#He's not even a durge he's just like that™️

[problemsynth]

Ok I drew my sweet tiefling but like... what if I drew my terrible chaotic drow now.

[meanbossart]

Did Astarion kill DU Drow or did DU Drow pass the checks? (Or did that interaction not happen?)

Cause you’ve basically described DU Drow’s type as THAT Bitch™️ which I respect. But if THAT Bitch™️ killed him too?

Of course this could be me projecting, cause my Durge failed the checks and he came before he went 🫡.

Pretty face, legs for days, a mean streak, AND held a knife to his throat within five minutes of meeting, Astarion had already grabbed his attention, top that off with the fact Astarion actually killed him? My murder man was munted, the Bhaal boy was barking, slaughter son was salivating…

You get the idea

God damn it you're right, his type is just the conceptual archetype of That Bitch isn't it LOL

THAT BEING SAID you are actually mistaken! He may not like suck-ups, but he likes strangers putting knives to his throat even less.

Not to mention: Astarion's immediate order of business after that is to try and desperately get on your good side. In other words, doing the very thing that puts DU drow off. He didn't care for Astarion or his attempts at seduction at all, held him at arms' length, and was just a dismissive asshole to him throughout the majority of Act 1 (he was an asshole to everyone at that stage though, to be fair.)

It was only at the tiefling party when Astarion, completely unprompted, implied that the very idea of having sex with him disgusted him that DU drow became interested and started pursuing him. In the narrative I made up for this course of events, I like to think Astarion realized that his usual strategy wouldn't work here and that he was dealing with a man who only wants what he can't have. DU drow is a contrarian at heart, and for as long as Astarion was throwing himself at him he was going to be turned down.

Astarion only bit him after they started having sex, and at that point he had already told DU drow about his vampirism through normal dialogue ("Well, Obviously."). This is sincerely the only way he got away without being staked when that scene triggers (and it was honestly really cool to experience it in that order because it felt a lot more strategic from my POV as the player).

The bite was definitely a turning point in the relationship (DU drow enjoys being hurt by people he values under a controlled environment, but isn't fully aware of it due to his missing memory -> now his object of carnal desire puts that very concept on the table on a habitual basis, making it pretty much a pillar of the relationship -> DU drow begins to see Astarion as someone who actually has something to offer him, instead of just being a pretty conquest that he can show off.) However he still attempted and passed the first check to break free from it. They weren't close enough for DU drow to completely let go of his sense of self-preservation, nor did he come to trust Astarion entirely for a long time even after that. At that stage, if Astarion had sucked him dry (and then revived him, I guess) DU would have most definitely killed him.

(And If you're wondering how this translates to my actual gameplay - I wasn't taking the game seriously because I don't usually like fantasy as a genre, so I made a guy, named him Drow, and proceeded to be a huge dick to everyone until they all ultimately wormed their way into my heart while I kicked and screamed.)

[daemon-in-my-head]

In all this musing on Dravo and Sally Flymm, what I find interesting is that Gortash becomes hostile if you kill them before you take him out. The fact that he tadpole'd them doesn't reflect much love lost but then if you put them out of their misery... he's not happy about that. It's interesting.

Personally I very much love this little detail. Cuz he's so not over what happened, regardless of what he says or does. The fact that he has the scrapbook and his other book/newspapers in the Flymm household already leads me to believe that he's been there for quite a significant amount of time, not just once to tadpole them and leave again. Doubt he went there with a huge ass backpack carrying his stuff, dropped it off and then dipped never to be seen again.

I just believe that, despite all, that place may have been his little sanctum. Not the foundry or the Fortress, but the old house with his tadpoled parents who finally (albeit forced) behave how he imagined parents would be. Especially after his ally disappeared, I believe even Gortash needed some breaks where he could be "Enver Gortash" and not "the Tyrant"™️. For the last decade or so, this source seems to have been his ally and equal, but with them gone, he went back to get twisted revenge on those who hurt him. And I think this is necessary as it shows that, yeah, he's very not cool about the latest events, but I doubt that guy ever learned how to grieve so he jumped right into a "new" project he deemed could comfort him.

