#oc: ruathym dhalmass

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Today's the day I can post the full version of my contribution to the @lovebytheriverzine! Be sure check out the full zine itself on their page!

Please enjoy this tender piece of my drow, Ruathym, and his partner Lae'zel <3

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on the topic of ocs, here's a simple but fun oc question: do your ocs let themselves cry?

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You put your arms around me and I'm home

Ruathym and Lae'zel would both be so annoyed that such a wholesome song fits them so well, but maybe they should have thought about that before they were adorable together

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10 19 23 for the OC questions!

tysm for the ask!! <333

10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design?

Any oc that has tattoos is one I consider to be "complicated", but Marco adds on top of that really busy armor AND a sci-fi gun, so I'm gonna go with him.

(it's part of why I've basically only ever drawn him once or twice, with most of his armor either off or covered lol)

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

Oh okay! I think for this one, I'm gonna go with Zephyr <3 like I've mentioned before, she was really the first oc I had to build from the ground up, and so I feel really involved in a lot of her character. She has a lot of qualities that I admire in other people; a strong balance of physical and mental prowess, an impressive amount of discipline, an appreciation for the arts, a level head in intense situations, etc. I enjoy exploring and thinking about her relationship with her family and how that shaped her into the person she is today, and in some ways I feel like she represents a lot of things I'm not, but aim to be <3

23. Introduce an OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

Oohh, interesting! I don't think I have many OCs that have undergone super drastic changes (at least while remaining the same ocs), but I have a few that have had minor changes. Sabina was originally a Mountain Dwarf before I decided that being a Meadow Folk fit her vibes better, Ruathym was originally going to be my first Ace OC before deciding BG3 was not really the best game to try that with (since he was basically constantly rebuffing advances from the other companions💀) and Vanessa's design has slowly been inching closer and closer to the default Jane Femshep design with the red hair lol

some OC questions <3

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2, 4, 21, 31, 43 for the oc asks! c:

thank you for the ask!!

2. Do you have a personal favorite among your OCs?

I think they're all kind of on rotation for my #1 favorite at any given time! I definitely have some that are more developed than others, but most of that comes down to the amount of time I've had them. I'd say currently, my favorites would be Lydia Laidir and James Trevelyan (since i'm still in DA Hell), and Zephyr Skybreeze (one of my BG3 Tav's, I have a soft spot for her since she's the first OC I had to build her background out from the ground up)

4. A character you rarely talk about?

I had to think about this one for a bit, but I'm gonna go with Maya, my Pokemon Violet kiddo! No real reason for that, beyond that my love for Pokemon Violet comes in waves and is more often dormant. That, and most of what I talk about w/ my OCs is shipping related, and she's literally a child so. Not a lot to say there lol.

BUT I love her quite a lot! Violet is the first Pokemon game I ever felt like I was actually creating a character who had traits and personality (rather then gens 1-5 being pre-built and gens 6-8 feeling kinda blank). The classes helped a lot with that, I think! Her favorite teacher is Jacq, she's really good at math/science and anything related to Pokemon Battling, is kinda bored in Art Class and struggles with History and Languages (which is like the polar opposite of my academic experience lol). She shares Nemona's passion for battling but takes an analytical approach to it, and I think in the post-game I could envision her as a Pokemon Battle Professor when she's an adult <3 (though I haven't played the DLC yet so idk if that's in my canon 👀)

Also honorable mention to Marco, my ME Andromeda boy. I have so much love in my heart for this guy and literally no idea what to do with him ✌🏻

21. Your most artistic OC

Viola, my Dark Urge! I've mentioned it before but I like the idea of her sick and twisted urge fantasies lending themselves to an innate understanding of human anatomy, and sometimes when she wants to kill kill kill kill, she draws....killing, instead lol. It's therapeutic for her, I think in a similar way her faith is, and I like the idea of art being such a strong positive outlet that it's able to ground someone in reality.

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)

Hm! Well seeing as how I barely maintain my own blog I'm not super sure how to answer this 😅 but I'll do my best!

