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iwoszareba · 5 months

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OC Mannerisms // Avinsin

got tagged by @dmagedgoods and @spyridonya thank you!! filling these things always takes me unreasonable amount of time so I hope you don't begrudge me for picking my newest kid

BASICS

- NO. OF SPOKEN LANGUAGES >> low and high drow, drow sign language, abyssal, undercommon, common, druidic, (does speak with animals count?)

their memory got wrecked due to backstory reasons so it's hard to say if they could still fluently use all of them just like that, but I think with the headband of intellect they can

- TONE OF VOICE >> high / average / deep

i’m using voice 2 in the game and i’m actually happy with it

- ACCENT >> yes / no - they grew up speaking drow and in recent times used mostly undercommon so i feel it’s unavoidable that their common has accent

- DEMEANOR >> confident / shy / approachable / hostile / other

do not perceive me, do not interact with me kind of energy, but when actually approached/approaching someone they seem fairly unfazed by having to talk with someone

- POSTURE >> slumped / straight / stiff / relaxed

their posture could be better and they always look somewhat uncomfortable

HABITS

head tilting / swaying / fidgeting / stuttering / gesturing / arm crossing / strokes chin / er, um, or other interjections / plays with hair or clothing / hands at hips / inconsistent eye contact / maintains eye contact / frequent pausing / stands close / stands at a distance

when dealing with people they don’t know they always default to arm crossing to keep their hands in one place, naturally they are quite fidgety, rub their hands or arms a lot it’s probably the first signal they are starting to be comfortable around someone when they stop hiding that

COMPLEXITY (Fill in the circle’s as you wish)

- VOCABULARY >> ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️

they didn't have much reason to use common before. they can communicate fine but may not know less used words or surface idioms

- EMOTION >> ⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️

they speak in a rather monotone fashion and their facial expressions are also slight and quickly return back to default resting sad face

after getting one unfortunate disapproval from Wyll I decided they are deadpan to the point people may not realise they are joking

- SENTENCE STRUCTURE >> ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪

nothing too fancy

PROFANITY

- FREQUENCY >> ⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️

sometimes under stress or when they really dislike someone

- CREATIVITY (in regards to profanity) >> ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️

they only curse in drow. undercommon and common swears just don’t carry the right weight and emotion to them. I like to think that drow can be flowery in their cursing, ‘may spiders devour your treacherous heart’ instead of ‘fuck you’, things like that

BOLD THAT APPLY

arse / ass / asshole / bastard / bitch / bloody / bugger / bollocks / chicken shit / crap / cunt / dick / frick / fuck / horseshit / motherfucker / piss / prick / pussy / screw / shit / shitass / son of a bitch / twat / wanker

THIS OR THAT

straightforward or cryptic? / finding the right word or using the first word that comes to mind? / masculinity, neutrality, or femininity? / formalities or with abrasiveness? / praise or equivocation? / frankness or flattery / excessive or minimal hand gestures / name-calling or magnanimity? / friendly or blunt?

one of the things I found out while playing the game is that they actually can use pleasantries regardless if they actually care or not, to not be an asshole yanno, but with their monotone delivery it's up for debate if they ever come off as genuine. maybe a drow being nice catches people off guard enough to counter that effect, or maybe that makes it sound even more fake, depends on the person and situation probably

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

- DO PEOPLE HAVE A HARD TIME HEARING OR UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHARACTER?

almost always / frequently / rarely / never

they try to speak at the right volume but they have a whispery quality to the way they speak so they sometimes have to repeat themself

- DOES YOUR CHARACTER’S POINT COME ACROSS EASILY WHEN THEY SPEAK?

almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

they have moments of stopping in the middle of saying something and then having a hard time picking it back up but most of the time they speak clearly and with intention

- WOULD YOUR CHARACTER INITIATE CONVERSATIONS?

almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

- WOULD YOUR CHARACTER BE THE ONE TO END CONVERSATIONS?

almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

- WOULD YOUR CHARACTER USE ‘WHOM’ IN A SENTENCE?

yes / no / only ironically

- YOUR CHARACTER WANTS TO MAKE A COUNTERPOINT. WHAT WORD DO THEY USE?

