It just occurred to me that drow names often mean things. Not like gnome names. I mean ours mean things too but mine just means a little like mushroom bark or something but then you get a drow name that means something like poisonous rune or queen of daggers and honestly I think that's where gnome culture is lacking.
If we named ourselves things like will break your shins with my pickaxe if you look at me funny we would get much more respect.
Trust me, drow culture also has some pretty dreadful names, especially for males. And I suspect my mother picked it because she liked the sound, more than for the meaning.
I... may have already seen him, in the tavern that new arrivals come in. And, yes, I did draw my knives. I'm probably lucky that I didn't get kicked out.
I'm sorry, I should have been the one to warn you. I wasn't sure if it was specifically drow upbringing that meant I thought he was our sort of drider, or just normal Underdark caution.
[Bel isn't sure of the time window here. It could be that the two events were close enough in time that he wouldn't have a chance.]
Oh? Oh! Well, that's no problem. I mean, if he had actually been dangerous, a heads-up would have been important, but the more I talk to him, the more he just seems lost and scared.
I...did try to climb the questboard to get away when I saw him. Not my proudest moment. Spiders can climb far better than I.
Have you ever seen one? One of our sorts of driders?
Not up close. My hometown wasn't large enough to really have the sort of powerful people who draw the ire of the Spider Queen. One person becoming a drider was the sort of thing that people still talked about centuries later.
Didn't stop my next-oldest brother: Kyorlindraa, the one that became a wizard, of being terrified of becoming one. He really took to heart all the stories about powerful male wizards pissing off a high-ranking priestess or being deemed insufficiently loyal to Lolth.
When I was working as a caravan guard, we saw them occasionally outside cities, but they kept their distance as long as you stayed in a large group.
As for Olivine... well, I think he made it clear males of his sort don't visit the surface, so it's easy to be sympathetic, since both of us remember what that was like. It helps that he looks... well, like one creature, not what happens when a spiteful goddess adds spider parts to a drow
I got a very good look at one, in the Shadow-Cursed lands outside Reithwin town. Luckily, he didn't see me. Or maybe he didn't care. It was weird; he was part of the cult of the Absolute, and I assume that meant he had an illithid tadpole in his brain. It's possible, even likely, that he wasn't the nicest person even before all that, but it seems terribly unfair to have been cursed twice.
But yes. I don't think Olivine even knows how to fight. I'm going to try to keep an eye out for him, when I can.
... And here I thought the silver lining of the transformation was that magic works differently on driders as opposed to drow. One would hope you'd at least get to be immune to mind flayer bullshit, after getting your body altered, your mind scrambled, and driven out from your home ans society
[Between Barcus and some of the others, Bel knows there was some illithid bullshit going on around Baldur's Gate recently, and it was resolved but it still is the sort of thing he finds troubling.]
Olivine did threaten to bite me, but only after I drew my knives. But that doesn't mean he can fight. I don't have a problem keeping my own eyes on him; I at least know more than most people about spider body language.
Barcus comes into the living room in a rush, after Lulu's network post, looking upset but determined. Satchel scampers in his wake, but she's oddly quiet, as if sensing her pet biped's agitation.
"Bel? Bel, did you catch that post on the network? Something's gone very wrong. I'm...I think I should go to Ignacia's Cradle."
"I did." Bel wasn't sure what he was going to do about it, but he had heard it. "And I'm coming with you, if the heat will let me." Bel isn't fireproof or even resistant to heat, but he can go as far as he can in his armor.
"If you'll have me, that is," he added. It wasn't that Bel didn't trust that Barcus could make it on his own; it was that Bel wasn't sure he could take waiting while Barcus did something potentially dangerous.
"I have a fire resistance potion, and my own heat-armor." Barcus lets out a shaky sigh of mixed relief and apology, reaching for his hands. "You take the potion. If we're lucky, this is nothing and it will blow over quickly."
"I'll have you. I know you'd be miserable if I ran off alone. But I think Zenri had better stay here with Satchel."
“Definitely,” Bel agreed. “No place for children of any species. Or cats.” Satchel might be an adult cat, but she didn’t have much in the way of survival instinct.
“Worth getting my leather armor on?” It wasn’t much protection, but it was something, and kept him light enough to manifest the wings if he needed to get out of a spot.