I'll go with Zephyr, I think. I think she'd have one of those really fancy layouts with the small buttons and the small text and a cherry blossom overlay with constantly falling petals. She'd reblog a lot of academic literature, poetry, positive affirmations, and moodboards! She'd be intensely active for like two weeks and then ghost for three months, and rinse & repeat

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favor some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess

Physically: Ponytails for days, followed by long braids. Idk what it is, but multiple of my OCs (Sabina, Zephyr, James, Ruathym, Maya, Anwen, Vanessa, AELON even in Inquisition literally remembering some of these ocs have ponytails as I type this sentence lmao) pull their hair back into either a midlength ponytail, a braid, or transition between the two. It's a good look, what can I say~

Character-wise: I have noticed a theme starting to pop up my last couple OCs, of having wild periods of Young Adulthood before mellowing out by the events of the story (James, Lydia, Sabina). Other than that, I have a few characters who are begrudgingly bound to Not Be an Asshole by their moral compass, i.e. they're rude in almost every conversation but they make good Big Choices (Ruathym, Aelon, Vanessa, Act 3 Anwen)

some OC questions <3

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Ngl having a lot of fun with this kiss mod :3

(also using in tandem with this mod bc the AA kisses are very Ruathym/Lae'zel IF they're both having a good time)

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weird fun facts about your oc(s)

rules: share some fun facts about your oc(s). they don't have to be relevant to their story, perhaps even better if they aren't. the weird ones are the best!

I was tagged by @solas-backpack-mug to share some odd fun facts! Thank you for the tag <3

Sabina Lancaster, Watcher of Caed Nua

Really loves singing, though more as a hobby then a profession like the Chanters

Every lie she tells eats away at her soul, she cannot stand being deceptive, even if it gets her into bad situations. When lying is unavoidable, however, she finds she is really, really good at it. That she's so good at selling falsehoods is part of what disturbs her about it.

She has two brothers, one older and one younger, and a younger sister. Of the four of them, she was definitely the most adventurous, and it often got her into trouble.

She really misses her siblings, and part of why she likes talking to Pallegina is bc it reminds her of when she used to gossip with her sister

Viola, the Dark Urge

As it turns out, understanding the human body's anatomy on as deep a level as The Urge provides lends itself quite well to sketching. One of the only possessions she woke up with on the nautiloid was a tattered sketchbook to the point of being unrecognizable, and one of the first things she did when she got to the Grove was buy a new one, which she uses on her adventures

She has a giggle that lies somewhere between the sound of a goose honking and a balloon being slowly deflated.

At the beginning of the story, her sense of taste was out of whack, as in some food would taste other than it should or simply lack flavor altogether, and she has to slowly regain her sense of taste as the story goes on

Ruathym Dhalmass

Killer hand drum player, once he gets going he busts out beats like you'd never believe. Not that he'd ever let anyone know that, of course. He has a reputation to uphold, you understand.

While the Myconid Circle he grew up in was not the one we see in the game, he was familiar with that Circle and his presence in the group made passing through the underdark much easier.

Isn't quite as mean as everyone makes him out to be, he's just very comfortable being flippantly mean in, what he thinks, a lighthearted way that actually comes out off very harshly. This is why he basically only gets along with Halsin, Jaheira, and Lae'zel, because the first can see through his exterior and is touched by his love of the natural world, the second sees the attempt at banter for what it is and plays along, and the third has been dealing with militarized githyanki her whole life and is unfazed by him (though he cuts it out with Lae'zel once they become something more serious)

tagging @full---ofstarlight and anyone else who'd like to join!!

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Zephyr and Ruathym with their hair down 💗

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Not quiiiite there yet, but getting close I feel

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It is they 💖

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this picrew looked so cute that I just had to try it with my BG3 pairs <3

From left to right:

Gale x Zephyr

Lae'zel x Ruathym

Wyll x Viola

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So question for those of y'all who are more experienced with The Forgotten Realms than I am. How do elf (specifically drow) ages work?

I've read that they don't really reach adulthood until turning 100, but is that just like a societal thing or like a mental development thing? If Ruathym (my drow) was like 94, is that making him like an elven minor, akin to a 17 year old? And is that just among drow or would that carry over to how other races see him?

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I was tagged by @full---ofstarlight to do this super fun oc questionnaire! Thank you so much for tagging me <33 Since BG3 brainrot is still very much a thing I thought I'd do my two tadpole kiddos 💜

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NAME: Zephyr Elowen Skybreeze, “Zephyr” to honor her late father, “Elowen” being her mother’s maiden name, and “Skybreeze” as her paternal family name

NICKNAME: None really, although her grandfather does teasingly call her “powder puff” from when she was a little girl 🤜🏽💨

GENDER: Cisfemale

STAR SIGN: I’m not much of an astrology person (which is ironic bc I think Zephyr is lol), but I’m going to go with Aries 🔆

HEIGHT: 5’ 5 - 5' 6 ~ish

ORIENTATION: Pan~

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: She was born in Mosstone, south of the Forest of Tethir, by her wood elf mother and air genasi father, the latter of which died before she was born. She was raised by her mother and her paternal grandfather while her paternal grandmother traveled. When she was 15 she moved with her family to be closer to her dying grandmother in Baldur’s Gate, where she continued living into the present day. Zephyr considers herself a Baldurian, a Mosstonian, and a member of the Elmanesse Tribe through her mother.

