#literally the dark urge

[littlegalerion]

Some little tid bits about Dragonborn lore that hit hard for my Dark Urge Dragonborn:

Clan means everything. This is referenced so many times in dialogue options for a dragonborn player. I always have Moon choose it, but in a sarcastic or dreadful way. Her only sense of "clan" is Bhaal's cult, most likely a deeply seeded notion given to her by her mother. Even her own mother would have chosen the cult over her, and Moon is aware of this. Always was. It wouldn't surprise me if Moon eventually killed her, either out of personal pleasure or as an act of offering towards Bhaal- maybe both.

I like to think Moon was raised on a twisted version of this. That she was taught all her "playthings" were to be "respected". Given her druid class, she was always directed at how predators treated their prey- a meaningful hunt. But again, with a cultist twist on it. All of Moon's victims were a boon to her father, so all held meaning. All deserved her utmost attention and time. Though most probably wished she had just ended it quickly...

This has always been my canon for Harvest Moon from the start:

She was always desperate for approval from Bhaal, conditioned to desire it more than anything else in her life. She was born for the sole purpose of pleasing him, a faithful child, and if she fell short in any way, she was a waste of resources and time.

When the events of the betrayl of the Dark Urge took place, and she ended up with a tadpole plus amnesia, for the first time, Moon has that conditioning shoved aside. She was actually allowed to think for herself and what she wanted. Sure, Moon still felt the conditioning affects- hence the "urges"- but she was at last an individual. A very smart individual. One that quickly began to enjoy her newfound freedom.

This is all VERY against how Moon was raised. She was taught to always safeguard her emotions, always prove calm, collected, and precisely emote nothing unless in the act of happily slicing through a victim. Such strong shows of emotion could either be used against her or be undesirable to her father, in which case she would be rightfully punished.

All her life, Moon has been fighting against her own nature. Very ironic, as she'd, as an adult, take on the druid class.

A very small thing, but Moon does have a tail, and she does get a lot of looks from other dragonborn for it. One more thing that separated her from her kin throughout her upbringing, I suppose.

[8eb]

just thinking about how gale, the most normal looking man alive, comes out of that portal and sees the three most obviously traumatized & evil-coded people to ever exist and is still like "can i join you" like bffr

[hamartia-grander]

Obsessed with my group of friends who ALL approve of me telling a cop I'm gonna write her name in my Death Note

[bhaalrespawn]

the real reason they cut ketheric being a companion is that if he had to be in the same room as gortash and durge for a single second ever again, he'd simply kill everyone. the moment he sees gortash give durge that stupid puppy dog eyes look he'd end it all.

[plantteaful]

he is SO smitten for durge, i’m sick. they make me so unwell /pos

(the fact gortash never stops making this face for basically the entirety of the coronation scene if durge is the Only one there)

[robo-beasty]

Gortash: He hasn't texted, he hasn't called... Did I get DUMPED? Orin: I DON'T CARE. Now put your shirt back on, whoretash!! Ketheric: Please. Extra Durge snickering from the side because Gorty is being silly ♡

Gortash drawn by the wonderful @kaijusaur!!

[astarionposting]

Aeterna Amantes 2/?

This blood on my teeth it is far beyond dry, and I've captured you once, but I wasn't quite right.

So I'm telling you that you'll be safe with me.

Why is this song not on Spotify anymore I’m so sad 😭 I used to listen to it over and over again when I was like 12..

[bhaalbust]

Some telling dialogue from Orin concerning the nature of Durge and Gortash's relationship pre-tadpole that I'm sure to over analyse again and again

[y-rhywbeth2]

Bhaal talking to you in the journal updates is fun, but honestly nothing in BG3 has topped the one-sided conversations you get to have with this asshole in your dreams during the original games. It nicely illustrated how Bhaal thinks of his spawn and also gives you a good idea of how the Dark Urge's nightmares usually go. I feel like I'm missing things without having to listen to his ego every other night.

Look at this A+ parenting! (These moments have lived in my head rent free for at least a decade so I'm sharing them.)

"Such pride is undeserved, great predator, when your whole being is borrowed. Credit where it is due, and dues where payment is demanded."

"You will learn."

[stabs you with a knife]

[drowns you in blood]

[sets you on fire]

[disembowels you as the Slayer]

"...you will learn to trust me. Don't be afraid. You are safe here... if you behave."