If he were less anxious, Barcus would tell Bel he likes him in leather, but that feels a bit flippant for the moment. He doesn't think they're heading into battle. Nymion's comment about Ignacia could mean anything. He wants to talk. He was already talking to her when Lulu interrupted. Something benign, or something unpleasant but not the start of a war.
The problem is, they just don't know.
"I think some protection would be wise," he says softly, and lets him go, nodding. "I'll get my own on, and we'll head out together."
"Right. Give me a minute then, and help me check the straps when I'm done, and I'll do the same to you."
Bel is picking up the mood, and is not going to add the innuendo for once. It might help with his nerves, but only superficially. Something is happening now, and Bel's main priority is to protect what they've built here.
Barcus has to think a bit, after the talk with Ilphyl, how exactly to approach Bel about it. Especially since not all new arrivals stay. He trusts that Bel will believe him, at least. Barcus has no reason to lie about such things, but it could be a difficult conversation nevertheless.
He gets a bottle of strong brandy from Lior and Astarion's winery, just in case, and a couple new toys for Zenri and Satchel to play with to keep them distracted, before tracking his lover down in his room. "Bel, love? I need to talk to you about something a bit weird."
Hopefully that sounds less ominous than a general we need to talk. "You remember the vision you had after you sacrificed to help raise Vesper?"
The thing about the sky dragon's empathic sense is that Zenri is aware when Bel or Barcus is trying to distract him, and is willing to go along with it when it also means new toys, or playing with Satchel and her new toys.
Meanwhile, Bel is reading in his room, largely because while he likes being around other people, he's aware that he does need quiet to study things. And he can't socialize while reading, the way he can while working on a project.
He does catch Barcus's tone, which isn't ominous, but is odd. Especially bringing up the vision. Which... Bel remembers that, mostly in the context of deciding to be as open as possible to Barcus about his past, even the less savory bits. Which is more where his thoughts are than anywhere else. "Yes, I remember. Why?"
Silly question, really. Who wouldn't remember a vision of a sibling they thought was gone for good? Barcus smiles apologetically and comes closer to sit on the end of Bel's bed. "Well, I saw him today. In Caldera. I saw your brother."
"We spoke for over an hour. I can't promise he'll stay, obviously, because sometimes new arrivals vanish as quickly as they show up, but I asked him if I could tell you he was here, and he said yes."
"I...didn't catch what name you knew him by, before, but he's going by Ilphyl now."
There is a difference between a vision with the abstract knowledge that someday, it might happen, and Barcus confirming it. Even with the caveats -- Bel knows some people only arrive for a short time, and that nothing is permanent here -- Bel is feeling too many emotions and questions for one to arise, because what he literally wants at the moment is every detail Barcus can remember.
Easier to grab onto the implication of Barcus's last statement. "Mother named him Harlkyn; it translates to something like 'bad luck' or 'unlucky'. You could tell what her opinion on another son was; I suspect if she hadn't been desperate to show she still could bear a live child, even a son, he wouldn't have survived infancy." Which meant Bel had always thought his younger brother's name was ironic, all the more after learning he had somehow survived leaving home.
"It's not surprising that he chose a new name as soon as he could. Forget I told you his old name, and I'll try to do the same." Bel was aware that it was easier said than done -- Barcus would have an easier time since he'd gotten the new name on introduction; Bel would do his best to practice.
He's assuming that because Barcus didn't immediately bring Ilphyl home for a meal, that he didn't want to see Bel, which Bel understood. "How did he look? Well?" Happy?
Even if there wasn't some gender experimentation going on, that sounds like the sort of name a person would be eager to leave behind. Barcus doesn't quiet wince, but a look of sympathy for the absent drow flickers across his face. He never questioned why a fourth son would flee his family. It doesn't take much knowledge of drow culture to guess that.
"I probably will forget it, honestly," he says. "Things fade from memory if you're not using them often."
"He looks well, yes. He's a druid now, and we talked a bit about spiders. I thought it might be wise to warn him about Olivine being here, but he seemed curious rather than alarmed." His gaze softens, and he leans over to place a hand on Bel's knee.
"I told him we're lovers," a pause, and then he clarifies: "I told him I love you." Because Bel might need that reminder just now.
"And I told him that you're not the same Belantar he grew up with, and...well, obviously the same goes in reverse. He's wary and a little uncertain, but he seems curious. He thought it might be best for you both to have a little space to start with, but he wants you to be well, too, and he said he would like to speak with you again some time, just not right away."