Once again, this is just my interpretation, but; I think it speaks for his longing for a "home" and his deeply rooted resentment. The home part appears very important to him as he also welcomes Durge back home, first via Steelwatcher, then in person. And resentment as that man simply does not want his parents to die. It's the easy way out after all they've done to him. They have to pay for it by being his puppets, objects to be toyed with like he once was, but it is also a very twisted attempt at healing himself by making them the parents he's always wanted, yk? It's a childish longing but an understandable one. They were his parents, they were supposed to love him. He wanted their love. So now that he has the means, he will get it.

He wants to let go, and probably knows, objectively speaking, that would be the right thing to do, but even the Iron Tyrant has a human side to him. One which is incredibly hurt, twisted and messed up.

Bonus, despite mingling with patriars and being the archduke, he still aims to be seen as someone down to earth, one of the people so to say. And his being a "family man" fits right into the picture he tries to portray but these two despicable humans would never cooperate, probably actively try to mess with his plans, so they just don't get to have any autonomy anymore.

[caynesugar]

my personal durgetash hcs

(this’ll prolly be a part one, i’ve got a lot of these stored in the ol’ cayne-brain™️ (these are sfw!))

• i’m completely on board with the idea enver secretly craves attention that a parent would provide; what he’s desired for a very, very long while. he’s done what he thought best to cover his tracks, but once that shell gets cracked, it’s open for good. small gestures like durge cooking dinner w/o the help of servants are of particular interest to him; they make him melt.

• gods, enver needs an open ear. someone to hear him out. someone to listen to his tinkerer ramblings and bounce ideas off of. a lazy evening of small, but ever-important exchanges between him and durge as they count hours away in his office. it wouldn’t matter what he was working on, durge would give their own perspective if asked as a throwaway question. so menial but so huge.

• enver can be explosive at times; durge douses him. sometimes, when away from prying eyes, enver can allow his frustration to get the better of him- the cool, confident attitude he exudes is a coverup, that steam needs to escape sometimes. him beginning to crease his brow in lividity just as durge grabs hold of his rough, calloused hands like a lifeline. who knows what those hands could do. nothing to benefit enver. so they hold his hands until his tenseness recedes; his gritted teeth unclenching themselves. and all is well.

• that ornamental piano in enver’s office?? yeah?? yeah?? has anyone mentioned that before? i am. flakes of blood still linger on its keys. unclear finger/clawprints stamped in sanguine. perhaps durge had once known how to play, perhaps they simply wanted to fool around with such an elaborate instrument. enver daren’t clean the keys. it was a reminder to show that durge was sweet, once.

• dusk along the ramparts: a treasure for them both. i imagine it was the location of their first actually loving kiss. enver lazily flicking a haughty cigar in his hand, taking a drag as he breathes in the lights of his city. it stirred a rather sudden, impulsive sense of passion within him. this moment was too good to be celebrated alone, and just a foot away was durge, basking in enver’s secondhand and watching the sea. a pivot, a drop of the cigar, and a gentle cupping of his ally’s face. his nearest and dearest. his favorite. a rather chaste seal, but one that lasted seemingly until dawn. the feeling of it, anyway.

[quacaserous]

If you haven't talked abt it before, what are your durges relationship w Orin like? Did they feel any vestiges of those emotions past when confronting her post-tadpoling?

OK you didnt specify which durge u were talking about so im just gonna spill the tea on all 3 👀

pre-tadpole cassius & orin are essentially attached at the hip (like you actually would not see one walking without the other @ the temple) (woo codedependency! /sarc). there’s always been a kind of (not) subtle power imbalance between them what with durge being put up on a pedestal since they were a child but, at least in their youth, he treats her as close to an equal as his ego lets him & orin, discarded as unimportant/a dead weight by near everyone else at the temple, BASKS in it. that is, until gortash comes into cassius’ life, slowly ‘stealing him away’ over the course of about a decade until there’s near nothing left of the brother she once knew. he’s distant and patronizing and self-important and orin doesn’t understand why he doesn’t love her anymore & all that hurt and jealousy turns into resentment on both ends :)

post-tadpole cass doesn’t feel any of the fondness he once might’ve harbored for his sister. he sees her as a nuisance/obstacle in his way, a traitor, an example of what will happen to him should he fail father once more.

