#minthara is not stupid for believing the promises they made to her

[trappedinafantasy37]

Welp, I just did the embrace Bhaal ending with Daedra and I gotta say, this is objectively the worse ending. And it is very much the ending I never wanted for her. Because this was always going to be the ending for a Durge who embraced Bhaal. And Minthara being killed was always going to be her ending too. What makes all of this worse is that Minthara saw it coming too, she just did not realize it.

When she first tells you about Orin, she criticizes Orin by saying that if she could turn the plot of the Absolute towards slaughter, she would take it. Minthara also criticizes Orin for wanting to be Daddy's Little Girl who would do anything to please Bhaal. She perceives these to be character flaws within Orin. Sadly her analysis is incorrect, because these are innate characteristics of Bhaalspawn in general, including Durge. All Bhaalspawn are born with the same urges: kill other Bhaalspawn, breed more Bhaalspawn, and then kill everything. Of course, a Bhaalspawn can fight these urges. But it is a never ending fight, one we see Durge struggle with throughout the entire story. They only "beat" these urges by having Bhaal's blood removed from them.

But because Minthara sees these as character flaws within Orin, she fails to see them in Durge as well. And when Minthara learns that Durge is a Bhaalspawn, of course she is elated. Durge is the child of a god. A deeply religious Minthara would obviously admire that, almost as far as borderline worshiping Durge (cause old habits die hard). She truly believes that Durge is nothing like Orin and would never be anything like Orin, and she has to believe this to be true because she does not want to be afraid of Durge like she is of Orin.

Despite popular belief, Minthara is indeed capable of love and has a strong desire for it. I have always read Minthara as a person who strongly wants what she feels she cannot have. And in Menzoberranzan, genuine love is frowned upon (or at least making it known). So of course she wants it. And there is no shame in that. It is trust that she struggles with, and she always has good reason to be distrustful. And the moment she became an exile, we see her start to deconstruct her previous ways of life, but with great difficulty as it is hard to let go of the only things you have ever known. She wants to love, she wants to trust, she doesn't want to be afraid, and she doesn't want to kill her lovers.

Thanks to the business with the Absolute, Minthara finds herself in a unique position in which she actually can read someone else's mind. And for the first time in her life, she has guaranteed certainty that the person that she loves won't hurt her, or betray her, or use and abuse her, or kill her. And that was a promise Durge made to her. And so she openly embraced Durge with everything that she has and becomes devoted.

Sadly, devotion is Minthara's fatal flaw. There is nothing wrong with being devoted to someone or some god, of course. But Minthara is too devoted in which her devotion makes her blind, and she has spent so much of her life being devoted to someone other than herself, and she does not know how to live a life without being devoted to someone. She does not realize the crux of her devotion until she is turned into a sacrificial lamb by Orin. It is Minthara who questions the worth of devotion if it only leads to death and she starts to become a little more selective of who she devotes herself to. Cause she was once devoted to Orin and was willing to be devoted to Bhaal if given the chance, and yet she was still put on that altar. But this never happens if Orin never takes her.

Edit: I forgot that Patch 7 added in the second part of Minthara's dialogue about Orin. Meaning Minthara can still come to question the worth of devotion, even without being a kidnap victim to Orin. However, she questions her devotion after Durge has made their choice in regards to Bhaal. Despite her beginning to question devotion, she still remains devoted to Durge as she perceives Durge as her savior, and not being like Lolth or the Absolute or Bhaal.

Her devotion to Lolth, still ended with her being abandoned (or so she feels) and left vulnerable to the Absolute, because her devotion to Lolth did not make her an exception. Her devotion to the Absolute still led to her mind being ripped apart, because her devotion to the Absolute did not make her an exception. Minthara may be of a feline nature, but she does not have nine lives and cannot always get lucky. Every time she has devoted herself to someone, it always led her close to the grave. Her devotion to Durge, encouraging Durge to embrace who they are, will get her rewarded with death. And death was always going to be her reward.

And of course she thinks this could never happen to her. She read Durge's mind and Durge did show her that they would never hurt her. That Durge would never do to her what Lolth or the Absolute did, or even previous lovers did to her. That her devotion would be rewarded with mutual devotion. But this is coming from a Durge who has not embraced Bhaal just yet and does not yet want to become Daddy's Special Baby. And Minthara is not stupid for believing that Durge was sincere. No one wants to believe that the person that they love would ever hurt them. That does not make someone stupid or weak. Minthara could only read Durge's mind, not Durge's future.

When Durge embraces Bhaal, she still believes them to be the same exact person with the same exact desires as when she read their mind. Durge has finally followed her advice and embraced themselves, become exactly what she always saw them to be. Durge is now on the path to ascension, to true godhood. And Minthara's proximity to it all will keep her safe from all threats because she would be that god's consort. She can finally have a life without fear or distrust. She will have a god to worship, someone to love, and a new house in Durge's name. She will have everything she could have ever wanted and all she had to do was be devoted. All she had to do was be herself.

