#the answer is the underdark lol

[awkwardpasta004]

Working on some artwork for an old campaign. Can you guess where we were the whole time? 🍄🦇🕸️

[meanbossart]

You might’ve answered this before, if so my apologizes, but did Astarion approach Drow to ask if he could bite him during act 1, or was it a spur of the moment thing during sex when drow just decided that he wanted to be bitten during act 2? (I remember something about Astarion shot him down during the tiefling party originally, so I assume it was during act 2 they started getting intimate?)

Oh Astarion tried to bite him almost immediately after they started having sex, which was at the end of Act 1 while they were somewhere in the underdark, or the forge (I remember that because I recall having a laugh about how they supposedly had to go all the way back up to the surface to bang, since the animation just showed a normal forest LOL)

It seems that by now, they have patched the game so that if Astarion tells you about his vampirism during normal dialogue you will no longer get the bite scene to trigger, but back then that wasn't the case. He first told me he was a vampire and then tried to bite me at a later long-rest. The way I choose to interpret that, is that DU drow would have taken it a lot more amicably than the game implies through cutscene since 1) he was already aware of Astarion's condition and 2) He had already made the decision to humor Astarion's advances, which kind of encompasses this whole situation.

I got to thinking about how that scene went and ended up writing a short thing for it 🤷enjoy!

-

You jolt from a light sleep like you’ve fallen down from an immeasurable height, feeling the thumping of your heart in the drums of your ears first thing before the distant, wailing choirs that resonate through the Underdark drown out the beating. You can’t immediately recall your dreams, going from complete silence and blackness back to this. You hear the scraping of rocks miles away with the same clarity with which you hear the wet slap of lips closing, Astarion looms over you like a hunched gargoyle, close enough that you can make out every dry pore and blue vessel scrawling away from his under eyes with the utmost clarity - he looks specially sickly, with the icy glow of the fauna around you reflecting off his pale complexion.

“What are you doing?” And as soon as you ask, he pulls away like a house-pet on the other end of reprimand.

He falters for a moment and no longer, there’s a glimmer of fear crossing his rounding eyes - before they relax back into sultry slits. The expression is not befitting of his posture, spine curves like a creature in the prowl. “Just looking for some comfort.” He reassures you. “I had a terribly scary dream.”

You saw the flash of his canines before his jaw clamped shut. He’s lying, and he knows that you know. “Were you about to bite me?”

You are curious more than you are chiding. Your heart rate has dropped, you feel it quieting down underneath your palms as they rest over your chest - still lying flat on your bedroll, looking up at the waxy elf with your neck crooked to one side. You see no reason to stand.

There’s a hesitance before he crawls a little closer, fingers brushing through the moss as his voice drops to an alluring whisper, the control he has over his voice is absent in the rest of his presentation. “Would you like that?”

A laughable assumption to make of most, but he had seen sides of you that have made him wonder. Even if he’s mistaken, it’s worth trying to convince you that it was your idea all along.

You had toyed with the thought, but you like toying with him more. “Why would I?”

Astarion scoffs over his shoulder, coming to cozy up by your hip with a practiced posture much more dignified than his awkward lurch - the cold leather of his trousers press into your naked side, his hand hovers over you and plants itself down by your ear - head hanging uncomfortably close. He can’t see into mirrors, he doesn’t know how bad he looks. “Because you can’t get enough of me.” half assertion, half plead. “This might be the closest we get to a little salacious fun, given our circumstances.”

“Is that all?”

“Of course it isn’t. I’m also hungry.” He playfully dabs a fingertip to your chin. “But I’m hungry for you, in particular.”

“Sick of taste of pig’s blood?”

“To death.” hisses, his smile tenses  into a snarl “I’ve seen you fight. You leak like you’re never going to run out.”

“If I let you, iIs that going to wipe that demented look off your face?”

He harps out a laugh, a little too loud - you hear one of your companions take in a sharp inhale before settling. Both your glances stray off to your sides before locking onto one another again, Astarion’s pupils swallowing the reds of his irises.. “Yes.”

“What a shame.”

A forced grin, more like a grimace. He’s almost too weak to keep up his own ruse. “Just say no and I’ll be off.” He’s telling you to stop wasting his time. You pull yourself up onto your elbows and he retracts away an appropriate amount, though hands remain nailed to the sides of you, imprisoning you between his arms.

He could jump your throat so easily from there, clamp down and refuse to let go until you’re splashing around red puddles like a dying fish in an oil spill. You fantasise about jamming your thumbs into his eyes and trying to pry him off by the sockets of the skull, feeling a fawn as it kicks and flails helplessly at the ribs of a cougar. How would you sound, whimpering with a crushed windpipe?

The thought arouses you, but it's different from that rising singe in your pelvis whenever burying a blade into the livers of screaming men - it’s a comforting warmth in your stomach that makes you loose, makes you malleable. He reads your silence as reluctance, not just the wanderings of a mad-man. He grows desperate.

“All I need is a little blood.”

You immediately feel him recoil.

“Please.”

A high contrast to your reveries, you realise that you don’t like him like this: begging. “Take it, then.”

He stiffens. Waiting for you to quality, recant, regret. But all you do is stare on unblinking while a chill travels up your back. His face tightens and a hand reaches up to bury itself in the limp locks of your hair, shoulders leaning forward before his face latches itself onto your neck with a crunch and a snap. You slam back down onto the floor as Astarion wraps around you like a snake.

-

[bonesxbows]

Colors of the Underdark (Astarion x Reader)

My Masterlist

A trip to the Underdark goes south and you're left with no light source. Your human eyes become useless and you start to panic. You're terrified of the dark and there's nothing but darkness around you down here. Astarion can tell and can actually see you start to panic. He tries his best to comfort you.

(WARNINGS) - Descriptions of the dark - Descriptions of fear - Anxious feelings - Descriptions of a panic attack

I'm still trying to get a sense of writing his character, this is my first attempt so pls be nice if it's bad. This was also written over the course of a couple of days so sorry if it's a bit choppy. The idea came from the fact that humans are like one of the few species that don't have dark vision. I'm also afraid of the dark so it's a tad self-indulgent lol. Hopefully, you still enjoy it, reblogs are much appreciated :)

-

A sudden gust of wind blew your burning torch to mere embers, encasing you and your party in pure and utter darkness. The only source of light anywhere around was the few glowing mushrooms miles away, but the only thing they did was remind you of the cavern system that surrounded you, threatening to suffocate you at a moment's notice.

“Fuck…fuck!” You screamed, your heart immediately beginning to sputter and race.

“Relax darling, it's just a little darkness, nothing to worry over.” His voice was relaxed, calm, collected, and in control. Every emotion opposite of what you were feeling.

“Relax?! Are you insane? We need to get out of here, now!” Your voice was laced with panic and you were beginning to hyperventilate.

“Are they okay?” You could hear Gale ask, although the answer he was looking for was very much apparent. Astarion was starting to worry, though he didn’t let the others see. He didn't answer Gale and instead barked an order.

“Set up camp, we’ll stay here for the time being.” He told him.

“But-”

“It's not up for debate and I didn't ask for your opinion nor your advice. Go.”

Gale scoffed but did as he was told and Shadowheart followed him without any comment. You were now on your knees scratching the head of your torch on the rocky ground, desperately trying to spark it alight again. As soon as Gale and Shadowheart were out of earshot Astarion kneeled next to you and his confident exterior fell away to sadness. The sight of you being so scared and desperate broke his heart. Of course, he could see every detail around him easily, even the crease of your brow as you concentrated on your futile task. He couldn’t imagine what your perspective as a human was like; was it pure pitch black? Could you still see the outlines of your surroundings? Did you even sense him near you? Trying to put himself in your shoes reminded him of his punishment of being locked inside that mausoleum so many years ago and he hated that feeling. Most of all he hated the idea of you experiencing that same amount of fear.

