#durgetash headcanons

[dollishdeath]

Durge and Gortash for sure had a code word to make sure the other wasn’t Orin. (And something definitely happened to make this necessary..)

[wastelandbarbie]

Durge who doesn't care that much that one of his companions was kidnapped/killed by Orin bc he considers it an honorable death in a fucked up way. plus hes not killing Gortash before Orin. like a Durge who can't help but still follow Bhaal. ultimately it's one less person he has to kill...

Durge who breaks down after Orin's death, even if he looks weak to his father and suspect to everyone else. like do the companions understand that he lost his only sister or are they more like accusatory that Durge let their companion die? Durge and Orin only have so much sibling interaction in Act 3, but everytime they do meet, Durge can feel it's her and immediately matches her energy.

if Durge goes on to accept as Bhaal's chosen? Where he's going back to the original plan of Kill Everyone Then Gortash & Yourself. Durge who can't help but favor the past.

Alternatively, Durge who rejects Bhaal, but accepts Gortash as his master. Post-tadpole Durge who clings to the scraps of who he was/what happened. Who can't remember specific events, only how he felt. Like Durge doesn't remember his name, but he does know that everytime he hears Gortash's name he feels something. Seeing Gortash would short-circuit Durge; maybe before he was completely stoic, but now he's completely obvious in his expressions. Durge who goes feral at the sight of Gortash and immediately gives away how down bad he is. Gortash who is internally losing his mind bc his Durge rarely gave anything away facially and he's now eye fucking him in front of everyone and god. like ???? omfg. this is why Durge insisted on going to the inauguration alone (tho the party definitely snuck in after him)

[therookandthecrow]

I wanted to share some more soft/affectionate headcanons of my primary Dark Urge Rhyleth and Enver.

When Enver's joints are inflamed and when he is having pain flare ups in general, Rhyleth helps to tie up his shirt's ties for him. While even as a highly leveled Cleric, he can't take his pain away, he does his best to help Enver manage it.

A part of this reasoning is Enver's pride, his not wanting to accept his help with it as he's accepted his chronic pain as a part of who he is. The last thing that he wanted from anyone, let alone his partner-in-crime was pity.

It was one of the things that he missed while Rhyleth was missing and thought to be dead.

I like to headcanon that Rhyleth had gifted him the cain that he uses early in their relationship with one another, and that he even commissioned it to fit Enver's aesthetic. The one that he had before was the one that he'd been using since he lived in the House of Hope. He enver liked the look of the one that he had before, but he didn't see the practicality of replacing it when it worked fine. That was before his Banite aesthetics hoe™ era.

He never expected such a tender albeit practical gift from the infamous assassin, but secretly, Enver was touched that the Drow Bhaalspawn put so much thought into him, regardless of how messed up the dynamic of their relationship was at the time. He loved the danger and the intrigue of it all, but he savored those tender moments that were offered to him because he never got that at home or in the House of Hope.

With all of that said, post-game (but starting pre-epilogue party) he is a very attentive partner who makes sure that Enver is well taken care of. Enver finally gets over his pride in that respect and he allows Rhyleth to pamper him. The Archduke would only admit to himself that his heart would swell with joy when the Drow would draw a hot, fancy bath for him after a long day and an aching back and joints in general.

This is especially because he knows that the Drow's intentions are from love, something that he had a hard time accepting for a long while and that there was nothing transactional about it at the slightest. Rhyleth genuinely cares for Enver and his primary love-language is acts of service along with giving people practical gifts.

Practical is what Enver had tried to convince himself of, but as it turns out there was far more sentimentality left in his heart than he previously thought. The changes that Rhyleth had gone through at the temple where he'd rejected Bhaal were not just only welcome to Enver, but in fact they were just what he'd needed all along from a lover.

Enver's pregnancy post-game was tougher on him than either of them thought that it would be, and he hated to have to be reliant on Rhyleth for so much. There were many nights, especially in the third trimester that he had to take sleep potions along with another potion for his pain in order to sleep well at night.

The last month, especially, before their first son's birth, Enver was constantly miserable; so much that he was genuinely surprised that Rhyleth stayed with him. Rhyleth however, remained at his side as loyal as a soldier and more affectionate to him than anyone else had been.

