Out of the dark, into the light

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An injured, Lolth-sworn exile who has found himself on the Surface World, host to a mind-flayer parasite, and forced to play nice with strangers in the hopes of removing the tadpole and returning home to the dark. How will he cope with traveling a world that seems hostile to his very existence?

৹ Semi-selective Ask/RP blog. Dalamus often can and will be abrasive or unfair in his behavior, disingenuous in his words, and ungenerous in his assessment of others. Be warned this blog will touch on serious and dark subjects on occasion (including but not limited to: abuse, sexual assault, and cult-think), all tagged to the best of my abilities.

৹ OCs and canon characters are welcome! Meetings can be discussed or just jump straight into Camp.

৹ Feel free to ask about other characters mentioned in headcanons or backstory, such as Matron Mother Nedvyllanna Strighym, Nilaufein, Orgoll, Taliira, Zektyrr, Kalanzar, and possibly more to come!

Dalamus' cat, Alantha, has learned that she can bribe--sorry, trade with--Dalamus with stones in order to get extra food and snacks.

All she has to do, is find rocks, and bring them to him, and if he is eating something like jerky, he may give her a corner of it.

Through trial and error, she has become quite good at figuring out which sorts of stones Dalamus will reward her for. This discernment thankfully prevents Dalamus from being overloaded with stones, as Alantha does her best to find those which will gain her the biggest morsels of jerky or meat in return.

Hmmm...

I do not think I can think of a time when he has made a deal to get something.

Maybe there was a time HE thought he was making a deal, but it was not to get something so much as to hide something. His new lover in House Strighym, Kalanzar (secretly Elistraeen, not Lolthite), learned of Dalamus' susceptibility to fungal pneumonia, making Dal nervous that Kal might oust him for being sickly and unfit for his position as Master of Crafts.

Kalanzar, instead, offered his own secret: he is trans (although did not use the word). Lolthites can be weird at best about gender roles, and draconian at worst. So, it was more a form of mutually assured destruction--at least in Dalamus' mind. In Kalanzar's mind, he was in love with Dalamus and would never dream of hurting him, but knew Dal needed something more than verbal assurances.

As of Act 1 in the game, Dalamus is unfortunately susceptible to bribes or deals which claim to return him to Menzoberranzan or, even better, back to Nedvyllanna's side as Patron of House Strighym. Of course, this only works if the one offering said deal can reasonably be trusted to deliver, which is a TOUGH sell.

Considering his goal at the beginning of BG3 is to return to Menzoberranzan, where his rights and worth as a person are greatly reduced, it is fair to say he is willing to sacrifice his personhood to get back to that old life. If only because he has not yet had the chance to enjoy his autonomy to the fullest, yet, on the Surface.

Perhaps cliche or predictable, but love. Not just romantic, but platonic. Love in general.

Love involves allowing someone close enough to cause some serious damage but trusting them not to. It means having one's thoughts persistently distracted by another, thinking about them more than oneself or even more than Lolth. Love involves a lot of trust, which is just not second nature to Lolthites, nor even third nature. Or probably fourth.

It is dangerous. Physically, emotionally, religiously.

What he does not know, is that all the fearmongering about attachments is partly a control method to prevent connection within the cult of Lolth. The loyal of Lolth within Menzoberranzan are in a constant state of infighting, never able to form lasting bonds because it must always be assumed that partnerships are for an ulterior motive and not true affection.

Isolation is a key control method of cults and the cult of Lolth is no different. Now that he has been, well, forcibly removed from the cult by way of exile and squidnapping, he has a chance to actually connect with others, and disconnect from his cult.

Dalamus looks up from his task of putting burn salve on the back of one hand. The backs of his hands, his arms below where his sleeves were pushed up at the elbows, and some of his face and ears bear mild sunburns.

Evidently, Astarion still had not believed that Dalamus would burn so easily in the sun--after all, the tadpole prevented Astarion from burning--and the vampire took off with his piwafwi to prove the point. It took only minutes to prove him wrong, and he snatched back his piwafwi with a string of curses.

While there is no doubt that Noble Houses of Menzoberranzan have their own sorts of pyrotechnics which they use for dazzling displays--such as during the week of The Open Days, when outsiders are allowed into much more of the city--there is only so much one can do underground. With a ceiling overhead, it is unwise to send explosives up into the air or.. well, really to have any strong explosives going off at all if one can help it. Not to mention the smoke, which would in itself take a dedicated system to keep from accumulating too heavily, and the physical mess left behind.

Magic is preferred to prevent all this.

All this to say that what most Surfacers think of when "fireworks" are mentioned--Dal has never seen.

Though often able to feign calm for most things, sudden (especially loud) things are not one of those things.

The first time he hears fireworks, he startles very dramatically, as if expecting to be under attack.

Dalamus is not good with social cues. ✅

Dalamus has an intense fear of people. ✅

Dalamus uses the word "dude" like a comma. ❌

Dalamus desperately needs a hug but doesn't know it and refuses to ask for one. ✅✅✅

If Dalamus was presented with an intergalactic portal, they would enter it without question. ❌

Dalamus is very good at using chopsticks. ✅

Dalamus is a middle child. ✅

Dalamus forgets to eat sometimes. ❌

Dalamus is a sleepwalker. ❌

Dalamus chews their nails when nervous. ❌

Dalamus' father's name is Relondar.

Relondar was--and still is--an accomplished gemcutter within Menzoberranzan, and was the one to teach Dalamus his craft.

Relondar was strict in his teachings, and unforgiving of mistakes. Though he did not take any joy in doling out punishments, he had no guilt nor shame about it, either. He viewed it as a necessary teaching tool to keep Dalamus on track, ranging from critique to insults to physical punishment when "correcting" the most egregious failures or flaws.

One of Dalamus' worst mistakes was when he got too heavy handed while using hammer and chisel, damaging the gemstone to the point of there being not enough usable material. He would be sent to his room without dinner. (Nilaufein would sneak him some food.)

If Orgoll stole or damaged or otherwise sabotaged his stock or tools, that, too, was considered Dalamus' fault, for not being more careful and diligent in putting his items away.