“Darling? Can you look at me?” He asked you in a soft voice. You didn't reply and he could now see tears start to flood your face. His frown deepened and so he reached forward and grabbed the torch out of your hands before you started to scrape the tips of your fingers raw. Your fingernails were already suffering from the constant friction. You practically jumped out of your skin from his unexpected interference. “I'm sorry my sweet but you're starting to hurt yourself. This torch is beyond dead anyway, beating it against the ground won't do you any good.” He tossed it aside and both of you could hear the wood bounce against the stone ground with a hollow clunk. You stared right at him, whether you realized you were doing so or not, and your face tore a new hole in his undead heart; you were seriously frightened, tears stained your face, and your eyes took no hesitation in replacing them with fresh ones. You were visibly shaking and you were constantly blinking, no doubt trying to find any sense of purchase of your surroundings.

“Astarion…”

“Yes?”

“I can't see you.”

“I know darling.”

“I'm afraid of the dark.”

You spoke in whispers, he almost didn't hear your confession. For once he was glad you couldn't see him, his first reaction was shock and it showed on his face. You were so fearless in battle, nothing scared you then, and you were always so confident in your actions, nothing like the person in front of him now. How could someone like you be so afraid of something so non-threatening? You continued to stare at him, tears still streaming down your face. He could hear your heartbeat start to speed up even faster.

“Astarion…? Are you…are you still there?” Your voice was scratchy from fear. His eyes widened as he realized what he had inadvertently done; his delay in response had given you the impression that he had gotten up and left you all alone. He quickly remedied his mistake by reaching out and grasping your hands in his, again making you jump out of your skin from the sudden unexpected contact. He silently cursed himself for scaring you again, he'd get better at this one day he promised himself, but immediately your heart began to calm down slightly from his cool touch.

“I'm here my sweet, I won't leave you.” You breathed a sigh of relief and you let go of one of his hands, fumbling it around to find his shoulder. He stayed still, letting you find him through touch and letting you get a sense of your surroundings by comparing your location to his. He wanted to laugh, your hand movements were adorable, like a puppy using its nose to find food, but he held his tongue. He didn't want to make this moment any more uncomfortable for you than it already was. It took you a minute but eventually, you grasped his shoulder.

“Can I…can I come closer?” You asked. He couldn't help but smile at your timid question. You were still shaking with fear but yet you still remembered to ask before touching him in any intimate way.

“Oh, my love…how could I say no to you? Come here, I’ll help you.” As you began to scoot closer to him he moved his hands to your upper arms to guide you, pulling you in the right direction towards him. You fumbled a bit but he helped you settle in his lap, nestled in between his legs with his arms wrapped around you. You were facing away from him, but you didn't mind this time, you couldn't see his face anyway regardless in the darkness. You could sense his arms around your waist and you could feel his cold hands on your stomach even through your armor. Your surroundings were still nothing but pitch black from your perspective, but the feeling of his body pressed up against yours helped start to calm your frazzled nerves. You couldn't see him, you couldn't see anything, but you knew you were safe with him. He was being your eyes and he would protect you when you couldn't protect yourself. You leaned back into him and he tightened his arms around you, giving you a reassuring squeeze.

“You're safe with me darling. The darkness can’t hurt you.” He whispered into your ear. The trust you had built with each other was enough for you to let yourself believe him. Your body had started to return to normal, your breathing was becoming even and your heart rate was turning into a steady rhythm.

“Where are the others?” you asked. You had no sense if they were even still around, you still couldn't see anything and you couldn't hear them either, but you assumed Astarion could.

“Don't worry your sweet little head about them, they're alright.” As soon as he finished his sentence a faint orange glow lit up the nearby area. You had stayed as still as possible so far but your head whipped in the direction of the new source of light as soon as it appeared. Your hair brushed against Astarion’s face aggressively when you turned, but he was too relieved to mind. He could feel the tension melt from your body. He watched as you forcefully blinked, adjusting your eyes from the pitch darkness to the now faint light. The rest of the party had finally sparked the campfire and they were now preoccupied with trying to roast something over it. You turned back to Astarion and caught the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

“Are you alright? Better now with the light?” he asked, moving one of his hands to push a strand of your hair out of your face and tucking it behind your ear. You nodded, grateful he had stayed with you.

“Can I…um…” your words were failing you again but you glanced down at his lips and he understood. His smile grew a little wider.

“Of course my love.”

You were quick. He barely had time to react before the force of you sent you both tumbling backward. Your lips crashed into his and your hands grasped his shoulders, holding on to him like a lifeforce. Once he had balanced the two of you again he gently grabbed your face, deepening the kiss and teasingly nicking your bottom lip with his fangs. You retreated after he did so, but you were smiling. You placed your forehead against his and stared into those ruby eyes you loved. He returned the same look of admiration and love.

“Thank you,” you told him. He pecked your lips again.

“You don't always need me to protect you, but I most certainly will whenever I can. Nothing will harm you while I'm around. Not here in the Underdark, nor anywhere else. I love you too much to let anything happen to you.”

[moghedien]

I just started my first playground of baldur's gate 3, do you have any tips?

sorry for answering a bit late, I'm about to hit by a hurricane lol

anyway, I may not be the best to ask as a lot of people have been playing the game for much much longer than me, and I'm not always sure what people don't know/miss

overall, I'd say don't worry too much about picking a "wrong" option or messing up, especially not in the first playthrough. there are very few instances where you make a "bad" mistake and don't immediately know it. if you don't like how something turns out, just reload and try again. or just go with it and see what happens and do it differently next time. also remember to save and quicksave, and that you can quicksave in the middle of dialogue even.

also don't worry too much about your build. like yes, you can minmax everything to your hearts content to do maximum damage at all times, but you can also just not do that and do whatever you want and get through the game just as fine. from my experience, its very hard to break a character and make them useless, and even if you do that, you can just respec them later.

Also some quick tips that might be slightly spoilery. I'm not gonna get into details with it, but I'm putting them last in case you don't wanna read. It mostly pertains to stuff that you might actually miss/think you're gonna miss:

You can go into the Underdark or Mountain Pass (Gith Creche) whenever you want and still go back to the main act one area. Those aren't really points of no return, they just have harder enemies, but you can back track after going to those places and even go to both of them despite the game making it seem like you have to make a choice. You just don't want to proceed past those places until you're ready to leave act one for good. You'll know you're near the exit for Act One when you meet and a certain old wizard.

You can absolutely recruit Minthara in a good playthrough and while still recruiting Halsin. When Halsin asks you to kill the goblin leaders, you still need to fight Minthara, but toggle on "non-lethal" damage (google how to do it if you don't know, its a bit different based on PC vs console and its probably best to visually see what you have to do anyway). Fight her and knock her unconscious, and take out the rest of the goblins (lethally or not, your choice), just be careful of hitting her with area effects. Once the battle is done, hover over her body, and it should say she's unconscious instead of dead. She's still lootable, and just leave her sleeping there. Later in the game, she'll come back and you'll get a chance to recruit her (and it won't really be something you can miss, you'll know when you're at that spot).

In Act 2, when you're at a certain Inn, if you want the best case scenario for certain NPCs and also probably one of your companions, DO NOT let the cleric get kidnapped. If she gets taken in the fight, reload and try again until she isn't.

Long Rest in camp (especially in act 1) with different companions active in your party. Some cutscenes won't trigger unless they're in your party so you can miss out on some scenes if you don't swap people out occasionally. The main ones for this that I remember are Astarion, Shadowheart, and Lae'zel.

If you aren't playing a durge character, maybe do that afterward. I think I'm glad I did durge after I beat the game with a non-origin character first, but playing durge is an entirely different experience for the game. I imagine playing as the other origins too, but I haven't done any of them yet.

ummm, that's all I can really think of at the moment, so if anyone else wants to chime in with stuff, feel free

[faerunsbest]

@underdark-dreams

I had to lol

not pictured here is her asking astarion for help , he decides the caress will have answers.

they do

[smallnico]

I gotta know because I'm having a blast with her in my party: would Minthara and Esper get along well or would they hate each other?