[doraingrid]

Stolen clothes and gifted blades

[cats-obsessions]

If Durge Could Recruit Gortash Headcanons:

Once agreeing to ally with Gortash, Durge can convince him to join the party, but only if they agree to kill Raphael. If Karlach is in the party, this may be done in exchange for Gortash to fix her heart if Durge can pass the persuasion roll on Karlach.

• Upon joining the party, Gortash shows up in a more practical armor set, still gold and black but not as decorated as his robe. There’s scrapes and dents on parts of it, clearly having been worn before. Durge can ask him about it in conversation and discover he has chosen to wear the same armor as he did when they robbed Mephistopheles Vault. He never repaired it and can tell a story for each scratch.

• He does a lot to try to jog Durge’s memories, and it works a some degree. We hear little stories around the city, some more suggestive than others.

• Old habits never die. He’s constantly touching Durge, always walks next to them, has a lot of strong opinions but will only concede to Durge.

• Durge persuasion rolls on Gortash are DC10 and under. Anyone else it’s DC30.

• He absolutely compliments Durge a little too much. And he’s always the first at Durge’s side after the fighting ends. Grumbles if he has to rez anyone else but dotes on Durge.

• Gets along well enough with Astarion, Shadowheart, and Laezel. Respects Minthara and Gale, sees them both as potential allies if they know their places. Absolute bitch to Wyll. Actively the number one Ravengard hater.

• If Durge can convince Karlach to stick around, she will only be in the same party as Gortash once or twice. She’ll confront Durge about it after and either has to be kept separate or leaves the party.

• If taken to Astarion and Shadowhearts’ personal quests, he’ll be surprisingly respectful, and will tell them they’d make good Banites, particularly if Shadowheart resists Shar. (Kinda think he would tell Astarion not to Ascend but for his own advantage of not having to deal with an Ascended Vampire and not wanting the hells to gain power from 7,000 souls)

• Random gifts pop up in Durge’s inventory. He says nothing about them. One is definitely the hand of an enemy.

• When in the House of Hope, Gortash will only allow Durge to enter the prison with him until the warden is dead. He’ll tell them everything, but won’t let the others see it.

• Killing Raphael is very emotional. He’s proud, happy, relieved, but being there shakes him up. Durge can hug him in private when they talk about it.

• If Durge chooses to save Hope, she tries to hug ‘little Enver, all grown up’ before they leave. He does not like it, but part of him is happy to see her free.

• Durgetash romance can initiate after Raphael is dead. Sceleritas is so fuckin' pissed. Like, he kinda ships it, but he CANNOT handle Durge getting labotomized again for this Banite fool.

• He has random little personal quests and pop-up events like his formal coronation celebration ball, taking Durge to a fancy dinner, dealing with fans, and assassinating a rude journalist who called him not-so-young-and-handsome.

• If taken to Lady Jannath's estate, she flirts with him. Durge has an option to stab her for this- just once. Just a little. She'll be fine! Gortash approves. He apologizes to her, but he's absolutely into it.

• His two allied pathways at the end are to remain fully evil and control the brain/Faerun with Durge or absolutely still be, ya know, Gortash but destroy the brain and become archduke without the tadpoles' help as he’s now viewed as the city’s hero. This is his least evil option and requires a Durge romance or at least a Durge that will remain by his side regardless and saving Hope as pivotal moments.

• Durge's alliance or resistance of Bhaal would significantly influence this. Resisting Bhaal lowers the DC on any persuasion. Failing the duel with Orin would block any option except controlling the brain with Gortash as he sees it as the only way to protect Durge. Because controlling the absolute would offer them a large enough following to grant them literal ascension to godhood, freeing Durge from Bhaal's control. Plus, you know killing a god would only inflate Gortash's ego more, and that would be his new goal.

[demiseproject]

this scene always made me think that Gortash is the one looking through the eye in thise moment, especially playing as the dark urge. Imagine gortash jsut keeping watch all over the sword coast, and then seeing something he recognises, and then, he sees it... his long lost lover, who was claimed to be dead.

"confusion. alarm." it feels very in character for gortash, noticing durge just there, staring, as if he could see him.

