#disgraced du drow

[meanbossart]

I figured that the final panel from my comic "I'm doing this for us" deserved its own post c:

[meanbossart]

"I'M DOING THIS FOR US" PART 1.

A disgraced Dark Urge comic.

PART 2 ->

[meanbossart]

When the light in your eyes Goes out for the last time When your hands are tied Pale on pale and mind on mind

[meanbossart]

It's time for your vastus medialis stretch-sesh babe 😇

[meanbossart]

And we're back 😈

[meanbossart]

THE COMIC IS DONE.... I'M FREE... (FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE...)

[meanbossart]

New and updated character sheet! Now you guys can't be mad at me for the uneven numbers anymore 😇

While DU drow's redemption path is still the "canonical" version of his story, I've put so much time and thought into the bhaalist AU that it made sense for me to include it in the lineup. Also so people can have an immediate visual guide to the difference between them.

... That third one? Oh, just don't worry about it for now 🍷

[meanbossart]

Your recent reblog of your DU!Drow fic pointers post reminded me - I had a vague idea for a fic inspired by your A!Astarion/Fallen!DUDrow AU, and I wondered if you had any fic pointers for the specific dynamic in play between them there?

👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️

The Ascended Astarion and Disgraced DU dynamic/future is not as clear to me as of yet (at least in comparison to the Bhaalist AU) that's something I plan on exploring more with comics and art etc, but I definitely have a good base that should hopefully help you!

A disgraced, spawn-turned DU Drow is someone who was in the middle of succumbing to a full and permanent Slayer Form transformation as punishment for losing his duel against Orin. While the transformation progressed between his loss and Astarion turning him into a vampire, it stagnated as soon as he was turned, and so did the degeneration of his mind. Because of this:

-Disgraced DU Drow is slightly more scatterbrained than he used to be. This expresses itself by him lacking his usual filter: the blood fantasies he kept to himself are more readily shared, he snaps more at others and expresses a lot more vulnerability openly, especially at Astarion. To be clear, he is not incoherent or animal-like, he just doesn't adhere to social norms as well as he did before.

-He is, also, more violent and quick to arrive at murder as a solution to his problems. Most of the time, this is not an unwelcomed outcome given his and Astarion's "lifestyle", but other times Astarion employs his control over him as a spawn to keep those urges under control.

-Generally, this is the only time when Astarion exerts explicit control over DU drow's body: to keep him from physically lashing out, to manage his bloodthirst, and to keep him from hurting himself or even Astarion.

[more below because this got too long 😑]

-For similar reasons, DU drow and Astarion do not share a bedroom, and DU drow is chained whenever Astarion isn't around.

-He may sometimes wear an ornate steel muzzle as well.

-DU drow "agrees" to all of this treatment because he does not believe to have another choice. He does not want to lose what's left of his mind or get himself or Astarion killed by accident. Unlike redemptive DU Drow, he also remains head-over-heels for Astarion after his ascension in this universe and believes that the changes to their dynamic (Astarion taking on the role of protector and provider and having much, much more control over him) is a result of his own failures rather than Astarion's hunger for power and dominance. In a way, he thinks of what Astarion has done as a type of sacrifice in itself.

-In private, he becomes incredibly needy and clingy. Wishing to always make Astarion happy and to be on the receiving end of his attention; in front of others, DU drow still attempts to come off as being in control of himself and of his situation to varying degrees of success.

-If you thought he was a giving partner before, just you wait until you see him now.

-He wears clothes around the manor, just not many, lol.

Ascended Astarion in this universe most certainly does not see his own circumstances as a necessary sacrifice at all. This is the best possible outcome, in fact. Not only did he acquire a good excuse to ascend despite DU drow's initial reservations, but also a perfectly reasonable motive to turn him into his spawn that made him out to be his lover's hero and savior.

-His behavior is pretty much much based off the game's characterization in his Ascended scenario: he's confident to a fault, self-righteous, and slightly demeaning to his partner under the assumption that this is what they want (and in this case, that assumption is mostly correct, especially over time as DU drow grows used to his predicament).

-He provides both food and "entertainment" to DU drow and enjoys watching him feed and brutalize his victims. In fact, DU drow does most if not all of the killing between them.

-While Astarion's magical control over DU drow may be employed only if necessary, he does keep close tabs on his routine. He wakes him up, feeds him, keeps him at his side most of the day and puts him to bed every night. Their co-dependency is, as the name implies, mutual, even if it looks a little different depending on whose perspective you are looking through.

-Astarion does not take issue with the changes to DU drow's appearance, and even likes to bring attention and "exoticize" them - even saying that it is more "him", now - under the guise of reassuring him that he doesn't find him any less attractive for it.

-Most of the time he loves DU drow's constant attention seeking-behavior and neediness - he even loves to ignore it for the explicit purpose of letting it build throughout the course of the day and to experience it as a desperate explosion when they are finally alone; In some other occasions, however, he is less keen on the clinginess and may find alternative ways to keep DU drow entertained so he doesn't have to deal with it himself. This often looks like magical illusions that mimic his company, playful but awfully convenient restrains, toys (in many senses of the word) or coming up with tasks that get DU drow out of his hair for a while.

-As suggested above, a lot of aspects of this relationship mimic a sort of 24/7 Dom/sub dynamic, but that's never explicitly set up or stated by either them.