🥺💕

asking me about esper.. on a random weekday..... oh i am so blessed thank u so much

to answer your question though!! it's complicated. i've played 2 full games as esper, one before you could save minthara without killing the tieflings and one after, because i wanted to find out the answer to this very question (among other things).

the short answer is that they hate each other, lol. but there's nuance to that, so! under the cut bc it's long!

from a character perspective, the most in-character thing for esper to do is kill her -- they're half-drow, so the first thing she said to them was a comment about their impure blood, which they did NOT care for, and then she immediately started talking about slaughtering those druids and putting those tieflings that our new allies wyll and karlach care about in harm's way. she gave them basically nothing but green lights that it was okay to kill her, and generally speaking, esper doesn't need much of an excuse (they struggled with recruiting karlach for a bit and they were disappointed they didn't get to kill kagha, for instance), so not only were they forced to kill her, they were pretty excited to kill her.

(sidenote: part of that excitement is a pavlovian response from their childhood. one thing their matron did to help esper channel their urges while she was training them to be an assassin was fully endorse them practicing their skills on anyone they caught questioning their half-human parentage or gender, so long as they could do it well enough to get away with it. this means they react to people being racist toward them with excitement, because it means This Is An Acceptable Murder And I Am Going To Do It Fuck Yes. they racked up a pretty extensive kill count after they got to baldur's gate for this reason, too.)

all this to say, the first time around i didn't get to know minthara and her dynamic with esper much. the second time around, she was a bit glitchy, since the ability to save her had only just been implemented -- a lot of her banter with other party members wouldn't trigger, she was completely naked for the entire span of time between meeting ketheric and rescuing her from the prison, and i think i only got to ask her like 2 questions to get to know her? -- so that didn't help much, but from what i did learn about her dynamic with esper was that oh my god they both hate each other so fucking much. they just cannot stand each other. they have so much in common but the things that are different are enormous dealbreakers for both of them and it's almost hilarious. esper couldn't get through one in character conversation with minthara without her disapproving of Something they said. she wants so badly to enable the behaviours they're actively working to stop cycling through. the funniest fucking glitch i got with her was after we saved her from orin, the narrator demanded on her behalf that i literally pay her so she wouldn't walk away, that was how bad their relationship was. i'm Sure that was a glitch but it was wild.

zooming out from the game though, i mean it when i say esper and minthara have a lot in common (even if esper doesn't quite remember a lot of it). they both grew up in menzoberranzan, both of their earliest childhood memories are of surviving murder attempts, they both trained in combat academies (minth in tier breche, probably melee-magthere, and esper in the hidden academy at house auvy'rae), they were both forced to abandon lolth and the underdark by the dead three, they were both mutilated by orin, they were both forced to live for a period committing atrocities on behalf of a quasi-deity who sapped them both of their will to resist. esper and minthara have similar approaches to violence -- seeing it as necessary and enjoyable, but something to be used sparingly to best effect -- though they disagree on when it should be used. they even have similar senses of humour -- minthara likes a bit of cruel irony, and we all know the line about the man who married a drider, while esper is deadpan with a secret love for stupid jokes and mischief.

where they differ the most is on the matter of power. minthara, as we all know, is a properly power-hungry person who takes great joy in accruing and showing off power. she's completely on board with using the tadpoles, she wants her allies to have the most power they could have, whatever the fallout is for them personally (thinking specifically about astarion's ascension, which she's totally on board with, and dj shadowheart, where she says something to the effect of "shadowheart absolutely shouldn't go through with this ritual, shar is a poisonous influence, but it would be better for Us if she did"). she encourages esper to take over the cult of the absolute -- something i know for a fact astarion does too, but for some reason that line never triggered for either esper game -- and she wants them to take back the cult of bhaal, too. all that runs pretty completely contrary to the way that esper wants to live. esper rejects the tadpoles outright because they find the idea of injecting another squirming alien consciousness into their brain (when they already have the urges and the voice of bhaal and the incomprehensible flashes of emotions and memories from a past they can't remember), especially one that lets other people poke around in their thoughts, completely revolting and terrifying. the power is Not worth it to them, they just want to be left alone for once in their life. they didn't even want to run the cult of bhaal when they actually were in charge of it -- they liked the menial aspects of it, things like bookkeeping and arranging rituals and planning murders and getting their hands dirty, but they hated being the center of attention. weird for a bard, but they were trained to work unseen and listen and manipulate subtly more than anything, so they're extremely out of their comfort zone when a lot of emphasis is put on them. as far as they're concerned, visible and showy power makes a person helpless and a target (one of the other reasons i decided to play again was because i accidentally let gale ascend in the first run, and esper also hated that and thought he was an idiot. and tara got mad at me and that made me sad. sorry tara i'll do anything for you).

minthara seeks power and esper rejects power. she respects shows of power, and they only show off their actual power to people who are about to die, so they can keep the element of surprise wherever possible. so many of their core conflicts would occur because she thinks they're weak-willed and they think she's foolish, and because she thinks they're weak, she tries to control them, which makes esper start snarling and biting, and the game didn't really let me resolve that. it only gets worse when you start getting into things like drow race and gender politics -- bhaal created esper to have as bad of a time as possible in menzoberranzan as both a half-human and a redundant male child that killed their mother in childbirth -- and especially class politics -- since minthara is a baenre, she is (or was) a member of menzo's top house, and esper is an auvy'rae, a member (born into, disowned, and adopted back into) of a house known for purposefully cultivating an uncompetitive and nonthreatening public reputation (so they can focus on hidden intrigue, information brokering, and pulling the strings away from public scrutiny). minthara may not be aligned with lolth anymore, but 300 years of drow politics is hard as fuck to unlearn, and every time she addresses esper like they're a surfacer (which she does, because in-game that's how half-drow are classified -- surfacer by underdark races, underdark by surfacer races) they feel the urge to kill her again, even though they don't have their Concrete memories to contradict her.

then of course there's the fact that they're trying so hard to resist the urge to do violence. esper has no problem with normal violence, but they try to manage their internal drive toward Cruelty by focusing those impulses on people who really deserve it. bhaal's influence makes them feel a deep and disorienting loss of control during moments of violence and cruelty, so they go from "yes violence good let's do violence" at the beginning of the game to "i'm really good at killing and it feels so fucking good to do but i can't, i don't want to be ruled by the drive to do harm just because i can justify my focus on it because i'm good at it, i want to learn how to be something else, something that hasn't been tainted by my terrible past. so i'll try very hard to kill only when it's appropriate and i'll try to rely on my friends to tell me when that is". smash cut to minthara telling them to cut off a child's hand for pickpocketing lmao,

so, yeah. i love minthara, but esper really doesn't lol. i think she just provokes the Old Esper to come out of them way too often for their comfort -- they want their memories back, but they'd like to be in control of the process. i've tried to write party banter between esper and minthara and it always comes out extremely hostile and unpleasant. unfortunately, the most in-character thing for esper to do is kill her and really enjoy doing it. if they had the ability to understand each other's core approaches to power and violence, though, i think they could be pretty good friends, especially seeing as astarion has a lot of the same issues as minthara does vis a vis power and violence in contrast to esper, and esper is closer to astarion than anyone else in the party.

i have another durge run going where i'm going to try and be evil to get to know a different side of minthara, though! i might change the answer depending on what i can learn there.

[havealotonmymind]

Sneak Peek of Pet Name

The fourth one-shot in Firsts! Finally, one taking place post-confession lol.

Edit: Read here!

Everything was in a handy spot, ready for use whenever she needed. Everything except…

Her eyes scanned over her tent for her packets of crossbow bolts. They needed to be on top for easier reloading mid-battle.

Astarion had seemingly given up on packing her books and was instead engrossed in a book of fables she’d picked up in the Underdark. The bolts laid just on the next pile over.

As she pushed herself to her feet, Leviathala asked, “Darling, could you hand me that?”

The moment the words slipped, her blood ran cold. She hadn’t even thought about it, but that was the trouble, wasn’t it?