[forgotten-realm5]

Babygurl has a death cult to run 💅🏻

[kawareo]

something something gay

[rinny-rae]

My hc is that Durge is an unstoppable killing machine but also a total himbo

[chronurgy]

obsessed with the idea of someone attacking gortash while durge and the rest of the party are there and Durge and Gortash just immediately falling back into covering for each other. They know the other's blind spots, they know exactly what the other will do, where to stand to be out of their way, all of it. It's easy as breathing. Durge knows when Gortash is feinting, Gortash knows exactly how to line up enemies for Durge to hit them with a spell while keeping himself out of the way. It's natural. It's instinctual. Because Durge doesn't remember him, but their body does

[juust-g]

I haven’t posted in a while on here ✨👀.

Gortash said to Charly that he has important matters to discuss with her, that he knows things about her past and he could answer some of her questions. He told her to come, after the coronation party, alone. 🤭

You can support me on ko-fi and instagram for more content !

[wastelandbarbie]

to be honest, my ideal durgetash ending (at least one of them) is where it's like durge and gortash rekindle their tentative alliance to the unanimous disapproval of almost everyone in your party. you then proceed to fuck nasty style before betraying the other dramatically, only to end up siding with gortash to the bitter end, jumping off a cliff together Hannibal style. like a Durge who knows he won't ever have a normal, happy life/feels that neither he or Gortash deserve a happy ending so he's like "let's take out three birds with one stone" and ends up sacrificing himself and Gortash to take out the Netherbrain.

(idk i've been obsessed with exploring what can make Durge a morally good versus bad character, what makes Durge a Resist!Durge versus Embrace!Durge? how far does Durge have to be pushed before finally choosing what he wants? (which is evil gay sex with Gortash))

[fortheghostsinmycloset]

I love how some of The Dark Urge's dialogue (and Orin's) is so eloquent, almost Shakespearian. The dichotomy of pre-tadpole Dark Urge as a monstrous killer, but also a passionate wordsmith, is such a fun idea to explore. The Prayer for Forgiveness is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm imagining Durge coming back to the temple of Bhaal drenched in blood, fresh from a murder spree, and sitting down to write another flowery love poem to Gortash. They then stash it in a chest full of unsent love letters, most smeared with various levels of dried blood, never to be seen again.

[fourraccoonsinacoat]

*At their weekly triforce of evil board meeting.*

Ketheric: Araj has some new elixirs she's experimenting with and is asking for a gnoll to test them on.

Durge: No.

Ketheric: What?

Durge: Let me elaborate; tell bitchtits to get fucked.

Gortash: *Snorts*

Ketheric: You have twelve of them! Surely you can spare one?

Durge: "Get fucked. Love, Durge." Write that down and send it to her.

Ketheric: Gods below! I'll go send one of the gnolls, myself!

Gortash: I wouldn't recommend doing that.

Ketheric: Why?

Durge: Because then I'd have twelve gnolls and a dead body.

Gortash: Technically, he's already-

Durge: NOBODY ASKED YOU, ENVER!

- - - -

BG3 Incorrect Quotes Masterlist.

[absolutehomosexuals]

The Infamous "Durge Is a Man" Essay

I - INTRODUCTION

There's one simple question that led us to developing this theory: "would Bhaal want a female heir?"

Bhaal created Durge to be his ideal successor: the hand who would've reaped death in the world, conquering it in His name.

Every detail we get about Durge's lore is tied to this objective, the entire purpose of Bhaal's creation.

The cult is obviously shown to us as patriarchal, which is hinted at from the sole fact they worship a male deity: the argument may come off as silly at first, since one could argue Gods do not understand nor care for the concepts of gender.

It would be a valid counterpoint, if it wasn't for the fact Bhaal used to be a human, having navigated the world as a fully grown man before he eventually became a God.

If we believe he created Durge in his ideal image, it seems much more intuitive for his offspring to be male.

II - THE MATTER OF SUCCESSION

We must note that Bhaal's plans heavily rely (as we can read in Durge's "diary" tab) on reproduction ; e.g "siring lots of Bhaalspawn".