In that moment, her devotion to Durge makes her blind to the reality that Durge has changed and has become the very thing she herself criticized about Orin. She still believes that Durge won't hurt her and that Durge won't use the Absolute as a tool for slaughter. Her devotion makes her blind to the fact that Bhaal is like Lolth and the Absolute and most certainly will use Durge like a puppet. Her devotion makes her blind to the reality that Durge has only become a master of their urges, because they are willfully giving in to them and no longer fighting them. And the urge wants to kill everything, no exceptions. Her devotion makes her blind to the knife that Durge will inevitably turn against her, because her devotion was never going to make her an exception.

[unreadpoppy]

UNO REVERSE, CAUSE THIS WAS A GRAND ASK AND I WANNA HEAR ABOUT A GIRL OF YOUR CHOICE.

Question for your Tav/Durge: Imagine this is the dryad scene, but instead, it's your partner answering questions on your character. They are as follow: Where is Tav/Durge the most comfortable, the place they feel the safest?What is Tav/Durge's biggest accomplishment, the thing they are the proudest of? What is Tav/Durge's biggest failure, something that will forever bring them shame?

This was stupid, Minthara thought. The circus had already prooved itself to be a dissapointment from the supposed 'fun' she had been promised by her party. What fun is there if there is no killing?

And now, Galatea had paid the damned dryad to question their relationship.

This was stupid. Minthara knew herself and Galatea very well. Their relationship would last, wether this test worked or not.

And so, as they stood there, away from each other in a rather green scenery, the dryad asked the first question.

"Galatea, the storm witch. A misunderstood outcast who ran away from home. But now, she belongs somewhere. Where is she most comfortable, the most safe?"

Minthara smirked. Easy. "She feels the safest in my arms, when I hold her at night."

Redness spread across the tiefling's pale face. "Presumptious, but not wrong." She looked at Minthara. "I didn't have a home until I found one in your heart."

The dryad took a deep breath, content as Minthara stepped closer. "We face many challenges in life, and come out the other side victorious. What is Galatea's biggest accomplishment, what is she the proudest of?"

Minthara thought for a moment, thinking back to their previous conversations. Then, she remembered. "Jumping off that ship and finally being free from her miserable family."

"It is true. I didn't think I could be able to do it then, to be leave my country, family and life behind but it was the best decision I made. Althought it was hard, it led me here, to you."

The drow felt a small smile beggining to form on her lips, but as the dryad began to talk again, she quickly frowned, covering up her emotions and walking more towards her lover.

"Lastly, we must have balance with life. Where there is victory, there is loss. What is Galatea's biggest failure?"

The two women looked at each other, and Minthara took a deep breath before answering with a softened gaze. "Not saving her sister from Orin."

Galatea looked down and nodded. "I know I shouldn't blame myself, but I can't help but believe that if I had gotten there sooner, if I had warned her of the murderous bhaalist, Briseidas would still be here."

Minthara walked until she reached the middle of the tree trunk. Then, Galatea walked towards her, grabbing the drow's hands. "I had no doubt you would exceed."

As they returned to the circus, the dryad said "I press my finger to your bond and find a shield - impenetrable. It is...beautiful. Your love is one few have. Cherish it."

Minthara didn't hear the rest of what the fey had to say, focusing her attention on Galatea, seeing and thinking of all the little details - the way the corner of her mouth wrinkled when she smiled, the fondness of which she looked at Minthara, the coldness of her skin, which surpassed Minthara's own.

Beautiful. And she was all hers, heart, body and soul.

"What are you thinking about. " Galatea asked, their gaze meeting.

Minthara smiled, taking her hand. "You." The tiefling blushed, and kissed her cheek. The drow moved forward, bringing her along. "Come." She said and leaned to whisper in her ear. "If we are quick, we can kill the clown and make love bathed in his blood."

"Minthara!"

...

Anyways, how dare you UNO reverse card me on my own ask?

[notanothertadpoledfoool]

My Tavs pt 1: Eligre, The Lady Crow

Eligre is the tav'd version of my 20+ year standing D&D character (though I haven't actually played D&D for about 15 years and don't actually care for it so she's also been adapted for several other systems as well; point is, she's my ride-or-die ttrpg character, my melodramatic trashfire, my beloved) so I was rolling into the game with an already-established backstory and personality to make decisions from.

Her playthrough is alternately called "bad decisions only" or a "hoe decisions only" run and is Neutral Evil oriented. I've been playing NE characters my entire adult life and is truly the wildest alignment to play because as long as your character can justify the action in their own minds, you can do whatever you want. And Eligre is especially proficient in mental gymnastics.

Act 1

Strong start by betraying the grove in act 1. If you asked Eligre why she did this, she'd tell you something like believing the druids and the refugees were too much in conflict to offer her any help and when given a choice she thought seeking answers directly from The Absolute made more sense. Or Minthara, specifically, was the only person she'd met since she crawled out of the nautilioid that had any sense and it was this woman alone would protect her and lead her to the answers she sought.

And maybe some of that's true.

But maybe she just did it because Minthara asked her to, made her such lurid promises in exchange for her unquestioning and bloody obedience.

It wouldn't be the first time.

Nor would it be the last, in terms of innocent lives sacrificed because Eligre tends to think with parts of her anatomy a lot lower and less noble than her brain more often than I would care to admit.

