#it was either this or 'why does gortash call you babygirl?'

[proffbon]

So the coronation scene, huh...

[crossdressingdeath]

#Durge like “wait but what if they don't fit ri-” gortash cuts them off with “I know your measurements. They'll fit”#The rest of the party like hey Durge why does gortash know your measurements#Durge says as party leader I'm instituting a new rule. No talking in the sub. I will not be taking questions at this time.

It really is "Why does Gortash call you babygirl" "How about we stop talking for a little while" hours in this sub.

It makes the most sense for Gortash to order Durge to kill someone in exchange for Ravengard's freedom, and it'd also be a fun little moral question (what's more important: freeing Wyll's father and maintaining your alliance with a rising tyrant, or this innocent life?), but. But. The idea of Gortash telling Durge that if they want Duke Ravengard freed they need to go on a date with him to a fancy party at his ex's house is phenomenal. Imagine if a non-Durge character got the moral question of having to either kill an innocent person or let Wyll's father die to maintain their alliance with Gortash but with Durge it was just "Come with me to this party and be so devastatingly attractive that my ex feels bad about herself." ...Kind of tempted to write that now. I think I'm going to have to track down Lady Jannath's estate, see if I can talk to her... Also I'm now thinking about how Lady Jannath gave Gortash a ludicrously expensive diamond ring and how it would be both petty and kind of funny if he gave it to Durge for the party. Not sure if he would do that (it's not exactly polite) but it would be fantastic. And Gortash casually knowing Durge's measurements is so fun. Although an alternate option: he had it made for them and he brought them in for a final fitting just before everything went tits up (hey, they needed something to wear to a coronation!), so he knows it'll fit because they've worn it before.

I continue to be obsessed with the idea of Durge being able to leverage Gortash's clear affection for them in order to get things out of him. It would be really cool if in a Durge run (I'd argue the character most likely to ally with Gortash) there was for example a way to get at Duke Ravengard without breaking the alliance by using your shared history to convince Gortash to let you take him. ...I'll admit that particular example is mostly for my own convenience, but even Gortash just giving Durge some things that used to be theirs would be so good.

[chronurgy]

I just personally think that the game needs more of the companions and Durge being confronted with the reality of Durge's relationship with Gortash. Plus "why does gortash call you babygirl" "how about we all stop talking for awhile" will never not be funny to me. Especially when it's in the sub so there's really nowhere to go so they all just have to sit there, avoiding eye contact, definitely not imagining what sort of activities could lead to gortash knowing Durge's measurements so well. He probably just made them armor right......right?

I would have really LOVED some more in depth exploration of what it meant to ally with gortash and what you would be willing to do to keep that alliance, especially before you get orin's netherstone and you're in a position where you very much don't want both of these very powerful people gunning for you simultaneously. And the moral question of deciding between an innocent life and this alliance would be sooo good. It would be a great confrontation point where both Durge and the companions would have to ask whether this alliance was just for convenience or if it's real. Throw in a few other quests with somewhat similar premises (you want something gortash doesn't, he agrees to let you have it if you do something for him, hell throw in some where he asks you to do something for him and you can request some concession from him in turn) and this would be perfect, I love a video game moral dilemma ™

I actually just recently played through Lady Jannath's estate and there's some stuff going on so minor spoilers here I suppose? Anyway, she actually recently got married so I imagine gortash would be bringing durge around in an attempt to like, win the breakup. Sure you moved on and got married, but look at the extremely hot person I've got with me (also please stop trying to get me to restart our affair I've moved on!). Honestly I think it would also be a great way for him to assess this new version of durge, like can they behave in public? Can they still make witty cracks about the assembled patriars? Also gortash has 20 int, so I imagine he's got to be starved for intelligent conversation and is looking to see if durge can still provide it and be his partner in that way too. He's looking at his potential co-ruler and trying to figure out if they're up to the task (and if they still look at him the same way they used to). And he'd totally give Durge that huge ass diamond ring. Yes it's petty, yes it's rude, but what's lady Jannath going to do, call the brand new and beloved archduke out on their secret affair in public in front of her husband? No way, she'll just have to fume about it and he strikes me as the sort of person who would enjoy tormenting someone and flaunting his power like that.