but / though / although / however / perhaps / maybe

- HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER END CONVERSATIONS?

walk away / ask if that’s everything / say that’s everything / give a proper goodbye / tell their company they're done here / remain quiet / they don’t

- WHAT SOCIAL CLASS WOULD OTHERS ASSUME YOUR CHARACTER BELONGS TO, HEARING THEM SPEAK?

upper / middle? / lower

I think people on the surface see them as a foreigner first but if they were speaking drow with someone they probably still have 'raised noble' vibes

- IN WHAT WAYS DOES THE WAY YOUR CHARACTER SPEAK STAND OUT TO OTHERS?

accent / vocabulary / tone / level / politeness / brusqueness / it doesn’t

Anything that wasn’t touched on?

⚫️ They hum! Most commonly when they do alchemy/medicine stuff but sometimes they do it just to self-soothe. I found this nice track as an example.

⚫️ When the situation requires it, for example at the goblin camp/Moonrise, they can speak ‘with dead woman’s voice’ and change their whole demeanour back to the Lolth’s priestess they once were. Their posture becomes more confident, voice louder and more animated, they smile and act with practised courtesy which can very easily turn to condescension or cold threats. It must be a jarring shift to witness.

#oc: avinsin #it's still a little funny to me they are the face of the party #but they are actually really good at passing checks #eldritch invocation proficiency in persuasion and deception :)#other

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iwoszareba · 8 months

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i listened too much to The Bifrost Incident and ended up with a new oc. you know how it is

#i can have horror themed ocs as a treat #oc: avinsin #art tag

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iwoszareba · 5 months

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revised backstory for Avinsin. I did some major changes (they have an actual dnd lore “patron” now!) and added more details to connect all the elements better

a bit over 2000 words

cw: horror themes, murder and angst

___

“I may have mentioned before that I was born in Menzoberranzan, the gem of the Northdark, the great metropolis, the City of Spiders itself. However I don’t know when exactly. Or to which of the drow houses for that matter.

What I recall with crystal clarity is how faerie fire would make the giant mushrooms of Qu'ellarz'orl shift hues as I was leisurely strolling the empty pathways. How that was the only time things felt… peaceful.

Oh, if you are not familiar with the city, Qu'ellarz'orl is also called The Place of the Nobles. I must have belonged to one of the actually important houses. Few other people would be allowed to just loiter there.

I was one of the girls from birth selected to serve Lolth as a priestess. That alone should paint you a picture, but if you were hoping to hear a story about being one of the unfortunates who act only out of fear or obligation, I’m sorry to disappoint. I believed truly and without reservations.

So eager to prove myself. To be tested and have my worth finally recognised.

I thought that moment was within my grasp when our house received a vision from the Spider Queen herself. She discovered a location that emitted an aura of Ghaunadaur’s power so immense, whatever was there could become a serious threat, if it fell into hands of its cultists.

And out of all the drow in the city it was me and my brother who were chosen to lead the expedition to neutralise that danger.

I wonder have you even heard Ghaunadaur’s name before. Its influence rarely extends beyond the caverns of Underdark, which is something you should be thankful for. That Which Lurks, The Elder Eye, The Lord of Slime. It grants nothing beyond madness and hatred that fuels further destruction it always hungers for.

But, I was speaking of the expedition. Even before our actual task could begin, we had to carefully consider the journey itself. You may think that in our adventures you already got a taste of the dangers that lands below have to offer, but what you’ve seen is nothing compared to terrors which inhabit the darkest depths of Lowerdark. It was no small undertaking.

So I’m sure it’s easy to understand why I wanted the co-leader to actually do his job. My brother… He was always a cynical malcontent, but he also was a talented wizard and somehow managed to straddle that fine line between ‘thorn in everyone’s side’ and ‘undeniable asset’.

He thought little of the honour that was bestowed on us, instead he turned to drink and other excesses. When confronted, all he had to say for himself was that if family wishes to send him on a suicide mission, then the last thing he is owed is a chance to dance at his own wake beforehand. And nothing would change his mind.