Astarion snapped to attention. “What did you call me?”

“I…Nothing special,” she said, hoping she wasn’t blushing.

His incredulous grin only grew. “Oh no, no, no. Deny it all you like, but I heard you.”

“You didn’t hear anything except me asking you to hand me those bolts please.”

“You called me darling.”

“Astarion—”

“Hm? I’m sorry, I only answer to darling now. My heart or my love will also suffice.”

“Astarion.”

“Funny, that doesn’t sound like a pet name to me.”

Her face felt like it was on fire. He knew exactly what he was doing, and she hated that that pretty smile of his almost coaxed it out of her.

Lev snatched the packet of bolts and stalked past him. “You are insufferable, you know that?”

“Darling, come now. Just say it one more time?”

[nokikissa]

Starting a new campaign with the group I did Tyranny of Dragons with, I prepared 3 different characters cos I wasn't sure what classes the other would play as I didn't get clear answers beforehand.

I would've preferred to play a non magic using class cos sometimes managing spells in roll20 is a pain, but welp no one did bring a healer soooo I went with the druid option I made exactly in case no one else wants to be a healer lol.

So yeah this is Siru, a deep gnome originally from underdark but came above ground as she has interest in the stars and she wanted to study those (As you may guess she'll be a Circle of Stars druid once we hit level 2)

[inkydiamonds]

THANK YOU FOR PUTTING SULLY ON YOUR ARTFIGHT I CAN NOW DRAW HER YAYYYYY

also any updates bout the fate of tirazia !!!! I am invested

YAYAY NP!!! I'm so excited to see your art! (Edit: I took so long to answer this that I have seen it!!!!!)

I also really gotta add more characters to my art fight- including more FOT NPCs maybe ?? Maybe ??? I have one in particular I wanna do but I'm not sure how to do it bc I don't want Blue to see him bc he hasn't shown up in the campaign yet lol

For the actual campaign itself! I'm not sure where I left off lol. [Looks at that one long post] Ah! Session 7 it seems, then Blue sent some memes about session 8.

We haven't done any over the summer bc now we're 8 people total and also. Timezones. But! We ended on session 9, and holy shit were these some crazy last two sessions.

Brief session 7 recap:

Sadly, Hans's player couldn't come, so he canonically spends the entire session digging holes in the ground (... long story) and inspecting the mysterious magical skull he got after we raided the Order of the Five castle (where Sully buried that one person alive). However! For the first time, we have a new player who takes over playing Paul. Through this, the rest of the party goes on a wild goose chase to get a magical artifact with him except Anawrete, who visits her parents' place, and we get lore there. At the end of the session, Alloces goes off to investigate mysterious smuggler's den with ties to Anawrete at the Order of the Five castle and Silen follows him. It ends up having a tunnel leading off into the Underdark, and Silen loses sight of Alloces and starts walking down there.

That's session 7!

Now, session 8:

Sully, Paul, Mal, and after a minute Alloces go and reunite with Hans. Hans is outside the Shipbuilder's Guild, having dug a bunch of holes without finding what he wanted to (a lead brick we buried in like session 4ish) This is very concerning, bc it was supposed to be a message to a demon to kill this one guy (we were trying to solve a mystery and didn't know what else to do..... so we did that. Then we tried to unearth it bc we finished the mystery). Also, it wasn't supposed to disappear, even if it did work! So. Um?

However, the party decides that it's not that important, bc we're preoccupied with something else: the skull. Turns out Hans figured out that it's "locked" and that he can brute force unlock whatever magic it has inside it by blasting it with all four types of elemental magic at once. We figure out that between Hans, Alloces, Paul, and Sully, we have the needed elemental magic to do this. Unfortunately, Sully has suddenly become very up-in-arms, saying that combining elemental magic is against everything she believes in, and that she could never help with this. Hans refuses to listen, however, but he's stuck bc Sully is the only one with Earth magic in the party (and Earth magic is hard to obtain as a spell lol). Therefore, he decides to do something... not the greatest. He whispers to Alloces to use Suggest on her, and bc Alloces likes chaos, he complies. (Fun fact: ooc, I was actually the one to propose the Suggest idea. I thought it would be silly. <3) It works, and Sully now has to participate in this ritual against her will.

Meanwhile, Mal is watching all of this go down. She sees Sully rapidly change character, and realizes that something is up. She pulls Sully aside, asking if Sully is okay. Sully, unable to say otherwise, says yes, she's okay, she's just decided to do the ritual now. Mal fails her insight check, and decides that Sully must be okay if she says she is. Mal's player then does something which makes me go CRAZY insane and makes me want to chew on glass (/pos) and decides that NOW is the time to do a scene which she's been thinking about for a while. The Context: back in session 6 during our big fight, Sully got Mal out of death saves with a healing potion. Healing potions are a bit expensive, and Mal had her own which she didn't use before she got downed (overestimating her abilities), but Sully probs didn't even think twice and used her own on Mal. However, Mal obviously has been thinking about it, because she gives Sully that potion, then. Mal, very obviously very nervous, apologizes for "letting Sully down" and for being a burden during the fight, and not being strong enough to stay up herself. AND SULLY CAN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING BC SHE'S PREOCCUPIED WORRYING ABOUT THE RITUAL + BEING UNDER SUGGESTION. Mal then leaves very quickly, and Sully is left there, speechless.

Then the fucking ritual happens and we all unlock the Skull, and Sully snaps out of her Suggestion. The Skull has some kind of spirit inside it, and is filled with Aetheric energy (which......... happens to be something Sully ALSO is very against). Sully then starts yelling at Hans, telling him to drop the Skull and berating him for getting Alloces to possess her (she also hates Alloces but like. She's always hated Alloces. She really liked Hans. This is a betrayal of literally everything she believes in). The spirit of the skull starts speaking and reveals himself to be Logan Mortem, the original founder of the Order of the Five, and with that name Paul freezes as well. Apparently Paul somehow knows him- and is horrified. Then we fight bc Hans still refuses to drop it: Hans and Alloces versus Sully and Paul. Sully and Paul lose as we both roll very low lol (also Sully was mostly trying to knock the skull out of Hans's hand), and Sully, fuming, injured and panicking, decides to leave. Hans and Alloces have a conversation with the skull where it reveals some of its goals. Alloces apparently knows Logan, and Logan is maybe his dad/creator (????). Hans has been chosen to be the next heir of the Order of the Five apparently. Logan wants to "bring order to chaos". Hans is like. "hm. btw, you're not evil, right?" and Logan is like "........no." Hans is like "seems legit 👍". Paul tries to attack Hans one more time, this time with his moon staff (the artifact we were looking for session 7), but it backfires and hurts him somehow. After Alloces and Hans leave, its revealed that when it backfired, Paul got some of his memories taken from him and forgot what he was doing and where he was. He also leaves for the Shipbuilder's hall.

MEANWHILE. Silen is in the fuckin UHHHH Underdark.

When he's walking down, he hears a thunk behind him and ends up running further in. He keeps going down, and down, and down, until he ends up in the Underdark. Honestly, nothing really happens here except him hearing some Drow or Duergar and realizing that he's in the Underdark, and heading back up the way he came. However, when he comes back up, he hears voices in Common (rather than Undercommon). The group of people hear/see him, and they're wearing colorful robes of some kind and have a huge piece of stone in the shape of a body with them. He's like "haha hiiiii". The people, ofc, ask wtf he's doing here, and with his very poorly made excuses, they decide to take him with them. He tries to escape, and they stop him- and when they use elemental magic to stop him, he finally realizes that their robes look quite similar to Sully's.

They take Silen and the rock with them underwater with water magic, and they go into a cliff face opened to show another tunnel in the earth.

Switching over to Sully's perspective, she decides to head over to the Monastery, for the first time as shown in this campaign (tho I think somewhere she goes there and leaves a note about Ansa after session 6 before session 7 for continuity). The party knows nothing about it other than it existing. Even though she's shaken about the fight, she was planning to go here anyways, and talks to Jenevra, a water-aligned monk, saying she's here about the "Anatheme". Jenevra leads her to a secret passageway she's never been in before, and there, she sees, against all odds- fucking Silen.