—

pre-tadpole cerys and orin’s dynamic is very much like. “i know you like the back of my hand and so i know how best to hurt you”. there are some elements of sisterly love in there, there’s an aknowledgement that they’re the only ones in the world that can understand the other but bhaal’s favoritism (& later enver’s involvement in isolating cerys from the temple) really strains that bond. cerys feels pressured to always be the best bc shes Daddy’s Special Little Princess™️ and orin takes it very personally. she thinks cerys is taking all of this for granted and decides hey, she deserves father’s love more than her betrayer sister!

post-tadpole cerys would have sacrificed herself to save and redeem orin if she could’ve, she feels no anger towards the betrayal. seeing orin so violated by the slayer transformation absolutely broke her because she knows exactly what it feels like to have your hand forced. she sits and cradles orin’s remains after the duel, apologizing for not being able to save her.

—

pre-tadpole saber like. almost disregards orin, not even out of self-centeredness but bc as little as she knows her, she cant stand to see orin losing herself to the madness saber knows she can’t pull her out of because orin doesn’t want to be saved. but in that same breath saber can’t afford to be weak, can’t afford to get attached to somebody, because she’ll still have to kill them in the end. saber is torn between feelings of familiarity & disdain towards orin, who simply takes it as saber being arrogant. the “what in the grey wastes are we going to do with you, little sister?” diary entry/note from durge is a huge catalyst in orin’s betrayal, physical proof of saber’s ‘hubris’

post-tadpole saber (in arcane vi & jinx fashion), hope on hope, begs orin to leave the temple with her, to let saber take her away from all of this before it consumes her. when she refuses, saber doesn’t blame herself for not being able to save orin from her demise, she knows there’s nothing more she could’ve done, but the look on orin’s face when she’s forced to transform haunts her long after the fact ❤️

[bloodiedrogue]

I heard it’s Tav time?? I have so many but I’m choosing just one rn

This is Deimos, one of my durges, who’s currently in act 3 though these screenshots are from act one

Obviously durges have a pretty set backstory but in my head I love to mess around with canon so he’s got a few bhaalspawn older siblings who are fellow resisting durges (bbg is trying his best to be a good person) (his siblings are only semi resisting though they’re still pretty murderous and unhinged) including the twins™️ who are just chaos incarnate and also willing to kill or die for him cause I figured he deserved one semi decent family reunion even if it’s only in my delusions lmao

But he’s a circle of spores Druid and a little shit, one of my nat1 babies (ill cry the day he rolls a successful throw on his first try istg), and he’s absolutely enamored with Halsin and Astarion. His bestie is Lae’zel for no reason other than they vibe together really well and they’re both a little stabby.

He’s really good at resisting the urge but that doesn’t mean he’s against doing terrible things he just wants to do them on his terms and hates when anything or anyone tries to force him to do something (he is the butlers worst nightmare fr). He probably would’ve killed a lot more people if he hadn’t been told he was supposed to do it beforehand but he’s stubborn as hell so he’s become a borderline accidental hero.

And yeah there’s more Tav stuff for you. I have like 8 other Tavs, but he is the one I’m playing most recently so I am going to hold off on spamming you with the others lmao

okay but the whole "i'm not doing this because you told me to do it" is so fucking real. love that that's one of his motivators to try and be a better person because somehow that feels like such a dark urge thing to do?

also love the lore bending with the siblings! somehow i think that the outside influence of having multiple resistant durges to look up to would make for really interesting dynamic. especially if they're super adamant about deimos following that path? i don't know if that's the case in this situation but could you imagine that amount of pressure?

anyway, ignore me rambling about YOUR tav. he's such a cutie and i'm glad he's got the elf boys to keep him company on his long, perilous journey!!

[archduke-enver-gortash]

i am crawling into your inbox like a depraved creature from the depths of long abandoned fungal ridden sewers, holding to you the mycelia born from a long dead corpse in offering so that i may pick your grey matter about zeke's time before the temple of bhaal, im curious as fuck and the dynamic you have written for him and gortash is SO fun and interesting, also really fun to think about in comparison to my own durge and gortash, g-d your brain is huge, but i really want to know what experience he had outside of baldurs gate before mr butler extraordinaire walked into his life like hey! ur like. the chosen of bhaal lol :) i want to pick apart zeke as if he is a new and rare creature of the deep sea that i have to keep in a pressurized tank just so that his body does not melt and turn into mush from the depressurization

waughhh thank you sm!!!! framing this ask on my wall i feel like you understand™️ hi hi hi yes of course i will talk about my creature!!

