“Am I Safe With You?” [ @dryadalismagicae ] { Na'elle }

@fiendishfinesse continued from here

Raphael strode into the chamber, his presence crackling with an electric hunger that filled the air. His auburn eyes glowed as he spread his arms wide, a wicked grin carving across his face. “Ah, little soul” he purred, gesturing grandly, “the night is calling, and I, like the wolf, run the show. Tell me, are you ready? Ready to be rocked like a hurricane? To feel the fire and lust that can’t be caged, to lose yourself in a chaos you’ll never recover from? Come now, don’t keep me waiting—it’s time for a show.”

Nere does not move. For a moment that is far longer than he would care to admit, he does nothing at all except to stare... until the moment that he moves beyond his disbelief to process what he had heard.

It is an almost herculean task, to halt the sneer that threatens to appear at being so basely propositioned, and by such a being as this, no less. It only further rankles him that the other seems of the opinion that he is simply irresistible.

Still... it would serve him well to display at least some level of civility in the presence of this creature, rather than to freely show the utter revulsion he feels at being treated thus again.

"It was my understanding that you had matters of some manner of import to discuss. But if this is all it was that you desired, you would have been better served to say as much from the start as I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request."

That... was civil, wasn't it?

Alright! Took some time tonight to move over my drow multimuse to a sideblog. In the process, I changed some of their names to better align with the stories that have developed and as well as with my growing understanding of drow within the greater d&d context.

@morethanthedarkness -> @hopefromthedark

[ I still have not decided if Drizzt is going to receive his own blog or if he'll be on that multi, but I'll definitely post one way or the other once I do know. ]

So, aside from any—deserved—commentary on the small fact that I have very little impulse control when it concerns muses... How would we feel about an old man with seven canaries and a "dark" goddess who is very fond of music and dancing?

Here is another diatribe intended for my roleplay blog:

This is a small essay that I originally typed on this post, but I didn't want to bog down the actual dash game post, so here we go, with the points numbered for easier reference.

♜ WHICH CHESS PIECE ARE YOU? ♖

White Rook

You are a White Rook. (1) As a piece that can move inwards and outwards, you're a master of self-reflection. (2) You know what needs to be done and when to do it. (3) You're a protector, and would willingly take someone's place in danger in a heartbeat because you know you can handle the pressure. (4) But even castle walls crumble. For all your chivalry and fortitude, everything must come to an end. Will you be there to see the final stages of the war? Or will you have already been discarded in the battle?

To clarify, I answered this one as though it was after being freed from the Absolute and that had been traveling with a good-inclined group of adventurers for the events of the game. And all of this would absolutely apply, though one wouldn't think so, at first, but that will be for another post. I had started explaining here and it turned into a mini-essay.

As a piece that can move inwards and outwards, you're a master of self-reflection. When not delusional due to the influence of the Absolute, Nere is his own worst critic. He remembers everything he has ever done wrong or 'failed' in his entire life. He is extremely harsh with himself and even perceived failings. His whole insistence on "Nere. Does Not. Fail." boils down to him nearly having a meltdown over Trauma [ Within my own personal storyline, this is also because the last thing he remembers his older brother saying to him before he never saw him again was, "I'm sorry that I failed you." ].

You know what needs to be done and when to do it. He is a very logical and strategic person. Though I had to mess up his INT stat a bit for the companion version so his main stats [ STR, DEX, CON ] could be right, he is also quite intelligent, and he has used it to great effect to remain alive. My version of Nere--based upon his canon stats and feats--was essentially a gladiator prior to escaping from that life only to wind up a fighter for another group. He was definitely a Battle Master fighter, always using his brain in conjunction with his impressive strength and build.