Adreyão, the lead figure in the party of monks, says that Silen claims to know Sully. Sully, ofc, confirms it, but asks wtf Silen was up to. He really doesn't have a good reason, but Sully takes it as Silen being Silen (which it is), and she says that they can let him go. But before they do, she explains what happened with the fight, and warns Silen not to trust Hans or Alloces, saying that they've been corrupted and don't have his interests at heart. (Kind of unreliable narrator- Sully is very very biased, close-minded, and is actively working to split the party against the two of them). Silen... kind of believes her, but ofc refuses to acknowledge that Alloces is bad bc bro is head over heals in love (why).

Silen is led out by Jenevra, and Adreyão guides Sully through a ritual of their own. She drinks a mysterious liquid, and is suddenly able to change the stone into orange-tinted quartz, revealing what was inside the rock that they transported- Ansa. Chained and cast in crystal, Ansa is transported into a larger room, where many many others like her sit. Surrounded by countless Anathemes cast in ice or crystal, Sully feels much more calm than before.

For the rest of the session, it's a lot of character interactions as we all try to deal with all the shit which just went down (and PAUL LORE). Unfortunately, Anawrete missed all of it (sorry Blue :((( ) so a lot of it is catching her up as she's like I WAS GONE FOR TWO MINUTES.....

When we take a long rest, some people hear weird rustling and chaos coming from Paul's room, and Sully (+unbeknownst to her, Alloces's shadow) investigate and find papers everywhere and a weird blue stone, which the shadow takes.

Meanwhile, Paul sees Anawrete on his morning walk, and tells her a bit about his moon rod, then about the fight and shit which happened the other day. Then he tells her to go touch the rock up in his room, saying he's "not been quite honest".

All the party starts meeting up and chatting in the common room. Mal is chatting with Anawrete about her new fit, Silen is trying to dissuade Hans from the skull (telling him about it possessing him earlier and saying "abomination") (end of session 6 idk if I mentioned this lol), Sully walks in and tries to talk to Mal, but is distracted by the conversation of what the skull is where Alloces says some ominous shit. It's very tense, but Paul walks in, interrupting the conversation by saying "who wants scoOOOOnes :D" (LMFAO)

We briefly talk about the stone, which Alloces gives up. Apparently Paul is losing his memories and says that we can access them through the stone- but that he doesn't want to be there for it. Sully take the stone, and says she'll do it in a bit, then takes Mal to talk to her. (Honestly even tho it was in character I felt bad about being like NO LORE NOW but I'm glad we saved it for the next session bc it was a long sequence of events lol).

Sully and Mal have a conversation, where Sully first says the same thing she did to Silen- explaining the fight, saying that Hans and Alloces don't have their interests at heart, etc. She says that Mal was correct that Sully was not herself at the time, and thanks her for being there, and also says that... Mal never let her down. But Mal has been slowly getting more panicked as Sully has been talking, and says "but now I've let you down twice now! Because I didn't even realize you were influenced by them!!" and Sully doesn't even know what to say to that. She tries to reassure Mal, but it doesn't really work, and they. AUGH THEMMM PIX I'M SO UNWELL ABOUT THEM...... THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE FOR SHIT..................

Anyways, Silen and Anawrete talk, because she figured out that he was at the smuggler's den (tbh I forget how lol, maybs Alloces said it or just Silen himself). She interrogates him, and although he was VERY scared of her, he somehow doesn't mention that Sully's people were there, but he definitely throws Alloces under the bus. He then immediately runs to Sully and says that Anawrete lives there at the den (???) (she does not. bro was confused and scared out of his mind). Anawrete sees him talking to Sully (who mostly ignores him) and I think guesses that Sully was somehow related to all this.

However, at that moment Paul decides he wants to talk to Sully. They go off on their own, and have a very interesting conversation, where it's revealed that Paul definitely has a (negative) history with Logan and he's on her side. He says a lot of other ominous things ("you might have to become a demon to fight one" and "if I start feeling the effects of the skull, finish me off" are notable), and it's pretty obvious that they're against the skull for different reasons, but that they're on the same team.

Anawrete, with so much new info, goes back to her family complex briefly and talks to her mom about it. Her family has been tracking the Order of the Five and their movements, and found that the remaining troops have been heading up to Nortepont (a northern dwarf city), which is very interesting.

Finally, Alloces and Silen have a hilarious talk where Alloces tries to do a deal with him (favor for crossbow Alloces found in the den bc Silen is a ranger) and Silen's like "sure :D. As long as you take me to lunch again" and Alloces, done with this shit, decides against it.

AND THAT'S SESSION 8! SO MUCH SHIT WENT DOWN !!

But uhhhhh we've gone up to session 9. So. There's still more to talk about, though sadly I do not have the time rn. I will get to it later, and I hope you like this very long update!!!!

(I also got a lot of analyses and theories and art AND a whole ass cipher puzzle thing I gave to my campaign so there's. That too)

Also @blue-rhapsody feel free to add on anything! (Or even summarize session 9 I would be so happy if you did that lol)

[bhaalbaaby]

Penelope as a Companion 💫

Filled out the questionnaire because I was thinking about this myself lol

General

Where can your Tav be recruited? Are they first encountered on the Nautiloid, or in the Nautiloid crash region? Or are they not recruitable until a later act?

She would be near Bex and Dannis pretending to be a psychic. You can either help her with her "vision" for them and predict something bad for the couple.

Do the other companions have special comments or reactions upon recruiting your Tav?

Lae'zel is reluctant about her since she's a bard and doesn't think she will be worthy. If Karlach and Gale are there, they can vouch for her and think she'll be a great addition to their party.

Does your Tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

When Astarion threatens Tav, she gently tells him to put his blade away and they can handle it like adults or she'll be forced to splatter his brains on the ground. When they recruit Karlach, Penelope muses how much she can lift lol

What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

She likes good actions and helping people. She also likes extorting people and funny answers

Are there any instances where your Tav can permanently leave the party, depending on player character actions?

She does not approve of siding with the Goblins and can permaleave. You can talk to her and pass a high persuasion check, but her approval will tank.

Do they have any secrets that can be revealed? What are the prerequisites for this secret coming to light?

She changes what her previous job is twice. She was a psychic, a traveling bard, and a poet, but her actual job was her courtesan. You can pass a small persuasion check or a passive insight check on her if Gortash is brought up with Karlach or Wyll since she acts more standoffish. If they pass them, she can tell them a very basic story about knowing him, and being around him, but not knowing anything more until act 3.

Do they have their own personal quest that spans the course of the game? Can it take different branching paths depending on the choices the Player Character makes?

Yes. When they're in the Underdark, her long-lost druid brother finds the party searching for Halsin since Thaniel sent him. If Halsin is not there, he may start to leave, but Penelope recognizes him as someone familiar and asks Tav if they can stay. If Halsin isn't there, he entrusts her with some knowledge to either clear the shadowlands or how to defeat Ketheric. If Halsin is there, there would be a scene in Act 2 when they realize they are siblings and try to build on their strained relationship. When Act 2 ends, her brother stays in the FKA Shadowlands, but Penelope grows as a person and is ready to face her true enemy, Gortash. When they reach Sharess' Caress, she confesses her past to the PC and tells them about her relationship with Gortash. She can be used as truce fodder with Gortash and be given to him during their truce and not be able to be played, or PC can keep her and still do the truce, or vow not to help Gortash and kill him later.

What do they say when the Player Character asks them to stay in camp? How about when the Player Character asks them to come adventuring again?

"Aww, but you'll be so bored." "Fine, when you realize what you're missing, I'll be here."

"Wise choice, sweeting."

Does your Tav have any escalating conflicts with one of the other companions, like Lae’zel and Shadowheart’s knife-fight?