This alone isn't coded as one sex or the other but, if we think of it in terms of convenience, a female heir wouldn't be your first choice for the task: women can only gestate one child per year and conceive in very specific windows of time within their cycle, while men can potentially impregnate countless women in the same time span and not suffer any physical disadvantages during gestation.

We should also consider women tend to develop a bond with their newborn and the latter needs to rely on them for survival during the first few months of their life, while a man:

1. has no such obligations from a social point view (especially in a medieval context, where bastard children were the norm)

2. isn't strictly needed by the child for survival, biologically speaking.

I doubt Bhaal was expecting his heir to keep track of her cycle, gestate for nine months with all the drawbacks that come with it, give birth risking death and spend the following months caring for a newborn – all of this, on repeat for years if not centuries.

"But he's a God, he could potentially speed up the process!"

Technically true, but why would he go through such trouble, if he could craft his ideal child as a male and avoid complications?

The game itself seems to agree with this theory, since you get the "Bhaal's stallion" line regardless of your Durge's gender, in one of the bad endings.

We could also consider the idea that reproduction = power, "spreeding the seed", to be a typically patriarchal concept.

Bhaal himself isn't fond of the idea of raising children, as he let Durge be raised by an adoptive family – a "regular" one no less, meaning he didn't even concern himself with choosing one.

III - IN-UNIVERSE MYSOGINY

There are many aspects of the religion that seem to glorify manhood, and for its leader to be a woman (by Bhaal's choice, no less) seems inconsistent.

Let's think of the infamous blessing granted to Bhaal's favourites, the Ecstasy of Murder, which basically consists in a pseudo prostatic orgasm.

Then we consider the presence of predominantly-male sexual crimes, both coming from Durge and other important figures within the cult.

We cannot deny necrophilia, for functional reasons, is extremely uncommon amongst women: necrophilic acts are typically carried out by penetrating a dead body, as it's almost the only pleasurable act you can perform on a corpse ; Durge being a known necrophiliac pre-lobotomy could be one of the many hints the character is meant to be read as male.

Not to mention the horrendous way in which Bhaalist female characters are treated in-universe, between Sarevok sexually abusing his daughter (and this concept being treated as completely normal by the narrative, as far as we know of) and Orin being constantly belittled.

We never hear of any male cultists undergoing the same treatment, meaning abusing women is the norm amongst Bhaal's faithful – yet again, a telltale sign of a patriarchal religion.

"But Orin isn't mistreated because of her sex, she's mistreated because she's not the true heir!"

Orin is, indeed, not Bhaal's biological daughter: she's related to Him by blood, but as Durge himself says, her blood is "diluted".

However, while he acknowledges she's not his biological sister, he still addresses her as such in multiple sources, meaning the cult leader himself doesn't care about her actual origins.

She's constantly portrayed as someone who gets talked down to, cast aside and her beliefs are harshly criticized both by Durge and others influential members such as Sarevok.

For Larian to choose a woman to fill this role could have been accidental, but we must admit the symbolism is quite clear.

Orin interprets murder as a form of art, while her Bhaalist peers frequently accuse of her misunderstanding her own faith, considering her too immature to lead the flock.

She's the only Bhaalist female character we're shown as remarkable, and she's coincidentally used as an example of someone the cult does not respect ; she's even biologically related to Bhaal and yet, she had to seize power by force.

IV - ROMANTIC SUBTEXTS

Another interesting matter are the characters commonly paired with Durge in fanworks: Durgetash and Durgestarion are the most popular romantic pairings according to ao3, and we cannot blame the fandom for catching up on the subtext.

Durge's "admiration" (as he calls it himself) towards Gortash is viewed as controversial and arises suspicion in-universe, to the point he feels the need to apologize to his Father and repent for an implicit sin.

While it would be scandalous to fraternize with Gortash even in a platonic matter – he's practically the leader of the rival cult –, the emphasis put on justifying their interactions has been interpreted by fans as romantic subtext.

The letter in which Durge addresses the issue is titled "Letter for Forgiveness", despite Gortash only being mentioned at the beginning, while the rest of the letter focuses on different topics entirely.

Right after expressing guilt for the way he views Gortash, Durge proceeds to repeat Bhaal's plan and promises to follow it, stressing that he would have made his Father proud regardless.

