Thez was built from the start to be a companion, so I always love doing those types of Tavqotds.
The one I did specifically was this one by ToxicToon on Bsky, while the original tavqotd was from Necromoss
The only difference between high and low approval with Thez is that he won't actively insult you to your face. If he likes you enough, you have the chance to convince him to destroy the brain instead of snatching the stones from you last second and taking control of it for himself.
Things that raise his approval:
Not killing him when you learn he's a mindflayer (he WILL call you an idiot but will be thankful)
killing undead
destroying Necromancy of Thay
killing other Illithid (only hostiles)
killing wizards
giving him alchemy ingredients
giving him jewelry
being a pain in the ass to the emperor
letting him dig around in your head
being loyal to him over others
giving him the stones
killing the elder brain.
Character specific:
Being an underdark race
being a ranger or druid and talking to him about plants
Being tied to the god Ilsensine in some way.
Things that lower his approval:
Keeping the book of Thay
allowing Astarion/Gale to join the party
blindly trusting the Emperor
disobeying/talking back to him
wasting time trying to find a cure
letting Ethel take the children
going to the creche (he will leave your party and stay at camp until you leave)
destroying or giving away the Gith egg
getting the tieflings killed
killing or letting Omel die
freeing the vampires into the underdark
attempting to romance him
taking control of the brain
interacting with the devils positively (for them).
Character specific:
Being a wizard
being involved with undead in any way
assuming morality is black and white
Things that instantly turn him hostile:
trying to sacrifice him
betraying the emperor
killing the newborn mindflayer
ascending Astarion
failing to convince him to not take control of the elderbrain.
Also, if you want the template I made for this one, I have it here on my toyhouse
(also here's the files)
The Pope and his giant goth boyfriend
Working on Diadem outfits again after my sparkle dog break.
I love love love love the 3.E alhoon art so I'm stealing his look. I WISH I could get a high-res version of it. (My friend @bee-pyromancer said I had to give him fishnets, so I HAD to)
there’s an educational trivia game at the citadel on the exhibits on different planets called “Dog or Not?” that shows pictures of various four legged mammals and asks if they’re a breed of dog.
it was mainly for kids to learn about the diversity of earth’s flora and fauna but it became popular with adult aliens too and had to be shut down after almost causing no less than three diplomatic incidents.
they brought it to the nexus and it’s caused two more so far
“That’s definitely a dog.” “Incorrect. This is actually an animal called a ‘raccoon’” “What? No! It’s got the ears and the tail!”
“Okay, okay, I got this. That’s not a dog. It’s way too big it’s uhhh I think humans call them bears.” “Incorrect. This is a dog breed called a ‘newfoundland’”
And when it becomes such a cultural obsession that they run tournaments and the final rounds are displayed live on the worldswide hologram system …
Somewhat cocky contestant (who heckles the others for wrong answers) looks at the hologram on display: “I’ve read up on a lot of Earth animals, even visited the Earth zoo, so you can’t fool me. It’s a picture on a farm so that’s the first clue. It’s white, fluffy, got a sloping forehead and no distinct… muzzle.. if I do remember the term correctly. It’s most definitely a sheep.”
Trivia host (attempting to hide their joy at finally being able to tell the contestant they’re wrong): “I’m sorry, that is a dog called a Bedlington Terrier. It is actually bred to look like a sheep, but notice the lack of keratinized tissue coverings on the extremities that make contact with the ground. You missed quite an obvious difference there.” (after the contestant stutters a bit and protests about dogs made specifically to look like not-dogs) “Let’s take it to the judges then” (after consulting small podium-top hologram of judging panel, now grinning and dripping with sarcasm) “Awwww…unfortunately it is a dog and rules of the game do not allow us to award partial credit… toooooo baaaaaad” (super cheerfully) “aaand… next image please!”
Shepard loves “Dog or Not?”. The human crew never misses a tournament airing. They get it on a vid screen in the mess hall and all crowd around. Some people bring blankets and pillows. Some make snacks to share. Eventually it becomes like a Superbowl party.
Dog or Not becomes a sort of inside joke on the Normandy, one that the non-human crew members still kind of get - they’re always invited to the viewing parties and sometimes sit in - but don’t really understand. Tali especially doesn’t understand when a snickering Shepard elbows her and, pointing to a varren being taken for a walk, asks, “Hey, Tali - dog or not?”
“That’s…that’s a varren, Shepard,” Tali responds, bemused. “You know what a varren is.”
Shepard is still giggling, and Kaidan, who heard the exchange, joins in.
-
Liara, Ashley, and Shepard go to recover the lost data drive at Admiral Hackett’s request. They eventually find themselves surrounded by the strange monkey-looking organisms.
With a straight face, Ashley comments, “Wow, sure are a lot of dogs on this planet.”
Shepard doubles over. Liara isn’t sure whether or not to laugh. She’s watched “Dog or Not?” before, so she knows these creatures aren’t dogs…right?
-
Garrus accidentally joins in on the fun after they discover a new species on a fog-covered planet. They’re bright red, they have carapaces, and they breathe fire. The team is examining one’s corpse when Garrus asks hesitantly, “So…is that a dog?”
Shepard’s head whips up and they stare at him for a full five seconds before breaking down. Garrus has to half-carry a wheezing, crying Shepard back to the shuttle. Jack’s eyelashes are wet from her own mirth.
-
They’re driving full speed over the scorching desert of Tuchanka. They’ve just called Kalros, the mother of all thresher maws, to deal with the Reaper destroyer in their way. All faces are pressed to the windows to see the fight.
Kalros bursts from the sands with an unearthly screech and tackles the Reaper. The two grapple in the sands, both representing the might of organic and synthetic, respectively.
“Garrus,” Shepard says in a low, awed voice.
Garrus has been around Shepard for too long not to know when they’re about to make a joke. “Shepard, I swear on all the spirits of Palaven - “
“That’s the biggest dog I’ve ever seen.”
Garrus quietly regrets all his choices that led him to this moment, then sighs. “Which one?” he returns.
aauuughhgg Val is like 10x more complicated, but his ref only took a day, this one took a WEEK. In character for her to fucking torture me though, Jesus Christ.
What a glow up from the last ref/design though, this is her old ref from March last year.
Going to draw something that's not a ref now, because she has burnt me tf out
annaxmalina
ellievsbear
blakekathryn
janainaart
areudirty
origamiaround
gummygunk
prguitarman
