👁️👁️ can you drop the Dante meta design lore :3
ERMMM yes I can 👀💕
hi tumblr, you don't know who Dante is yet but you're about to!!
Extremely brief overview for anyone who doesn't know: Dante Inferno (they/he) is my drow fathomless warlock, pirate captain, and awful babygirl who wants the world to burn. Dante took on their warlock pact to get power and bring suffering to those who wronged them and hopefully find the daughter that was stolen from them many years ago. However, this pact comes at a price... it's actually Dante's misery that the patron is most interested in. 🥀 They may be in too deep to figure this out though!! For years, they've been self-destructing and falling deeper into corruption... and are quickly hurtling towards a future where they may be left with nothing of who they once were.
Anyways!! This corruption is represented heavily within their design!! This is most apparent with their tattoos, which reflect how much power/abilities Dante has accrued. Their body itself serves as their warlock tome.
📌 Each of their "tattoos" are actually scars that Dante has left on their own body, carved into the skin by ritual dagger, to imbue their body with power. The scars have blackened as though frostbitten, but this is more for visual effect.
Here's what each tattoo symbolizes:
(LEFT ARM) Abyssal/Deep Speech Runes: Each symbol correlates to a different spell ability that they’ve been provided by their patron. Spells like Eldritch Blast, Hex, Cause Fear.
(RIGHT ARM) Sea-Serpent: This is their summons arm! Dante, as a warlock, tends to lean more into the control + summoner type! This arm corresponds to their ability to summon different abyssal/deep sea entities to assist them in battle. Spells include: Evard's Black Tentacles, Summon Undead, Tentacle of the Deep (ability).
Back Tattoo: These deep speech/abyssal runes spell out the word TREACHERY. It was carved into their skin by their patron and represents the abilities granted by their Eldritch Invocations.
(Back of) Neck Tattoo: A marking left by the Spider Queen when Dante made an agreement with her. YEP! They've made two deals with different demonic entities. This tattoo basically represents her eyes at the back of her neck. (I can explain their pact with her but. that's for another post FSGHSJ)
Gills: The first marks they carved into their body when they took on their pact. This gives them the permanent ability to breathe underwater.
X on chest: This one actually isn't related to their warlock abilities at all. It's actually a promise they made to their daughter... to find her again. X marks the spot. (They had cut an X into her cheek when they were separated so that they'd be able to recognize her in the future. So much more to say abt this but that's the gist!)
They were going to keep gaining more marks as the campaign went on longer... And eventually, the tips of their extremities were going to begin to blacken from all of the corrupt power they were storing!
📌 Also, fun fact for you, Tooth! Dante was eventually going to take the Eldritch Invocation that would allow them to send messages to others by writing on their skin. They were going to have some of the Bleeding Hearts carve their names onto their body so they could do that :3
And for the rest of the meta design lore, I'll also put those into bullet points for ease:
Their eyes have split heterochromia (red and blue halves in both iris) and slit pupils. The heterochromia was brought on by their pact and just kinda gives them a rly freaky look!
They've usually always got some spider motifs on em,, they have an extremely complicated relationship w the Spider Queen and their identity as a drow. But we can also say that it's just because the spider motif drip goes hard.
This isn't smth that can be reflected in art easily but their skin is COLD to the touch! Warmth no longer feels the same to them anymore.