However, when Minthara left in the morning, Eligre was sure they wouldn't cross paths again, or perhaps didn't believe that Minthara would care one way or another when they did. After all, Eligre had shaken her faith in the Absolute and the sorceress was sure the other woman would simply wall off her mind and move on, throw herself back into her devotion to her god.

So she set her sights on Astarion and every choice she made thereafter was in service to his mercurial temperament and tastes. As a result, she was just acting a menace all over Act 1. Tormenting pregnant women (Myrena needed to be taught a lesson about trusting witches, Eligre included), allowing her beloved to kill the Gur hunting him, not saving the gnomes in Grymforge, looting anything that's not nailed down, blowing up the creche, etc, etc.

She also went all three rounds with the Pain of Loviatar, Abdirak. Usually, I play her as beholden to neither gods nor kings, but this particular encounter made me think that if she had to align herself with a diety, it would be the Pain Maiden, the faithless consort of the Tyrant.

Act 2

Because she betrayed the grove, Halsin hunted her down in the night and was slain by her and her company. So to this day, the area around Moonrise retains its terrible dark curse, swallowing helpless travelers that dare to pass through.

Per Minthara's instructions, she summoned Kar'niss to guide her to Moonrise, killing the Harpers that waylaid them as a show of loyalty. At Moonrise, she was surprised once again to find Minthara in her path, this time as a victim of the Absolute, brought down by the doubt that overwhelmed her in Eligre's embrace.

The witch rescued her and was immediately struck by the Drow woman's passionate loyalty.

It's intoxicating, knowing you've beaten not one but two gods in obtaining someone's devotion.

For all her wickedness, she did not betray the Last Light. Not even the handsome face of the treacherous Flaming Fist Marcus was enough to sway her. Did he think her do stupid that she would allow Isobel to be kidnapped and being the entire ravenous host of the Shadow-Cursed Lands down on her? Please. She ratted him out to Jahiera immediately and let the Harper deal with it while she swanned off to explore.

She also saved the Nightsong. It's a question of having powerful allies and the daughter of a god, especially indebted to Eligre for protecting her mate most high and killing Kethric, was an obvious choice. Even if it perhaps means she has to behave when under Dame Aylin's righteous gaze.

Speaking of allies, Eligre took Raphael's deal outside the mausoleum, for the sake of her distressed lover. Tricking Yugir into killing himself means that making good on this deal was no trouble at all.

As a result, she learned about Rites of Profane Ascension. She had to try not to look too excited at the prospect of learning this foul, forbidden magic.

While there is no hope of the curse being lifted any time soon, It is at least rid of Kethric Thorm and his deranged family. Eligre killed the Thorms tormenting Rithelwen at the bar, the house of healing and the tollhouse by wits alone, without ever raising a finger. This is the power granted to those with more charisma than sense (she may never get the taste of "oblivion" out of her mouth).

Act 3

I'm perpetually stuck on my way to the Morphic Pools due to bug problems, so I haven't finished it yet. But I expect she won't control the brain: a world of thralls seems like it would be incredibly boring for her regardless of the power involved.

Romance(s)

Astarion

{it's my personal headcanon that they didn't actually Do the Deed during this intimacy scene. She offered her neck, he bit her, she passed out and he took the opportunity to not have to actually see it through}

Eligre's relationship with Astarion is, from beginning to end, a perfect fit with her character but in the worst possible way. Eligre doesn't have the emotional maturity to see past Astarion's ruse. She wants so badly to be loved by someone who gets her (someone who is as bad as she is, without realizing that that's never going to work out). Astarion mirrors that fantasy back at her and the pair feeds each others' worst impulses until it eventually destroys their relationship and quite possibly both their souls in the bargain.

Minthara

NPC hookups: Drow twins, separately (she left Astarion at camp and Minthara hadn't become fond enough of her yet for it to matter) and Haarlep.

She hadn't really considered the consequences of doing it with Haarlep, trading sex for information and favors comes naturally to her. I laughed out loud however the first time the consequences of that deal uh...came over her while walking down a busy street and Astarion whipped out his "How terrible it is, to lose your bodily autonomy like that. I understand and I'm sorry".

And I wanted her to be able to look at him and be like "...I want you to say that again, very slowly, and think about the night we broke up. Just...think about it."

I think the Ascendant would argue back that he considers that "different" in a way only he's capable of understanding and they probably would have had such a cringy argument right there in the street that everyone would forget about the barely suppressed moan of involuntary pleasure that preceded it.

Post-game

I think she would go to the Underdark with Minthara as her consort and instrument of vengeance. Their wedding causes a documented shortage of black lace and at least six people die at or as a result of the wedding feast.

And I think that someday, far in the future, The Ascendant will come for her and ensure that she doesn't get to wash the blood of 7000 souls from her hands and move on with her life and she lives the rest of their lives not as his consort, but as a much-maligned pet. I even made a mock stat block to this effect for a vampire spawn called The Jilted Bride, found wandering the palace by a group of foolhardy adventurers.

🖤 SHOW ME YOUR BAD TAVS (not Durges, Tavs who are evil by their own whim and desire)