FAVORITE FRUIT: Pears, but really any pome fruit 🍐🍎🍏

FAVORITE SEASON: Winter, she enjoys the quiet of the freshly fallen snow ❄❄❄

FAVORITE FLOWER: Apple Blossoms

FAVORITE SCENT: Incense

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Tea for sure, her favorite is Chamomile (but also she is absolutely not above a good cup of hot cocoa by the fire)

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: Generally, a good solid 8, but during the course of the game she’s been having pretty bad sleep and can’t sleep for more than 3 hours without waking up :(

DOGS OR CATS: Dogs! While she likes both, she values the unconditional love/loyalty of dogs, and they are basically the only kind of animal that isn’t instantly intimidated by her / stand-offish to her.

DREAM TRIP: It’s a little corny I know, but I really do think she’s wanted to go to Waterdeep, the “✨City of Splendors✨”, ever since she started seriously pursuing a life of academic study.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 2, a comforter that remains on her bed and a smaller lightweight that she carries from room to room like a cloak lol

RANDOM FACT: Before the events of the game, she had been on a trip to the library of Candlekeep for a little over a week on an academic field trip sponsored by her (currently unnamed) monastery. It was on her way back home that she was kidnapped by Mind Flayers, and all but 2 of the tomes she had been allowed to take home with her were destroyed. Her family had expected her back in less than two days from then, only to be met with radio silence for months as every message she tried to send was shot down.

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NAME: Ruathym Dhalmass, one of the last of the ""distinguished"" Dhalmass line

NICKNAME: He finds other people’s reaction to him being quote “one of the good ones” pretty funny because it speaks more to surfacer’s lack of experience with Drow than the quality of his moral character. He doesn't consider himself a good person and he knows Drow in the Underdark (his sister for one) who are much more “upstanding” than him. So now Ruathym being “The Good Drow” is kind of an inside joke in the party.

GENDER: Cismale

STAR SIGN: I’m gonna go with Taurus 🐂

HEIGHT: 5’ 9

ORIENTATION: Bi

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Ruathym is a Seldarine Drow, and he and his older sister spent most of their early childhood as orphans in the wilds of the Underdark after their parents were killed by Lolth-sworn extremists. Eventually, when Ruathym was about 12, they came upon a Druidic Circle consisting of a colony of Myconids and a few drow and deep gnomes. They took Ruathym and his sister in, and gave Ruathym his deep appreciation for “underrepresented” organic life such as fungi. When asked about his nationality, Ruathym usually just shrugs and says “The Deep”

FAVORITE FRUIT: Pomegranate

FAVORITE SEASON: Spring, especially during the humid/rainy months!

FAVORITE FLOWER: Sussur Blooms, though he general prefers the bio-luminescent toadstools to any flower

FAVORITE SCENT: Vanilla beans~

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: He generally prefers coffee, but finds herbal tea to be easier to make and so that’s usually what he ends up drinking 🍵☕

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 4, and that’s only if he’s forcing himself to sleep

DOGS OR CATS: Both! Ruathym is an animal lover to the core, he loves dogs, cats, hamsters, oxen, frogs, corvids, gremishkas, badgers, bears, all of them! He finds that more often than not they’re easier to talk to than people.

DREAM TRIP: Ruathym is not a very ambitious guy, if he could have spent all 500 years of his life in that tiny little Myconid colony, he would 😶 Having said that, hearing Minthara speak about Menzoberranzan does make him wish for a small peek.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1, well-worn and well-loved

RANDOM FACT: Ruathym is actually a beast on the hand drum as well as a decent lute player, but he doesn’t let anyone else know for fear it will ruin his hardened reputation 👀

tagging @glamfellens, @hajima-7 and @fiendpact! Doesn't have to be BG3 related afaik, and no pressure at all if this isn't your thing 😊

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ocs as types of suffering

I was tagged by @full---ofstarlight to do this uquiz! As per usual, I went with my BG3 kiddos

Ruathym Dhalmass: Self inadequacy

You crack under the weight of your own perceived inability. How can you be enough for anyone else when you're just barely enough for yourself? Insecurity causes you to have little back-bone, and so you fail to reach your full potential when it comes to what you're best at. You sabotage opportunities with fear you'll fail before you've begun. It hurts to never feel like your best is enough, but setting your standards too high or too low ensures it.

Zephyr Skybreeze: The Giver

Your energy depletes as you hand it out to anyone passing by your basket. People walk by and take, but no one ever leaves. You're constantly running on low when people keep asking you to give. You'd give your soul away for free, and then what left do you have of yourself if you can't say no?

I will tag @glamfellens as well as anyone else reading who'd like to play <3 (feel free to tag me so I can also read about ur oc kiddos :3)