The letter overall comes off as an attempt to justify being attracted to Gortash and reassuring Bhaal that it wouldn't come in the way of their plans, as it would pose an enormous threat otherwise.

Durge being attracted to Gortash – if we choose to interpret him as a man – would come with a handful of important challenges: first of all, sympathizing with the 'enemy', implying Durge could abandon the idea of betraying him or even allow Gortash to do the same to him.

Second of all, being capable of such vulnerability that would come in the way of being a sentient weapon: a killing machine isn't supposed to feel pity, let alone experience something as foolish as forbidden love.

And thirdly, for Bhaal's heir to prefer the company of men is simply a disgrace, as it would come in the way of reproduction and possibly undermine his public image.

While all of this may have not been meant as a homosexual allegory, the fact you can find the Letter for Forgiveness on Durge's corpse if you play as Tav, still comes off as "bringing a secret to the grave".

Not to mention the note at the end of the letter, written by another cultist, reading: "Ha! Orin was right about her sibling." which is clearly a jab at what we mentioned above.

When you go to confront Orin in Act III (as Durge) about the fact she has been following you around town, she replies: "The little lordling has been whispering in your ears? He always knew how to tumble and twist your mind matter, leaving you knotted in his chords."

The matter of Durge's attraction to Gortash is seen as something silly and shameful at the same time: it's an open secret cult members dare to joke about, because they find it ridiculous.

If a hypothetical female heir of Bhaal had the slightest possibility of reproducing with the Chosen of Bane, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't find it as humorous – they find it hilarious because it's taboo, a powerful demigod developing a "school crush" on a male ally.

We should also talk about some of the in-game implications about Gortash, such as being someone who possibly "slept his way to the top": managing to charm and daze a much more powerful man on purpose sounds surprisingly in-character.

What we find even more interesting are the implications that come with Durgestarion, a pairing the writers are openly fond of.

We know both characters were characterized by the same writer, the latter going out of his way to include personalized romance interactions between the two: unlike other characters, romancing Astarion as Durge gives the player access to tons of new dialogue lines and greetings, sometimes making for a completely new experience compared to romancing him with a regular Tav.

Some hints may point to Durge being the "canonical" romance for Astarion, as many fans have speculated ; while one may disagree with that sentiment, we must admit it's not far fetched.

If we consider all of Astarion's canonical past relationships (meaning, the few ones he actually deems important and genuine) were with men, and the emphasis put on Durge's "admiration" towards Gortash + the incessant pressure Bhaal puts on him to reproduce, the thought of these characters romancing each other in an alternative timeline actually sounds liberating.

Some Durge-specific lines Astarion says during his romance arc seem to be aimed at a male character, rather than sounding gender neutral: the first example that comes to mind is "Are you alright now, or is today a 'I will wed you with a delicate veil of blood blooming over your white curls' kind of day?"

Astarion sarcastically references Durge "wedding him", thus putting the player in a stereotipical "groom" role from the start, with the veil resembling the one brides typically wear during the cerimony.

If we consider all other aspects mentioned in this theory, the line reads as somewhat... male-coded.

If we want to be truly insane about this theory – and of course, we do – , we could even add a "gay allegory" element to the equation.

A vampire and the spawn of an evil deity, excluded members of society who'd usually feel a compulsion to hide, are implied to fall in love by the narrative.

V - ACTING CHOICES

Finally, we come to the voice actor: while a specific actor was chosen to play the character and is regarded as the iconic Durge VA, Larian didn't concern themselves with choosing a female voice actor to include the possibility of a female Durge, which is why we can only hear his intro in Neil Roberts' voice.

VI - CONCLUSION

With all of this taken into account, a female Durge seems to be an after-thought, if not directly a fantasy or a headcanon that the game gives you the possibility to play out.

The original narrative, as we can see, best accomodates a male character.

[autuumnlocked]

Do you ever think that while Thorm finds Durge and Gortash's relationship fucked up and disgusting, he's also envious? What they have is certainly strange but so very strong. Even if they wouldn't call it love, it reminds him of what he had with Melodia; that unbreakable bond that drives one to go against the gods. To watch these two horrid beings experience something he once held so tight must be absolutely maddening.