Karlach and Penelope can have an argument in camp in Act 3 in Rivington when she reveals her relationship with Gortash. Penelope can explain that it wasn't because she wanted him and that she was paid to be around him. Karlach can listen but PC will have to interfere. Neither will die, but Penelope can permaleave if PC shames her for her past.

Are there any unique NPCs associated with your Tav that can show up during the course of the game?

Her brother can appear in Act 1.5 in the Underdark and will stay with the team if Halsin is there until the end of Act 2.

Are there any moments in the game that trigger unique dialogue for your character? (Like Gale’s anecdote about the barfight after you save the goblin prisoner)

Being in the Underdark and talking to the Petrified Drow will prompt her to talk about her father and reveal that he was a Lolth-Sworn Drow and that the cockiness of him reminded her of him and she reveals she thinks he's dead since he disappeared when she was 13.

Story Specific

How does your Tav advise the player character when it comes to the Dream Visitor?

She thinks they're too good to be true. No one in her dreams ever promised her safety without wanting something in return.

How do they advise the player character on Raphael?

"Devils are masters of persuasion. Trickers of the tongue. We should hear him out, but we should keep our cards to our chest."

How do they react to Astarion biting the Player Character?

"I've always wondered about vampires, but a vampire in the daylight? I haven't heard a song about that. He can stay as long as he asks first."

How do they react to the Player Character letting Abdirak whip them?

"Wow, me next! I mean, you are so brave in front of the Goddess Lovitar."

How do they react to the Player Character taking their first tadpole power?

"I thought we were getting rid of the tadpoles, not adding more. I don't think we should be using them to control people. It could be dangerous."

What can they be found doing at the tiefling/goblin party?

She would be hanging out near Lakrissa and Alfira and playing her flute. The goblin party she would be swatting goblins away, or away from the party in general, hiding near the waterfall.

Do they have comments on who the Player Character chooses to spend the night with?

"I see the appeal. You should share all the sorid details once you've done the deed. A story for a story."

Do they have unique dialogue if the Player Character lets them die when they steal the Blood of Lathander?

"This shit never happens to me. The moment I step out of Baldur's Gate, a BUILDING! gets dropped on me! We got to get out of here."

How do they react if the PC licks the dead spider in the Gauntlet of Shar?

"Please excuse me as I go get sick over there." "Did you think you gained an affinity for it? My, my…"

What do they say if the PC tries to force them to go up on stage with Dribbles the Clown?

"Oh, I served my time on stage. I don't think I'm ready to be downgraded for clowns, beloved."

Is it possible for your Tav to be kidnapped and replaced by Orin? How is Orin's deception revealed? How do they react to the PC rescuing them in the Temple of Bhaal?

She cannot since she's tied with Gortash.

How do they react to the PC either allowing Astarion to ascend or convincing him to spare the 7000 spawn?

She would be upset and think that the spawn deserved a chance. She also would be wary of Astarion and his newfound powers and lust for control. She would express hope that he doesn't turn into other tyrants she knew. If he spares them, she would be happy but still wary, worried about the havoc they could cause.

How does Tav react to the PC becoming a mind flayer? Can they offer to become one themselves? Does their reaction change if they’re romanced?

She thinks it's honorable of Tav to become a mind flayer. She does not offer. If she was romanced, she would still think they are beautiful, and kiss their fleshy forehead.

How do they react when the Dark Urge first reveals their amnesia and murderous thoughts to them?

She tell them to stay strong and to not give into their thoughts. she would also tell them she would start hiding their blades should she need to.

How do they react to the Dark Urge killing Alfira?

She would be hysterical since Alfira and her had a bond being both bards. She would want to know who did it and why? She wouldn't permaleave, but she would definitely be upset.

If romanced, how do they react to the Dark Urge trying to kill them in Act 2?

She would be very sympathetic and tell them that she believes in them. She would also hum a lullaby to try to ease their urges.

Romance

Is your Tav a romanceable character? Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

She is a romanceable character with not a lot of requirements. As long as you're nice to her, you can start the romance at like approval 40.

Does your Tav need to be flirted with to start the romance, or will they approach the PC themselves if approval is high enough?

She will approach if high enough.

Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option?

Polyamorous

Do they have a special romance scene at the tiefling/goblin party?

Yes at the Tiefling party, she will ask if she can play them a song that ends up being a seductive dance that she used to do at Sharess' Caress that ends up with them getting caught up in the passion and making love in the forest. The Goblin party is different where she is more submissive and lets Tav lead the way, telling them she loves when they're more dominant.

Does the romance have different branching paths, or just one route to take?

If they get the Goblin party scene, it's more physical than emotional. If her brother is not there in Act 1.5/gets turned away, she will end the relationship by Act 3 since there was not development and they're just a fling. If they let her brother stay, there is a scene once she realizes that he is her brother that she shares her past in Elturel with Tav and they have a special moment. In Act 3, Tav can break up with her when she reveals her past saying they don't like that she wasn't truthful, or be extremely rude and judgemental. They can also break up with her by giving her to Gortash. If Tav is accepting and doesn't give her to Gortash, then their scene in Act 3 is Penelope realizing that she does not need to be her past and that she can be who ever she wants to be and that she wants to be with them and they would get another intimate scene.

How do they react to the player character breaking up with them, or choosing another character over them?

High approval is probably similar to Pearl from Pearl lol "What did I do wrong? Why are you choosing them over me if I didn't do anything wrong? I don't understand, I thought you liked me!" "I suppose if your heart now belongs to them… I wish to be alone."

Low approval: "There are plenty of fish in the sea and plenty more who want me~"

What questions can Zethino ask the PC about Tav in the Love Test?

"There is one who strikes fear in Penelope's heart. Who is it?" (Gortash)

"What makes her happy, her heart swell and quell with joy?" (Playing her instrument/being with her lover)

"If she could go anywhere in the world, where would she go?" (A rich spa or Menzoberranzan)

If they’re poly, do they have a reaction to the PC engaging in a relationship with Halsin?

She would want to join in, curious about if he's more elf than bear.

How do they react if the PC has sex with Mizora? The Emperor? Haarlep?

She would be furious if they slept with Mizora because she hates her stench and how she uses Wyll. She wouldn't break up, but she would chastize them. She would think the Emperor is slimey for the way he acts, not necessarily that he's a mind flayer. Would have questions about the tentacles. Haarlep is similar to Mizora especially if they give Haarlep their body. She would be sad that they've given up that freedom she recently gained.

Will they join in with the PC and the Drow Twins, or no?

No, because they're like her siblings. She would wish Tav a good time though. She could not be convinced either since she just isn't interested.

What are Tav’s plans for the future? Do they propose to the PC, or is marriage not something they’re interested in?

She would like to settle down and chill out in the future, probably write an erotic book or two about their adventures, and share drafts with Volo who is writing the same thing except with less sex. She mostly would get married if she needed to for money purposes, but they do not have to get married right away. Tav would have to propose to her.

[spicyraeman]

Tav ask! Can you answer 1, 23, and 31 for Phylo? :]

thank you for askin about my little mushroom guy <3

[Tav Ask Game]

1. What is their backstory and why did you choose it?

I assume this means background? Phylo’s in-game background is Outlander, it just seemed like the closest fit for a drow raised in a secluded Myconid colony.

23. What's their opinion of Emerald Grove? Do they help the tieflings or side with the druids?

The close community aspect of the Grove reminded them a bit of their old colony, but the hostility towards peaceful outsiders very much did not. Unsurprisingly, they sided with the tieflings and help remove the goblin threat.

They never ended up investigating Kagha though, as they didn't know anything about the Rite of Thorns (except that it doesn’t sound good) and they can’t read common well so figuring out the clues was a no-go.

31. What does your Tav think of the Underdark and the Myconids?

Phylo is thriving once they get to the Underdark, it’s immediately dragging around the rest of the tadfools and showing off and teaching them about all the cool fungi and beasts in the area.