Ough their coronation outfit....he never thought he'd get to see them in it, he still isn't sure he ever will, after all they're so different now, could they be planning to betray him? So when he gets this chance he seizes it, grasps as his chance to have the old them back, even if just for a single moment.......he'd be having so many fucked up emotions when he saw them in it for the first time.....and it doesn't match his outfit (he would never be so gauche) but it does complement it perfectly. They look like the perfect pair (Durge's LI is fuming in the background). I imagine if this party goes well he'd start trading more favors for them coming to more parties with him and he isn't quite sure if he's still assessing them or if he just genuinely wants and enjoys their company and Durge isn't sure either. Sure, first it was just to get what they wanted, and maybe learn a little more about this new ally of theirs, but now....

I continue to be obsessed with the idea of Durge being able to leverage Gortash's clear affection for them in order to get things out of him. It would be really cool if in a Durge run (I'd argue the character most likely to ally with Gortash) there was for example a way to get at Duke Ravengard without breaking the alliance by using your shared history to convince Gortash to let you take him. ...I'll admit that particular example is mostly for my own convenience, but even Gortash just giving Durge some things that used to be theirs would be so good.

[chronurgy]

Oh man, Gortash highly implying he knows their measurements because they fucked and then when they show up to get Durge for the party dropping some comment about how "he was right to have them measured by that tailor, he knew it would come in handy" and then looking at everyone's surprised faces and basically telling them to get their minds out of the gutter. All the while, of course, touching and hanging onto Durge so possessively that it's obvious they fucked. Just to screw with them.

Oh man the sub ride would be unbearable. The companions, especially their LI, would be trying to convince them not to go because clearly he's into them and wants something from them and putting yourself in his clutches is such a bad idea etc etc. Double the emotional damage if Wyll is the one durge is romancing and he has to worry about saving his father and possibly watching his partner being charmed away from him by gortash or keeping them away from him and losing his father. All wrapped up in further questions about whether or not the companions trust Durge and whether or not Durge trusts themself. Amp it up further if they've already encountered Orin and heard her "he was always able to tumble and twist your brain meat and leave you knotted in his cords" line. And of course throw in some reasonable amount of fear about what could happen if he gets them alone and all. Okay all the drama here is so delicious.

Right!! In a game that asks you to make moral choices I think this could have been a great one. Start off with something small, maybe something that fits both of your goals like killing some cultists who had been abducting people or restoring water flow to the lower city. Something that would help the people but also something that gortash wants and that he could spin (using the gazette!) as an example of how he's protecting the city and improve his position. Is it better to let the people suffer so a tyrant doesn't strengthen his hold over them? Then escalate slowly, keeping to stuff you can justify at first but getting worse and worse. Kill this guy who's tormenting his servants and people in the lower city but also is blocking Gortash's plans, etc. I imagine different companions would have different breaking points and it would be so good! Combine that with the feeling that maybe you can't go up against the steel watch right now or that he has something you need (more information on Orin, wyll's father) and it could get even better. Let me lean into that moral decay and ends justify the means thinking! Let the companions slowly realize that Durge really meant it when they said they were going to ally with him and have to reckon with who that makes them as a person!

I also love the idea of Gortash testing Durge to see if they're still who he remembers. And I'm totally going to come up with ridiculous reasons for Durge to have needed to attend fancy parties in disguise with him pre-amnesia. Maybe for intelligence gathering or something. Maybe to help them get in close with a target he needs them to kill in a way that frames someone else at the party for the death. Either way they were there and they had to dress up fancy and spend time with each other. No there wasn't an easier way to do this sceleritas now shut up and help me put in these earrings.

Another option for Gortash to have clothing that fits Durge would be for him to say "oh it'll fit don't worry, I'll just have some of your old things sent over" which would cause the companions to go wild I imagine. Just more and more "why does gortash call you babygirl" moments. And yeah I'm a sucker for gortash desperately hoping and pretending to have his old partner back. Him taking them to fancy parties and giving them their old things back would be so good. A more relaxed act 3 would also really let them delve into the alliance and build up both Orin (warring bhaalist factions please) and Gortash more. Also if you need to attend some of those parties not just to be there but also for things like stealing or planing evidence or murdering someone imagine fighting alongside gortash again. Imagine how Gortash would feel having his partner at his back again, how the Durge would feel so right being back there. All the angst and the drama and these two people slowly becoming closer and closer as they spend more time together (and your companions become more and more convinced your judgment and morals are compromised by your feelings for him)

I continue to be obsessed with the idea of Durge being able to leverage Gortash's clear affection for them in order to get things out of him. It would be really cool if in a Durge run (I'd argue the character most likely to ally with Gortash) there was for example a way to get at Duke Ravengard without breaking the alliance by using your shared history to convince Gortash to let you take him. ...I'll admit that particular example is mostly for my own convenience, but even Gortash just giving Durge some things that used to be theirs would be so good.