#durge mayhem

[luxcafess]

Young Enver has a habit of getting into bad situations, but lucky for him, hes got the scary kid from down the street to come to his rescue 💗

Childhood durgetash.. i hold it so close

[taygra5shaon]

No one hurt Scratch ☠️

it wasn't a smart move to threaten animals in front of a druid Bhaalspawn...

[y-rhywbeth2]

...Orin may have a point, disallowing cannibalism, thinking on it. The fact that she views corpses as art pieces aside, your kills are sacrifices to Bhaal: I'm not sure you're supposed to give a god your half-eaten leftovers or give him something and then take it back and eat it for your own enjoyment.

I suppose Durge can counter that sacrificing animals and eating them is part of some religious traditions though... On the other hand that usually involves the deity giving you an animal with the intention of eating it. But they can also counter that wearing your kills isn't much different.

[coldbycrossfade]

i made concurrent durge runs

its up to you to figure out which is a darling softhearted wet beast and which will spiral wildly into Murder Hell

[hollowrose]

Obsessed with this screenshot

[wolfsong-the-bloody-beast]

Some gratuitous pics of my favourite Tav/Durge, Drakira. She's a half-elven druid, having a little bit of an issue, losing herself in apex predator forms. It is difficult for her to stop herself from ripping things apart with her fangs and claws once she starts. She's trying to be better, though.

[ingkkantadia]

Continuing my "Bhaal and Bane are exes" crack idea, I'd argue that Durge and Gortash both have qualities that are championed by the two gods.

Durge: literal embodiment of murder but is also canonically a well-known Bhaalist leader before they were selected as Bhaal's chosen. It would imply that Durge has enough social power to be able to command respect and obedience from their fellow Bhaalists. Upon meeting them again, Gortash himself admits that he has high respect for Durge's control over their urges.

Gortash: literal embodiment of tyranny but is also bloodthirsty enough to do whatever it takes to gain influence over others by creating schemes that would bring mayhem to the streets ("slithering, wet malice" and the Prayer of Forgiveness come to mind). He's also canonically tinkered with humanoid subjects so that means he's not above dealing with torture and gore himself.

TLDR: Bhaal and Bane are exes and probably selected these two freaks to be their chosen because Gortash and Durge reminds them of each other. And maybe to live vicariously through them while their chosen are making out and getting their backs blown by the other.

[herrfivehead]

having durge, gale, wyll, and karlach in your party before the myrkul fight is the funniest shit ever. you spot the woman who turned your brain into silly putty (not that you know for sure yet) while wyll has to watch her put a tadpole into his dad's head, you're trying to keep karlach from losing her shit as soon as she sees gortash and gale is pleading with you to blow himself up now that the brain has made its appearance. absolute mayhem and the battle hasn't even started yet

[thelikesoffinn]

Hi friend! I have an question because of your DID post. I read a lot of stuff about DID end I watches something on Youtube to learn more about DID and now I'm agreeing that Astorian really don't have DID. But now after learning I'm thinking that maybe Durge could? What do you say?

Both spoilers and talks of DID symptoms ahead!

Oooooh, hiya babes!

I love that you went and looked up some stuff after reading my post so that you could come to your own conclusion. That's exactly what I want to achieve! I want to encourage people to learn more about the things I mention instead of taking them at face value, so I'm happy to hear that it works for some of you!

Also: Bad anon! Very bad! *posh people "nonono" finger shake* Please do not drag Durge into the DID community. They already have many a homicidal bastard in their rep ranks, and they do not need one more.

(Tone: Humorous but also really, please don't! For those who haven't yet: You can read a rough why here!)

But, as always, let's treat this as the discussion you meant it to be and chat about it!

With Durge - as opposed to that wildy idiotic Astarion tiktok theory we've talked about before - I can actually kind of see why you reached this conclusion.

Now, that doesn't mean I agree with the take that Durge has DID, but alas, I do see where you're coming from.

Durge actually does show some symptoms that we do commonly associate with DID as opposed to Astarion, who doesn't really show any.

There's the ever-present mood swings we see - some of them left to the players' choice - which are a common symptom many DID systems deal with. (As do patients with all sorts of other disorders, but let's stay on topic for the sake of brevity.)