"I like him. He seems...kind, while still being practical." Which is a very druid thing, to be fair.
Bel accepts the physical comfort, and draws Barcus closer to him. Right now, he needs something grounding him, and being touched on more than just a knee helps.
"He was always kind, if not always practical. Kindness was not an asset to him when he was young," Bel said, sadly.
Bel had never thought of himself as kind until others (like Barcus) told him that he was, so he's accepted that he can be kind in a place that allows for kindness. It takes a different sort of person to be kind when everything around you is determined to punish you for it. Bel hasn't met many druids, but he's met enough clerics to know that they tended to be strong-willed and committed to whatever they believed in.
And his brother had been good with animals, though not always in ways that were useful or acceptable to their mother.
He still wasn't sure what he wanted to do with... all of this, but at least he was not being asked to make any decisions.
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branchandroot
Voice, @brilliantretort
Date: 2025-02-11 02:40 am (UTC)Bel. Bel?
...
Bel?
What does your name mean?
[Your roommate is drunk texting you, what do?]
Re: Voice, @brilliantretort
Date: 2025-02-11 03:01 am (UTC)Why are you asking?
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Date: 2025-02-11 12:45 pm (UTC)It just occurred to me that drow names often mean things. Not like gnome names. I mean ours mean things too but mine just means a little like mushroom bark or something
but then you get a drow name that means something like poisonous rune or queen of daggers
and honestly I think that's where gnome culture is lacking.
If we named ourselves things like will break your shins with my pickaxe if you look at me funny we would get much more respect.
You should try this wine some time.
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Date: 2025-02-11 04:29 pm (UTC)But it means 'burning ruler'.
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Date: 2025-02-12 01:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-12 01:28 am (UTC)[Which is very cute when you are far larger than a cat.]
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Date: 2025-02-14 05:37 am (UTC)(no subject)
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From:text, @brilliantretort
Date: 2025-05-08 12:43 am (UTC)Findal, I have to tell you about.
Uh, two somethings, actually but the first one is I thought you ought to know there's a drider in Caldera.
Not the sort we're used to, fortunately, but enough alike to be startling if you turn a corner and spot him.
Re: text, @brilliantretort
Date: 2025-05-08 04:46 pm (UTC)I'm sorry, I should have been the one to warn you. I wasn't sure if it was specifically drow upbringing that meant I thought he was our sort of drider, or just normal Underdark caution.
[Bel isn't sure of the time window here. It could be that the two events were close enough in time that he wouldn't have a chance.]
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Date: 2025-05-09 04:32 am (UTC)I...did try to climb the questboard to get away when I saw him. Not my proudest moment. Spiders can climb far better than I.
Have you ever seen one? One of our sorts of driders?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-09 04:56 pm (UTC)Didn't stop my next-oldest brother: Kyorlindraa, the one that became a wizard, of being terrified of becoming one. He really took to heart all the stories about powerful male wizards pissing off a high-ranking priestess or being deemed insufficiently loyal to Lolth.
When I was working as a caravan guard, we saw them occasionally outside cities, but they kept their distance as long as you stayed in a large group.
As for Olivine... well, I think he made it clear males of his sort don't visit the surface, so it's easy to be sympathetic, since both of us remember what that was like. It helps that he looks... well, like one creature, not what happens when a spiteful goddess adds spider parts to a drow
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Date: 2025-05-10 09:00 pm (UTC)But yes. I don't think Olivine even knows how to fight. I'm going to try to keep an eye out for him, when I can.
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Date: 2025-05-11 02:21 am (UTC)[Between Barcus and some of the others, Bel knows there was some illithid bullshit going on around Baldur's Gate recently, and it was resolved but it still is the sort of thing he finds troubling.]
Olivine did threaten to bite me, but only after I drew my knives. But that doesn't mean he can fight. I don't have a problem keeping my own eyes on him; I at least know more than most people about spider body language.
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From:> action
Date: 2025-07-21 01:31 am (UTC)"Bel? Bel, did you catch that post on the network? Something's gone very wrong. I'm...I think I should go to Ignacia's Cradle."
Re: > action
Date: 2025-07-21 01:42 am (UTC)"If you'll have me, that is," he added. It wasn't that Bel didn't trust that Barcus could make it on his own; it was that Bel wasn't sure he could take waiting while Barcus did something potentially dangerous.