When they get into the Myconid colony they’re practically jumping out of their skin when the rapport spores hit and they can finally talk to the party without broken sign language or the tadpole. It’s also just excited to finally be around Myconids again and spends a little too much time talking to Sovereign Spaw about the colony (they may have a slight crush lol)

Spaw also gives them the Envoy's Amulet for killing Nere, which I've changed from a +2 bonus on  Persuasion checks to producing Rapport Spores so they can continue easily talking to the rest of the party without using the tadpole.

[meanbossart]

Another much overdue ask compilation! Some short-ish lore asks (Gale, Gort, DU drow relationships and pet-companion preferences) and a couple of art/advice ones sprinkled in. THIS IS BY NO MEANS ALL OF MY ASKS so as usual I appreciate everyone's patience!

I actually think he'd give them a pass entirely as soon as he noticed. Correct me if I'm mistaken but half-drow get No love from underdark drow and are usually surface babies right? So that fruit is miles away from the tree lol. I think he generally has a bit of a soft spot for mixed kinds since he himself feels like an amalgamation of sorts.

Thank you! They're kind of a pain in the ass to draw at times for that very reason but man I do like the look 😩if other people like it too then that makes it all worth it!

THAT'S TRICKY TO ANSWER BECAUSE OFTEN TIMES I'M NOT... REALLY TRYING. I've draw a ton of horror comics for mine and my partner's series' SAD SACK and SORTIE, so I think it just comes naturally to me 😅 also I do genuinely find expressive and, uh, rugged faces more attractive? (I think they look rugged, again that's what people tell me at least.)

I think the secret might be adding bits of realism in there. I get a lot of comments about the wrinkles and eyelashes I add to my art, as well as the way I draw individual teeth (though I've lately been making an effort to simplify my style in favor of drawing faster, so I haven't done that as much or in as much detail.)

Both symmetry and the lack of it can also add to that effect. I have employed both facial unevenness and almost point-perfect symmetry to achieve something a little frightening or otherworldly in my work. [MORE UNDER THE CUT]

Thank you so much!!! The contrast is very much intentional, that's what DU drow's character is all about ;)

Hahah well I somewhat doubt Bhaal would care that his spawn gets named, but either way he stripped himself of his name as soon as he killed his foster parents and abandoned the Underdark. He had a drow name that I jotted down somewhere but it's completely irrelevant because nobody has used it since he was a child, and he doesn't remember it (even pre-tadpole/having his brain scrambled.) Here's a little write up about his origins that might shed some more light on that: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/739688837431836672/did-drow-ever-have-a-childhood-before-the-temple

And about his original drow-given name and the reason behind it: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/741350986692591616/drow-had-to-have-been-given-a-name-by-his-adoptive

Everyone just referred to him as his supposed race, or as Bhaalspawn or Bhaal's child, and any other similar titles. Orin called him "kin" and "brother" and Gortash likely called him his associate. Post-tadpole the camp grows entirely used to calling him "the drow" and he has no desire to change that or to choose a proper name.

THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH😭 no reason to be intimidated, I'm just some rando drawing BG3 fan art LOL I've been drawing since I was a child, and started taking it semi-seriously when I was 16 years old, so twelve years ago! That's around the time where I got my first non-display tabled and used that well into my twenties, prior to that I only did stuff on paper and liked to do inks color with pencils. I never really ventured into traditional painting at all except for a little bit of water-coloring in college.

Traditional and Digital art are very much different beasts. Which one you want to start with is, in my opinion, just dependent on what you want to do. Digital art gives you a lot of tools that makes learning easier, but you might find yourself having much steeper of a learning curve if you ever decide to do traditional art instead. If you want to be good at both, you need to practice both, since the skill doesn't entirely translate from one medium to the other.

Naturally you will be able to draw well on either, it's just... Different. I will say though, that I think if you're still learning you should use whatever allows you to look directly at what your hand is doing, so either traditional or display tablet/Ipad. I have no idea what a non-display tablet would do to a beginner, but remembering my experience with it I feel like it might be a huge detriment to developing the skill (feel free to share your experiences in the replies if you disagree, as I would definitely be curious to read them!)

YOU KNOW ME BABY IT WAS MESSY AND COMPLICATED the tldr.: is that they were "buddies", absolutely no romance intended there on either mine or DU drow's part, but due to his nature the friendship was extremely weird.

Here's a couple of replies where I go into more detail about it: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/739191190871818240/i-dont-have-a-particular-question-in-mind-sorry

https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/744952815768764416/so-not-sure-if-youve-covered-this-but-i-thought

That's definitely reserved for the vamp LOL DU drow very much enjoys when Astarion teases and fusses over him, and while Astarion probably got a kick out of acting that way around such a big and scary looking guy at first, I think by "now" (later and post-game) he's pretty much immune to DU drow's looks and just enjoys doing it in earnest.

He's not at all averse to being touched (even rather intimately) by close friends, but he wouldn't be quite THAT vulnerable with anyone else.

HE REALLY DISLIKED GALE... He irked him out by seemingly fostering a rather persistent romantic interest in him for at least half the time they spent together (very much based on my interpretation of their in-game interactions at the time, though my Gale might have been a little bugged.)

But also they had a... Fairly in depth relationship still? Gale was a staple in my party, and even though I antagonized him constantly by the end of the game it still felt like they had so much weight in each other's lives, if that makes sense. I might need to do a bit of an "update" on the DU Drow/Gale lore sometime, I feel like I've had some thoughts since that warrant more exploration of their dynamic (you can find a lot of old asks about it if you just search the Gale Dekarios tag in my blog though).

The gist of it is that DU drow found him arrogant and duplicitous, his constant optimist irritated him to no end and felt like it veiled a stream of self-pity (two things DU drow despises) Gale's attempts to get through to him only added insult to injury. By the end of the game he decided to pursue the crown of Karsus and this only lost him even more respect in Drow's eyes, seeing as he doesn't value godly power at all.

I was pretty overwhelmed by the game at the start so I actually missed a lot LOL including Scratch. I did get the owlbear cub though, which DU drow gladly welcomed into camp since it was injured - but I think he would have wished for it to remain a wild animal and to return back to it's home after it had grown up a bit. He didn't really make a "pet" out of it more than he just looked after the little guy in the way it's mother might have, probably with Shadowheart's help.

He wouldn't be opposed to proper pets though if one were to stumble into his life. He'd definitely be more of a cat guy because of their independence and strong little attitudes.

It is very hard to build proper rapport with him. He will be "friendly" to most people who have a good sense of humor about them, but friendSHIP is another thing entirely.

I think it's kind of circumstantial. He's very economical in his relationships and doesn't really seek them out at all - so a situation where he's forced to be in someone's company might be the only way to develop a bond with him, as he doesn't appreciate insistence either and that's more likely to push him away. He doesn't value status or titles either (kind of looks down on them really) so that won't help.

I think he just likes people who are true to themselves and their nature, sometimes even if the nature is one he disagrees with at it's core. This is why he liked Gortash, why he and Shadowheart got along so well, and why him and Astarion fit together so seamlessly despite seeming so different. Likewise I think it's why he didn't jive with people like Gale or Wyll, because they seemed to be rather... Dishonest with themselves and their own end-goals.

[barbatusart]

quick note wrt the last pages & the boletus aurumni buildup but TADAA LOL

real question now is does this mushroom grow in the underdark, my answer is IT DOES NOW IT’S FANTASY BABY

[spiritsong]

6, 16, 19, 25, 28, 30

I had to stop or I would have asked basically all of the questions 💀😂

getting down on one knee and presenting you with a rose because you are a TREASURE 🌹 hahaha thank you for the questions!!

from BG3 Character Development Questions, for Aune;

6. What companion are you platonically close with?

Answered here!

16. Do they have a favorite creature in Faerûn?

Feystags! And though she's more of a cat person, she likes blink dogs as well. Speaking of cats, she freaked tf out upon meeting Tara (a cat!! with wings!!!!), but was not well received lmao 😔 She also is really into pixies but idk if I'd count them since they're technically people and not creatures lol. Aune really wants to see a faerie dragon!!