One example of that would be barking at Isobel like a rabid dog and then immediately changing your tune and apologising straight after.

Disordered sleep is another symptom that is rather common in DID and also something we find in Durge. I don't think there's much to be said, we can see how restless their sleep is every long rest and, later on, Astarion even mentions that he hasn't seen them "sleep through the night once in the past days".

Lastly, and probably the most "glaring" symptoms we could potentially find are fainting spells and, mostly connected to those, fugue.

The fugue is most obvious after Durge first slaughters Alfira, seeing as they wake up bloodied and next to a corpse and don't even remember how it got there or what happened to it.

The fainting spells are shown a little later in Act 2, after we fail to kill Isobel and Sceleritas, the little chum!, tasks Durge to kill whoever they love the most. Durge barely manages to wake their beloved and inform them of what is happening before fainting and turning into that rabid beast we see throughout the night.

Oh, and one thing that is definitely there, but I'd still like to kind of push aside is Durge's headaches. I know they mention it A LOT - "I have such a headache." 'nough said. - and that it is a common somatic symptom in DID, but we have to keep in mind that Orin pretty much scrambled Durges' brain AND that they have a tadpole worming around in there.

Both of those are likely to cause headaches, so I'm hesitant to count them.

So now, with all of these symptoms that can serve as potential indicators, would I say that Durge has DID?

No.

I do think that you could easily headcannon that into your own character design if you were so inclined, since there's some bases that are covered.

I won't stand in anyone's way in that regard! It is your game and your creativity, but I don't believe that Durge has DID for multiple reasons.

Firstly, the symptoms are just too lax. They're really spread out, they shift like the tide, they're often untriggered, and they really only revolve around murder and mayhem. Nothing else.

While we have what we could generally mistake for a shift of conscience, it's less an actual shift and more Durge being overcome by their murderous urges. That is a really, really big difference.

Durge has these Urges all the time - often displayed as some sort of intrusive thought. It's just that in the few moments we see, they win.

It's like rice or kitty litter. You walk past those giant bags at the shops on a day to day basis and something in you just WANTS to slap that bag. Just a good smack. You can see yourself do it and that little voice is there every time you see those bags.

You resist most days, but on a random Tuesday, you give in and slap that bag.

With Durge, it's similar. Only instead of slapping a bag of rice, they kick a squirrel against a tree. That's not a shift in conscience. That's simply an Urge winning.

Plainly stated: There's no evil Alter that comes to and randomly goes off to kill innocent Bards and Clerics. It is still all Durge, and, for the most part, Durge can remember what they did.

I say, for the most part, because the Alfira incident seems to be the exception to that. We have no other incident where Durge can't remember what they did. It is only with Alfira, as far as I'm aware. (I suspect this is done for suspense rather than because Durge is plural.)

So there's apparently no amnesic walls between the mad dog and normal Durge and amnesic walls are pretty much why DID even exists since without those, there can be no Alter.

As I said in my other post, DID is the result of intense early childhood trauma. Amnesic walls are the protective measure the brain takes to keep the child alive.

It serves to separate the child from their trauma by basically shoving that trauma into one specific part of the brain and locking it away, which then creates an Alter since the child has yet to develop a set personality.

So the missing of those amnesic walls is pretty much the biggest indicator that there is no DID here.

Then there's the fact that Durge is immediately cured of everything once they are disowned by Bhaal, and that is, unsurprisingly, not how DID works. The creation of Alters becomes a third addition to the natural fight or flight. From then on out, it's fight, flight, or dissociate, which is why people with DID can develop further Alters later in life.

And lastly, my absolute favourite hill: Narratively, it just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. DID is a very specific disorder that holds a lot of storytelling potential, tragic as it is. In fact, the tragedy behind that disorder is where the potential often comes from - that and its rarity - since tragedy has always inspired creative minds all throughout history.

No one would go through the trouble of implementing that and then just discard it and never mention it.

So, to sum it up, I would say what Durge suffers from is called "Bhaal" and not DID! But once again, I do see how one could come to that conclusion, so there's no shame there.

(Also, I do hope everyone can now see why I said Astarion really doesn't show any signs of DID. Really none. If Durge doesn't have it, he doesn't either. Stop that tiktok nonsense, please.)