"[My other child] clings to her old life as though it actually matters. She will learn."

"You will come to realize how little choice you have. You will do what you must, become what you must [...] You will accept the gifts offered to you."

"Fall to your knees! You can do no other!"

"What do I want? Your life, your soul, your body! I am the instinct that will fuel the father! I am the blood!"

"I lurk behind your soul, in the very fibre of your being. I am the only thing left when mind and reason are stripped away. I will show you what you can be, what you can do… if you simply let yourself become what you are. I can show you all of this, because I am within. I am what fills the void. I am you."

"You are to be given a gift. It is a valuable prize, one that you had better appreciate."

"You worry for your companions perhaps? Leave them, abandon them, and become what you must. There is great power in your heritage. Use it, and become closer to who you are… what you could be. Feel what is in the void. Use the tools that you are given. Become part of something greater. I am in you, and I know what is best. Each time you use it, each time you accept it, you move a little closer to the evil within. Perhaps you lose yourself in the end, but you will go to greater reward than you can know. After all, what does an eternity of nothingness matter, when you can [easily] destroy all that would oppose your development..."

This didn't work, so on his next attempt Bhaal did his best to ensure this kid would be tailored to obey and have no personality outside of being an extension of his will. Clearly his mistake was waiting until they were adults to start fucking them up, so - kill your family!

[voli-tile]

the Dark Urge and their Father.

margaret atwood, selected poems: 1965-1975 // santiago caruso, moonchild (detail) // frank bidart, half-light // nobuyoshi araki, feasts of angels: sex scenes // margaret atwood, alias grace // leonor fini, unconditional love // ocean vuong, prayer for the newly damned // carlo dolci, saint jerome (detail) // louise glück, penelope's song // georgiana luiza nicolae, i'll see you and i'll raise you hell // sophocles, elektra // nicole kiraga, tomatina // user veniennes on tiktok // kim jakobsson, i won't become // anne sexton, the civil war // unknown, likely by kim jakobsson // wikipedia, pyrrhic victory // alex morkh shadrin, solitude death hell

[dol--blathanna]

Thinking a lot about Orym choosing a rabbit when asked what animal he would pick if cursed with lycanthropy.

Because, it makes sense. Orym is small, quick, agile, jumps well, and is highly perceptive. That definitely evokes rabbit imagery. But a lot of Orym’s identity is also tied up with being a protector – giving people AC bumps, the shield being as much a part of his fighting style as his sword, even his title: Saviour Blade of the Tempest. He wants to be a “Shield that protects Exandria”; his priorities about saving the gods are less about the gods themselves, and more about protecting the people of Exandria from the unintended consequences and bloodshed of releasing Predathos. And it would’ve been very easy to pick a large, strong predator to try and evoke the sense of a protector – a wolf, for example, an animal associated with loyalty and protecting its pack. Yet Orym chose a rabbit.

And I think that’s interesting, because rabbits are often seen as ‘cute’ animals – but they’re also a prey animal. In fact, they’re a common food source for many animals across several ecosystems: foxes, wolves, wild cats, dogs, birds of prey like eagles or owls, coyotes, stoats, and humans (and that’s just off the top of my head). Rabbits are skittish, easily frightened; to be rabbit-hearted is to be timid or cowardly. They are not generally associated with fierceness or prowess in fighting. Mice and rats are prey animals too, but typically seen as vermin (rabbits are sometimes seen as vermin too, but a farmer could eat a rabbit – they wouldn’t eat a rat). Deer are prey, but they have hooves and antlers that bring a danger to hunting them, for any animal – the difficulties of hunting rabbits are more related to their evasiveness, speed and good hearing than any life-threatening danger they might pose. Rabbits are, first and foremost, prey animals. They are killed and eaten, so that another animal might live.

Which made me think a lot about one of Orym’s other key traits: self-sacrifice. Bait and switch doesn’t just bump up his ally’s ACs, it specifically switches their place to put him directly in harm’s way. Goading attack is meant to encourage enemies to attack him instead of his friends. He literally made a deal with a hag, essentially exchanging his own life for power to protect his friends. How many times has he gone down in a fight? He’s not the only tank – but unlike Ashton (and Chetney, who also uses ‘self-sacrifice’ in his fighting style with his blood curses) he has no abilities to reduce the damage from the hits he takes (barbarian rage and the werewolf form).