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Date: 2025-07-21 01:50 am (UTC)"I'll have you. I know you'd be miserable if I ran off alone. But I think Zenri had better stay here with Satchel."
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Date: 2025-07-21 01:54 am (UTC)“Worth getting my leather armor on?” It wasn’t much protection, but it was something, and kept him light enough to manifest the wings if he needed to get out of a spot.
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Date: 2025-07-21 02:07 am (UTC)The problem is, they just don't know.
"I think some protection would be wise," he says softly, and lets him go, nodding. "I'll get my own on, and we'll head out together."
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Date: 2025-07-21 11:28 am (UTC)Bel is picking up the mood, and is not going to add the innuendo for once. It might help with his nerves, but only superficially. Something is happening now, and Bel's main priority is to protect what they've built here.
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From:> action
Date: 2025-08-30 04:56 pm (UTC)He gets a bottle of strong brandy from Lior and Astarion's winery, just in case, and a couple new toys for Zenri and Satchel to play with to keep them distracted, before tracking his lover down in his room. "Bel, love? I need to talk to you about something a bit weird."
Hopefully that sounds less ominous than a general we need to talk. "You remember the vision you had after you sacrificed to help raise Vesper?"
Re: > action
Date: 2025-08-30 05:04 pm (UTC)Meanwhile, Bel is reading in his room, largely because while he likes being around other people, he's aware that he does need quiet to study things. And he can't socialize while reading, the way he can while working on a project.
He does catch Barcus's tone, which isn't ominous, but is odd. Especially bringing up the vision. Which... Bel remembers that, mostly in the context of deciding to be as open as possible to Barcus about his past, even the less savory bits. Which is more where his thoughts are than anywhere else. "Yes, I remember. Why?"
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Date: 2025-08-30 05:56 pm (UTC)"We spoke for over an hour. I can't promise he'll stay, obviously, because sometimes new arrivals vanish as quickly as they show up, but I asked him if I could tell you he was here, and he said yes."
"I...didn't catch what name you knew him by, before, but he's going by Ilphyl now."
cw: mention of miscarriage and sex-based infanticide, because Lolth causes all kinds of fun warnings
Date: 2025-08-30 06:22 pm (UTC)Easier to grab onto the implication of Barcus's last statement. "Mother named him Harlkyn; it translates to something like 'bad luck' or 'unlucky'. You could tell what her opinion on another son was; I suspect if she hadn't been desperate to show she still could bear a live child, even a son, he wouldn't have survived infancy." Which meant Bel had always thought his younger brother's name was ironic, all the more after learning he had somehow survived leaving home.
"It's not surprising that he chose a new name as soon as he could. Forget I told you his old name, and I'll try to do the same." Bel was aware that it was easier said than done -- Barcus would have an easier time since he'd gotten the new name on introduction; Bel would do his best to practice.
He's assuming that because Barcus didn't immediately bring Ilphyl home for a meal, that he didn't want to see Bel, which Bel understood. "How did he look? Well?" Happy?
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Date: 2025-08-30 10:45 pm (UTC)"I probably will forget it, honestly," he says. "Things fade from memory if you're not using them often."
"He looks well, yes. He's a druid now, and we talked a bit about spiders. I thought it might be wise to warn him about Olivine being here, but he seemed curious rather than alarmed." His gaze softens, and he leans over to place a hand on Bel's knee.
"I told him we're lovers," a pause, and then he clarifies: "I told him I love you." Because Bel might need that reminder just now.
"And I told him that you're not the same Belantar he grew up with, and...well, obviously the same goes in reverse. He's wary and a little uncertain, but he seems curious. He thought it might be best for you both to have a little space to start with, but he wants you to be well, too, and he said he would like to speak with you again some time, just not right away."
"I like him. He seems...kind, while still being practical." Which is a very druid thing, to be fair.
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Date: 2025-08-31 01:40 am (UTC)"He was always kind, if not always practical. Kindness was not an asset to him when he was young," Bel said, sadly.
Bel had never thought of himself as kind until others (like Barcus) told him that he was, so he's accepted that he can be kind in a place that allows for kindness. It takes a different sort of person to be kind when everything around you is determined to punish you for it. Bel hasn't met many druids, but he's met enough clerics to know that they tended to be strong-willed and committed to whatever they believed in.
And his brother had been good with animals, though not always in ways that were useful or acceptable to their mother.
He still wasn't sure what he wanted to do with... all of this, but at least he was not being asked to make any decisions.
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