#musings ― the dark urge.

[bhaalsbabe]

They need each other.

[gyldowen-draws]

Tav Tuesday 2: Electric Boogaloo!

Welcome back to another Tav Tuesday! I had so much fun last week, I thought I would keep the ball rolling with another set of awesome Tavs (and one Durge lol). Here's this week's line-up:

Kader by @highblooddrumming | Staeve by @velnna Elyon by @irrevocably-delicious | The Dark Urge by TheListenerOfVoid on DA

Stay tuned next week for more cool Tavs! 😊

[bhaalergate]

I imagine prior to the Orin Incident, Gortash and the Dark Urge were both disturbingly possessive of each other. To the Dark Urge, Gortash was their prey, the last man they would slay before taking their own life at the end of everything. To Gortash, the Dark Urge was simply his. His beast, his to own. The one person with the guts to stand shoulder to shoulder with him and dive into the Hells and back with him. He likely felt smug about the Dark Urge's possessive streak because that meant he owned their mind too. They wanted him and craved him, but stayed their bloody hand -- and that's a powerful thing.

(Of course, Gortash paid no mind to how his own thoughts were consumed by the Dark Urge. They can't own him if he owns them first.)

[bhaalsdeepbat]

Durge and Astarion having a Lady and the Tramp spaghetti moment as they share a tadpole they both slurp down together.

[junpickles]

I'm quite happy with how the reflections and the background turned out. Since Nel has the dark urge background, I tried to incorporate more red light in the background and shadows, to hint at the darkness, the vileness always lingering behind every action of hers. That it is easy to just let herself sink and give up control, let herself be enveloped by the urge.

The urge is the past, a reflection of what used to be, a moment frozen in time that is desperately trying to claw itself up and out of the depths of her soul.

Or something, I'm only in act 2 for this playthrough, I don't know what'll happen. 🤷‍♀️

[archduchessgortash]

Praxas reacts:

So, even the voice in my head thinks I'm a pretentious asshole? Wonderful...

I want to poke holes in this cute little talking brain critter.

Why do I want to poke holes in this cute little talking brain critter?!

I am NOT poking holes in this cute little talking brain critter! My brain is a right prick.

Go free, you cute little fucker!

Hot.

You know... you might remind me of someone.

Short, bossy, bit of a know-it-all...

Talks with their hands...

Smug. Thinks they're in charge even though clearly I am...

Still... kind of adorable.

Yes, you definitely remind me of someone.

I wish I knew who...

[quortknee]

doodled my durge Muse and Astarion being silly

[okthatsgreat]

oc-tober day 20: i think one of my favorite parts of artfight was finding a bunch of other dark urge ocs, making a dnd party, and then subsequently getting obsessed with all of them for like the rest of the month. here is @diableriepervert's oc muse :) GET IVAN THE TERRIBLE'D

[mad-hunts]

the thing about barton and his own 'foil' as she should technically be considered, as she is technically the complete opposite of him in every way that matters, is that sumire [ whom i have talked about a few times on here, albeit briefly, so i will give you a brief refresher on her and that is that... her character eventually commits these killings based on the twelve main tarot cards in a deck based on them not fitting her idea of what 'perfect' looks like (kind of like barton BUT much different at the same time) ] and barton used to know each other as they were best friends as kids — even if it was only for a few years.

and as strange as this may sound, a broken promise between them was partially the catalyst behind what started her descent into feeling this need to 'judge' people, which is quite the coincidence as it may seem. because where do most of her victims end up dying? in these settings where she has set up these 'mock trials' for people. so, i know that i said i would talk about how barton had inadvertently created a monster a longgg time ago, but i now am sharing it with you all. because although one cannot blame barton fully for her actions as sumire, of course, has to take responsibility for them herself; but this did play a part in being a catalyst for her feeling all of this resentment and hatred for the world / people around her that led up to her first murder.

which, as you might have it, was the chariot: a tarot card that symbolizes revenge, willpower, and essentially tries to subconsciously put off this message that you are moving in the 'right direction.' i don't think it's so much just the promise itself though that makes this important — it's also that barton himself essentially forgot about the promise he made to sumire, as terrible as that may sound. it actually kind of gives you more insight as to what was going on in barton's mind as a kid because he basically made sumire promise him this: that, if he ever got on the 'wrong path,' that sumire would be there to show him a better one. and that she would attempt to reconnect with him if they ever got separated somehow / give him a sign of some kind that she was still there, so he could meet her.

and i say that this provides more insight because i haven't really gone into depth about this, but barton has expressed this idea in one roleplay on here. + that is that he didn't want to end up like this. however, regardless of that statement, there is no washing away of all of the heinous things he's done and he chose to do them anyway. i'm just thinking about how messed up it is that sumire, up until the point where she started her murders, had casually been searching for barton because the way in which his victims were found was vaguely remiscent of the way that wesley used to kill his victims. + this meant that he was definitely on the wrong path and she would eventually end up on the wrong one too.

[llamamamarisen92]

Weight of Guilt - Redemption Durge

A bit of spoilers, no story. Just my musing on what makes a redemption dark urge so fascinating.