So I gritted my teeth and took care of all the preparations myself. Trying to scour for any piece of information that could be of use, trying to recruit every person that would help our chances of survival.

In the end we were around a hundred men strong, but there is only one person that bears mention for the purposes of this story.

She was a warrior of faith who had worked for our house for many decades. Skilled, dependable… beautiful. Her dedication to Lolth was beyond doubt and we were intimate with each other. I hoped to use both as leverage, but she hardly needed any convincing at all. She wanted to join us, made assurances that she would do anything for the mission to succeed and I could sense no deceit in her words.

I’ll spare you any descriptions of the gruelling journey. Some of us survived, many had died. That was to be expected.

The actually surprising part was that me and my brother made for compatible leaders. I suspected he may try to renegade or at least shrink his duties, however his flippancy disappeared the moment his life was on the line. He was prone to witticisms still, but even in that he made for a good advisor. His arcane talents also helped on many occasions.

The last section of caverns and tunnels we had to traverse was truly maze-like. Navigating them felt maddening, like we were going in circles or maybe space around us simply did not make any sense. Creatures we encountered there were corrupted, mindless and oozing. Proof of Ghaunadaur’s influence.

When we found a passage where the stench of decay was far worse than anything we’ve experienced before, every surface covered by thick, dark slime, without a doubt that was our path forward. However the air there was so noxious, it took all my will and concentration to weave a layer of protective magic that could keep two people safe. We had to leave the rest of our group behind while me and my brother, shielded by Lolth’s power, ventured into the heart of this darkness.

I never thought that simply walking could be so strenuous. I don’t mean the difficult terrain, rather the effect that place had on the mind. It started innocuously, a slight lapse of perception, a small thought that came from somewhere other than yourself. A sudden suspicion that gradually turned into hatred-fueled paranoia. I tried to resist it, reason with it, but it wouldn’t stop gnawing at me until it was all I could feel.

And I made my magic recede.

As I heard a squelching thud behind me, knees falling to the ground, I kept walking. As my brother pleaded for me to stop, I kept walking. As he cursed me with the last of his breath, I kept walking. The sounds of choking were drowned out by the word ‘arrive’ echoing over and over in my head.

What I found was no mere shrine, it was an unholy site not due to ritual and faith, it quite literally contained the divine. Vile energy so overpowering I started to weep in awe and terror. It was a fragment of Ghaunadaur itself. Lost or discarded, I do not know.

How could I even describe what merging with it felt like? How do you put into words knowledge and power that was not meant for mortals? It was monstrous, it was sickening and worse still: it was exhilarating.

The relief of finally leaving that place was immense, surpassed only by joyous anticipation of all the destruction that would follow. I- we? doesn’t matter, quickly slithered through the tunnels and arrived at the entry point again. Killing everyone there was like snapping fingers. Some turned on each other in feral anger, some started to claw at their own bodies, some simply ceased to be.

Except for her. Seeing her gave me pause.

I offered to... consume her… that way we could rule together. Our reign would be final and complete… as none would survive it.

Through all my demented ravings she just looked at me with grim determination. When she unsheathed her weapon her whole form started to radiate with energy so disgustingly familiar, stronger than anything I’ve ever received. Lolth wanted me dead, there could be no peace. I lunged forward.

I… did not win that fight.

Here.”

Your minds connect and you see a large drow woman standing over what takes a while to identify as your companion. Even with a myriad of eyes distorting their face you can read their expression as pained, their breathing laboured.

“I don’t understand… why I wasn’t strong enough… I did everything…”

The warrior takes out a hidden dagger and kneels down cautiously.

“Shhh. You performed most admirably and your house will be rewarded accordingly.”

Tip of the blade is placed right above where you assume a heart should be. Countless eyes widen in a sudden realisation.

“You knew... You knew this would happen.”

The look they exchange is so full of bitter sadness, neither of them is able to speak for a long moment.

“What you saw… It was impossible to destroy in its pure form. But when merged with a vessel, while still extremely dangerous, it also became mortal. Your duty was of utmost importance… but now it’s over. It’s time to rest.”

Quick plunge of a dagger and as the vision goes dark your minds disconnect.

“...That’s how I died.

