she has that drow superiority and bossiness. She's working on it okay?

If you're looking for something beyond the physical, it might take her a while to catch up to speed.

She's perfectly normal and reasonable...by Menzoberranzan standards

Until 4 years she thought murder was okay 👍

tagging @communistfries @dolceaspidenera @meishuu @euryalex

@mynthara @lazysload anyone else who wants to do it!