Could you imagine the actual weight of guilt sitting on a redemption Durge's shoulders as they discover who they are. Like they are a completely changed/changing person. But the idea of knowing how close they came to enslaving the entire world and leading them into mass slaughter.

Like imagine some of the worst dictators in history.

And they are sitting in front of a campfire realizing they are responsible for the suffering all of their friends are going through, have gone through, and if they weren't stopped would have gone through.

It's like if Jack the Ripper forgot who he was, became a better person, and then suddenly realized the murders they are trying to solve were caused by him.

This is why I love playing Durge and examining the concept in my writing. It's such a fascinating character analysis exercise.

[muwitch]

Random continuation of this post. “Death will not claim thee whilst I endure”.

[bhaalsbabe]

It's interesting to consider that the name "The Dark Urge" wasn't actually Durge's name. It was just another way for Bhaal to dehumanise Durge and have them be the killing machine he wanted; a description of the only part them that mattered rather than the sentimental crap society used; a code-name if you'd like.

Since it wasn't until Durge reached adulthood that they've been taken into the temple of Bhaal and that the Urge finally showed itself, it's very plausible Durge used to have a pretty normal childhood and that included having a pretty normal name.

That name might as well be what you name your Durge at the beginning of the game. And yet, when you "say your name out loud", you hear "The Dark Urge", probably to set you back on the path of destruction. Even while you hear this, however, Durge continues using the actual name (and not this edge-lord silly name their brain supplied): "I think my name is -insert your choice of the name-"

With the loss of memories came the loss of all the indoctrination as well, reverting Durge back to what they used to be as a growing up child, including the skills (hence why, on default, you're running around as a sorcerer blasting everything that moves with fireballs instead of hiding in the shadows and taking out enemies sneakily), and more importantly, the name.

Durge had a way to connect with people again, and not with just their daggers.

(Also imagine this, everyone being forced to call Durge that, and then Gortash comes and calls Durge by their original name, wouldn't it be so much easier for them to form a more personal connection with the Banite)

[bones-and-bondage]

Some people can’t be brought back. In a world where Revivify and True Resurrection scrolls exist and Temples offer services to bring back those who can afford the components, some people still can’t be brought back.

Isobel Thorm couldn’t be brought back. Ketheric begged Selune for his daughter back and was answered with silence. He turned to Shar and she turned his grief into a weapon, but she would not bring Isobel back. And when he turned to Myrkul, what he brought back wasn’t fully right, and Isobel coughs and she knows there is something wrong, even as we as players can look behind the scenes and see she is undead, not truly living again.

The Dark Urge can beg Withers to bring back Alfira, and he gives a resounding no. He says she is at peace where he can never torment her again. Is it punishment? Is it to keep Alfira safe from what the Urge might do to her again? Or is it because some people, killed some ways, just cannot come back?

Is how the person died part of the ultimate decision as to who could come back? What power would Bhaal have, after all, if every victim murdered in his honor was just revivified?

What of Mayrina’s husband Connor? Did she seek out the Hag to return her husband because there were no temples available to her nearby? Because she couldn’t afford the cost of their services? Or had something else decided he, too, was to remain dead?

If Revivify had made death a non-worry, there wouldn’t be so many gods of the dead.

[bhaalergate]

I was thinking on Bhaal worship today and how one honours him "properly", based dialogue and various texts/journal entries that can be found throughout BG3, as well as my own headcanons.

In the Dark Urge's own journal, he chastises Orin for how meticulous she is in her work and how premeditated it is.

This got me thinking about what it means to a Bhaalist to kill, and here is where more of my own headcanon comes in. While there is sadism involved and sadists are attracted to Bhaal worship, sadism is not the point of it. There doesn't need to be any ritual involved; killing is the ritual. Death granted by another hand, to a Bhaalist, is the greatest gift they can offer. It is a blessing, for only in death is man pure. Only in death is he honest. Murder, to a Bhaalist, is baptism.

[mintytealfox]

He doesn't waste any time in the DURGE run

♡(ŐωŐ人)

[hopefulstarfire]

So I posted I was gonna make 7 Bhaalbie sisters for a Dark Urge run using my custom Companions mod. I would like to present them in all their glory now.

Barbie. She/her. Fallen Aasimar. Storm Sorcerer. Leader of the sisters. Embodiment of Pride.

Sophia. She/they. Fire Genasi. Pact of the Fiend Warlock. 2nd in command. Embodiment of Gluttony.

Anneliese. She/her. Zariel Tiefling. Barbarian. Embodiment of Wrath.

Clara. Any pronouns, but, really, don't address her. Astral Elf. Artificer. Embodiment of Sloth.

Liana. Any pronouns. Gold Dragonborn. Rogue. Embodiment of Greed.

Keira. She/her. Githyanki. Bard. Embodiment of Lust (namely lust for power, bloodshed and fame)

And of course. My masterpiece and favorite child (even if Barbie is the leader);

Genevieve. Any pronouns. Human. Ranger. Embodiment of Envy. And the family's Weird Barbie that has seen Unspeakable Horrors.

They are the loves of my life. I adore them. I want to give them all smooches and break them away from their tyrannical father.