19. How do you think they'll meet their end?

OH GOD IDK 💀 ok ok ok so, in all honesty, I think Aune will end up getting wayyyy too powerful to simply be felled in battle with anyone, so that's out of the cards. I don't think she'll ever be rid of her self-sacrificing streak, so if it's not simply of old age, she'd die giving her life up for someone. The thing is, she's so (unhealthily) devoted to Astarion that the only person she'd be willing to give up her life to is Astarion himself lol. Otherwise she'd be like "I'm so sorry, I love you and will do almost anything for you BUTTTT my guy needs me. he's waiting at home for his dinner. aka me 😔"

25. What arcana major best represents your Tav?

This is my favorite question of the list because I am wild about tarot!! So I've always associated Aune's larger story with the Lovers. The largest arcs of her life are focused on her relationship with one other person; how she juxtaposes against them, and how she finds herself and her life changed as a result of the relationship. And not just in a romantic sense! (In her early childhood/young adulthood, it was just her and Xulleth, her last master. After that, it was her and Imyrr, her late love, and then her and Astarion, etc.) There's always some sort of duality going on. But most of all, when I think of Aune, I often consider her as a package deal with durge!Aune. I've always thought of them as parallel realities or mirrors of each other. Despite the fact that their paths diverge and they live through different experiences, a lot of their inner selves remain the same, which has been interesting to see play out. ALSO I like the Lovers because Aune's story can pretty much be boiled down to "love trumps all" and how she eventually learns to love herself & let others love her back. HOWEVERRR if I'm just considering Aune as a person, then I... unfortunately can't narrow it down 🤣 The Hanged Man is a BIG one - she hangs in the intersection between life & death, the World Above (the surface) & the Night Below (the Underdark), good & evil, etc. She's an outsider for most of her life and struggles with self-sacrifice. The other card I associate with her specifically is the Star; to me, the Star is basically who the Hanged Man becomes if they can come to terms with their place in the in-between. Because I always have to do the absolute most, here are Aune's cards from my favorite deck of all time (Pagan Otherworlds).

Also, the Hierophant reversed (eschewing tradition), Judgment reversed (self-doubt, self-criticism), and the Hermit reversed (self-imposed isolation) are great symbols of her struggling within Eilistraee's church. OK OK I'm done

28. Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader?

Aune is definitely the leader of the bunch and would actually have a pretty hard time giving up the position, despite the fact that she complains & laments about it and has WAY too much on her plate. 😂

30. What's your favorite thing about your Tav?

This is probably one of those questions where my answer will change everytime, but at the moment, it's her propensity for hope, even when she's at her absolute rock bottom. She has a tendency to drown herself in her own misery, indulge in apathy, feed her pessimism, etc., and even through all that there is ALWAYS a little seed of hope for something better that persists. She probably hates that about herself because she largely wants to give up, but can't bring herself to. And thank gods because it pays off 🥹

[changeling-fae]

random OC ask: does your OC have a favorite animal, or an animal they feel most akin to? what significance does it hold to them?

I'm finally answering the behemoth list of oc asks I've been wanting to answer for weeks. Thank you for the ask!

Nym:

Nym doesn't really notice animals too much. She likes them but with her violent intrusive thoughts she tends to avoid them. She's also a consummate carnivore, and just loves meat. That being said, she's been compared to sheep and goats by my friends (what with her horns, hair, and hooves) and narratively Raphael refers to her as "little lamb". Her journal title would be Silence of the Lamb too. Mostly tied to innocence, loss of innocence, sacrificial lamb, lamb brought to slaughter, and wolf in sheep's clothing imagery and theming.

Trinket:

Visually, deer but as far as a personal favorite animal, she relates to cunning animals; specifically foxes and corvids. If she were aware of ocean denizens, cuttlefish would definitely be up her alley. Her own cunning and risk taking personality is something she takes pride in so animals tied to deception (whether earned or just stereotyped) she'd feel a measure of kinship to.

Flint:

Well he's definitely as big and as strong as an ox. But he's still acclimatizing to the Material Plane after being born and raised in the hells. I think he'd feel kinship with alligators if he ever met one. A creature with endless patience, strength, and ability to hide within plain sight would definitely appeal to him on a professional level. That being said, I can also see him having a soft spot for pandas or capybaras. Chill animals that are just vibing.

Casira:

Oh nightingales and songbirds for sure. Green Finch and Linnet Bird from Sweeney Todd and Black Bird from The Beatles (specifically from the Across the Universe soundtrack) are both on her playlist, lol. Caged bird imagery is very much part of her aesthetic and by design on my part and she absolutely feels a kinship to pet songbirds.

Iluatria:

So Lua is a unicorn trapped in mortal form and on a mission from Selune, so she's already kinda an animal (albeit a magical sentient animal), and her kinship is to other unicorns and creatures in her category. But quoting from one of my favorite books, The Last Unicorn (the obvious inspo), "She did not look anything like a horned horse, as unicorns are often pictured, being smaller and cloven-hoofed, and possessing that oldest, wildest grace that horses have never had, that deer have only in a shy, thin imitation and goats in dancing mockery."

Victyrr:

Victyrr definitely has a kinship with scorpions. He has a spider animal companion in game but if I could I'd give him a large golden scorpion. He's a half-drow who was raised in isolation in the underdark and so I think his kinship with scorpions would be how they're arachnids but not a spider. As a gloom stalker ranger, he's good at striking and hiding in small cracks and from the dark. His name also means in drow, Abyss Scorpion, or Profound Dagger, or Profound Scorpion, etc.

[smallnico]

29 and 25 for Esper asks 👉👈

29: What advice would you give to your Dark Urge?

esper is extremely prone to forgetting that they're a flesh and blood person with basic needs like sleep and food and relaxation. they're extremely high-strung and they lash out accordingly. they throw themself completely and ruthlessly into any task they take on, motivated by the fear of losing control and the fear of being perceived as lacking, weak, or vulnerable (which, to them, means being perceived as a feral, rabid, wounded animal). they really need to relax and just let themself be a creature that needs to eat and sleep and bathe and open up to their friends every now and again. maybe if they were more stable as a baseline they wouldn't need to be so tense to keep from falling apart, metaphorically speaking.

honestly, part of why they initially became The Dark Urge was because they were just too exhausted to fight back after ~18 years of doing so in circumstances that were either cruel and unforgiving, or unbearably isolating. the only thing motivating them for their whole life was fear and the breadcrumb rewards of power and acknowledgement. esper isn't used to people being gentle to them, partially due to their pre-bhaal upbringing in the underdark and partially due to their post-bhaal neverending hell life, and so they aren't gentle to themself either. it feels nice, but it feels uncomfortable -- i'd tell them to learn to embrace the discomfort of being cared for. i'd tell them to let loose and let themself be a feral animal every once in a while.

25: How does your Dark Urge feel about Sceleritas Fel?

pre-tadpole esper found him extremely annoying, if occasionally useful. in addition to typical murder assistance, he was basically the only caregiver and source of lovebombing positive reinforcement they had, so for both of those reasons esper killed him at least once per day so he would leave them alone -- they didn't need help with murders, he got in the way, and they didn't want to be taken care of --but the gaslighting guidance on how not to piss off bhaal that sceleritas gave was useful, especially in times when esper felt the most unsettled and resentful and abused by bhaal's funky tendency to just take over their body to make them do whatever violatory thing he has in mind.

post-tadpole, esper is on high alert whenever he shows up, but they're willing to play along with his game as long as they can get something out of him. part of them remembers instinctively that sceleritas is a source of information on what to do to not get possessed by the urge, but they snapped out of the old habit of listening to him after he told them to kill isobel and doom the inn full of tieflings who had been so nice to them. some things you just can't bring yourself to do on purpose, no matter how scared you are of losing control. after that, every time sceleritas showed up, esper told him to fuck off lol. "sorry butler, i've gotten a taste of actual love and now my resolve to not listen to you is 10000% stronger."