(Side note: I think it’s pretty interesting that Chetney, the wolf, has attacked Orym, the rabbit, more than anyone else when losing control. That Orym’s facial scar was given to him by a friend, not a foe).

Of course, Orym isn’t the only character with self-sacrificial tendencies (FCG wins by a landslide), but I just can’t stop thinking about how weirdly perfect it is that he chose a rabbit for his animal. Rabbits are prey animals. They are eaten, so that other animals may live. Orym takes the hits, he goads and switches with his team mates to put himself in danger, he makes a deal with a hag at the cost of his own life. He’s a soldier, throwing his life away for a cause over and over again because Ludinus must be stopped, because Keyleth has put her trust in him, because it’s the only way to protect his friends, to protect everyone, because it’s the right thing to do. Orym is a rabbit. He’s always been a rabbit. That day in Zephrah, it could have easily been Orym who died instead of Will and Derrig – “unfortunate but necessary sacrifices”, as Ludinus viewed the attack. It’s unfortunate they had to die, but it was for the greater good, according to Ludinus. It’s unfortunate that a rabbit has to die, but it will feed a family of foxes, or stoats, or even a hungry human, so it’s acceptable, right?

Orym is a rabbit. He is giving himself to a greater cause that could very easily kill him – he already willingly signed his life away to Nana Morri. Because that’s what rabbits do. They die to feed others.

And the theme of being disposable is present across the entire group, not just in Orym – Bell’s Hells has been called a “party of NPCs” before. Aside from FCG’s death, I’d say Laudna perhaps fits this theme the best: she was literally murdered and hung from a tree simply because she looked similar to Vex, acting as a warning to adventurers she had never met before. But FCG’s death was – rightfully – viewed as a terrible tragedy by the group. Laudna’s decision to remove Delilah, finally freeing herself from her abuser and emphasising she is more, and deserves to be more, than just some disposable puppet – this was rightfully viewed as a very good thing! But Orym seems to be embracing this identity of self-sacrifice instead, rather than this mindset being properly challenged or acknowledged as a bad thing. After all, there’s no time. There’s too much at stake. Keyleth, Bell’s Hells, all the memories of those who have died in this fight, all the people who might die if Predathos is released and kickstarts a second Calamity – they’re all relying on him, right? A rabbit feeding so many animals with his sacrifice. And it’s not malicious compared to the way that, say, Delilah killing Laudna was an incredibly evil, fucked up and unnecessary thing to do. If Orym died to save everyone else, well, at least everyone else would be saved, right? Saving lives is good, isn't it? How could he complain?

Because rabbits are prey animals, and Orym is a rabbit too. Destined to die so that another animal may feed.

Except, that’s not true. Rabbits are more than just prey. They’re highly social, and thrive best living with others. They’re playful, they enjoy running around and kicking their legs just to show their enjoyment. They’re inquisitive and mischievous, even being associated with tricksters in some folklore and stories. They’re also associated with innocence, playfulness, spring, youth – all manner of things, depending on the story or culture. And they’re not helpless, either, even if they might be thought of as such. They can bite and scratch and draw blood quite easily if they want to! In fact, freezing up isn’t their only response when being attacked by a predator, they are known to fight back if cornered. They can sprint quickly, they have excellent hearing and senses of smell, they know how to evade predators.

Rabbits are prey, and they are also survivors. They have their own social dynamics, their own habits and dislikes and preferences. They are more than just a wolf’s meal. And Orym is more than a soldier, too. He’s more than a “necessary sacrifice”, he’s more than just a shield and sword. He deserves more than to die for a cause. He deserves a happy ending, just like everyone else. I hope he remembers that.

Orym is a rabbit. And the message isn’t that he shouldn’t be a rabbit. It’s that rabbits are worthy of surviving, too.

[devils-bite]

i relate to orin because i too sometimes want to bash my sister’s head in for her questionable choices in men :)

[brookriver]

it's not our fault we're not to blame these ain't our sins we broke our chains

there's more to do and we still want to live

[frizzdotbizz]

into the nautiloid you go!

(original image under read more)

[idlenight-art]

Sure, Sylas 'the Dark Urge' Morte is officially the party leader. But every choice will be passed by his boyfriend first, just to be sure.

[divorcedwife]

drew these based on the sacrifice dance in rite of spring