so, i don’t know how others handle timeline stuff but i always imagined zeke being no older than 10 when being taken into the temple of bhaal, so most of his life was the temple, but there is some stuff that i can tell you because i am spending all of my braincells on him (and gortash) these days lol:

his adoptive parents were older, humble librarians who didn’t have much, but took in a few children without homes like him. about 6 other kids lived with him. i feel like due to their experience they could sort of tell that zeke was. different in a way? they loved him all the same.

didn’t learn how to speak at all before sceleritas taught him (he perfectly understood people, just didn’t like doing it/find it to be a necessary skill lol) he mostly wrote to people in a little notebook he carried around with him everywhere.

of course my uquiz declared dweeb spent most of his free time in the library with his parents.

was one of those kids who you can just tell is a genius from an early age—he could not only read books with an advanced reading level as soon as he could hold them in his hands, he could also comprehend a lot of these concepts.

he never had any friends or genuine connections. he tried to befriend others, which for him looked like stalking them around the street, learning every possible thing there is to know about them and never actually approaching anyone because he was too scared to.

his first “kill” was during one of those uh. watches? ig. a girl he liked was playing alone near a creek and started to pick a beautiful bouquet of flowers—wait, he’d read about those, they were highly dangerous to touch. before he could step in and warn her, she already fell over groaning in agony. he tries to take another step towards her, but then his entire body shudders and freezes at the sight of the light leaving her eyes. he doesn’t go over and finish the job or call any help—he just watches. watches until he is sure that she is beyond saving and cries. out of sorrow? fear? joy? this he doesn’t know or understand (yet), those pesky little nuisances called emotions always puzzled him way more than a book ever could—in himself or others.

while those “need to please father/parents above all else i’m worthless otherwise” tendencies of his were of course highly amplified by his life in the temple, they were already there before. he tried to be the “best child” of his parents, wanted to impress them at every turn. that there were so many of them certainly didn’t help either.

so, one day his father complains about one of the other children, they were all troublemakers/outcasts in their own way—one of them had accidentally smashed a window while playing. and zeke thinks to himself that he would never do such a stupid thing, how dumb could you be? and decides this is the perfect opportunity to test out a thing he read about.

later that evening, despite the quarrel from earlier, everyone is sitting around the dinner table, and zeke voluntarily and eagerly helps with setting the table today. a few minutes after starting to eat, the kid who broke the window starts coughing heavily, spitting blood, everyone starts panicking when zeke interrupts them by tugging at his father’s sleeve and excitedly showing him his notebook, his father thinks that zeke being the clever boy he is might know what’s going on or even how to help, so he leans down and reads. reads a detailed description of how zeke created a poisonous powder with the flowers from earlier and coated his sibling’s cutlery in it to not spoil the food they had. the last sentence of the page says something about a “perfect solution” to mom and dad’s problem.

his father is obviously starting to lose it, then his wife tells him that their child is beyond saving and already dead, which just makes him fully lose it—he just starts screaming and uncontrollably sobbing and shaking the confused to the hells and back zeke demanding why he did it. the others eventually start catching on what happened and understandably freak out as well.

zeke is just so confused man. wasn’t this a good thing? he certainly thought he felt good watching his own sibling die—his bloodshot eyes and fingertips turned black just like how the book described it would happen. he did it perfectly. so why were they acting like this? weren’t they proud? they were supposed to be.

next thing zeke remembers is standing in a pile of corpses and a ruined house in a pool of blood and tears streaming down his face, when a certain little butler approaches him.

[agent-oo-z]

Recently imagined what would happen if my BG3 player characters met each other. So have some goofy head canons!

I wish I could include Ta’mis my dragon born but like. I still don’t really have a solid grasp on them as a character. I’ve barely started act 1 with them so it’s gonna be a bit before I figure them out.

Aliah and Atavia would see Arista and her fucked up Durge Trauama™️ and be like “oh you poor thing” and just instantly pack bond. They’d both see someone who was trying to overcome their nature/past and do better despite not being sure if they even deserve a second chance and they’d be like “you’re doing great sweetie!”