You're a protector, and would willingly take someone's place in danger in a heartbeat because you know you can handle the pressure. This part probably seems the most questionable at face value, but consider it like this: To have been treated as he was for the entirety of his life... only to then be treated well by people who have absolutely no obligation to him? Who, by all rights, could have simply killed him and walked away, never having to think of him again? All of that [misplaced/misled] devotion previously given to the matriarchs and the Weaver, didn't just vanish. Were he to find people worthy of it, he would absolutely risk his life if it saved theirs. While he absolutely hated his circumstances within the society of Lolth-sworn and thought that he could be so much More, he is absolutely geared towards wholehearted, soul-crushing devotion, as he was still devoted to 'the Weaver' before the Absolute stole him away, despite everything he had suffered. And when the Absolute does get him, he is just as devoted to this 'new deity'. "I have been entrusted with a sacred mission. I cannot fail," he says if you tell him that he can report his own failures, clearly both proud that he had been given such a mission and prideful that someone would say he failed. And then this conversation can occur if you kill all of the duergar before freeing Nere [ hint: killing the duergar first is also how you save both the gnomes--aside from the one that is now cutscene locked to die who wasn't originally--as well as Nere ]: Tav: I was abducted by mind flayers. That was when I began to hear the Absolute. Nere, "I don't understand... I've been following those... wretched beasts?" If you CAST DETECT THOUGHTS you can get: It cannot be. Have I betrayed Lolth for an imposter? Tav: Your faith in Lolth faltered. It is not too late to reclaim it. Nere, genuinely sounding so disappointed in himself, "Was I so weak as to betray the Weaver? ... I will take word to the Order of Soul Spiders. They must know of the Absolute threat." You can also choose to convince him to abandon the Absolute and RUN. That's what I choose and it has, thus far, kept him from getting zombie-fied later. Tav: You don't have to. Run - abandon the Absolute. "Perhaps you're right.. Perhaps I should. Dying for a cause is one thing, but for a mindflayer? For filth like that? ... No. I owe you a debt, it seems. You've saved me from worse than the duergar. Take this - a personal blessing. I pray we don't meet again."

He is very committed, up to and including being willing to "die for a cause". That is how Lolth-sworn drow--particularly the males--are taught to be, and it is hard-wired. It would be a very difficult thing to change.

Really, the only difference from Lolth to the Absolute to the player party, is whether or not the people he would lay down his life for in the player party are worthy of it, unlike those who were the focus of his earlier devotion.

"you're the writer, you control how the story goes" no not really. i wrote the first sentence and then my characters said "WE WILL TAKE IT FROM HERE" and promptly swerved into an electrical fence.

... So, if I refollow you, you have my apologies. I didn't mean to unfollow to start. I am just A Disaster.

𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄; 𝒌𝒆𝒚𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔.

change  pronouns,  tenses  and  other  details  as  deemed  necessary. &  please  specify  muse  when  sending  to  a  mumu.

“To  die  will  be  an  awfully  big  adventure.”

“One  does  not  discover  new  lands  without  consenting  to  lose  sight  of  the  shore  for  a  very  long  time.”

“No  matter  my  origins,  there  is  worth  in  what  I  am.”

“Go  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff  and  jump  off.  Build  your  wings  on  the  way  down.”

“You  always  have  free  will  to  choose  your  path.”

“If  you  don't  take  risks,  you'll  have  a  wasted  soul.”

“Keep  reading.  It's  one  of  the  most  marvellous  adventures  that  anyone  can  have.”

“Adventure  is  not  outside  man;  it  is  within.”

“There's  only  one  place  I  want  to  go,  and  it's  to  all  the  places  I've  never  been.”

“I  love  to  sail  forbidden  seas,  and  land  on  barbarous  coasts.”

“Let  us  step  into  the  night  and  pursue  that  flighty  temptress,  adventure.”

“The  biggest  adventure  you  can  ever  take  is  to  live  the  life  of  your  dreams.”

“You  should  enjoy  the  little  detours  to  the  fullest.  Because  that's  where  you'll  find  the  things  more  important  than  what  you  want.”

“Until  you  step  into  the  unknown,  you  don’t  know  what  you’re  made  of.”

“Only  you  can  charter  the  course  of  your  destiny.”

“It’s  the  unknown  that  draws  people.”

“We  strive  for  harmony,  but  it  is  not  always  realized.”

“May  your  adventures  bring  you  closer  together,  even  as  they  take  you  far  away  from  home.”

“In  wisdom  gathered  over  time,  I  have  found  that  every  experience  is  a  form  of  exploration.”

“Fall  in  love  with  someone  who  tastes  like  adventure  but  looks  like  the  calm,  beautiful  morning  after  a  terrible  storm.”

“I'm  an  adventurer,  looking  for  treasure.”

tags

Another Random Headcanon // @neredoesnotfail

Giving Companion!Nere the Sussur Bark Greatsword is just -chef's kiss- Why? you might you ask. "So, you can't cast more than basic magic again because you're no longer a warlock of the Absolute? Here, take this sword. Use that right and the other person won't be able to use magic either." 😊

Consider it a personal blessing.

[ Please ignore the hireling information in the tags and under the level description. I am on console and modifying a hireling is, thus far, the only way I can recruit him. I desperately need the "recruit any NPC" mod to drop for console. 😂 ]

My asks so far:

Lorroakan; -exists- Nere; -chooses violence-

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Nere; -exists- Minthara; -chooses violence- Nere; *surprised pikachu emoji*