To think I gathered people to go with me on this accursed mission and saw them as nothing more than necessary sacrifices. I was above them, chosen, each death was not a loss but confirmation of my status.

Yet in the end we were all the same.

If my brother was still alive he would serve me the most seething ‘I told you so’ and it would be within his right.

I'm sure now you are wondering how it is possible for me to tell you about all this.

Well, while my body melted away and most of Ghaunadaur’s power dispersed as intended… I still retained some of it. Enough to keep me alive in a form of deadly ooze. But I wouldn’t call it life exactly. Everything about it is a blur. Whole world made of only two notions: exist and consume. Time did not factor in anything, it could have been weeks, it could have been years.

It would most likely stay that way, until someone strong enough could put me out of my misery. But as luck would have it, what I got instead was a group of druids too curious for their own good. From what I was told we did in fact fight, but they were so surprised by detecting traces of thoughts, or perhaps memories, in what should be a mindless ooze, they decided to capture and study me instead.

Their initial examination uncovered that the memories, while fragmented and hard to read, most certainly belonged to a humanoid. Now the question was if they belonged to the creature itself, or were somehow absorbed by it from its victims. Riveting stuff to hear about yourself after the fact, I know.

They brought me to the Neverlight Grove in hopes that myconids' telepathic talents will help discover the truth. It was surprisingly effective. What song of myconids opened and soothed, the druidic magic could heal.

Admittedly they never put me together quite right, but considering the circumstances, what they did was beyond impressive. As the mind coalesced, the body also found a way to morph and regain regular form of a drow. Give or take a few extra eyes.

The pure confusion of being startled by your own hands is truly something to experience. Having a solid body? How unlikely. I jest, but missing memories and the overall brain fog did not make my reintroduction into the world of living especially pleasant.

It took weeks before I could even start forming full sentences. When the druids first asked who I was, all I could say was ‘avinsin’ over and over, which they assumed to be my name. Actually it’s drow word for ‘doomed’. Of course they offered to fix their mistake later, but I didn't remember my previous name, nor did I care for it, so it might as well be Avinsin.

It’s honestly bewildering how much outside effort was poured into dealing with my predicament. You could try to brush it off by saying that transformation and new beginnings are at the core of the Circle of Spores ethos. But, the simplest truth is that they were good people and offered me more care and understanding than my real family did in over a century.

When I was able to stand on my own two feet again, they showed me their ways and welcomed me in their midst as one of them. It was great. For a time. But like most things in life it couldn’t last. Or maybe I just didn’t allow it to. I’m not sure anymore.

You see, my memories were slowly returning, not all of them, pieces here and there, but eventually it was enough for me to realise what actually had happened. The theory my fellow druids had was ‘transmutation magic gone terribly wrong’, my gruesome visions were ‘trauma response caused by prolonged time spent as an ooze’. You can’t exactly blame them for not being specialists in eldritch arcana on top of everything else. Honestly, I liked when it was just that.

You must understand that even under the assumption that I was no longer a threat, keeping me around was not safe. I know I reek of this power, it would take only a whiff for bloodhounds to start the pursuit. It wouldn’t matter if it was Lolth’s faithful trying to finish what was started, or Ghaunadaur’s cultists with a wish to extract what’s left of their god’s essence. Neither would care about the collateral damage, they would revel in it.

As I saw it, I had two options: explain everything and hope for the best, or leave for everyone’s sake.

I’ve been on the move and on my own ever since. Of course you stumble onto people in your travels, that’s true even in the Underdark, but I always tried to keep such things brief and non-personal. I took pride in it. Made an identity out of it. To be no one bound by nothing. That way I didn’t have to question the choice I’ve made.

But now that the circumstances forced me to be part of a group again… I’m also forced to acknowledge how soul-numbingly lonely it was.

What’s life if not a perpetual cycle of being wrong about things.”

#oc: avinsin #my forever apology to Avinsin for making them out of the bucket of misery that is the Mechanisms songs #writing tag

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iwoszareba · 7 months

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what else is new

#oc: avinsin #i think i got them out of my system for now #thank you for indulging me!!#art tag

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iwoszareba · 7 months

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🎮 and 💯 for avinsin!

💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL — share three random facts about your oc that others may not know.

since i didn't talk about Avinsin before, i'll use this to give you the cornerstones of their backstory

they make it clear from the get go that their ties to the drow society are null and void but it would take a while for them to admit that they were of high status before that

however they are missing a lot of memories due to suffering extreme trauma so their own grasp on who they were before is not the best

essentially they lead a dangerous expedition in search of a source of immense power, gradually getting everyone killed in horrible, horrible ways and when they reached the very depths what they found was a slumbering entity of death and destruction. so now they are fucked up by eldritch horrors, plagued with visions and a great old one warlock :)

🎮 VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER — what are three of your oc's favorite hobbies?

hobbies are hard to maintain when you focus a lot of your efforts on trying to survive alone in the Underdark but there are some practical stuff they do that i think can count

reading, but not in a recreational sense, more like knowledge gathering

making poultices and other medicinal things, using mortar and pestle is especially relaxing for them

exploring and map making

#oc: avinsin #thank you for asking!!#only now i realised that hermit is no longer an available background #but honestly outlander works just as well #i prefer calling them a hermit bc it has more of a cryptid vibe #other

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iwoszareba · 6 months

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if you don't flavour the way your warlock casts spells then what's the point even

#bg3 #oc: avinsin #it's so funny to me that i incorporated this questionable face tattoo bc i wanted them to still be recognisable in the game #and now i'm getting real headcanon mileage out of it #art tag

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iwoszareba · 7 months

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Avinsin's introduction as if they were a companion

cw: a bit of gory horror stuff in the tadpole vision and Avinsin's thoughts about death

_ _ _

In the Underdark, not far from the entrance you find a nook with a small, one-person camp set up.

If you start the interaction you approach the figure but they do not acknowledge you in any way. Now you can see they are a drow, their posture is hunched, their tunic is frayed and the only adornment they seem to have are pauldrons covered in bracket fungi. They insistently refuse to look at you, or maybe they are just lost in thought. You have the view of only half of their face which draws your attention to strange, black patterns that radiate from their eye and repeat on their partially bandaged arms.

You try to get their attention, they startle and turn towards you revealing the other half of their face where they have five eyes, all of them solid red with small white pupils.

"Listen, I don't want any-"

Your tadpoles connect.

You see… yourself, falling to your knees, eyes wide with horror as blood pours from your nose and mouth only to connect with even more red where your chest is now one giant wound. Around you are your companions, already on the ground, their bodies contorted and broken, not moving.

When you return to reality you find the drow staring at you.

"It may make you feel a bit better to know that these visions are not prophetic. I mean, you are going to die. But probably not like that."

If you succeed an insight check you learn that despite their monotone voice there is a touch of genuine concern in them over you experiencing all of that.

You ask why you saw yourself just now and to that they shrug.

"First you invited yourself into my camp, then you barged into my brain. I don't know why you are surprised bad things may happen as a result."

You note that they also have a tadpole in them and ask what they are planning to do now.

"I wasn't planning anything. I came here because the thought of dying on the surface felt wrong."

You are confused that they seem so unbothered by the possibility of turning into a mind flayer.

"Think about it, to have an end that gives life to something else… You may not agree with what illithids are but in a way isn't it better than just dying your own pointless death? Don't get me wrong, I'm not thrilled about sprouting tentacles but as far as gruesome demises go… this one is not that bad."

You can invite them to join your party which causes them to let out a short, surprised laugh, it sounds incredibly dry, like they are not used to laughing.

“Either your tolerance for strange is higher than most or the tadpole really stoked the spirit of camaraderie in you.”

They sigh.

“To be completely honest, waiting is the part that really gets to me. I figured something would have happened by now. But no. I don’t understand… So if you are looking for answers I will follow you.”

They quickly pack up their belongings and are ready to go.

“Oh. You can call me Avinsin. I’ll… try to avoid transmitting any more deathly visions into your mind but considering our current predicament… I can’t make any promises.”

#don't want to tag anyone bc that was forever ago #but know that i went to read your character introductions to hype myself up for writing this #oc: avinsin #writing tag

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