Anyway, babes! You have a lovely day now, and feel free to hit me up whenever you want to chat! Even if you have a different opinion or take on this, I'd be happy to hear all about it!

[luxcafess]

The cobblers son and the butchers child

Thinking about young Enver Gortash and Mayhem, the two were... quite the pair in their youth

[erridein]

Finally back to the game after all this drawing. And finally go to Cazador's Palace.

This quest has made me really nervous for some time, maybe two weeks? I'm not really sure. What should I do about it? As a player, I know how much Astarion will change if he ascends, and how bad this ending will be for my Durge, Mikelle – to deny (or at least attempt to deny) Bhaal only to become a vampire spawn. But Mikelle doesn't know that. He only knows that Astarion was there for him when Mikelle lost control. Astarion stays even after Mikelle tried to kill him. He said, "You would do the same for me." And Mikelle would. He is so grateful. But he just can't figure out what "the same" means. Should he save Astarion from becoming a monster? Or should he do as Astarion asks, to help him ascend and share eternity together? Is Astarion becoming a monster at all? I just went down to Cazador's basement. Perhaps it will contain clues about what is to come. Signs of coming changes.

Don't get me wrong. I find the bad ending appealing. Beautiful in a decadent way.

I mean, at the start of Act One, Mikelle was reunited with nature as a druid. He built himself on two pillars: an inherent bloodthirstiness and a love for wildlife – a predator's startpack. Sometimes, the only thing that gave him strength (and reason) to resist his urges was the desire to maintain nature's order. Not that he doesn't have other virtues. But Mikelle's generosity and compassion won't prevent him from mayhem.

Later, he discovered within himself the need to be accepted, to evoke trust. Mikelle fell for Astarion the moment he realized that he didn't judge him for his murders. Isobel showed no fear when Mikelle told her that he wanted to kill her, so now he won't let anyone hurt her. But all of this came later, it was layered on the first two pillars. Even the memories (and some emotions) of Gortash returned later.

Becoming a vampire spawn, an undead, would mean that Mikelle cast off nature. I believe there are druidic vampires out there. Druids turned into vampires. Vampires who found their way to druidry. But in Mikelle's case, it would mean agreeing to die and breaking the cycle of life. Voluntarily. He would put his love for Astarion over nature, and one of the pillars would be knocked out from under his feet. Then, he will discover that Astarion has changed. Mikelle will reject Bhaal. He won't lose all his bloodthirstiness, but killing won't feel the same.

How much of him will remain?

I want a happy ending for Mikelle. I know he would be unhappy as a vampire. But I can vividly imagine the bad ending, so crisp and clear. And I can't help but admire it.

[aeyoh]

My resist Durge, Mayhem! They are a fundamental chaos barbarian and get really pissed when you fuck with their newfound friends and allies.

[bittcrblue]

a break from our usual scheduled posting

(she says, as if she posts regularly or on a schedule)

i wanted to post some tavs!!!

here we have mafalda tav who is a tiefling wizard and is in love with shadowheart <3 girlie we have GOT to cult deprogram you it's actually dire <3 - direct quote, act 2.

mafalda (yes named after communist comic strip icon) is an icy gorl she uses ice magic only (fuck a fireball. cast ice storm. get knocked prone, idiot) and is very "defrosting ice-queen" so her relationship is just two goofy idiots pretending to be aloof and mysterious. they're hysterical and i love them. she sees a lot of herself in rolan and she still let him die because she couldn't stand his attitude, mostly because she can't stand herself, and she's not embarassed by that decision at all. sometimes she is a little shady, tbh.

she lost her eye for the bantz lol and frankly i find the tradeoff to be VERY satisfying. invisibility whomst? not on my watch!! she loves the tiefling children SO SO much.

this is tav (just tav) who is a half-elf warlock indentured to the fey! he only ever calls his patron "my lady fair" "my fairest lady" and "my rose-speckled mistress" but he does serve titania, queen of the summer court.

he is romancing astarion because he thought the seduction attempt was funny, but he originally had his eyes set on wyll. however he decided to remain friends after wyll said he wanted a love story for the bards, because tav has been there, done that, and he doesn't need a repeat!!! to wit: he has an ex-wife in baldur's gate who is an 87 year old salonnière and a lesbian daughter and some adopted grandkids by her who all only barely care about him, and he prefers it that way.