They’d all do the “same hat” bit but with romancing Astarion. Just standing in a circle like the Spider-Man pointing meme and going “SAME BOYFRIEND!”

When Ali and Ari learned about the Tavi-Cule they’d be like “woah Atavia! How come the Player lets you have 3 boyfriends?!” Aliah would mostly just be surprised about Gale, and Arista would just be confused in general. Poor kid is so convinced she’s a monster that the idea of multiple people choosing to be with her seems impossible.

They woukd all Gush about their bears together. So much animal companion/familiar chatting. Giant bear cuddle pile. Just rangers being rangers

Aliah is the youngest and it quickly becomes clear they have a bit of a thing about being so young. They feel the need to be perfect and an over achiever. Arista would just kinda try and convince them to not try to single handedly fix the world, whereas Atavia would pull Aliah’s Astarion aside and be like “here’s a list of tactics you can use to trick them into taking breaks and not beating themselves up if they aren’t always perfect”

The three Astarions compare notes on their chaos rangers. Atavia’s Astarion is super grateful that he has Halsin and Gale to help him with Atavia. She is nowhere near as traumatized/damaged as the other two but is very hard headed. Aliah’s Astarion is a bit shocked that all three rangers pursued him first. It’s a bit of an ego boost. Arista’s Astarion is happy to see his Durge ranger making friends.

Atavia would absolutely adopt the other two into her “collection of strays.” She just wants to help everyone always. Basically creates her own version of The Guild but it’s all her various companions/people she befriended on her journey. She’s got the teiflings and the deep gnomes and the druids and the Harper’s and so on. What’s two more?

The Tripple A’s(that’s their group name I’ve decided) are just generally “gal pals” (gender neutral) and get along super well. They’re silly and friendly and love sharing stories. If they could meet up often they would. In general I think they’d all just support each other and do goofy ranger things together.

[humanransome-note]

Bg3 fanfiction is hard….!!!!

I’m writing Astarion X Markus (my Durge) and I’m trying to keep the balance of Markus being a fucking Creep™️ but not so much that you think about crossing the street when he walks by.

Cause Markus would be violent without the Urges, the tadpole dampened them into something more manageable, but Markus himself is still capable of and willing to relish in violence. (Example: He didn’t kill Nettie for trying to poison him, but he did kill the bird in the infirmary.)

He’s capable of kindness, it’s just not something he has practice in, he’s found it easier not to try. The greatest kindness he has been able to offer is his detachment.

But it’s not just Markus I’m trying to balance, I’m also trying to balance their relationship. Because one thing I’ve seen even in other ppl’s playthroughs is that Durge and Astarion can be either the best thing to happen to each other or the worst.

Their issues could perpetuate each other.

Astarion’s belief that power = freedom, could push Durge deeper into violence, because Durge’s greatest power is violence.

Durge’s violence could push Astarion’s selfishness, because a facet of violence is dehumanization and depersonalization.

But they could also be good for each other.

Astarion’s want for freedom, his want for independence, could help Durge push off/reject their father’s influence.

Durge’s restraint, Durge’s willingness to help even beyond the tadpoles, (with Cazador, with Karlach’s engine, with Wyll’s contract) shows and helps Astarion realize that he can rely on others, and that doesn’t negate his independence. Also not every interaction is a transaction.

These are two people desperately trying to understand kindness both toward themselves and others, and it’s vulnerable and soft!

BUT ALSO BOTH OF THESE NUMBNUTS HAVE THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF FUCKING TODDLERS!!! SURE ONE KNOWS HIW TO FLAY A PERSON AND KEEP THEM ALIVE, AND THE OTHER CAN AND HAS SEDUCED LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE BEFORE!!! BUT NEITHER KNOWS WHEN OR HOW TO ASK FOR A HUG! NEITHER OF THEM KNOW DECENT, LET ALONE HEALTHY COMMUNICATION!

But I went to therapy and mostly get it, and I’m trying to keep them from sounding like they’re trying to get a good grade in therapy

[ferindencadash]

Strangely, even though I've written a good half dozen fics at this point, I still feel shy talking about my OCs? Oh well. Taking the plunge.

For someone who spends probably 25% of their waking hours thinking about Durgetash, my actual in-game Durge(s) are really not a reflection of what I love about the Durgetash Dynamic™️, go figure. As these things tend to go, the characters write themselves and are usually not a fan of my best laid plans.