he met his wife in the feywild when she was performing for the queen (got lost in a fairy circle) and they adventured together before she retired to raise their kid. she has since had four other husbands and is the most badass person in the world, and he'll never love anyone like he loves her, he thinks, but also god is he waiting for her to die already.

this is a picture from a previous run but this is marceline laimant, my dark urge, she is a middle aged arab mom and she hates all of her companions <3 she is based on an actual dnd character of mine, her son, armand; marceline was the leader of a bhaalite cult of murderous serial killers who was the villain in armand (her son, paladin of redemption)'s character arc, and i originally made armand to be my durge.

(see:

armand laimant)

however i thought playing durge and resisting constantly and having to jump through hoops to keep my oath was annoying, so i reloaded as marceline, and it's been murder and mayhem ever since, baby!

we are out here making everyone into the worst version of themselves possible and it's a grand old time. i will maybe romance minthara, we'll see.

this is sister tav and she is large <3 she is a paladin here but i since respecced her into a fighter bc i am tired of spellcasting <3 but her backstory is that she is a paladin of sune, goddess of love and beauty, and she is just a big handsome butch knight.

she originally started worshipping sune because as a child in her village she saw a team of women builders come repair a broken bridge and would watch them work every day and was enraptured by how beautiful they all were <3

i have not decided yet if she will romance shadowheart (i cannot resist a goth woman it's true), karlach or laezel yet, but she is a lesbian and she is big and she is kindhearted. the women in this game are too beautiful and powerful and intense and well-written and i'm in love with them all please i want to romance them all at once. larian, i'm begging you,

she gives good massages. she is going to crack shadowheart's back like a glowstick and knock the sharran discipline right out of her. that's a promise.

i am already sighing at the notion of having to reject gale. gale, please get a hold of yourself already. you're too old for this.

speaking of gale, this is antonin tav and he is an oath of ancients paladin who kind of grew up in a cult also? but a good one! (lol) he is a half-orc and he was going to be killed by his orc dad as a child for being sickly and tiny but his older brother stole him and ran away. they grew up in the woods with some druids and rangers and kind of founded this community with his older brother at the centre of it as the kindly forest guru. he did NOT take kindly to kagha!

he is still at the grove but he is going to rock gale's world believe you me

[verbosemoth]

Objectively hilarious to play a halfling dark urge because halflings naturally prefer peace and avoid conflict and just want good friends and drink. And your Urge wants mayhem blood and death which goes against the nature of your kind. Halfling Angel in your shoulder telling you to just accept the food the Tiefling granny is making meanwhile Durge Devil in your shoulder telling you to eat her instead

[jellymellydraws]

Gortash would absolutely immediately peer into his Steel Watchers because Orin HAS to be full of shit (she has to be, right?!).

So I like thinking, it's worse than that for him. He can see them when they aren't in serious mission mode. Hand holding, maybe tender. Maybe not at all how they might have been when they were together. Or if you are evil/morally grey Durge, he says you sharing mischievous smirks at another. Minorly causing mayhem together. Shit you two could have done in the past together.

And oh this makes him mad. So yes he wants to destroy it. See how much this new lover will stick around when they learn how much of a monster you were. Reminding you that in all your monstrous ways, he loved you as you were.

If durge goes to the circus before going to the coronation, they can have an interaction where Orin fakes being the love druid chick. Thing that's going through my mind though is, she then canonically knows durge has a new romance interest outside of Gortash. I'm just saying, there is no universe that Orin does not use that piece of information to gloat and provoke Gortash.

More points if that's how Gortash finds out about durge's lover. He doesn't quite believe her because well its Orin. That is until, he sees the two together at the coronation. Maybe he picks up on the romance interest staring a little too long at durge. Or there's a passing glance between the two that lingers with unspoken affection. That then becomes what pushes Gortash to double down on explaining how they created the absolute together in front of everyone (I have to justify Gortash casually spilling the beans about the absolute plot to his echoing audience chamber somehow)

[luxcafess]

"Must you decorate yourself with gore?? You smell awful."

"Im so sorry my aroma offends your delicate nose. Someone died for this braid."

Sorry if u saw me post this earlier and delete it lol