Enter Zavion, my first Durge.

The literal golden child of Bhaal. They're a cold hearted fucking bastard who lives to please Daddy Dearest. An absolute (no pun intended) suck up who gets no greater joy in life than rubbing Orin's nose in the fact that they are daddy's favourite and messing with her "dolly" displays. They 100% had that lobotomy coming to them.

I don't think they ever really loved Gortash. But they were impressed by him and intrigued by his nerve and his lack of fear of the bhaalspawn. Zavion was very accustomed to being swooned over or carefully avoided. Then Gortash came in with all his swagger and smarm, and while he was respectful, he never showed deference or submission. He challenged Zavion, and I wouldn't say they liked that exactly, but it got their attention enough that they decided to postpone his death (though they had a grand time imagining it).

Gortash was more or less a plaything to Zavion. They loved to just observe him; watch him work, try to understand what made him tick. Sex just sort of happened. It was another way to study Gortash, see how he would react to them. It was usually very one sided, with Zavion acting as a stone top.

Gortash might have loved Zavion. He thought he loved them at least, but when Zavion disappeared, Gortash was quick to move on. Out of sight, out of mind. When they returned to Baldur's Gate, Gortash was excited but also anxious (though he'd never admit it). And he was right to worry. As Zavion pieced their life back together, they were unimpressed with Gortash's lack of effort to track them down. They fully planned to skin him alive once they felt secure in their claim over the city and Gortash had outlived his usefulness. Of course the elder brain took care of things for them (which really pissed Zavion off).

In the end Zavion reclaimed their birthright and continued in their plan to royally fuck Baldur's Gate. But sometimes, in the rare quiet moments, they still think of the one that got away (from their blade).

Durgetash shippers, what is the dynamic between your Durge and Gortash?

(Bonus points if you show me a pic of your Durge 👉👈)

[daemon-in-my-head]

Hiiii! I like the direction you've taken with the new DUrge ask game, but I was wondering- why only Gortash and not Orin? Is Orin not an essential part of the story and creation as well, or even if not her specifically, the cult itself outside of only the figure of Bhaal? The ways DUrges fit in with or contrast with Orin and the Bhaal cult are really interesting to me, as well as the ways Orin may have changed the Bhaal cult in her own image! Scleritas as well, since it seems like a figure so present throughout impressionable years would have an impact on presentation and manner.

Thank you!

First of all, I agree with you. Orin and Scel are very much substantial to Durges story and I might even argue Sarevok deserves a seat with those two as well.

Now the answer to your question is twofold though. Basically, there's enough canon, widely accepted hc and similarity for these Asks to involve Gortash, whereas for Scel and Orin that simply doesn't exist. The interpretation of their relationships and how their dynamics worked are vastly different from person to person, so finding answers that the majority can answer with stuff that isn't 'nah never happened sry' is far more challenging.

Take my Durge for example, buddy was cut off from everyone for a century, including Scel nd Bhaal, so the way their dynamic developed is completely different compared to a durge who was young enough/had other reasons to develop a familiar codepency or smth. The game pretty much just gives u the info 'yeah he exists and he loves Durge' and ofc people ran with that (which is awesome, but makes asking specific questions way harder.) And the same applies for Orin, Sarevok and Bhaal as a whole.

The other reason is how I create the ask games. Normally I just have an idea, then I try to apply it to one of my gremlins or I analyse my own thought process regarding them. Sometimes it's as simple as I see an OC, my curiosity is piqued but I'm too shy to talk to ppl so I create an ask game and pray they see it so I or somebody else can ask, and I get my answer that way (i like to overcomplicate things). Overall, I just have 1 idea or thing I wanna know and that determines the general direction of the ask game. Once I have the first question down it's a matter of 10 minutes and I'm done lol.

But the problem with that is that my questions are incredibly biased. And pretty much require my curiosity to be involved or for me to have that 1 idea™️. And I haven't had that for Scel or Orin yet in a way that I can apply it or would have enough questions to actually make it a game. Managed to ask a few questions regarding them before, but as of now, a whole ask game solely focused on them and Durge is nothing I've had that idea for.

So long story short; Larian where's the upper city.

Getting to answering and asking other asks throughout the day today, sorry for the delays, DB is my rolemodel